In the western district of Muerhe City lay a vast sacrificial site known as the Youyin Altar, where the city’s annual celebrations were held.
The Youyin Altar could accommodate over a thousand people at once. Surrounding the sacrificial grounds were several exquisite restaurants and wine shops, designed to provide a place of rest for the nobles and wealthy families once the rituals concluded.
The most eye-catching feature of the Youyin Altar was the colossal tower standing at its center. This ancient wooden structure, which had survived countless changes of dynasties, was called the Pingxiao Tower. Built entirely with mortise-and-tenon joinery, its exterior wooden carvings and railings had long since rotted away after years of exposure to wind and rain, revealing the tower’s inner skeleton. The central pillar of the Pingxiao Tower was a towering ancient pine, so thick it would take three men to encircle it with their arms. The tower was divided into seven levels, each with high, sweeping beams and pillars. Its top floor pierced the clouds; when the mists rolled in, it seemed to float above the heavens, and on clear days, one could gaze far out at the majestic sight of the Hun River flowing east into the Tianxia Pass. It was truly the tallest structure in Huozhou.
The Zhuming Festival was held within this giant tower every year.
The name "Zhuming" was derived from the appearance of the Tumi flowers that bloomed most vibrantly between late spring and early summer. This particular species of Tumi, unique to Huozhou, was a vivid, brilliant red. On the day of the festival, the priest would take a bundle of the finest blooms to fashion a wreath, which was then hung at the highest point of the Pingxiao Tower. Once the bells within the tower rang, whoever first snatched the wreath and placed it upon their head would become the priest for that year’s sacrificial ceremony, personally presenting the precious offerings to the gods of the heavens.
The people of Huozhou held this tradition in the highest regard, viewing the opportunity to serve the gods personally as the ultimate honor. The enthusiasm of the participants was unprecedented, and the competition was fierce. Every year, climbers would fall from the tower, often ending up dead or crippled. Yet, even this could not dampen the fervor for the following year's Zhuming Festival.
This year’s festival seemed even more intense than those of the past.
This was due to the city’s recent man of the hour, Zou Sifang, who had offered a piece of exquisite jade to the ceremony. The Zou household had been in an uproar recently, and the public was consumed with curiosity: what kind of peerless jade could possess such magical power?
Before the bells had even tolled, those participating in the flower-snatching had already gathered at the base of the wooden tower. Many stood with heads bowed in prayer, hoping the gods would grant them the strength to seize the bloom in one go. The various starting points that offered a competitive advantage were already packed with people. Standing among the crowd of well-prepared participants, Xiao Nanhui felt increasingly out of place.
After hearing the rules read aloud, she suddenly felt a twinge of regret. In terms of lightness techniques, Bailao was naturally superior, but he had one fatal weakness: a fear of heights. Bailao almost never ventured anywhere higher than an ordinary rooftop.
Xiao Nanhui’s footwork, on the other hand, had never been particularly light. She had grown up in the military, where the favorite competition between camps was wrestling. As a woman, she held no advantage in height or weight, but after years of being thrown and striking back, her lower body strength had become incredibly stable and firm. This would prove helpful for climbing the tower.
Beyond that, her chances of winning depended entirely on the skill level of this year’s participants.
It was a pity, truly a pity, that the Zhuming Festival forbade participants from carrying any weapons or tools; the climb had to be done barehanded. If she could have brought her weapon, even fighting ten thousand feet in the air, few would be her match.
Furthermore, Bailao’s previous concerns were not entirely without merit. People of the martial world were mostly adept with blades and hidden projectiles; they would naturally pay more attention to other types of weapons. She hadn't revealed her identity back on the Hun River, and now, with so many eyes watching, she couldn't afford to be too conspicuous.
Forget it, forget it. She was already committed. She was someone who had been to the battlefield; surely she wouldn't be afraid of just plucking a flower?
Finally, the shadow cast by the sundial reached the center. The burly man guarding the massive bronze bell pushed the striker.
The tolling of the bell drifted melodiously from the Youyin Altar. Countless figures, poised and ready, leapt upward, surging toward the high tower. The spectating crowd erupted in a roar of excitement.
Right from the start, Xiao Nanhui realized she had underestimated the task. This was her first time participating. Although she had a good physical foundation, she lacked practical experience in this specific feat. Many of the climbers around her were clearly seasoned veterans; they knew exactly which crossbeams could be stepped on and which could not bear weight. Their climbing techniques far surpassed hers.
By the time a cup of tea could have been finished, she had fallen significantly behind. However, she understood the principle of learning on the fly. Gradually, she mastered a few tricks and essentials, and her climbing speed increased. After another half-stick of incense had burned, many who had initially taken the lead began to tire, their speed visibly slowing. Relying on the endurance she had forged through years of military marches, she finally began to overtake them.
However, the closer they got to the top, the stronger the wind became. The crossbeams surrounding the central pillar grew sparser, and every climber slowed their pace, placing their feet with extreme care. From the fifth floor upward, a single careless slip would likely mean a gruesome end.
The wind blew sweat into her eyes. She paused for a moment to catch her breath and observe the others nearing the summit. Not far to her front-left, a figure caught her eye. The person was not tall but was incredibly agile. That, however, was not what drew her attention; it was the cloth mask covering the person's face.
Most people came to the Zhuming Festival to show off their skills. If someone was willing to risk their life to participate yet deliberately hid their true face, it was highly suspicious. This person likely had the same goal as her: determined to win the flower, yet afraid of being recognized afterward, and thus had prepared in advance.
The person had their hair tied in a ponytail, revealing only their forehead and temples. Watching from a distance, Xiao Nanhui thought they might be quite young, yet their eyes were full of seasoned ruthlessness. Their bony hands gripped a rivet firmly, and seizing an opportunity, they kicked another climber beside them. The kick was so savage that she felt as if she could hear the sound of the man’s ribs snapping across the empty space.
Now was clearly not the time to be a spectator, but she was still startled by the first tragedy she had witnessed today.
This Zhuming Festival was more violent and bloody than she had imagined. She truly regretted agreeing to those bastards outside. Now, retreating was impossible; she could only steel herself and fight to the end.
Accompanied by the screams of the disqualified and the sound of heavy impacts hitting the ground, the crowd below let out cries of either cheers or lamentation. Xiao Nanhui swallowed hard. When she looked up, she found the sharp eyes of the murderous youth staring back at her. This time, she only paused for a moment before shifting her gaze and climbing upward with renewed vigor.
Fighting at such heights was never a wise move; the key was to avoid a direct confrontation.
After successfully bypassing several climbers, she used a clever burst of strength to reach the sixth level of the Pingxiao Tower. The wind howled in her ears, and the voices from below were no longer clear. The tower continued to stretch upward, disappearing into the mist. The drifting clouds were like a thin veil draped over her head, obscuring the situation above.
She had been silently counting the people ahead of her; if her count was correct, there should be no more than four or five. The seventh level was the most treacherous; no one would be able to reach the summit quickly, so she still had a chance.
After a moment of thought, she tightened all the loose fabric on her clothes that could be easily grabbed, re-bound the cloth around her wrists and ankles, took a deep breath, and set off for the final level.
As soon as she entered the clouds, she was plunged into a world of white mist. She could only see about ten feet ahead. She did her best to judge her direction, groping her way toward the top of the tower.
Suddenly, a hand pierced through the thick fog from above, lunging for her elbow. Xiao Nanhui identified the position by the sound of the wind. As she retreated to dodge, she hooked her leg around a crossbeam and performed a mid-air flip, landing on an adjacent wooden beam.
The attacker did not strike again after missing. Just as she caught her breath, someone else attacked her right leg from behind. It turned out there were accomplices.
One side of the wooden beam was already damaged and looked as though it couldn't withstand another jump. With no way to retreat, she was forced to engage.
After a few exchanges, she finally saw the attacker's face. It was a middle-aged man dressed in a dusty, short coarse tunic. He used the Great Seizing Art with consummate skill, specifically targeting her upper arms and the backs of her knees with steady, precise strikes. She responded carefully. Just as she was about to counterattack after parrying a few moves, the first person who had ambushed her flipped down from a beam to join the fray. Worse still, a third person burst out from the clouds below. The situation instantly tilted against her.
If they were fighting one-on-one on level ground, these three might not be her match. But here, thousands of feet in the air, fighting three-on-one barehanded left her stretched thin. Moreover, the three moved with perfect coordination; clearly, this wasn't their first time working together. It was difficult for her to separate them and take them down one by one.
Various thoughts flashed through her mind. Suddenly, she remembered the three men she had encountered a few days ago in that shady inn at Yueyuan Town. Back then, they had all been armed with identical small-guarded horizontal sabers.
"I heard that after the bandits of Zhongshan were suppressed, three of their leaders remained missing. So, it turns out you've joined the Shen family."
As soon as these words left her mouth, the trio’s assault halted.
Xiao Nanhui knew she had hit the mark.
In truth, it had only been a guess. Their martial arts seemed orthodox on the surface, but were actually laced with many unorthodox techniques. This was a style forged from years of drifting through the martial world, not the manner of government officials. Yet, the weapons they had carried before were the horizontal sabers commonly used by the retainers of the Shen family in Huozhou.
She had spoken that sudden sentence in the dialect of the region south of Zhongshan, and all three had understood it, further confirming her suspicion.
She had previously heard Xiao Zhun mention the escape of the bandit leaders. The imperial court had once offered a reward of a thousand gold pieces for their heads, but no one had seen any sign of them in Chizhou. In such a case, they had either hidden in the deep mountains or sought protection by surrendering to some powerful force. There were only a few powers in the world today who would dare to take in imperial fugitives for their own use. The Shen family was one of them.
Once the truth was spoken, there was no room for negotiation. It seemed she had to take this opportunity to excise these three tumors.
"Coming up here today wasn't a waste. You three are worth a fortune. Don't go falling down and turning into an unrecognizable mess of flesh and blood. Why don't you come with me now? Perhaps you might..."
A cold glint flashed, and Xiao Nanhui’s heart tightened.
One of them drew a dagger from the inside of his forearm; he had clearly developed murderous intent.
The opponent had ignored the rules and brought a weapon. Although it was only a concealed dagger, it could be lethal at a critical moment. If she were struck and fell, she would be nothing but a pile of pulp; no one would ever know what had happened up here.
However, in his haste to take her life, although his strikes became more decisive, he also disrupted the trio's original footwork and formation. Xiao Nanhui spotted a flaw, closed the distance to seize the knife and restrain him, and the two were instantly locked in a struggle. The man was much taller and heavier than her, possessing the advantage in strength, but she used this against him, kicking through a wooden plank beneath his feet.
The dagger grazed her right arm as the man let out a wretched scream and plummeted into the clouds.
Seeing this, sweat broke out on the foreheads of the remaining two. But seeing that Xiao Nanhui’s arm was also wounded, they no longer hesitated and lunged at her together, their every move targeting her feet in an attempt to force her off the beam.
Xiao Nanhui’s feet barely touched the wood. Relying on her light frame, she circled a pillar with one hand to swing herself out. After a full rotation, she swung back and kicked one of them in the back. The man lost his balance and fell from the crossbeam.
The three-on-one situation instantly became one-on-one. The remaining bandit finally realized he had made a grave mistake in underestimating his opponent, and his offensive slowed.
Xiao Nanhui was not in great shape either. The previous dagger wound on her arm was now bleeding down her sleeve, making her look somewhat disheveled.
Despite this, what he had just witnessed clearly made the opponent wary. After a stalemate of only a few seconds, the man suddenly abandoned the confrontation and turned to climb toward the final peak of the tower.
Xiao Nanhui knew this was the final, critical moment. If someone else got there first, then despite having climbed all these levels, she would be no different from someone eliminated at the start. She quickly tore a strip of cloth to bind her forearm and scrambled upward using both hands and feet.
The closer she got to the peak, the fiercer the wind became.
The gale whipped the ribbon tying her hair, stinging her cheeks.
As her right hand gripped the final crossbeam, she felt utterly exhausted. Not far ahead, the bandit had also just reached the top and was about to move toward the soaring central pillar when, without warning, a figure lunged at him from behind. He turned and exchanged three or four moves with the figure. For some reason, without even letting out a groan, he wobbled and plummeted past Xiao Nanhui like a tattered sack.
The sudden turn of events happened in an instant. She hurriedly flipped herself onto the platform, found a secure footing, and looked toward the figure who had just struck with the speed of lightning.
***
Enjoying the story? Rate this novel:
Unarmored | Chapter 16 | Reaching for the Crimson Bloom | Novela.app | Novela.app
