The transfer of imperial power and the collapse of the Rong family gave rise to no small amount of discussion throughout Daan. The transfer of imperial power was not something ordinary people dared comment on too freely, but as for the head of the Rong family — a man who was the leader of a great Mystic clan, and who had, for his own selfish desire to increase his cultivation, practiced a wicked soul-devouring technique — this caused many people to question whether the Mystic clan had ever truly maintained its integrity and upheld the righteous path. As for the Rong family itself, it was roundly condemned and reviled; a great many of the clan’s members had already relocated from the Rong clan lands and scattered to unknown destinations.
The Rong family fell swiftly. The contest of that day was passed by word of mouth, from one to ten, ten to a hundred, growing more embellished with every telling — though exaggerated, many who had personally witnessed the events at the Rong family went about inquiring after Lang Jiuchuan’s whereabouts.
For since the day of the great upheaval, she had simply vanished. Every day people went to ask after her at her Myriad Affairs Shop, and some even kept watch outside; likewise outside the gates of Marquis Kaiping’s residence. Only after a full month, then two, then three had passed with no sign of her did the watch gradually dissolve.
She was, after all, someone who had brought a Foundation Establishment family head to his death. Word spread that she excelled at exorcising malevolent spirits, expelling demons, and even that her medical abilities were exceptional — and she was not a member of any Mystic clan; so long as one could pay the price, she might be persuaded to act. Such a capable person — it was best to cultivate good relations if possible, and if not, at the very least, not to make an enemy of her.
And so, Lang Jiuchuan could be said to have made her name with a single battle. With her formidable reputation spreading far and wide, even Marquis Kaiping’s residence behind her — which, by rights, ought to have kept its head down for getting caught between the Rong family and even the imperial family — was no longer looked upon with open contempt.
When the younger members of the Lang family came out of mourning and ventured into the streets, word that they were of the Lang family was apparently enough to earn them a degree of preferential treatment. This left the Lang family’s sons greatly unaccustomed to the experience — and for the two young ladies not yet wed, the family backgrounds of the suitors coming forward to propose had improved considerably as well.
As the saying goes: shared glory in triumph, shared ruin in defeat. Thanks to a single Lang Jiuchuan, the members of the Lang family had come to understand the truth of those words intimately. Their honour and disgrace seemed to hang entirely from the person of a woman they had never once treated with genuine regard.
And yet the mourning period was over, the first snow had fallen, and a full year had passed since her return to the household last year. So where was she?
Lang Jiuchuan’s continued absence sat uneasily with the Lang family members. They feared she might truly have, as rumours outside were saying, sustained grievous injuries in that battle and perished.
“They say that when Lang the Ninth fought, she could sprout three heads and six arms — does that not make her a monster of sorts?”
“Who can say? The way I see it, whether she’s truly that fearsome is hard to know. She’s only so young — how could she really stand against a Foundation Establishment cultivator? The Rong family head had made his name long ago, and on top of that he was practicing such a terrifying technique. A young girl with peach-fuzz on her face could never compare. My guess is the world is simply exaggerating to flatter her. Otherwise, why has there been no word, no news, ever since that one battle?”
“She’s probably cowering somewhere, crying her eyes out and licking her wounds.”
“That’s women for you — no matter how capable they seem, they’re no match for a man. Especially a female cultivator of the Daoist path. The truly powerful figures in the cultivation world these days are all male cultivators. Female cultivators are good for nothing more than drawing a few charms, tricking people into drinking them.”
“Exactly, exactly. My younger brother was crying every night — Mother recently found a nun and got a Daoist talisman from her, absolutely insisted on making my little brother drink it, said it would drive off whatever mischievous spirit was causing the nightly wailing. Tsk.”
“Should’ve gone to Lang the Ninth for a ritual to drive off the evil… might’ve worked…”
Several voices bantered and laughed freely, gossiping about Lang Jiuchuan without restraint.
Without warning, their room door was kicked open. A slightly stocky figure burst in and roared: “What absolute rubbish — I’d like to know who’s drunk enough cat piss to dare talk behind my Lang family sister’s back.”
Bang.
Bursting in was apparently not enough — he reached out and seized a vase from the shelf and hurled it straight at the round table in the middle of the room.
“Well, well — so it’s you lot: the Yuan family’s, the Yu family’s, the Cheng family’s — you there, the useless waste who can’t get it up even with the top entertainer at the pleasure house working on you, you wretched creature fit only to be called a little rabbit — you dare speak ill of my Ninth Sister? Ptui!” Lang Caichao launched himself forward, overturning the wine cups beside them, and let loose a torrent of abuse: “Pack of rabble! I’ll teach you to drink your courage up and spout nonsense! So what if she’s a female cultivator? A female cultivator can still crush the lot of you sorry wastes into the dirt!”
“Twelfth Brother, be careful!”
“Twelfth Brother, watch yourself!”
The Lang brothers surged forward one after another, nominally to restrain the rampaging twelfth brother, yet contriving to lose their footing and press into the several men in the private room.
In an instant, the small space descended into chaos. The young masters of the Cheng family, who had been drinking quite pleasantly, found themselves sporting fresh injuries, and cries of pain rang out without stop.
“Let go! You people surnamed Lang, have you lost your minds? Fatty, don’t think I won’t hit you back — let go!” The Yu family member went to slap Lang Caichao’s face.
Lang Caichao released his grip and jutted out his chin: “Come on then. Hit me if you dare. I’ll counter with a talisman charm that’ll finish you off.”
“Twelfth.” Lang Caimeng stepped in through the door just in time to hear that last remark and called out in a sharp, stern tone.
The entire room went quiet at once.
The young master of the Cheng family saw him and erupted in fury: “What is the meaning of this, you Langs? We were drinking perfectly well and you barge in uninvited — bad enough that you intrude, but then you cause a scene and strike people? Have you no respect for the law?”
Lang Caimeng’s temple was pounding. They had just come out of mourning; it happened to be their martial instructor’s birthday, and they had thought to come to the Yue Tower to lay on a couple of tables of food and wine in his honour — the brothers, plus the family’s tutor, a celebratory banquet. It would not have been fitting to hold a grand feast at the residence when the elders were still in mourning.
And now here they were, not a single drop of wine drunk, and already they had gotten into a brawl.
“The young lad is young and doesn’t know better — is that reason enough?” Lang Caichao squared his jaw and sneered coolly. “But you — you’re grown men gossiping behind someone’s back. That’s the behaviour of a sharp-tongued old woman. No wonder you’re such a regular at the Rabbit Burrow — seems like it runs in the blood.”
The young master of the Cheng family went red in the face: “You—!”
“Twelfth, mind your words!” Lang Caimeng shot Lang Caichao a sharp look.
Lang Caichao gave a derisive snort: “I didn’t say anything wrong. He said Ninth Sister was a monster, said the world was just flattering her, and then said she was probably in hiding nursing her wounds — his words even carried a curse upon her.”
“We said no such thing!” the young master of the Cheng family protested.
“The implication of your words was exactly that.” Lang Caichao puffed out his small chest and smiled coldly: “My Lang family sister has never offended you, and has never had anything to do with you at all — what gives you the right to talk about her behind her back? Have you considered a woman’s reputation?”
The Lang family were welcome to bully each other all they liked — but outsiders were not.
“What about you? You said you’d finish us off with a talisman.” The Yu family young master said, his voice shaking: “Your family has a female cultivator. If something happens to us, it’s your family that worked some evil art on us.”
“Exactly!”
“Oh, now you’re scared? A moment ago, weren’t you saying that female cultivators have no real abilities? If she has no abilities, then we wouldn’t have talismans capable of killing someone without leaving a mark now, would we!” Lang Caize from the third branch delivered a cutting remark.
Lang Caimeng swept a cool, unhurried glance over the young masters of the Cheng family’s party and said: “If we had such talismans, they would naturally be reserved for where they were truly needed.”
The implication being: you are not even worth the effort.
The young masters of the Cheng family flushed beet red with fury: “You hit people and think you’re in the right? Just because Lang Jiuchuan beat the Rong family head, you think you can all swagger around? Are you going to become like the Rong clan — bullying those weaker than yourselves?”
“Exactly — when one person attains the Dao, even the chickens and dogs ascend to heaven!”
“Don’t pin false charges on us. The young lad here is young, hasn’t grown into his sense yet, so he loses his head — so what? You can gossip about people, but I can’t act on youthful hot blood and impulse? Fine, say what you want about compensation — the young lad will pay. But before we pay, you lot owe my Ninth Sister an apology as well.” Lang Caichao fixed them with a cold, hard stare: “Apologise to her face, right in front of her. Do you dare?”