Chapter 154: Travels in Jiangnan (5)
Chapter 154: Travels in Jiangnan (5)
Jiangnan is famous for being mild and humid throughout the four seasons. At this time of year, in early spring, the north in Hebei would still be gripped by lingering cold, but here it was pleasantly warm, perfect for a stroll.
It was a cloudless night under a bright moon. The zelkova trees swayed in the breeze, making a soft shshsh sound.
I walked through the magnificent and ancient estate of the Namgung Family. Following the single thread of intent that guided me, I had no fear of losing my way. I could feel eyes constantly trailing me.
In this vast, crowded estate, it felt strange to walk along a path where not a soul could be seen. It was as if I were taking a stroll in my own home.
Eventually, I arrived at a small pavilion overlooking an artificial lake within the grounds.
Someone was sitting beneath a zelkova tree, gazing at the lake where the moonlight spilled like liquid silver.
"This is... unexpected."
I couldn't help but recognize who had summoned me just by looking at their back. I had assumed the Namgung Family Head wished to see me in private, but that wasn't the case.
Instead, the most famous person in the Namgung Family glanced at me over her shoulder and smiled softly.
"Is it now?"
A woman with a clear, serene expression—looking as though she had only just reached the bloom of youth—turned around with a faint smile.
"Peng of the junior generation greets the Sword Empress."
The Sword Empress, Namgung Bi-yeon of the One Sword of the Azure Heavens, was a female knight-errant of peerless renown. She had begun her journey through the martial world at a young age, traveling through Jiangnan, Zhejiang, and Fujian, personally crushing all manner of Black Path forces.
Her career ranged from dealing with common thugs who didn't even belong to the Black Path Demonic Alliance to the conflicts with the Dragon Slaying Alliance near Shandong, and even extending her reach beyond Huguang into the territory of the Ten Thousand Ghosts Alliance. During that time, the name Namgung Bi-yeon reigned as a symbol of terror for the Unorthodox Faction.
The story of her life-and-death duel against the Spear Ghost Jeon Il-so—one of the Fifteen Lords of the era and a member of the Five Tyrants of the Unorthodox Path—where she emerged victorious after nineteen days of combat, remained a legend in martial arts history.
She had been barely thirty at the time. That was only ten years ago. It wasn't even that distant a past, considering I was busy studying the classics at the Beijing Academy back then.
In other words, the woman before me was a genius unparalleled in history, having reached the Harmony Realm in her early thirties. Now that she had passed forty, she was a peerless master widely considered the most likely candidate to become one of the next Three Venerables of the World.
She was the primary reason the Namgung Family maintained its status as the world's greatest clan.
She was the proof that the martial arts of the Namgung Family had reached their absolute zenith after thousands of years.
One of the Fifteen Lords of the Central Plains, one of the Four Great Orthodox Masters.
The Sword Empress, One Sword of the Azure Heavens. Namgung Bi-yeon.
She was smiling at me now, maintaining the appearance of a woman barely twenty.
"I heard the story from Jeong-ha. It made me quite curious."
"About what, may I ask?"
"The schemes of the Zhuge Family are nothing new, but there are few who can see through them in advance. The Zhuge Family Head is not one to act carelessly. Therefore—"
Trickle. Clear rice wine filled a wide cup. A fragrance like flowers slowly drifted through the air.
Holding the cup, the Sword Empress lightly moistened her lips before continuing.
"If there is a youth who possesses the wit to trade schemes with the great Zhuge Yeon-seon and the martial prowess to rival the top disciple of the Divine Monk at such a young age, I wondered what kind of monstrous genius he might be."
"And what do you think, now that you've met me?"
"Bold but not arrogant; seemingly hot-tempered at a glance, yet far from dull. Indeed, Jeong-ha’s assessment was correct. Your 'hegemony' is not synonymous with 'evil.'"
As she spoke, she reached out a white hand. From the direction her slender finger pointed, a cup rose into the air on its own and settled in front of me.
The wine bottle followed, filling my cup to the brim before retreating. It was Telekinesis performed with such smooth precision that it would have been difficult to replicate even by hand.
I drained the cup without hesitation the moment I received it.
I was in the inner court of the Namgung Family. Furthermore, I was a direct descendant of the Hebei Peng Family—part of the Black Path Demonic Alliance—and my opponent was a legendary slaughterer whose lifelong hobby was butchering Black Path masters.
However, hesitating or suspecting poison here would be the act of an amateur. Whether there was poison or not, I had to drink, and if I had to drink, it was always better to be bold.
Sure enough, Namgung Bi-yeon smiled softly.
"You are indeed a child the Blade Emperor would cherish."
"That is far too much praise for an inadequate martial artist like myself."
"Even your smooth tongue is unlike the Peng bloodline of old."
"Have you met the elders of my family before?"
"Twice."
"Might I ask... who they were?"
"You wouldn't know them even if I told you. They are both dead."
"Ah."
I really don't like this kind of talk...
"I have heard the circumstances of the situation."
"Do you believe my words?"
"If you had fabricated such a lie, what would you have to gain?"
"Could it not be a plot to make the two families of the White Forest Association destroy each other?"
"Haha...! How foolish would someone have to be to truly suspect that? Do you think my family would start a war of extermination against the Zhuge Family over something like this?"
"Perhaps not, but do not all calamities begin with a small seed of doubt?"
"You are right. That is why those who lead a family must be all the more cautious."
Namgung Bi-yeon took a sip of wine and continued.
"If I believe the Zhuge Family and execute you, my family will inevitably go to war with the Dragon Slaying Alliance. Is that not so?"
"It most certainly would."
"If I believe your words and thwart the Zhuge Family's scheme, my family regains its peace. Is that not so?"
"It would."
"Then is there even a single reason why I should not believe you?"
Hearing that, I failed to maintain my poker face. To think such a person existed in medieval China.
Her words were surprisingly clear and rational. She was saying she would pursue practical interest rather than mere justification or truth. I never imagined I would hear such a thing from the strongest master of the Namgung Family, the foremost Orthodox clan.
Finding my expression amusing, Namgung Bi-yeon covered her mouth with a light chuckle.
"Besides, I could mention the debt of gratitude for saving Jeong-ha's life. My family does not easily forsake those who have shown us kindness."
Therefore.
She wiped the smile from her face and asked with serious eyes.
"Now, tell me your plan. A priest of the Mount Mao Sect was killed and his treasure map stolen. Rumors of that map have already spread beyond control. Countless martial artists have swarmed into Jiangnan like clouds, tearing Nanjing apart. In this situation, what can you do? Do you truly have a way to resolve this without shedding blood?"
"Forgive me, but you are mistaken, Sword Empress."
"Mistaken? If you intend to play with words... I shall be quite disappointed."
The Sword Empress's gaze pierced into me sharply. She didn't specifically suppress my senses or exert pressure with killing intent.
It was just a momentary flash of displeasure. Yet, that alone made the difference in our levels painfully clear. I felt the same gap as when I faced my grandfather—the aura of the absolute masters who stood alone at the peak of the martial world.
Yes, this woman, who looked to be my age at a glance, was the greatest master the Namgung Family had ever produced. She was a once-in-a-century genius who reached the Harmony Realm in her early thirties, a terrifying deity who had built that realm solely through the act of killing.
Only a tiny handful of people, like my grandfather or Zhang Sanfeng of old, had reached the Harmony Realm at that age. In other words, this woman was a being advancing toward the realm of the World's Strongest.
In the face of such a person's displeasure, I raised my head.
"Sword Empress. Why do you wish for no blood to be shed? Whether it is the Zhuge Family's scheme, the rebellion of the Jiangnan Hao Clan, or the plots of the Nanjing Beggars' Sect, did these things not happen in Yingtian Prefecture, which is under the jurisdiction of the Namgung Family? Why do you seek to shift the responsibility entirely onto others?"
"We will not turn our eyes away from our duties. We will do whatever it takes to stabilize the people's lives and mediate useless conflicts. However, I did not invite you here to discuss such fundamental principles."
"Yes, and that is why I, Peng, shall boldly offer a suggestion. I will see blood. At the very least, I plan to create a situation where someone must bleed."
I spoke to the woman destined to be one of the next Three Venerables.
"Let's strike the White Lotus Cult here."
I thought to myself with a smile.
Survival in Medieval China, Chapter 1: Always move unpredictably. ("Appear where they do not expect you." — Sun Tzu's Art of War: Chapter 6, Weak Points and Strong)
As I had once reflected, this was the first page of the Chinese survival guide compiled by Sun Tzu over a thousand years ago.
Namgung Bi-yeon stared blankly at Peng Hyeon-hwi.
"The White Lotus Cult...? What on earth are you talking about?"
"A tomb of a White Lotus Cult Leader who disappeared two hundred years ago has been discovered. Do you think those people would just sit still?"
"...Has there been any movement from the White Lotus Cultists?"
"Who can say?"
"I believe I warned you not to play with words—"
She looked at the young man who uttered such insane words with startling composure.
"Sword Empress. We don't know if the White Lotus Cultists truly exist here. But on the flip side, can you be certain they don't exist?"
"......"
"Indeed. Who else would know their whereabouts besides the cultists themselves?"
With eyes that looked slightly crazed, yet at the same time...
Even while facing her, his gaze was quite different from any expression she had seen from other men.
Most men in the Central Plains were generally the same.
They were either terrified by the overwhelming gap in martial power, burning with a competitive spirit, trying to avoid her, or...
They hated her, struggled to hide their lust, or flattered her while eyeing the prestige of the Namgung Family.
But right now, Peng Hyeon-hwi looked like...
An idealist speaking of dreams, a gambler fiddling with tiles, a swindler selling fakes, yet simultaneously—
Like a strategist calculating his next move.
Or a martial artist risking his life on a single exchange in a duel.
By the time she realized that all those things were, in fact, not so different...
"Many eyes are gathered, and the heroes of the martial world desire a definitive result. It is difficult to prove the Zhuge Family's scheme, and it is arduous to round up the Hao Clan members and layer new rumors over the old. In that case, wouldn't it be easiest to announce that someone has already made off with the treasure?"
"Go on. Keep talking."
"Lend me the name of the Namgung Family. I need the Namgung name to ensure my safety while I enter Nanjing to deal with the Hao Clan. After that, lend me your title. I will announce that the Sword Empress herself confirmed that the White Lotus Cultists swept through Han Lin'er's tomb and took everything."
Peng Hyeon-hwi smiled. Like a mischievous child who found the mere thought of it exhilarating.
"If they want to dispute it... well, tell them to come find us in Huizhou. For your information, the government still has a very large bounty on the heads of White Lotus Cultists. In the north, hunting White Lotus Cultists was once encouraged as a hobby. If they feel so wronged that they actually show up, well..."
With eyes that looked like he was gazing at a comrade in a wicked prank, eyes that sparkled with pure mischief...
He dared to look the Sword Empress straight in the eye and smile.
"Wouldn't that be quite fun?"
*
Nice.
My pitches usually work well on older age groups. It's been proven through the Hao Clan Leader and my grandfather. Once they start listening, you can pretty much consider them sold.
I'd lose some points because this lady is about a generation younger than those two, and some more because she's from an Orthodox sect.
Regardless, the pitch was perfect. I bowed while maintaining the posture of a stiff and spirited scholar.
Soon, the Sword Empress spoke.
"I shall grant you the Sect Leader's Token."
"Oh...! I won't disappoint you!"
"You had better not."
The Sword Empress reached out and poured wine into my cup herself.
"Are you married?"
"...Pardon...?"
Why so sudden...?
"There are many daughters in my family who have yet to marry. I could even choose one for you from the direct line to match your status. Are you interested?"
"No."
"If you grow old without marrying, life will become lonely. You are young; it is better to enjoy life with more leisure."
"I am doing just that."
If I add any more, I'll literally die...
"I believe... the Sword Empress herself has not found a partner either."
"Yes, it was the folly of my youth."
"...What was?"
"I said I would not meet a man weaker than myself."
The Sword Empress filled her own cup and raised the brimming vessel.
"By the time I came to my senses, there were no men stronger than me left."
"That... that is unfortunate."
"I have high expectations for you, Blade Earl of the Peng Family. I shall enjoy watching you until you possess the character and martial prowess worthy of that title."
With those words, she downed her wine in one gulp and stood up.
"Now, go. Until your task is finished, your safety shall be guaranteed by the name of the Great Namgung Family."
"Yes, Sword Empress."
I bowed deeply to her and carefully withdrew.
"Jeong-ha."
"Yes, Aunt."
"Follow the Blade Earl. If you are with him, his words will carry more weight."
Namgung Bi-yeon closed her eyes, sensing Peng Hyeon-hwi's presence entering the guest hall as she continued.
"He is a child you have much to learn from. To lead a family in the future, one needs a wicked mind like his."
Though her own brother wasn't particularly wicked.
In the future martial world, there would likely be more people like that fox.
The youngsters these days are certainly bold.
Namgung Bi-yeon smiled with an expression that wasn't at all unpleasant as she sent her nephew off.