Xu Fengnian opened his eyes and whistled sharply. A majestic gyrfalcon swooped down from the sky, landing steadily on the young master’s shoulder, its talons tearing his robe slightly. The six-year-old, snow-white falcon affectionately nuzzled its master’s cheek. Unbothered by the minor pain, Xu Fengnian flicked the crimson beak of his beloved pet with a finger and cast a sidelong glance at the powdered-face man preparing to strike. He sneered, “A hundred Liangzhou cavalry are ascending the mountain with crossbows. Let’s see who kills whom first.”
The freckled woman disguised as a young noble remained unafraid, her face contorted with rage as if provoked unjustly. “You dare?!” she spat.
Xu Fengnian laughed wildly. “In Northern Liang, there’s nothing this young master wouldn’t dare to do.”
The Eastern Yue swordsman frowned. The intelligence report had indeed mentioned a hundred elite riders from the Feng Battalion stationed at the foot of Wudang Mountain, armed with Northern Liang’s secret crossbows. These weapons, far more powerful than ordinary bows, had once slaughtered countless armored warriors of Western Chu on the battlefield. A few dozen might be insignificant, but gathered in numbers exceeding eight hundred, they could shake the hearts of even the bravest.
Xu Fengnian tapped his nose and leered, “Hey, little sparrow, come to this young master’s bed. Let’s have a good fight—three hundred rounds, if you will. If you’re still untouched, even better. I’m skilled in all eighteen martial arts. I’ll make sure you ascend the mountain in ecstasy but descend with weak legs.”
The woman who called herself “this palace” gnashed her teeth. But before she could kick or curse, the ghostly man standing between the living and the dead lunged forward, closing the distance to just five steps from Xu Fengnian. A chilling gust followed him, his voice piercing like a blade. “You vile creature!”
At that moment, Xu Fengnian recalled the biting cold of trudging through a snowy night. Old Huang’s frail frame had walked ahead, yet the wind still seeped through, freezing to the bone.
Wang Chonglou stood between the young master and the beardless man, his Taoist robes billowing like an inflated ball.
He took the strike head-on.
With his dark, shallow-toed shoes as the pivot, a circle of mud splattered around the grandmaster’s feet, yet his towering figure remained as immovable as Wudang’s great peaks. The energy circulating within his robes didn’t diminish—instead, it swelled further, as if nourished by the blow.
The powdered-face man withdrew his hand swiftly, suspicion flashing in his eyes. “Great Yellow Court? Are you Wang Chonglou?”
The old Taoist, who had once been spat on by Xu Fengnian, proved his unshakable composure yet again. Smiling despite the attack, he replied, “Indeed, it is this humble Taoist.”
The beardless man cautiously retreated to his original position, whispering a few words to the woman Xu Fengnian had mocked as a “little sparrow.” Her expression darkened, struggling to contain her fury. Clutching a pair of dragon-phoenix twin pearls, she raised her hand and pointed at the Wudang grandmaster. “You stinky ox-nosed priest! Are you shielding that bastard behind you? Aren’t you afraid your entire mountain sect will suffer for it? That plaque at the foot—’Xuanwu’s Rise’—has hung there for centuries, hasn’t it? It looks impressive. Believe me, I’ll smash it to pieces!”
The old Taoist chuckled, his sleeves settling as he ignored her insults. He glanced back at the young master.
Xu Fengnian returned the look with a roguish grin. “Oh, little sparrow, such bold words from such a tiny mouth. I like it. Want to smash the plaque? You’ll have to ask your future husband first.”
The Eastern Yue wraith sighed inwardly. This young master’s tongue was sharper than any blade. How had the crippled Xu raised such a brazen, unscrupulous son? Was he deaf to the words “this palace,” or was he feigning ignorance, truly believing no one in the world could challenge the Great Pillar of the State?
The hundred crossbowmen of the Feng Battalion had already abandoned their horses and taken positions in the bamboo forest, agile as shadows, waiting for the young master’s order to turn the trio into pincushions. The world knew Northern Liang’s cavalry answered only to the Xu banner, and its warriors obeyed only the Tiger Seal of the Liang King.
The emperor was far away, and the throne’s occupant seemed to trust this last remaining non-imperial king implicitly. Years ago, there had even been talk of betrothing the Sui Pearl Princess to the eldest son of the Great Pillar. Yet even in the capital, tales of the young master’s antics were rampant. Scholars who had passed the imperial exams mocked him endlessly, spinning countless anecdotes about Xu Fengnian. The common folk pitied the princess for being thrown to the wolves, while the capital’s elite eagerly awaited the day Xu Fengnian would arrive in the city—only to be beaten to death by the equally temperamental princess. After all, hadn’t the Sui Pearl Princess already trampled countless young nobles during her escapades?
With the grandmaster of Wudang at his side and a hundred crossbowmen at his back, Xu Fengnian’s confidence swelled. He raised Xiudao and pointed at the trio with a vicious smirk. “You, little sparrow—woman. You, Eastern Yue’s stray dog—man. And you, the powdered-face freak—neither man nor woman. None of you are leaving this mountain. Stay here and work like oxen and horses. Tend to the vegetable garden until this young master is satisfied. If I’m in a good mood, you can crawl back to wherever you came from. If not—except for the sparrow—I’ll chop you up and feed you to the dogs! Grandmaster Wang, are there dogs on this mountain?”
The old Taoist remained silent, eyes lowered, refusing to involve himself further.
From the bamboo forest, the ox-riding granduncle shouted, “Young Master, there are plenty of wild dogs here! They howl all night—probably because they’re hungry!”
The grandmaster sighed in exasperation. Why did his junior brother always stir the pot? A single spark could reduce Wudang to ashes.
The beardless man’s fury erupted. No one in the world had ever dared insult him to his face!
The woman, now saddled with an unsavory nickname, tugged at the man’s sleeve and whispered a few questions. His expression turned resigned as he answered truthfully. Her bravado crumbled instantly. Glaring at Xu Fengnian, she still managed to bluster, “What’s this shabby garden even worth?!”
Xu Fengnian grinned. “I say it’s worth a thousand taels of gold, so it is.”
Her chest heaved under the wrapped cloth, her teeth clenched. “Fine! A thousand taels it is!”
She hurled one of her pearls at Jiang Ni, who had stood silently in the garden all this time. “Take it!”
As if ashamed of her unprecedented concession, she threw the second pearl as well, shrieking, “Take them both!”
To her astonishment, the plain-looking girl not only failed to grovel in gratitude but instead bent down, picked up the mud-smeared pearls, and hurled them back with even greater force—nearly striking the princess herself. The powdered-face man caught them just in time.
For her, there was no taking back what she had given. Suppressing her heartache, she coldly ordered her attendant to destroy the pearls she had cherished since childhood. Glaring at the ungrateful girl, she hissed, “Do you want to die?”
Jiang Ni replied calmly, “I just want the garden. Restore it to how it was.”
She repeated firmly, “I just want the garden!”
Before Xu Fengnian could praise Jiang Ni’s boldness, he saw the androgynous figure preparing to crush the pearls. Quickly, he called out shamelessly, “Wait! My maid doesn’t know their value. Give them to me instead.”
Both the pearls’ owner and Jiang Ni spoke at once.
“You want them?”
“I don’t know their value?!”
Xu Fengnian grinned at the two princesses. “Little sparrow, of course I want them. If you gift them to me, we’ll call it even today.”
“Little mud figure, trust me, these pearls are worth more than you think.”
The foreign woman, now saddled with another vulgar nickname, seized the opportunity. With a deranged smile, she signaled her attendant. “You want them? Then I won’t give them!”
The pearls were instantly ground to dust between the beardless man’s fingers.
Xu Fengnian sighed in regret. Though the Xu manor had no shortage of treasures, who wouldn’t want more?
Jiang Ni remained relentless. “Return my garden.”
The woman sneered. “With what authority?”
Jiang Ni glanced pointedly at Xu Fengnian.
He sighed. This was Jiang Ni’s way—killing him was justified, and making him clean up her mess was only natural.
The richly dressed woman mocked, “I’ve heard of ‘hiding a beauty in a golden house,’ but never ‘hiding one in a shack.’ Xu Fengnian must truly cherish you.”
Jiang Ni, sharp as ever, tore through the pretense. “Cherish? Hardly. Still better than being rejected outright, though.”
The woman feigned ignorance. “What? I don’t understand.”
Jiang Ni stretched out her hand. “Return my garden.”
This was the fourth time.
Princess versus princess.
A clash of wills.
Xu Fengnian secretly found it amusing. Why must princesses torment princesses?
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