Chapter 44: Sea Blends Into Sky Part 1

It is said that nothing gold can stay – blessings and misfortunes have always been determined by the fates, and mere mortals have no control over them whatsoever.

In the twenty-second year of the Later Shao Dynasty, Cao Zhengkun's spectacular and seemingly unstoppable streak of luck seemed to have come to its fated end.

In the first month of that year, Megrez of the Big Dipper died in Yongzhou City, and then the summer of that same year, the Yellow River flooded once again, devastating the central plains.[1] Around the same time, word also started to spread that the Northern Emperor was deathly ill. With the Crown Prince hopelessly inept, Cao Ning – that ruthlessly ambitious son of a prostitute – defied his brother's commands, continuing to stay at the frontlines with the army under his control.

And the Southern Dynasty, which had lain peacefully dormant for more than two decades, was also experiencing upheavals of its own.

As spring neared its end, while paying respects to his ancestors at the imperial temple, the Jian Yuan Emperor of the Southern Dynasty swore a solemn oath to them that he would reclaim their lost lands and reunify the North and South. And then shortly after, he cast aside his mild and benevolent image, and started to bare his fully-grown fangs.

On the third day of April, the Grand Preceptor[2] Fan Zheng and thirteen of his cronies in the imperial court were detained and had investigations launched against them without warning. Then three days after that, imperial court officials brought a damning litany of charges against the eldest son of the Emperor, Prince Kang, accusing him of failing to keep his servants under control and allowing them to commit all manner of offences, "keeping dozens of pugilists as guests in his palace and stockpiling weapons, such that even if there was no proof of rebellion, the intention to do so was clear". Greatly angered, the Jian Yuan Emperor ordered that Prince Kang be stripped of his princely title, and be confined to his palace to await punishment. The very night this order was given, the prince's mother, the Noble Consort Fan – the sister of the Grand Preceptor Fan Zheng – hung herself in her bedchamber.

In the blink of an eye, the winds of change had begun to blow in Jinling.

Yet the Emperor, who had been hemmed in by the powerful ministers of the imperial court for more than two decades, was still not satisfied. In the span of half a month, the heads of all the ministerial departments of the imperial court were almost entirely purged, and numerous previously unremarkable and unobtrusive characters rose to the top in their stead. At the end of the month, senior administrators from the Imperial College[3] wrote a public petition to the Emperor protesting these drastic changes. Their plea fell on deaf ears, however, and the very next day, the eight men behind this petition were imprisoned under charges of "misleading the masses with falsehoods", which implicated dozens of other senior officials across all levels of the imperial court.

All of these moves were a textbook demonstration of the philosopher Han Fei Zi's[4] saying: "To test one's subjects and strip them of their power, the Emperor should act as swiftly as lightning."

The entire imperial court was cowed into submission.

No one dared contradict the Jian Yuan Emperor's plans to attack the North now.

In September of the same year, war began to rage in the region of the Shu Mountains. It bubbled over like a cauldron of boiling water, sweeping across the land with blistering ferocity. Cao Ning and Zhou Yitang clashed numerous times, each side alternately claiming victories and suffering losses. The cities along the frontlines changed hands so many times that even their residents gave up keeping score.

Strangely enough, while the folks in this region had frantically fled their homes when Cao Ning first besieged the 48 Zhai, fearing the turmoil of war, after the war really began in earnest they seemed to get over their initial fright and get used to this new normal remarkably quickly – like the residents of that lawless little town at the foot of the desolate Heng Mountains.

Humans truly were the most adaptable creatures – they found their own ways to live on in times of war, as they did in times of peace.

The common folk managed to survive and scrape by somehow, akin to sparse weeds poking through the rocky ground – while they were far from flourishing, at least they were still alive. And with this escalation of hostilities, as Cao Ning was the only one who could keep the situation under control, he certainly could not be harmed at this point in time. The Crown Prince of the Northern Dynasty could only watch as his half-brother's power and influence in the army continued to grow from day to day . It was as if he were holding a dangerously rabid dog on a leash that he was using to fend off the pack of wolves snarling at his door – he couldn't afford to let it go, yet he couldn't very well let it live either. He was left with no choice but to order his men to scour the land for all kinds of potent tonics and medicines, in hopes that Cao Zhongkun would not die on him at this crucial juncture.

Lu Yaoguang and Gu Tianxuan of the Big Dipper had followed the Northern army into battle, which left Shen Tianshu and Tong Kaiyang to carry out the Crown Prince's orders. In their quest to find such valuable medicines, they swept like a whirlwind of tyranny through the various sects and clans of the martial arts world, leaving a trail of devastation in their wake. Those from smaller sects and clans frantically sought protection from whoever they could, and those who were truly desperate even pledged their allegiance to the infamous villains of the martial arts world.

These 'infamous villains' are worth talking about in a little more detail –

The foremost evil in the martial arts community of the central plains was no longer those old fogeys from the Mountain of the Living Dead.

At the 'Conference of Heroes to Attack the North', convened in the twenty-second year of the Jian Yuan Emperor, Ding Kui had died an ignominious death on the outskirts of Yongzhou City, while both Mu Xiaoqiao and Feng Feihua seemed to have vanished entirely, their fates unknown. The reign of the Mountain of the Living Dead had well and truly come to an end.

And in its place, a man in an iron mask had risen to infamy.

This masked man never revealed his real name, and no one knew who he'd trained under or where he was from. He seemed almost to have appeared out of thin air, with the sole purpose of bringing death and destruction wherever he went. He christened himself the 'Qing Hui[5] Spiritual Master', but given his monstrously powerful martial arts and ruthless brutality, many called him the 'Iron-Faced Devil'.

This Iron-Faced Devil was a singular fellow – after bursting onto the scene, he first dealt with the villainous Black Turtle Lord Ding Kui, before attacking and conquering the Mountain of the Living Dead.

But before the martial arts community could applaud him for this, they soon realised that his capacity for villainy in fact far surpassed those Four Lords of the Mountain of the Living Dead who had preceded him.

As time passed, people no longer spoke with fear and trembling of those Four Lords that had once plagued the land – tales of an iron-faced monster were used to scare misbehaving children instead.

Another three years passed in a flash.

It was the twenty-fifth year of the reign of the Jian Yuan Emperor, and just a little past the middle of autumn.

The Jinan District was experiencing abnormally heavy rainfall this year. It had been pouring incessantly for a whole day and night, and the ground was soaked with cold rainwater. The last remaining traces of the summer's warmth finally gave in and sank deep into the earth, beneath a thickening layer of yellowed leaves.

While Jinan lay within the borders of the Northern Dynasty, it was still somewhat tranquil here.

Those with good heads on their shoulders had quickly seized the many opportunities to make profits in wartime, including those bold and shrewd enough to engage in the business of North-South trade. These scrappy traders sold all manner of things, ranging from food and clothes, to weapons and tools…and even things like salt and silk and medicinal herbs. It took a lot for these products to be safely transported across the war-torn borders, such that even common and inexpensive objects could often be sold for sky-high prices. The profits were so high that many were willing to make the risky treks back and forth.

To avoid the raging war, these traders would usually take the route that hugged the eastern coast, which meant that most of them would pass through Jinan. A bustling marketplace hence started to take root here, and in these tumultuous times, it actually began to flourish.

And whenever one was on the road, one needed to have the right connections to find reliable transport, or a place to stay, so any trader worth his salt would most certainly need to deal with the Wayfarers' Union. There was a 'Great-Luck Inn' in Jinan, which the Wayfarers' Union had established with the express purpose of ripping its guests off. However, many of the travellers who stayed here in the last few years had all happened to be special guests bearing their very own 'Bat Tokens', such that they had their hands full hosting these guests on a daily basis, and were perhaps even busier than any inns making an honest living. So over time, they gradually grew too busy to remember that they were supposed to be ripping their guests off, and against their will, eventually morphed into a proper above-board establishment, even making a small extension to the premises to accommodate their roaring business.

This evening, a rather impressive-looking steed came galloping through the rain, neighing loudly as it drew to a halt right in front of this inn. It whinnied as it tossed its head, sending a shower of raindrops flying from its mane.

The inn's head waiter had a keen eye for important guests, and hurried out to greet this prospective one with a bamboo umbrella in hand: "Dear guest, are you here to stay the night? We still have rooms available for tonight!"

The person astride the horse was wearing a conical wide-brimmed hat, and holding a long sabre. Dismounting, this guest flung the reins towards the head waiter with a nod, saying: "Take this, please."

Only now did the head waiter realise that this was in fact a young woman. Most of her face was obscured beneath that wide-brimmed hat, leaving only a slightly pointed chin visible. That little bit of exposed skin was luminous and fair, and several strands of her hair which had been drenched by the rain were plastered to the side of her face, beneath a delicate earlobe. Just this obstructed glimpse of her profile was enough for the head waiter to know that she was most definitely not unattractive.

The waiter furtively looked her up and down as he led the horse in. He didn't seem intimidated in the slightest even after noticing that sabre in her hand, and instead asked her jovially: "Great heroine, you must've had a tough time on the road – might you have a Bat Token on you? Anyone who has one of our Bat Tokens gets a thirty percent discount on their lodging and meals here."

This guest paused in her tracks – she hadn't expected the Wayfarers' Union to actually start running a real business here like this. She turned to look at him: "Are you serious?"

The waiter finally got a good look at her face. Sighing internally in admiration, the smile on his face deepened, and he said with the sweetest voice he could muster: "Circumstances forced us into it."

Circumstances had forced a bunch of thugs into getting reformed.

A smile broke across this guest's face. She raised her hand, revealing a flash of bright red in her palm – it was a seal of carnelian, with five prosperity bats carved into it.

"The Five Bat Token!" exclaimed the waiter in awe. With a deep bow, he said: "This way please, this way! If you need anything, I'm completely at your disposal, and feel free to order anything you'd like to eat. If we don't have it on our menu, we'll get someone to go out and buy it for you."

But this guest merely waved her hand dismissively as she said "There's no need for any of that," before striding into the inn and finding a seat for herself at a quiet corner near the entrance. She sat facing the door, as if she were waiting for someone.

The Great-Luck Inn was fairly lively at this time, and its main hall was nearly full. The waiters here weaved their way deftly between the packed tables, moving so quickly they were almost flying on their feet, and were clearly trained in martial arts. This guest ordered a simple bowl of noodles. She was evidently quite hungry, as once her food came she practically buried her head in it, the clouds of steam wreathing her face. She listened to the idle chatter of the other diners as she ate. Those here were mostly traders and merchants, so the conversation never strayed too far from the subject of money; everyone bragged eagerly about how much they had made on such and such a trade route, or from selling such and such a good, each one of them making themselves sound like they were rolling in mountains of silver ingots.

Then she heard a swarthy-looking middle-aged man from a neighbouring table say: "I'm not sure if you've heard about this, but not too long ago an old friend of mine, who sells cloth, ran into 'that' while on his usual route."

He wriggled his eyebrows dramatically as he said this.

Someone timidly asked: "The Iron-Faced Devil?"

This guest put down her bowl of noodles and looked across at that man, interrupting him: "Isn't the…the Iron-Faced Devil at the Mountain of the Living Dead? Why has he come all this way east?"

Seeing that this question was coming from a pretty young maiden, that swarthy-looking fellow became even chattier. Attempting to flaunt the extent of his knowledge, he said: "Think about it, Miss, that fiend has so many men under him, yet they don't produce anything, so what're they gonna eat? Most of the people living around the Mountain of the Living Dead have long since fled, so they can't plunder and pillage even if they wanted to. And after these past few years of war, only the few trade routes in this region are still viable. I heard that he was in Jinyang just several days ago, and now he's come all the way here already…ahem, he does seem to know that one cannot keep fleecing the same sheep."

Someone from a neighbouring table asked anxiously: "Enough with this nonsense – what happened to your friend?"

"That Iron-Faced Devil waylaid them while they were on the road, demanding a 'fee of passage' from each one of them – seventy percent of the money they were carrying." An audible gasp rippled through the surrounding diners. "Valuing his own life, my friend resigned himself to his bad luck, and handed over the money without complaint. They didn't harass him any further, and simply let him go after counting the cash. But as for those who adamantly refused to pay up or tried to bargain, every single one of them was sucked dry by that masked man's ghastly bugs."

Somebody banged his fist on the table in outrage: "That's too much!"

An uneasy silence fell over the dining hall. These traders had travelled all over the land, were unscrupulous when it came to making money, and boasted shamelessly about the heaps of gold and silver they had piled up for themselves. But now, all of them were suddenly reduced to being weak and helpless peasants, anxiously fearful over their uncertain fates.

After a good long while, someone said: "I've heard that this fiend isn't completely invincible. A few years back in Yongzhou, he was defeated by the 'Southern Blade'."

The guest seated in a corner of this hall was mid-slurp when he said this, and promptly choked on the hot soup going down her throat. A good sprinkling of pepper had been added to her bowl, which made her cough so hard that her eyes were watering, and frantically reach for her cup of water. Thankfully, no one here seemed to notice her little coughing fit, as they were all brooding over this piece of news. Stealing a glance around the dining hall, she discreetly shifted the long sabre that was beside her under the table, resting its hilt against her waist. There was a little cloth pouch tied round her waist as well, which she unfastened and shoved into her pocket after some thought.

Just then, someone else sighed: "But where have all those great heroes gone? These days, those mighty fiend-slayers of yore have shut themselves in, only emerging once every few years, while devils and monsters of all kinds run amok…" Sighing again, the man said: "A few years ago, rumour had it that Huo Liantao of the Huo Clan was a lying scoundrel who had a hand in his brother's death. But if you ask me, those were still better times than the state we're in today – at least we had someone to look to for help then. Why aren't any of those who called Master Huo a hypocrite and a villain stepping up to the plate now?"

The guest in the corner gripped her spoon tightly, which hovered over her bowl for a good long while.

Not long after that, the doors of the Great-Luck Inn swung open yet again, admitting a tall and strapping man.

This man had nothing to shelter him from the rain, and was completely drenched. His face was deathly pale, and there was a bruise at the corner of his right eye. He had a dignified air to him, although he seemed a tad nervous. When he entered the inn, he first cast a slightly hostile glance across all the guests seated here before striding in with tensed shoulders, his hand gripped tightly round his heavy sword. The more timorous guests immediately fell silent, thinking that he might be here to seek revenge on someone. But when this man strode into the hall, he tripped over the inn's raised threshold, causing him to stumble forward and nearly fall to the ground. He reached a large hand out to grab onto the wall for support, and took a moment to catch his breath.

It seemed more like he was on the run, rather than out for blood.

The waiter hesitated a little before approaching him: "Sir…"

The man thrust a hand out towards him, revealing a flash of something in his palm. While those further away couldn't see what it was, there was an immediate change in that waiter's demeanour. With great respect, he said: "My deepest apologies, this way please."

The man shook his head. Handing over several pieces of silver and a flask to the waiter, he said: "No, I'm in a hurry. Fill up this flask with wine, please, and give me some dry victuals to eat on the road. Then I'll be on my way."

Not daring to persuade him otherwise, the waiter swiftly nodded, taking the empty flask but not the silver, and hastened towards the kitchen.

This utterly soaked man took a deep breath, straightening his back with some difficulty. It seemed like he was trying to find a spot to rest his weary legs while he waited. But as he cast his eyes around the room, looks of hesitation appeared on the faces of these traders. They quickly averted their gazes, refusing to look him in the eye, while shooting furtive glances his way.

The man looked quite miffed by this. It took him a while before he finally spotted an empty bench at a corner by the door – the very same table occupied by that lone female guest. He hesitated a little before walking towards her, saying lowly: "Miss, would you permit me to sit here for a while?"

This maiden simply gestured at the empty bench in silent invitation.

All the strength in that man's legs seemed to leave him all of a sudden, as he flopped down so hard on the bench that it made a sharp creak. He leaned heavily against the wall beside him and shut his eyes, his chest heaving weakly. It was unclear if he had fallen asleep, or passed out.

The inn's head waiter was a quick worker, and managed to put together a package of food in short order, pieces of still-steaming bread tucked round thick slices of jerky. The empty flask was filled to the brim with home-brewed rice wine that both warmed one's body and quenched one's thirst. He hurried over to the man, and tugged at his sleeve as he called out to him softly: "Sir, Sir."

But the man's eyes remained shut, and he didn't seem to have heard.

"Eh," the young maiden sharing the table couldn't help but speak up. "Don't keep tugging at him like that, he's lost a lot of blood – even I can smell it. You should take a closer look at him, he might have fainted."

This young maiden was none other than Li Yan. After she'd insisted on running away from home with Zhou Fei and company three years back, she'd certainly gotten a good beating from Mistress Li upon returning to the 48 Zhai, even with Zhou Yitang there to defend her. Having been spoiled since young, she had never quite experienced what a real beating was like – till she finally got a real good one at the ripe old age of fifteen. She'd apparently cried her lungs out for three full days, the sounds of her mournful sobs drifting eerily across the mountains all through the night, which had given the young disciples of the 48 Zhai a thorough fright.

From then on, Li Yan had begun to get a little more serious about practicing martial arts. At the start of this year, she'd finally managed to succeed in completing her apprenticeship to leave the 48 Zhai after snatching four paper cuttings in Xiushan Hall, a little more than the bare minimum.

This was in fact the very first time that Li Yan was out on some proper business for the 48 Zhai. She'd come here with Li Sheng as the two of them were helping Li Jinrong surveil the secret posts along the west-east route, as part of the 48 Zhai's now-routine 'pulse check' – this was a new practice that had been put in place after that unprecedented collapse of their secret posts a few years back. It involved the 48 Zhai conveying a batch of letters via the secret posts, and then sending a bunch of disciples to covertly track the progress of these letters along the route. These disciples didn't have to show themselves, as all they needed to do was stay a few days in the cities where the secret posts were located, and leave once the letters were sent on without incident. As long as they didn't notice anything amiss, they could return to the 48 Zhai thereafter.

Li Yan and Li Sheng had been sent to monitor the route that led towards the Eastern Sea, and Jinan happened to be their very last stop.

Even Zhou Fei and Li Sheng had merely been intended as an extra pair of hands on their first mission outside the 48 Zhai – even though circumstances eventually changed the nature of their involvement. Likewise, Li Yan was only supposed to tag along to familiarise herself with this route, and apart from being on the receiving end of her brother's occasional scolding, she really didn't have much to do.

But when they'd reached the outskirts of this city just now, Li Sheng seemed to have caught a glimpse of something that warranted further investigation. He had hastily instructed her to wait for him at the Great-Luck Inn while he gave chase.

Li Sheng had intended to send her away to this little inn less than half a mile away just so that she could have something to eat, as he would be back for her quite quickly. But besides that one time when Yang Jin kidnapped her, Li Yan had never really been away from her elders and relatives, and now that she was suddenly left on her own, she felt like a bird freed from its cage for the first time in its life – all she could think of was spreading her wings and taking gleefully to the skies. At the same time, she still felt a little jittery to be all alone out here, and had thus tried her best to adopt an air of world-weary cynicism on the outside, while secretly thinking of this nondescript inn as a place of great adventure.

And lo and behold, her wish had been promptly granted: she'd barely finished a bowl of noodles before some excitement appeared right in front of her.

The head waiter jumped in fright at Li Yan's words. He shook the man gently, observing the deathly pallor of the man's face and the bluish-green tinge to his lips. He seemed to be in very bad shape indeed. With all this shaking, the man's arm which had been resting on his stomach fell limply to the side, and the distinct scent of blood wafted up from his abdomen. Upon closer inspection, one could see that the blood had soaked right through the man's black clothes. It was clear that he'd been seriously injured.

Feeling a little at a loss as to what to do next, the head waiter turned towards the innkeeper and shot him an uncertain look.

The old innkeeper was fingering an abacus on the counter. His piercing eyes fell on the injured man, the strength and intensity of his gaze making it clear that he was a highly-skilled pugilist. He gave the head waiter a little nod. Another waiter quickly ran up to Li Yan's table, attempting to help bring this man to a room inside.

But just then, the sharp whinnying of horses was heard from just outside the inn. It seemed like a large group of people had just arrived.

Li Yan suddenly had the strangest sense of foreboding. She quickly raised the bowl of noodles to her lips and slurped the rest of it down as fast as she could. Before she could even wipe her mouth, several black-clad men in wide-brimmed hats barged haughtily into the inn. The one in front thrust his arm out before him imperiously, holding up a token for all to see.

Li Yan's keen ears instantly picked up the sharp intakes of breath from a good number of the guests. Across the hall, someone whispered: "My god, why is the Big Dipper here!"

Li Yan's eyes widened.

The token-bearing man in front was followed by a sizable contingent of black-clad men, who entered in an orderly fashion to line both sides of the door. And then shortly after, a middle-aged man passed slowly through the doorway, sheltered with umbrellas by several black-clad men who treated him with great deference. This man had an imposing and dignified air about him, and he was dressed in the red robes and black boots of a court official.[6] He was carrying an ornamental sabre, and looked as if he could very well attend a session of the imperial court right there and then.

Of the four members of the Big Dipper that were still alive, Li Yan had already seen two. But she'd heard that Shen Tianshu was a wizened one-armed fellow, which didn't seem to correspond with the appearance of this courtly-looking, middle-aged man. She thought to herself: Could this be 'Mizar' of the Big Dipper, Tong Kaiyang?

When the black-clad men swarmed into the inn, a deathly silence fell over the hall.

The innkeeper from the Wayfarers' Union couldn't stay behind the counter pretending to fiddle with his abacus any longer. He hastened towards the door and knelt to the ground, saying: "Your Excellencies, I am but a lowly commoner running a humble business here, and have not broken any laws. I have always handed over all the necessary fees, and have never been behind on any of my payments. To what do I owe this honour?"

Glancing at him, the red-robed man smiled: "Oh, is it so strange that we might want to stay here for the night?"

A sheen of cold sweat was visible on the innkeeper's forehead. Beaming widely, he said: "Of course you can, of course, as long as Your Excellency doesn't mind these humble lodgings…ah, boy, fetch some…"

"No need for that." With a wave of his hand, this 'court official' grew serious once more. He said officiously: "The Big Dipper is here to seize a fugitive of the court. Anyone not involved had better get out of the way, else you'll be treated as accomplices!"

At the words 'fugitive of the court', Li Yan immediately thought of that deep abdominal wound on the mysterious man beside her. She didn't think twice – as they were in a quiet corner of the hall, blocked by a whole bunch of people, she quickly grabbed a cup of water from the table and dumped every last drop of it onto that man's face.

This man must have been hounded to within an inch of his life – he was conscious and alert the very second that water was splashed onto his face, his eyes ablaze.

At this exact same time, the red-robed man pointed towards the injured man, bellowing: "Seize him!"

Before Li Yan knew what was happening, that heavily injured man sprang lightly to his feet, brandishing his heavy sword before him. Like a sea dragon emerging from the depths of the ocean, his sword shot forward and slashed across the chest of the first black-clad man who rushed at him. His martial arts was devoid of any artifice whatsoever, but every single one of his blows met their mark. He fearlessly ploughed through the incoming swarm of black-clad men, and had reached the door of the inn in a matter of seconds.

The red-robed 'court official' spat out: "Useless trash!"

And then, without seeming to take any large strides at all, he too reached the door in a blur of motion. His fancy-looking sabre, which was a little broader than the width of a man's hand, was swiftly thrust at the injured fellow like the flick of a snake's tongue. The man rapidly retreated, not daring to parry it head-on. With a sneer, the red-robed man slashed his sabre at him three times, each blow quicker than the last, yet the corners of his robes and wide sleeves remained completely and eerily still. He forced this man back into the inn in short order.

By now, the guests in this inn had already vacated their seats in fright, leaving behind tables strewn with half-empty plates and cups. This bustling hall that had felt totally packed just now was emptied out in an instant.

The black-clad men formed a tight circle round the injured man, trapping him here.

This man was clearly at the end of his rope. He subconsciously pressed a hand to his abdomen, panting heavily.

The red-robed man said: "Liu Youliang, His Majesty has always treated you well. Is such treachery your way of repaying him?"

Li Yan thought to herself: Ah, so this fellow's name is 'Liu Youliang'.

She felt that the name sounded vaguely familiar, and decided that she must have heard someone mention it on the way here, although she couldn't remember what had been said about it.

While Li Yan's memory wasn't all that great, her sense of hearing was excellent. She heard one of the few guests still here whisper: "Which Liu Youliang is this? It can't be the same Liu Youliang who's the Commander of the Royal Guard, can it? That's strange – how has a high-ranking general ended up as a fugitive?"

His companion swiftly shushed him, but after doing so, he himself couldn't help but ask: "Why not, have you forgotten what happened to the Zhongwu General Wu Fei?"

The slightly chilly mid-autumn breeze swept into the inn through its wide open doors, making one shiver.

Cold sweat tricked down Liu Youliang's still rain-soaked temples. His lips were trembling uncontrollably, but he didn't respond.

The red-robed man cast his haughty gaze across the guests still staying here to watch the show, and smirked: "I know that Commander Liu is a kind-hearted man – you would probably refrain from saying anything of import, lest this implicate all the innocent folks here, yes?"

Li Yan didn't get what he meant by that at first, although some of the more seasoned traders here instantly looked a little queasy – the Big Dipper must have hounded Liu Youliang all the way here because he'd made away with an important secret. This red-robed man was in fact threatening him: if he dared to utter even a single word of this secret, regardless of whether anyone here heard it clearly, the Big Dipper would kill them all!

Liu Youliang was wheezing like a punctured bellows, each shaky breath from his injured lungs plainly audible.

The red-robed man gave an exaggerated sigh, saying: "Now, now, it'll be best for everyone if you stop resisting, don't you think?"

But just as he said this, Liu Youliang abruptly brandished his weapon and lunged at the red-robed man, driving his heavy sword towards the man's face. The man chuckled heartily, as if he were mocking his opponent's nerve, and thrust his sabre out to parry that blow.

Seeing that there would be no peaceful way to settle this affair, the innkeeper hastened towards them and bowed deferentially: "Sirs, sirs! I beg of you, please don't fight in this inn."

The red-robed man said dismissively: "I'll pay you back for this lousy heap of chairs and tables – old fellow, this is none of your business, move aside!"

The red-robed man almost seemed to be toying with Liu Youliang, like a cat playing with a mouse, while the poor fellow looked like he was on the verge of passing out. Li Yan subconsciously reached for the sabre at her waist, thinking to herself: If Fei were here, she definitely wouldn't just watch from the sidelines.

As this thought flashed across her mind, Li Yan discreetly inched her sabre out of its scabbard just a little.

But then she promptly quailed – this man in red was too powerful. As far as Li Yan was concerned, if she couldn't even discern the true depths of his power, she certainly shouldn't get mixed up in this affair that was none of her business. Seeing everyone else steering well clear of this fight, Li Yan's blade froze just half an inch out of its scabbard. Unsure of what she should do, she thought to herself anxiously: If Bully Li found out that I dared to get involved in something like this, he'd definitely fly into a rage…and in any case, what am I supposed to do?

Just as Li Yan was mired in indecision, that old innkeeper who'd been pleading with the Big Dipper mere moments ago suddenly sprang forward, and pulled out a pair of nunchucks!

The nunchucks went flying out with a soft clink, latching precisely onto the two men's duelling weapons. With a flick of his wrist, the old innkeeper wrapped the nunchucks tightly round the intersection of the two crossed blades, forcing the two men's movements to come to a temporary standstill.

The red-robed man bellowed: "How dare you, you old fool!"

Wrenching his sabre away, he easily shook off the innkeeper's nunchucks. That wizened old man withdrew the nunchucks and slid deftly to the side, coming to a halt beside Liu Youliang. He said lowly: "This guest bears a token from our Union, and whoever sees it must obey its bearer's commands. This guest is kind enough to refuse our help, but we cannot very well turn a blind eye to his distress. Lord Tong, please forgive me."

Aha – this red-robed man was indeed 'Mizar of the Big Dipper', Tong Kaiyang. He said menacingly: "How dare you be so impudent, when you know very well who I am. Old fellow, it seems like you no longer wish to run this inn."

Liu Youliang said softly: "Sir, there's no need…"

The Great-Luck Inn was the busiest inn in these parts as the staff here provided quick and efficient service, and knew how to flatter its customers. It also had a couple of signature dishes, and had made something of a name for itself among its guests, becoming a must-visit of sorts in Jinan. While most of the seasoned travellers roaming these parts weren't afraid of much, they would still shy away from causing any trouble for such an established business – this was exactly why Liu Youliang had only decided to rest here for a bit when passing through, and hadn't sought any protection from the Wayfarers' Union.

With his nunchucks in hand, the innkeeper smiled: "The reason why we set up this inn, was to give all of our friends a place to stay, to make things more convenient for them. Everything else that came with it was just a bonus. Now that the 'Sky Bat Token' has re-emerged, if we were to step back simply for the sake of preserving our business, wouldn't this run contrary to what we set out to do?"

And then before Liu Youliang could stop him, the innkeeper said: "Friends, my apologies – my humble shop is closed for now. There's no need to pay for your meals here today, all food and drinks are on the house. Before night falls, you should go and find another place to stay!"

While the guests here had just been lamenting the lack of heroes to uphold justice and defend the weak, now that this innkeeper was putting everything on the line to confront Mizar of the Big Dipper, they simply picked up their things and hightailed it out of there as quickly as they could. Only Li Yan remained where she was. Seeing as she was both from an eminent sect and skilled in martial arts, she felt like she should act a little differently, and just fleeing like that was a tad disgraceful. Moreover, Li Sheng had asked her to wait for him at the Great-Luck Inn. If she were to leave now, not only would her brother be unable to find her when he came, he would also run into the Big Dipper – which was sure to make him even more anxious.

With her sabre in hand, Li Yan followed this crowd of people streaming out of the inn. Yet instead of running as far away as possible like the rest of them, she made a discreet about-turn and headed back towards the inn's courtyard, climbing up a large tree there and concealing herself within its foliage.

Tong Kaiyang said: "Fine then, the Wayfarers' Union, eh? I suppose you prefer doing things the hard way!"

As he said this, the thundering of horses' hooves and hurried footsteps were heard from the doorway, as well as cries of shock from the stragglers amongst the inn's fleeing guests. Looking down the street, Li Yan gasped – nearly two hundred black-clad men from the Big Dipper had arrived.

The torrential downpour had stopped, although the sky remained as overcast as ever. The ground was a squelchy, muddy mess, and the city of Jinan looked as drab and dreary as could be. Amidst this pervasive gloom, the staff of the Great-Luck Inn were locked in fierce battle with the black-clad men of the Big Dipper.

While all of them were skilled in martial arts, they were a bit of a mixed bag. A sect comprised of lowly folks like the Wayfarers' Union was certainly no match for the well-trained henchmen of the Big Dipper, who were also greater in numbers. Before long, apart from a few highly-skilled pugilists who were just barely able to hold their own, the rest from the Wayfarers' Union had been miserably routed.

With a sharp whistle, the innkeeper led several of his men still standing to close in on Tong Kaiyang, while shouting over his shoulder: "Mr Liu, run!"

There was no way that Liu Youliang would comply. However, before he could say anything, the innkeeper added: "If you did not hesitate to use the Sky Bat Token, you must be on an important mission, for which you're willing to risk your life – what are you still waiting for!"

When he heard this, Liu Youliang froze, clenching his jaw hard. He bowed deeply to the innkeeper and said: "Brother, you're risking your life for me, even though we're strangers – I can't thank you enough."

A faint smile emerged on that innkeeper's wizened face, before it swiftly faded away. Then with a roar, Liu Youliang backed away from the fray. He swung his heavy sword before him, felling seven or eight black-clad men with one blow, and creating a path for him out of here. Charging out of the inn, he looked over his shoulder for a brief moment at the blood-soaked hall, before resolutely turning to leave.

Doing all of that had taken a lot out of him, and he was growing increasingly unsteady on his feet. Whistling for his horse, he hauled himself painfully onto it and commanded it to gallop through gritted teeth. But just as he did so, four black-clad men came swooping towards him. Liu Youliang used his sword to fend off two of them, but just as he was about to turn to face the rest, he felt a stab of excruciating pain at his waist, and wasn't able to raise his weapon in time. Yet at this very moment, he heard two groans – the remaining two backed away from him with their hands clutched to their faces.

Liu Youliang was in too much of a hurry to consider who might have helped him. With a shout of 'Many thanks', he tore madly away on his horse.

By the time Liu Youliang reached the outskirts of the city, his vision had started to blur, and he was starting to slump forward in the saddle. Just as he'd bit down hard on his tongue in an attempt to stay conscious, his horse which had been galloping at full speed suddenly let out a tortured cry, its front legs buckling under it, sending its rider flying – a tripwire was pulled taut across the ground.

Liu Youliang nearly blacked out right there and then from the impact of that horrific fall. As he struggled valiantly to crawl to his feet, the black-clad men lying in wait here had already surrounded him. It seemed like this was truly the end of the road for him. Then all of a sudden, a large rain-soaked tree branch came crashing noisily down from above. Before these startled black-clad men could react, a long sabre emerged from behind this tree branch, taking out four of them in a row.

With a roar, Liu Youliang finally mustered the strength to desperately scramble to his feet.

This rescuer of his who had literally fallen from the sky was in fact Li Yan. When she'd seen Liu Youliang flee from the inn from her hiding spot, she'd followed after him without a second thought.

Brandishing a sabre with one hand and madly waving around a branch taller than her with the other, Li Yan had managed to create the illusion that she was much more intimidating than she actually was. While the black-clad men were still recovering from this surprise, she shouted at Liu Youliang: "Sir, run!"

Liu Youliang hadn't expected this person to be such a young maiden, and was more than a little astonished. But before he could fully absorb this, the black-clad man in front whistled loudly, and numerous other black-clad figures came rushing out from the surrounding trees.

Li Yan: "…"

She was screwed.

Left with no other choice, she steeled herself and flung that large branch aside. Taking a deep breath, she clasped the hilt of her sabre with both hands, thinking to herself: If only Fei's spirit could possess my body right now.

But the long-lost Zhou Fei had yet to cultivate the skill of soul transference. Before Li Yan knew it, the black-clad men had already charged at her.

Li Yan thought to herself: Here goes nothing!

And just as she felt certain that she would be laying down her life for a stranger today, the tight formation of black-clad men around her was suddenly thrown into disarray. She heard the sharp whinny of a horse grow louder and louder, and then shortly after, it came charging through the forest, its rider wielding a pair of swords that swiftly and precisely took out the black-clad men standing in his path. He slashed and hacked his way over to Li Yan, yelling: "Tattletale Li!"

Li Yan nearly broke down in tears: "Brother!"

Li Sheng hadn't expected his sister to get into such deep trouble so soon after he'd left her. The fear and anxiety he was feeling made his anger all the greater, and his blows all the more brutal. It didn't take too long for a large swathe of these black-clad men to be taken out. Li Yan wasn't sitting idle either – whistling for her horse, she helped Liu Youliang to mount it: "Sir, take my horse, I've got my brother's!"

Li Sheng: "…"

This little rascal was so quick to offer his help.