Chapter 15

Xu Fengnian returned to the mansion with a group of valiant riders, heading to the courtyard where Old Kui resided. As soon as he entered the room, he saw a table full of delicious dishes, clearly the work of someone who couldn't enjoy a meal without meat and a drink without alcohol. Old Kui, whose figure was like a small mountain, exuded an intimidating presence even while seated, and with two chains and two knives, the servants dared not approach. When Old Kui saw Xu Fengnian, he asked bluntly, "Kid, did Old Huang go to challenge that old immortal Wang in Wudicheng?"

Xu Fengnian, looking dejected, nodded and sat on the stool opposite Old Kui, who had snow-white hair, without a word.

The old warrior smiled and said, "Little kid, I didn't expect you to be someone who values old ties. You're much more decent than your father. Xu Xiao, that butcher, is cunning and hypocritical, sweet-talking but treacherous. He can share hardships, but if you want to share prosperity, forget it. Hey, little kid, are you angry? With your half-baked skills, do you think you can fight me? Without Old Huang, unless the Beiliang Mansion calls out the few remaining hidden experts, no one can match me."

Xu Fengnian pouted and muttered, "Old Huang is gone, so you dare to act like the king of the mountain without a tiger."

Old Kui, with his sharp hearing, didn't get angry. He said calmly, "If I can't win, I can't win. There's no shame in it. Old Huang's sword skills are on par with Deng Tai'a, who likes to play with peach branches. How many people in the world study the sword? Even the Wu family's sword tomb hasn't produced a swordsman in thirty years who can make Wang Laoxian use both hands. I lost to Old Huang with no regrets. Since I was born, the only ones who could match Deng Tai'a and Wang Laoxian in swordsmanship were Old Huang, and he was just a notch below. There are only a handful of such people in the world."

Old Kui's words made Xu Fengnian feel a bit more respect, thinking that true experts indeed have a broad mind, something ordinary people can't match. No wonder there are so few experts in the world. It's quite understandable that I, the young lord, can't become one.

But just as Xu Fengnian started to admire him, Old Kui's next words shattered the high image he had just built. "Kid, where's a spacious outhouse? I'm not used to these gilded and jeweled toilets. I've been holding it in the lake for years, and I can't even have a proper bowel movement. Quickly find me a place to let it all out, and I bet people miles away will smell it. Ha ha!"

Seeing Old Kui, who was still chewing on roasted meat, thinking about going to the outhouse to stink things up, Xu Fengnian's face twitched. He got up and called for a servant to lead the old man with the chains and giant knives to the toilet. The young lord himself quickly fled, muttering curses along the way.

Wutong Garden was where Xu Fengnian grew up, named after the saying that phoenixes only rest on paulownia trees.

Grand Marshal Xu Xiao often said earnestly, "Son, when your mother gave birth to you, she had a dream of phoenixes entering her belly. You are destined for greatness. Who else would I love if not you?"

At first, Xu Fengnian would counter, "Then why hasn't any hermit said I have a unique bone structure and am a martial genius?" Xu Xiao would explain, "True experts are rooted in one place and don't move. Look at Wang Xianzhi and the old swordsmen of the Wu family's sword tomb. Who among them claims to be an expert? They're all frauds. How could they recognize my son's unique talent?"

After hearing this so many times, Xu Fengnian simply ignored it, thinking that as the heir of the only non-royal king in the dynasty, with countless servants, he didn't need to roll up his sleeves and fight. But deep down, he still envied those heroes who could leap through the air and walk on walls, often competing on rooftops.

Now, having seen the incredible skills of Old Huang and Old Kui, he couldn't help but feel a bit regretful. He had heard that the few immortal couples in the world were always the man with unmatched martial skills and the woman with a beauty that could make the moon hide in shame. Had he ever heard of a man with a handsome appearance and a woman with unmatched martial skills?

When Xu Fengnian entered Wutong Garden, his gloomy mood lifted. The head maid, Qingniao, came forward, her delicate arm wrapped in expensive Shu embroidery, with a "Six-Year Phoenix" falcon perched on it. Seeing the young lord, she smiled and said, "Young master, Sweet Potato has warmed the bed, and Green Ant is waiting for you to play Go."

Xu Fengnian poked the falcon with his finger and smiled as he entered the room, where two beautiful maids had already removed his outer robe.

The twenty-odd maids and servants in Wutong Garden originally had elegant names like "Red Musk" and "Parrot." But after the young lord returned from his travels, most of their names were changed, except for Qingniao. Even the head maid Red Musk, who was always favored for her natural fragrance, was renamed to the vulgar "Sweet Potato." Others had even worse fates, like the maid named "White Dry" after a strong liquor, and the most unfortunate, who was called "Cucumber" because she liked to wear yellow clothes.

In the inner room, Xu Fengnian jumped onto the bed and snuggled into the fragrant quilt, hugging a young beauty. The entire quilt was filled with a pleasant scent. In a few days, it would be even more magical, as the maid, Sweet Potato, would attract bees and butterflies whenever she stepped outside.

The maid skilled in Go, Green Ant, was known as the female master of the Beiliang Mansion. Even some skilled guests found her challenging. The standard Go board had seventeen lines, but Xu Fengnian's second sister changed it to nineteen, a move that caused a stir in the dynasty and was eventually adopted by the Shangyang Academy, becoming the norm among scholars.

Xu Fengnian played a game with Green Ant, but his mind was elsewhere, and he lost badly.

He wasn't a bad player, even his teacher Li Yishan had praised him for his "excellent vision, but lacking in detailed strategy." Though it didn't sound like a compliment, it was a significant honor coming from Li Yishan.

Of course, if Xu Fengnian were to be called a Go master, it wouldn't be accurate. The true master was his second sister, Xu Weixiong, who was so formidable that even the famous "Wooden Fox" scholars felt inferior.

Xu Fengnian pushed away the finished game, lay down, and had Sweet Potato massage his temples, lost in thought. Green Ant, seeing her master's mood, didn't dare to disturb him. When Xu Fengnian got up, he said, "You all go out. Without my permission, even Xu Xiao can't come in."

Sweet Potato, with her full figure, fair and smooth skin, and natural fragrance, was the most favored despite not actively seeking it. As she got out of bed, Xu Fengnian playfully patted her buttocks, and she blushed, turning back with a charming smile.

Once the maids left, Xu Fengnian sat up straight and took out a brocade scroll, which was Old Huang's life's work. Even if Xu Fengnian had no interest in martial arts, he treated it with respect, hiding it in a mysterious box under the bed.

To open the box, one had to move seventy-two small squares in the exact sequence. The box was incredibly sturdy, and even a sword couldn't break it. Xu Fengnian was skilled at this, able to open it with his eyes closed. He placed the scroll inside, pushed the box back into the hidden compartment under the bed, and lay down again.

Estimating the time, he thought Old Kui should have finished in the outhouse. He got up, put on his fine clothes, and called for "Cucumber," who immediately went to another courtyard to fetch three cucumbers. Xu Fengnian held one in his hand and tucked two under his arm, munching as he walked.

At first, he was worried that the area around Old Kui's courtyard would be unbearably smelly, but upon approaching, he realized it was a baseless concern. The mansion's outhouses were well-prepared with fragrances, and even if Old Kui's bowel movements were as fierce as his swordplay, the smell didn't spread far.

Old Kui had not only finished but also taken a bath, changed into clean clothes, and was sitting on the steps, stroking his knife without looking up. "Kid, you're really not afraid?"

Xu Fengnian sat next to him and laughed lightly, "Old Huang said you're not only the best knife user in the world but have never killed indiscriminately, so I'm not afraid."

Old Kui laughed heartily, shaking his head. "Half true, half false. I don't kill indiscriminately, but I'm not the best knife user. Kid, you're too smooth with your words. I don't like it."

Xu Fengnian grinned, "As long as the girls like me, it's fine. Grandpa, if you don't like it, that's your problem. After we beat the turtle on Wudang Mountain, we'll part ways. But if you still enjoy the mansion's food, feel free to stay and eat as much as you want. You're welcome."

The old man chuckled and asked, "What about the Wudang Mountain patriarch, what level is he?"

Xu Fengnian thought for a moment and said, "He shouldn't be very high. A Wudang Mountain Taoist under thirty can't be that powerful, and he's not famous in the martial world."

Old Kui nodded, understanding. "Ah, he must be the younger brother of Wang Chonglou, the current Wudang Mountain patriarch. I heard about him when I entered the Liang region. His martial talent is average, but he specializes in Daoist rituals and has some mysterious abilities."

Xu Fengnian asked the most pressing question, "Can you beat him?"

Old Kui said casually, "Kid, I'll give you a piece of advice: you won't know if you can beat someone until you try."

Xu Fengnian couldn't help but think, "That sounds heroic, but you've been stuck in the lake for over a decade."

Old Kui tapped Xu Fengnian's head with his knife, "Don't think I don't know what you're thinking."

Xu Fengnian forced a smile and said, "So, shall we go and make a fuss at that Wudang Mountain?"

Old Kui suddenly stood up, his shadow enveloping Xu Fengnian, the chains clanging. "Let's go!"

...

Wudang Mountain has two pools, four ponds, nine wells, twenty-four deep ravines, thirty-six rocks, and eighty-one peaks. Every five miles there's a temple, and every ten miles a palace, with red walls and green tiles. The Jade Pillar Peak, with the Tai Zhen Palace at its summit, is the center, and the eighty-one peaks around it bow in reverence, forming the famous "Eighty-one Peaks Bowing to the Great Summit." For a thousand years, countless seekers of immortality have come to Wudang, meditating on cliffs or hiding in coffins, listening to the sounds of jade and gold, and watching the mist and clouds rise over the green mountains, leaving behind countless legends.

Wudang was the Daoist holy site of the previous dynasty, surpassing Longhu Mountain. After the founding of the Linyang Dynasty, Longhu Mountain was promoted, and Wudang was suppressed, making Longhu Mountain the Daoist ancestral temple.

Wudang had been quiet for hundreds of years, but no one dared to underestimate its thousand-year heritage. The current patriarch, Wang Chonglou, is one of the top ten experts, and it is said that he once broke the surging Canglang River with a single "Immortal's Finger." Whether this is exaggerated or not, he is still a highly respected Daoist elder. Especially since he practices the most obscure and time-consuming "Great Yellow Court" ritual, giving the entire Wudang Mountain a sense of silent but profound power.

Two hundred Beiliang cavalrymen rode in a grand procession.

A towering old warrior in a black robe, dragging a long knife, ran, kicking up dust.

The ground shook.

The group charged straight to the "Xuanwu Dangxing" archway at the entrance of Wudang Mountain.

The lead rider actually rode his horse through the archway before pulling the reins.

For a hundred years, only the old butcher Xu Ren, who struck fear into the hearts of the older generation, dared to show such disrespect to a martial arts sect.

Is the son of a tiger a dog?

The young lord, Xu Fengnian, riding a strong Beiliang warhorse, smiled wryly and looked at the group of Taoists attracted by the grand display. He shouted, "Give me half an hour, and make that old man on the blue ox come out!"

The Wudang Mountain Taoists were in a dilemma. They knew there was a senior uncle on the Jade Pillar Peak who liked to ride a blue ox backward, but they were just ordinary priests at the Yuxing Palace at the foot of the mountain. Even if they could persuade the senior uncle, it would take at least half an hour to reach the Tai Zhen Palace, and a full hour to return. Could the visitors wait?

The Jade Pillar Peak has two peaks, the large and small Lotus Peaks. The large Lotus Peak has over a dozen caves for closed-door cultivation, while the small Lotus Peak, with its steep cliffs, is reserved for one person.

This person was brought up the mountain by the previous Wudang patriarch at the age of five and became a closed-door disciple. As a child, he became a fellow disciple with the current patriarch, Wang Chonglou.

Among the thousands of Taoists in the nine palaces and thirteen temples of Wudang Mountain, most would respectfully call this young man "Senior Uncle," and the younger ones would call him "Great Senior Uncle."

Fortunately, this young ancestor had never left the mountain, only seeing the "Xuanwu Dangxing" archway when he first arrived. For the past twenty years, he spent most of his time either in the Taiqing Palace on the Jade Pillar Peak or riding a blue ox backward on the large and small Lotus Peaks. Those who had the fortune to see him said he had a good temper, deep knowledge, and a refined demeanor.

While the entrance was noisy, the steep cliff by the turtle-carried stele on the small Lotus Peak was quiet.

A young Taoist with a clear and elegant appearance lay on the back of a stone turtle, basking in the sun. He waved his hand, and a blue ox grazing nearby walked over. The ox's horns hung with several ancient Daoist texts. He took one down, just about to read it, when he paused