Strike like the Wind
Ah Neath: “Pork shoulders, pork shoulders! That’s all you know! Feng Xue, stick to my side so that we can move about more conveniently.”
“If your Princess Consort wants to harm you, she will ask for someone from Mount Wanyu to act. Can you tell me who is considered dangerous from Mount Wanyu?” I requested.
Uncle Feng Xue took a moment to make a list, then enlightened, “As you said, legends gave birth to Shaman Monarch Palace. Thing is, nobody knows where Shaman Monarch is since he has not shown himself in years; we don’t even know if he’s still alive. All we know is that Great Spirit Shaman is now Shaman Monarch’s representative. Even Shaman Monarch Palace has been relocated to Mount Wanyu.
“There are supposed to be two Great Spirit Shamans – Death and Life. Life Spirits handle the cult’s affairs, while the Death Spirits answer to Shaman Monarch. As the whereabouts of Shaman Monarch are unknown, the Death Spirit Shaman won’t show himself. At present, Life Great Spirit Shaman holds the highest authority at Shaman Monarch Palace.”
The information dovetailed what I read in Black and White Reflection. Without the so-called Shaman Monarch, Shaman Monarch Palace couldn’t fight a state’s military despite all the honours they were conferred; even Ah Neath would be more scary than they were. Perhaps a more apt way of putting it would be that people would be more apprehensive about Ah Neath than Shaman Monarch Palace. Even old etiquette had become just a procedure instead of the weight it was once given.
For some reason, Shaman Monarch Palace started surfacing once again as well as expanding their numbers. Qiushui and Baimu’s bizarre alliance was the most compelling evidence that something was changing within the faith.
Uncle Feng Xue continued, “They have no shortage of adepts among their ranks. In terms of martial prowess, their guardians, Moyan Clan, would be the most dangerous. In Xiacang Anxi, their blade work is the absolute best; even I must admit I am inferior with a blade. They have two enigmatic superiors referred to as Black and White Clerics.
“The most dangerous four are Iron, Wood, Poison and Fire Guardians. The four of them take orders directly from the top. Not only can they give the guyas of the eleven states a run for their money, but they’re also incredibly wise. In fact, they’d make excellent commanders in war.
“Blood Guard Du, Du being the same character for poison, exiled years ago, calls himself Nanjiang’s Poison King. You should’ve heard his name before given his infamy.”
“I think I have?”
“Back then, he was only ranked third among the four Blood Guards without using martial arts. You can imagine how dangerous the others are based on that alone.”
I compared the information to my plan and felt I had a feasible plan. “Ah Neath, I have a suggestion. If you’re concerned about your safety, I can link you up with a helper.”
“What sort of helper? A weakling is only going to be dead weight.”
“Hahaha, not only are they beneficial weight but also trustworthy. My father-in-law runs a martial arts academy, so everyone in the family is an A-grade martial artist. My brothers are also martial artists. They’ll beat Shaman Monarch Palace into next week.”
“I just told you how dire the situation is, yet you’re thinking of using your family to scam me out of my money?!”
“I’m serious. Although we don’t know what your Princess Consort is cooking, we know that your palace’s current security system is inadequate. Think about it: they’re going to be sending people of Martial Paragon’s level for your head. How many Martial Paragons do you have in your employment?” I walked toward the door, still smiling but stern. “If you don’t want to die, follow my instructions. I don’t have time for nonsense.”
Ah Neath juddered upon meeting eyes with me. Immediately after nodding, though, she realised she made a blunder, but it was too late.
“Hahaha, good girl. I’ll get in contact with my in-laws. It’ll only take them a day to arrive. Now, I need to go visit some more people to request their aid.”
Finally seeing a ray of hope, Ah Neath effused, “Who?! Who?!”
“My drinking buddy. I intend to have him instated as your royal palace’s guard captain.”
Ah Neath grabbed her head and muttered, “Divine Sun, just burn me now…”
I only started walking off again when I steered over to Uncle Feng Xue. “Uncle, I have been dying to ask you this for a while, but I could never bring myself to ask.”
“There are no outsiders here. Feel free to ask.”
I leaned in close. “Uncle.”
“Hmm?”
“Is your name Ji Xue?”
“… Feng Xue.”
“Oh, profound. Very profound.” I saluted Uncle Feng Xue and sped off before he could flip out.
Why had I always been calling him Ji Xue? I didn’t and still don’t know.
The first place I had to swing by was Boss Shen and Young Shiyi’s room.
“Why are you two here?”
As soon as I went through the door, they caught me in a pincer attack on my left and right sides, hurling a flower vase each at me. I caught the vases, nonetheless, and returned them to their rightful spots. They were just chatting on the bed until I came through, man.
“Punk, explain why thee clawed his chest.” Young Shiyi, legs crossed, refused to look my way whilst tossing things.
“What are we doing here?! How dare you ask that with a straight face?! Would we have needed to rush here if you didn’t have to violate?!” Boss Shen, arms crossed, blew up her rosy cheeks.
I had to sit in between the two and spent ages clearing the misunderstanding. I hurriedly filled them in on the last two days’ events once they narrowed their eyes on me. I wasn’t ashamed to admit that both of them were smarter and had better eyes for detail than me. Hence, they might’ve been able to pick out something I missed from the information I gathered.
“Where are you going next?” Young Shiyi queried.
“I need to pay Xiao Huangquan a visit.”
Besides being a veteran and accomplished constable, Xiao Huangquan frequented Nanjiang. He left Huzhou ahead of us, so he should’ve been in Nanjiang already.
“Right now, we need all the help that we can. He’s skilled and quick-witted; it’d be a waste to not have him on our team. Boss… why… are you looking at me like that?”
As if getting caught gazing at me in a daze wasn’t embarrassing enough, Young Shiyi burnt Shen Yiren’s face further with her sly dimple.
“You… have white hair.” Boss Shen plucked a strand of hair from the front of my head.
The white strand of hair was probably just a strand I missed when I dyed my hair in a hurry. Even though Boss didn’t say or show anything else, I understood that she was looking out for me.
“Boss, I need your help with something. Pen a letter to His Majesty. Specifically, ask him to bring everyone to Baimu’s royal palace because they’re needed for a lot of things.”
“You’ve sought out plenty of allies already and even have Martial Paragon on your team. Why do you still need…? What do you think our chances of winning are at the moment?”
“Zero. Only once I came here did I realise there are more variables than I predicted in Nieyao. If we enter Nieyao with our current forces, nobody is leaving alive.” I took off in a hurry with some refreshments and tea from the table.
Meanwhile, Young Shiyi kept monitoring Boss Shen.
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