The girl who had just finished singing a little ditty about “Do you know? Do you know?” leaned over a bench, turning her head and catching sight of the man entering the pavilion. At first startled, her small face soon brightened like the sun breaking through clouds after rain, filled with joy. Xu Fengnian had just slipped the green embroidered shoes onto the woman in green, then turned to the little girl, raising a finger to his lips in a hush gesture. The child immediately covered her mouth with both hands, afraid she might blurt out the secret. Then, realizing her action was too abrupt, she sat upright like a proper young lady. Unfortunately, she noticed her bare feet, and the brocade shoes with peacock embroidery still lying on the ground, causing her cheeks to flush.
Outside the pavilion, the guards of the Tiptoe Mountain were visibly tense. A martial artist’s level can be judged the moment they move. This young man, who looked like a scholar, had easily entered the pavilion. First, the little girl was a precious guest of Tiptoe Mountain, the beloved daughter-in-law of the mountain master, Dong the Fat. When Dong descended the mountain, he had declared that if the girl went hungry even a little, he would bang drums and gongs from his father-in-law Fifth He’s courtyard to every household every night. Second, the woman in green who had challenged the mountain master, though defeated, was still respected. In the martial world of Northern Yan, there was a deep reverence for martial prowess. Even if she was a young woman of unknown origin, she was not treated with hostility. The entire Tiptoe Mountain regarded her as half a guest. Lastly, they were shocked by the strength of this unknown man. These three factors combined made the guards, who were esteemed guests themselves, extremely wary. When the young man entered the pavilion, a guest with second-tier martial arts skill had managed to grasp a corner of his robe with two fingers, but before the minor master could tighten his grip, the young man flicked his sleeve with a technique akin to ripples in water, sending the fingers tingling and numb.
The atmosphere inside and outside the pavilion was delicate, until the little girl broke the tension. She addressed each of them as “Uncle” and “Granduncle” in turn, then, in a tone that brooked no argument, asked them to go up the mountain first. This kind of smooth, diplomatic maneuvering, which preserved harmony on the surface, was clearly learned from her Dong Uncle. In recent days, Tiptoe Mountain had grown accustomed to the girl’s precociousness. Coupled with the fact that she was spoiled beyond reason by Dong Zhuo, the mountain master’s son-in-law who commanded six hundred thousand troops, the guards, after weighing their options, silently withdrew but did not go far, waiting just beyond the pavilion’s view. One of them went to report to the mountain master.
Xu Beizhi never imagined the situation would resolve so calmly. He did not dwell on it, stepping outside the pavilion to take in the magnificent view. His grandfather had once spoken of the gentle and refined customs of Jiangnan, which Northern Yan could never match. There, women were truly made of water, unlike the women of Northern Yan, who seemed to have sand mixed in, becoming coarse and rough after thirty.
Xu Fengnian sat beside the woman in green, reaching out to remove the long narrow gun case, revealing the true form of the spear, Shazha. He asked, “Why did you come to Northern Yan too? Did you beg Xu Xiao for it?”
She leaned her cheek against the cool wooden pillar, softly replying, “I didn’t want to lose to Hong Shu.”
Xu Fengnian chuckled, “You silly girl.”
She remained silent.
Xu Fengnian glanced at her left arm, “Don’t you know how to pick on weaker opponents? Why come to Tiptoe Mountain to challenge Fifth He? That’s just asking for trouble. I heard he even gave you special attention and personally intervened?”
She nodded.
Xu Fengnian smiled, “Then let me fight this battle for you. Your master has gone through many trials and gained many unexpected opportunities, mastering powerful techniques. Not only Fifth He, even Tuo Ba Bodhisattva would dare to curse him.”
She, who could not be considered obedient to her master without first leaving the Wutong Courtyard, shook her head softly, “No more fighting. I’ll accompany my master back to Beiliang.”
In the courtyard, there were only two top maids, she and Hong Shu, each with their own strengths.
The little girl, who had been ignored in the corner, coughed a few times, secretly putting on her shoes, and glared at the “faithless man” who showed no emotion of missing her. This made her feel even more disappointed, so she kindly reminded him that she was still standing there. Xu Fengnian could understand why Dong Zhuo had placed her at Tiptoe Mountain, but he hadn’t expected to meet her halfway. It wasn’t strange that she recognized him; she had always had the talent to see through people’s hearts. Fortunately, she hadn’t revealed anything, or there would have been a tiring chase and escape if Tiptoe Mountain discovered the truth. The little girl, who had grown taller, held a small lacquer box, a clever toy Xu Fengnian had bought for her in Feihu Market. However, the spider inside had long since died, a fate that could not be changed no matter how carefully it was cared for. The box was cheap, and the spider, used for “begging for cleverness” by weaving webs, was ordinary. Now, only a sparse, broken web remained inside. When Dong Zhuo left the mountain, he had originally wanted to hide the annoying box, planning to say a servant had lost it while cleaning the room, but he couldn’t bear the girl’s sorrowful gaze and had to take it out from his sleeve, saying Dong Uncle had searched high and low to find it.
Xu Fengnian looked at the little girl, who had once shared hardships with him, and felt a surge of emotions. The two of them meeting again was like a dream.
The little girl, Tao Manwu, glanced at Xu Beizhi outside the pavilion, who carried a heavy backpack. She remembered how this man had once coerced her with food to carry a large bag of money, and she felt a bit indignant on his behalf. She then sighed inwardly, thinking about how stingy this man was, even remembering the porcelain pillow gifted to her by Xi Yi, and how he never forgot to make others do hard work wherever he went. It was a shame she had worried about whether he had enough money to eat.
Xu Fengnian smiled and asked, “Have you kept up with the breathing exercises I taught you?”
Tao Manwu immediately went through the entire routine of Strike the Golden Beam, Knock the Heavenly Drum, and Bathe the Face without a single mistake. Xu Fengnian took the small wooden lacquer box from her hand and teased, “Why keep this broken toy? Your Dong Uncle has mountains of gold and silver. Even if you ask for something bigger than yourself, it wouldn’t be hard. Let me throw it away for you.”
Xu Fengnian pretended to throw the box out of the pavilion, and Tao Manwu jumped up, grabbing his arm with both hands, comically hanging there.
Qing Niao’s eyes were warm with affection as she gently patted Tao Manwu’s head. She didn’t know why the little girl had taken such a liking to her, but after being seriously injured, Tao Manwu had stuck close to her. During her recovery at the foot of Tiptoe Mountain, she had heard some rumors about the girl. Her father, Tao Qianzhi, was the governor of Liuxia City on the border of Northern Yan, and had been assassinated without reason. It was rumored that the royal family’s two surnamed descendants had done it, but the killer’s whereabouts remained unknown. Tao Qianzhi, a military man by background, was close friends with Dong Zhuo. The girl’s mother had also died on the way to mourn his death, so naturally, Tao Manwu was taken in by Dong Zhuo, a powerful military figure in the Southern Court. Not long ago, when the war between Liang and Mang broke out without warning, Dong Zhuo led his troops to rescue the cities of Ligǔ and Maolong, leaving Tao Manwu at the Tiptoe Mountain, which had some familial connections.
The young master traveled alone to the north, and Tao Qianzhi, who had a habit of killing Beiliang soldiers every day, died on Qingming Festival. Coincidentally, the young master was familiar with Tao Manwu.
Qing Niao widened her eyes at her master.
The little girl glanced at the green-clad older sister she had just met.
Xu Fengnian, knowing of her extraordinary talent, did not stop her.
Qing Niao noticed that after the little girl let go and landed, tears streamed down her face. The complex, contradictory look in her eyes was like a spider web in an expensive clever box, densely packed without gaps, which should not have appeared in the eyes of an innocent and kind little girl.
Tao Manwu just cried silently. Finally, she threw the small lacquer box at Xu Fengnian and ran out of the pavilion.
Qing Niao looked at her master in confusion.
Xu Fengnian smiled bitterly, “She has the ability to see through people’s hearts.”
Qing Niao, realizing her unintentional mistake, looked regretful and was about to speak, but Xu Fengnian waved his hand, hiding the Shazha spear back into the cloth bag, calmly saying, “I never intended to deceive her forever. The sooner she knows the truth, the sooner she can be free. But it’s hard for me to say it myself. It’s better that she found out on her own.”
Although he didn’t understand the situation, Xu Beizhi, who knew they were in big trouble, was about to remind them that they could escape. However, Xu Fengnian had already stood up, handing the Shazha back to Qing Niao, and with a self-mocking smile, he said, “Let’s go, let’s go. We three will be chased by Tiptoe Mountain.”
Xu Fengnian grabbed Xu Beizhi’s arm, taking Qing Niao, who had no objections, and quickly rushed down the mountain.
Xu Beizhi felt like he was flying in the clouds.
But the three did not directly flee south but secretly turned back into the Rouran Mountains. Xu Beizhi couldn’t help but secretly sigh, admiring their bravery. When they rested by a stream in the mountains, Xu Beizhi, who was good at self-reflection, felt some hesitation. When scholars fled north, they brought many things, including chess. Compared to Go, chess was more popular in Northern Yan. In the past, the powerful Northern Court Chancellor, who was a terrible Go player, was a master of chess. Xu Beizhi, who had been immersed in the game since childhood under his grandfather Xu Huainan’s guidance, was very familiar with the nineteen intersections of Go but personally preferred chess, where each piece had a clear role. He often played to a draw with his grandfather. He remembered the old man once telling him, when he was a child, that he would be considered a master when he could play chess and achieve a draw whenever he wanted. But in Xu Beizhi’s eyes, his grandfather, who was always ruthless in political struggles, was completely different from his chess strategy. Until this time of death, Xu Beizhi realized that the cost of this peaceful chess game between Liang and Mang was so great that all the Xu family’s pieces were dead, leaving only him. As a scholar, Xu Beizhi naturally regarded himself as a “scholar” who did not leave the nine-square palace, looking down on martial artists. That was also why scholars advised emperors and strategized without personally fighting. No matter how powerful the martial artists were, there were always other martial artists to deal with them. It was said that Huang Longshi, the creator of chess, had taken the role of a “scholar” to the extreme. The young man who once said he wanted to bring peace to the world for ten thousand generations, Huang Sanjia, was known for his poisonous strategies that killed the entire Spring and Autumn period. Such a person, who transcended temple calculations to reach heavenly calculations, was the one Xu Beizhi admired.
But all of this was based on the situation where the game was going well, where Xu Beizhi could show his skills. When in a disadvantageous position, with the enemy attacking the king, Xu Beizhi wondered if he could turn the tide.
Xu Beizhi suddenly understood why Cao Changqing, the great scholar who became a Tianxiang martial artist, entered the palace three times.
When the situation was desperate and there were no pieces left to play, in the end, one had to step out of the nine-square palace and fight.
The chess game Xu Beizhi wanted to enter was the Beiliang, which was in a disadvantageous position, rather than the already established Northern Yan or Liyang.
This was probably the key to his grandfather’s teaching on how to play a draw.
To seek victory, one must first consider failure.
Xu Beizhi couldn’t help but look up at the young man sitting on a stone leisurely enjoying the coolness. So, this guy had already thought of the worst-case scenario, where Beiliang was completely destroyed, and he had to go alone to fight and avenge?
Is it possible?
Xu Beizhi didn’t believe it.
Qing Niao jumped down from a tall tree, somewhat incredulously, “Master, Tiptoe Mountain hasn’t moved.”
Xu Fengnian frowned slightly, picking up a stone and throwing it into the stream, slightly absent-minded, muttering to himself, “It seems this account can’t be settled.”
At Tiptoe Mountain, the little girl ran away crying, and the guards who had not dared to leave the pavilion saw this scene and instinctively wanted to kill down the mountain. But she explained with a forced smile that the green-clad older sister was going down the mountain with an old friend, and she was just a bit reluctant. The guards were suspicious but didn’t dare to ask. However, if the woman could avoid throwing herself into danger, it would be a good thing. After all, even if the mountain master of Northern Yan defeated a young woman, it would not sound good. Tao Manwu walked a short distance, then told the guards not to follow, turned back, ran to the pavilion, saw the lacquer box, bent down to pick it up, and was about to throw it down the mountain.
But she raised her hand, hesitated for a long time, and finally couldn’t bring herself to throw it away. Then, she seemed to be angry at her own weakness, ran out of the pavilion, squatted down, dug a hole with her small hands, and buried the box in the soil.
Wiping away her tears, she returned to the quiet little courtyard on the mountain, climbed onto the bed, hugged the porcelain pillow, and curled up in the corner, hiding herself under the quilt.
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