Cicadas droned.
The afternoon sun blazed fiercely, the fiery heat in the air seeming to seep straight into the body, a burning pain gradually shifting from cheek to teeth.
On the second floor of the martial arts hall, Pu Xingui poured tea unhurriedly, feeling the scalding heat of the water, showing no outward sign of agitation.
Only the corner of his mouth twitched occasionally.
Several men who had just come in from outside were speaking across from him.
“…Huang Shengyuan, Yu Lin, and a few others have been quietly making moves. Today they seem unusually excited, having everyone listen to what that little wretch from the Chen family has to say…”
“…We heard that a few people from the Huang and Yu families were named yesterday at the Princess’s residence. If they don’t want to be rounded up, they’ve got no choice but to commit to the rebellion. I know Huang Shengyuan — he’s just a side branch in Putian. If word gets all the way up, Huang Bailong might just sell him out… They’re panicking, so they’d rather everyone just listen to that little girl, thinking that’ll be enough to bring down the court overnight…”
“…Wishful thinking…”
“…But the situation really has eased a bit. Since the first of the month, the persuaders arranged by the Princess’s residence and Li Pin have been working hard on those wavering landowners. Yesterday afternoon it nearly reached the point where they’d say the court had already won… but today, most of that momentum has stalled.”
“…Over at the Military Academy, seventy-six students have jointly submitted a petition… their families are in Jiangnan, and now that Lin’an has fallen, their last hope is gone.”
“…Arrangements have already been made — starting tomorrow, we spread word that the court is too cowardly to send troops out…”
“…The court’s money and grain are nearly gone…”
“…Among the brothers on the street, Xiao Heipi’s reputation really has taken off…”
The searing sensation drifted through the sultry air; Pu Xingui’s mouth twitched faintly as he turned his teacup.
“Stay calm — you’re all brothers who’ve made your living by the sea and on it, so you should know that when it’s time to assess the situation, you assess it. When a storm comes at sea, no matter how strong you are, fighting it head-on gets you nowhere… Gentlemen, Miss Chen is walking a crooked path — a bit of showmanship, a few grand words, and she’s lit a fire in people’s hearts. To folk of the jianghu, that’s nothing unusual. But she’s just a girl in her teens, however formidable she may seem — has she shown any of you what’s really underneath?”
Pu Xingui shook his head. “No. She always says that going against the court requires airtight planning, and that’s not wrong. But if she’s really so airtight, then what exactly are you brothers to her? Yesterday, in Houguan County, after the first strike, she wanted a second one — did you think the court wouldn’t be ready? And look what happened. The two leaders who fought hardest in Houguan County — Old Tiger Qiu and Brother Liang — fought to the bitter end, gloriously. Yes, that boosted Miss Chen’s reputation, but looking back on it, those two were expendable pieces she was throwing away to begin with. Whether they were captured or killed, it did her no harm at all.”
“…Brothers, I trust you — men of honor, like Brother Qiu and Brother Liang — but I don’t want to follow Miss Chen and die some meaningless death like that. I warned her about this long ago!” Pu Xingui slammed his teacup on the table, keeping his voice low, jabbing a finger against the wood. “This! Is! Not! The! Way! Of! Brotherhood!”
“Right, right.” The others hurried to agree. “We honor the loyalty of Brothers Qiu and Liang too, but they shouldn’t have died like that. That woman surnamed Chen doesn’t know how to use people…”
“That’s what I’ve been saying too… but it’s hard to stop the young hotheads in the jianghu, who think this is their big chance…”
“Young master Pu — do you have any kind of plan? Could you… talk to those behind the scenes?”
“A woman running the show — the whole house is bound to collapse. Let her keep going like this and sooner or later she’ll get everyone killed…”
“…There’s no need to rush, gentlemen. As long as you all stay calm, I have the confidence to see this through… Once Miss Chen’s side falls into chaos and can’t hold things together, don’t worry — I’ll be there to save the day…”
The small stove on the table flared up, water bubbling and rushing, voices chattering, all mixed into the restless drone of summer cicadas. Pu Xingui, warm and unhurried in manner, saw the visitors off. Watching them leave the hall’s gate, he kept smiling by the window. Behind the window frame, his hand clenched tight enough to nearly draw blood. Though the men outside had also smiled and cupped their hands or nodded toward him as they left, Pu Xingui couldn’t shake the feeling that he could hear what they said once they’d turned away:
“…This fellow Pu, nothing but empty talk…”
This was surely his imagination, but there was nothing to be done about it. Compared to Xiao Heipi, who was striking out on all sides, lighting fires across the city, his own side truly had little to show for itself. Even with a few backup plans quietly prepared, in private conversation, wasn’t he just as unable to make it known to everyone as Heipi was?
Before long, more underlings returned from gathering information outside.
“…We’ve asked around with a total of five informants now, tapped into contacts inside the yamen — since yesterday’s assassination attempt up until now, no one has actually laid eyes on a living Tie Tianying…”
“…Even though the yamen claims Tie’s injury is minor, plenty on the street already suspect that woman surnamed Chen actually succeeded in killing him…”
“…Luo Zhengnian has already put the word out that from now on he’ll follow that young lady’s lead without question… everyone knows Tie Tianying killed his son… and quite a few others are falling in line too…”
…
“Damn it—”
Pu Xingui hurled his teacup to the floor.
The room was empty; only when “Wenhou Sword” Qian Dingzhong came in to check did Pu Xingui speak. “Still no sign of Yu Hezhang and the others?”
Qian Dingzhong was silent for a moment, then shook his head.
“…My tooth hurts.” Pu Xingui looked at him, thinking it over. “Brother Qian… bring me a pair of pliers…”
The afternoon sun blazed in fiercely through the window, as if it might catch fire. After a while, the pliers arrived, and Pu Xingui, holding them, began reaching them into his own mouth.
His face twisted, and he clamped down twice but couldn’t quite manage to bite down with full force, his expression contorted with the effort.
The cicadas kept droning. Out on the street outside the hall, a figure came running back.
The figure crossed the small training ground outside, and Pu Xingui leaned out from the window.
After a while, Yu Hezhang and Meng Biao came upstairs one after the other. They’d just come in from outside, drenched in sweat, and after cupping their hands in greeting, reported the news they’d gathered back to Pu Xingui.
“…The Fish King…”
Pu Xingui, pliers still in hand, listened to the report in silence, then turned away and stirred the coals in the stove with the metal tongs.
“Sit down, everyone. What’s there to panic about.” Pu Xingui kept his gaze on the sunlight outside. “In doing things, you need a calm heart… it’s not that big a deal…”
“…Then, we…”
“Send word back to the Fish King, a quarter hour ahead of schedule… I’ll go myself…”
The sea breeze had already picked up, and the afternoon sun was gradually turning gentler. Pu Xingui found his tooth didn’t hurt so much anymore. He straightened his clothes and led his men out through the martial arts hall’s front gate. The heat had begun to dissipate, and his stride carried purpose; only near the mouth of the alley was he blocked by a yellow dog that had come to gnaw on bones scattered across the road.
Pu Xingui kicked the yellow dog clean out of his way.
The dog tumbled across the ground, was sent rolling into a corner, yelped, and scrambled off running.
The group kept walking without pause. Pu Xingui waved a hand.
“It barks every single night — find some time and get rid of it.”
“Yes, sir.”
As the day faded, sunlight slowly shifted from white into a golden hue, gold then bleeding into orange-red. It was dinnertime in the city, and the group passed through streets thick with the smoke of cooking fires. As seasoned veterans with over a year of rebellion behind them — experienced insurgents — the whole process, whether disguising themselves or splitting up and reconverging, had become second nature. At a certain point, the group entered a residential area near Jinqiao Ward, and after winding through several turns beside a waterway, they came upon the Fish King, Gao Xingzong.
The man wore plain, simple clothing that revealed nothing on the surface, but to everyone present, he carried the most authentic, seasoned air of the old jianghu world.
“You’ve eaten more salt than we’ve walked road — the Fish King truly is a man of experience,” Pu Xingui said, taking his hand with evident admiration.
“I’m getting on in years, no match for you young men doing great things. But seeing young people with real prospects — an old man like me is happy too.”
“The Fish King’s sense of honor is truly admirable.”
The two men flattered each other for a while, and then Gao Xingzong, holding Pu Xingui’s hand, lowered his voice. “That young fellow who set up his stall in the district came looking for this old man, and I was a bit surprised myself — but the fact that he came to me at all is already a mark of respect, and I need to see him kept safe… especially after the whole incident at the Princess’s residence, young master Pu, this is no small figure. His safety concerns how our Fujian martial world looks in the eyes of outsiders.”
“The Fish King speaks truly. This young hero’s background is no ordinary thing — if anything happens to him, it will be a disgrace to the face of the entire Fujian martial world.”
“Well then… young master Pu trusts me?”
“Since ancient times, a strong dragon doesn’t outmatch a local snake — this is your territory, Fish King, so naturally you have the final say,” Pu Xingui said with a smile. “If I didn’t trust you, I wouldn’t have come today.”
“Young master Pu’s sense of honor is exactly as the jianghu rumors say — a man who deals with others with sincerity and trust… unlike that little Chen girl.”
Pu Xingui very nearly nodded his head off.
The Fish King nodded and waved a hand, and the group followed him through a maze of low, cluttered buildings. After a while, they boarded a few black-canopied boats on a nearby stream, gliding through the golden waterway lit by the setting sun.
The Fish King had originally made his living on the water, and following him along this stretch was hardly a safe proposition — but as had been said before, most people who made their living in Fujian had dealings with the water one way or another. The Pu family had done smuggling in its day, so the sea was no stranger to them either — if the Fish King had tried to play them false, they weren’t without countermeasures. But going through this test together, the two sides had grown a bit more “trusting” of each other.
They disembarked on the northeast side of the city and passed through a stretch of shanty housing. In front of a cluttered building, Gao Xingzong stopped, exchanged a few words with Pu Xingui, and Pu Xingui in turn gave an order to those with him. After a while, Qian Dingzhong, himself, and a man carrying a pack followed the Fish King into the building.
Outside, the rest of the group dispersed to keep watch over the perimeter. Pu Xingui entered the dim room and saw, sitting across from him on the bedding, a figure like a wild beast.
There he was.
His heart gave a violent leap; for a moment he nearly cupped his hands together, nearly wanted to say some warm words to express his sincerity, but with his hands half-raised, he hesitated and instead quickly turned to the man carrying the pack beside him. “Quick — Doctor Chen, quick, go treat my brother’s wounds.”
The doctor hurried over. Pu Xingui and Qian Dingzhong stepped forward as well, but the wounded figure across from them raised his head, fixing them with a cold gaze, and said, “Did you bring the medicine?”
“The two kinds of wound medicine the young hero asked for, both brought — and the one specifically for burns too… this old man is here to treat you, young hero.”
“What do you know.” The youth’s eyes flicked over, and before anyone saw him move, a steel blade was already at the doctor’s throat. “You help me out, you do what I say, and if you get it wrong even a little, I’ll send you off to the next world.”
Pu Xingui and Qian Dingzhong exchanged a glance. Across from them, the Fish King Gao Xingzong stood with hands folded at his side beside the youth, giving Pu Xingui a subtle gesture. Pu Xingui understood — during yesterday’s slaughter in Huaiyun Ward, the court had used cannon fire against the two brothers, and now only this one remained; whether his elder brother had survived, no one yet knew. That the young man was so volatile and mistrustful was only natural, under the circumstances.
He weighed his words carefully, then cupped his hands and spoke. “Yesterday’s events left me and my brothers worried all through the night. To see Young Hero Sun today is truly fortunate — I only wonder… how is Young Hero Long faring…”
Before he’d even finished speaking, a blade’s shadow rose in the darkness across from him and slashed down — what looked like a simple stroke seemed to stir up a massive gust of air in the darkness. The furious, oppressive black flash of the blade drove straight into the floorboards below, and with a boom, splinters exploded and scattered wildly. Even “Wenhou Sword” Qian Dingzhong felt a chill of fear before that single strike, and behind the flash of the blade, Pu Xingui saw eyes that were suppressed, furious, and thirsting for blood.
“I’m going to kill that whore surnamed Chen—”
“I’m going to kill everyone connected to this—”
“My family will be coming—”
“If you turn out to be useless to me! I’ll kill you too—”
A tiger’s roar shaking the mountains, stirring the soul.
Pu Xingui’s heart, strangely, settled.
The bloodthirsty air burst forth for an instant, and above the chaotic marketplace where scavenging birds circled, the air gradually returned to normal.
The setting sun scattered in orange-red, and lamplight, mottled and uneven, began to flicker on across the high and low rooftops, on the fishing boats.
The Fish King, Gao Xingzong, lit his own lamp as well.
“…The situation in Fuzhou grows more tense by the day. Today’s news has only sent that Miss Chen’s momentum climbing even higher. As I said before, I’m losing my grip on holding them back…”
“…What Miss Chen — she’s just a whore, a wretch, a dead woman walking—”
“…For Brother Sun, that’s certainly true… and, well, the brothers I know all understand this — that girl walks a crooked, improper path. Once she has power in hand, sooner or later she’ll drag everyone down into ruin with her. My rivalry with her isn’t personal — it’s for the bigger picture.”
“…I don’t care about any of that. I’m going to kill her! You help me, and I’ll help you kill more people too.”
“…Ah, the grudges of the jianghu shouldn’t really involve the government. She and the young hero only had a minor falling-out during the assassination attempt — by the rules of the jianghu, that should be settled by blade and skill. But instead she turned around and sold the young hero out to the authorities — that really is… beyond the pale.”
“…Are you going to help me or not?”
“…Ah, that she’d act against all reason like this — well, that’s fitting, isn’t it…”
“…Cut the nonsense — will you help me or not!?”
“…I’ll help.” Pu Xingui sat there, smiling faintly, finally giving his brief, direct answer, then continued, “Since our agreement two days ago, I’ve thought of the young hero as a partner on this road ahead. After the incident in Huaiyun Ward, I thought about going after that wretch myself for revenge, but fortunately the Fish King sent word first. Brother, look — whatever you need, we’ve brought it.”
As he spoke, the doctor who’d gone over to treat Sun Wukong had already finished tending to all his wounds. As he turned to leave, he gave Pu Xingui a slight nod, and Pu Xingui, eyes half-closed, understood that the injuries were genuine, with no trickery involved, and fully set his mind at ease.
He continued, “But, when it comes to revenge, there’s a lot to plan carefully. Brother Sun, that reckless wretch has no shortage of skilled people around her — not to mention masters like Monk Tunyun and Mister Jin — but even her original band of fierce water bandits from the Chen family are no easy match either. Now that she’s gained the upper hand in Fuzhou, I can’t even locate where she’s hiding… We still need to be careful, take it step by step…”
“Not just her!” the youth across from him said flatly.
“…Hm?” Pu Xingui frowned. “What does Brother Sun mean by that?”
“Hmph.” The youth across from him let out a cold laugh. “Yesterday, on Jiuxian Mountain, when the assassination attempt on Tie Tianying happened, that woman surnamed Chen deliberately set the trap to lure me there — she knew I had a score to settle with Tie Tianying, and during the fighting, there were clear signs the setup was aimed specifically at my brother and me. Then at night, the authorities set another trap, bombarding Huaiyun Ward — they even knew certain habits of ours…”
“This…”
“My brother and I have only been in Fuzhou for about a month. We haven’t dealt with many people in the jianghu here. For that wretch to have this kind of intelligence means her people have had dealings with us — this person…” He pointed at Pu Xingui. “…does he have anything to do with you?”
Pu Xingui froze slightly. “On our side… there shouldn’t be any connection. Yu Hezhang and Meng Biao…”
“Go check.” The youth pointed at him. “If they’re involved, I’ll kill their whole families.”
“That… I’ll check into it…”
Pu Xingui hesitated before nodding, watching as the man across from him reached into his robe and pulled out a crumpled piece of paper, waving it in the air before unfolding it. There was blood on that paper.
“…After I was wounded, I went over everything, again and again, from since we entered the city. There weren’t many people, thankfully. You’re the local snake here — you need to check every single name on this list for me, one by one — there’s got to be some of Chen Shuangran’s dogs in here… Of course, if you can’t find anything, I’ll kill my way through them one by one myself… My family will come. My brother’s death will be avenged.”
“Of course…”
Pu Xingui nodded, dragging his stool closer to look at the writing on the paper. Sure enough, it was covered in scattered, blotchy characters and symbols.
Only, it was written far too messily — he tried to make sense of it, but still couldn’t.
“First one.” The youth’s finger tapped the paper. “Guitai Alliance, a lackey named Chen Hua. I’ve thought it over carefully — during the days I ran my stall, he came by many times… Look, Chen Shuangran’s surname is Chen, and his is too. Maybe they’re relatives — check into it for me.”
The doctor who’d come earlier happened to be surnamed Chen too. Pu Xingui furrowed his brow, then nodded. “This Guitai Alliance — I’ve heard of it. I can look into it.”
“Second one. Not long after we entered the city, someone came and picked a fight near the stall. Damn it, this one used a blade, and he gave his name…”
The youth searched his memory, matching each entry against the scrawled symbols on the “blood letter,” listing off suspicious figures encountered since entering the city one by one. Pu Xingui, playing the role of the gracious host, patiently followed along with the other’s train of thought. With Chen Shuangran now unfathomably dangerous, he was genuinely curious about the agents she’d planted throughout the city, and when a couple of familiar names came up, he offered his own views on the spot, if only to demonstrate his deep knowledge of the Fuzhou martial world.
As for the value of the young man before him, he still found it hard to estimate. The youth was clearly agitated at present and would probably go clash head-on with Chen Shuangran before long — a shame, in a way — but the youth’s “family” still lingered behind him, and he didn’t dare press for details just yet. If that “family” came, it might well prove to be a further boost to his own cause.
Chen Shuangran had already committed to a radical, reckless path; he could only do his best to display his own virtue and sense of justice within the city, and helping this young man as much as possible now seemed, all things considered, unlikely to do any harm.
The youth’s finger had moved down to a line about midway through the bloody script.
“…Some time ago, roughly ten-odd days back, two random jianghu men came to Huaiyun Ward, right in front of my stall, and got into a fight with that little demon king of the Yue family. My stall got caught up in the mess too… this whole business struck me as odd — what are the odds of that… As I recall, one of them was called something like ‘Tiger Shark,’ the other called himself ‘Chaos Axe’ Zhou Xing. Damn it, their skills were mediocre but their names were each grander than the last, no shame at all… something’s off about those two — you should check on them.”
Pu Xingui felt a wave of relief, almost tempted to laugh, but managed to keep his composure. “Those two aren’t a problem.”
“Oh? Your men?”
“Not exactly, they’re… already dead. I was there at the time — that was the Chen woman’s doing.”
Of the string of names the youth had mentioned, only two had rung a bell for Pu Xingui at first; now, two more came up, and he found himself talking freely.
“Of these two, the one nicknamed ‘Tiger Shark’ was named Zhan Yunhai — he was actually the wronged party in this affair. This man was something of a fierce figure in the Putian underworld, involved with a young lady from the Huang family there, and he’d hoped to make a name for himself in Fuzhou before going back to marry her. Huang Shengyuan, a minor branch member of the Huang family, wanted to recruit Zhan Yunhai as muscle and had already agreed to it — but who’d have thought that little wretch had brought on a hired blade of her own, this Monk Tunyun. Calling himself a grandmaster, he’s really nothing more than a lecherous scoundrel — while staying overnight in Putian, he happened to take that young Huang lady’s life… Once it happened, Huang Shengyuan didn’t dare go after the little wretch for revenge and instead entrusted the matter to her, and she took it out on Zhan Yunhai. Heh, quite the coincidence, wouldn’t you say…”
“The attack happened right when I was there too. Zhan Yunhai came with his brothers, thinking they were joining up — caught completely off guard, and with a grandmaster like Tunyun striking, well, there wasn’t much left to say…”
“But this affair is strange — there really is one odd thing about it. That ‘Chaos Axe’ Zhou Xing — his background can’t have been ordinary…”
Night had fallen over Fuzhou, crows flying overhead. Amid the dilapidated houses, the heat lingered, boat-lanterns swayed, and restless voices murmured here and there.
Amid the cluttered buildings, Pu Xingui recounted that day’s events with ease. Across from him, the bandaged youth sat silently in the darkness, watching him, listening to it all, his gaze itself like darkness, quiet, quiet…
“…Dead?”
…
“…Mm, dead… the little wretch’s side… handled the body…”
…
Quiet…
…
Ning Ji watched him…