Chapter 69
Chapter 69
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 69
Chapter Title: Mid-Autumn
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"...Ah!"
Lying there languidly as her post-meal belly-gazing came to an end, Hwang Bo Yun suddenly shot upright.
Wi Sowol, who had been quietly tending to the surgical tools and her sword, glanced over with mild curiosity at the girl's sudden outburst.
"What's up?"
"I missed it!"
"Missed what?"
"Yellow Crane Tower! No, even before that, we should've stopped by Yueyang on the way from Gangneung to Wuchang! I could've seen Yueyang Tower too!"
Gasp! Heugh!
Hwang Bo Yun writhed in agony, as if on the verge of passing out from despair.
Wi Sowol clicked her tongue at the girl's frantic flailing.
"Making such a fuss over that."
"That? You mean missing out on two of the Three Great Towers of the Central Plains? If we go back to Gansu, I'll never get another chance!"
The Three Great Towers of the Central Plains.
All three lay south of the Yangtze, so they were sometimes called the Three Great Towers of Jiangnan.
Yueyang Tower in Yueyang.
Yellow Crane Tower in Wuchang.
Tengwang Pavilion in Nanchang.
Proud folks from the north, feeling slighted, would shoehorn in Penglai Pavilion in Penglai County, Shandong, or Guanque Tower in Puzhou, Shanxi, calling it the Four Great Towers or Five Great Towers—but at their core, it was those three.
"We could've climbed all three on this trip..."
She's really making the most of this excursion.
"Tengwang Pavilion is non-negotiable. Sowol, the second we hit Nanchang, we go straight there. Got it? No arguments!"
"Whatever."
There wasn't any pressing business in Nanchang anyway.
If she had to put a purpose into words, it was finding the arrangements left by her master, the Weird Physician.
Honestly, Wi Sowol had no clue why he'd singled out Nanchang in the silk pouch.
It wasn't just that she didn't know the answer; she hadn't even pieced together any real clues.
So, for now, they'd just go and see.
It was Jiangxi territory too, where they spoke that dialect that sounded like her mother's.
They called the Jiangxi dialect "Jiangxi language" for short.
It originated from the Jiangxi region and was most commonly used there.
The Weird Physician had said to open one silk pouch, do what it said, then move on to the next.
The slip inside probably named other locations besides Nanchang.
Maybe he'd filled them all with spots in Jiangxi Province?
To align with her quest to trace her mother's footsteps?
Wi Sowol shot a glance at the bundle containing the silk pouches.
She wanted to peek inside.
But she held back.
It was a promise to the Weird Physician, and with zero progress on the first, cracking open the other two would just muddy the waters more.
"Hey, Sowol."
"Yeah?"
"They won't really drag us off to the Nangong family just 'cause you were an honored guest at our Paeguk Sect, right?"
Hadn't they settled on a plan for the Nangong family issue?
"Even if trouble brews, your status should cover us."
In the worst case, she'd vouch for Hwang Bo Yun and slip away, and Hwang Bo Yun would...
'Get sent back to Gansu.'
Wi Sowol figured it might feel pretty lonely without her.
With those hopes, curiosities, and a touch of unease aboard, the boat sailed into Nanchang.
§
And, astonishingly, no one paid them any mind.
"Uh... where is everyone?"
No one resembling Nangong family retainers awaited them at the harbor.
Just merchants and laborers bustling about.
Well, one other thing stood out.
"It's insanely hot here?"
The heat.
Truth be told, Wuchang hadn't been much cooler.
They lumped it in with the Four Great Furnace Cities of the Central Plains: Chongqing, Wuchang, Jingzhou, and Nanchang—the hottest spots around.
Maybe the humidity? But that applied to Wuchang too.
Nanchang was famous for its waters, though.
Unlike Hankou and Wuchang split off from Hanyang due to the Yangtze's sprawl, Nanchang truly had the Gan River slicing right through its heart.
Still, how many Jiangnan cities hugging the Yangtze didn't boast about their waters?
Soon enough, the two girls spotted a real difference from Wuchang.
"Doesn't it feel like there are way more people here?"
Even with population draining to Hankou, Wuchang was undeniably one of Jiangnan's top metropolises.
On the flip side, the Hankou-Hanyang-Wuchang triangle boosted Wuchang's transient crowds even more.
Nanchang was a top-tier city too, of course.
No way a powerhouse like the Nangong family would hole up in some backwater.
Even if the imperial court ordered it, if the land was truly remote and rundown, they'd have fought tooth and nail with political maneuvering, dredging up old ties to the Jianwen Emperor and Sword King legends to resist.
So why the stark contrast with Wuchang?
One more oddity caught their eye.
"Lots of women too?"
The ratio skewed higher for women than men.
Commerce booming and the jianghu thriving had indeed swelled the ranks of sightseers.
Groups from Jiangnan even toured en masse.
Mount Wudang was especially famed for it, with the Wudang Sect partnering with lay disciples to hawk packages: "guaranteed safety," "sect grounds tour," "instant initiation exam."
Daoists had their dignity, after all.
They framed it as supporting secular sect incomes and the dreams of promising youths eyeing a Wudang future.
But who didn't know most of those profits flowed back to Wudang as "donations"?
Considering the prime beneficiary, no need to spell out who orchestrated the tours.
Anyway, sightseeing had gone mainstream these days.
Yet the main enjoyers were still mostly men.
Women weren't outright barred from travel—not at all.
Just one catch: they needed to hail from wealthy families.
When a poor or average household wanted both son and daughter to see the world's vastness, nurture grand ambitions, and return changed...
Which would the parents send? Obvious as day.
Beyond societal hurdles, many women shied from tours anyway.
Travel remained risky.
So why did Nanchang teem with more female out-of-towners than men?
"Maybe the Nangong family's bride-hunting?"
Hwang Bo Yun leaned in, whispering into Wi Sowol's ear.
Who knows.
The Nangong family's prestige was special even beyond the jianghu.
But making this much hoopla over one daughter-in-law?
"Some look pretty mature too."
"Hmm... their type?"
"If a defector shows up at the Nangong family claiming that, just nod like 'yep, figures.'"
Hwang Bo Yun felt wronged.
It was straight from Twin Blossoms House intel.
Sowol had sniffed out her beef oxen fetish, but she was pure Liu Bei stock.
Couldn't grasp Minister Cao Cao's aesthetics, that much was clear.
"Twin Blossoms' top Honglou girl swings that way, they said."
"...You went to a Honglou too?"
"Nah, just overheard."
As the two bantered idly about the crowds and nonsense,
their endless debate shattered at an outsider's voice.
"You two young ladies here with friends? From up north, huh? Long trip."
Hwang Bo Yun had dropped her male disguise.
At Wi Sowol's request—order? Directive?—to quit it, at least in Nanchang.
She still wore practical martial robes, so no huge shift.
Just... her figure showed more without the binding, screaming "girl" at a glance.
Hwang Bo Yun was all big, bold curves either way.
Only the tight bandages made her seem boyish.
Loosen them a tad, cinch loose clothes, and feminine lines bloomed fully.
Not an issue for Wi Sowol.
Male or female garb made little difference on her slender frame.
Her delicate aura gave her away regardless.
"Ah, yes. We have some business in Nanchang..."
Maybe the Nangong talk nagged at her, 'cause Hwang Bo Yun mumbled uncharacteristically.
But the middle-aged woman took the awkwardness differently.
"Hee hee, no need to be shy. Everyone knows what they're here for."
"R-Really?"
For real?
The Nangong family for real...?
"Don't worry, dears. Touch the pier pillar at Gaoshi Bridge during Mid-Autumn Festival, and you'll snag a real beauty. That's how I got my firstborn. But... isn't the one next to you a bit young?"
The tail end was iffy, but it solved their puzzle.
Mid-Autumn Festival.
True to its name—heart of autumn—it marked the center of the three lunar months deemed fall: seventh, eighth, ninth.
The swarming crowds were folks gathered in Nanchang to celebrate it!
One of the Big Three Festivals alongside Spring Festival and Dragon Boat Festival.
Gaoshi Bridge? No idea, but clearly Nanchang had something drawing women in droves.
Where women gathered, men followed.
Nanchang bursting at the seams was only natural.
And trouble brewed where people crowded.
In this Nanchang, waves of turmoil visibly rippled in from the Yangtze and Gan River.
Of course.
"We won't miss Tengwang Pavilion, right...?"
"Mooncakes taste best at Mid-Autumn."
The pair seemed blissfully unconcerned.