“Is Huaniang famous for its wine?”
The girl in the carriage suddenly showed some interest.
“Young miss is wise. As you said, this town is indeed known for a honey wine brewed from flowers.” With that, the old woman took a jug from behind her. “Those servants have some filial piety. Knowing you love wine, they took it upon themselves to buy a pot of the finest honey wine from the post station and specially sent it for you to taste.”
The girl quickly took the jug of good wine and began drinking.
A moment later, she spoke.
“This town certainly lives up to its name. The wine truly is excellent. Fine wine should be paired with good food and beautiful scenery, but unfortunately…”
“Unfortunately, the wine is good, but the people are not.”
Before the girl could finish, a cold voice picked up her words.
“Who’s there!”
A steel needle shot toward the shadow in the trees. It was the old woman—she had made her move.
But before the needle could reach its target, it was frozen solid by oncoming sword qi and fell to the ground.
Cold qi?!
A storm surged in the old woman’s heart.
That cold qi was the signature of one of the three great sects of the jianghu—the Daoist sect.
Eleven years ago, the first major righteous sect to be purged by Great Liang had been that very Daoist sect.
This person was surely here to settle a debt.
“Could Your Excellency be from the Daoist sect? We are merely travelers passing through. We have no grudge with your sect. If it’s money you seek, take whatever you want. There’s no need for bloodshed.”
This hostage journey was meant to be secret.
The imperial princess being sent was only a concubine-born daughter, but even so, the imperial family did not wish to make it public.
It would disgrace the people of Liang.
If things escalated, not even a hundred heads among those present would be enough to roll.
The dozen or so elite soldiers dispatched with them were strong, but compared to a Daoist disciple capable of wielding such powerful cold qi, they were nothing more than worthless trash.
Thus, unless absolutely necessary, the old woman had no desire to fight.
“Dear lady, if it’s money you want, there’s plenty in this carriage. Why resort to violence?”
As she spoke, the old woman quietly moved closer to the carriage.
If anything went wrong, she would immediately grab the girl inside and flee.
Her martial arts were average, but when it came to lightness skill, few in the Great Liang jianghu could match her.
“Chief Steward Su, why bother lying anymore?”
The owner of the voice stepped out from the woods.
It was a middle-aged woman in mysterious black Daoist robes, holding a long sword in one hand and a whisk in the other.
Her face was ordinary, but the killing intent radiating from her was chilling.
“You court dogs lie even to your own masters. How much more to common folk like us?”
Beside her stood six blue-robed Daoist nuns, swords drawn, their murderous intent plain.
“What are you waiting for? Attack!”
Seeing that the other side knew everything, the old woman no longer hesitated.
She shouted the order, and the dozen elite soldiers charged together.
As for herself, she leaped into the carriage through the window like a rabbit.
“Young miss, forgive this old servant’s rudeness.”
Before the words finished, she had already scooped up the girl and was bounding through the branches, fleeing desperately toward the town.
Behind them, the middle-aged woman did not rush to pursue.
She flicked her whisk, and sword qi crisscrossed the air, effortlessly bisecting the last two elite guards.
Then she raised a hand to stop her disciples from chasing and said calmly,
“No hurry. This place is still more than twenty li from the town. That old dog hasn’t reached the upper three realms—she’ll need at least the time it takes one incense stick to burn to get there.”
“As for me,” she paused, savoring the reverent gazes of her disciples, “second-grade realm. Catching her will be as easy as turning over my hand.”
Far ahead, the old woman had pushed her lightness skill to its limit.
Only when a blue-robed nun blocked the path did she abruptly halt, her heart sinking to the bottom.
“Amitabha. Benefactor Su, please stop. If you set down that young benefactor, this humble monk will allow you to leave.”
The old woman set the girl down, took a deep breath, and said respectfully, “May I ask the master’s Dharma name?”
“This humble monk’s Dharma name is Jiechen. I was formerly the overseer of the Martial Hall of the Buddhist sect. Today, I have come specially to repay the debt of blood owed by the Liang imperial family for slaughtering my Buddhist sect eleven years ago.”
“Having left the secular world, how can a monk still seek vengeance?”
“As the benefactor says, a monk should not pursue worldly matters.”
Jiechen pressed her palms together and continued, “But this humble monk has already returned to secular life and need not follow the Buddhist sect’s pure precepts. You have no connection to that Feng family girl. Please step aside.”
With those words, a surge of pure and fierce inner force rushed straight toward the old woman’s face.
Fortunately, the force carried no great power, merely pushing her back a few steps.
It was Jiechen’s final warning.
“Please step aside, benefactor.”
Jiechen spoke one last time.
“I’m afraid I cannot. This old woman has eaten imperial grain since childhood and lived on imperial grace. How could I betray that trust?”
“Amitabha.”
Seeing that persuasion had failed, the nun uttered a Buddhist proclamation and prepared to act.
But at that moment, the imperial princess—who had remained silent the entire way—finally spoke.
“Debts have owners, and grievances have sources. Master, let Nanny Su go. Since it was my Feng family that committed the sin, I, Feng Anlan, will bear it alone.”
Just as Feng Anlan’s words fell and Jiechen was momentarily moved by her bearing, several figures appeared.
Led by the middle-aged woman, seven Daoist disciples had caught up.
Their movements were ethereal, instantly blocking the two women’s escape routes.
Seeing Jiechen there, the middle-aged woman greeted her.
“Master Jiechen, you move quickly. But this ‘debtor’ isn’t owed to your Buddhist sect alone.”
The middle-aged woman flicked her whisk and sneered coldly.
“The Liang imperial family owes my Daoist sect dozens of lives. Today, we’ll start by collecting some interest from this Feng family bloodline.”
Jiechen’s brows furrowed tightly, though her expression remained calm.
“Daoist Qingwei, this is cause and effect between my Buddhist sect and the Feng family. There is an order of arrival.”
“Heh. Since when do jianghu grudges line up politely? Besides, if we’re truly talking order, my Daoist sect comes before you, master.”
In an instant, the Buddhist and Daoist sides were at daggers drawn, killing intent filling the air once more.
They had actually set aside their original target.
The old woman shielded Feng Anlan, her heart sinking into despair.
One sect alone was already impossible to handle.
Now with both gathered, there was no chance of survival.
At this critical moment, a pleasant muttering voice, accompanied by a fishy smell, drifted over from a small path in the nearby woods.
“Tch, this fish is way too fishy. It was raised in a pond—how is it smellier than river fish? Guess I’ll have to grill it. All because of that drunkard master of mine. Greedy and lazy, leaving everything for me to deal with.”
Everyone present—whether the murderous Daoist nuns, the solemnly dignified nun, or the master and servant pair whose hearts had turned to ash—turned their heads in unison toward the voice.
They saw a white-haired boy in coarse red clothing strolling out of the forest.
In his hand, he carried a long hemp rope strung with a full twelve plump brocade carp, their tails still faintly twitching.
The boy’s face was displeased, muttering to himself, completely absorbed in his daily chores.
He seemed utterly oblivious to the scene before him—one that would terrify any ordinary jianghu traveler.
Only when he noticed the shadows of the group did he instinctively look up.
His steps halted.
Nanxi stared straight at the group of people—figures he had only ever seen in storybooks.
And they stared straight back at him.
In that instant, the air froze.