Six years ago, I descended Mount Daluo after passing the test for Mount Daluo's disciples. I was officially instated as the master of Night Fortress to take on my shifu's mess, so I migrated to Night Net Mountain in Hangzhou. I stopped going around as Lord San Shen five years ago after the battle at Lawless Cliff and Divine Moon Cult vanished from the Central Plain. After I abandoned my Lord San Shen identity, I went about my days as Master Ming, master of Night Fortress, until I led retired to the bamboo forest for two years. I only understood why my shifu forced me to run Night Fortress when I retired.
My shifu wanted me to have another perspective of seeing my identity relative to the martial world. I already had two. I had the perspectives as the disciple of an orthodox sect and unorthodox sects' affiliations. Thanks to the third view, I decided to forego the idea of orthodox and unorthodox, justice and evil. Instead, I adopted an approach that accepted both and applied it to my administration strategy for Night Fortress.
Throughout the four years I headed Night Fortress' operations, it flourished. We certainly had plenty of conflicts in Jiangnan's martial world, but I would argue we resolved them acceptably. I saw alternatives besides orthodox and unorthodox teams. Perhaps that was the answer I always sought to no avail.
During Night Fortress' expansion period, I couldn't resist teaching some people a lesson, earning me the title "Jiangnan's Face-Slapping King," but that is a story for another day…
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"Ladies and gentleman," I announced, after I finished breakfast. Standing on a horse carriage, I cleared my throat. Loudly and clearly, I expressed, "He appreciates the thought and is grateful so many friends still think of him after so many years. However, there is an urgent situation, so please do not hinder us."
Emperor Yuansheng returned to the carriage after he had his fill. Whilst listening to me blather nonsense, he told Tang Ye, "Your big brother knows how to talk. He has expressed his intent without offending the customers. It seems Zhong Hualiu's businesses will never underperform."
Tang Ye: "…"
Yes, everyone in the escort believed they were giving gifts out of respect for Zhong Hualiu.
Why do you all buy into it so easily? I prepared dozens of other lies! What makes you all consider Jiangnan's orthodox sects frequenting brothels normal?! Did brothels take over Jiangnan without me knowing?!
"You're all truly kind and generous, but please make way for this one and his group. Please let the others know this one appreciates the thought; however, this one cannot accept such valuable gifts. Please take them back with you."
The people looked to each other. The maiden from Tea Lake Manor showed her business acumen, giving me a smile: "As that is the case, we would not dare to delay you or badger you with our humble goods. We shall take our leave now. Please remember, though, Tea Lake Manor's master shall open the path ahead for you!"
Tea Lake Manor took off first. It took a second for the others to realise she was a step ahead of them! They followed suit forthwith, announcing their affiliation and hurriedly going after Tea Lake Manor.
I called out to the maiden who delivered our meal: "Lass, you stay."
The maiden was the archetype of what girls from Jiangnan were, amiable and gentle. It left me scratching my head because Boss Shen was also from Jiangnan. Unlike the maiden, Boss Shen was aggressive and could whoop some behinds…
The maiden nodded: "Understood."
"What's your name?"
"My father's surname is Lyu. My humble name is Yaoqin."
"You're Eight Drunk Deities' Chun Yangzi's daughter? That explains your sagacity and grace."
Lyu Yaoqin pursed her lips into a smile.
"What are you doing?" Emperor Yuansheng asked with a frown. He leaned in close to my back and asked, "It's time to get going. Why are you flirting all of a sudden?"
Voice muffled, I rhetorically asked, "Were you not wondering why so many people were going to Huzhou? Why not take the opportunity to find out?"
"You have a point."
I did run it through with Ling Xuan already, but I figured, the more information I had, the better. Secondly, we were handling a sensitive matter; it had an influence on Boss Shen's rescue. The escort ventured one guess after another since running into the travelling crews. It was better for everyone to know what to expect at Huzhou. I specifically consulted Miss Lyu because she had the gift of the gab, which suggested she'd do a better job explaining and it'd be easier to expound my reason for consulting her.
"Miss Lyu, you must be heading in the same direction as us for you to be able to prepare the food for me. We are going to Huzhou to help a friend. May I ask why you are going there?"
Though incredibly baffled at first, Lyu Yaoqing eventually jovially asked, "Is that a serious question? Are you not going to Luo Sword Manor?"
"Of course we are," stated Emperor Yuansheng, exiting the carriage. "We are going to help a relative who is in a pinch. It is quite befuddling to see so many people rushing to Huzhou so cautiously and stealthily. You just mentioned it is connected to Luo Sword Manor. Would you be able to elaborate?"
Lyu Yaoqin looked to me for permission. I nodded: "Teacher Li is my senior. Feel free to speak without reserve."
"Understood. It started three months ago. Three months ago, my father received an invitation from Luo Sword Manor. The invitation specifically invited Eight Drunk Deities to Huzhou's Taihu's Sword Island to attend a meeting. The official commencement would be at the beginning of the lantern festival."
The lantern festival was on 15th January, going by the lunar calendar, which was half a month away. By convention, they had to be there beforehand, which explained why they were already on their way to Taihu Sword Island.
Lyu Yaoqin continued, "They reminded us several times not to reveal the invitation to anyone else in the invitation, or Luo Sword Manor would pursue the matter with us. Though the invitation was written eloquently, it was stern at the same time. Given Luo Sword Manor's influence in Jiangnan, my father could not possibly defy them. As such, we have lied low these past three months. After discussing it with my uncles and aunts, Eight Drunk Deities set out for Taihu Sword Island."
Emperor Yuansheng and I exchanged eye contact. Ling Xuan's recount wasn't as detailed since League of Assassins weren't sent an invitation. Lyu Yaoqin's in-depth recount filled in the holes for me. It also demonstrated another point, which was how influential Luo Sword Manor really was in Jiangnan. People from Jiangnan had trouble keeping secrets, yet none of them made a peep about it.
"What is the meeting for?" queried Emperor Yuansheng.
Lyu Yaoqin: "The meeting is called Refining Divine Convention."
Glossary
*Lyu Yaoqin – Her surname isn't pronounced as "Loo" in American English. It's pronounced "Loo" as in Australian English. It's enunciated the same way as Lü Bu (for those familiar with RoTK). In 2012, the Chinese government standardised its spelling so that Lü/lv is spelt Lyu due to confusion and mispronunciation. That’s not how you would write it in pinyin, of course. It's important to note that the stipulation only applies to names.
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