White Fox entered the Prince’s Mansion without any hindrance. For those martial artists whose sects had long been trampled over by the Northern Liang cavalry, stepping inside was harder than scaling the heavens, and the inside held even deadlier perils. Alongside the Wudi City guarded by the “Number Two Under Heaven” and the JWu Sword Tombs that bore generations of sword immortals, it was revered as one of the Three Forbidden and Perilous Strongholds of the realm.
Wudi City housed a powerful old monstrosity who scorned the entire world’s martial experts.
The Sword Tombs possessed a countless number of ascetic swordsmen who lived their entire lives devoted exclusively to swords, never even touching anything aside from their blades.
As for the Northern Liang Mansion, aside from the visible Northern Liang cavalry guards, countless hidden experts lived in the shadows. In that catastrophe that ravaged the martial world, “Human Butcher” Xu Xiao hadn’t merely cut down countless established martial artists like grains of rice, he also recruited a considerable number of morally corrupt but extremely powerful “lackeys.”
From his days as an unknown nobody, Xu Xiao never removed his armor or dismounted from his horse since the very first day he joined the battlefield. For nearly four decades, his rise had seemed endless, allowing this great demon lord, who struck terror into the hearts of all martial experts, to raise countless guests, envoys, swordsmen, and assassins, rewarding them lavishly with gold, beautiful slaves, fame, and power.
After the Martial Library was built, martial fanatics from everywhere came seeking knowledge. Willingly sacrificing their lives to guard the Northern Liang Prince’s estate.
Who in their right mind dared pluck at Xu Xiao’s tiger whiskers and challenge his forbidden taboos? There was only one person capable of calling himself “Old Master” before Xu Xiao and even physically confronting him – Xu Fengnian himself, the one who led White Fox to the Prince’s mansion.
Now, the Young Prince casually introduced the mansion’s scenery to the pale-faced man whose name he barely knew. As he himself claimed, Xu Fengnian had never possessed the perseverance to study martial arts, despite having the legendary Martial Library at his disposal, a treasure coveted by martial artists across the land. Instead, he only indulged in the lowest forms of obscure and esoteric texts within it. Thus, he lacked a deep understanding of the hidden and deadly dangers embedded throughout the mansion. White Fox, however, remained ever vigilant.
Arriving beneath the grand and imposing Tingchao Pavilion, they looked upward at its roof, expressions complicated. Though called a pavilion, it was in fact a genuine, multi-storied tower. With a conical roof, layers of flying eaves, and symmetry in every direction.
Xu Fengnian chuckled lightly, “Though it’s publicly declared as six stories tall, actually there are nine. Numbers begin at one and reach their peak at nine, but we worried that someone from the capital might find fault and gossip idly, so we settled on this compromise.
As you can see, the lower four levels have surrounding corridors; five and six serve as observation areas. The top floor remains completely empty, holding neither books nor objects. Five individuals reside within the pavilion specifically to arrange martial arts secrets from the easiest to most difficult, from bottom to top. The martial world calls them “Pavilion Guards,” all elderly men I’ve known since childhood, as elusive as ghosts.
There’s only one copyist. I learned calligraphy and painting from him. He’s like a consumptive ghost, even ghostlier than ghosts, yet he’s addicted to wine. I have to bring him alcohol every time I go upstairs.
If you call the Pavilion Guards martial experts, I believe it. But if my half-mentor counts as one, I’ll jump from the ninth floor.”
White Fox made no further request to enter the pavilion, not even appreciating the spectacular sight of the “Ten Thousand Koi Facing the Sky” in the lake. He turned and started walking away, saying lightly, “Bring me a full copy of ‘Xumi Jiezi’ first. The holy site of the Buddhist temple, Stele Forest Monastery, only has a half-volume version, but there should be another half set here in the pavilion. Altogether six volumes. I can read quickly, going one by one is troublesome and not worth my time. I’ll cover the cost of the wine you need each time you ascend. As for the swords, I’ll give you only one of the two, either Xiudong or Chunlei. So the fewer times you go upstairs, the more satisfied I will be.”
With a hint of bargaining, Xu Fengnian softly asked, “Can I take Chunlei?”
White Fox, true to his decisive nature, replied without hesitation, “Of course.”
Xu Fengnian expressed surprise, “You really won’t mind?”
White Fox, already walking away, responded calmly, “There is nothing in this world that I cannot let go of.”
Following behind, Xu Fengnian curled his lips, muttering with skepticism, “I guess you must be absolutely alone before you can say that.”
White Fox settled in a secluded courtyard not far from the Prince’s residence, living what Xu Fengnian thought was an incredibly boring life, surrounded by yellow scrolls and dim lamp light. He studied all night long, showing a level of dedication bordering on boring a hole through the wall for light or tying a rope around his waist to stay awake.
Originally, Xu Fengnian had wanted to drag this charming companion out to enjoy some moonlight and poetry, but ultimately gave up. He only entered the courtyard to bring books or return them at the Tingchao Pavilion, exchanging just a few casual sentences each time, usually only briefly asking about martial world affairs.
He would inquire questions typical of an outsider, such as who among the top ten martial experts was the most accomplished, or whether the four great beauties were genuinely as captivating as legends claimed.
Xu Fengnian, staying in the courtyard as a guest, however, harbored no sense of submissiveness, and for the most part ignored these inquiries.
Xu Fengnian could do nothing but accept this, though he did gain one small pleasure—he was now allowed to touch both swords, Xiudong and Chunlei, and even permitted to unsheathe Xiudong to entertain himself with a few clumsy sword forms.
The Da Zhuguo turned a blind eye and never questioned this silent development.
…
Once the news spread that the Young Prince had returned to the city, on that very day, several noble-born hooligans from his circle in Lingzhou came eagerly calling. At the time, he had still been asleep, and the Da Zhuguo had dismissed everyone.
Not until now did anyone gain the privilege of entering the mansion. One was Yan Chiji, the second son of Lingzhou’s governor, Yan Jie Xi; the other was the infamously despicable Li Hanlin, son of Fengzhou’s Li.
Due to his name’s unfortunate homophonic similarity, the former had been mockingly nicknamed “Grandfather Eats Chicken” by fellow young nobles across neighboring provinces. Yet, paradoxically, he was a rare gentleman and quite an endearing bookworm—somewhat careless with small matters, but surprisingly insightful when it came to major decisions.
Li Hanlin, although possessing a refined-sounding name, was in truth a complete bully. A favorite pastime among Fengzhou’s top scions was watching living victims torn apart inside beast cages, and he also indulged in indiscriminate romantic pursuits, especially favoring pretty young men with crimson lips and white teeth, usually accompanied by one or two delicate-looking young scholar attendants, kept around for carnal amusement.
Xu Fengnian met Yan because the young noble had habitually trailed after him since childhood. Xu also enjoyed teasing this peer who always had some Confucian teaching on his lips.
As for Li Hanlin, a scoundrel who mercilessly preyed on others with absolutely no regard for consequences, he was, however, without flaw in his loyal treatment of friends. Furthermore, Li Hanlin had an elder sister who was especially charming and delicate, one Xu Fengnian had lusted after for quite some time, hoping to take advantage of his proximity.
Besides the bookish Yan Chiji and the rascal Li Hanlin, there had originally been another good friend from a bureaucratic family, surnamed Kong. However, his father had been promoted to work in the capital, and they hadn’t met in four years. He was a martial fanatic.
When the four gathered together, their roles were quite clear: Xu Fengnian would devise devious plans, the meticulous Yan Chiji would cover for them, Kong would do the physical labor, and if things went wrong, Li Hanlin, being the most shameless, would take the fall. It was an absolutely seamless division of labor.
“Phoenix Brother…” Yan Chiji, who for over ten years had been a loyal follower to Xu Fengnian, had already grown into a refined young noble, but at first sight, he looked on the verge of tears, his affectionately endearing nickname already expressing a heart-wrenching tenderness, followed by a tearful gleam in his eyes.
Sigh, that guy was great at everything, except he was overly sensitive and sentimental, moody and brooding like a woman. No wonder Li Hanlin thought he shared the same inclination—except Li indulged in boyish charms, while Yan’s heart belonged wholeheartedly to Phoenix Brother.
“Phoenix Brother!” Li Hanlin’s greeting was more assertive. Reaching to embrace his long-lost friend, Xu gently pushed him away with a foot to his belly and mock-scolded, “Keep your distance; I have no interest in the perfume you seem to have acquired from other men.”
The three notorious friends reunited at the Bailing Tower atop Qingly Mountain, the perfect locale for watching distant landscapes. The couplet outside—”An old friend saw me off at the Yang Pass, a celestial guide led me up Huang Mountains”—wasn’t penned by any renowned calligrapher whose work across the empire was priceless. Instead, it had been written by Xu Fengnian himself at age eight.
Looking back on it now, it seemed even more childish, yet even though his strokes had since become far more confident and fluid, the calligrapher within the Tingchao Pavilion, also the Young Prince’s half-mentor, said that couplet remained the most unpretentious piece Xu Fengnian had ever done. The characters and sentiment both carried that raw authenticity. The Da Zhuguo had been so pleased that he had it copied and hung there, and for years, he hadn’t considered replacing it with a new couplet.
Xu Fengnian didn’t dwell much on the bitterness and hardships of the past three years. Instead, he picked out some fresh and interesting martial world stories to tell his two peers, narrating them gently, keeping both captivated and envious.
After finishing a pot of wine, Xu Fengnian had just completed his stories when Yan Chiji and Li Hanlin remained deep in their thoughts.
Walking to the corridor railing, Xu leaned forward and smiled lightly, “Now you truly know how much of a frog in the well you both were. Yan Chiji, you’ll definitely read tens of thousands of books in the future, while I’ve already traveled thousands of miles. As for you, Li Hanlin?”
Li Hanlin, ever loud and unrestrained, scratched his head and said, “Maybe I’ll try becoming a general soon, and kill ten thousand people.”
Yan Chiji scorned, “Barbarian.”
Li Hanlin immediately retorted, “You dare say that to the Da Zhuguo?”
Yan Chiji stammered, unable to reply for a moment.
Xu Fengnian suggested, “Let’s take a horseback ride out for fun?”
Li Hanlin was the first to cheer excitedly, “Of course! We must go to Zijin House. For three years, Fish Beauty has been waiting for you without entertaining anyone else. Her fame has been eclipsed by a new beauty. We must visit her.”
Xu Fengnian asked, “Got money?”
Li Hanlin patted his bulging abdomen and chuckled, “Take a look. Before I left, I stole ten thousand taels of silver notes from my secret room. I’m investing everything for Phoenix Brother. Even if I get grounded after returning home, I won’t mind.”
Yan Chiji mocked, “Look at how proud you are.”
Thick-skinned, Li Hanlin laughed, “Why don’t you try stealing some out yourself? Not even ten thousand taels—just a thousand! Would you dare? You scholars are only good at armchair strategies. When it comes to real and serious matters like verbal fighting or physical brawls, when have you ever been anything but a bystander? If I gave you a naked woman, you wouldn’t even dare roll around on her belly. Don’t you dare accuse me of being undignified.”
Yan Chiji flushed red and snorted coldly.
In every lonely night beneath the open sky with the earth as his mattress, filled with the coarse snoring from Lao Huang nearby, Xu Fengnian, having transitioned from resentment to finding joy in hardship, would always cherish the days spent with his friends: teasing each other, galloping along the Southern Huai River, flirting with innocent maidens, singing boldly on the way to the pleasure houses, sharing mischief and sins, drowning together in drunken revelry.
The trio spoke in unison: “Let’s go!”
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