Chapter 17#

Under the illumination of the lotus lamps lined up beside the large red carpet in the White Tiger Room, the hall was filled with people in strange clothes, their shadows flickering constantly with the rising and falling candle flames. When the hall masters learned that the Little Young Master was going to leave the fortress to travel, they all looked at each other in astonishment. It was only lamentable that once the Fortress Master’s decision was spoken, every word was golden and unchangeable.

After Hua Qianjue finished speaking about various arrangements, he flicked his wide sleeves and asked lazily, “Do you have any objections?” He looked around at the silent crowd and sneered, “Then it is settled.”

Hua Jinian, dressed in plain white formal attire, stood straight below the hall, looking down at his white satin shoe uppers. As soon as the man’s voice fell, the maids rushed to present the luggage with both hands, tears of affection wetting their rouge at the corners of their eyes. The young man remained silent for a long time, finally accepting it expressionlessly. Opening the layers of wrapping, what came into view were several huge bank notes, a yellowed book of mental cultivation methods, a thumb-sized porcelain bottle, and a purple jade Futu Token.

As soon as these items were exposed to everyone, there was an uproar. Wu Qiuping whispered, “Are my eyes playing tricks on me? The Flower Heart Mantra, the Condensed Essence Dew, the Purple Futu Token… These are all treasures of the fortress.”

Hua Qianjue swept a glance across, and wherever his gaze reached, there was immediate silence. He looked at the young man, pointed to the book of mental cultivation methods, and said in a flat tone, “This is the Flower Heart Mantra that many martial arts stars want to see. The position of Fortress Master will be yours sooner or later. Now that you are leaving the fortress, I have no chance to teach you martial arts anymore, so I might as well give this to you… With your aptitude, perhaps you can comprehend the first layer on your own. By the time you reach the age of knowing your destiny, you can also enter the realm of the third or fourth layer. Your internal energy will be full and inexhaustible, benefiting you for a lifetime.”

Seeing the young man silent, he pointed to the small porcelain bottle and said, “This is the Condensed Essence Dew. One drop is worth a thousand gold. The Return to Truth Pill is at most for healing injuries, but the Condensed Essence Dew is for saving lives. Even if a head is half severed, if you feed that person a drop, their life can still be extended for a day.”

After the man finished speaking, he finally pointed to the purple jade Futu Token and chuckled low, “You must also know that the Futu Token has three faces: purple, green, and yellow. This one is the one I carry with me. According to the rules of the ancestors of Futu Fortress, anyone who collects all three can command my Futu Fortress at will… Of course, this rule was abolished by me long ago… Now that you carry it, when you walk in the Jianghu and meet people from my fortress, it is also a proof.”

The young man seemed not to have heard, until the maid beside him pushed him lightly in anxiety. Only then did he react slowly. His eye sockets were dyed with a layer of dark shadow under the candlelight, looking somewhat haggard and tired. The man raised his sword eyebrows and asked grimly, “You don’t thank me?”

The young man gritted his teeth, suddenly looked up and glared at him, smiling gloomily, “I thank you!” As the young man spoke, he looked around and saw terrified gazes all over the seats, as if they all thought he would splash blood in the hall immediately. Hua Qianjue was indeed somewhat displeased, but more impatient and puzzled. His hand gently patted the armrest of the White Tiger Jade Seat, raising his eyebrows and shouting, “What else are you dissatisfied with? If you are scared like a coward… I can just call a bunch of shadow guards to follow you secretly.”

Hua Jinian looked at him carelessly and said indifferently, “Whatever you say, whatever you say, Father.” He casually carried the bundle on his shoulder and turned to leave. A few traces of contempt appeared in Hua Qianjue’s eyes, and he cursed in a low voice, “Good for nothing.”

Hearing this, the young man paused, slowly turned half his face, looked back at his father sitting high on the steps, and sneered, “Whatever you say, whatever.” He looked at Hua Qianjue, his lips slowly forming a few silent shapes: Never-see-each-other-again—

Saying this, he kicked open the heavy, several-hundred-jin black lacquer gate and strode out.

Hua Qianjue’s sharp eyes flashed, watching the young man’s trembling hands slowly being cut into a silhouette by the sunlight behind the door. The corners of his mouth slowly pursed into an arc, and he chuckled low, “This sentence… I’m really tired of hearing it. Still like a child in a fit of pique.” He looked left and right, and the people on the left and right trembled, no one daring to answer.

Hua Jinian, the only son of the Fortress Master of Futu Fortress.

Skilled in schemes, beautiful in appearance. Entered the Jianghu at the age of fourteen. Hidden for several years.

There are many stories of acting out of pique in this world. A young girl has a quarrel with her beloved, and often in a fit of anger promises herself to another; a man has a dispute with a close friend, and often never interacts with them again; a swordsman has a disagreement with someone in the Jianghu, and often provokes a sword fight under the moon. A moment of pique can bring many endings, such as injury, severing ties, death, losing one’s love forever, the country broken and the family gone—

If one says Hua Jinian’s pique was like a child, it would be too much of a compliment to children. That year, the people going down the mountain had just reached the foot of the mountain, and the people seeing them off had not yet returned to the fortress. Hua Jinian was in a white shirt, with twelve shadow guards following behind the young man, each one a master picked from ten thousand. The group walked to the bank of the Bishui River. The young man led the white horse to the river to wash the horse. The cold green water, the light of the sky above and below. Just in the blink of an eye, Hua Jinian completely disappeared from the eyes of the shadow guards, or rather—from the eyes of all the spies of Futu Fortress, from Hua Qianjue’s intelligence network, disappeared, and disappeared without a trace.

This ending was undoubtedly unexpected for the people in Futu Fortress. The hall masters did not risk death to remonstrate like the previous few times, more or less still holding expectations for Hua Jinian. These hall masters from all walks of life who acted with bias originally reluctantly sent the person away, preparing to sit on the big chairs and wait quietly for the good news of the young man’s initial victory, continuous victories, and even everlasting invincibility. They were widening their eyes imagining the young man sweeping through the Jianghu, enjoying gratitude and revenge, challenging all the famous and upright sects, and then loudly reporting the name of Futu Fortress with high spirits. Suddenly hearing this news was like a basin of cold water poured over their heads in the scorching sun, half in suspicion and self-blame, half in panic and helplessness.

When Hua Qianjue heard this news, he just raised his eyebrows slightly. It wasn’t until Futu Fortress poured all its efforts into searching the Jianghu for three months, still like panning for gold in the waves or drawing water with a bamboo basket, that he finally said faintly, “Stop looking, let him wander outside. Thought he would be sensible, but unexpectedly, I still overestimated him.” Su Meiniang tremblingly accepted the order, rolled her eyes, and still instructed her subordinates to search for more than a year, finding nothing, before this matter was gradually put aside.

The sun rises in the Jianghu, and heroes come forth in large numbers. A young man’s departure in a fit of pique brought neither injury nor bloodshed, nor separated mandarin ducks and butterflies. The maids would occasionally remember the young man’s gentle eyes, the hall masters would occasionally remember his respectful tone, but more often it was gradually forgotten. Hua Qianjue waved his hand to shake up the silk and bamboo music and the warm sun, and that figure in white was blown away by the sky full of red sleeves. Such a cowardly and plain pique… was neither generous enough to die for a cause, unable to withstand the historian’s pen, nor sentimental enough to catch the eyes of literati.

Another year passed, and the girls newly entering the fortress did not know Futu Fortress had Jinian.

Bizhou.

Bizhou has been a gentle land piled with pearls and jade since ancient times, a cave for squandering gold, where countless wealthy merchants throw away ten thousand gold at a time. The most famous place in Bizhou is Huanzhen Villa, the most romantic and amorous person is Young Master Shen of Huanzhen Villa, and the most prosperous place is Zhuque Street, filled with money houses, banks, pawnshops, escort agencies, and antique shops belonging to Huanzhen Villa.

Backyard of Weiyuan Escort Agency.

“Ah Fang!” an old woman with a head full of silver hair shouted loudly. In the flower garden, a young man dressed as a servant stood up in a daze, lowered his head and responded, patted the dirt on his hands, turned and rushed towards the servant’s room, but was dragged back by the ear by the old woman.

“You are slacking off again!” the old woman scolded loudly. The young man had a ruddy complexion and a slender figure, but in front of the old woman, he just kept lowering his head, gesturing with his hands, his face covered in dust, looking ordinary in features. The old woman glared at him angrily, then softened her tone and said, “It’s not that Aunt Liu wants to scold you, you should still learn a skill as soon as possible, so you can help the shopkeeper keep accounts or something in the future.”

Hearing this, the young man nodded respectfully, gestured with his hand again, and then entered the room with his head down. As the door of the servant’s room closed gently, a burst of noise suddenly came from the front hall of the escort agency, getting louder and louder. Then a woman’s charming scolding was heard: “Get out of the way! Don’t block my path!” Followed by sparse pushing and hitting sounds. Several servants dressed in earthy yellow cloth hurriedly stopped her, their faces full of embarrassment, repeatedly persuading, “This young lady, this is the backyard of the money house… all female relatives…”

The woman shouted, “Nonsense, could it be that I am a man… In my opinion, since the backyard is full of female relatives, I should come in and you should go out!” As she spoke, she looked back and forth in the backyard even more unscrupulously, laughing angrily, “She has such a big face, actually refusing to see us.”

The young man sat on the large communal bed, listening to the movement outside the room, his eyes slightly lowered, quietly wiping a coarse porcelain teacup in his hand. The commotion became more and more intense, and then a fragrance drifted over leisurely. It was the sound of bamboo forests rustling, ring pendants jingling, and a beauty walking with lotus steps. The young man let out an “Ah”, stood up from the large communal bed, walked a few steps to the window, pushed aside the bamboo curtain with his hand, and saw two women standing in the secluded path where flowers and trees met in the backyard, confronting each other from north and south.

The woman on the south side was a young girl in green, with a necklace of jade beads around her waist, a gem-encrusted scabbard hanging obliquely, willow eyebrows raised obliquely, carrying a bit of charming beauty that was half angry and half嗔. The woman on the north side wore no makeup, her white long skirt trailing on the ground, clear and refined like a goddess from the nine heavens. With such two beautiful women standing in this flower-filled backyard, even the gorgeous flowers lost some of their color, dazzling the eyes and captivating the mind unknowingly.

Those few servants shouted in panic, “Miss.”

The woman in green raised her eyebrows and cursed, “Qiuyi, you ungrateful guy!” Yi Xinchou sighed softly, “Xia Sha, don’t forget we are people of Huanzhen Villa… not people of the Golden Saber Ruan family. You say I am ungrateful, can you face Young Master Shen?”

Xia Sha raged, “Back then, Young Master Ruan almost died to save your life!” Yi Xinchou’s face changed slightly, then she smiled calmly in an instant, “Yesterday’s events are dead like yesterday. Since the day Ruan Xiyu and Young Master Shen cut their robes and severed their friendship, I don’t remember there being any Young Master Ruan in the world.”

Xia Sha looked resentful and wanted to argue again, when she heard a gentle but tired male voice behind her: “Xia Sha, no need to say more, I already… thank you very much.” The young man trembled slightly. Peering from afar in the room, a figure in pale green walked slowly from the front hall of the escort agency. Peerless in elegance, his figure had grown even more slender. Compared to a few years ago, his face was somewhat haggard.

The air seemed to freeze at this moment. Ruan Xiyu looked up at Yi Xinchou, saw her turn her face away, revealing a bitter but gentle smile, and said softly, “I know you hate me… but this time Emperor Jing wants to destroy the Ruan family, involving the lives of a hundred people in the Ruan family. I… don’t care about dying, but my father, my mother… they watched me grow up. Even if I die a hundred times…” Speaking of this, his face became even more pale, his slender and thin figure almost tottering.

He swayed for a while, then clenched his fists and forced himself to stand straight, smiling bitterly, “I originally wanted to sell all the Ruan family’s property this time and send it to Xuanzhou to exchange for my parents’ lives… But I didn’t expect that the pawnshop wouldn’t let me pawn, the bank wouldn’t let me exchange, the money house wouldn’t let me deposit or withdraw, and the escort agency wouldn’t let me transport. The one I offended is Young Master Shen. I should be the one to atone for the sin alone. Why must it involve my elderly parents… at this critical juncture!”

Speaking of this, his tone was almost choking. Yi Xinchou pressed her chest with her hand, tried to breathe a few times, and suddenly laughed, “I’m not afraid to tell you, it’s as easy as turning over a hand for Huanzhen Villa to cut off your way of life… I just want you to know, you are heartbroken and sad today, but do you know Young Master Shen’s heartbreak and sadness this past year…”

Ruan Xiyu looked up at her and suddenly smiled, “Qiuyi! …Xinchou! Consider it my begging you.” Saying this, he suddenly lifted his hem and knelt down towards Yi Xinchou. The faces of the two women instantly turned pale. Yi Xinchou subconsciously wanted to help him up, but suddenly withdrew her hand and turned her back. Ruan Xiyu looked at her desperately, suddenly kowtowed hard, and begged hoarsely, “I beg you, consider it my begging you, give the Ruan family a way out, give my parents a way out, please let me be filial for once… I haven’t had time to become an adult and be sensible, please don’t let me lose the opportunity to support them! I beg you!”

Xia Sha wanted to pull Ruan Xiyu up, but he knelt like a rock. In the blink of an eye, his head was broken and bleeding. Yi Xinchou’s back trembled incessantly, still stubbornly enduring not turning around, letting the sound of kowtowing bloom on the stone road, terrifyingly crisp. Just like this for about the time of half a cup of tea, the bustling human voices came again. Before the servants could exclaim, before Yi Xinchou could turn around, Ruan Xiyu felt a strong force hit him, and his body was pulled up forcefully. He felt the long-lost warmth, and suddenly tears flowed down with blood. He trembled and knelt down towards that person, trembling and begging, “Young Master Shen, Young Master Shen, please forgive my ignorance… save our family, save my parents, I beg you, I beg you…”

As he spoke, he was about to kowtow again, but was pulled up again. Between this pulling and tugging, Ruan Xiyu, due to mental exhaustion from not sleeping or drinking for several consecutive days, was now running out of oil. Finally, his vision blurred and he fainted. Shen Pinzhen looked around coldly. Yi Xinchou said tremblingly, “Young Master, if you want to blame someone, blame me. It was my private decision, I didn’t tell you, just to vent your anger.”

Shen Pinzhen gritted his teeth and said, “What did you do wrong! You did very well, too well! It was I who was wrong! I agreed with him to part on good terms… why did you interfere!”

Saying this, he flicked his sleeve, held Ruan Xiyu tightly in his arms, and shouted with his back to her, “Whatever property he wants to sell, you pay him double. Whatever silver he wants to cash, you pack snowflakes silver in boxes and send it to his door. Whatever things he wants to transport, you escort them properly! His parents are in imminent danger. If anything goes wrong, I will hold you responsible!”

Speaking of this, he paused, waved his hand tiredly, picked up Ruan Xiyu, turned and walked towards the front yard, instructing faintly, “As for the escort, you personally deliver it to the imperial city of Xuanzhou, use silver to save his parents’ lives. Prepare well, pick a few suitable young servants to take care of you.”