Yindeng gave a small, approving smile; she clearly favored the Wangwei as well. With a graceful nod, she took her seat beside the Xiaoxiang Yeyu and selected two stanzas of "Goddess of the Xiang River," composed by Liu Yuxi, to serve as a footnote for the instrument:
"Speckled bamboo branches, speckled bamboo branches, tear stains carry my longing. The guest from Chu wishes to hear the resentment of the jade zither, beneath the bright moon deep in the night of the Xiang River."
"The Xiang River flows, the Xiang River flows, the clouds of Mount Jiuyi remain sorrowful to this day. You ask where the two consorts dwell? Amidst the fragrant herbs and dew of Lingling in mid-autumn."
Before she had even finished her song, Xu Yanxi was practically ecstatic. It was as if he were witnessing the Goddess of the Xiang River herself descending into the mortal realm. He scratched his head and fidgeted in his seat, unable to contain his excitement. Yindeng ignored him entirely. She took a sip of tea to rest for a moment, then used the Wangwei to play "Clear Water," one of the five compositions by the Cai family, accompanied by the lyrics of Li Bai:
"Clear waters brighten the autumn moon, on the South Lake, white duckweed is gathered. Lotus flowers, tender as if to speak, fill the boatman with overwhelming sorrow."
Cai Yong was truly a universal genius of the arts. Not only was his prose and poetry brilliant and his "flying white" calligraphy legendary, but his musical accomplishments were also extraordinary. It was said that the "Five Compositions" were inspired by his own residence; there was a stream in the southern valley that remained clear and green through winter and summer, hence the creation of "Clear Water." This piece was pure and translucent, like bathing in a secluded spring, and it suited the qin perfectly. Even the vibrations of the Wangwei’s body seemed to carry a sense of joy, as if it were thanking Yindeng for allowing it to voice the sound of flowing water it had not heard for so long.
When Yindeng and I stepped out, Xu Yanxi hurriedly shuffled along in his tattered boots, eagerly escorting us to the carriage.
Before boarding, I asked him, "Forgive my intrusion, Master Xu, but why are you selling off so many of your family’s accumulated treasures?"
"Hah," Xu Yanxi replied with a lazy, rough shrug. "War is coming. I can’t eat these things, and I can’t use them. I’d have to worry about every bump and scratch. I’m planning to run back south, find a hilltop, and live a quiet life. Without money, there’s no talking about anything."
Because we had completed two major purchases, he also threw in a calligraphy scroll written by Xiao Yan for Yindeng, and for me, a pair of jade flutes collectively known as "Jade Exquisiteness." I unfurled the scroll and clicked my tongue in admiration. It turned out to be the very poem containing the line "Yindeng’s song is too enchanting." The ink was deep and rich, the calligraphy and lyrics both beautiful. I repeatedly urged her to hang it in her room.
She shook her head with a scoff. "So many people have written this poem for me that I’m sick of looking at it. Besides, scrolls usually come in sets of four or six. How can I hang a single, lonely sheet?"
I cried out, "You really are too spoiled and extravagant! Is a scroll written by Yan Shuyuan the same as one written by anyone else?"
I clamored that if she didn't want it, she should give it to me. Accustomed to my stingy and penny-pinching ways, Yindeng giggled charmingly, with an air of "take it if you want, I don't care," which made my heart itch. However, I wasn't thick-skinned enough to actually take it.
After admiring it for a while, I reluctantly and carefully rolled the scroll back up and returned it to her. Then, I studied the flute named "Ling" from the pair. Mimicking Wei Qingming’s image in my memory, I pressed it to my lips and blew a note, feeling quite dashing. Yindeng and Biyao kept their faces stiff for a moment, but eventually, they couldn't hold it in and burst into laughter. I called it a "note" only because there was no other word to replace it; in truth, it sounded like a certain... indescribable noise.
I snapped at them, "Laugh, go ahead and laugh! If any of you know how, you play it!"
Yindeng wiped her tears and clutched her chest, finally catching her breath. "Master Su, I beg of you, please don't play in the carriage. They say that when Bo Ya played the qin, even the horses would look up from their fodder to listen. Master Su’s music is so 'exquisite' that I fear the horses will laugh so hard they'll flip us into a ditch. If you want to learn, I’ll find a friend at the Qingshang Pavilion to teach you another day."
"You better keep your word!"
In this fine season, the Oiran naturally had engagements in the evening. I sent her back to Wangxiang Pavilion and then had Luo Cheng drive the carriage to Rumenglai to rest while I went to the East Market to talk business with several shopkeepers.
I visited a few shops, and our discussions lasted until after six in the evening. Although there were still one or two left to visit, the major merchant houses had already reached closing time, so I had to call it a day. I strolled leisurely toward Rumenglai. After walking half a block, I suddenly felt the sky turn eerie. The winter wind blew in gusts, swirling withered leaves across the deserted street.
I couldn't help but grow alert. I pressed my hand to my chest; Huanzhen was still sleeping sluggishly, showing no signs of abnormality. I stood still and observed for a while. I truly found nothing unusual, but even at this hour, it shouldn't be so deserted that not a single pedestrian was in sight, right?
Hanguang was gripped in my hand, ready but concealed. I made the agreed-upon hand signal, but the Yingzhao Temple guards following in the shadows did not appear. I knew then that I had met a formidable opponent. The illusion array was set so seamlessly that it could even deceive Huanzhen, who was linked to my blood and soul. Either a Cloud-Eater Master had taken action, or someone who understood my natal illusion treasure had pre-emptively set a countermeasure.
Since things had come to this, there was no point in hiding. I drew Hanguang and systematically struck out a light-spell toward the murky sky to roughly scout the patterns of the illusion array. Having formed a plan, I looked up and laughed. "Since you wish to take my life, Senior, why not come out and meet me?"
"Heh, as you wish." A gentle, elegant male voice sounded, and a lean man dressed in a green scholar’s robe stepped out of the night. Though it was a world of ice and snow, he looked as if he were strolling under the stars of a summer night, his sleeves fluttering with refined grace, an ink-black feather fan in his hand. Not only did he possess a fine bearing and appearance, but he was also in the mid-stage of the Cloud-Eater Realm—a Radiant Master. In every aspect, he far surpassed me.
I knew today would be a difficult trial. I could only try to stall for time, hoping that my Senior Brother and the others at the shop would realize I was late and come to my rescue.
He shook his head with a shallow smile. "I know what you are thinking. Killing you is as easy as turning my palm. There is no need to wait for rescue."
He looked to be about seventy years old. With such speed in cultivating mental and technical methods, there was only one person in the world he could be.
Xia Ji, the fourth disciple of my grandmaster, Xibiren.
I giggled. "Senior Xia, I don't expect to be a well-informed ghost before I die, but if I call you 'Uncle-Master,' you have to answer. You have to give me that much face, right?"
Xia Ji had not expected this move from me, nor had he expected me to recognize his identity. He chuckled softly. "You are indeed a clever girl. It seems Second Senior Sister has a discerning eye for disciples."
"What is this about, Uncle-Master? Do you really have to kill me? If you let me live, perhaps I could be of more help."
"If you hadn't helped someone you shouldn't have, you wouldn't have to die." Before his voice finished, he raised his feather fan. A gentle, slow, cool breeze swept toward my face, yet it contained an endless killing intent. I barely dodged backward, releasing the Mirror Defense Array I had prepared in the interim, while simultaneously using my illusion arts to vanish from the spot.
Currently, there was an unwritten rule in the martial world: cultivators would not kill those whose cultivation was a full major realm lower than their own; battles generally occurred between those of the same rank. For a senior of his status to strike at a niece-disciple like me, his master must have given a death order. I dared to gamble again, betting that he valued his status too much to use an Illusion Domain against a small fry like me—at most, he would use an illusion array. I also gambled on what I had read in historical records: that he was exceptionally gifted and intelligent but focused solely on spiritual cultivation, with no physical tempering at all. With my movement techniques and proper planning, I might be able to escape.
As I ran, I pondered his words. What did he mean by "helped someone I shouldn't have"? I, Su Yuzhi, have spent my life being helpful and kind to others; I’ve helped a sea of people!
That wind, saturated with high-level illusion power, silently swept into the equally invisible radiation of my Mirror Array. Just as they were about to collide and deflect, Xia Ji suddenly raised his hand and froze the spell, stopping it right at the surface of the "mirror." His figure drifted forward until he was right in front of me. He narrowed his eyes, studying it with interest, then reached out and gave it a light flick. Like a breeze shattering the surface of a spring pond, my Mirror Array was instantly dispelled by him.
"Interesting!" He stroked his chin and smiled. "The one who modified this array has no small level of attainment. Niece-disciple, was it that lover of yours from the Wujing Sect?"
Only a fool would answer him. He didn't care for a response anyway, nor was he in a hurry to crush me. Instead, he stood in place, lost in thought, wanting to fully understand the principles of the array before finishing me off. One hand was already tracing patterns in the palm of the other. I laughed inwardly; as expected, these people with too much intelligence often suffered from this itch to get to the bottom of everything.
He was calculating, and so was I. I had already seen the runes near the array eye in the sky and had a few guesses. Now, if I could scout the three array eyes on the ground, I might be able to break this deadlock!
But an Uncle-Master was an Uncle-Master after all. The complexity of the Mirror Array could not be compared to his grand illusion array that blocked off a whole li. Soon, he had researched it thoroughly. With a satisfied yet weary expression, he launched an attack toward my hiding place. I had only scouted two array eyes; I had to guess the third. While throwing out defensive artifacts like they cost nothing to hold him off, I leaped away. My mind raced, confirming the coordinates, and I sprinted toward a certain spot.
Seeing me run in the exact opposite direction of Rumenglai, Xia Ji assumed I had calculated incorrectly. He shook his head with a smile and launched a third spell. I was only afraid he *wouldn't* attack me. I feigned great panic at having my invisibility pierced, my footsteps stumbling as I veered off course, looking like a cornered animal. He elegantly raised a finger, letting the spell track me. But at the last moment, he realized something was wrong. His brow furrowed, and he moved to recall the spell...
In that instant, I swiftly threw out another Mirror Array. It caught his mid-recall spell and reflected it. A brilliant rainbow of light shot out at an angle, striking the end of the seemingly empty road.
Instantly, the entire East Market erupted with the deafening sound of alarms. Simultaneously, several powerful guardian array forces struck toward Xia Ji from all directions!
My gamble had paid off. This Uncle-Master was indeed unfamiliar with the terrain of the East Market. Within the range of the illusion array he used to intercept me lay one of the most strictly guarded and powerful arrays in the capital outside of the Imperial City and government offices: the Shixi Treasure Pavilion of the Dayou Chamber of Commerce, which handled the Imperial Palace’s private funds and royal supplies. An illusion array is, after all, an illusion; it merely drapes a charming veil over reality. The objects beneath the veil cannot be moved.
By triggering the array with the power of the Cloud-Eater Realm, the counter-attack was even more massive. Had I triggered it myself, it wouldn't have scratched Xia Ji.
Xia Ji had not expected to be outmaneuvered so simply due to a moment of carelessness. Though he was fuming with rage, he had no choice against these spells that crushed his own realm. He waved his feather fan, threw out a defensive artifact, and fled.
I let out a breath, only then realizing my hands and feet were shaking. The illusion array dissolved, revealing the true street. The guards of the Dayou Chamber of Commerce had already arrived with blades drawn, preparing to seize me. At the same time, the Yingzhao Temple secret guards, who had been circling nearby without a clue, saw me and rushed to my side. A row of seven men in black stood silently with blades drawn, confronting the guards.
I raised my hand and signaled. "You all know it was a Cloud-Eater Realm expert who broke the array. I don't have that kind of ability!"
The guards looked at each other, uncertain. Then, the manager on duty for the Dayou Chamber of Commerce walked over, eyeing me suspiciously. I met his gaze with a smile. Only then did he give a perfunctory cupped-hand salute. Likely looking down on my status as a member of the demon race, he said dismissively, "Madam, please leave your name."
At that moment, my Senior Brothers and Sisters arrived one after another. Curiously, Nie Xueqing was with them. Luo Cheng ran at the very front; his usually steady face was pale with the shock of the aftermath. I gave the manager a cold glance and said indifferently, "You’ve arrived just in time. Luo Cheng, explain to him exactly who I am."
***
**Glossary**
Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation
--- | --- | ---
驷马仰秣 | Stilled by the Strings | Idiom: "Four horses looking up from their fodder," meaning music so beautiful even animals stop to listen.
潇湘神 | Goddess of the Xiang River | A musical composition and poetic form.
渌水 | Clear Water | A classical musical composition.
忘味 | Wangwei | Name of a guqin; literally "Forgetful of Flavor" or "Transcendent Taste."
玉玲珑 | Jade Exquisiteness | A pair of jade flutes.
银灯一曲太妖娆 | Yindeng’s song is too enchanting | A line from a poem by the Song dynasty poet Yan Jidao.
餐霞 | Cloud-Eater | A high-level cultivation realm (Canxia); refers to Daoist immortals who "eat the clouds."
夏伋 | Xia Ji | The antagonist; fourth disciple of Xibiren.
西鄙人 | Xibiren | Su Yuzhi's grandmaster; literally "The Man from the Western Border."
十袭藏珍阁 | Shixi Treasure Pavilion | A high-security storehouse for imperial and royal treasures.
大有商会 | Dayou Chamber of Commerce | A powerful merchant guild in the capital.
英招寺 | Yingzhao Temple | A specialized guard or intelligence unit (Yingzhao is a mythical beast).
