The atmosphere at Taoyuan Inn in Lingbao County was somewhat extraordinary today.

From early morning, the guests who came to the inn one after another were quite different from the usual. First came a dark-faced man operating under the guise of a traveling physician. Though his appearance was ugly and fierce, he was at least a doctor, so the innkeeper received him warmly. But he neither said he was stopping for refreshments nor that he wanted lodging—he just sat down and wouldn’t leave.

Next came a giant monk taller than the door frame. This man had a face full of whiskers, disheveled hair, and burn scars all over, making him appear even more terrifying than the previous traveling physician. The monk carried a wandering tin staff, and when he planted it in the inn, it shattered a stone brick. The innkeeper didn’t dare make a fuss, thinking he had come to seek alms, so he quickly started a fire to cook. However, after the monk ate a full basin of vegetarian food, he also sat down and wouldn’t leave.

The guests who arrived in the afternoon were a group of Taoist priests. Their leader was a Taoist master nearly forty years old with a face like polished jade, wearing a purple Celestial Master robe. His flowing sleeves gave him an ethereal, otherworldly appearance. Behind him followed four young disciples, one of whom was injured with his arm in a splint hanging from his neck.

Seeing another religious person, the innkeeper didn’t know how to receive him properly. Before he could speak, the purple-robed Taoist said, “Your inn is not to accept any other guests today. Those already staying here—drive them all away if possible. Those who refuse to comply, don’t blame this Taoist master for being heavy-handed.” His tone was fierce and domineering, leaving no room for negotiation.

The innkeeper drew in a sharp breath. Looking at the Taoist’s face again, he had been keeping his eyes lowered with a gentle smile, appearing to have an immortal bearing. However, when speaking, he slightly raised his eyelids, and his eyes flashed like cold lightning with overwhelming murderous intent—definitely not a detached religious person who abstained from worldly concerns.

Only then did the innkeeper notice that besides the whisk in his hand, he also had a precious sword hanging on his back, and his four disciples each carried weapons as well. When this group of armed Taoists sat in the main hall, combined with the two previous fierce and menacing guests, not only would no business come to the door, even flies wouldn’t want to fly in.

When dusk arrived, the setting sun was blood-red, its crimson color evoking waves of unease. All details of people and things gradually became unclear, and the approaching night was quietly gathering power.

A white-clothed woman with an otherworldly demeanor, holding a pipa, stepped across the threshold into the inn, followed by two beautiful young men and women. When the innkeeper saw the woman’s face, an unusual fear arose in his heart. He vaguely remembered she had come before a few days ago. That rainy night, some bloody strange events had occurred, but fortunately no one investigated afterward. He had cleaned up all the blood on the floor overnight, pretending nothing had happened.

At that time, the visitor had been an aging prostitute coughing constantly. She looked exactly the same as today’s woman, still wearing plain clothes with bone hairpins and holding a pipa, but now had none of that frail quality. She walked with her head high and chest out, majestic and imposing like a grandmaster. Only that ghost-like resentful and angry expression on her face remained unchanged.

At this moment, the inn was like a den of demons and monsters, with an extremely oppressive atmosphere where bloody violence could erupt at any moment. The innkeeper felt ice-cold all over, not daring to breathe heavily, even considering abandoning his family and business to flee.

The woman sat down across from the purple-robed Taoist and said lazily, “Why not find some desolate mountains and wilderness to gather? In busy markets with many people and mixed ears, it’s inconvenient to talk.”

The purple-robed Taoist said, “It’s Eldest Senior Brother’s order. He’s staying here.”

The woman looked around, frowning with worry: “Everyone rushed here eagerly, so where is that little devil?”

Qiu Ren said, “He’s somewhat injured and sleeping. He told us to wait until everyone arrived before calling him.”

Hearing this, the woman’s eyes immediately lit up like ghost flames: “What kind of injury?”

Qiu Ren helplessly explained, “Just flesh wounds. Third Senior Sister had better not act rashly.”

Tuoba Sanniang snorted with regret. A few days ago, she had risked coming to test him, not only suffering internal injuries but also losing a beloved Vaisravana pouch. If not for watching a good show, it would have been a great loss.

“I already crossed hands with him two days ago. Do you all know the little devil has suddenly become enlightened? He’s brought a delicate little girl with him and dotes on her terribly.”

At the mention of Wei Xun’s gossip, everyone’s lazy and slack expressions changed, their gazes immediately focusing.

Qiu Ren chuckled, “I was the first to see the donkey-riding lady. The proud and arrogant Eldest Senior Brother actually willingly leads her donkey for her, running back and forth doing odd jobs. Tsk, tsk, his attentiveness is simply unbearable to watch.”

The purple-robed Taoist seemed to be hearing this fresh news for the first time and said in surprise, “There’s such a thing? Hasn’t he always been completely clueless and stubbornly unenlightened?”

Tuoba Sanniang said with a giggle, “Has Second Senior Brother just come down from the mountain recently? This news has already spread throughout the jianghu. I heard it in Chang’an and specially came out of seclusion to watch the excitement. The initial news was that a supreme master had captured him alive, which I didn’t believe at all. I risked testing it and found she’s just a little girl who cries when slightly frightened, doesn’t know any martial arts at all. That little devil has truly lost his mind.”

The monk had been silent all this time but now spoke, saying concisely, “Not so. That girl has some courage.”

While everyone was discussing, Huo Qi Lang arrived last. She was the youngest among the disciples Chen Shigu had released from tutelage, so she respectfully greeted each of her senior brothers and sisters. Only when facing the purple-robed Taoist “Dong Zhenzi” Xu Baozhen did her expression become somewhat awkward, and she chose to sit in the farthest seat from him.

Xu Baozhen treated Huo Qi as if she didn’t exist. After pondering for a moment, he said unhurriedly, “Do you remember what Master said when he was alive? The Primal Qi Innate Skill can only exert maximum power with a virgin body. Since he’s become enlightened, is his martial foundation still intact?”

Tuoba Sanniang giggled coquettishly, “Indeed, only Second Senior Brother cares most about this matter. Among our sect, originally only you and he were still virgins. It’s just that you want to claim to be number one in the world and fear damaging your cultivation, so you endure and don’t dare break your virginity. Wei Da simply hasn’t become enlightened and doesn’t care. In my opinion, Master was just that kind of mysterious, sinister old monster who spoke carelessly to toy with everyone, deceiving you into sleeping alone for a lifetime.”

Hearing these words, Xu Baozhen didn’t get angry but said calmly, “Since currently it’s still Eldest Senior Brother and I who have the highest martial arts, there’s no way to disprove this statement. Sanniang, if you truly didn’t believe Master’s words, you wouldn’t have sent your subordinates to break his martial foundation when Eldest Senior Brother was gravely ill. When the plan failed and he escaped, after recovering from his illness he came back for revenge, dragging you from bed and beating you into serious injury. Was that very interesting?”

The entire sect knew that Wei Xun and Tuoba Sanniang had a feud, but because the parties involved were secretive about it, most didn’t know why they had become enemies. When Dong Zhenzi and Pipa Demon confronted each other and exposed each other’s secrets, everyone suddenly understood there was such a past incident and couldn’t help but be amazed.

Second and Third Senior glared at each other with swords drawn and crossbows loaded, the air filled with the smell of gunpowder and saltpeter, but they restrained themselves from erupting due to the tacit understanding that internal fighting was forbidden during sect gatherings.

After a moment, Tuoba Sanniang covered her chest and began coughing, her expression changing to appear pitiful and helpless: “I selected a pair of the most beautiful disciples to send over, treating him quite well, but he was ungrateful and escaped on all fours. Afterward, to avoid his attention, I hid in my lover’s bed, wanting to embarrass him a bit. Who knew this little devil would be so unscrupulous and still strike heavily—truly detestable to the extreme. Fortunately, retribution is swift, and he’s finally getting his comeuppance!”

Though Tuoba Sanniang specialized in assassination techniques in martial arts, her bold courage and radical methods were unmatched in the sect. Everyone knew Pipa Demon coveted the top position in Canyang Court, but no one expected she would dare provoke Wei Xun with such methods. That she wasn’t killed by him could only be attributed to her life being harder than iron.

Everyone listened silently, their emotions fluctuating.

After hearing so much of this history, Huo Qi Lang really couldn’t restrain herself. Her gambling nature flared up as she spoke: “Since we rarely gather together, why don’t we open a betting pool? I’ll wager twenty taels of gold that Eldest Senior Brother’s martial foundation is still intact.”

Qiu Ren said in surprise, “Did you strike it rich? Opening such a large betting pool.”

Huo Qi Lang laughed, “I just earned a sum from Sixth Brother. It makes me uncomfortable not to spend it. Are you all in or not?”

Tuoba Sanniang said with giggles, “I’m in. When I came to test him two days ago, he clearly had a chance to eliminate me completely, but because I threw a handful of flying knives at the little girl’s hair bun, he hurriedly turned back to block them, unwilling to let even a few strands of hair fall. Isn’t this pure infatuation? I guess he’s already lost his virginity.”

Qiu Ren recalled how when stitching his wounds, Wei Xun felt embarrassed to undress in front of that girl and insisted on deceiving her away—clearly the laughable behavior of a young man experiencing his first awakening of love. He immediately said, “I’ll bet with Seventh Sister that he’s still a virgin.”

Xu Baozhen glared at the beaming Huo Qi Lang and said coldly, “You spend all day not attending to proper business, putting effort into sensual pleasures and frivolous pursuits. No wonder your martial arts are the worst.”

Huo Qi Lang scratched the scar on her face and smiled carelessly, “Second Senior Brother pursues the world’s greatest martial arts, but my goal is to pursue the world’s greatest beauties. We follow different paths and cannot work together.”

Tuoba Sanniang said, “Second Brother, don’t spoil the fun! Even if you wholeheartedly practice martial arts, who can beat Wei Da? You’re just biding your time in the mountains, waiting for him to die of illness before you can become the sect’s number one. Since no matter how desperately we all try, we can’t match him, why make things difficult for Seventh Sister?”

The junior sister’s words were sharp as knives. Xu Baozhen didn’t deny them, and a thin, cold smile appeared on his elegant face: “Then I’ll bet with Sanniang—consider it a future prize, wagering that he’s on the decline.”

Huo Qi Lang turned to ask the monk, “Will Fifth Senior Brother join?”

The monk shook his head in refusal: “This humble monk doesn’t bet on unverifiable matters. Even if Eldest Senior Brother’s power declines, we still can’t beat him, so who could confirm whether it’s true or not?”

Huo Qi Lang said, “Naturally there must be convincing evidence that satisfies everyone before payouts can be made.”

Everyone knew that the most expensive stake in this game wasn’t gold, but that if Wei Xun found out, participants would certainly end up dead or seriously injured. However, this group were all desperate outlaws who didn’t take life and death seriously, with extremely strong competitive desires, willing to risk dangerous gambles for thrills. They immediately placed their bets one by one and agreed on the amounts.

Wei Xun hadn’t arrived yet, so the central seat of honor in the main hall remained empty.

The purple-robed Taoist “Dong Zhenzi” Xu Baozhen sat in the first position on the left, with “Pipa Demon” Tuoba Sanniang across from him. Both had established their own sects, with disciples and followers standing behind their respective masters.

The second seat on the left was “Ghost Hand Vajra” Qiu Ren, the second seat on the right was the giant monk with hair, nicknamed “Fire-Wielding Warrior.” His secular surname was Luo, his given name unknown to outsiders—people in the jianghu all just called him Luo Tuotuo.

The third seat on the left was empty—originally “Swift Wind Guardian” Pang Liangji’s seat, but he had now been expelled from the sect. The third seat on the right was “Silk Brocade Young Master” Huo Qi Lang.

Chen Shigu casually accepted disciples and taught skills without formally establishing a sect. Though these seven outstanding students were like scattered sand, each going their own way, jianghu people gave them a unified nickname for convenience. Based on Chen Shigu’s residence at Canyang Court, they called them the “Seven Absolutes of the Setting Sun.”

Other minor disciples, because their martial arts were too weak to complete their training, weren’t within the scope of the sect’s summoning order and now followed under their senior brothers and sisters.

The sun had already set, night shrouded the earth, and the forces of darkness finally gained the upper hand. Seeing everyone had arrived, Xu Baozhen ordered the innkeeper to close shop and board up the doors. Everyone split up to knock out the innkeeper’s family, servants, and guests who refused to leave, handling everything properly. Only Bao Zhu and Yang Xingjian’s rooms were left untouched before they notified Wei Xun that everyone from the sect had assembled.

Wei Xun had been forced by Bao Zhu to lie down and sleep for the entire day. Though he felt somewhat recovered after catching up on sleep, thinking about missing the time to dine with Bao Zhu and having to meet with that annoying bunch made him feel extremely irritated. When coming downstairs, his expression was inevitably cold and gloomy, his entire being radiating an aura that warned strangers to stay away.

Bao Zhu, holding a candlestick and going to check on Yang Xingjian in his room, passed through the second-floor corridor and glimpsed this group of heretical demons in the inn’s main hall. She was momentarily shocked and pale. She knew Wei Xun had summoned his sect members to assist Pang Liangji, but hadn’t expected such an eerie atmosphere filled with evil qi. That pipa woman who had once come to frighten her like a fierce ghost was also sitting among them.

Bao Zhu had grown up reading Li Taibai’s “Knight-Errant’s Journey,” always harboring in her heart the image of a young knight-errant in fine clothes on a spirited horse—”Silver saddle reflecting white horse, galloping swift as shooting stars,” or “Shooting star white feathers at the waist, sword flowers like autumn lotus emerging from the sheath,” or “Green-eyed Hu eagle on brocade jesses, five-colored stallion with white sable fur”—imagining there existed in the jianghu such a group of heroic and dashing great knights who upheld justice.

However, seeing real jianghu knights now, her fantasies were immediately shattered. She felt that every person seated there would be perfectly suited for a wanted poster, including Wei Xun sitting in the place of honor, who had a sinister and ruthless expression she had never seen before.

Now recalling how every time they encountered government bulletins along the way, Wei Xun would always be the first to squeeze in with great interest to look. At the time she thought he was reading announcement news, but thinking carefully now, perhaps he just wanted to see if there were wanted posters for himself and other sect members.

Bao Zhu was lamenting her shattered youthful dreams when she suddenly felt her wrist tighten as Yang Xingjian pulled her into his room. Registrar Yang looked dazed with a grayish complexion. After urgently closing and barring the door, he whispered, “This is terrible! The Princess must quickly report to the authorities! Have the local magistrate go to the military camp to call for three hundred heavy crossbows to capture this group of vicious criminals in one net!”

Bao Zhu knew he hadn’t fully recovered from his illness and his mind wasn’t working well. Shaking her head and sighing, she said, “It’s a bit late for that. We’re part of their group now.”

Author’s Note: The thrill is in the gambling. The reason the lynx must hide when having an episode is right here.