The Board Is Set
A heavy, sorrowful air hung over the Ouyang Clan Manor. The eldest young master, Ouyang Qiangang, had collapsed without warning as his Nine Yin Severed Meridians took a sudden turn for the worse.
Gu-yang Baek had summoned one famed physician of Nanchang after another, but every last one of them left shaking his head. From Ouyang Qiangang's quarters, the acrid smell of medicinal herbs simmered through the night, and the servants crept about the annex in hushed whispers. Hwang Nodae—one of the principal actors in this staged play—kept a hollow-eyed vigil before the young master's residence, and only the clan head, Gu-yang Baek, and the lady of the manor, Dong Yeon-hwa, were permitted past him.
Four days later, Dong Yeon-hwa faced the leader of the Gold Pagoda Mountain Manor's watchers—those planted to spy upon the family—with an expression in which grief and resignation were mingled.
"Gang… I fear there is no hope for him. Physician after physician has turned away shaking his head. Report as much to my lord father."
That night, Ouyang Qiangang—with Geum Wang perched upon his shoulder—stood beside Gu-yang Baek in the deepest recess of the training hall, before an old weapons display rack. But Ouyang Qiangang's face had changed. His peerless beauty, the kind that could ensnare ten thousand hearts, was nowhere to be seen; in its place stood an utterly ordinary young man of around twenty, the sort of face one might pass a hundred times without a second glance. He wore the human-skin mask Yeom Pung had given him as a gift only days before, saying it would surely prove useful on his journey into the jianghu.
At the sight of his son's unfamiliar face, Gu-yang Baek felt a complicated tangle of emotions—bitterness laced with relief.
It has to be this way. That boy's true face is far too striking to go unnoticed. Elder Yeom's gift is proving most useful indeed.
He rested a hand on the display rack where the eighteen classical weapons were arrayed and poured his inner power into it.
Keee-gigiik—
With a heavy grinding groan, a section of the wall slid inward, baring a dark secret passage.
Gu-yang Baek laid a hand on his son's shoulder and went on, worry threading his voice.
"The road you are about to walk through the jianghu will lead to places your old father cannot even imagine. Gang, come home safe. Do you understand me?"
Ouyang Qiangang bowed deep and low before his father.
"Yes, Father. I will go and return safely."
Just as he raised a torch and made to step into the dark passage with Geum Wang, Gu-yang Baek called him back.
"Gang, wait a moment. There is something that troubles me."
Gu-yang Baek's anxious gaze settled on Geum Wang, sitting upon Ouyang Qiangang's shoulder.
"The monkey. The manor's servants have already laid eyes on the spirit beast. If you carry him about with you, will your movements not be betrayed far too easily?"
It was a fair point. Ouyang Qiangang answered with a serene smile.
"You need have no worry on that account, Father. My friend Geum Wang here is blessed with a very special ability."
"A special ability? And what might that be?"
Before Gu-yang Baek could even press the question, Geum Wang stirred upon Ouyang Qiangang's shoulder, as though he understood perfectly well that the talk was of him. The little fellow haughtily puffed out his small chest and held his neck stiff and proud, then tapped his chest twice with a dainty fingertip—a gesture that seemed to say, watch closely.
And then a strange thing happened. The dazzling golden fur that covered Geum Wang from head to tail turned, in the space of a single breath, into a resplendent silver, as though moonlight had seeped into his very coat. Even in the darkness, he gave off a soft, mysterious glow.
"Ho…!"
A gasp of astonishment burst from Gu-yang Baek's lips. He stared blankly at the sight for a moment—then let out a helpless laugh.
"Heh heh. A spirit beast through and through, indeed. And here I was, worrying over nothing."
He added, "Now go, and quickly."
It was truly time to leave.
"I will do everything I can to return as soon as possible, Father."
"I will be waiting."
Ouyang Qiangang bowed once more in formal courtesy, then walked without a trace of hesitation into the dark passage, the silver-furred Geum Wang at his side.
The secret passage ran to the foot of a wild hill, nearly seven hundred feet from the manor's outer wall. Damp earth filled his nose as he emerged from the tunnel—and a lone figure stood barring his way. It was Hwang Nodae, dressed in nightclothes. A wry smile crossed Ouyang Qiangang's lips; he had believed he had already said his final farewell to the old man.
Hwang Nodae's face was set hard as stone as he spoke.
"Young Master, this old man will go with you. I cannot stand by and watch you walk alone into the perils of the jianghu."
But Ouyang Qiangang shook his head, firm and unyielding.
"No."
"Young Master…"
"There is a duty more important than attending me, Nodae."
Strength gathered in Ouyang Qiangang's voice as he went on.
"Did I not already tell you? You are to remain here and keep our family's affairs linked and running without a hitch with Bamboo Forest Manor and with Miss Sangguan's Myriad Gold Mountain Manor."
His gaze turned toward the Ouyang Clan Manor, swallowed by darkness.
"My father cannot very well be slipping past the watchers' eyes, coming and going through the inner quarters, procuring the medicinal supplies, and collecting the profits himself. In this whole household, you alone can serve as my hands and feet and carry out every one of these clandestine dealings without the slightest error."
"But…"
Ouyang Qiangang cut him off.
"And while I am gone, you are also the only one who can protect my father and my family. Guarding them matters more than following me—for you are the only person I trust."
Hwang Nodae understood then: his young lord was no longer a boy in need of protection. Ouyang Qiangang was telling him that he meant to entrust to him, whole and entire, the two most vital duties on which the family's fate hung—the safety of his kin and the practical running of their enterprises. It made no sense to call a man with such depth of heart a mere boy.
Hiding the heat welling in his eyes, Hwang Nodae bowed his head deeply.
"…If that is truly your will, Young Master, then this old man will guard the manor with his very life."
"Thank you, Nodae."
A few steps on, Ouyang Qiangang turned his head one last time and committed to memory the figure of the old loyal servant, standing tall in the darkness to see him off. Then, without any lingering regrets, he vanished with Geum Wang into the shadows of the night.
Gold Pagoda Mountain Manor, in Chang'an, Shaanxi Province. Within the inner hall of its lord, Dong Hyeon-do, a chill stillness reigned.
Clack… clack… clack……
He sat alone, laying down black and white stones in turn, tracing out a game that existed only in his own mind. Then Cai Wencheng, head of the intelligence web known as Spider Blood, appeared as silently as a shadow and bowed low before him.
Without lifting his eyes from the board, Dong Hyeon-do asked in a low voice, "Has any other news come up from Nanchang?"
"Yes, my lord. They say Ouyang Qiangang has collapsed once more, his Nine Yin Severed Meridians grown worse."
"Again?"
"Yes."
"If it was worth a report, then this bout must be a serious one."
A touch of excitement crept into Cai Wencheng's voice as he reported. "It would seem so. Word has it that even Nanchang's most celebrated physicians have given up on him. And the lady of the manor is said to have declared that no hope remains."
Clack.
Dong Hyeon-do placed a single black stone quietly upon the board. A faint, almost imperceptible smile of satisfaction bloomed at the corner of his mouth.
"Nine Yin Severed Meridians is a punishment laid down by Heaven itself; it would be no wonder if the boy collapsed at any moment."
He went on in a tone utterly indifferent. "How could man's shallow schemes defy the will of Heaven? The boy's wandering in search of a cure at Bamboo Forest Manor was only the desperate thrashing of a drowning man. Heaven's karmic design admits no deception—in the end, he simply walks the fate already written for him."
"The manor will be in turmoil. Would it not be wise to order our people inside to begin searching for the item in earnest? This may be the golden opportunity to unearth the Ouyang Clan's secret."
But Dong Hyeon-do shook his head. "It is a rare treasure that Yeon-hwa could not find in thirteen years of searching. Do not move rashly. If Gu-yang Baek were to catch wind of it, the tower we have labored so long to build could come crashing down."
As he set down his final black stone, he seized a massive slice of territory and sealed the victory.
"Simply see to it that everything is thoroughly confirmed once the boy is dead. When his funeral rites are over, we will call upon the Ouyang Clan Manor as true guests. It will be no loss to harvest their long-kept secret then."
"As you command, my lord."
Even after Cai Wencheng withdrew, Dong Hyeon-do gazed down for a long while at the finished board. Everything lay in the palm of his hand. Of that, he had not the slightest doubt.
Beyond the carriage window, the vast walls of Huangdu—the Imperial Capital, the heart of all under heaven—had begun to shimmer into view.
Yeom Pung studied Sangguan Wan'er's profile as she watched the scene, his eyes a blend of worry and admiration, and spoke. "Wan'er, you've arrived at last. It has been exactly one year since you left the family. Four more remain… and in this immense Imperial Capital, you alone must bear it all. Are you truly not afraid?"
Sangguan Wan'er turned to him with shining eyes. "My anticipation far outweighs any fear, Uncle Yeom."
There was a depth and boldness in her voice that sat strangely with her twenty-one years.
"As you well know, Uncle, our Sangguan family is a house of many secrets. And of them all, matters concerning the naming of a successor are guarded more jealously than any."
"That much is true."
Yeom Pung nodded. Myriad Gold Mountain Manor had no principle of succession by the eldest son. Any of the Sangguan bloodline—a woman, a youngest child, anyone at all—could become head of the family. Naturally, however, there was a gate that had to be passed first.
Sangguan Wan'er went on, her eyes fixed on the Imperial Capital. "By the testament of the founding lord who built our family, when there are multiple heirs, each is given an identical sum of capital upon turning twenty and sent out into the jianghu."
It was a custom Yeom Pung knew well. The heirs of the Sangguan family were required to spend an agreed five years out in the jianghu and produce business results through nothing but their own wits and ability, without a shred of support from the manor. Whoever achieved the greatest success would become the next Lord of Myriad Gold Mountain Manor. That, too, followed the founding lord's testament: a merchant house must be led by the one most able to make money.
Sangguan Wan'er's gaze drifted to the crates of elixirs stacked at the side of the carriage.
"That is the very reason I traveled thousands of li to Nanchang in Jiangxi Province—to seek out a venture of my own. And it is the same reason I could not speak plainly when I asked Young Master Ouyang why he had come so far to Jiangxi."
She looked at Yeom Pung with eyes that burned like fire.
"Uncle, over this past year in the jianghu, I have obtained the finest 'piece' on the board—one that none of my brothers and sisters would ever dare lay claim to. I will make this venture a success. I swear it."
Looking at her like this, Yeom Pung saw the image of his sworn elder brother, Shangguan Tian, the present Lord of Myriad Gold Mountain Manor.
"Wan'er, that audacity of yours—you truly take after your father. But bear this in mind. Huangdu is a different order of world from the jianghu you have known. One careless step, and you will fall into the abyss. You must be cautious, always."
"I will not forget it, Uncle."
Her answer given, Sangguan Wan'er turned her gaze to the great gates of Huangdu, looming ever larger ahead.
My dear older brothers, my sisters—just watch me. I will cast my winning move from the very heart of the Empire. And the next master of Myriad Gold Mountain Manor will be me.
Her eyes blazed more fiercely than they ever had. She had met the heaven-sent opportunity called Ouyang Qiangang, and her true battle was only just beginning.
Dah-dak— dah-dak—
The four-horse carriage that bore her ambition drove onward toward Huangdu at full stride.