Gongzhou City

Chapter 4: Gongzhou City

Gongzhou City was the largest city within a thousand li, and also Gao Xian's first stop after coming down the mountain.

Even in winter, it remained bustling. Merchant caravans and travelers streamed endlessly along the main road as Gao Xian and Lu Canghai headed toward Gongzhou City's south gate.

"What business brings you to Gongzhou, sir?" Gao Xian was the first to speak. Otherwise, Lu Canghai would have remained like a sealed gourd, silent the entire way.

"To kill those who deserve killing, and right wrongs that should be righted." Lu Canghai carried a conical hat and a sword on his back, riding a shabby horse as though he were still immersed in yesterday's sword strike.

"And you, Immortal Master?" After a moment of silence, Lu Canghai asked in return.

"To exterminate demons and protect the Dao, to save all living beings." Gao Xian leaned back against the donkey, flipping through a Daoist scripture as he answered.

Then came another long silence.

The Lingshui River flowed past Gongzhou, with willows planted along the embankments on both sides. If it had been spring or summer, there would surely have been many scholars and young ladies from noble households strolling along the riverbanks, while painted pleasure boats and grand river vessels sailed upon the Lingshui, filling the scene with poetry and picturesque charm.

But at this moment, there was only ice and snow. The passersby shivered from the cold, their bodies hunched over.

After passing through the city gate, they found the street shops packed and crowds flowing without end. Laborers and peddlers streamed past them like running water, and the two clasped their hands in farewell.

As they parted, Lu Canghai handed Gao Xian a long scroll.

"This scroll is a Daoist Venerable Divine Painting I obtained long ago. It came from Kunlun, the Ancestral Court of Daoism. They say it conceals certain secrets. The Son of Heaven of Shu in the west once searched everywhere for it, but I believe only a Daoist immortal such as yourself is worthy of this painting."

It was clear that Lu Canghai was a proud man, unwilling to owe others favors.

Whether it was Gao Xian saving his life yesterday or the enlightenment that sword strike had brought him, he counted it all against this Daoist Venerable painting that even the Emperor of Shu had desired.

Gao Xian did not stand on ceremony and accepted Lu Canghai's gift.

Lu Canghai put on his conical hat and straightened his long robe. "Ever since I began practicing the sword, I have warned myself that heaven and earth are vast, and strong men emerge in endless succession."

"But without realizing it, I had long lost myself in the empty title of Third Sword Under Heaven. Had you not saved me yesterday, I would likely have died beneath that Demon Wolf's claws. From here on, I will still travel with sword in hand and temper my swordsmanship."

"Farewell, then."

Neither of them spoke of meeting again someday, nor did they leave one another an address.

With clasped hands, they parted, each walking away down opposite sides of the road without looking back.

To meet amid the vast sea of humanity was fate. Whether they would meet again depended entirely on fate as well.

Ask not of the road ahead.

Gao Xian liked this feeling very much. The jianghu in his heart seemed as though it ought to be exactly like this.

Once inside the city, the donkey, which had held itself back all the way, finally found a chance to speak. It impatiently wanted to find a place to feast and drink its fill.

Gao Xian swayed atop the donkey, barely watching the road. In any case, the donkey had automatic navigation, so there was no fear of taking a wrong turn. When they arrived, there would even be a bell to remind them.

"Great Immortal Kongchen, the inn has been found." The donkey's bell rang just then. Before them stood a three-story wooden building called Yinglai Inn.

However, a large crowd had gathered farther ahead on West Gate Street, drawing Gao Xian's attention. When he walked over, he found a wanted notice bearing a man's portrait posted on the city wall.

The painting depicted a handsome, dashing man with a wicked smile, holding a folding fan.

A plain-looking wandering swordsman read aloud from the notice, "Young Master Silver Flower. Report any sighting to the authorities and receive fifty taels of patterned silver upon verification. Kill or capture him, and you can receive one thousand taels?"

A peddler carrying shoulder poles grew greedy. "What does one thousand taels count for? Young Master Silver Flower is no ordinary man. He is the seventh-generation Palace Master of Northern Wei's Silver Flower Palace, wealthier than a nation. That fan in his hand alone is called the Fan of Mountains and Rivers Brocade, an artifact of the Martial Saint from before our Great Zhou. It is worth a city."

A well-informed scholar looked down on the peddler with disdain. "This devil is no easy opponent. He is treacherous beyond measure, and who knew how many jianghu experts had fallen into his hands. Every time he appears, blood flows into rivers. The jianghu says: better provoke the Sword God's wrath than see his smile. If you truly encounter him, forget about silver and run for your life!"

Sitting on the donkey, Gao Xian leaned forward, his eyes fixed on the thousand taels of silver.

The few taels of silver he had stripped from that bandit chief had mostly been spent after a few meals and drinks on the road.

The donkey understood Great Immortal Kongchen's thoughts better than anyone and asked softly, "Great Immortal, shall we take it? If we pull this off, we will never have to worry about food or drink again. We can return to the mountain."

Great Immortal Kongchen was extremely displeased by the donkey's words. He smacked it on the head. "I, Kongchenzi, pass through this place to slay demons and exterminate devils. How did I become some filthy, money-chasing wretch in your mouth?"

After lecturing the Donkey Guardian General, Gao Xian straightened up and noticed something else. Pointing at the folding fan in the wanted portrait, he said, "I like his fan! It's very handsome!"

Turning onto the street, Gao Xian ordered a bowl of noodles from the noodle stall outside the inn. As soon as he sat down, he heard everyone at the stall discussing Old Demon Silver Flower. From the conversations around him, Gao Xian also learned what was going on.

A few days earlier, news had spread through the jianghu that Young Master Silver Flower of Wei in the north would appear in Gongzhou City. The Two Daughters of the Li Family, of Duke of Wei's household, were famed throughout the realm for their beauty. The elder Li daughter had married into the Great Zhou Dynasty's palace as a consort, so Young Master Silver Flower naturally did not dare break into the Great Zhou imperial palace. His target was therefore the younger Li daughter.

The foremost experts of the realm had gathered in Gongzhou City, along with personnel from the court's Martial Rites Division. Their aim was to leave this demonic criminal, wanted by Great Zhou for years yet never brought to justice, here for good.

Young Master Silver Flower was the notorious Palace Master of the demonic path's Silver Flower Palace. What he loved most was beautiful women. Every time he appeared, it was to gather beauties from across the realm into Silver Flower Palace.

Moreover, the women he set his sights on were all renowned beauties of the realm. They had to be not only beautiful, but famous as well.

For example, the Saintess of Moon Goddess Palace, once the number one beauty of Western Shu, had fallen into Young Master Silver Flower's hands. Controlled by his poison, unable to live or die, she had become his plaything.

The Heavenly Mountain Sword Couple, famed throughout the jianghu in Yu to the east—the husband had been tortured to death by Young Master Silver Flower, while the heroine had been trained into one of Silver Flower Palace's Eight Beauties.

Shi Qingyi of Great Zhou's Green Robe Sect had caught Young Master Silver Flower's eye. He slaughtered the entire Green Robe Sect, brought her back to Silver Flower Palace, and violated her at will. He even treated her as a maid in Silver Flower Palace, making her receive guests from the demonic path.

He was not some flower-plucking rapist who stole fragrance and jade. Whenever Young Master Silver Flower took a liking to a woman, he never stole or sneaked around. He simply seized her in broad daylight.

It was as though he enjoyed the feeling that once he set his eyes on someone, no matter how desperately others struggled, they could never escape.

This time, after appearing in the Great Zhou Dynasty, he had already harmed Le Xiang'er of Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion, Nun Fan Hui of Mysterious Mechanism Temple, the concubine of the head of a wealthy Jiangnan Li Household, and the daughter of Wenxi Prefecture's prefect. He had stirred the entire jianghu into wind and clouds. Experts from every corner were hunting him, yet even the court's wanted orders had failed to capture him.

His lightness skill was peerless. Those in the jianghu who could defeat him could not catch him, while those who could catch him could not defeat him. He was also skilled with poison and hidden weapons, and his schemes were countless.

In the corner, the Donkey Guardian General, tethered beside Gao Xian, seemed like a roundworm in Gao Xian's belly as it said with a lecherous donkey grin, "Wow! This Young Master Silver Flower is truly enviable!"

"Great Immortal, why don't we stop being righteous figures? Let's become demons instead?"

General Donkey opened its mouth wide, its tongue flopping back and forth with its wicked grin, just short of drooling. "Look at being a demon—there is money, there are beautiful women, you can do whatever you please and whatever you want. It is far more carefree than being some poor Daoist on the mountain.

"Silence, you fiend!"