Chapter 93

**Update Time: August 27, 2012**

Xu Fengnian drank one pot of wine after another, downing three in a row before collapsing on the stone table to sleep. Qingniao, the young lady, covered him with a sable fur coat and sat quietly by his side. When Xu Fengnian woke up in the early morning, he saw Qingniao sitting upright and gave a wry smile. Qingniao, in turn, smiled warmly.

Xu Fengnian pulled out Xiudong and practiced his saber skills in the courtyard for an hour. He tried to select the most exquisite sword techniques from a pile of secret manuals, such as the "Thousand Sword Herbal," "Whale Killing Sword," "Dunhuang Flying Sword," and "Lushuiting's Sixty-Year Sword Practice Record," and integrate them into his saber techniques. He aimed to fuse them into a seamless whole, using the meditation techniques he learned from riding the ox as the foundation. However, achieving the fifty perfect moves suggested by Aunt Zhao was no easy task. Xu Fengnian's practice was often clumsy and slow, making his efforts less effective. Nevertheless, Xu Fengnian had a hidden strength that went unnoticed: his exceptional focus, cultivated from a young age. He copied books in his childhood, played chess in his youth, and his three-year, six-thousand-mile journey had further refined his temperament, eliminating the restlessness that often came with his princely status. Otherwise, with his family's numerous spies and a well-stocked arsenal, could he truly settle down and practice the saber with such dedication? If he had only broken through the sixth level of the saber technique, other proud young nobles would have already been cursing and stomping their feet.

Sweating profusely, he returned to his room and changed into the clean, new clothes Qingniao had bought from the Qingfu Silk Shop the previous day. Feeling refreshed, he was about to have breakfast when he saw Wang Chudong, who usually slept late, surprisingly up early, standing at the courtyard gate, fidgeting with the hem of her dress. Xu Fengnian waved her over, and they ate together. Wang Chudong's eating manner was playful and endearing, and Xu Fengnian wiped the food from the corners of her mouth several times. As breakfast neared its end, Wang Chudong's expression grew increasingly sad, and despite her usual composure, she could not hide her feelings. Xu Fengnian did not try to console her. After the meal, he took the little girl to the White Jade Guanyin statue. When Xu Fengnian said he didn't want her to see him off, Wang Chudong was heartbroken, sobbing and wiping her face like a kitten, mumbling, "When I grow up, remember to come back and see me."

Xu Fengnian tapped her nose and teased, "Look at you, your face is all smudged. No wonder they say a girl shouldn't be kept once she grows up. Your father will be heartbroken for nothing."

Wang Chudong, the girl who had cried secretly when Wang Dongxiang's beloved character died in the novel, had once cried and then forgotten after eating, sleeping, and playing. But now, as a young girl, even a light parting was so painful. She wanted to tell Xu Fengnian that she might not love sleeping anymore and ask what to do when she missed him but couldn't see him. However, she just cried, unable to say anything.

Xu Fengnian couldn't bear to see women cry and couldn't stand the sound of sobbing. He raised his voice and told her not to cry, and she obediently closed her mouth.

Xu Fengnian, both amused and exasperated, reached out and pinched her rosy cheeks, lowering his head to touch noses with her. He said softly, "Don't worry. As I travel southeast, there will be plenty of rumors about me in Qingzhou. Wait for them, and you'll be surprised."

Wang Chudong nodded and forced a smile, "I'll write poems for you!"

Xu Fengnian didn't take it seriously and jokingly agreed to a poem for every Northern Barbarian head she could get. If that day ever came, wouldn't she be overwhelmed?

Xu Fengnian suddenly regretted leaving such a deep impression on her. He remembered a song by Yu Youwei, "In innocence, one does not yearn; once yearning, one is consumed." Wasn't this exactly about the young girl in front of him? Even in the Prince's residence, Xu Fengnian, except for Qingniao and Hongshu, never allowed himself to become too attached to the other maids, always keeping his emotions in check. He feared the unpredictable disasters and the pain of losing those he cared for. He didn't know that the song's lyrics were from Wang Dongxiang's "First Snow," and that Wang Chudong had inadvertently foretold her own fate.

The group arrived at the dock, and Xu Fengnian boarded the ship, gradually leaving Laoshan behind. Yu Youwei approached and whispered, "You don't know Wang Dongxiang?"

Xu Fengnian was puzzled and asked, "Who is he?"

Yu Youwei smiled playfully, "You haven't read 'Dongxiang's First Snow'?"

Xu Fengnian frowned, "Li Hanlin said the ending was completely bleak, so I didn't want to read it. Last time, my elder sister brought 'Dongxiang' back to Liangzhou and forced me to read it to her, but I managed to escape."

Yu Youwei stroked the white cat Wu Meiniang and said softly, "That young girl from the Wang family is Wang Dongxiang, the one who wrote 'May all lovers be together,' a phrase even the Northern Barbarians know by heart."

Xu Fengnian whispered, "No wonder."

Yu Youwei looked up and said, "Wang Dongxiang isn't just good at writing tender poetry. Though she never went to the border, her frontier poems are full of life. 'I don't recite poetry in Liangzhou, for Liangzhou is itself a grand poem'—even the Grand Marshal praised this line."

Xu Fengnian laughed and cursed, "Xu Xiao knows nothing about poetry."

But the Prince added softly, "But the little girl's poem does have a certain charm."

Yu Youwei smiled, and the increasingly plump Wu Meiniang stretched lazily in her arms.

Xiangfan, the Ghost City, was guarded by one of the six feudal princes, the Tranquil Prince.

Zhao Heng was one of the few princes who excelled in both literature and martial arts, but he was neither the best in literature like his younger brother, the Huainan Prince, nor in martial arts like his elder brothers, the Yan and Guangling Princes. Perhaps disheartened, he began to follow the teachings of the Yellow Emperor and Laozi at the age of sixty, even considering becoming a Taoist on Dragon Tiger Mountain. In recent years, he had turned to Buddhism, going to great lengths to obtain an imperial decree to burn incense at the Two Zen Temples and even offering to become a disciple of the black-robed monk Yang Taishui. Unfortunately, the old monk, known as the "sick tiger," ignored him.

Zhao Heng now practiced Western Buddhism, always carrying a string of 108 prayer beads, and was as moody as a woman.

Xu Xiao once said that Zhao Heng was as gloomy as a jealous wife, and his pursuit of Buddhism and Taoism was just a facade to ease his guilty conscience. Among the six feudal princes, he was the least manly.

The three large ships had not traveled far from Laoshan when two warships from the Chunshen Lake navy approached. Compared to Xu Fengnian's ship, they were like giants.

Xu Fengnian squinted, recalling that the Northern Liang cavalry had been invincible in the wars of the Spring and Autumn period, except in naval battles. He had studied the various types of warships used in the current dynasty, and the one before him was called the Yellow Dragon, second only to the Green Dragon and the Six-Toothed Giant in the Qingzhou navy. It was a formidable vessel, standing six zhang tall, painted in red and wrapped in iron armor, with a horse-walking pavilion and a dense array of arrow slits on the walls. It also had a massive ram, capable of shattering any ordinary ship with a single strike.

Unfortunately, Xu Fengnian's ships would not withstand many such strikes, but the Qingzhou navy was even more unfortunate because the Northern Liang Prince stood at the bow.

Xu Fengnian calmly said, "General Ning, go get the great halberd."

The usually gentle Ning Emei rarely showed a fierce smile, but he turned and retrieved the iron halberd, even carrying the short halberd in its case.

Lü Yangshu and the others naturally prepared for battle. Ordinary soldiers could not withstand the three Second-Rank experts, but there were always unspoken rules about not fighting officials and not breaking the law. However, they immediately felt at ease, remembering who had taught the world these harsh lessons.

Xu Fengnian asked Yu Youwei to return to the cabin and then looked up to see the Zhao family's young nobleman and his friends standing on the third floor of the Yellow Dragon, pointing and gesturing, pretending to discuss the world.

As the Yellow Dragon approached, the massive ram was clearly visible, ready to strike.

Before the ram could strike, the young nobleman, the brother-in-law of the Qingzhou governor, held a white porcelain wine cup and called out to Xu Fengnian, "Stranger, do you dare to challenge us again?!"

Xu Fengnian smiled and replied, "Sure, I want to see how much the Qingzhou warships are worth. I just hope they look good but are useless."

The young nobleman, subconsciously glancing at the other Zhao family member, a young man of refined appearance but modest demeanor, who was well-liked in Qingzhou, asked, "Do you dare repeat what you said yesterday?!"

Xu Fengnian, knowing it was a trap, still smiled calmly, "The name of the Tranquil Prince? What's the harm? His son standing here will be beaten so badly that even Zhao Heng won't recognize him when he gets home."

The young nobleman was delighted and glanced at the refined young man, who rarely showed a sinister smile.

The young man with a face like a jade statue stepped forward, and the young nobleman immediately stepped back.

The young man looked directly at Xu Fengnian and said calmly, "You'll regret this."

Xu Fengnian raised his hand, and the hundred soldiers of the Fengzi Camp emerged from the three ships, holding crossbows and wearing their bright, standard Northern Liang sabers.

This put the Qingzhou navy in a difficult position.

Was a naval battle really going to happen today?

Fengzi Camp's commander, Yuan Meng, was unperturbed, giving orders with calm gestures. The Fengzi Camp was the elite of the Northern Liang light cavalry, excelling in mounted, infantry, and night battles. The ship's helmsman was already under control, and the three ships quickly formed a circular formation, each ship forming a corner. Although the Northern Liang army was not skilled in naval battles, compared to the Qingzhou navy, it was a different story. When the Northern Liang cavalry besieged Xiangfan, the sailors on these two warships were still infants. The Western Shu had once tried to block the river with three iron chains, but the Northern Liang army had destroyed all the natural defenses before the naval battle even began. Strictly speaking, the Northern Liang army was the ancestor of the Qingzhou navy.

Xu Fengnian shouted mockingly, "Dare to fight?!"