Chapter 26

Xu Fengnian opened his eyes, whistled, and a majestic spear falcon darted down from the sky, landing steadily on the young prince’s shoulder, tearing his clothes. The six-year-old phoenix, with its snow-white body, stretched out its head to rub against its master’s cheek. Xu Fengnian, unconcerned about the minor injury, extended a finger to tap the crimson beak of his beloved pet, and glanced sideways at the powdered-faced man preparing to attack, sneering, “A hundred Liangzhou iron cavalry are already ascending the mountain with crossbows. I want to see who kills whom.”

The woman disguised as a young master, still unafraid, angrily retorted, “You dare?”

Xu Fengnian laughed wildly, “In Beiliang, there’s nothing this young prince dares not do.”

The Dongyue swordsman frowned. The intelligence report indeed mentioned that a hundred elite cavalry of the Feng camp were stationed at the foot of Wudang Mountain, each equipped with a hundred North Liang central mechanism crossbows. These specially made crossbows of North Liang were far more powerful than ordinary bows and arrows. During the war, countless Xichu armored pikemen were killed by these weapons. A few dozen crossbows might be insignificant in battle, but if gathered in numbers exceeding eight hundred, they could be intimidating.

Xu Fengnian pointed at his nose, leering, “Hey, little sparrow, come to this young prince’s bed, and we’ll have a good fight, three hundred rounds. If you’re a virgin, that’s even better. This young prince is skilled in all eighteen martial arts and will ensure you ascend the mountain with high spirits but descend with weak legs.”

The woman who called herself “Your Majesty” gritted her teeth, but before she could kick or curse, the man who seemed to be from the netherworld leaped, closing the distance to just five steps from Xu Fengnian, bringing a cold wind and a piercing voice, “Not a human!”

At that moment, Xu Fengnian recalled the biting cold of the snowy night, when Old Huang’s thin body led the way, yet the wind still cut through, chilling to the bone.

Wang Chonglou stood between the young prince and the beardless man, his Daoist robe billowing like a ball.

He endured a powerful palm strike.

The soil around the old Daoist’s black shallow-toed shoes splattered, but his robust figure remained as immovable as the great peak of Wudang. The energy within his robe did not diminish; instead, it swelled even more.

The powdered-faced man quickly retracted his hand, suspiciously asking, “The Great Yellow Court? Are you Wang Chonglou?”

The old Daoist, who had been splashed with tea by Xu Fengnian, maintained his composure, not retaliating, and smiled, “Indeed, it is this poor Daoist.”

The beardless man cautiously retreated to his original position, bending down to whisper to the woman Xu Fengnian had mocked as a sparrow. Her expression was unpredictable, and she struggled to control herself. She raised her small hands, holding two dragon-phoenix night pearls, and pointed at the Wudang patriarch, cursing, “Stinking old Daoist, are you going to favor the guy behind you? Aren’t you afraid your entire mountain will suffer? How long have the four characters ‘Xuanwu Dang Xing’ been hanging at the foot of the mountain? They look quite impressive. Do you believe I’ll smash them?”

The old Daoist chuckled, his sleeves slowly settling without any wind, and did not respond to the arrogant woman’s insults. He turned to look at the young prince.

Xu Fengnian returned the look with a wicked smile, “Hey, sparrow girl, what a big mouth you have. I like it. Want to smash the archway? You’ll have to ask your future husband first.”

The wandering spirit of Dongyue inwardly sighed. The mouth of the Prince of Liang was sharper than his sword skills. How did the crippled Xu manage to raise such a reckless and unscrupulous son? Did he not hear the words “Your Majesty”? Or was he pretending to be deaf, truly believing no one could rival the Grand Marshal?

The hundred skilled archers of the Feng camp, having dismounted and ascended the mountain, were already in position, moving nimbly through the bamboo forest, waiting for the young prince’s command to turn the three into hedgehogs. The world knew the iron cavalry of Beiliang, loyal only to the Xu banner. The brave generals of Beiliang recognized only the tiger talisman of the Liang King.

The emperor was far away, and the emperor on the dragon throne seemed to have always trusted the last hetero-clan king. A few years ago, he even intended to marry Princess Suizhu to the eldest son of the Grand Marshal. Even in the capital, stories about the young prince were widely known. Some scholars and top graduates from Liang often mocked and ridiculed the young prince, sharing countless anecdotes about him. The common people worried that Princess Suizhu would be entering a tiger’s den, while the high officials in the capital, familiar with the palace, eagerly awaited Xu Fengnian’s arrival in the capital, expecting him to be killed by the similarly temperamental princess. Every time Princess Suizhu sneaked out of the palace, she would torment a dozen or so wealthy young men.

With the great Daoist, the Wudang patriarch for thirty years, by his side, and a hundred archers as his support, Xu Fengnian seemed to have gained immense confidence. He raised his sword Xiu Dong and pointed at the three, grinning, “You, little sparrow, woman. You, the stray dog of Dongyue, man, and you, the one who puts powder on your face, neither man nor woman. You three, don’t think about leaving the mountain. Stay and work like oxen and horses. When you’ve tidied up the vegetable garden, I’ll decide what to do with you. If I’m in a good mood, I’ll let you roll back where you came from. If I’m not, I’ll chop you up and feed you to the dogs! Patriarch Wang, are there dogs on this mountain?”

The old Daoist kept his eyes on his nose, ignoring the situation, unwilling to get involved.

In the bamboo forest, the bull-riding uncle shouted, “Young Prince, there are many wild dogs on the mountain. They howl fiercely at night, probably because they’re hungry.”

The old Daoist sighed, annoyed. This little junior brother was just stirring up trouble, which could easily burn Wudang to the ground.

The beardless man was furious. No one had ever dared to insult him so openly!

The woman, who had just been given an unpleasant nickname, tugged at the sleeve of the enraged man, whispering a few words. The man’s expression showed reluctance as he answered truthfully. Her confidence plummeted, and she glared at Xu Fengnian, still speaking boldly, “How much is this shabby vegetable garden worth?”

Xu Fengnian smiled, “I say it’s worth a thousand taels of gold, and it is.”

She was enraged, her chest heaving, and gritted her teeth, “Fine, a thousand taels of gold, then a thousand taels of gold.”

She threw a night pearl at Jiang Ni, who had been standing silently in the vegetable garden, “Here!”

Perhaps unable to bear her unprecedented weakness, she threw the other pearl with a sob, screaming, “Both of them are yours!”

Unexpectedly, the girl who was just passably pretty and had a rustic demeanor did not show gratitude. Instead, she picked up the mud-stained pearls, one in each hand, and threw them back with even more force, nearly hitting the precious woman. Fortunately, the powdered-faced man caught the pearls. For her, there was no reason to retrieve what she had thrown. She endured the pain and ordered her attendant to destroy the beloved night pearls she had played with since childhood, glaring at the ungrateful girl, “Do you want to die?”

Jiang Ni calmly replied, “I only want the vegetable garden. Restore it to its original state.”

She emphasized, “I only want the vegetable garden!”

Xu Fengnian, unable to praise Jiang Ni’s response, which perfectly suited his taste, saw the neither man nor woman about to crush the night pearls and hastily called out, “Wait, my maid doesn’t know their value. Give me the pearls.”

The owner of the pearls and the maid Jiang Ni spoke simultaneously.

“Do you want them?”

“I don’t know their value?!”

Xu Fengnian grinned, “Little sparrow, I’ll take the pearls. If you give them to me, we’ll call it even today.”

“Little mud doll, really, these pearls are more valuable than you think.”

The woman, given a vulgar nickname, seemed to have found a handle, giving a signal to her attendant and laughing nervously, “You want them? I won’t give them to you.”

The two night pearls were immediately crushed to powder by the beardless man’s fingers.

Xu Fengnian looked regretful. Such treasures were not rare in the mansion, but more was always better.

Jiang Ni insisted coldly, “Give me back my vegetable garden.”

The woman retorted, “Just you?”

Jiang Ni glanced at Xu Fengnian without hesitation.

Xu Fengnian felt somewhat helpless. This was Jiang Ni’s stubbornness. It was natural for him to take the blame for her actions.

The woman, in her fine robes, sneered, “I’ve only heard of keeping beauties in golden houses, not in thatched cottages. Xu Fengnian must really care for you.”

Jiang Ni, with her sharp mind, immediately saw through the last layer, “Care? Not really, but it’s better than refusing a marriage proposal.”

The woman looked bewildered, “What are you talking about? I don’t understand.”

Jiang Ni extended her hand, “Give me back my vegetable garden.”

This was the fourth time.

Princess against princess.

Needle against thorn.

Xu Fengnian found it secretly amusing. Why should one princess make life difficult for another?

{Piaotian Literature}