Chapter 117: Star-Plucking City

After the carriage and riders passed, the crowds that had moved to either side of the street returned to normal. Quite a few people secretly pointed at Yuan Gang and whispered among themselves.

The stallkeeper and his wife, holding their little girl, repeatedly thanked Yuan Gang, though the fear in them was plainly greater than their gratitude.

Yuan Gang did not say anything like “no need to thank me.” He simply sat back down at the stall and continued eating. Amid the low murmurs around him, he faintly heard people mention the “Provincial Inspector’s Residence.” Apparently, the party that had just passed belonged to the Provincial Inspector’s Residence. That made him glance in the direction where the carriage had disappeared.

Yuan Gang had always had a prodigious appetite. After eating his fill, he went to pay, but the stallkeeper and his wife refused to take his money.

He did not stand there pushing the payment back and forth with them. He simply tossed down a silver coin, then left with Wei Duo, leading their mounts.

After asking directions along the way, the two eventually found the Provincial Inspector’s Residence. Naturally, they were stopped outside.

Hai Ruyue herself had only just returned from an inspection tour and had not been resting long. A maid was holding a box of newly acquired jewelry while Hai Ruyue looked through the pieces.

Steward Zhu Shun came to report. “Madam, Yuan Gang has arrived.”

Hai Ruyue gave an “Oh.” “Go bring me the letter Niu Youdao left behind.”

Zhu Shun did not leave immediately. Instead he smiled. “Someone who saw Yuan Gang just now deliberately mentioned something to this old servant. Apparently, Yuan Gang collided with Madam’s procession in the street.”

“That was him?” Hai Ruyue looked up in surprise, setting the ornament in her hand back into the box. “That man was Yuan Gang?”

Zhu Shun shook his head. “This old servant was not accompanying the procession, so I did not see him and cannot be certain.”

Hai Ruyue clicked her tongue, visibly intrigued. “Birds of a feather truly do flock together. They’re all unusual men. From what your people have managed to learn, what sort of relationship does this Yuan Gang have with Niu Youdao?”

Zhu Shun replied, “The two seldom show themselves outside, so our people have not learned much. But he is confirmed to remain at Niu Youdao’s side most of the time. He is probably a trusted confidant.”

Hai Ruyue waved a hand. “Invite him in.”

“Yes.” Zhu Shun went to the doorway and gave instructions to the people below.

Yuan Gang and Wei Duo, who had been stopped outside the residence, were allowed through. By the rules, however, they were still searched. Wei Duo’s sword and the dagger Yuan Gang carried were temporarily confiscated, and restrictions were placed on both men.

They were led to a reception hall to wait.

Not long afterward, Hai Ruyue arrived accompanied by Zhu Shun, and host and guests met.

Once everyone’s identities were clear, Yuan Gang was somewhat surprised. He had not expected the woman who ruled Jinzhou in practice to come out personally to see him.

Yuan Gang had never been in the habit of cupping his hands and bowing to people, not even when meeting Shang Chaozong or Shang Shuqing. He looked Hai Ruyue up and down and asked, “Where is Niu Youdao?”

Hai Ruyue was studying him as well and found the man rather interesting. Because of what he had done in the street earlier, she had already noticed that Yuan Gang seemed to possess no concept of social rank.

To the people of this world, men were divided into high and low. An official was an official, a commoner a commoner. Yet Yuan Gang showed no particular regard for officials, while going out of his way for ordinary people. He had even openly clashed with her procession. By Hai Ruyue’s way of thinking, his behavior was difficult to understand.

After taking the principal seat, she said mildly, “Niu Youdao has left.”

Yuan Gang frowned. “Where did he go?” When she did not answer, he asked again, “Ice and Snow Pavilion?”

Hai Ruyue chuckled. “It seems you know quite a bit.”

“Sorry to trouble you. Farewell.” Yuan Gang dropped the words and turned to leave.

Hai Ruyue was both annoyed and amused. This man truly did not take her seriously in the slightest. She barked, “Stop! Do you think this is a place you can enter whenever you please and leave whenever you please?”

Yuan Gang stopped and slowly turned around. “The Grand Princess and I have no grievance with each other.”

Hai Ruyue said, “Stay in Jinzhou for the time being.” Then she added, “Those were Niu Youdao’s instructions before he left.” She tilted her head in indication.

Zhu Shun took a letter from his sleeve, stepped forward, and handed it to Yuan Gang.

In truth, they had not observed any propriety regarding the letter. They had opened it long ago. The trouble was that after reading it, they had been utterly baffled. No matter how many times they examined it, they could not understand a word.

Yuan Gang drew out the letter and knew at a glance that Master Dao had written it. The text was in simplified Chinese characters, and the handwriting was Master Dao’s running script.

With no reference material, there was no pattern for outsiders to follow. Yuan Gang doubted anyone could decipher the contents from a single letter alone.

The message was roughly this: Niu Youdao had guessed Yuan Gang would come looking once he heard the news. He was to remain in Jinzhou and wait for Niu Youdao to return. He was not to go running around.

Niu Youdao had gone to such trouble for a reason. He knew that once matters here were settled, a major war would soon erupt in Qingshan Commandery. If Yuan Gang remained beside Shang Chaozong, nine times out of ten he would join the fighting. Yuan Gang possessed too much hot-blooded conviction. He was brave and unafraid of death. Once he stepped onto a battlefield, he would likely risk his life without hesitation.

Niu Youdao did not believe the great cause of the Shang siblings was worth Yuan Gang throwing his life away for.

That was one reason Niu Youdao had told Shang Chaozong to publicly sever all ties with him. He knew Yuan Gang would inevitably come looking, so he took the opportunity to draw Yuan Gang away from Qingshan Commandery. They could decide what to do after the situation there stabilized. If the Shang siblings succeeded, there would be no problem with Yuan Gang returning. If they lost and their territory was taken by others, there would naturally be no reason to return at all.

In short, he could not knowingly leave Yuan Gang in a dangerous place and simply ignore it.

Even his decision to honor his promise and go to the Ice and Snow Pavilion in search of a Scarlet Yang Vermilion Fruit was partly meant to keep Hai Ruyue steady. Just as he had told Yuan Fang, he intended to treat Jinzhou as a road of retreat. No one could say what the future would bring. At the very least, Yuan Gang would have a place where he could establish himself for now.

But the moment Yuan Gang read the letter, he realized Master Dao’s journey carried danger. Otherwise, there would have been no reason to keep him from following.

“Farewell.” Yuan Gang dropped the word and turned to leave again.

Two cultivators appeared at the doorway and blocked the two men.

Hai Ruyue said calmly, “Take them to Liufang Guesthouse and settle them there.”

The Wu Calendar.

Although every state had established its own reign eras and calendars, all of them had ultimately developed on the foundation of the old Wu Dynasty. Using each state’s separate calendar in dealings between states was confusing, so the calendar that truly remained convenient and universally understood for counting years across the realm was still, in practice, the Wu Calendar.

This remained a source of regret for ambitious rulers everywhere. The Wu Dynasty was dead, yet in this one respect it still lived. Any ruler with grand aspirations dreamed of the day when the realm would once again share a single calendar. The day that wish was fulfilled would naturally be the day all beneath Heaven was unified.

Year 523 of the Wu Calendar.

envoy of the State of Yan Song Long was assassinated in Jinzhou, the State of Zhao. Jinzhou’s investigation found that Song Long had ignored Jinzhou law because of a private feud and acted wantonly within its territory. Finding the affront intolerable, Jinzhou demanded an explanation from the State of Yan. The State of Yan refused to negotiate directly with Jinzhou on the grounds that the two sides were not of equal standing, insisting it would communicate only with the court of the State of Zhao. Enraged, the Provincial Inspector of Jinzhou massed heavy troops facing Nanzhou of the State of Yan, adopting a posture of being ready to attack at any moment.

The move unsettled the court of the State of Yan, already beset by troubles within and without. Zhou Shouxian, Provincial Inspector of Nanzhou urgently mobilized the main forces of Nanzhou to defend the border. But the court of the State of Yan had to guard against its own feudal lords at home while also watching hostile states abroad, leaving it with little strength to spare for Zhou Shouxian.

At the end of spring that year, while Nanzhou’s interior defenses stood empty, Shang Chaozong—son of the State of Yan’s former Grand Marshal, Prince Ning Shang Jianbo, and now Commandery Prince Yongping—submitted a memorial accusing Zhou Shouxian of orchestrating the earlier attempt on his life and demanded that the court punish him severely. The court declined on the grounds that there was no evidence.

In fury, Shang Chaozong borrowed fifty thousand elite troops from his father-in-law Feng Lingbo and raised an army to punish Zhou Shouxian. City after city fell before him. His advance was unstoppable.

The entire State of Yan was shaken!

A vast Gobi stretched endlessly beneath the sky.

When the faint outline of mountains finally appeared on the horizon, Yuan Fang pointed excitedly. “Master Dao, we’re here! Star-Plucking City is ahead.”

Swaying lazily in the saddle, Niu Youdao looked into the distance. “A mountain in sight can run a horse to death. We probably won’t reach it until dark.”

Star-Plucking City was an ancient city. Legend said it had once been the capital of a state before Emperor Shang Song of the State of Wu destroyed it. Now it had become one of the places where cultivators gathered to trade and conduct business.

Nor was it a place without a master. The power behind it was one of the cultivation world’s rare Nascent Soul Realm experts. In that respect, it was much like the Ice and Snow Pavilion or Demon Ridge. The Ice and Snow Pavilion, for example, had Granny Xue behind it.

Their purpose in coming here was simply to see the place while it lay on their route. There was no hurry regarding the Scarlet Yang Vermilion Fruit at the Ice and Snow Pavilion. Even Hai Ruyue’s forces had failed to obtain one; Niu Youdao did not believe he could simply arrive and immediately succeed. Some things could not be rushed. Learning more about the cultivation world first might prove far more useful when the time came to seek what he needed.

Yuan Fang was excited precisely because he had never been here either. In fact, he had only learned that such a place existed from Niu Youdao.

The Gobi was desolate, but not entirely lifeless. From time to time, riders on fast horses could be seen traveling back and forth.

Just as Niu Youdao predicted, dusk had fallen by the time the two reached the foot of the mountains.

No trees could be seen on the slopes here. The mountains were almost utterly barren.

Their horses could not climb farther, but there was a horse yard at the foot of the mountain with many mounts penned inside.

After asking, they learned it was a boarding station for horses. The staff would feed and care for one’s mount, but the price was steep: one gold coin per day.

They had no choice but to leave their horses there before racing up the mountain on foot.

Reaching the summit did not bring them to their destination. The scattered lights visible ahead marked the true location.

They crossed ridge after ridge until at last a ruined ancient city appeared before them.

The city held no shortage of people, and nearly all were obviously cultivators. At night the illumination was poor. Each establishment handled its own lighting. Supposedly, only businesses with the proper standing were qualified to place braziers outside their doors, so most people walking the streets had glowing Moon Butterflies fluttering above their heads.

There were too many people of unknown identity here, which meant too many unknown risks. The two headed directly for the famous Inviting Moon Inn. It was said to belong to the family of Star-Plucking City’s City Master, and its powerful backing guaranteed the safety of its guests. Since neither man knew the place well, safety naturally came first.

The Inviting Moon Inn occupied high ground halfway up the city’s main peak. Its location was excellent, overlooking the whole city, and it was the only establishment permitted to operate at such a spot. That alone said plenty about its backing. Rumor held that the inn stood on the site of the ancient imperial palace. When Niu Youdao arrived, he believed it. The scale was unmistakably palatial.

As he climbed the steps before the entrance, Niu Youdao suddenly stopped and wheeled around.

Quite a few people lingering outside the inn were staring at him and Yuan Fang. Their eyes made the pair look like two slabs of fat meat.

Yet those people obviously did not dare make trouble here. They stayed below the steps and merely watched.

Once inside, Niu Youdao and Yuan Fang immediately felt the luxury of the Inviting Moon Inn. The main hall was broad and brilliantly lit. Leaving aside the splendor of its furnishings, an attendant quickly came over to greet them. After confirming that they wanted lodging, he led them to register.

The two took a single room.

Ten gold coins per day.

The price was outrageously high.

The innkeeper, however, made one thing clear: anyone who stayed at the Inviting Moon Inn for even a single day was guaranteed safety in Star-Plucking City for that day. Carry the inn’s room token, and no one in Star-Plucking City would dare make trouble for you.

[End of Chapter 117]