Chapter 433: Locked Horns

At this moment, inside and outside Xiayong City winds and clouds were surging.

Every soldier of the county garrison had already been mobilized.

At the same time a Chu military camp stationed nearby immediately dispatched five thousand soldiers toward the city.

In addition two separate units of the Qu Clan’s private troops the Azure Luan Army were already marching in the same direction.

Beneath Yupan City, Count Zheng had once transmitted Tian Wujing’s order and slaughtered forty thousand elite soldiers of the Azure Luan Army in a single stroke.

Qu Tiannan, Pillar of State of Great Chu, had also died beside the Wang River.

But a camel starved to death was still larger than a horse.

The Qu Clan had indeed suffered catastrophic damage to its foundations.

And the remaining Azure Luan troops, together with new recruits replenished over the past few years, certainly could not compare with the army at its peak.

But inside Chu territory they were still more than sufficient.

At the same time other Qu Clan servant families around the region, households similar to the Fan Clan, had all received orders from the Qu Clan.

Every family dispatched private troops toward Xiayong.

One county city was now drawing tens of thousands of soldiers toward itself.

Like waves surging in from every direction crashing toward one lonely reef.

The Mi Clan was not one of Chu’s old traditional noble houses.

But for two consecutive generations the Mi Clan had produced close attendants of the Son of Heaven.

The last two heads of the Mi Clan had both grown up studying beside the late Emperor and the princes of the current generation.

The present head of the Mi Clan had even been appointed Minister of Revenue by the Regent.

He controlled the court’s money and grain.

And now, the Eldest Young Lady of the Mi Clan had suffered her tendons severed.

While the Fourth Princess had vanished completely.

For such a thing to happen inside Chu itself how could the imperial clan not be furious?

How could the Qu Clan not be furious?

...

On the walls of Xiayong City a gaunt old man sat cross-legged atop a battlement.

Beside him stood a young general carrying a saber.

The old man’s surname was Yuan.

His name was Gangtian.

The young general’s surname was Li.

His name was Mu.

Among the Four Great States of the East after the current Emperor of Yan ascended the throne, he aggressively suppressed religious powers throughout the realm.

He swept away the murky atmosphere of “gods and Buddhas filling the heavens” that had flourished under the previous Emperor.

The people of Qian had always revered Qi Refiners.

They believed those people could peer through Heaven’s secrets and grasp mysteries beyond ordinary understanding.

The people of Jin because the division among the Three Jin families had lasted too long never developed one dominant faith.

The Helian Clan had originally descended from surrendered savages.

The Wenren Clan leaned toward Confucianism.

So throughout Jin territory there had never been one overwhelmingly powerful tradition of worship.

The people of Chu believed in shamans.

Yuan Gangtian was one of the **Twelve Shaman Rectors of Great Chu.**

The Twelve Shaman Rectors were not ranked according to raw strength.

In truth, the shamanic tradition itself encompassed far too many disciplines.

Shamanic culture had first originated in ancient Great Xia.

Shamans could survey terrain.

Treat illness.

Perform divination.

Manipulate fortune.

Write texts.

And much more.

So the Twelve Shaman Rectors of Great Chu did not represent twelve levels of power.

They represented twelve separate branches each descended from the original root of shamanic practice.

In other states many of these branches had long since developed new names.

People no longer used the word *shaman* to describe them.

At the same time the Shanyue tribes of old had possessed their own shaman-priest traditions.

After the Marquis of Chu obeyed the command of the Son of Heaven of Great Xia and opened new territory, the Chu people absorbed and merged Shanyue shamanic culture into their own.

That tradition continued developing generation after generation until shamanic culture finally became the single dominant faith of Great Chu.

Li Mu did not come from some enormous aristocratic house.

In truth, like Nian Yao he had also risen from the Regent’s princely residence.

He now served as General of Congzhou City.

Congzhou City lay inside Qu Clan fief territory.

Its existence was one product of compromise between the great nobles and the imperial clan.

The imperial house allowed powerful noble families to preserve a large degree of independence.

In return those nobles allowed the imperial house to station troops inside their fiefs.

So Li Mu’s normal duty was to monitor the Qu Clan.

But right now all such matters could be set aside.

The immediate task was finding the Princess.

The Fourth Princess and the Eldest Young Lady of the Mi Clan had left the traveling headquarters early.

They had deliberately separated from the main party because they wanted a little freedom before the wedding a chance to play without restraints.

The current Empress Dowager mother of both the Regent and the Fourth Princess felt pity for the daughter who would soon be married away.

So she had chosen to close one eye and leave the other half open.

Chu customs differed from those of Qian.

Women here might not possess the boldness of Yan women riding horses and drawing bows but neither were they bound nearly as tightly by ritual doctrine as women in Qian.

The Chu people loved romance.

But now, something had happened.

Someone had abducted the Princess directly beneath the eyes of an entire group of guards.

Li Mu sighed.

His hand instinctively moved to the hilt of his saber.

Yuan Gangtian smiled faintly.

“Annoyed?”

“Mm.”

Li Mu admitted it directly.

In his view a woman was a woman.

Even if she happened to be a princess.

If she was lost then she was lost.

There was no reason to mobilize forces on this scale.

Much less drag him, General of Congzhou City, over here specifically to organize the search.

Yuan Gangtian shook his head.

He could not be bothered lecturing Li Mu about changing his temperament.

Because perhaps that exact temperament was what the Regent admired about him.

The people of the world all believed Nian Yao had received extraordinary favor because, despite his young age, he had already been appointed a Grand Commander and entrusted with defending Zhennan Pass.

But Yuan Gangtian knew—

Li Mu’s favor was not inferior to Nian Yao’s.

“The imperial clan of Great Chu descends from the phoenix.

“Unlike the people of Yan, we no longer keep generations of Pixiu alive in captivity.

“But inside the Great Chu imperial palace—there remains preserved essence blood from a Fire Phoenix.

“Every generation—the core members of the imperial clan are fortunate enough to receive a portion of that essence blood.”

Li Mu snorted disdainfully.

“Useless thing.”

He had once asked the Regent whether Fire Phoenix Essence Blood could strengthen the body and increase qi and blood.

The Regent had answered:

No.

All it did was leave a flame-shaped mark on the arm.

One that would never fade for the rest of the person’s life.

From that day onward—

Li Mu had looked down on Fire Phoenix Essence Blood as nonsense.

Yuan Gangtian spread one hand.

In his palm a tiny bat slowly unfurled its wings.

As its fangs appeared a dark green light flickered in its little eyes.

“This is a Black Bat this old man carefully raised.

“It possesses extraordinary spirituality.

“Unfortunately—the true Fire Phoenix bloodline of Great Chu was severed long ago.

“So we can only breed from these lesser species that still retain a trace of Fire Phoenix blood.”

As he spoke—

Yuan Gangtian opened his other palm.

“General Li.

“Lend me your saber.”

Li Mu drew his saber.

Then sheathed it.

A bloody cut appeared across Yuan Gangtian’s palm.

“Hiss...”

Yuan Gangtian’s lips trembled.

“What?” Li Mu asked.

Yuan Gangtian narrowed his eyes.

His teeth clenched faintly.

“You only needed to cut a tiny opening on one finger.”

Li Mu displayed not the slightest guilt.

He merely said:

“Say so earlier next time.”

Yuan Gangtian sighed helplessly.

He turned his palm downward.

Blood dripped onto the Black Bat.

At the same time he began murmuring a shamanic incantation.

The fur across the Black Bat’s body gradually changed.

It was not glowing.

Instead every strand suddenly became extraordinarily lustrous and refined.

Even its entire spirit seemed to sharpen at once.

“Go.

“Find the aura of the Fire Phoenix.”

The Black Bat lifted away from Yuan Gangtian’s palm.

Then flew into the night sky.

Li Mu watched it disappear into the distance.

“So now—we wait?”

Yuan Gangtian winced as he took out wound medicine and began applying it to his palm.

Then said:

“You people continue searching however you planned to search.

“I have methods of my own.

“The Black Bat is one.

“The other—is using the divination branch of shamanic practice to deduce her location.

“The Fourth Princess is still a member of the Great Chu imperial clan.

“Her fate pattern is distinct.

“We should be able to calculate something.”

Li Mu nodded.

“Is this how you people helped Nian Yao back then?”

When the previous Emperor of Chu died the princes of Great Chu had fought for the throne.

Nian Yao, serving beneath the Fourth Prince, had led Imperial Clan Guards loyal to his master in suppressing the rebellions.

He captured three rival princes in succession.

One of them had even hidden among a Shanyue tribe.

And still failed to escape.

Li Mu knew perfectly well that beneath the appearance of rapid marching and precise target selection there had to have been outside assistance.

Take the method currently being used to search for the Fourth Princess.

If Nian Yao had possessed one of the Shaman Rectors beside him back then then his repeated ability to “capture the king first” and crush rebellions at terrifying speed suddenly became easy to explain.

Those rival princes must also have received Fire Phoenix Essence Blood.

Yuan Gangtian began counting on his fingers.

At the same time obscure, incomprehensible incantations continuously slipped from his lips.

Li Mu held his saber.

Standing quietly beside the Shaman Rector.

The evening wind swept across Xiayong’s walls.

Bringing the sharp chill of winter.

...

Inside the warm, flower-filled courtyard of the Fan Residence the old woman sat there.

For one moment her expression was gloating.

The next restless.

Meanwhile, inside the separate courtyard containing the clan head’s main residence—

Fan Zhengwen sat indoors opposite Weng Canghai.

The two drank tea.

By now, more than half the servants and younger members of the Fan Residence had already gone outside to join the search for the Princess.

At the same time as the foremost household in Xiayong the Fan Clan had mobilized the grain shops throughout the city.

They were preparing provisions for the various military forces about to arrive.

These were all things the Fan Clan ought to be doing.

Of course, they had done plenty of things they ought not to be doing as well.

“Clan Head.

“I have heard the imperial clan of Great Chu possesses Fire Phoenix blood.”

Fan Zhengwen nodded.

Then turned.

He looked toward the direction of the heated courtyard.

Weng Canghai lowered his voice.

“Will she act?”

Fan Zhengwen smiled.

Then said:

“This is the same as doing business.

“Whoever cannot bear to let go—eventually gets trapped inside and loses money.”

Weng Canghai stroked his long beard.

Thinking.

Then he said:

“Still—keeping the Princess inside the Fan Residence like this is fundamentally unsafe.”

“The incident happened too suddenly.

“There was no other choice.

“We can only keep her here.”

Fan Zhengwen paused.

Then continued:

“Once you have boarded the ship—there is no longer any question of whether you can let go or not.

“The worst possible outcome is merely that I trouble Mr. Weng to suffer a little hardship—and enter Jin with me and my wife.”

The family estate—

Fan Zhengwen could abandon completely.

Because he still possessed a road of retreat.

So long as Little Sixth inherited the throne someday—

Fan Zhengwen would still possess a strong chance of returning.

And when he returned he could build an even greater fortune.

He was willing to let go.

Truly willing.

One had to give up first before one could receive.

But inside the warm little courtyard the old woman ultimately failed to gain any advantage in her silent contest with her grandson.

She began raising her hands.

Concealing the **heavenly traces** above the Fan Residence.

Because just moments earlier she had sensed someone using a deduction art extending calculations toward this place.

...

At the same time—

A’Ming sat on the roof as usual.

Operating under the principle that if a wealthy household was willing to feed him for free, there was no reason not to drink he was still enjoying wine.

He Chunlai and Chen Daole were no longer keeping him company.

Both men stood on alert guarding the two entrances of Qingfang Studio.

Truthfully whether they guarded them or not made very little difference.

A’Ming drank alone.

A little lonely.

Until within his field of vision he saw a bat flying across the sky.

A’Ming raised one hand.

Waved.

The bat ignored him.

Instead as though sensing something it began circling above the Fan Residence.

A’Ming became unhappy.

His fangs emerged.

A low growl left his throat.

The next instant the bat’s body trembled.

An expression that almost resembled flattery and fear actually appeared in its eyes.

It descended from the sky.

And landed directly on A’Ming’s shoulder.

A’Ming reached up.

He stroked the little bat’s head.

Then whispered:

“Good.”

————

Good night.

[End of Chapter 433]