It was still too early in the season. The hairy crabs had not grown properly yet.
Coming to Taihu and failing to eat the crabs he had been craving left Fu Xi Yan somewhat regretful, but the beautiful scenery of the lake made up for it. Leaving himself something to look forward to meant that when he returned next time, there would be one more reason to be excited.
Half a month had passed since their second invasion of the Southern Yu imperial palace. During those days, they had traveled north by boat along the canal, sightseeing, stopping whenever they pleased, and generally enjoying themselves. They looked nothing like fugitives fleeing for their lives.
The Southern Yu court had already issued wanted notices and had “ruthlessly” included both their names and portraits. The affair had been made enormous, stirring storms throughout every city, but it was all thunder and little rain. The only people actually doing anything were ordinary constables from the local yamen.
Could a group of constables who had not even reached the True Essence Stage capture a Martial King and a peak Mortal-Shedding expert? Anyone could tell the entire effort was for show.
Besides, this pair of fugitive lovebirds were no longer merely one Martial King and one peak Mortal-Shedding expert. After being successively “watered” by Guo Ju Ying and Zhu Shou Xin, Fu Xi Yan had successfully advanced to the Dao-Entry Stage.
He sat at the bow with a fishing rod in hand, eyes fixed unblinkingly on the lake. He looked rather like Jiang Taigong fishing, willing fish taking the hook, but his heart was nowhere near as calm as his appearance.
Elio’s Notes: Jiang Taigong is traditionally associated with the saying “Jiang Taigong fishes; those willing take the bait,” describing someone who waits for a willing target to come to them.
For a martial artist, entering Dao meant finding a path one intended to walk all the way into darkness for the rest of one’s life. Cultivation of the state of mind was therefore extremely important.
He had thought that after leaving the Southern Yu imperial palace, his state of mind would undergo a major change. Yet after the exhilarating release of that moment faded, what remained inside him was endless emptiness.
He had struck the Petition Drum and asked a question loud enough to shake the heart, and exactly as expected, it had produced no answer.
But he did not regret it.
Those in power had to understand that even people at the very bottom would not die silently. Bodies of flesh and blood could build walls of steel, and bodies of flesh and blood could also make those walls collapse. Life held limitless possibilities and was sacred beyond violation. Anyone who casually took life had to be prepared to have their own taken in return. A murderer paying with their life was only natural. The world had produced countless grand principles since ancient times, and not everyone understood them, but equivalent exchange had never changed.
He had fished for an entire shichen. The sun had already gone down, and still not a single fish had taken the hook. In the end, he had caught nothing but loneliness.
Tomorrow morning the sun would rise again. Fish would leave the river and others would come. A new day would bring new matters, and his steps would continue forward. But Jinling and Lin’an were places he would definitely return to.
Because a few people were still alive in those two cities who should not be.
Fu Xi Yan could now think about killing with remarkable calmness. The aftereffects of killing Zheng Yu had been far less severe than those from killing Chen Wen Ju. He had only drunk one pot of wine very hard, slept one very deep sleep, and escaped the nightmare of blood covering his hands. He had even begun regretting that he had moved too slowly and failed to dispose of Qin Xiao Xun at the same time.
Before, he had often fantasized that one day seven stars would align, a gate through time and space would open, and when he opened his eyes again he would be back in his previous life, free to enroll in a professional weight-loss program.
Now he had abandoned that fantasy. Not only because he had family, a lover, and a career here, but because his soul itself was gradually being assimilated into this world.
In the end, he could not go back.
He missed the peace and stability of his previous life, but he also remembered elders once telling him that happiness never simply fell from Heaven. Countless people had hacked through thorns, fought while drenched in blood, and carried crushing burdens so that others could walk upon a broad, level road.
If the world he lived in was not yet good enough, why could he not be the one to hack through thorns, fight in blood, bear the weight, and lay down that road?
If this world gave ordinary people no path to survival, then he would find one for them.
He would not betray what he had seen in his previous life, nor what he had learned in this one.
He had failed to catch any fish, but the sailors aboard had harvested plenty. Fu Xi Yan put away his rod and shamelessly joined Pei Yuan Jin in eating the fresh-fish feast the sailors cooked. It was still delicious, though eating fish every day had begun to get a little tiresome.
Fu Xi Yan began missing Jiyang County’s salt-baked chicken and pork belly with preserved mustard greens. That made him think of Duan Qian and Aunt Feifei, then of his mother whose whereabouts remained unknown, then of his father and uncle far away in Jiangling. He wondered how negotiations over his elder sister’s marriage to Liu Huan were going. Since he was now following Pei Yuan Jin back to the Immortal Treasury Palace, perhaps their own matter would finally be settled too.
Thinking back to when he first met Pei Yuan Jin, the other man had still been at the Dao-Entry Stage. Now the Young Master was only one realm above him. Clearly, with enough effort, surpassing the Young Master was not merely a dream.
Fu Xi Yan stretched and maintained absolute confidence in his radiant future.
The ship remained anchored for half a day. Only after the surrounding vessels had disappeared did it slowly begin moving again. Not long afterward, a black-canopied boat approached from the opposite direction. If not for the fishing lamp hanging from it, they might have overlooked it entirely.
The boatman wore a bamboo hat. The sun had already set, yet the hat remained firmly planted on his head. Was he afraid moonlight might tan his face?
The two boats slowly approached. The merchant vessel carrying Fu Xi Yan finally stopped first and dropped anchor.
Pei Yuan Jin emerged from the cabin. He had spent the entire day inside. Everyone else aboard assumed he either disliked the harsh sunlight or had been handling affairs in his room. Only Fu Xi Yan knew the real reason.
And it was precisely because of that reason that Fu Xi Yan had preferred roasting under the summer sun outside while pretending to be a fisherman.
Now Pei Yuan Jin looked over with an unreadable gaze. His expression seemed no different from usual, but the subtle grievance in his eyes resembled a tiny hook scratching lightly at Fu Xi Yan’s heart.
Fu Xi Yan nearly surrendered immediately, but luckily the owner of the ship came out at that moment too.
This ship had traveled along the canal for ten days without encountering a single inspection or roadblock. Naturally, it possessed an extremely powerful background.
When Fu Xi Yan left Jingmen, he had never expected to run into a merchant ship belonging to the Liu family here, much less discover that the person behind the Liu family was Qin Zhao, Prince of Yue.
Elio’s Notes: This is the Merchant Alliance’s Liu family (柳), not General Liu Tan Du’s Liu family (刘). The two surnames are different in Chinese but both romanize as Liu.
Thinking about what they were about to do next, he had to admit that the former regent and his son had planted far deeper and broader arrangements throughout Southern Yu than appeared on the surface. Qin Xiao Xun’s decision to focus almost entirely on the Spirit Sect’s internal struggle had been a major strategic mistake.
Fu Xi Yan thanked the shipowner for days of hospitality, then leapt lightly onto the black-canopied boat.
The boatman seemed slightly nervous. His grip tightened around the oar, while his head instinctively lowered.
The gesture strongly resembled someone Fu Xi Yan knew.
Fu Xi Yan curiously leaned closer. Before he could get a clear look, an arm settled across his shoulder. Pei Yuan Jin pulled him back into his embrace with a little force and pinched his cheek unhappily.
Fu Xi Yan caught Pei Yuan Jin’s troublesome hand and stared at the boatman’s back. “Have I met you before?”
The boatman hesitated, removed his bamboo hat, turned around, and bowed. “This humble one greets Young Master Pei and Young Madam Fu.”
It was the first time someone had called him Young Madam with his surname attached. Fu Xi Yan found it novel. “Lift your head first.”
The boatman cautiously raised his face into the faint glow of the fishing lamp.
Who was this?
Fu Xi Yan felt the answer had already reached his lips but refused to come out. Pei Yuan Jin finally reminded him from beside him. “White Dragon Gang.”
Fu Xi Yan clapped his hands. “Right! You’re that river-bandit chief. What was your name again?”
“This humble one is Pu Ying Xiong.”
Fu Xi Yan said, “Excellent name. Pity about the…” He left the rest unsaid. The meaning was obvious.
Pu Ying Xiong hurriedly said, “This humble one has turned over a new leaf and now serves Chief Qi.”
Fu Xi Yan asked, “Why switch sides for no reason?”
Jianghu bandits were much like officials at court. They cared greatly about factions. Television dramas loved having people suddenly betray their side for one reason or another whenever the plot demanded it, but for a real person, defecting from the faction that defined their life was never something decided in three casual sentences.
Pu Ying Xiong smiled bitterly. “After I ran into the Young Master and Young Madam last time and lost four boats, Second Chief punished me heavily when I returned. He broke one of my legs.”
The leg had been broken and was not treated in time, leaving him permanently impaired.
River bandits might not care much about appearance, but they cared about strength. Pu Ying Xiong had never been an exceptional martial artist and had relied mostly on sheer ferocity to win Lu Shan Hu’s appreciation. After the leg injury, his ability dropped sharply, and his status fell with it. Gradually he was pushed to the margins.
When he had been successful, he had offended plenty of people. Once he fell, naturally some came to take revenge. At that point Qi Wen Xin extended an olive branch. Whether or not the branch was poisoned, a man with nowhere else to go could only reach for it.
Fu Xi Yan fell silent. Having a leg broken was naturally miserable, but since Pu Ying Xiong’s profession had been river banditry, it was difficult to feel much sympathy.
Pu Ying Xiong said, “Thanks to Chief Qi not looking down on me, I can still make a living on the river.”
Fu Xi Yan asked, “Do you know what we’re going to do next?”
Pu Ying Xiong hesitated. Qi Wen Xin had never explicitly told him anything, but after so many years in this line of work, he could still read changes in the situation. He simply did not know whether saying it aloud was wise.
But the two people before him… men like them could probably see through any lie at a glance.
Pu Ying Xiong gritted his teeth. “This humble one dares guess that we’re probably going to take control of the entire White Dragon Gang.”
Everyone knew the White Dragon Gang had originally belonged to the Qu family. Later the eldest miss married a scholar, then that scholar killed her. People who knew the inside story, however, understood that the real killer had been Lu Shan Hu, the White Dragon Gang’s second-in-command. The scholar Qi Wen Xin had merely been a puppet pushed to the front. Yet now that puppet had developed thoughts and ambition of his own. No, perhaps it would be more accurate to say the puppet had come with ambition from the very beginning.
Even someone as simple-minded as Pu Ying Xiong knew that figures like Pei Yuan Jin and Fu Xi Yan could never have been invited by an obedient puppet scholar. Who stood behind Qi Wen Xin? What did they want? Had Eldest Miss Qu’s marriage itself been a trap from the beginning?
By the time he thought that far, Pu Ying Xiong already felt his head splitting and his heart trembling. He could not understand what came next and did not dare try. In any case, he was already aboard this boat and knew where it was going. Which dock it ultimately reached no longer seemed especially important.
After all, the two pieces currently sitting on the boat guaranteed their side could not lose.
The questions Pu Ying Xiong could not answer had already become clear to Fu Xi Yan the moment Qin Zhao made his request.
After Fu Xi Yan asked Qin Zhao for two favors that day, he immediately asked what he could do in return. Qin Zhao did not stand on ceremony and named a condition on the spot.
They were not friends, and emotion was not what maintained their relationship. If Qin Zhao had asked for nothing, Fu Xi Yan and Pei Yuan Jin would have owed him an enormous favor. Perhaps one day they would repay it, but until that happened, the two sides could never stand as equals. Neither wanted that.
You help me, I repay you. At the beginning of cooperation, this kind of straightforward exchange was actually the most comfortable arrangement.
Fu Xi Yan simply had never imagined that their accidental encounter on the Yangtze that day would turn out to be one of Qin Zhao’s buried pieces.
The White Dragon Gang, hegemon of the Yangtze waterways, commanded countless warships and large numbers of river bandits who could be summoned directly into battle. How could anyone not covet such a force? The Southern Yu court had launched repeated campaigns against the gang partly because it wanted to recruit them, but every attempt had failed. That was why the scholar had eventually been sent to marry into the family.
The method was hardly honorable, but the enormous White Dragon Gang really had split from within.
Most people believed Lu Shan Hu had used Qi Wen Xin to seize control of the White Dragon Gang. They never realized that from beginning to end, Qi Wen Xin had been the one pretending to be a pig while eating the tiger. If Qu Xiang had not escaped with part of the gang and established Dragon-Swallowing Stronghold, what Lu Shan Hu remained today might have been nothing at all.
But Qu Xiang had lost his daughter in old age and been betrayed by both subordinate and son-in-law. Even if rage had kept him alive long enough to establish Dragon-Swallowing Stronghold, his health and energy had deteriorated badly. Not long ago, Lu Shan Hu received word that Qu Xiang had fallen seriously ill and remained unconscious for several days. He spent time confirming the intelligence, and once satisfied it was true, immediately began planning a major assault.
At the same time, Qi Wen Xin was preparing to pull in the final net.
The reason Fu Xi Yan and Pei Yuan Jin had spent two days near Taihu and drifted around the river for so long was entirely to coordinate with this operation.
If the operation succeeded, the Yangtze’s largest river-bandit force would become one of Qin Zhao’s hidden blades. It possessed powerful combat strength and mobility and could strike south toward Jinling or Lin’an at any time.
Qin Zhao’s willingness to reveal such an important piece showed considerable sincerity.
So Fu Xi Yan decided they had to handle this job beautifully. For example, they absolutely could not expose their identities. If the Immortal Treasury Palace’s Young Master and Young Madam appeared in a war between river bandits, it would immediately trigger every sensitive nerve belonging to Qin Xiao Xun and the Spirit Sect. Contributing effort while hiding their names was therefore their greatest concern.
The oar struck the water in a steady rhythm. The moon reflected on the surface in a wavering shadow that looked ready to shatter at any moment. Once night fell, the scenery along the banks became repetitive and dull.
Faint birdcalls came from the shore. Perhaps the birds were foraging at night.
Fu Xi Yan sat beneath the canopy eating dried little fish supplied by Pu Ying Xiong. Pei Yuan Jin sat opposite him, calmly drinking tea.
Fu Xi Yan ate while repeatedly sneaking glances at him from the corners of his eyes. Every time Pei Yuan Jin looked back, Fu Xi Yan immediately shifted his gaze away. After several rounds of this, Pei Yuan Jin turned his face aside and looked even colder.
“Angry?”
Fu Xi Yan teased him with a dried fish.
Pei Yuan Jin disliked the dry, strongly fishy snack. He frowned faintly and pressed his lips together.
Fu Xi Yan simply flipped the fish into his own mouth and chewed it loudly.
Pei Yuan Jin watched him coldly.
He had not spoken for an entire day. It seemed as though every pore on his face was declaring, “I cannot be coaxed.”
But when Fu Xi Yan genuinely concentrated on eating the dried fish and said nothing, Pei Yuan Jin’s expression grew even worse.
After finishing, Fu Xi Yan poured himself tea and carefully rinsed his mouth for quite a while. Then he breathed into his palm, discovered a lingering fishy smell, and asked with some distress, “How about tomorrow?”
Pei Yuan Jin’s eyes had followed him the entire time. At those words, his gaze immediately shot over like a blade.
Fu Xi Yan pointed toward the bow and whispered, “There’s someone else here.”
The river was far too quiet at night.
The moment he said it, Pu Ying Xiong’s back visibly stiffened. His backside edged forward without leaving any obvious trace. If a person could swim and row at the same time, he probably would already have been beneath the boat rather than aboard it.
Pei Yuan Jin said, “He can’t see.”
Fu Xi Yan sighed, then crooked a finger at him.
Pei Yuan Jin leaned closer with a cold face. Smack. A loud kiss landed on his cheek.
Pei Yuan Jin turned his head and offered the other side.
Fu Xi Yan kissed that cheek too.
Pei Yuan Jin turned his face forward again. Looking into his eyes, Fu Xi Yan immediately became a little embarrassed.
Ever since Fu Xi Yan had gotten carried away and taken liberties with Young Master Pei just before breaking into the palace that day, it was as though he had activated some alarming mechanism. For the past ten days, scenes like this had repeated endlessly from morning until night. He had even started fishing that afternoon purely to steal himself half a day of peace.
Fortunately, he had stopped at a light touch that first time, so although their encounters were frequent, their progress still remained relatively superficial.
Fu Xi Yan kissed Pei Yuan Jin’s lips. Only after satisfaction appeared in Pei Yuan Jin’s expression did he withdraw and mutter unhappily, “You started it first.” Pei Yuan Jin had kissed him and then acted as though nothing had happened. Why did Fu Xi Yan have to bear all the consequences once he initiated things?
Fu Xi Yan did not voice that final complaint, but Pei Yuan Jin guessed it. With a nearly invisible trace of embarrassment, he said softly, “I thought you didn’t like it.” In his understanding, what he had done back then counted as taking liberties with Fu Xi Yan. Although Fu Xi Yan had never objected, Pei Yuan Jin still felt somewhat guilty.
Only when Fu Xi Yan initiated a kiss himself did Pei Yuan Jin realize the other man permitted it.
And if it was permitted… then naturally, the more the better.
Young Master Pei’s thought process was so simple and straightforward that Fu Xi Yan did not know whether to laugh or cry.
He pretended to be dissatisfied. “What, you can’t take the initiative?”
Pei Yuan Jin looked at him, eyes bright as the morning star. “Oh, I can?” The final syllable had barely ended before he kissed Fu Xi Yan, clearly unwilling to risk waiting around for a negative answer.
Compared with Fu Xi Yan’s brief, experimental touches, Young Master Pei fully demonstrated his characteristic refusal to retreat. He had not yet learned the many variations of kissing, but he used tremendous force. For one moment, Fu Xi Yan feared his big round face might become a big concave face.
He hesitated, moved his lips, and tried to say something. Then he personally experienced Young Master Pei’s terrifying learning ability, in every possible respect.
The river at midnight carried a faint coolness, but inside the canopy without even a curtain, things were becoming passionately hot.
Fu Xi Yan’s mind wandered a little.
There was still a long distance before they reached the Yangtze. He wondered when they would arrive, and whether by then he would have sausage lips like Tony Leung in The Eagle Shooting Heroes.
Elio’s Notes: Fu Xi Yan is referencing the 1993 comedy film The Eagle Shooting Heroes, where Tony Leung’s character famously ends up with grotesquely swollen “sausage lips.”
A faint sting touched the tip of his tongue.
Strict Young Master Pei had expressed strong dissatisfaction with his lack of focus.
Fu Xi Yan soothingly licked him, but his thoughts immediately wandered in another direction. He wondered whether Palace Lord Pei would be unhappy to discover his son had found himself a man with a swollen tongue.
Hundreds of warships were locked in fierce attack and defense across the broad surface of the Yangtze.
Although Qu Xiang had escaped with part of his forces, rebuilt himself, and established Dragon-Swallowing Stronghold, its foundation was far weaker than before. The small sects and groups he later absorbed had no decent warships. Placed opposite the White Dragon Gang’s uniformly enormous vessels, they looked like nothing more than a rabble.
Anyone watching would conclude Qu Xiang was destined to lose.
Anyone except Qu Xiang himself.
The supposedly gravely ill and unconscious Qu Xiang was currently sitting aboard his vessel, Heaven-Swallowing, with a ruddy face and astonishing energy. Beside him stood a cold and aloof young woman.
If Fu Xi Yan and Pei Yuan Jin were here, they would immediately recognize her as Xie Yun Ling, the Spirit Sect’s Azure Lotus Envoy.
The Spirit Sect might not possess the former regent’s ability to lay plans across a thousand li and split the White Dragon Gang from within using a single scholar, but it had always monitored the movements of Southern Yu’s factions. Naturally, it had never overlooked the feud between the White Dragon Gang and Dragon-Swallowing Stronghold.
After the battle in the new city, Ban Qing Yu’s ascension failed and her position deteriorated badly. Facing Wu Xuan Yin’s aggressive advance, she had no choice but to temporarily avoid confrontation and enter seclusion to stabilize her cultivation.
Before entering seclusion, she predicted that Qu Xiang did not have long to live and would inevitably grow desperate for revenge. A major battle between White Dragon Gang and Dragon-Swallowing Stronghold was therefore bound to happen soon. If her faction could support one side and absorb both forces afterward, it would not only strengthen the Spirit Sect, but also increase her own faction’s voice within it.
The White Dragon Gang currently had one nominal ruler and one real ruler, making two power centers and an extremely complicated internal situation. Compared with Dragon-Swallowing Stronghold, it was also the stronger side and would never accept outsiders interfering in its affairs.
Dragon-Swallowing Stronghold was different. Qu Xiang was already old, had no successor, and asked for little beyond revenge during what remained of his life. He might not care deeply about keeping control of the stronghold. That made him the perfect candidate.
As expected, Xie Yun Ling needed only five days to persuade Qu Xiang. Not long afterward, Qu Xiang became “gravely ill.”
Seeing Qu Xiang growing emotional, Xie Yun Ling reminded him coldly, “The Spirit-Nourishing Pill is not a universal miracle medicine. Old Stronghold Master should avoid becoming overly agitated.”
Qu Xiang said, “This old man has already reached the age of knowing fate. If I can live long enough to cut off the heads of Lu Shan Hu and Qi Wen Xin, those two dog thieves, I can die with my eyes closed.”
Xie Yun Ling said, “Lu Shan Hu is aboard the White Dragon.”
Qu Xiang frowned. “Where is Qi Wen Xin?”
Compared with Lu Shan Hu, he hated Qi Wen Xin even more. Lu Shan Hu had betrayed him, but at least the man became his own master afterward. Qi Wen Xin killed his wife and still ended up nothing but someone else’s puppet. What benefit had he gained? He was unimaginably stupid. Qu Xiang truly must have been blind when he gave his daughter to him!
The thought of his daughter’s miserable death made his heart suddenly flutter. He could not help pulling a Spirit-Nourishing Pill from his robe.
Xie Yun Ling watched coldly. “Taking more won’t help.”
Qu Xiang ignored her, so she could not be bothered saying more.
After swallowing the pill, Qu Xiang felt his chest ease considerably. He exhaled deeply. “We must find Qi Wen Xin.”
Xie Yun Ling did not think an ornamental pretty boy living off his wife could possibly matter much, but she still agreed. “Soon.”
At that moment, Qi Wen Xin was personally rowing a small boat to collect the two experts who had come to assist him.
“If I’d known today would come, I should’ve meddled in their business back then.”
He muttered to himself, unable to stop regretting that he had failed to make a better impression when they first met.