Shisan Lang’s reasoning was quite logical. Everyone had finally managed to outlast Chen Shigu’s death, but if another martial arts supreme, vindictive young madman suddenly emerged, it would inevitably cause turmoil in the martial world and bring endless calamity.
Especially Dong Zhenzi and the Pipa Sound Demon, who both harbored ambitions to compete for the sect’s leadership position. Now hearing that Wei Xun’s terminal illness had actually been cured, they knew their grand aspirations were beyond reach and felt utterly disheartened and dejected.
Everyone present harbored their own thoughts and remained silent for a long time.
Qiu Ren suddenly slapped his thigh and was the first to speak: “When Pang Liu needed a favor years ago, Big Senior Brother returned it without a word. Now there’s a rare opportunity to do him a favor—demanding repayment later would be quite profitable. Moreover, if we want to establish ourselves in Luoyang, we’ll have to deal with the local underworld sooner or later. Better to choose today than wait—let’s use searching for someone as an excuse to test how deep the waters of the Luo River run.”
Xu Baozhen, with his deep scheming mind, thought left and right, organizing the aspects favorable to himself before showing a false smile: “Since someone dared to scheme against Big Senior Brother and nearly beat the youngest to death, they’ve slapped all our faces. How could we maintain any dignity in the Central Plains in the future? I’m curious to see who has the audacity to negotiate with a tiger for its skin.”
Luo Tuotuo glanced at the sickly Shisan Lang and said concisely: “Let’s do it!”
The Central Plains had been not only the birthplace of political power since ancient times, but also where martial sects flourished. Though the battle at Jade City made Remnant Sun Courtyard famous, the Rakshasa Bird had publicly revealed the secret of Chen Shigu’s dying words. Now the enemy specifically targeted these two—they must have some scheme, perhaps to extort that “world-disrupting” void object. Battle was inevitable sooner or later, so better to use Wei Xun to draw out the enemy’s elite forces and annihilate the challengers in one stroke.
Only Tuoba Sanniang was most unwilling, hesitating until the end before making up her mind. She snorted coldly and said: “I’m not being coerced by Wei Da—I just pity that little girl’s suffering. The taste of being abducted, bullied, and violated—none of you understand.”
Shisan Lang had racked his brains with a mix of truth and lies, finally persuading several masters to help. Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief. As soon as he relaxed slightly, he felt unable to support himself and just wanted to collapse and lie down.
Tuoba Sanniang put on a pitiful expression, pinching her voice to lament sorrowfully: “Alas, my fate is so bitter. Why wasn’t there a devoted young man back then who would go mad searching heaven and earth for me?”
Xu Baozhen had heard something about her life before joining the sect. Seeing this world-class assassin deliberately acting coy, he felt somewhat nauseous and frowned: “Didn’t you later master martial arts and personally dismember those people and destroy their entire families?”
Tuoba Sanniang’s eyes immediately lit up with radiance as she smiled eerily. Her expression changed instantly, quickly resuming her grandmaster bearing as she said proudly: “Of course! Though it took a few extra years, nothing in the world is more satisfying than taking revenge with your own hands.”
Though everyone had reached an agreement, they momentarily didn’t know where to begin searching. This gang of bandits deliberately concealed their identities. In the hasty moment, Shisan Lang had only gotten one look before being knocked unconscious, leaving no other witnesses at the scene.
While discussing countermeasures, Xu Baozhen suddenly fell silent, his gaze turning toward the door. Among those present, his martial arts were the most profound, so he sensed it first. The others followed his gaze toward the courtyard and saw a vague green shadow in the tree shade.
The shadow stood quietly in the darkness, emitting no human aura whatsoever, having been there for who knows how long. His green robe was stained with spots, his bloody hand carrying a bulging leather bag. His formerly cunning and carefree air was completely gone, his hair disheveled, setting off a face pale as a ghost or demon.
Wei Xun had not stepped into the candlelight’s range. Everyone’s expressions grew grave as they stood up in unison, silently paying respect to this Remnant Sun Courtyard leader.
“Has anyone come to demand ransom?” he asked.
Shisan Lang shook his head dejectedly. If they were kidnappers who kept the hostage alive, there would still be room for maneuvering and negotiation. But now it was like a stone sinking into the sea—no news whatsoever.
Wei Xun was silent for a while, then began issuing orders:
“Xu Er, investigate evil cults that collect living souls.”
“Sanniang, search the pleasure quarters.”
“Fourth, question shamans about killing people for ghost sacrifices.”
“Fifth, inquire with beggars’ gangs about harvesting living beings and dismemberment.”
The commands sounded clear-minded and well-arranged, yet his gaze was hollow. Though clearly looking at people, his eyes seemed to see no one, staring toward nowhere. Everyone was extremely familiar with this lifeless yet strangely frenzied look, recalling the years dominated by their former master, and immediately felt chills penetrating their bones.
Xu Baozhen and Tuoba Sanniang were tempted to consider attacking together, eliminating this potential disaster on the spot to prevent future troubles. However, the sect members had no unity—no one wanted to be the first to die. The two exchanged glances but dared not act rashly.
Qiu Ren spoke up: “Big Senior Brother, do you still remember those kidnappers from a few days ago who specialized in ‘receiving Guanyin’ and ’embracing children’? Perhaps this stems from that connection, creating enmity with the underworld.”
Wei Xun said flatly: “I’ll go find their lair myself.”
In the distance, brilliant fireworks rose cluster after cluster into the sky, repeatedly illuminating the various expressions of wariness, fear, and doubt on the faces of the Remnant Sun Courtyard members.
The fireworks bloomed as scheduled, but the person he’d arranged to meet had vanished. Wei Xun’s expression was wooden as he glanced up at those meaningless flashes of light. The joy of that night patrolling the city seemed like a mirage’s illusion—now it had completely dissipated.
He arranged everything properly without saying anything else, then swayed away with unsteady steps, once again sinking into the dark river. He left behind only one mournful, ethereal sigh like a ghost’s wail:
“That was my Guanyin…”
Everyone simultaneously felt something invisible being severed—his lifeline connecting to the present world, the shackles sealing the Asura. It was quite a while after Wei Xun left before everyone came to their senses. Qiu Ren smoothed down the hair standing up on his arms, lamenting for those about to die: “Why did you have to provoke him?”
In Guangli Ward’s Fangfei Pavilion, strings and woodwinds played continuously. Those seeking pleasure among the flowers were accompanied by courtesans, admiring distant fireworks while drinking fine wine and reciting moon-viewing poems. Though the Mid-Autumn Festival had passed, osmanthus flowers still perfumed the air, and the mood for moon-gazing had not yet faded.
A pimp stood at the entrance, watching over customers’ carriages and horses parked in the alley. These were valuable possessions—without careful guarding, thieves might easily steal them.
He yawned, and from the corner of his eye suddenly spotted a white shadow. From the dark, winding alley emerged a tall woman holding a pipa, walking gracefully.
She wore an old, plain hemp torn skirt with only a bone hairpin in her hair. Only the pipa in her arms looked like something valuable. Wandering alone in the streets and alleys at night, she could only be a wandering prostitute.
The woman stopped before Fangfei Pavilion’s courtyard gate and said mournfully to the pimp: “Young master, after the seasonal change, nights are cold with dew, and wandering the streets is getting chilly. Could you let this slave enter to spend the night? This slave is skilled at playing pipa and can sing a few songs for entertainment.”
It was common for wandering prostitutes to seek entry into brothels for survival. The pimp noticed her graceful figure and quite beautiful face—vaguely a Xianbei woman—and became somewhat interested. However, when he lifted the lantern for a closer look, he saw the marks of years around her eyes—she was an aging, middle-aged wandering prostitute. He cursed rudely:
“Our Fangfei Pavilion doesn’t want old, faded wild chickens. Get lost!”
The wandering woman showed no anger and smiled: “Just let this slave go in for a drink to warm up.” She began walking into the courtyard on her own.
The pimp moved to stop her, but saw her figure sway as she stepped over the threshold without her feet touching the ground. He couldn’t touch even a corner of her clothing—she moved like a ghost. The pimp became frantic, fearing she would spoil the mood of the moon-viewing customers in the courtyard. While cursing, he raised his hand to slap her face.
The wandering woman extended two fingers with what seemed like a willow-leaf-shaped silver piece between them, lightly drawing it vertically across him. The pimp felt as if he’d drunk a mouthful of ice wine—a line of cold from chest to lower abdomen—then his hot intestines tumbled out from his belly.
This happened so suddenly he couldn’t believe it. Holding his own intestines, he slumped against the door frame and sat on the ground, making incoherent sounds.
The courtyard immediately became chaotic with continuous screams and cries, not knowing whether this woman was human or ghost. No one saw clearly what she did—only vaguely saw her slender hand point, and the pimp was disemboweled. Since she stood at the entrance, no one dared flee. Some crawled under tables, others hid behind corridor pillars.
Tuoba Sanniang laughed sweetly: “Don’t be afraid! Just stuff the spilled things back in and find someone skilled with needle and thread to sew it up—good as new!”
Then she continued: “Today this old lady isn’t here for revenge, so I don’t plan to cause much killing. Call out all the new girls for me to see.”
Though her voice wasn’t loud, it clearly carried throughout Fangfei Pavilion, making the courtesans tremble with fear. Tuoba Sanniang said: “I don’t want those who’ve been groomed and can serve customers—I want the new merchandise that just arrived, not yet broken in, the ones you usually keep locked in cellars to torment.”
From the corner of her eye, she glimpsed an old woman adorned with gold and silver, hunched over and tiptoeing to hide in a room. She flashed over and pushed the old woman to the ground, sitting on her.
Tuoba Sanniang was well-versed in brothel affairs and knew this old woman was the madam who ran the establishment—all purchased girls were beaten and trained by her. Therefore, showing no mercy, she pulled out a human-sinew pipa string and stretched it across the old woman’s neck. With a pluck of her fingertip, the human sinew cut into the flesh.
She sat cross-legged on the madam’s body, plucking strings while singing mournfully: “Flying light, flying light! I urge you to drink a cup of wine. I know not how high the blue sky, how thick the yellow earth. I only see cold moon and warm sun coming to… cough cough cough… coming to torment human life!”
The song was resentful and shrill. After singing only a few lines, she felt her lungs congested and couldn’t catch her breath, coughing continuously. Under the moonlight, this ghostly wandering woman played and sang while the string around the madam’s neck tightened. Unable to breathe, the madam’s face turned blue-purple as blood splattered. All the customers in the courtyard were terrified to their core, closing their eyes and chanting Buddha’s name.
The ethereal, plaintive singing spread far from Guangli Ward to the farthest reaches. A piece of deer hide wiped away the remaining blood from a sword blade, and cold light blazed forth again.
Xu Baozhen strolled out from a little-known building, carefully cleaning his weapon under the dim moonlight. This Zoroastrian temple disguised as an ancestral shrine hidden in the alleys actually had two skilled fighters, costing him an extra cup of tea’s worth of time. Unfortunately, among their human sacrifices to the fire god, he hadn’t found his target.
After sheathing his sword, following his daily habit of star observation, Xu Baozhen looked up at the sky.
Tonight the star palaces were dim, and the Purple Forbidden Star was not prominent. Suddenly, a light point trailing a long tail streaked across the moon palace. If it were someone else, they would mistake that light for tonight’s fireworks. However, Xu Baozhen knew clearly: no fireworks in the world could reach such heights.
A comet striking the moon—this was an extremely inauspicious omen. Important people must suffer calamity, causing changes in the world’s fortunes.
Unfortunately, those dynastic changes only brought disaster to common people. These commoners and wanderers wouldn’t be reflected in celestial phenomena. Though Chen Shigu had taught him star observation, he had angrily smashed the armillary sphere back then, declaring that heaven’s mandate had nothing to do with him.
Since observing similar omens in May, aside from Princess Wanshou’s death, he hadn’t heard of any major events in Chang’an. After all, she was merely the emperor’s beloved daughter, not a powerful noblewoman like Princess Taiping or Princess Anle who could influence court politics.
Dong Zhenzi gazed at the moon in contemplation, wondering whether his move to Luoyang to avoid disaster was truly necessary.
Author’s Note:
The fundamental reason Chen Shigu angrily smashed the astronomical instruments was that he found no celestial signs foretelling Yuan Xu’s misfortune—he and his friend were destined to be nameless figures in the river of history.
“Flying light, flying light”—from Li He’s “Lamenting Short Days”