Returning to the northern wing, Changling wrung out a hot towel and draped it over her face, lying flat on the daybed. Mo Daoyun’s words echoed in her ears, and combined with the clues she had obtained from Ye Qi earlier, the fragmented pieces of the past gradually assembled in her mind into a rough picture—though not yet complete, at least two points had become clear. Jing Wuwei had once attempted to collude with the Seven Kill Hall to plot against her eldest brother, which showed that he had harbored treasonous intentions long ago. Shen Yao had cooperated with Jing Wuwei from the inside and outside, using the Yan people’s blades to create the catastrophic situation at the Battle of Taixing. First allowing the enemy to advance then capturing them, after thoroughly earning her eldest brother’s trust, he had him killed, and then crossed the river and demolished the bridge by wiping out the entire Yan Army in one fell swoop.
Thinking of those layers of hidden, unknown bloodshed and cruelty, she wished she could immediately sever Shen Yao’s head, eat his flesh, and drink his blood.
But now that Shen Yao was the ruler of a kingdom, cooped up in the imperial palace day after day, with her meager strength alone, forget about bringing him down—even attempting an assassination in the palace would not be an easy task. Originally, she had hoped to get some help from Ye Qi… but what did that wretched old man say? That involving him would be tantamount to taking his life? Fine, she wouldn’t shoulder that blame then.
Suffocating with frustration until she broke out in a sweat, Changling yanked off the towel and sat up with a bounce.
This was absolutely maddening. Ever since entering Jinling, not a single thing had gone her way. They say a gentleman’s revenge is not too late even after ten years, yet she had been lying dormant for eleven years now. She couldn’t possibly wait another ten or eight years until that Shen fellow kicked the bucket on his own, and then deceive herself with platitudes like “good and evil will eventually be repaid, the wheel of fate turns” and call it settled.
At this thought, Second Young Master Yue, who couldn’t take the “endure hardships for revenge” route, pulled out a bundle of clothes from beneath the bed—night-traveling clothes, picked up from the streets two days ago. She had been ready all along to silence Jing Wuwei with a single sword strike, but had kept putting off choosing a date in order to investigate the truth. Why wait for another day when today would do? Tonight the moon was dark and the wind was high—the perfect night for killing.
Usually at this hour, Jing Wuwei would be handling military affairs in his study, with two attendants, Zhu Yi and Guo Si, waiting outside the door, only returning to his bedchamber to retire at the hour of Hai. But tonight the study was completely empty. Changling circled around on the pitch-black roof before finally spotting lights blazing in the southern wing. She pushed her qinggong to its limits, drifting onto the roof like a falling leaf, and carefully pried open half a tile. She could see a large round table set up in the side hall, laden with delicacies. Apart from Jing Wuwei, the other several people were all dressed like rough jianghu warriors.
Jing Wuwei raised his cup: “That all of you have agreed to this invitation is truly Jing’s good fortune. Allow me to toast everyone.”
Everyone returned the gesture. Among them, a man who appeared to be barely in his early thirties with a remarkably high hairline said: “General Jing need not be so courteous. This martial arts assembly will have many expert participants. We can only say we’ll do our best. As for who will ultimately claim the position of alliance leader, we dare not guarantee.”
Jing Wuwei chuckled: “Helmsman Cen is too modest. Even the Luoyang Blade Master Liu was defeated by your blade. When it comes to blade techniques, who in the Central Plains martial world could be your match?”
Changling was startled. More than ten years ago, Blade Master Liu was already famous throughout Hedong. She hadn’t expected him to have been defeated by such a young man.
“There’s also Young Valley Master Wuma, Chief Escort Tong, and Island Master Xu. You are all rising stars of the martial world,” Jing Wuwei said. “That my unworthy son can have the assistance of several of you is truly an immense honor.”
Another young man with delicate features like a pretty boy gave a sly laugh and said in an affected manner: “I’ve barely left the valley since childhood, and I don’t know much about what this martial arts assembly is like. However, since I’ve left home on my father’s orders this time, I shall consider it as building pillars and beams for your esteemed son.”
After this man surnamed Wuma spoke, another escort chief surnamed Tong also exchanged a few perfunctory pleasantries. Changling listened for a while and began to discern the underlying scheme.
Jing Wuwei intended to have his son Jing Can seize the position of martial arts alliance leader, and had specially invited these several experts who held considerable prestige in the jianghu, intending to use them to eliminate the most formidable opponents and thus clear the way for Jing Can. This tactic was somewhat similar to the method Shen Yao had used to deceive her back then. She just didn’t know why these people would follow Jing Wuwei’s orders. If they truly had real ability, wouldn’t it be better to claim the position of alliance leader themselves?
Helmsman Cen said: “There are still three months until the martial arts assembly. General Jing has deliberately gathered us early, surely there must be another important matter for us to handle?”
Hearing this, Jing Wuwei tilted his head back and drained his wine in one gulp, saying: “I wonder if you gentlemen have heard about the incident some time ago when the eight sect leaders of our Eastern Xia martial world were trapped in the Yan Kingdom?”
“Even the common people in the streets have been gossiping wildly about this matter, saying how Young Master He turned the tide and played the young prince of Yan Kingdom for a fool,” Chief Escort Tong said. “I’ve heard that the eight major sects now all follow Marquis He’s lead. Is General Jing troubled by this?”
“Chief Escort Tong is indeed well-informed,” Jing Wuwei said. “The military might of the He family is already powerful enough to stand on equal footing with the imperial court. Now with this additional prestige in the jianghu, it certainly causes concern… However, today I’ve invited you all here not for this matter. On that day, the eight sect leaders all fell into the Yan people’s trap simultaneously. Do you know why this happened?”
Everyone stretched their necks with some curiosity. Jing Wuwei continued: “The eight sect leaders traveled far to the northern borderlands because of a folding fan that had been missing for ten years, in order to rescue the owner of that fan—Fu Liujing.”
Changling’s eyes flickered slightly.
Wuma laughed and said slowly: “I’ve heard my father mention that over ten years ago, there was a military strategist in the jianghu whose plans never failed—this Fu Liujing. In the Battle of Taixing, the Yue Family Army suffered a crushing defeat. Everyone knows it was the current emperor who turned the tide, but they don’t know that the real mastermind behind the emperor was this person. Unfortunately, he disappeared many years ago, and no one knows where he went.”
Helmsman Cen listened with some confusion: “But he’s just a strategist. Even if he was capable back then, this person has been missing for so many years. Why would those sect leaders make a special trip just to save someone whose whereabouts are unknown?”
“Helmsman Cen’s question hits the mark perfectly. Even though jianghu people value trust and righteousness, having eight rescue one person—this action seems rather excessive…” Jing Wuwei paused before continuing: “Jing is not particularly talented, but I once worked alongside Fu Liujing. After this person accomplished great merit, he withdrew completely, which truly puzzled me for many years. Until recently, when this half of the folding fan suddenly appeared—although it was a trap set by the Yan people, for it to have several sect leaders rushing forth in competition, I suspected there must be some hidden mystery… So I dispatched people in all directions to investigate, and only then learned that they weren’t trying to rescue someone, but were after that half of the folding fan.”
Everyone exchanged glances, all seeming rather curious. Changling also couldn’t help but listen intently.
Jing Wuwei took another sip of wine and suddenly changed the subject: “You are all first-class experts in the jianghu. When it comes to knowledge of martial arts methods, Jing is but a layman. I wonder, in your views, over these past hundred years, if we were to mention the ‘Number One Person in the Martial World,’ who would come to mind?”
Asking people of the martial world who was the number one person in the martial world—this question was akin to asking a child who was the most capable person under heaven… Most people would instinctively want to claim some glory for their own ancestors.
Fortunately, these several people present weren’t so shameless as to blow their own horns on such an occasion. Wuma spoke first: “I don’t know. This question should probably be asked of the other senior predecessors.”
Chief Escort Tong furrowed his brow in thought: “Within these hundred years, there have been countless famous experts emerging in the jianghu world. But different periods have different people, and even people from the same period might never have crossed hands. This title of ‘Number One Person in the Martial World’ probably cannot be easily determined…”
Helmsman Cen thought for a moment and said: “Could General Jing be referring to Second Young Master Yue, Yue Changling? All martial arts under heaven originate from Shaolin, and Shaolin inherited from Tianzhu. Since that Second Young Master Yue is the only person in a hundred years to have cultivated the ninth level of the Shemo True Scripture, calling him the ‘Number One Person in the Martial World’ would not be inappropriate.”
The very Second Young Master Yue being discussed was currently lying atop their heads. Hearing these words, she couldn’t help but curl her lips in a disdainful smile.
“It’s not him.” At the wine table, Island Master Xu, who had not spoken until now, suddenly opened his mouth: “This Second Young Master Yue was undeniably brilliant and talented, but I’ve read the records about him. In those several decisive matches, the oldest opponent he faced was not even over fifty years old. Just over ten years ago, Shaolin’s Master Huiguang and Kunlun’s Daoist Hengyu both had cultivation far surpassing Yue Changling… If he could have lived another thirty to fifty years, he might have achieved something, but based on one Shemo True Scripture alone, the title of ‘Number One Person in the Martial World’ doesn’t belong to him.”
Changling glanced down a bit more. Though this person’s words carried arrogance, this assessment was actually quite sound and reasonable. He held a fan in his hand, gently waving it as he said: “If you ask me, in these past hundred years, the most heaven-shaking, ghost-weeping battle in the martial world was during the Yuan Kang period of the former Liang Dynasty, when a martial arts prodigy beat the top ten masters on the expert ranking list until they had no power to fight back—Wu Run.”
Jing Wuwei had apparently intended to play coy, but unexpectedly someone actually guessed it. He couldn’t help but exclaim in surprise: “Island Master Xu is so young, yet you can enumerate figures from a hundred years ago with such familiarity.”
“My desolate island has nothing else, but it has the most incomplete volumes of jianghu anecdotes. Though Wu Run’s legend isn’t particularly long, every time I read it, I find it quite exhilarating.” Island Master Xu said: “To be ranked among the world’s top ten masters, when they fight each other to determine a victor, it should take at least three days and three nights, right? But this obscure Wu Run could subdue all ten great experts of that time one by one in just half a day. How terrifying must this person’s martial arts cultivation have been? What’s even more shocking is that when he fought that battle, he was already an old man with white hair and a youthful face. When someone asked his age, he said he had already lived for over one hundred and forty years… If such a person doesn’t count as the Number One Person in the Martial World, I’m afraid no one could bear that title.”
Everyone present listened with amazement. Wuma couldn’t help but ask: “Did this Wu Run later establish a sect and pass his martial arts to descendants?”
“After that battle, he vanished without a trace. There were rumors that he was an immortal who came down to the mortal realm to amuse himself before returning to heaven. Hehe, but I don’t believe there are any ghosts or gods under heaven.” Island Master Xu looked toward Jing Wuwei: “General Jing, after talking for so long, I still don’t know what connection this story I’ve told has with that half of the folding fan you mentioned earlier?”
Jing Wuwei looked at Island Master Xu with surprise and said in a solemn voice: “Since we’ve reached this point, I won’t hide it from you all. According to Jing’s extensive investigations, the original owner of that folding fan was none other than the legendary Number One Person in the Martial World that Island Master Xu spoke of—Wu Run.”
Everyone was shocked.
“This Wu Run actually had two disciples by his side. Legend has it that on his deathbed, he split one folding fan in two and gave them separately to those two disciples, but made them swear never to reunite the two halves.” Jing Wuwei stood up and paced a few steps: “Initially, those two disciples did indeed comply. But as time went on, they couldn’t resist the temptation and kept wanting to discover the content of the other’s half of the fan… Later, in order not to violate their master’s command, they decided to go their separate ways and never meet again.”
Hearing this, Chief Escort Tong couldn’t help but interject: “That Wu Run was quite strange. Since he passed his legacy to his disciples, why wouldn’t he let them touch it? This—this is deliberately tormenting people, isn’t it?”
Wuma asked: “So you’re saying that when this half of the folding fan reappeared, could it be that Fu Liujing is a descendant of one of those disciples?”
“Not quite. The folding fan in Fu Liujing’s possession was given to him by someone else,” Jing Wuwei cleared his throat lightly: “However, the person who gave out this half of the folding fan should be a descendant of Wu Run’s disciple.”
Island Master Xu couldn’t help but press: “Who?”
“One of Wu Run’s disciples was surnamed Yue,” Jing Wuwei said. “This person is none other than Yue Changsheng’s grandfather—Yue Rugou.”