A kite falling from such a height naturally had to belong to someone. However, Shou Nan Shan had already cleared everyone away from the area around them, so its owner had probably lost the string somewhere else and the wind had blown it here.
Sure enough, not long afterward, a commotion approached from the distance. A group of people could be heard shouting:
“It should be around here.”
“It’s not in the lake!”
“Look farther ahead.”
Fu Xi Yan held the kite in his arms and watched the group come rushing toward them. He whispered, “Judging from their clothes, they don’t look like people who can’t afford a second kite.”
As he spoke, the group drew near. They were boys and girls in their teens, all dressed in brocade, with a pretty girl surrounded in the middle.
Seeing that Fu Xi Yan had already stood up, Shou Nan Shan did not come out to stop them.
The group arrived in front of them and saw Fu Xi Yan holding the kite. They looked him up and down several times, then glanced at Pei Yuan Jin sitting beside him. Several disappointed sighs immediately sounded from the crowd.
One short girl even asked bluntly, “Were you the only one who found the kite?”
Fu Xi Yan had originally intended to return it. Hearing that, he found it amusing. “Do I look so weak that I’d need someone else to help me carry a kite?”
The short girl pouted coquettishly. “Oh, why were you so quick to pick it up? An opportunity like that should obviously have been left for your friend.”
Fu Xi Yan looked at the pair of mandarin ducks painted on the kite. He seemed to understand something, and his smile immediately turned rather wicked. “Oh? What opportunity?”
The boys saw Pei Yuan Jin quietly brewing tea while gazing out over West Lake and felt that the whole scene had an unusually lofty elegance to it. Several of them were quite willing to go over and strike up a conversation.
One boy deliberately walked closer to Pei Yuan Jin and said, “This is the King of Kites. It won first place at the Kite Festival and was blessed by a master. It has a spirit of its own and can tie the red thread of marriage. Whoever releases it and whoever catches it are destined to share a bond. It’s a pity Brother didn’t make a move.”
As he spoke, he glanced toward the pretty girl standing silently in the center of the group.
The girl looked at Pei Yuan Jin, and her cheeks reddened slightly.
Holding the kite, Fu Xi Yan said coolly, “Since it has a spirit of its own, doesn’t that mean the thread it ties is a match bestowed by Heaven? What’s there to regret?”
The boys were immediately rendered speechless.
The pretty girl’s flushed face nearly turned purple. She wanted to take the kite back from Fu Xi Yan, but feared he might use the opportunity to pester her, so she anxiously looked toward her companions.
One of her friends glanced at Pei Yuan Jin several more times. Seeing that he truly had no interest in “competing,” she could not help sighing. “What a perfect chance to become the Vice Minister of Rites’ son-in-law.”
The moment Fu Xi Yan heard “Vice Minister of Rites,” he immediately handed the kite back. He had only snapped back because of their disdainful attitude. If this ended up attracting attention from Southern Yu officials, the loss would outweigh the gain.
The youths could not help looking at him several more times, as though this were the first time they had ever met someone who fled the moment he heard he might become the Vice Minister of Rites’ son-in-law.
A slightly older boy asked, “Judging from your accent, you aren’t from Southern Yu?”
Fu Xi Yan said, “I’m from Northern Zhou. I came to visit friends.”
The youths’ gazes immediately became even more disdainful.
Someone in the crowd muttered, “A coarse northern hick!”
Fu Xi Yan laughed from anger. The kite had fallen from the sky. He had kindly picked it up and was getting insulted for his trouble? That was not how doing good deeds was supposed to work. He reached out, snatched the kite back, and tossed it directly onto the surface of the lake.
He said, “I just thought it over. The kite originally fell over there. It was rash of me to interfere and ruin a match bestowed by Heaven. Very bad, very bad.”
The youths’ faces turned green.
The older boy said, “Do you know how much the King of Kites is worth?”
Fu Xi Yan said, “It isn’t my kite, and I wasn’t the one who broke the string. What does its value have to do with me?”
Seeing the kite drifting farther and farther away, the youths began looking for something to retrieve it with.
A round-faced boy said furiously, “If you’ve got the guts, stay right here and don’t leave!”
Fu Xi Yan said, “Oh? Little mage, you even know an immobilization spell? Fine, then I’ll cast one too. If you’ve got the guts, stand on your head and bark like a dog three times.”
The round-faced boy froze, then nearly went insane with rage. “You—you, you…”
Fu Xi Yan said, “See? You’re the one without the guts.”
The round-faced boy was so young, yet he already looked as though he had developed high blood pressure and heart disease. “I—I, I…”
Fu Xi Yan nodded. “And I’m still standing right here. I haven’t left.”
Splash.
A sound of someone falling into the water came from the crowded area. Wanting to watch the excitement, Fu Xi Yan deliberately circled around the others and went to the lakeside. He saw one boy floundering through the water toward the kite. Unfortunately, the boy was only an average swimmer and had failed to warm up before jumping in. Halfway through, his leg cramped, and he began desperately shouting for help from anyone who would listen.
Two more boys jumped in.
Fu Xi Yan watched as fewer and fewer people remained onshore while more and more ended up in the lake, and he began to believe in the power of that mandarin-duck kite to tie red threads after all. Meeting true feelings in adversity, repaying a life-saving favor with marriage—apparently all those plots could come into play. He just had no idea what sort of ill-fated romance this giant pot of West Lake stew might eventually produce.
The boys struggled for quite some time before finally hauling the soaked, limp kite back ashore. Several of them had exhausted themselves swimming and collapsed directly onto the ground, panting.
The girls had no experience rescuing people from the water either, so all they could do was stand nearby offering encouragement.
Fu Xi Yan kindly reminded them, “It may be summer, but it just rained and the lake water is cold. Keep standing there making chilly remarks much longer and they’ll be running fevers.”
The pretty girl who had occupied the center position the entire time finally could not hold back. “How can there be someone as annoying as you in this world?”
Fu Xi Yan crossed his arms and wore an expression that said thanks for the compliment. “How else would I deserve to be called a coarse northern hick?”
The girl bit her lip and hesitated for a moment. “What’s your name?”
Fu Xi Yan froze. He instinctively looked toward Pei Yuan Jin, who had leisurely drunk tea throughout the entire farce without participating once, and asked warily, “Why do you want to know my name?”
The girl said, “What? Afraid we’ll take revenge?”
Fu Xi Yan said, “A man does not change his name whether standing or sitting. This one is Fu Dong Hai.”
Shou Nan Shan, secretly watching the whole affair with great enjoyment, almost burst out laughing.
The girl glanced at Pei Yuan Jin again. “And him?”
Fu Xi Yan said, “Madam Fu.”
The girl glared at him.
By then the boys had recovered enough strength to stand. Unfortunately, the wind blowing over their soaked clothes was freezing. None of them dared delay, so after throwing Fu Xi Yan several resentful looks, they hurried away along the lakeshore.
Fu Xi Yan even waved goodbye.
“It seems Young Master Fu is quite pleased with this marriage.” Pei Yuan Jin poured the tea he had brewed into two cups.
Fu Xi Yan tucked both hands into his sleeves, turned around, and smiled apologetically. “I was overcome by righteous indignation and acted impulsively.” He carefully picked up his cup and took a small sip. Sure enough, the fragrance was fresh and elegant, with an endless aftertaste.
“Oh? Then how does Madam Fu explain himself?”
Fu Xi Yan tentatively asked, “Do you think that line earns points or loses points?”
Pei Yuan Jin countered, “What do you think?”
Fu Xi Yan raised his teacup and lightly clinked it against Pei Yuan Jin’s. “I was using my wits to drive away a romantic rival. Don’t tell me you didn’t notice. That girl was supposedly asking about me, but she was actually looking at you. Tsk, tsk. You really do attract bees and butterflies everywhere you go.”
Pei Yuan Jin said, “You attracted mandarin ducks. Ones blessed by a master and carrying a marriage bestowed by Heaven.”
Fu Xi Yan: “…” This truly had been a disaster that dropped out of nowhere. Arguing any further would achieve nothing, so he took the initiative to end the topic.
He had assumed the incident would end once the soaked youths left. Unexpectedly, there was a sequel that very evening—the Vice Minister of Rites sent over a calling card and was currently waiting outside.
Fu Xi Yan became extremely nervous. “He isn’t here to propose marriage, is he?”
Pei Yuan Jin asked, “You got exactly what you wanted. Still not satisfied?”
Fu Xi Yan said firmly, “Alive, I am a man of Northern Zhou. Dead, I will be a ghost of Northern Zhou.”
Pei Yuan Jin’s expression immediately became somewhat unreadable. “You’re quite loyal to Emperor Jianhong.”
Fu Xi Yan instantly looked as though he had swallowed a fly. “Wrong. Alive, I’m yours. Dead, I’ll be your ghost.”
Pei Yuan Jin remained expressionless, but the tips of his ears reddened faintly. “Too late.” Despite the words, his voice was extremely gentle.
Fu Xi Yan immediately knew that, for once, his flattery had not landed on the horse’s leg.
The moment the Vice Minister of Rites entered, they recognized him. His features strongly resembled the girl they had seen that afternoon, especially the way he pressed his lips together. The resemblance was almost exact. For a middle-aged man, he was remarkably handsome.
Naturally, the Vice Minister of Rites was refined and courteous. He bowed. “I failed to welcome the Young Master of the Immortal Treasury Palace upon your arrival. I have come on behalf of the various ministries to offer a few modest gifts. Please accept them.”
As he spoke, several chests were carried inside. There were paintings and calligraphy by famous masters, fine teas from various regions, and a sword of dark, muted color. Its brilliance was restrained, yet it possessed an icy killing aura all its own.
Even Fu Xi Yan could feel the “Wind Chime” in his robes tremble uneasily.
The Vice Minister of Rites introduced it. “This sword is called Wuchen. It is one of Southern Yu’s Ten Great Swords. On the day it was forged, black clouds obscured the sun and ten thousand fish sank beneath the water. Thus it received the name Wuchen.”
Fu Xi Yan’s eyelid twitched. Perhaps it was only his imagination, but he felt that the name Wuchen sounded rather unfriendly toward Wu Xuan Yin.
Pei Yuan Jin looked at this extremely weighty “modest gift” and asked, “What do you require of us?”
The Vice Minister hurriedly said, “I wouldn’t dare, I wouldn’t dare. It is simply unfortunate that the Young Master has arrived during a troubled period in Lin’an. Should anything occur, I ask that the Young Master not take offense and simply remain an observer.”
Pei Yuan Jin asked directly, “Has the Spirit Sect been making unusual moves lately?”
A glint flashed through the Vice Minister’s eyes. “The Spirit Sect is Southern Yu’s state religion. I heard that one of your Palace’s chief managers is currently a guest of the Spirit Sect. Southern Yu is a nation of courtesy and ritual. As Southern Yu officials, we will naturally do our best to mediate and ensure that he returns safely. Unfortunately, the Spirit Sect Leader has recently shut herself inside Lingyun Palace and refuses visitors. We cannot meet her for the time being, so I fear we may have to wait.”
The words sounded polite, yet they faintly directed every spear point toward Lingyun Palace.
Fu Xi Yan had seen enough bureaucrats in Northern Zhou to recognize the routine. Everything on the surface was proper procedure; everything beneath it was negotiation and trade. He asked, “The Sect Leader refuses all visitors? No exceptions?”
The Vice Minister gave an awkward laugh. “That is difficult to say. At the very least, there are no exceptions for this official.”
Fu Xi Yan sighed. “In that case, Southern Yu may be a nation of courtesy and ritual, but there doesn’t seem to be much room for this mediation of yours.”
The Vice Minister paused slightly, probably not expecting him to speak so bluntly. Inwardly, he thought that northern hicks truly lived up to their reputation, but outwardly he continued smiling. “Naturally, we will do everything in our power.”
Since the conversation had reached this point, Fu Xi Yan could hardly keep pressing. “Then we’ll trouble you.”
After seeing the Vice Minister of Rites off, Fu Xi Yan took out Wuchen. The sword truly was heavy. Holding it in one hand, he found the tip naturally sinking toward the floor. Even the hilt carried a faint chill, and after holding it for a while, his palm gradually grew cold.
Pei Yuan Jin said, “An Earth-grade weapon.”
Shou Nan Shan emerged from the rear hall, took the sword from Fu Xi Yan, and weighed it in his hand. “It may be Earth-grade, but it is also listed among the Three Great Ominous Swords beneath Heaven. Firework Flash slew a father. Wuchen slew a wife. Oriole’s Cry ended in suicide.”
Judged solely by value, it was an extremely generous gift. Its associations were simply rather inauspicious. But jianghu people did not pay much attention to such things, so one could not exactly say the Vice Minister had chosen badly. One could only say receiving it did not feel especially pleasant.
The instant Fu Xi Yan heard that Wuchen had killed a wife, he immediately proposed, “Why don’t we go to the Vice Minister of Rites’ house and propose marriage?”
Pei Yuan Jin looked at him, and Fu Xi Yan immediately added, “For Martial King Shou. After all, he isn’t exactly young anymore.”
Having spent several months acting as matchmaker only to suddenly have his own red thread pulled, Shou Nan Shan hurriedly said, “Those are only legends. There’s no need to take them too seriously.”
Fu Xi Yan thought: How many death flags start exactly like this and eventually turn into legends that keep getting proven true?
Pei Yuan Jin took the sword and examined it briefly. “We were going out anyway. It will make a suitable gift.”
Fu Xi Yan asked curiously, “Who are you giving it to?”
Who had offended him that badly?
＊
Southern Yu’s summer was far more humid than the north’s. The warm night wind brought no refreshing coolness when it brushed the skin. Instead, it carried a clinging, stifling heat that refused to leave. Cicadas were already crying along the roadside, their endless chirping making people even more restless.
Fu Xi Yan raised his head and stared at the high wall, his thoughts genuinely chaotic.
Earlier, when Pei Yuan Jin said he wanted to deliver a gift to Wu Xuan Yin, Fu Xi Yan had immediately volunteered to come along because he wanted to meet the woman once known as Southern Yu’s greatest beauty. Never in his wildest dreams had he imagined that what he thought was an openly organized tour group would turn into Pei Yuan Jin scaling walls and becoming a burglar in the night.
He said, “She’s a Martial God, after all. Showing up like this… aren’t we displaying our axe before the master carpenter?”
Pei Yuan Jin said, “She refuses visitors.”
Fu Xi Yan said, “Wasn’t that all the Vice Minister of Rites trying to stir trouble? Look at that vice minister. Barely any flesh on his face, sharp and mean-looking—obviously not a good person. Believing him is practically slow suicide.” He had completely forgotten that his first impression of the Vice Minister had been that he was rather handsome.
Pei Yuan Jin said, “Even without him, I would have come tonight.” With that, he leapt over the wall.
Fu Xi Yan looked at the empty, silent surroundings and hesitated before using Air-Stepping Walk to slowly edge his way onto the top of the wall. He poked his head over and looked inside. Pei Yuan Jin was already standing below with his hands behind his back, elegant as a jade tree in the wind, waiting for him.
Fu Xi Yan dawdled his way down. Seeing Pei Yuan Jin turn and start walking deeper inside, he hurriedly grabbed him. “Are you sure Wu Xuan Yin won’t attack us?”
This time Pei Yuan Jin had not even brought the Hidden Dragon Unit or Phoenix-Roosting Unit with him. It was extraordinarily bold and risky. Thinking of that reminded Fu Xi Yan of something else. “Why are Xiao Sang, Xiao Zhang, and the others called the Phoenix-Roosting Unit?”
Pei Yuan Jin said, “Doesn’t it sound good?”
“Phoenix-Roosting Unit, atmosphere crew…” Fu Xi Yan muttered, “Someone who didn’t know better might think we hired them to bang gongs, beat drums, cheer, and act as our personal cheerleading squad.”
Pei Yuan Jin obviously did not understand. “What is a cheerleading squad?”
If the location had been more suitable, Fu Xi Yan would have happily given him a full “la-la-la” rendition of The Little Newspaper Seller. But seeing how stubbornly Pei Yuan Jin wanted an answer, Fu Xi Yan simply took his hand. “Just keep holding on and you’ll understand.”
Pei Yuan Jin felt he was being perfunctorily dismissed, but this was hardly the time to investigate. He held Fu Xi Yan’s hand and continued farther inside.
Fu Xi Yan was still somewhat nervous, constantly looking ahead and behind as they walked. One glance at him and anyone could tell he was not making a proper social visit.
Lingyun Palace stood outside the Southern Yu imperial palace, some distance from West Lake. Whether its owner simply liked peace and quiet or no one dared live too close to her, there were no unrelated residents within more than ten zhang of the place.
Not only that, the palace itself was nearly empty. Occasionally, a few servants could be seen walking along the paths, but each moved with extreme care, afraid to make the slightest noise. Their movements and expressions were even more furtive than Fu Xi Yan’s.
As Fu Xi Yan walked, his courage gradually increased. Soon he was striding forward with his head held high. There was no fear of taking a wrong turn either. In the entire Lingyun Palace, only the central hall blazed with bright light, shining like a lighthouse at sea and guiding them toward their destination.
As they approached the entrance to the main hall, the tightly shut center doors suddenly swung open. Standing on the steps, they could immediately see the person sitting inside.
She was a woman with absolutely no concern for proper sitting posture. Bonelessly relaxed, she sat slanted on the floor with her upper body leaning against the couch behind her. One hand held a wine jug, from which she drank mouthful after mouthful. When she saw the two of them, she merely tilted her head and greeted them with practiced familiarity. “You’re here? Sit.”
Even like this, she possessed a beauty that scarcely seemed possible among mortals. Tie Rong Rong’s dazzling glamour looked almost vulgar beside her. Her sensual charm seemed entirely natural, yet every smile and expression also carried a trace of childlike innocence.
Fu Xi Yan thought that, speaking as a man, unless the young Southern Yu emperor preferred men, his feelings for this woman had to be genuine.
“Finished looking?”
Pei Yuan Jin’s cold voice sounded beside him.
Fu Xi Yan hurriedly turned his face away and pretended to study the hall’s furnishings. Wu Xuan Yin sat up straighter, but her gaze still lingered on Fu Xi Yan’s face. “Not yet.”
Pei Yuan Jin shifted slightly in front of Fu Xi Yan. “You know why I came?”
Wu Xuan Yin said lazily, “Maybe I do. So what?”
Pei Yuan Jin placed Wuchen, which he had carried on his back, on the low table before her. “A gift from the Vice Minister of Rites.”
“Wuchen.” Wu Xuan Yin curled her lips mockingly. “What, do you intend to kill me with this sword? Killing you would be as easy as turning my hand, and I might not even perish with you. Your plump little wife, however, would certainly be buried with you. Or perhaps you intend to inherit the sword’s legend and kill him instead?”
Fu Xi Yan protested, “How can the leader of an entire sect indiscriminately kill innocent people?”
“Marry a chicken, follow the chicken. What kind of innocent bystander are you?” She tossed the wine jug onto the floor, pushed herself up from the couch, and flicked her sleeves. “Your timing is good. I was just about to look for you.”
Alarm bells immediately began ringing in Fu Xi Yan’s heart, though the “Wind Chime” in his clothes remained perfectly quiet. “For what?”
Wu Xuan Yin said, “I originally planned to capture you. But since you’ve delivered yourselves to Lingyun Palace, you can’t leave. You’ll remain here as hostages.”
Pei Yuan Jin raised a brow. “How do you intend to keep us here?”
Wu Xuan Yin smiled. “I’m a Martial God. How do you think?” The implication was obvious: if forced, she would attack.
Pei Yuan Jin said, “You’re willing to risk it?”
Wu Xuan Yin sighed. “Had you arrived a few days earlier, when I was still dreaming my grand dream of becoming Southern Yu’s empress, perhaps I would have let you go. Now the dream has ended. You don’t have that loophole to exploit anymore.”
Fu Xi Yan’s soul of gossip immediately blazed. “How did the dream end? What did the young emperor say?”
Wu Xuan Yin slowly walked toward him.
Only then did Fu Xi Yan realize that she was remarkably tall, nearly his own height. She widened her eyes and studied his face. “If you lost weight, you would definitely be very good-looking.”
Pei Yuan Jin pulled Fu Xi Yan behind him.
Wu Xuan Yin complained, “Stingy. Forget it. Lingyun Palace is enormous. Find somewhere to stay. But don’t run around. I don’t have many opportunities to act, so if I do make a move, I’ll kill in one strike.”
Pei Yuan Jin said, “You intend to use the new city to attempt ascension.”
Wu Xuan Yin’s eyes darkened. She returned to the couch and slowly sat down. “What makes you say that?”
“Nine-Palace layout. Eight Trigrams Formation. Seven-story iron tower. I remember that when the Spirit Sect was first founded, it claimed that gods originally existed between Heaven and Earth, but too many mortals divided away the world’s fortune. You have gathered so many people into the new city. Are you trying to gather that fortune back?”
Wu Xuan Yin said, “The Young Master truly is widely learned. Your honored father entered the Martial God Stage far earlier than I did. He must already have reached its peak. Has he found a way to ascend? If he still hasn’t discovered a path, perhaps he should learn from us. If our road succeeds, every martial artist beneath Heaven will have hope.”
Pei Yuan Jin said, “You’re holding me hostage because my father does not approve of this path?”
“Not at all. As far as we know, your honored father is still cultivating in seclusion at the Immortal Treasury Palace. We are merely taking precautions. If he appears at the critical moment, we need some way to respond so we aren’t placed entirely on the defensive, don’t we?”
“What are your chances?”
“Either we win, or we lose.” Wu Xuan Yin smiled. “Probability matters only before you decide whether to do something. I no longer have the right to abandon it. I reached the peak of the Martial God Stage last year.”
Fu Xi Yan suddenly poked his head out from behind Pei Yuan Jin. “Are you and the young emperor really impossible now?”
Wu Xuan Yin’s smile faded slightly. “You’ve probably heard already. He is preparing to establish the Cui family’s daughter as empress.”
Fu Xi Yan asked, “It’s true?”
“Not long after I released the news that Martial Gods cannot casually fight, that rumor gradually began spreading.” Wu Xuan Yin’s beautiful eyes turned toward the night sky outside. The darkness at that moment resembled her mood: empty, black, and seemingly endless.
“Lingyun Palace used to be surrounded by imperial guards patrolling day and night. Now they have all been withdrawn.” She smiled bitterly. “Whether they were protecting me or guarding against me has become rather obvious.”
Looking at her dejected expression, Fu Xi Yan could not help silently cursing that dog emperor. She had been a perfectly good romance-addled fool, yet he had insisted on forcing her onto the road of career ambition. Wonderful. Now she might drag an entire city down with her. Fu Xi Yan still had no idea how she intended to use the people gathered in the new city to reclaim fortune.
Wu Xuan Yin looked calm, but there was madness beneath that calm. “There is nothing left in the mortal world that I care about. Ascension is the only path remaining to me. Whoever blocks me is killing me. Whoever wants to kill me, I will kill first.”
Fu Xi Yan could not resist pointing out a flaw in her theory. “If you attack us, you might scatter into nothing on the spot. Wouldn’t all your arrangements in the new city go to waste?”
Wu Xuan Yin said, “You don’t actually believe the Spirit Sect has only one Martial God, do you?”
Even Pei Yuan Jin paused faintly at that. Clearly, in his understanding, the Spirit Sect truly did possess only one Martial God: Wu Xuan Yin.
Wu Xuan Yin smiled ambiguously. “If we had only one Martial God, why would they ever have permitted me to become Southern Yu’s empress?”
Fu Xi Yan: “…” That actually made sense.
A wise man knew better than to fight when the odds were against him. That night, Pei Yuan Jin and Fu Xi Yan remained at Lingyun Palace.