The main reason Jin’er had come down to openly criticize Ning Yi in the first place was that she felt he and the others didn’t know how to fish and were simply making a mess of things. Given that she had such strong opinions on the matter, it was hardly surprising that Jin’er, who supposedly was “quite good at fishing,” ended up being talked into giving a demonstration herself.
Back in her days at the Jinfeng Tower, she had been rather skilled at social maneuvering, quick-witted and clever, only that around Ning Yi she was usually kept in check. Perhaps also because everyone knew each other well by now, she had let her guard down. By the time she realized she was being pressured into getting into a boat, it was already too late to back out gracefully. Fortunately, Ning Yi, Xiao Chan, and the others soon rowed a small boat over to the river as well, laughing all the way.
Jin’er was an excellent swimmer, but she had not been born to a fishing family — she had simply lived by the water while being trained in various arts after being bought into the pleasure house. As for the skills of actual fishing, the sort of hard labor poor families relied on, she was not truly all that skilled, though of course still better than an ordinary person. Working with Yun Zhu for a good while, using a small fishing net, they managed to haul up five or six fish of various sizes. Ning Yi’s side, on the other hand, made rather a poor showing — Xiao Chan lacked the strength, and as the boat rocked while they lowered the net, in the end the net slipped into the river and could not be recovered, forcing them to row back to shore.
With this little episode behind her, Jin’er was thoroughly pleased with herself, in high spirits. The fish, once caught, were of course handed over to the accompanying cooks to prepare — it was close to noon by now, hardly the right time for grilling. Not long after, clouds began drifting overhead, and along the canal, under the trees, the river breeze blew pleasantly cool — for this time of year, quite a comfortable spell of weather.
Everyone set up tables under the trees along the bank and, after lunch, someone brought out watermelons that had been soaking in a nearby farmhouse’s well water. With the fine weather, no one was in a hurry to move on; some discussed poetry and current affairs, others chatted about scenery and landscapes. Over on Ning Yi’s side, Wenren Buer and the others came running over after a while to sit and chat on the grass; Yun Zhu, Jin’er, and the others wandered off to one side, while Zhou Pei came over and crouched nearby to listen in on the conversation, eyes wide, alternating between surprise and sudden understanding, thoroughly absorbed.
Lu Junyi, having already defected to their side, was not really supposed to appear in public, but the Secret Investigation Bureau had disguised him as a tutor, giving him a made-over appearance so he could go out and wander about a little. At this moment he happened to be cooling off nearby, and seeing the lively conversation over on Ning Yi’s side — Ning Yi even having someone bring over a writing brush and a small notebook, jotting things down earnestly from time to time — he channeled his internal energy and listened closely. He caught them discussing the great fighters of Liangshan, and heard his own name mentioned.
“…Jade Unicorn Lu Junyi, Panther Head Lin Chong, Thunderbolt Qin Ming, Flowery Monk Lu Zhishen, the Traveler Wu Song, Black Whirlwind Li Kui, and Nine-Dragon-Tattoo Shi Jin, the three Ruan brothers — I think all of them are quite formidable… Shi Jin split off from Zhu Wu’s group after the Hongze Lake raid last time, which is a bit of a shame, we didn’t manage to kill him… but look, what do all these people have in common…”
“This Steward Lu really is formidable, I’ve heard of Lin Chong and Qin Ming too, and that Li Kui… but who’s this Flowery Monk Lu Zhishen you mentioned, Liheng…”
“You don’t even know Lu Zhishen? The Flowery Monk Lu Zhishen…”
“As for that Lin Chong — apparently he served as a drill instructor in the capital, and formidable he certainly is, though that young officer named Yue Pengju last time seemed to have the edge on him.”
“Didn’t they still fail to catch him afterward, though…”
“They’re fellow disciples under the same teacher. Before leaving Jiangning, young Master Yue came back to apologize to me, saying he’d let the man go — I can understand that.” Ning Yi, head down, kept writing as he explained. Lu Junyi felt a certain shock at this — Liangshan had no shortage of skilled fighters, but most were rough men of the martial world, their reputations limited to a single region. He had never expected Ning Yi to be able to speak of them all so clearly and casually. And over there, Ning Yi had already raised his head again, returning to the earlier topic. “Wait… we’re talking about what they have in common, and none of you have noticed?”
Around him were Wenren Buer, two deputies, and the three Qi brothers — quite a gathering. They thought it over for a moment, but exchanged blank looks all the same, unable to say what the common thread was. They already knew Ning Yi’s talents by now, and assumed he must have spotted some point worth exploiting. Lu Junyi, too, listened carefully. Only to hear Ning Yi say earnestly, “The common thread — you really haven’t noticed? Let me say it again: Jade Unicorn… Panther Head… Thunderbolt… I’ve forgotten the three Ruan brothers, you all didn’t have the full records on hand right away… but what they have in common is that every single one of them has a resounding nickname! Isn’t that right?”
Everyone paused for a moment, and Ning Yi, as though it were only natural, jotted down a few characters in his notebook. “For people making a name for themselves out there, a resounding nickname matters a great deal — it’s your brand. Seems the ones up north have grasped this — down south, you all fell rather short by comparison. The Sage-King Fang La wasn’t bad — one hears it and knows right away he’s a ruthless, formidable leader. ‘Overlord Blade’ is a bit simple, but still has some presence to it. Just lacking a bit of artistic flair. You’ve always called Fang Qifo ‘Marshal Buddha,’ but I looked into it, and back in his martial world days he had a nickname — ‘Nine Manifestations of the Cloud Dragon.’ Your Qi family’s ‘Soul-Seeking Spear’ sounds a bit too common, honestly… and you’re all unhappy hearing this, unwilling to admit I’ve got a point… And Wenren, you don’t even have a nickname — from all that time you spent running errands in the pleasure houses, your future nickname might end up being ‘Waiter Wenren Buer’…”
Everyone found Ning Yi’s flights of fancy rather strange by now, and at this the three Qi brothers all pulled long faces at once, though privately they found it rather amusing too. Wenren Buer said, “Liheng, I’m an undercover agent — if too many people know my name, the whole operation’s ruined…”
“That’s not quite how it works. Sometimes giving someone a resounding name, when no one can actually find the person behind it, makes for quite the intimidating effect. Someday we’ll give your teacher, Chancellor Qin, a code name too — call him Old Ghost, and you could be Old Spear or something… Look at me, it’s different — Bloody-Handed Butcher Ning Liheng, say it out loud and it’s got a real ring to it, sooner or later everyone in the world will fear me…”
The sky was overcast, the river breeze blowing in cool gusts. Ning Yi sat on the grass talking, and though his words were nothing but idle chatter, there was still a certain natural, matter-of-fact air about them, and the grass field took on quite the relaxed, conversational mood. After a while Ning Yi went on to ask whose martial skill was higher than whose — for instance, whether Chen Fan could beat Lu Junyi. The three Qi brothers reckoned Chen Fan probably had the edge over the steward. Lu Junyi, listening from where he sat, was not entirely sure who this Chen Fan even was — Fang Qifo’s name was known across the realm, but Chen Fan had never achieved much fame of his own.
Then, when the conversation turned to Overlord Blade, Lu Junyi had at least heard of him before.
“If Liu Xigua fought Chen Fan, going by what Liheng said about his match against Bao Daoyi, Liu Xigua would probably still come out slightly behind.” This was Qi Xinhan’s assessment. As for Liu Xigua, the three brothers held a deep and bitter grudge against him, but chatting idly like this now, it hardly seemed to matter much.
“Didn’t Liu Xigua take on all three of you at once back then… and Chen Fan’s even better?”
“Marshal Buddha always shielded him, didn’t want him getting famous too soon — we all know Chen Fan’s skill well enough. It’s just that on the battlefield he relies mostly on raw strength; in one-on-one combat, his standing wasn’t high enough — back under Fang La, the elders wouldn’t spar with him. The only one who could really face off against him was Liu Xigua. We were never especially close with him, so we rarely sparred either… though even then we knew that going all out, we might not have beaten him ourselves. Among us three brothers, Xinhan has the most talent, but compared to monsters like Chen Fan and Liu Xigua, it’s still not enough…”
Over their fathers’ deaths, the three brothers’ hatred for Fang La ran even deeper than their hatred for Liu Xigua, and there was no trace of respect left when they spoke his name now. Qi Xinyong shook his head and went on, “Back when we were in the ranks, Fang La’s martial skill really was the best of all — Marshal Buddha wasn’t far behind him. After that came Deng Yuanjue, Shi Bao, Sikong Fang, and our own father, that tier. Chen Fan and Liu Xigua, in our eyes, have already reached about that same level, and Bao Daoyi would rank one tier below that. Steward Lu is probably a little behind Chen Fan, but against Bao Daoyi, he’d have more than good odds…”
“Well, that clears things up — Bao Daoyi died at my hands, so Bloody-Handed Butcher should be somewhere around that same level…”
Ning Yi jotted down the name, thoroughly pleased with himself.
Wenren Buer leaned over, looking a little puzzled. “What exactly are you writing there?”
“Something like a Chart of Heroes and Rivals of the Martial World… compiled by Ning Liheng.” Ning Yi folded back the cover of the little notebook to show everyone. “I’m putting together all the names of great fighters I’ve gathered, listing the top hundred masters of the martial world. Right now… look, the names that can be counted among the very best under heaven — first there’s the great villain, the Sage-King Fang La, and Nine Manifestations of the Cloud Dragon Fang Qifo, both names you already know. Then there’s Zhou Tong, once the top master of the Royal Boxing Hall in Bianliang — Steward Lu, Lin Chong, and young Master Yue were all his disciples. He’s no longer in Bianliang now, but he’s probably still generally acknowledged as the best under heaven — his nickname’s just a bit weak. There are also two names I heard in Hangzhou — one called ‘Fair Face, White Hair’ Cui Xiaolü, said to be some sort of enchantress who came out of the pleasure houses, quite formidable. And then there’s Sikong Nan, the Holy Maiden before Fang La took over the Demon Cult — supposedly dead, but I asked Liu Xigua about it, and apparently she was simply driven off by Fang La through sheer numbers. Her skill is said to be extraordinary too, though by now she’s probably some old woman. For now, let’s pick the top spot from these five… though I know River-and-Mountain Iron Blade Lu Hongti is surely just as formidable, I don’t plan on dragging her into this mess…”
Everyone listened, thoroughly bewildered. “What’s the point of this?”
“Compile it and publish it for the whole realm to see. Below these five, next would come the likes of Overlord Blade Liu Dabiao, Deng Yuanjue, Shi Bao, and that tier… I’ve been gathering these tales of the martial world’s secret history since Hangzhou, just never had the time. Now I can finally get started — though I still haven’t sorted through the material on Tian Hu and Wang Qing’s side yet… I plan to rank the top hundred masters under heaven, with their life stories and deeds… everyone loves this sort of thing…”
Qi Xinyong and the others sat stunned for a good while, more than a little captivated by the idea despite themselves — after all, they too had come from common village stock, and as martial men themselves, they were quite fond of this sort of gossip. But they also felt that for Ning Yi to actually go through with something like this seemed far too reckless. And sure enough, Ning Yi went on with a laugh: “Once the list is finished and word spreads, that’s when it’ll start giving them real headaches. No one dares provoke someone like Iron Arm Zhou Tong, and Shi Bao and Deng Yuanjue are safely tucked away in the army. But the lone wolves out there are a different story — people will be lining up day and night to challenge them just to make a name. Picture it: someone from Liangshan pulls off some job, word gets around the underworld, and in the middle of the night someone shows up at their inn with a big blade: ‘Li Kui, get out here — I’m challenging you today, to prove I’m the true eighty-somethingth-ranked master under heaven…’ I guarantee you, they won’t be able to take a single step in peace…”
He seemed rather pleased with himself. “Men of the martial world spend their whole lives fighting for fame and face — this little booklet, if we put it out through official channels, could even tie in with the martial examinations each year. We could set up a ‘Grandmaster List,’ a ‘Master List,’ a ‘Rising Star List’ — some people won’t care, but ordinary folk will eat it up. And if anyone wants to climb the rankings, or make a name for themselves — no problem, just pay up. We’re all friends here, I won’t rank you all too outrageously, I can even give you a twenty percent discount… Do you want in?”
“Never mind that,” Qi Xinyong and the others said, their faces going pale. In this world, things that sound like sheer nonsense sometimes really do work out if the person proposing them is serious enough about carrying them through. If word of such rankings ever reached ordinary people, the temptation would be considerable — but along with it would surely come a storm of bloodshed. As Ning Yi talked on, he himself let out a sigh, looking down at the little notebook and shaking his head.
“Hold the selection maybe once a year or so — if it grows popular enough, we could do it like choosing the Flower Queen of the pleasure houses, let people vote, charge silver for each vote. I know they already hold these sorts of talent-ranking contests in Bianliang regularly, just on a smaller scale. If this were really carried through properly — never mind just martial arts, we could have Literary Talent Under Heaven Number One, Flower Queen Under Heaven Number One… hell, I could set up an official ranking-and-evaluation company, and even hold an annual vote for Model Moral Exemplar — charge ordinary folk one tael of silver per vote! Wouldn’t take long before I was rich…”
As Ning Yi chatted on with the others, his tone at times carried a note of wistfulness — it clearly wasn’t all in jest. By the end, no one could quite tell which of his words were sincere and which were not, and so they simply carried on the conversation as it came, half in earnest and half in play. The cool breeze kept blowing in gusts, and once everyone had rested enough, they gradually made their way back to the ships, one after another, continuing north.
The flotilla anchored for the night, and by the following morning had entered the territory of Kaifeng. In the afternoon, rain began to fall, and the flotilla sailed into the city of Bianliang…