The room next door fell silent again. Although they had already had their suspicions before coming, actually hearing the answer confirmed by a physician still left them shocked.
Liu Tan Du was the Southern Border’s God of War. If he had fallen seriously ill and was bedridden, every faction would inevitably begin stirring. By coincidence, the Governor of Hubei, whose family was about to marry into the Liu family, had personally arrived in Jiangling that very day, adding yet another variable to the turmoil concealed behind the bed curtains.
Anyone who went to the trouble of arranging a whole table of food and wine just to question a physician about inside information was obviously not doing it merely to satisfy curiosity.
The men sharing Physician Ma’s table came from the government, the military, and the merchant houses. If they twisted themselves together into a single rope, they would certainly become one of the thickest ropes in Jiangling, perhaps even in the entire Southern Border. And right now, they were sitting there deciding whether they should twist together at all.
Someone probed, “Physician Ma is one of the finest physicians in the Southern Border. Since the Liu family managed to invite you, surely your healing touch made spring return and the illness vanished as soon as the medicine was given.”
Physician Ma said, “I am ashamed. This old man merely took the patient’s pulse. I did not participate in the treatment.”
The man asked, “Oh? Then what was the pulse like?”
Fu Xi Yan could not see what was happening inside the room and therefore did not know that several banknotes had already piled up in front of Physician Ma during the silence. The moment Physician Ma agreed to attend this gathering, he had already tossed medical ethics aside. Now he showed no coyness either, sweeping the banknotes into his robe before lowering his voice. “The sensory orifices are obstructed. He has been unconscious for some time.”
“What illness is it?”
Physician Ma said, “Hard to say.”
At that, both the people next door and Fu Xi Yan understood. Physician Ma probably had not taken part in the treatment because the illness was beyond his abilities. If the Liu family patient truly was ill, then the condition was likely quite serious.
The room next door remained silent for another while before the group began discussing who should go to the Liu residence and sound things out.
By then, Fu Xi Yan had lost interest and turned his full attention to the food. He had to admit that Far Fragrance Restaurant deserved the recommendation. One dish of Bijia fish maw had Fu Xi Yan practically glowing as he ate.
Elio’s Notes: Bijia fish maw is a Shishou specialty from the Jingzhou area, made from the swim bladder of local longsnout catfish. Its name comes from the bladder’s shape and markings, which resemble nearby Bijiashan, or “Brush-Rest Mountain.”
Unfortunately, the people in the neighboring private room were in no mood to enjoy the pleasures of fine food. They soon ended their meal and left. By the time Fu Xi Yan went out, a new group of guests had already taken their table.
To his surprise, the Taishi family’s manager was still waiting on the first floor and informed him that the bill had already been paid.
Something clicked in Fu Xi Yan’s mind. “Far Fragrance Restaurant belongs to the Taishi family?”
The manager smiled. “My lord gave instructions that whenever the two of you come, a place is to be kept for you and all expenses are to be waived.”
Fu Xi Yan immediately understood that what he had overheard today had been no coincidence. He took out a banknote and placed it on the counter. The manager’s expression changed slightly and he was about to speak when Fu Xi Yan said, “Lord Taishi and I are friends despite the difference in our ages. I accept his goodwill. But this is Lord Taishi’s restaurant, so naturally I should support his business.”
The manager knew that today’s arrangements had achieved their purpose, so he stopped arguing over the money.
Under the stares of practically everyone in the streets, Fu Xi Yan and Pei Yuan Jin leisurely made their way back to Fu Xuan’s residence. Without someone showing them the way, the place truly would have been difficult to find. Apparently, most of the houses in the area were rented by merchants from elsewhere, scholars who had come to study, and officials keeping secondary households outside their main residences.
Fu Xi Yan did not know why Fu Xuan had chosen to live here. But ever since the governor arrived, public security in the area had improved immediately. Yamen runners guarded the streets leading in and out, while patrols moved through the surrounding neighborhood. If Fu Xi Yan and Pei Yuan Jin had not been so unmistakable, they probably would have undergone a round of questioning before being allowed through the door.
Pei Yuan Jin said, “Their patrol routes were carefully planned.” They could not stop him, Fu Xi Yan, or Lu Qing, but Fu Fu, Fu Xuan, and the others would definitely remain under surveillance.
Fu Xi Yan said, “This looks like they’re facing a great enemy. It doesn’t feel like two families preparing for a marriage. It feels like they’re preparing for war. Liu Tan Du isn’t really at death’s door, is he?” If something truly happened to Liu Tan Du, then no reaction from the Liu family would be excessive.
As they spoke, the two had already entered the reception hall.
Fu Fu had been waiting since finishing dinner. By now, he had drunk five or six cups of tea, enough that if he moved, it almost sounded as though the tea were sloshing in his stomach. He asked resentfully, “Where did you go to eat something delicious?”
Fu Xi Yan struck first. “Dad, you’re already this old. Why are you always thinking about food? You should think about serious matters too.”
…
His prepared line stolen out from under him, Fu Fu laughed in exasperation. “And what serious matters did Mirror Master Fu go out to think about? Tell me!”
Fu Xi Yan sat down casually. “Nothing much. I just asked around about the Liu family. I heard Liu Tan Du might be ill.”
“Liu Tan Du is ill?” Fu Fu immediately forgot what he had intended to say and asked in surprise, “What illness?”
“Unconscious.”
Fu Fu looked doubtful. “How do you know?”
“Nothing special. Friends were just doing me a favor.” Practically raising his tail in pride, Fu Xi Yan recounted everything that had happened during lunch in exact detail.
Fu Fu pondered for a long while before saying, “Liu Tan Du isn’t the only man in the Liu family.”
Fu Xi Yan raised a brow. “…Liu Huan?” Fu Fu said, “If something had really happened to Liu Tan Du, do you think that Physician Ma would still have been able to walk out through the Liu family’s front gate?”
Fu Xi Yan thought about it and found that extremely reasonable. What kind of figure was Liu Tan Du? If something had truly happened to him, even if the Liu family did not silence Physician Ma permanently, they would never let him swagger out for a meal and leak information.
Even so, Fu Fu remained uneasy.
After thinking, he said, “The Liu family’s attitude today was unusual. Either Liu Huan confessed to Liu Tan Du that you already know about their connection with the north, or Liu Tan Du has learned what His Majesty intends.”
Fu Xi Yan picked up the thought. “Or the Liu family has made up its mind to side with the north and wants us to see the difficulty, retreat, and cancel this engagement ourselves!”
Fu Fu nodded. “A bargain isn’t much of a bargain when you’re the one chasing after it. I originally intended to leave the Liu family hanging and watch what happened. Now it seems we still need an opportunity to test what they’re really thinking.”
Seeing Fu Fu stare at him with burning eyes, Fu Xi Yan asked tentatively, “Uh… don’t tell me I’m the opportunity?”
Fu Fu said, “Of course something as embarrassing as pressing a warm face to a cold butt should be left to the younger generation. That way it’s less humiliating.”
Fu Xi Yan: “…”
Fu Xi Yan said sincerely, “Before you used the words ‘face’ and ‘butt,’ I didn’t think it sounded quite that humiliating.”
Before sending Fu Xi Yan out, Fu Fu deliberately asked Fu Xuan for his opinion.
Fu Xuan knew the situation in the military better. “General Liu truly hasn’t appeared for some time.”
Fu Xi Yan was shocked. “He hasn’t appeared for that long and nobody asked questions?” In his previous life, if someone in a position like that vanished for so long, people would either suspect he had gotten himself into trouble or wonder how he had somehow managed not to.
He complained, “What a cold, uncaring society!”
…
Fu Xuan said, “The General has always been trying to break through to the Dao-Entry Stage. Over the past two years, he has gone into seclusion for ten days or half a month every so often. There is nothing unusual about it.”
Fu Fu thought Fu Xi Yan was dawdling and urged him to go to the Liu residence.
Since it was an embarrassing errand, Fu Xi Yan had originally not intended to take Pei Yuan Jin along. But Pei Yuan Jin insisted, so Fu Xi Yan could only leave Fu Gui Gui behind and instruct Fu Fu to take good care of the family’s third generation.
Fu Fu looked at Fu Gui Gui, who seemed to grow taller by the day, and frowned. “What does it eat?”
Without looking back, Fu Xi Yan said, “Shredded meat. Not Jack and Jerry.”
The moment they left Fu Xuan’s residence, the Liu family received the news. Had Fu Xi Yan and Pei Yuan Jin possessed clairvoyance and supernatural hearing, they would have been surprised to discover that the person currently making decisions in the Liu household was neither Liu Tan Du, commander of the mighty lions, nor Liu Huan, heir to his mantle, but the reclusive Madam Liu.
Madam Liu knelt with her eyes closed inside a small Buddhist hall. Behind her, the household steward and an adviser from the prefect’s yamen took turns reporting what had been happening in the city.
Her expression did not change when the steward told her that Physician Ma had sold information about the household at Far Fragrance Restaurant. Only when the adviser said that Fu Xi Yan and Pei Yuan Jin were currently riding toward the Liu residence did she open her eyes. “The marriage between the Liu and Fu families was arranged by His Majesty and is bound to proceed. However, the General remains in seclusion, and there is no one in the Liu residence able to make decisions. Close the gates to visitors. Everything can wait until the General emerges from seclusion.”
When Fu Xi Yan arrived, the steward conveyed Madam Liu’s words in his own way.
Fu Xi Yan said, “Young Master Liu and I are old acquaintances. I can let the others go unseen, but I absolutely must see him.”
The steward said awkwardly, “Young Master is not at the residence.”
Fu Xi Yan smiled. “Don’t tell me he followed the prefect out to inspect the countryside?”
Anyone listening closely could hear the mockery in his voice. The steward did not care what Fu Xi Yan was actually saying and simply continued, “Young Master went away to travel and has not yet returned.”
Fu Xi Yan laughed from sheer anger. “The bride’s sedan has already reached Jiangling, and he’s still out traveling? What, is he planning to have a rooster stand in for him at the wedding ceremony?”
When a Dao-Entry Stage expert became angry, he did not need to do anything deliberately. The spiritual qi around him changed on its own. The steward suddenly felt a chill run through his body and his throat tighten until he could not speak. Only after Fu Xi Yan turned away did he finally release a sharp breath.
But since Fu Xi Yan had come all this way, how could he leave so easily?
Right in front of the steward, he simply climbed over the wall.
The steward: “…”
If it had happened out of sight, the steward could have pretended not to know. But now, to pretend he did not know, he would have to, would have to… His eyes rolled back and he collapsed.
Since he had fainted, naturally whatever happened afterward had nothing to do with him.
Thanks to the steward “fainting” at exactly the right time and drawing a wave of attention, Fu Xi Yan’s “infiltration” went extremely smoothly. It was his first time at the Liu residence, but the layouts of wealthy estates were all broadly similar. He felt his way through the grounds and found the person he was looking for in the third courtyard.
Liu Huan lay in the courtyard with his eyes closed, basking in the sun.
Fu Xi Yan’s first reaction upon seeing him was anger. It was as though the waters outside were already about to flood Jinshan, yet this esteemed gentleman was still sitting there chanting scriptures and pretending to be Xu Xian!
By the second glance, however, Fu Xi Yan could no longer stay angry.
After jumping into the courtyard, he made no attempt to conceal himself. If Liu Huan had been a normal, living, conscious person, he should have jumped up by now, whether laughing or shouting. In any case, he should not have remained so quietly sprawled there as though… unconscious.
A maid who had been embroidering inside heard the disturbance and came out. She stared blankly when she saw the two men, then hesitantly called out, “Who are you?”
Fu Xi Yan said, “I’m Liu Huan’s friend. What happened to him?”
The maid said, “Young Master went to Yicheng some time ago. He came back unconscious.”
“How long?”
“Young Master came back more than a month ago.”
Fu Xi Yan frowned. Coming back more than a month ago did not necessarily mean he had been unconscious for more than a month. It had been a very long time since Fu Xi Yan had last seen Liu Huan.
Still, if an ordinary person had been unconscious this long, he should have wasted away to skin and bones. Liu Huan instead looked as though he were merely asleep. Unless he had received a witch’s blessing at birth like Sleeping Beauty… could it be Gu?
Fu Xi Yan had more than enough firsthand experience with Gu. He immediately activated the Spirit-Sight Art and examined Liu Huan from head to toe.
Fortunately, the Spirit-Sight Art was a very morally upright technique. Although it could see through clothing, what it revealed was only the soul rather than anything as superficial as the body.
After using the Spirit-Sight Art, Fu Xi Yan raised his brows at Pei Yuan Jin.
Pei Yuan Jin could be considered a witness to the entire process by which Liu Huan had been approved as Fu Xi Yan’s brother-in-law. So this time he did not stand aside either. He picked up Liu Huan’s limp hand and checked his pulse.
He said, “His true essence is blocked and his true qi cannot circulate.”
If Fu Xi Yan had not possessed the Spirit-Sight Art, Liu Huan’s half-dead pulse might genuinely have frightened him.
Fu Xi Yan asked the maid, “Have physicians seen him? What did they say?”
The maid said, “None of them knew what to do.”
Fu Xi Yan frowned.
Had he not already known that the Liu family intended to break off the engagement and form a marriage alliance with the Northern Alliance, he might have believed Liu Huan’s unconsciousness was nothing more than an accident. Without showing anything, he said, “The Immortal Treasury Palace has a close relationship with the Little Divine Doctor. Leave this matter to us.”
The maid thanked him repeatedly, visibly excited.
Seeing that her expression did not seem false, Fu Xi Yan thought: The Liu family really is clever. They assigned him a maid who knows absolutely nothing. With her here, it becomes much harder for outsiders to spot anything suspicious.
He took Pei Yuan Jin by the hand and swaggered out. They encountered guards and servants along the way, but those people merely looked at them curiously and neither called out nor tried to stop them. Just like that, the two came and went freely and walked straight out of the Liu residence.
After actually making it out without a single obstacle, Fu Xi Yan could not help looking back.
If Liu Huan were genuinely unconscious and ill, how could Liu Tan Du still have the leisure to remain in seclusion? And if Liu Tan Du had the leisure to remain in seclusion, that suggested Liu Huan’s physical condition was not especially serious.
Perhaps this had something to do with the Northern Alliance.
Even from the most superficial angle, if Liu Huan remained unconscious and missed the wedding, Wen Ping could simply swoop in and take advantage of the opening. Afterward, she might even climb onto the moral high ground and accuse his sister of abandoning Liu Huan when he was in trouble instead of staying beside him at the critical moment.
Tsk, tsk. How low could she get?
After returning home, Fu Xi Yan truthfully told Fu Fu and Fu Xuan everything he had seen and heard, along with his own thoughts.
Fu Xuan asked, “When you went to the Liu residence, did you see Madam Liu?”
Fu Xi Yan said, “No. The steward never mentioned her from beginning to end.” As soon as he said it, he felt annoyed with himself. Just because the steward had not mentioned her, did that mean he could not have asked? The Liu family had three masters. One was unconscious, one was in seclusion, so naturally he should have thought to see the last one.
Fu Xuan comforted him. “I was only asking casually. Madam Liu has devoted herself to Buddhist practice for years and does not meet strangers.”
Fu Xi Yan said, “Second Uncle, tell me the truth. You really don’t have anything with Madam Liu…”
“No!”
“I haven’t even said what I meant.”
“Nothing at all!” Fu Xuan said with a dark face, utterly decisive.
Fu Xi Yan raised his voice. “If it isn’t Madam Liu, then it must be Liu Tan Du?”
Fu Xuan froze. Fu Fu could no longer listen to this nonsense. He glared fiercely at Fu Xi Yan, then looked toward Pei Yuan Jin beside him. “Do you think pairs like you two are easy to find?”
Fu Xi Yan’s eyes widened. He stared at Fu Fu. “Dad, you… you can’t betray Mother!”
Fu Fu was speechless. “What nonsense are you talking about?”
Fu Xi Yan abruptly turned back to Fu Xuan. “Second Uncle, when I mentioned Madam Liu just now, you denied it immediately. Why did you go silent when I mentioned General Liu? Don’t tell me that was tacit confirmation?”
Fu Xuan looked steadily at him for a while, then let out a soft sigh. “Since things have reached this point, I suppose I have no choice but to tell you.”
Fu Xi Yan had mostly been joking when he brought up Liu Tan Du. Hearing Fu Xuan say that, his face instantly went pale. He stepped backward twice and grabbed Pei Yuan Jin’s hand. “Was I too nosy just now?”
Pei Yuan Jin said, “Not just now.”
Fu Xi Yan: “…”
Fu Xuan said, “Actually, the technique I cultivate now, the Heaven-Mending, Future-Opening Art, was taught to me by Liu Tan Du.”
“Heaven-Mending, Future-Opening Art?” Fu Xi Yan asked blankly. “Why have I never learned it?”
Fu Xuan glanced at Pei Yuan Jin. Pei Yuan Jin was far too perceptive to need to be openly dismissed and tactfully rose to leave, but Fu Xuan waved a hand and told him to sit again.
Fu Xuan said, “The name speaks of mending what Heaven left lacking and opening what comes after. If one is deficient innately, one makes up for it through acquired effort. But every gain comes with a loss. Your natural talent is exceptional, so naturally you have no need for it.”
Elio’s Notes: The technique’s name plays on 先天 (xiāntiān, “innate” or “pre-Heaven”) and 后天 (hòutiān, “acquired” or “post-Heaven”). Its principle is to compensate through later cultivation for what a person was born lacking.
Fu Xi Yan remembered Fu Xuan once saying that he had never married because there was something unusual about the martial art he cultivated, but…
Fu Fu knew that cultivating the Heaven-Mending, Future-Opening Art meant Fu Xuan could not marry or have children, but he had never known Liu Tan Du was the one who gave him the technique. He immediately flew into a rage. “Liu Tan Du certainly managed to have a wife and child of his own.”
Fu Xi Yan became angry too. Don’t tell me Liu Tan Du practiced the Nine Yin Manual himself and handed Second Uncle the Sunflower Manual!
Elio’s Notes: In Jin Yong’s wuxia fiction, the Sunflower Manual is infamously associated with self-castration as the price of mastering its supreme martial arts. Fu Xi Yan is accusing Liu Tan Du of keeping the good manual for himself while saddling his uncle with the ruinous one.
Fu Xuan said, “Actually, ever since you told me the Northern Alliance wanted to arrange a marriage with the Liu family, I’ve been wondering whether Liu Huan truly is Liu Tan Du’s son.”
Fu Xi Yan instinctively looked at Fu Fu. Fu Fu was looking at him too.
The longer they looked at each other, the guiltier Fu Xi Yan began to feel.
Fu Fu answered a different question entirely. “The grace of raising a child is greater than Heaven. What does it matter if he isn’t related by blood?”
Fu Xuan said, “If he isn’t his biological son, then who is his biological father?”
Fu Fu sprang up as though someone had stepped on his tail. “Why must you ask who his biological father is? Is an adoptive father not still a father?”
Fu Xuan said, “That isn’t what I meant.”
Fu Fu glared at him. “Then what do you mean?”
Pei Yuan Jin said, “You suspect Liu Huan’s biological father is connected to the Northern Alliance?”
Fu Xuan’s scalp prickled under his elder brother’s glare. He hurriedly picked up the thread. “If Liu Huan were simply Liu Tan Du’s son, the Northern Alliance would only need to discuss the marriage with Liu Tan Du. There would be no need to persuade Liu Huan himself.”
In an era when marriages were decided by parents’ commands and matchmakers’ words, the decision ordinarily belonged to the two families’ elders. Wen Ping truly had no reason to chase Liu Huan herself.
Fu Xi Yan tried to find a flaw in that logic. “It is a lifelong matter. Maybe Wen Ping was worried that a melon twisted off the vine by force wouldn’t be sweet? All right, she’s still twisting it off by force now.”
Fu Fu’s stepped-on tail finally returned to normal, and his mind began working properly again. “If Liu Huan truly were that important, Liu Tan Du should never have agreed to his marriage with Xia Qing in the first place.”
There was really no way to argue with that.
Even Fu Xuan, who had already become convinced there was something unusual about Liu Huan’s background, fell silent.
Fu Xi Yan said, “Could Liu Huan’s true background have only just been discovered?”
Everyone fell silent again.
Fu Xi Yan poked Pei Yuan Jin, who was calmly drinking tea. “Young Master, what brilliant insight do you have?”
Pei Yuan Jin said, “Why bother worrying about what they are doing? We need only do what we intend to do.”
That was not wrong either. It was just that…
Fu Fu looked at Fu Xuan. Even someone as slow as him had noticed by now that Fu Xuan’s feelings toward Liu Tan Du were far from ordinary.
Fu Xuan sighed. “Liu Tan Du once saved my life.”
Fu Fu had cultivated for decades and was still only at the Bone Forging Stage. Back then, Fu Xuan had not even reached the True Essence Stage. But of the Fu family’s two sons, Fu Fu had to inherit the title, so Fu Xuan was the only one who could enter the army.
When Fu Xuan first joined the military, the situation at the Southern Border was extremely delicate. Northern Zhou’s struggle for the throne had entered its final, critical stage. Old General Niu had gone to Haojing, while the Southern Border itself was far from peaceful.
At the time, apart from the Liu family, two descendants of hereditary nobles and one scion of a great clan also wanted a hand in the Southern Border’s military power. Court struggles might not show blood on the surface, but every inch in a fight over military command was bought with it.
The Fu family had deep roots in the Southern Border and countless ties to Old General Niu, which made Fu Xuan the first target to be eliminated. At first, the three rivals only dared make trouble in secret. Then Prince Longnan’s cause failed and Emperor Jianhong ascended the throne, and the situation changed dramatically.
Old General Niu’s power was purged. The Fu family narrowly escaped because the old Count Yongfeng had been so unreliable, but Fu Xuan’s life in the army became difficult. The three rivals joined forces against him while the remaining Fu family influence kept its head down and tried to survive. At the critical moment, Liu Tan Du reached out and helped him.
Because Liu Tan Du’s elder brother was the emperor’s childhood friend and his elder sister was the emperor’s secondary consort, Liu Tan Du had already become the obvious choice to take command of the Southern Border.
It was at that time that Liu Tan Du gave Fu Xuan the Heaven-Mending, Future-Opening Art. He explained both its benefits and its harms clearly in advance. Even now, Fu Xuan remembered exactly what Liu Tan Du had said. “Marriage and children should always come after making something of yourself. If you cannot accomplish anything, then even wives and concubines in droves and a house full of descendants won’t change the fact that you yourself are still a useless failure!”
It was because of those words that Fu Xuan, without the slightest hesitation, chose to… practice it!
Afterward, he gradually went from an ordinary man incapable of cultivating true essence to an expert at the Vajra Stage. Unfortunately, perhaps his aptitude was limited. Even after all these years, he had never managed to touch the threshold of the Mortal-Shedding Stage.
The three people who had once joined forces to bully him had by now either been ruined or scattered. More than that, the Fu family’s remaining military influence in the Southern Border had survived to this day entirely because Liu Tan Du had shown restraint. Otherwise, after so many years, it would have been purged long ago.
After hearing Fu Xuan’s story, Fu Xi Yan fell silent.
If he put himself in Second Uncle’s place, he would probably have made the same choice. To know that immortality and cultivation existed in this world, yet be incapable of pursuing them himself, was an unbearably cruel thing.
Even if all he could reach was the Vajra Stage, Fu Xi Yan still thought it was worth it.
Besides…
Being unable to marry and have children did not mean a person had to spend his entire life without a partner.
He could not help taking Pei Yuan Jin’s hand and scratching lightly at his palm. Pei Yuan Jin immediately closed his hand around Fu Xi Yan’s and held it tightly.
Fu Fu’s view of Liu Tan Du shifted as well. His younger brother’s entry into the army had been born of helplessness in the first place. Their father had been so useless that he had offended practically everyone who could be offended. If the two brothers had not fought to carve out a road for themselves, the Count Yongfeng household would probably have collapsed long ago.
During the years Fu Xuan spent in the army, Fu Fu had hardly been idle in the capital either. Otherwise, their younger sister Fu Hui Ran could never have married the heir to Duke Haixi. Northern Zhou had only two dukes, and one of them had been elevated by the late emperor because he married a princess. The only ducal house that had truly stood firm in Northern Zhou through military merit alone was Duke Haixi, who guarded the Western Border.
The day Duke Haixi’s household came to the Count Yongfeng residence with a marriage proposal had shocked the entire city.