“Who are you?”
The tall and imposing guard scrutinised Li Lingsu. Seeing that this man had a dignified bearing and extraordinary good looks, he immediately treated him with sincerity.
“Inform the association president, and say that Li Lingsu wishes to see him.”
A sage standing with his hands behind his back, exuding unparalleled poise.
One of the guards glanced at him a few times, then hurried into the interior of the Merchants’ Association.
About a quarter of an hour later, a middle-aged man dressed like a wealthy merchant came running out at full speed, glanced about at the gate, and locked his gaze on Li Lingsu.
“President Yang, it has been half a year since we parted, have you been well?”
Li Lingsu clasped the thumb of his left hand with his right, then cupped the right hand with his left over the back, forming a Taiji fish.
A standard Daoist salute.
“Daoist Li, it really is Daoist Li! It is you who have been well, I hope. Have you managed to escape the pursuit of those two female demons?”
President Yang was overjoyed and enthusiastically came forward.
“The escape never stopped!” Li Lingsu said with emotion.
Then, he looked at Xu Qi’an and Mu Nanzhi and introduced, “These two are my friends…”
President Yang hurriedly cupped his fists. “I am Yang Youde, my greetings to the two heroes.”
He knew Li Lingsu was the Holy Son of the Heaven Sect and thus a figure in the Jianghu; calling his friends “heroes” could never go wrong.
Mu Nanzhi nodded demurely.
Xu Qi’an returned the salute with a gentle smile. This President Yang was at the Refining Spirit stage, his aura restrained. Though his figure was somewhat rotund and his smile amiable, this was just an appearance; his true fighting ability was far from weak.
In this world, it was impossible for ordinary people to make great fortunes. To amass wealth, either background or strength was required.
Led by President Yang, the group entered the Merchants’ Association and took their seats in the main hall.
After they were seated, President Yang ordered the maid to serve tea. “Local white tea from Zhangzhou, please try some.”
The three raised their teacups to taste; Li Lingsu and Xu Qi’an’s eyes lit up and they praised it, while Mu Nanzhi only took a sip before gently putting her cup down.
A seasoned observer of people’s emotions, President Yang noticed this subtlety but pretended not to see.
“I’ve heard there are two ways to enjoy aged white tea. One requires washing, the other does not. I only know this tea is delicious, but I wonder which method this belongs to?”
Li Lingsu laughed.
At the same time, he transmitted a message to Xu Qi’an and Mu Nanzhi: “Yang Youde loves tea. Though I am acquainted with the young lady of the Leizhou Merchants’ Association, the scarlet-tailed flame eagles are the lifeblood of the association. Without a token, it is difficult to borrow them.”
So this is a business negotiation? Xu Qi’an thought to himself, this is my forte, whether in past-life business dealings or official banquets in the capital, this is my domain.
But he had to maintain the persona of an expert. If he behaved too down-to-earth or worldly, it would clash with his previous style, leading to a persona collapse.
Little Li, I’ll leave drinking with the boss to you…
Sure enough, President Yang smiled and began to introduce white tea to the discerning Li Lingsu.
When the conversation was about done, Li Lingsu coughed and said, “President Yang, I have come this time to ask for a favour.”
President Yang’s smile did not change. “Daoist Li, whatever request you have, as long as it is within my power, I will devote all my efforts without hesitation.”
“I would like to borrow three scarlet-tailed flame eagles.”
”…”
President Yang stared at him in stunned silence, his expression seemingly asking, “Can I retract what I just said?”
“This, this… Daoist Li, the scarlet-tailed flame eagles are the lifeblood of our association. Each one was acquired at great expense, and even I would be heavily punished for lending them out without authorisation.”
Li Lingsu smiled. “I know. That is why I have come to President Yang to entrust the delivery of an item to Rou’er.”
“An item?”
“That’s right. The item is me.” Li Lingsu paused, then continued:
“The scarlet-tailed flame eagle has limited capacity. If it carries two people in flight, it is too slow and needs a rest every two hours. That is why I must borrow three. As for supervision, you may dispatch one more eagle to follow alongside and accompany us to Leizhou.”
Carrying two people in flight and carrying two people while running were entirely different matters.
President Yang smiled and shook his head. “The scarlet-tailed flame eagles are spirit beasts and can only be ridden by those who have raised them. Outsiders cannot ride them alone.”
Xu Qi’an immediately said, “I can settle this.”
You? President Yang fixed his gaze on him, the middle-aged man falling into hesitation.
Though Daoist Li’s relationship with the young lady was unusual, it was only a private connection. What did it have to do with him? If the spirit beasts were lost, he would be punished by headquarters.
There was no benefit, hardly worth the risk.
On the other hand, this flawless-looking young Daoist’s ambiguous ties with the young lady, who was certain to join the association’s leadership in future, meant that offending him now would not be worth it.
At this moment, Mu Nanzhi said in her clear voice, “If you lend us three spirit beasts, I shall give you three packs of flower tea.”
Flower tea?
President Yang doubted his ears. He didn’t know whether to laugh or to cry; was this woman naive, or plain foolish?
A single scarlet-tailed flame eagle was worth three thousand taels of silver, and that was if you could find one at all. Compared to silver, the resources and energy required to breed and train them, and their rarity, were simply incalculable.
He was just about to refuse, when he saw this plain-looking woman stretch out her fair, delicate hand towards the equally ordinary-looking man beside her.
The latter placed a brocade pouch in her palm - the very pouch seized after killing Cousin Ji Qian - and still filled with more than a dozen magical artillery pieces and ballistae.
Mu Nanzhi opened the pouch and rummaged for a moment, then withdrew three exquisitely packed square packets, each wrapped in oiled paper.
She placed the three packets of flower tea on the tea table beside President Yang.
“Thank you for your kindness, young lady, but… hmm?”
President Yang glanced at the packets. His nostrils twitched. He caught a faint floral fragrance, sweet and lingering, which made his pores open and his spirit soar.
Never in his life had President Yang smelled anything so exquisite.
He opened a packet with surprise. The rich sweetness intensified. Inside were shrivelled flower petals, some dark red, some yellowish-white, some deep purple… all of different colours.
Each had its own fragrance, intertwining and harmonious. President Yang closed his eyes in enjoyment, as if transported into a sea of flowers.
Li Lingsu flared his nostrils in confusion. “What… what kind of flowers are these?”
President Yang, a little excited, asked, “May I taste some?”
Seeing the plain-faced woman nod, he immediately called for the maid to brew the tea. On second thought, he added,
“No, brew it right here.”
He was afraid the maid might not resist the temptation to steal a sip.
The maid complied, returned with a steaming bronze kettle, and poured a slender stream of water into the cups, swirling along the porcelain-white walls.
In no time, the delicate fragrance of flowers, carried on the dense steam, filled the entire hall.
Unable to wait, President Yang lifted his cup, blew gently, and took a small sip. His eyes brightened, then slowly closed as he savoured in silence.
A good while later, he opened his eyes and murmured, “This is the best tea I have ever tasted, the very best…”
…
In a certain mountain on the outskirts of the city.
A cavalry unit rode swiftly along the wide mountain road, heading towards the summit, kicking up a hazy cloud of dust.
There was an outpost every hundred feet in the mountains, heavily guarded. After passing seven or eight checkpoints along the way, they reached the top, where a complex of buildings came into view.
President Yang handed his horse to a subordinate, then led Xu Qi’an and the others through the open stockade gate, explaining,
“Red-tailed flame eagles are huge and unable to take off from flat ground. They need to rely on flowing air or take off from a high place. Therefore, the Merchants’ Association keeps the red-tailed flame eagles on the mountain.”
They need to rely on air currents. Hmm, taking off from a high place is relying on air currents in itself. It seems these eagles are low-grade spirit beasts… Xu Qi’an looked off into the distance and heard a resounding cry.
After walking inside for a quarter of an hour, rows of freestanding wooden cabins, each twenty feet high, came into view.
The wooden doors stood open, and inside each could clearly be seen a giant eagle, nearly three metres tall, whose appearance was similar to an ordinary eagle except for the crimson feathers on its tail.
Each giant eagle had thick, heavy shackles wrapped around its talons.
“They are allowed outside for two hours each day. Their riders will fly with them, rain or shine. If they do not soar for a day, they become very irritable.”
President Yang spoke as they walked, like an enthusiastic host.
“Zhangzhou is one of the breadbaskets of the Great Feng, with fertile land, and our headquarters keeps ten red-tailed flame eagles here. Rearing them is an expensive undertaking, they eat a tremendous amount. So, that two hours of free flying each day helps relieve their loneliness and lets them practise their hunting.”
You sound just like one of those large-scale pet breeders on television… Xu Qi’an sighed softly. Zhangzhou… this is Sir Zheng’s hometown.
When he returned from Leizhou, he would pay homage to Sir Zheng.
Soon, President Yang selected four red-tailed flame eagles and had their handlers accompany them.
Some of the eagles held their heads high, ignoring Xu Qi’an and the others disdainfully; some looked up at the sky at a forty-five degree angle, as if pondering the meaning of life; some spread their massive wings in a threatening manner; some lightly patted their handlers with their wings in greeting, but paid no heed to Xu Qi’an and his companions.
President Yang said helplessly,
“That’s just how they are. They only recognise those who raise them. In their eyes, their keepers are their servants, existing only to serve them.”
Xu Qi’an glanced at the giant eagle that kept patting its handler with its wings, adopting the attitude of a big brother looking after his juniors, and nodded,
“I can tell.”
So how are you planning to ride them? President Yang smiled curiously at the young man in azure robes.
Xu Qi’an raised his hand, bent his forefinger, pressed it to his lips and blew a piercing whistle.
All four giant eagles simultaneously turned their heads, their golden eyes fixing unblinkingly on Xu Qi’an.
The next moment, a shocking scene unfolded before the onlookers.
The eagles abandoned their handlers and strode towards Xu Qi’an, spreading their wings and pushing at each other as if afraid the others would steal his favour.
“This…”
President Yang could not hide his astonishment. He had seen high-ranked cultivators force the red-tailed flame eagles into submission with violence, but he had never seen anyone make four spirit beasts fawn over them with nothing more than a whistle, so easily.
The four handlers wore faces full of dejection, the look of men whose wives had been stolen, mind full of green hats.
“Sir, is this- is this a shaman technique?”
President Yang suddenly understood. As the association’s president, his caravans travelled the length and breadth of the land, so he was very experienced. Zhangzhou lay in the southwest, within the shaman clans’ sphere of commerce.
Xu Qi’an did not answer, but solemnly instructed,
“President Yang, I’ll leave my steed here for the time being. Please be sure to feed it with the finest fodder and allow no one else to ride it. As for the cost of renting the spirit beasts and caring for my horse, I’ll settle that together.”
“Certainly!”
President Yang agreed at once.
…
The capital.
Dressed in a dark Daoist robe, wearing a lotus crown, the ethereally beautiful yet expressionless Bingyi Yuanjun stood atop her flying sword outside the capital.
From her vantage point amid the clouds, she looked down to see labourers, militiamen, and stonemasons densely packed below, repairing the city walls.
It had been more than a month since the Silver Gong Xu regicide incident. Other than the walls still under repair, there was no longer any trace of fighting elsewhere.
Her glaze-coloured eyes withdrew from the city and turned to look towards the Sitianjian.
Receiving no warning, she rode her sword through the sky, descending upon the Bagua Platform in a flash.
On the Bagua Platform, two people sat by a desk, one in white, the other in a yellow dress.
The yellow-dressed girl was crunching nuts, occasionally taking a sip of fruit wine and letting out a satisfied “aha”.
The white-robed Jianzheng sat in silence beside her.
“Greetings, Jianzheng.”
Bingyi Yuanjun saluted.
The yellow-dressed girl started in shock, as if just noticing this unexpected visitor, and turned her head in a panic.
The Jianzheng’s old voice said, “What brings you to the capital?”
“The humble Daoist seeks her disciple, Li Miaozhen.”
“Leave the capital before dusk.”
With that, the Jianzheng paid her no more attention.
Bingyi Yuanjun saluted again, then departed on her flying sword.
She rode her sword, ignoring the many prying “gazes” from within the capital. Very soon, she locked onto a three tier mansion and unhesitatingly guided her sword downwards.
In the inner courtyard, she saw a six- or seven-year-old girl, a tiny little pea of a thing, holding up a stone table several times her size, slowly roaming the courtyard, as if honing her strength.
The little girl’s face was flushed, her fine brows knit in concentration, her short, curved legs trembling constantly.
At her side, a Southern Marches girl with wheat-coloured skin and blue-green eyes was eating nuts and clapping in encouragement.
Another beautiful, mature woman stood by, watching anxiously and muttering, “Be careful, be careful…”
Bingyi Yuanjun descended into the courtyard, drawing the attention of the two women and the child.
“Who are you?”
Auntie examined the ageless, beautiful Daoist nun, thinking she looked like an emotionless sculpture.
“This poor daoist is Bingyi Yuanjun of the Heaven Sect.”
The emotionless sculpture gave a Daoist salute, “Is this the home of Silver Gong Xu?”
Auntie nodded, thinking to herself, that troublesome nephew has attracted another beautiful girl.
Then something occurred to her and she blurted out, “Are you Daoist Li Miaozhen’s sect-mate?”
Bingyi Yuanjun nodded, “She is precisely my disciple.”
Auntie immediately warmed up and invited her in. “Daoist, please come inside.”
Once inside, Auntie asked her close maid, Lyu’e, to serve tea.
Bingyi Yuanjun looked at Auntie, the glassy eyes untroubled as a still well, and said gently but without emotion,
“My disciple is not at home.”
Auntie sipped her tea and replied, “Daoist Li left the capital several days ago.”
“Where did she go?”
“I don’t know; she only said she was travelling the jianghu.”
Bingyi Yuanjun nodded slowly and softly said, “Madam, could you tell me about my disciple’s conduct in the capital?”
Auntie immediately boasted about Li Miaozhen as if chatting with the neighbours about a cherished child.
“Daoist Li is kind and charitable, chivalrous of heart, she is the most upright and warm-hearted heroine I have ever seen. Ah, the Heaven Sect truly lives up to its name. The disciples it teaches are impeccable in character.
“She helps the poor and assists my nephew in killing the tyrant ruler. Good, truly good!”
Bingyi Yuanjun’s already cool face grew even colder, showing no expression at all, and she stood to take her leave. “I have urgent matters to attend to and cannot stay long.”
“Allow me to walk you out, Daoist…”
Auntie accompanied her out of the hall and watched as the other departed on her flying sword.
“Don’t seem very happy, do you?”
Auntie muttered.
…
Bingyi Yuanjun did not leave the capital immediately. Instead, she rode her sword to Lingbao Temple.
As soon as she flew into the imperial city and approached Lingbao Temple, a blazing sword light was suddenly slashed towards her from deep within the temple.
Bingyi Yuanjun’s glazed eyes froze slightly. She made the sword light betray its own trajectory, and in the next moment, the sword light deviated on its own and slashed toward the sky, swiftly disappearing from sight.
Bingyi Yuanjun landed in a small courtyard deep within Lingbao Temple.
The flowers and plants in the courtyard were all withered, and the rockery stood in lonely solitude. In the calm pond, a breathtakingly beautiful woman sat cross-legged, wearing a lotus crown and a Daoist robe, with a dab of cinnabar on her brow, resembling a celestial maiden from the skies above.
She was cold and peerlessly beautiful, untouched by mortal dust.
The two of them were both beautiful Daoist nuns, each with her own charm, complementing each other.
“Junior Sister Luo, the Heavenly Venerable asked me to pass on a message: in three years, can you advance to first rank?”
Bingyi Yuanjun’s expression was blank, her tone indifferent: “If you cannot step into first rank within three years, you will die in the Heavenly Tribulation. If you are to die, better by the Heavenly Venerable’s hand than by the tribulation.”
Were it not for her knowledge of Heaven Sect Daoists’ temperament, Luo Yuheng might have thought Bingyi Yuanjun was provoking her.
Luo Yuheng replied calmly, “Perhaps in as little as three months, as long as a year, I will make a trip to Heaven Sect.”
Bingyi Yuanjun’s expression did not change. “Are you confident you can survive the tribulation?”
Luo Yuheng did not conceal anything, “I have already found a Dao companion. Before long, I shall dual cultivate with him. Seven days each month for dual cultivation, I should be able to get through the tribulation within half a year.”
“Very good!”
Bingyi Yuanjun nodded. “Do you know where my disciple has gone?”
“I do not. Your disciple has an extremely strong sense of justice, uncompromising and unyielding. To have her embrace supreme detachment is more than difficult.”
Luo Yuheng, carrying a hint of mockery, said, “Everyone knows Lady Flying Swallow, but not the Heaven Sect’s Holy Maiden. If you are hoping she inherits Heaven Sect’s legacy, better hope for the Holy Son.”
Bingyi Yuanjun shook her head slowly. “Miaozhen has indeed gone astray, but the Holy Son has gone down a wicked path.”
“How so?”
Bingyi Yuanjun did not answer.
While Bingyi Yuanjun was in the capital searching for her wayward disciple Li Miaozhen, Daoist Xuancheng was also visiting, in person, the girls whom his wayward disciple, Li Lingsu, had slept with over the years.
…
Leizhou lay to the west, close to the Western Regions. It was the most westerly province of the Great Feng.
Leizhou covered an immense area, twice the size of Yongzhou, but because of its extensive saline-alkali soil and semi-arid climate, the land was not fertile.
As such, the population was not as dense as in other provinces, and, because Leizhou was a trade hub between the Great Feng and the Western Regions, there were places of extreme wealth, dripping with riches, while poor areas could only gnaw on coarse cornbread.
The wealth disparity was immense.
The Leizhou Merchants’ Association’s headquarters was in Leizhou’s main city, home to a population of eight hundred thousand.
Xu Qi’an and Mu Nanzhi sat on soft cushions. The latter, wrapped in a fox-fur cloak, leaned closely against Xu Qi’an and, with little interest, gazed down at Leizhou City below.
She wore an enchanted robe that protected against cold, water, and fire, which was part of the Sitianjian’s stockpile of magic items, appropriated by Xu Qi’an before he left the capital.
After ten days on the road, they had finally reached Leizhou. At first, Mu Nanzhi would cry out in wonder at seeing cities and towns fly past beneath them. But once was a curiosity, twice familiar, seven times calm as an old married couple.
Four Scarlet-tail Flame Eagles swooped over Leizhou City, flying towards a certain mountain outside the city. They appeared to know the way, without needing their riders to guide them.
That mountain was precisely where the Leizhou Merchants’ Association kept their Scarlet-tail Flame Eagles.
After a steady landing, Li Lingsu went to find the man in charge of the Merchants’ Association’s ‘breeding farm’ and said:
“I am Li Lingsu, a close friend of Wenren Qianrou. Kindly inform her that I will wait here for her.”
The person in charge received confirmation from the local branch’s rider who had come with them, and immediately sent someone to notify the young lady in Leizhou City.
“What did you just say the young lady’s name was?” Xu Qi’an called Li Lingsu over and asked.
“Wenren Qianrou.”
The Holy Son saw his strange expression and asked, “Is there some problem?”
Xu Qi’an frowned deeply, not answering Li Lingsu, and fell into deep thought.
He kept feeling this name was terribly familiar, as though he had heard it somewhere before, but no matter how hard he tried, he could not recall.
“I must have heard this name before, but I really don’t know this young lady of the Leizhou Merchants’ Association. But, but I can’t help feeling I do know her…”
He muttered to himself.
…
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