As soon as he arrived in Fuyang County, he encountered a young woman attempting to drown herself.
The awkward part was that he and Mu Nanzhi had not yet found an inn to stay at, so according to Xu Qi’an’s plan, they should check in first, then deal with this matter.
But would the young woman believe the words of an outsider?
Thirty taels of silver were a huge sum in her eyes; in fact, it was indeed a substantial fortune. If he did not offer some tangible proof, only making verbal promises, she would not believe him at all.
What if she changed her mind later and jumped into the river again?
That was why giving her the silver in advance was to comfort her. He could then find an inn and, after settling in, return to resolve the dispute. Such trivial matters among commoners could no longer cause Xu Qi’an, who was used to great storms, even the slightest sense of urgency.
“Small matters are still matters. I once made a grand vow, wishing for a world without injustice. I cannot manage the affairs of distant lands, but I can deal with what is before me.”
Xu Qi’an took a sip of yellow wine and said,
“Now I understand another truth. Doing good deeds cannot change the world, just as being a doctor cannot save a country. If one wishes to reduce the amount of injustice in the world, one must change the greater environment.”
Mu Nanzhi rested her chin in one hand, her eyes flashing with admiration, and said, “So, only by making grand vows like in Buddhism can one obtain a higher attainment?”
During this period, she had heard Xu Qi’an tell many stories, including differing practices of all the major systems, and she simply listened as stories.
There was no doubt that the greatest beauty in the Great Feng was as clever as ice and snow, she remembered all of it clearly.
“The greater the vow, the higher the attainment, but accordingly, the more difficult it becomes…”
Xu Qi’an suddenly fell into a daze, having thought of a question: what kind of vow had Shenshu made all those years ago?
Even now, he could only just make out some of Shenshu’s uniqueness: practicing both Zen and martial arts to a supreme level. Was Shenshu a Bodhisattva or an Arhat?
He had never pondered this question before.
But whether Arhat or Bodhisattva, both were supreme attainments, which would surely leave a mark. For example, if a sadhu monk had made a grand vow:
“If only there were thousands of grand abodes, so all the world’s cold scholars might wear a smile!”
In that case, the sadhu monk would have to take corresponding action, for example, frenziedly building houses or developing the real estate industry.
That would undoubtedly leave an obvious trace.
If he could learn what vow Shenshu made in the past, perhaps the secrets surrounding Shenshu could be unravelled, revealing the truth behind his being dismembered and sealed away.
…
“Travelling with a woman? And with a warhorse? Are you sure it’s a warhorse?”
In the three-courtyard manor, Zhu Er’s eyes suddenly sparkled.
“That horse is especially majestic, much larger than an ordinary horse, with such sleek lines that it’s irresistible,” the subordinate in charge of gathering information praised without end.
Warhorses were rare; even the wealthy could not buy such a thing. Since this year’s war between the imperial court and the Church of the Warlock God, the Great Feng’s army had suffered heavy losses, and warhorses had become even more precious.
But to Zhu Er, its value was secondary; rarity was what mattered most.
It was the perfect gift for the county magistrate.
These days, who didn’t love a good horse? Especially a superb one.
Zhu Er pondered for a good while, and inspiration struck. “Go and inform Constable Li. Have him take some men to the Shanyang Inn.”
…
The yellow wine of Fuyang County was indeed excellent, with a superb taste. Xu Qi’an, having no experience in brewing, could only guess it was down to the water or the grain.
Each land raised its own people; each place had its own unique characteristics.
“When we leave Fuyang County, let’s buy a few jars of wine to take with us…”
Mu Nanzhi pursed her lips, grinning with delight as she spoke.
For her, the greatest benefit of life on the road was sampling the delicacies and fine wines of various regions, and enjoying their unique customs.
Although some unpleasant sights along the way sometimes soured her mood, it was all part of life’s experience.
They placed the wine jars down, and together left to deal with the young woman’s affair.
Descending the stairs to the inn’s lounge, they suddenly heard hurried footsteps, and four quick-hand bailiffs, accompanied by several burly, fierce-looking men, charged into the inn.
At the front was a middle-aged man clad in a black constable’s uniform trimmed with red.
The outfit was far too familiar, giving Xu Qi’an an instant feeling of closeness for no apparent reason.
The middle-aged head constable swept his gaze around, then looked to the innkeeper and said in a deep voice, “Have any outsiders checked in today?”
The innkeeper immediately looked at Xu Qi’an and Mu Nanzhi. “Officer Sir, it’s those two.”
The middle-aged head constable scrutinised Xu Qi’an and said, “Someone has accused you of defiling a local woman. Come with us to the constabulary.”
Me? Defiling a woman? Xu Qi’an felt himself deeply maligned. As dignified as Silver Gong Xu was, if he wanted to take any maiden to bed, those maidens would be delighted.
What need was there for defilement?
Defiling a woman? The other guests in the inn immediately turned to look.
On hearing that an outsider had defiled a local woman, the guests immediately showed hostile expressions.
“Who is accusing me? Have you got a formal complaint?”
Xu Qi’an knew very well how the constabulary operated when arresting people. As he spoke, his gaze naturally fell on the group of burly men, focusing on one especially well-dressed, stout individual.
In Xu Qi’an’s sight, the man was surrounded by a faint golden light; a slender dragon shadow seemed to coil and circle him.
This left Xu Qi’an both pleased and regretful. He was glad because, after travelling for so long, he finally encountered a host of dragon qi; but regretted that this man’s dragon qi was too fragmented and diffuse.
It was not one of the nine crucial fragments.
The well-dressed, middle-aged man gave a cold laugh,
“My name is Zhu Er, it was I who accused you at the constabulary. Today, you rescued a young woman who fell in the river, is that correct?”
Xu Qi’an nodded.
Zhu Er wailed indignantly, “You used the excuse of changing her clothes to take the woman to a widow’s house, and there defiled her. After returning home, she came weeping to me about it.”
As he spoke, he looked at the middle-aged head constable. “Constable Li, you must get justice for us commoners.”
Xu Qi’an suddenly understood, staring at him coldly,
“So you’re Zhu Er, the one who tricked Cripple Zhang into losing his family’s fortune, then seized his wife and drove her to the river. I took pity on her, saved her life, and gave her thirty taels to pay off her debts. What, did I ruin your scheme?
“Hm, is Cripple Zhang’s wife with you?”
He suddenly had a realisation. With the converging effect of dragon qi and fortune, he would inevitably encounter these hosts along the way; only the timing was unknown.
It might take a year, two years, or even longer.
On hearing this, the guests in the inn all understood at once.
Although Xu Qi’an was an outsider, everyone in the county knew what kind of man Zhu Er was, and how he was connected to the county magistrate.
Given the choice, people were more inclined to believe the outsider’s words.
Constable Li wore a businesslike face. “Less nonsense, come with us to the constabulary. The county magistrate is always fair and never wrongs a man.”
Suddenly, a piercing whinny rang out, followed by screams.
Everyone rushed out of the inn, only to see several men on the broad street desperately trying to subdue a fine horse. Two men were in charge of pulling the reins, while another man attempted to mount it.
However, the little mare performed a beautiful spin and kicked back, sending him flying. He landed on the ground, barely breathing, with fresh blood seeping from his mouth and nose.
Zhu Er was both shocked and delighted. This horse was even more spirited than he had imagined, and greed burned in his heart. He shouted loudly,
“Constable Li, he has allowed his horse to commit violence, his crime is even greater.”
Upon hearing this, Mu Nanzhi put her hands on her hips and sneered, “If you did not provoke it, would it have hurt anyone? Clearly, you were trying to steal the horse.”
Because Mu Nanzhi was too unattractive, she was completely ignored by the crowd.
Constable Li kept a stern face. “This horse is also an accomplice. All of them must be taken away. Just now, he whistled to control the horse and commit violence. That is yet another crime.”
A smile broke across Zhu Er’s face at once. “Constable Li judges cases with uncanny skill, do you all agree?”
The men behind him burst out laughing.
Passers-by gathered by the roadside, pointing and whispering.
“Zhu Er is colluding with these corrupt officials again to extort someone, isn’t he?”
“Seems like an outsider.”
“Oh, an outsider… Well, that’s unlucky for him.”
“Zhu Er has been running rampant for years, no one can do anything to him. At the beginning of the year, Shopkeeper Zhao from the silk shop was extorted for two hundred taels by Zhu Er. Dissatisfied, he went to the county office to lodge a complaint, but the county magistrate and Zhu Er are thick as thieves. Shopkeeper Zhao went all the way to Yongzhou to file another complaint, but ended up being flogged and sent back, Zhu Er took over his shop in the end.”
“Keep your voice down, don’t get overheard, or you’ll be in trouble.”
“Hmph, our Fuyang County doesn’t have Silver Gong Xu, otherwise bullies like Zhu Er would have been executed long ago.”
This was the scourge of petty officials: in small places, they could completely oppress the common people and act as they pleased. …Xu Qi’an, with his exceptional hearing, listened to the villagers’ discussion and inexplicably thought of Wei Yuan, who had once wanted to clean up the local officials.
Constable Li snorted, “What are you standing there for, cover the horse’s eyes.”
With its eyes covered, a horse would obediently follow people.
A bailiff immediately took off his uniform, shook it out, and ran towards the little mare.
The mare retreated repeatedly, but its reins were held fast by two men working together, so it could not break free.
It neighed long and unceasingly.
“What are you screaming for? Scream again and I’ll chop you up.”
The bailiff threatened as he tried to cover the mare’s head with his coat.
But he failed, for a fragment of silver shot out, shattering his kneecap.
He lost his balance at once and collapsed to his knees, hugging his mangled knee and screaming in agony.
He would be a cripple from now on.
Noise erupted all around. The onlookers had not expected this outsider to be so fierce, actually injuring a bailiff from the constabulary.
“You still dare to commit violence?”
Constable Li’s eyebrows shot up as he drew his official sabre.
“Constable Li, let us help you.”
Zhu Er kept sneering as he drew a narrow-bladed knife as long as his forearm from behind his waist. His men copied him, drawing knives of the same make.
It must have been Xu Qi’an’s move just now that made Constable Li and the others realise he had some skill. So, they did not immediately rush him, but instead circled him warily with their sabres drawn, inching their way closer.
When the two sides were less than three metres apart, Constable Li roared and hacked forcefully with his sabre.
He had a bit of cultivation, in one swing, the sabre whistled sharply through the air.
The others swarmed forwards.
Xu Qi’an raised his hand and, with effortless ease, snatched away Constable Li’s sabre, then reversed it to rest against the man’s throat, saying,
“Colluding with bullies, oppressing the people, death!”
The blade flashed by and a head rolled, the eyes wide open.
Blood spurted like a fountain.
The two constables and Zhu Er’s men looked terrified. The outsider’s moves just now seemed plain enough, just a sabre snatch and a beheading, leaving them uncertain whether he was truly a master or if Constable Li had just been careless.
At that moment, Zhu Er saw the outsider turn and look at him.
In that instant, a wave of terror exploded in his heart, his chest seized. He cried out shrilly,
“You dare kill a constabulary constable, that’s a capital crime…”
Xu Qi’an ignored him, holding the bloodied sabre as he walked steadily towards Zhu Er.
Zhu Er staggered back in terror, his hand trembling around the narrow knife. The next moment, the last thread of his nerve snapped, he turned to run.
Thud!
Another fragment of silver flew out, shattering his kneecap.
Driven by inertia, Zhu Er crashed heavily to the ground. At that moment, he saw a pair of black boots stop before his eyes.
Looking up, the outsider gazed down coldly and said, “Bullying men and oppressing women, death!”
Another head rolled.
From Zhu Er’s corpse, a small golden dragon floated out, weaving through the clouds as if it were about to soar away on the wind.
Xu Qi’an took out the Earth Book fragment, pointed its mirror face at the small golden dragon, and muttered the incantation.
The little golden dragon turned into fine golden light and was absorbed into the mirror.
Ordinary people could not see any of this.
The two constables and Zhu Er’s men trembled in terror, their faces as white as death. The narrow-bladed knives in their hands fell to the ground with a clang.
Xu Qi’an glanced over his shoulder and said, “Aiding the wicked, your hands shall be cut.”
A dozen arms fell.
A dozen men clutched their arms and howled in pain.
After all this was done, he led the little mare away, taking Mu Nanzhi with him as they walked towards the end of the long street.
After a while, someone said in a shaky voice, “Zhu Er is dead.”
Suddenly worked up, he shouted,
“Zhu Er is dead!”
The silence broke, and the crowd erupted in cheers.
Despite the bloodiness of the scene, bystanders clapped and cheered, excited beyond measure.
“That bastard is finally dead.”
“Serves him right! Met someone he should never have crossed, didn’t he?”
“He deserved to die, he really did.”
“The outsider is a chivalrous hero.”
…
Outside the city, after rescuing the young woman, Xu Qi’an rode the little mare and galloped along the official road.
Mu Nanzhi leaned against his chest, her body jolting up and down. Between gasps, she said,
“Slow down… Go slower, you’re too fast…
“Are we running away?”
Xu Qi’an concentrated on riding and said, “What else? Wait in the inn for the county magistrate to gather troops to encircle us, then kill them all again? We are now people of the jianghu, doing jianghu things.”
Mu Nanzhi panted as she asked, “Jianghu things?”
“To kill one man in ten paces, travel a thousand miles without leaving a trace, once the matter is settled, brush off your robes and hide your name and body.”
To act on one’s feelings of justice and repay bitterness and kindness alike, to draw a sabre against injustice seen along the road.
This was the jianghu.
As soon as he finished, he ignored the number one beauty of the Great Feng and sent a wisp of his spirit into the Earth Book fragment. In the hazy grey mirror-space, a slender golden dragon was frozen in mid-air.
It seemed to be sealed by the Earth Book fragment, or perhaps merely asleep.
My sensitivity to dragon qi has not changed, but now I can use the Earth Book fragment to increase this range. In the future, the more dragon qi I collect, will the range get even wider…
Besides, now I carry the dragon qi on my person, my luck will improve. The wonderful days of picking up silver each day seem about to return…
My personal fortune had already fully awakened and long ago surpassed the domain of picking up coins, so I had to use the heaven Gu clan’s methods to block it out.
Even though it was just a small wisp of dragon qi, Xu Qi’an was still thrilled. The Sevenfold Gu had been successfully cultivated, he had collected two components for the soul-summoning bell, and now he had managed to gather a wisp of dragon qi as well.
The mission was progressing smoothly.
…
Four days later, the two arrived at a place called Pingzhou.
Xu Qi’an led the young mare along the official road. The sun shone brightly today, and Xu Qi’an felt in high spirits.
Mu Nanzhi sat on horseback, leafing through the Geography of the Great Feng, and said in all seriousness,
“Pingzhou is a fine place, rich in mineral resources and known for its ceramics…”
As she read on, her face suddenly fell. “But there’s nothing delicious to eat here.”
No good food… Xu Qi’an immediately lost interest.
“However, the women of Pingzhou are especially attractive, beautiful without being vulgar, and very passionate.”
Mu Nanzhi added.
Passionate, whether to describe a man or a woman, always implied that one was easily seduced into bed…
Xu Qi’an’s eyes lit up, scenes of brothels and pleasure houses flashing through his mind.
What a wonderful place!
“Look at you! Just one casual remark and you’re already excited!” Mu Nanzhi pointed at him, raising her voice.
What? Was she lying…? Xu Qi’an immediately lost interest again.
Close to lunchtime, the two at last entered the city. Xu Qi’an stared intently at the young ladies by the roadside, only to find that most were plain in appearance. Mu Nanzhi arriving here was like returning home.
Suddenly, the two heard the sound of an oboe, playing a lively and rhythmic tune, accompanied by the deep, equally rhythmic sound of drums.
Turning their heads, they saw a procession approaching slowly, with banners at the front: East Sea Dragon Palace!
At the centre of the procession was a sedan chair, but instead of a roof it had drapery.
On a large chair covered in animal pelts and soft cushions sat three people, two women and one man, lounging.
Through the thin drapes, the young man’s outstanding good looks were clearly visible. He held a woman in each arm, a wicked smile playing on his lips.
He seemed to be enjoying the sensation of having a beauty on either side, from time to time leaning in to whisper into their ears.
What drew the most attention, though, were the two women, dressed lightly, their luscious figures faintly visible.
Both were at the most alluring age for women, with bright eyes, slender brows, and exquisitely beautiful features.
They looked nearly identical, except one was cold and aloof, the other languid and charming. Both half-reclined in the man’s arms, their faces blissful.
Either one of these ripe peaches would have counted as a top beauty on her own.
Together, they meant something else entirely.
Xu Qi’an calmly looked away, sharply detecting the jealousy and envy in the crowd around them. Of course, the reason he could sense such emotions was because he himself also felt jealous and envious.
What kind of gang was the East Sea Dragon Palace? Twin sisters… Xu Qi’an muttered to himself, unwilling to look any longer, and quickly led the mare away.
…
After asking around, the two found themselves at the finest inn in all Pingzhou.
Pingzhou was extremely wealthy, relying on rich iron ore and ceramics, as well as the canal docks outside the city. Commerce thrived.
Mu Nanzhi dismissed Pingzhou as lacking good food after reading the Geography of the Great Feng, but in truth the bustling market was filled with all sorts of shops, selling countless specialities and snacks.
As the city’s largest inn, the Caiyuan Inn boasted an impressive three-storey main building.
Behind it were several elegant courtyards intended for wealthy guests, like the extravagantly rich bastard Xu Qi’an.
The inn had a unique feature: guests residing in the elegant courtyards would, upon check-in, be presented by a servant with portraits of the girls from the largest brothel in the city, the Azure Porcelain Pavilion.
If they fancied, a guest could ask for a particular girl, and the inn would arrange for her to be sent over.
“Oh, so the innkeeper and the owner of the Azure Porcelain Pavilion are one and the same,” Xu Qi’an remarked in sudden understanding, then, under Mu Nanzhi’s frosty gaze, reluctantly tossed the portraits back to the servant, saying,
“No need. Their looks are average, I’m not interested.”
The servant hurriedly took the thin stack of portraits and, hearing these words, glanced at Mu Nanzhi.
“Very well, Sir, do as you please. Should you need anything, just give the word, there’s always someone waiting outside the courtyard.”
He turned away with a broad smile, curling his lip as he went.
With a face like that old auntie’s, which lass from Azure Porcelain Pavilion wouldn’t outshine her tenfold, a hundredfold?
This guest looked very young, plain of face but big-spending, why would he choose a woman older and less beautiful than the rest?
Could it be he had some odd preference…?
Naturally, no preference was too strange. The servant once witnessed a gentleman who liked effeminate young men, and when he kept watch outside that night, he’d heard the youth’s heart-rending screams, a memory that made him clench his arse just thinking of it.
Xu Qi’an, in the company of the greatest beauty in the Great Feng, sat in the courtyard, drinking yellow wine and enjoying lunch. At their feet, a small stove kept the yellow wine with ginger shreds and spices hot.
“Now if only we had an egg. Crack it into the wine and boil it together…” Xu Qi’an suddenly recalled how his old man used to drink yellow wine in his previous life.
At that moment, a woman in an indigo long skirt walked in without so much as a by-your-leave, pushing open the courtyard door.
She swept the place with her eyes and said coolly, “My master is to stay in this courtyard. I hope that this brother would yield it to him.”
She appeared haughty, but her conduct was at least proper; she drew a gold ingot from her sleeve.
“This is compensation from my master.”
Xu Qi’an recognised her garments, they were identical to those worn by the procession he’d seen just recently in the street, carrying the ‘East Sea Dragon Palace’ banner.
That man, suspected to be the Palace Lord, was the one holding a pair of twin sisters, one in each arm.
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