Chapter 1 – Waiter, Drinks

Northern Liang Palace, standing at the strategic point Mount Qingliang, was majestic and imposing. It was surrounded by thousands of households and supported by millions.

As one of the few individuals who managed to climb to the position of vassal king through military merit alone, the King of Northern Liang, Xu Xiao, was both hated and praised in the imperial court and in jianghu. It could even be said that he had obtained everything, apart from the emperor’s throne. He possessed undisputed control over the three northwestern provinces, where his hands covered the skies and the sun, and with a simple flick, he could produce clouds and rain.

TL: jianghu (http://zhidao.baidu.com/question/18510001.html) = “the underworld” – it refers to the wild and romanticized domain of secret societies, gangs, fighters, entertainers, prostitutes, assassins, thieves, actors, beggars, and wanderers. For more detail:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wuxia#Jianghu

(TL: I’ve decided to translate the brothers of the emperor (王, wáng) in this novel as kings. It is normally only given to brothers of the emperor who are related to him through blood (in other words, part of the imperial clan), hence another translation for it would be prince, but I think it is insufficient for this novel since princes typically do not wield so much power. Xu Xiao is an exception here, as he is not related to the emperor by blood. Instead, he managed to attain this title through exceptional merit alone.)

It was no surprise that officials who shared conflicting political views with the vassal king would all rudely refer to him as barbarian Xu. Some who even held malicious intentions gave him the devastating title of “Second Emperor”, claiming that he had treacherous intentions toward the empire.

Today, the palace was bustling with noise. The powerful King of Northern Liang had personally opened the central door, laying out a glorious reception to welcome a sagely old man. Servants in the palace had only heard that he was an immortal from the daoist holy land Mount Longhu and had taken a liking to the dumb, youngest prince. He wanted to take him in as his final disciple. This was an immense blessing. The Northern Liang Palace could only explain it as a fool’s luck.

Wasn’t it exactly a fool’s luck? The young master did not cry when he was born, nor could he read or write a single word, only beginning to speak at age six. His name, on the other hand, sounded mighty and powerful—Xu Longxiang. There was even a rumor that the old immortal from Mount Longhu had given him the name and had promised to take him in as a disciple twelve years later. Sure enough, the old man had come to fulfill his promise.

(TL: The long (龙) in Longxiang means dragon, while xiang (象) means elephant. In other words, his name means dragon-elephant.)

In the palace court, the old ancestor among daoism who stood among the grandmasters of Mount Longhu twirled his snowy white beard around his finger with furrowed brows. A rare, peachwood sword, styled for purging demons and ghosts, was strapped to his back, complimenting his appearance and giving him a heavenly look. All those who saw him would sincerely praise him as a being from high above.

But there was clearly a large hindrance preventing him from accepting the young master as a disciple. It wasn’t because of any objections from the palace, but rather because of the stubbornness of his soon-to-be disciple. Squatting beneath a pear tree, he used his bottom to answer the elderly master who wanted him, not the other way round as things should have been. The old daoist was so great that he ranked within the top three in terms of status among daoism. But that was just his status. As for his martial prowess…. cough cough, surely top thirty would have been enough to include him.

Even the mighty Grand Pillar, the King of Northern Liang, had to squat down and plead with his son using tactful words patiently, almost to the point where he seemed more like a kidnapper, “Son, go to Mount Longhu and learn all sorts of skills. If anyone dares to call you stupid afterward, just beat them up. You don’t even need to be afraid of beating any general or official below the third rank to death. Father’ll help you.”

(TL: Grand Pillar is a kind of official within the empire. It’s basically as high as you can climb within the hierarchy of officials, a title rarely ever given out to anyone as a matter of fact.)

“Son, you’re very strong. It’ll be too much of a shame if you don’t learn martial arts and become one of the ten great masters in the world. Once you finish studying and come back, father’ll let you be a cavalry commandant. You’ll be riding on a beautiful horse and wearing a magnificent suit of armor. How glorious is that?”

The young master did not care at all. He continued to stare at the ground rigidly, looking at it with keen interest.

“Sallow brute, don’t you like to eat tanghulu? Mount Longhu is covered with wild mountain hawthorn trees. You can pick them and eat them as you please. Isn’t that right, celestial master Zhao?”

(TL: Tanghulu is a type of chinese candy, which is essentially hawthorn berries skewered on a stick before glazed with sugar. For more detail:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tanghulu

The elder forced out a smile and nodded his head. It was far too ridiculous for him to try to accept a disciple like this. If it became known, he would become the greatest laughingstock in the world.

But even the grand pillar who surpassed rank one officials and possessed paramount power within the twelve counties was left helpless. The young man still did not respond. Probably fed up with his father’s ramblings, he raised his bottom and produced a part. He did not forget to turn his head and smirk at his father.

(TL: Rank one officials is a reference to the system used to rank and classify officials of the government. Rank nine is the lowest, while rank one is the highest. Since the king is both a grand pillar and a king, it would only make sense for him to surpass rank one officials. You can read more about the system here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nine-rank_system

It made the King of Northern Liang so furious that he raised his hand to discipline the child. But after hesitating for a while, he gave up on that idea. He was unwilling to hit his own child, nor was there any point in beating him.

This son of his really did live up to his name, Xu Longxiang, which came from the verse “Dragons—the strongest in water. Elephants—the most powerful on land. Powerful like lightning and indestructible like diamond, hence known as Longxiang.” Nicknamed ‘sallow brute’, he did seem simple-minded and dumb, still unable to read even at an age like this. His skin was a sickly yellow and he seemed skinnier and weaker than other children his age. However, despite all this, his strength was utterly shocking.

Ever since he joined the army at age ten, Xu Xiao had gone from slaughtering the xiongnu people in the northeast in Jinzhou, to down south, where he destroyed six kingdoms and annihilated over seventy cities, before venturing to the southwest to suppress the sixteen barbarian tribes there. He had seen all the astonishingly powerful generals the world had to offer, but never had he witnessed such a person like his youngest son, who seemed to be born with a body of steel, with enough strength to uproot mountains.

Xu Xiao gently sighed. If his son was just a little smarter and able to think with a little more clarity, he definitely would be able to become an unmatched general on the battlefield.

He slowly stood up and smiled awkwardly at the daoist of great status within Mount Longhu. The old daoist hinted that it was nothing serious with his eyes. However, he could not help but sigh with sorrow inside. It was just too ridiculous the fact that accepting a disciple had come to this. Wouldn’t he be an utter joke if word got out? He would not even be able to think about showing himself before the various disciples and grand disciples from Mount Longhu anymore.

Helpless, the King of Northern Liang suddenly came up with an idea. He laughed mischievously: “Son, your elder brother just returned from his trip. He should be arriving at the city soon. Aren’t you going to go see him?”

The young prince suddenly lifted his head. His expression was still as stiff and unchanging as ever, but his usually lifeless eyes suddenly burst with a rare, piercing brilliance. He grabbed his father’s hand and rushed out of the palace.

Unfortunately, the Northern Liang Palace was notorious for being a labyrinth of twists and turn, or it would not have been able to guard and retain the 听潮亭 that was condemned and denounced by the self-righteous officials and scholars of the imperial court. With his hand aching from his son’s powerful grip, Xu Xiao had to repeatedly remind his son of the right way out. After walking for close to an hour, they finally arrived outside.

Behind the father and son and the old daoist immortal were a group of servants carrying chests of all sizes. These were all items that would be taken to Mount Longhu with Xu Longxiang. The King of Northern Liang’s wealth was boundless. He loved his children dearly and also pampered them, so rarely did they experience any hardships or grievances.

When they arrived outside the palace, the young prince discovered that the streets were completely empty. There was no sign of his brother at all. He was disappointed at first, which was then followed up by anger. He screamed out hoarsely and violently, which in the beginning, was directed towards Xu Xiao. But no matter how dumb he was, he still knew this was his father. Otherwise, Xu Xiao probably would have suffered the same fate as the black bear that had unfortunately met Xu Longxiang during the recent autumn hunt—single-handedly ripped in half by the twelve year old boy. The young master gave a sharp glare at his guilty father, before turning around to leave.

Just one step short from success, Xu Xiao had no choice but to shoot a glance towards the elder. The daoist master from Mount Longhu smiled and extended his stick-like arm, stopping the young prince by gripping his wrist with just two fingers. He whispered gently, “Xu Longxiang, you must not waste your extraordinary talent, talent that only shows itself once a century. Come to Mount Longhu with me. In ten years at most, you’ll be able to leave the mountain and reap honour through merit.”

The youth did not care. He did not bother to respond either. He just snorted and tried to continue forward. However, for some reason, he discovered that he could not break free from the old daoist’s seemingly gentle grip. No matter how he tried, he could not take a step away, leaving his foot dangling in the air.

The King of Northern Liang felt like a heavy burden had been lifted from his shoulders. This master with a ridiculous level of seniority within daoism really did have some ability. As the saying went, a father knew his son, so how could Xu Xiao be unaware aware of his son’s incredible strength? It was extremely overwhelming, to the point where he did not even dare to arrange many servants for his son, afraid that his son would accidentally snap their limbs. Countless chairs and tables in the palace had been broken over the years. Fortunately, the palace was wealthy. Any ordinary household would have fallen into poverty long ago just from the sheer amount of furniture that needed to be replaced.

The young prince was surprised, before losing his temper. With a soft grunt, he took one, two and three steps forward against the old immortal’s grasp. Dressed with a yellow head ornament and in daoist robes, the daoist master was only slightly surprised. He became interested instead of angry and increased his strength slightly, preventing the young man from advancing any further.

With that, Xu Longxiang truly became infuriated. His face became as vicious as a wild beast. Extending his empty hand, he grabbed the old daoist’s arm with both hands and his feet sank. With a crack, two deep imprints appeared on the white jade tiles below. With a swing, he tossed the old daoist away.

The Grand Pillar Xu Xiao squinted his eyes, not the least bit afraid of homicide. If the daoist even lacked the ability to deal with this, then he might as well just die from the throw. He, Xu Xiao, had even trampled flat the unrivalled Western Chu Empire with the cavalry of Liangzhou. Since when did he revere or fear the sects of the jianghu? So what if it was Mount Longhu, the orthodox sect of daoism? Even though the large sects within his territory couldn’t compare to Mount Longhu, those sects were still considered first rate sects within the empire. For instance, Mount Wudang that had competed against Mount Longhu for the orthodox position within Daoism for the past few centuries was plenty aloof within the jianghu. Didn’t they take the initiative every year and deliver several cauldrons of precious pills to him anyway?

The old daoist gently drifted onto a white jade guardian lion sculpture that stood as tall as two men at the entrance of the palace, which made him seem quite heavenly. Just with that move, everyone would have cheered if this was in a marketplace instead.

According to the first prince of Northern Liang, Xu Xiao’s eldest son’s way of praising people, “Reward him. That ain’t easy. You need skill,” and probably a few hundred or thousands of silver notes would have been rewarded. Speaking of which, just how many brothels, female entertainers and jianghu fakes had he bestowed money upon before this troublemaker of a prince had left Northern Liang on his journey?

The highest record belonged to a traveling vigilante. After a slight disagreement on the streets, he began fighting with a local swordsman. They vent from the street-side vegetable vendors to the lakeside to the rooftop of the Sparrowhawk’s Fragrance, the largest brothel in Liangzhou by the lake. In the process, they woke up the prince who was sleeping with a woman during the day. Without even glancing at the young, soft, fair beauty beside him, he immediately cheered from the windows. Not only did the authorities turn a blind eye to the entire incident under the prince’s interference, they had almost even awarded him with a plaque of honour which read “A Good Man of Liangzhou.” The prince even sent his servants at top haste to deliver a great stack of a hundred thousand silver notes.

Without the extravagant prince, life in the beautiful Lingzhou really did become boring. The prim and proper young ladies finally became bold enough to venture out in the streets again to buy rouge whilst dressed fancily, while the second-rate young toffs were finally without the demon who contended with them in harassing men and taking women. The brothels of small and large no longer received ridiculously extravagant tips from the greatest playboy either.

The King of Northern Liang had a total of two daughters and two sons, all of them freaks.

The eldest princess had been married off, claiming the lives of three husbands in succession and thus becoming the widow of the greatest beauty and largest dowries in the entire empire. She was renowned for fooling around among the five provinces of the south.

While the appearance of the second princess was nothing special, she was a multi-talented erudite, skilled at planning and management. Under the tutelage of the great scholar Han Guzi in the Shangyin Academy, she became the youngest schoolfellow of the nationally-reputed authorities, military tactician Xu Huang, skilled diplomat Sima Can and so on.

Xu Longxiang was the youngest child of the King of Northern Liang. He wasn’t as well-renowned as his siblings. As for the eldest son, his renowned name resounded even in the capital. When the Grand Pillar Xu Xiao was mentioned, the name Xu Fengnian would always be inevitably brought up as well. They would be “praised” with the saying how a tiger father will not beget a dog son. Unfortunately, Xu Xiao was a hero on the battlefield, while his son, however, worked hard as a prodigal spender for his romantic passions.

Three years ago, it was rumored that the eldest prince Xu Fengnian was driven out of the palace with a sword pointed at his throat, forced to imitate other young nobles by embarking on a formal journey before his coming-of-age ceremony. Three years had passed by in a flash without any news of him. Even now, Lingzhou could still remember the touching scene where over a dozen great wastrels and several dozen courtesans tearfully waved goodbye from the city walls as the prince departed. However, unbeknownst to the public, it was said that once the prince was far away, a brothel called the Redsparrow Mansion held a banquet throughout the whole night. So much wine was dumped into the lake that the entire city could smell the sweet aroma of alcohol.

Back at the palace, the dim-witted young prince rushed toward the jade guardian lion, as if throwing the old man was not enough for him. This time, he was going to throw the annoying old man together with the thousand jun, or fifteen tonne, stone lion.

However, just as he was about to pick up the lion, the old Daoist from Mount Longhu drifted off it. He grabbed one of the youth’s hands and went serious, employing the mysterious ‘mountain-moving’ methods of Daoism. With a clever movement, he pulled the squatting youth to his feet, chuckling gently, “Sallow brute, stop messing around. Come with master.”

The youth clutched onto the base of the lion with one hand. His five fingers dug into the stone like hooks, unwilling to let go. His arms stretched like a monkey’s as he roared, “I’m waiting for brother to come back. Brother said he’d bring me the most beautiful woman in the world to be my wife. I’m going to wait for him!”

Despite reaching the limits of bureaucracy, the Grand Pillar Xu Xiao was at a loss what to do. He was helpless. He looked at the yellow-crowned old daoist and sighed heavily, “Forget about it, let’s wait a little bit longer. He’ll be back soon in any case.”

The old daoist smiled strangely upon hearing that, but he let go of the young prince’s arm anyway. He clicked his tongue silently to himself, This kid’s not just naturally endowed with superhuman strength, he’s basically a reincarnation of a god of war.

But was that little bastard Xu Fengnian actually coming back? That was bad news. The first time he had come to the palace, he had truly suffered. Not only was he treated like a swindling jianghu fake, but that kid who was only seven or eight back then just directly released a pack of vicious hounds to bite him. And even after going through so much difficulty to explain his purpose of arrival, the little bastard came up with another way to screw him over. He sent two young and delicate beauties to knock on his door in the middle of the night, saying how it was cold and they were to warm his blankets. If it were not the daoist’s extraordinary self-control, he really would have fallen for it. But now that he thought of it, he really did regret not inviting them in and having a lengthy discussion through the night about the True Texts of Great Discernment and the Yellow Court Classic back then. If not those, then talking about the Heart Scripture of Sunü would have been fine too.

Amidst the illumination of dusk, the shadows of an old man and a young boy grew long on the main road. The old man carried a long bundle wrapped in rags. His clothing was in tatters and his hair was completely grey. There were even a few strands of straw in his air. If he held a broken bowl and crouched down on the ground, he could have started begging. He led a frail, lame horse around with him. The boy wasn’t actually that young. His face was covered in stubbles and he wore a hemp garment. He looked like a fleeing refugee.

“Old Huang, just hang on for a little longer. Once we enter the city and get home, there’ll be a feast plentiful in meat and wine. F*cking hell. I never felt meat or wine was anything special, but thinking of it now makes me drool like crazy. I dream of it every day.” The young man whose age was indiscernible said weakly and without strength.

The servant-like, unkempt old man laughed heartily, exposing a mouth full of yellow teeth with missing front teeth. He looked very simple and very ridiculous.

“What’re you laughing at? I can’t even cry when I want to right now.” The youth rolled his eyes. He really did not have the energy to keep talking any more.

——

During their return journey of two thousand li, the only thing they had yet to experience was begging. Along the way, they waded in water to catch fish, played hide and seek with rabbits in the mountain, and climbed trees to search for birds nests. As long as there was a sliver of meat, cooked and with or without salt or seasoning, it would be the most delicious meal in the world. Whenever they passed a village, they would try to steal some chickens or ducks. Several times, they ended up being chased by hoe or stick-wielding burly men for several dozen kilometers. They had almost died from exhaustion.

Were there any young masters who didn’t look grand and magnificent with their luxurious clothing and powerful horses?

Looking at himself now, he wore tattered hemp clothes, a set of straw sandals and had a limp horse which he was even reluctant to kill for meat. He could not even bring himself to ride it. Instead, it was an additional mouth to feed.

Not to mention any vicious servants like what the other young masters had. Just the sight of Old Huang’s tiny figure, who was in his sixties, made him worry, afraid that he’d just pass away silently one day on this journey of two thousand li. By then, he would not even have a companion to talk to, and he had to put in the effort of digging a hole in the wilderness.

Instead he only had poor Old Huang, a short 60 year old servant. One look at him and one would fear that he would suddenly drop dead. If poor Huang died, then he would not even have a companion to talk to, and he would have to make the effort of digging a hole for his grave in some desolate area in the wild.

Right outside the city was a stall that served apricot blossom wine. Before he could enter the city, he was just too exhausted. Smelling the sweet aroma of wine, he closed his eyes and sniffed. His face revelled. It smelled so damn good. Making up his mind, he walked over and collapsed on the only empty stool there. He clenched his teeth and shouted with his final ounce of energy: “Waiter, drinks!”

All of the customers who were resting from their journey either to or from the city avoided the master and servant duo dressed in rags and purposefully moved their seats away from him.

Hearing the call, the busy waiter was about to answer with an “Alrighty”, but upon seeing the state of the duo, he immediately put on a long face. As someone involved in a business, how couldn’t he have discerning eyes? These two customers did not look like people who could afford wine. This stall’s waiter could be considered relatively kind for not shooing the two away immediately. Putting on a fake smile, he reminded them: “A pot of our signature apricot blossom wine’s twenty coins. It’s not expensive, but it isn’t cheap either.”

If it was before, the young man would have unleashed his hounds and vicious servants a long time ago if he had been looked down upon like this. However, after the three years of experiencing the fickleness of the world, he had grown accustomed to a penniless life and his haughtiness and temper had eased up far too much. He panted, “It’s fine, there’ll be someone who’ll cover the bill. Your reward won’t be missing either.”

“Reward?” The waiter cried out in disdain.

If this was before, and he was looked down upon like this, the young man would have turned furious and unleashed the hounds. But these three years had changed his attitude and cooled his flame. He was used to the days where he had no status and needed to hold back his temper a number of times. He gasped: “No problem. There will naturally be someone who will pay the bills for us. And, of course, there will be a tip for you too.” “Tip?” The bartender croaked, his face full of disdain.

The youth forced a smile. He lifted up his thumb and forefinger and put them in his mouth, using the last ounce of his strength to whistle loudly, before collapsing on the simple, crude table. He began snoring. He had actually fallen asleep. The waiter only felt puzzled. Only those with sharp eyes would have barely noticed a shadow flash over his head.

An avian that seemed like a bird of prey shot over the city walls like an arrow.

In around the time it would take a customer to drink a bowl of apricot blossom wine, the earth began to rumble without any prior signs. The tables rocked back and forth, while the customers watched wide-eyed as their wine shook as well. They all cupped their bowl carefully and looked around.

All they saw was a group of heavy cavalry rush out from the city gates, forming two long and seemingly endless black lines. Amidst the flying clouds of dust were men on huge horses. They were all the valiant heavy cavalry of Northern Liang, renowned in the world for each being worth a hundred men. Looking at the royal banner in the hands of the flag-bearing general, there was a single word written on it in a blood-like red—Xu!

They suddenly saw a mass of iron-clad cavalry rush out from the city gates, forming two long and seemingly endless black lines. Amidst the flying clouds of dust, large horses galloped forth. These were the famous Heroic Heavy Horses of Northern Liang. In the hands of the leader was an imperial banner, brightly colored like blood. A single word was written on it: “Xu”!

Good gracious! They were the troops under the King of Northern Liang’s direct control.

In the world, were there anyone who could rival heavy cavalry of Northern Liang who had ridden through and trodden over thirteen provinces of the empire?

Under the heavens, who could fight against the Northern Liang Iron Cavalry, which had galloped through and trodden over Thirteen Provinces of the Empire?

In the past, the Western Chu Empire had believed that their army of one hundred and twenty thousand heavy halberdiers could rival their might, but the end result in the Battle of Jing River was utter annihilation. Not a single captured soldier was spared, buried alive as their anguished cries rang out like thunder.

Two hundred elite heavy cavalry rushed out, brimming with might and vigour.

Above, an intelligent falcon seemed to lead the way.

The two hundred heavy cavalry came to a sudden halt at exactly the same time. The amount skill required to perform this had already far surpassed the scope of regular, experienced soldiers.

Their movements were valiant and skilled. They had already far surpassed those heroes who had fought in a hundred battles.

The first class fourth rank Commandant of Assault Resistance dismounted in a hurry. He glanced at the old servant leading the horse and immediately rushed to the wine stall. He dropped down to his knees and saluted in respect, “Commandant Qi Dangguo pays his respects to the first prince!”

4th rank Captain nearly fell off his horse in a rush. Seeing the old servant, he immediately hurried over to the wine booth. He knelt down and saluted in respect: “This lowly captain is honoured to be in the presence of the prince!”

The shabby young man who had brazenly said he would give a monetary reward simply muttered in his sleep, “Waiter, drinks.”