Birthday Banquet

In the mountains, years passed unnoticed; leisurely, a full sixty years slipped by.

Seventy-four years later, Hundred Broken Mountain, King's Peak.

"Northern Province Eastbound Escort Agency, Chief Escort Miao has arrived!"

"Chief Escort Miao presents a birthday gift: one pair of Crimson Blood Ginseng!"

"Disciple Miao Fang, together with his son, pays respects and wishes Grandmaster blessings as vast as the East Sea and longevity as enduring as the Southern Mountains!"

"Southern Province Zhenwei Escort Agency, Chief Escort Wang has arrived!"

"Chief Escort Wang presents a birthday gift: one pair of Heavenly Mountain Snow Lotus!"

"Grand-disciple Wang Tang pays respects and wishes Patriarch radiance as enduring as sun and moon, forever untouched by the years!"

"Golden Jade Full Hall, Mister Zhao the Great has arrived!"

"Mister Zhao the Great presents a birthday gift: one One Thousand-Year Warm Jade Pillow!"

"Student Zhao Hao pays respects and wishes Teacher immortal fortune eternal enjoyment, a lifespan equal to heaven itself!"

"North Sea Flying Fish Gang, Gang Leader Meng the Great has arrived..."

"Western Sichuan Tiger Might Mountain, Master Zhang the Great has arrived..."

"East Mountain Chamber of Commerce, Steward Qian the Great has arrived..."

Within Hundred Broken Mountain, atop King's Peak, before the Hall of Righteous Gathering, the scene was exceptionally lively.

People from every quarter had come, the ceremonial announcements ringing out without pause amid a jubilant clamor.

Mountain Stronghold Head Steward Zhou Hai personally moved among the banquet tables, receiving guests from all directions.

"Brother Zhou, it has been a long time!"

"Steward Zhou, your bearing has not diminished in the slightest!"

"Senior Brother Zhou, has Patriarch been well of late?"

"Brother Zhou..."

Everyone greeted him with smiling faces, and Zhou Hai returned every greeting with a smile.

"Senior Brother Miao, it has been a long time. Ah, I should call you Chief Escort Miao now!"

"Younger Brother Wang, your bearing surpasses even that of years past!"

"Brother Zhao, have you been well?"

"Patriarch has naturally been very well!"

"Brother Qian..."

"Big Brother Meng..."

"Ah, we are family. Why stand on ceremony..."

Most of the guests present were from Escort Agencies, trading houses, gangs, and the greenwood. Their gifts were valuable, but their ties ran deeper still. Whenever they met Zhou Hai amid the feast, they chatted warmly with smiling faces. Host and guests alike were in high spirits.

Just then...

"Head Steward!"

A servant hurried to Zhou Hai's side and presented him with a bright red calling card.

"Hmm?"

Zhou Hai accepted the card and glanced at it, then said to the servant, "A distinguished guest has come to our door. Quickly, invite them in!"

"A distinguished guest?"

Everyone was startled. Then, seeing Zhou Hai remain where he was rather than go out to greet them, their expressions grew even stranger.

He called them distinguished guests, yet would not go out to receive them?

Such an attitude was truly intriguing. Could it be...

Just as everyone was privately speculating...

"Kunlun Sect Leader He Tianchong, together with his disciples, congratulates Heavenly King Li on a longevity as enduring as the Southern Mountains!"

As the welcoming announcement rang out, a party of people entered the Hall of Righteous Gathering.

Only then did Head Steward Zhou Hai step forward to receive them. With cupped hands and a smile, he said, "Mister Iron Sword, your honored presence graces us. We failed to welcome you from afar; please forgive us!"

Kunlun Sect Leader He Tianchong stood tall and straight, stern and upright as a pine, every inch the bearing of a grandmaster. Hearing Zhou Hai's words, he returned the salute and laughed heartily. "Head Steward Zhou, you are too courteous. This old man came uninvited, an unwelcome guest at your door. I am the one who should beg forgiveness."

"Haha!"

Zhou Hai laughed without taking offense, merely gesturing invitingly. "Please, take a seat!"

"Please!"

He Tianchong did not stand on ceremony. He led his disciples to their seats, neither too many nor too few—exactly one tableful.

"Kunlun Sect Leader?"

"Mister Iron Sword?"

"This..."

The seated guests all stared in uncertain surprise.

"Kunlun lies far away in the Western Regions. Why would they come to offer congratulations for no reason at all?"

"From the looks of it, Heavenly King Li did not invite them either!"

"I fear it is not without reason. There must be a cause behind this!"

"Those who come with goodwill do not come; those who come do not come with goodwill!"

"Hmph, do they dare cause trouble here?"

"Today is Patriarch's hundredth birthday. How could they dare?"

"I heard Golden Jade Full Hall trades throughout the realm and in recent years has done business in the Western Regions, reopening trade between the Central Plains and the Western Regions. Quite a few incidents arose from that. Kunlun Sect is the local snake in the Western Regions—could they have come over this?"

"Hmph, they truly are not friendly guests. Who in the world does not know that Golden Jade Full Hall belongs to Heavenly King Li? Kunlun Sect chose this moment to come calling. They clearly harbor ill intent and want to disrupt Heavenly King Li's hundredth birthday. They truly do not know whether they live or die!"

The crowd discussed the matter in a flurry, their words quite hostile and not even concealed.

Yet the Kunlun party remained unmoved. They sat coldly at their table and waited in silence.

At this moment...

"Kongtong Sect Leader Chen Longfei, together with junior brothers and sisters Meng Hun, Zhou Ming, Zhang Zui, Shen Que, Song Hua, Bai Qi, Kang Xuan, and all disciples, congratulates Heavenly King Li on blessings as vast as the East Sea!"

Another party entered the Hall of Righteous Gathering.

Zhou Hai's expression remained unchanged as he stepped forward to greet them. "The Eight Heroes of Kongtong honor us with their presence. We failed to welcome you from afar—please forgive us, please forgive us."

"Head Steward Zhou is too courteous!"

"Please, take your seats!"

Compared to Kunlun, Kongtong had more people, filling two entire tables at once.

"The Eight Heroes of Kongtong?"

"They came too?"

"What is this about?"

"Kongtong lies in the northwest, a remote and bitterly cold land. What are they doing here joining the excitement?"

"I heard they share branch and breath with Kunlun Sect, and they also run an escort business. A few years ago, they had disputes with Senior Brother Miao's Eastbound Escort Agency."

The crowd continued to murmur, their words no less hostile. But like the Kunlun Sect, the Kongtong party paid them no heed, taking their seats and waiting quietly.

At this moment...

"Emei disciple Jing Yin, together with junior brothers and sisters, comes to congratulate Heavenly King Li on blessings, peace, health, and well-being!"

"Shaolin Temple Abbot Master Kongjian, together with junior brothers Kong Xing, Kong Zhi, Kong Xiang, and disciples, congratulates Heavenly King Li on a thousand autumns of lasting joy!"

"Wudang's Ling Xu and Ling Chong, together with their disciples, come to congratulate Heavenly King Li on evergreen longevity like pine and cypress!"

"Divine Sword Manor's Yi Feng wishes Heavenly King Li unending fortune and longevity!"

"White Camel Mountain's Yuwen Ao wishes Heavenly King Li blessings as vast as the East Sea!"

"Beggar's Gang's Chen Jixuan wishes Heavenly King Li..."

"Giant Whale Gang..."

"Changle Gang..."

"Iron Palm Gang..."

"Qingcheng Sect..."

Guests from every faction arrived in an endless stream. Zhou Hai refused no one, and in but a moment, the Hall of Righteous Gathering, expanded several times over, had filled to capacity.

"The Five Great Sects!"

"The Seven Great Gangs!"

"The Two Elders of Wudang, the Four Monks of Shaolin!"

"Renowned sects, pillars of the martial world!"

"They all came!"

"It seems today's matter cannot end peacefully!"

"It is Heavenly King Li's hundredth birthday—how dare they?"

"With such a display, they have clearly joined forces. Offering birthday congratulations is false; stirring up trouble is true!"

"Hmph, they have some nerve, coming to Hundred Broken Mountain to seek trouble. Have they not learned enough lessons these past years?"

"They rely on their numbers. They clearly look down on us!"

"How can we let such petty villains ruin Patriarch's birthday? We disciples and followers should join forces and drive them from the mountain!"

"Do not be hasty. Since Senior Brother Zhou permitted them to sit, Patriarch must have his own plans. We must not act rashly and spoil matters."

Whispers continued throughout the Hall of Righteous Gathering, and an inexplicable atmosphere hung thick in the air.

Seeing that all the tables were filled, Zhou Hai stepped onto the main platform and addressed the crowd. "All of you have come to celebrate Heavenly King Li's birthday. Everyone of Hundred Broken Mountain is deeply honored. We offer only this humble wine to express our sentiments. Please drink to your heart's content. Today, none shall leave until drunk. Attendants, bring the wine! Begin the feast—"

"Hold it!"

Before he could finish, someone interrupted him.

Zhou Hai lowered his gaze toward the speaker. It was none other than Kunlun Sect Leader He Tianchong. Still, he did not take offense, and said with a faint smile, "What guidance does Mister Iron Sword have to offer?"

He Tianchong rose to his feet, drawing everyone's attention, and declared in a ringing voice, "A forthright man speaks no hidden words. Today, aside from congratulating Heavenly King Li on his hundredth birthday, we have another matter that we wish Heavenly King Li to explain before all people. Therefore, may I ask: where is Heavenly King Li?"

Zhou Hai smiled, still unconcerned. "Heavenly King Li has important matters to attend to and cannot spare himself for the moment. Mister Iron Sword, all sect leaders, martial world veterans, and pillars of the martial world—whatever you wish explained, you may state it here and now. Zhou Hai may be lacking in ability, but I can still explain a thing or two on Heavenly King Li's behalf!"

"I fear Steward Zhou cannot make that decision!"

No sooner had Zhou Hai spoken than another person rose. It was Kongtong Sect Leader Chen Longfei. "It would be better to invite Heavenly King Li out and speak face-to-face with the heroes of the world."

"Sect Leader Chen!"

Zhou Hai lowered his gaze, looking at him coldly. "How Heavenly King Li conducts himself is not for the likes of you to decide. I advise Sect Leader Chen and all of you not to invite humiliation upon yourselves!"

"You...!"

"Exactly!"

Chen Longfei's face stiffened. Before he could reply, someone slammed a hand on the table and rose. It was Miao Fang, Chief Escort of the Eastbound Escort Agency.

Miao Fang stood, tiger eyes glaring coldly at Chen Longfei and the Kongtong party. "How Grandmaster conducts himself is not for petty scum like you to determine. If you have something to say, then say it. If you want to fight, come outside the mountain with me and we will settle it properly. Do not disrupt Grandmaster's birthday!"

"You...!"

"Senior Brother Miao speaks well!"

Chen Longfei was choked speechless by Miao Fang's words, caught between shock and fury. Then another person rose—Wang Tang, Chief Escort of the Zhenwei Escort Agency, who likewise commanded an escort agency.

Wang Tang stood with one hand pressing the table, his cold gaze sweeping over the sect leaders. "Today is our Patriarch's hundredth birthday. Whatever grievances you have with us in the martial world, settle them outside the mountain. But if you insist on making a senseless nuisance of yourselves here and disrupting Patriarch's birthday, do not blame us for showing no mercy!"

"Amitabha!"

The threatening words had barely fallen when a resonant Buddhist chant suppressed them.

The chant rang startlingly clear, drumming against everyone's eardrums like a great bell or mighty chime, displaying immensely profound True Qi cultivation.

Everyone turned toward its source and saw a white-browed old monk in a kasaya rise from his seat, leaning on a Vajra Staff. "Chief Escort Wang still acts as domineeringly as ever. At the slightest disagreement, you threaten slaughter. No wonder that seven years ago, you wiped out all seventy-eight members of Shaolin's secular disciples, the Dragon Gate Escort Agency!"

"Hmm?!"

At those words, everyone's eyes narrowed.

Only Wang Tang's expression remained unchanged. He looked coldly at the white-browed old monk. "I wondered who it was. So it is Shaolin's Abbot, Master Kongjian. Indeed, my Zhenwei Escort Agency and your Dragon Gate Escort Agency had many business rivalries, and we even fought several rounds. But the bloody case of Dragon Gate Escort Agency's extermination was absolutely not the work of my Zhenwei Escort Agency. Abbot, you should first investigate the facts of the case clearly before coming here to spout nonsense!"

"Hmph!"

Kongjian planted his staff and said coldly, "The material evidence and witness testimony both point to you. You say it was not you, and that makes it not you?"

Material evidence can be fabricated, and witnesses can lie. Whether it is true or false, you know it in your hearts!"

Wang Tang flung his sleeve and cupped his hands toward heaven. "We of Hundred Broken Mountain have received Patriarch's earnest teachings and personal instruction. We have always acted openly and honorably, with no shame in our hearts. If this was done by my Zhenwei Escort Agency, I, Wang Tang, will admit it openly. But if even half a word I speak is false, may Five Thunders Strike the Top, and may my body and soul be annihilated!"

"Hundred Broken Mountain?"

"Heh!"

Kongjian sneered. "Who in the world does not know that Hundred Broken Mountain's Heavenly King Li is the foremost of all greenwood outlaws, a peerless great bandit who gathers howls in the forests and mountains? Passing merchants, travelers, and even common folk have all suffered his extortion. Even before Heavenly King Li entered the martial world, he ruthlessly wiped out the entire Li and Lu Families—his own clan and lineage. With such a school tradition, you dare speak of being open and honorable, of having no shame in your hearts? What a joke..."

"Bald donkey!"

The instant those words came out, an uproar erupted. Wang Tang's eyes bulged with fury as he pointed at Kongjian. "You dare insult my Patriarch's reputation!"

"I merely speak the truth!"

"Master Kongjian speaks rightly! What greenwood heroes? They are nothing more than a pack of robbers!"

"Thieving bald donkey! You invert black and white and spew bloody slander!"

"Our Hundred Broken Mountain opens roads through commerce and manages enterprises across the realm—westward through the desert, eastward onto the vast sea, south across the mountain ranges, north into the snow country. Look across the world: there is nowhere without escort agencies, caravans, trading houses, and fleets belonging to Hundred Broken Mountain. We possess wealth across the four seas and enterprises in all eight directions. With such a foundation, would we need to extort common people? What a joke!"

"Bald donkey, when it comes to extortion, who can rival you? Who in the world does not know that your Shaolin has been passed down for centuries—Buddhist temple in name, influential landlords in truth? Inside and outside the temple, how many tens of thousands of acres of fertile land have you seized? And those golden Buddhist statues—how much in offerings from the people have they swallowed, how much flesh and blood of the common folk have they consumed?"

"And Dragon Gate Escort Agency and its kind—what bullshit secular disciples? They are plainly your bald-donkey means of plundering wealth. Backed by the might of the martial world's number one sect, Dragon Gate Escort Agency calls itself an escort business, but in truth it is no different from robbers. Who knows how many acts of clever seizure and open plunder they committed? Their extermination was simply heaven's justice and retribution!"

"Who in the world does not know that although our Patriarch was born humble, he has always acted fairly and uprightly, never harming the innocent? Back then, the Li and Lu Families were wealthy but cruel, domineering influential families who sought to take Patriarch's life. Patriarch merely executed the chief evildoers and cut down their claws and fangs. He did not harm the others in the slightest. How can you call that exterminating a family?"

"Other than this group of people with sinister intentions, all those seated here are heroes of the world. Ask yourselves: has our Patriarch ever done an unrighteous deed? Across the world, whether children of Jianghu or humble commoners, who does not praise him as Heavenly King Li, ever eager for the public good and righteous in aid of others, whenever his name is spoken?"

"Hmph, what eager for the public good and righteous in aid of others? It is merely a means of buying people's hearts and strengthening yourselves!"

"Exactly! Your Hundred Broken Mountain takes in fugitives and gives them shelter. Who knows how many criminals and bandits have entered your stronghold? It has long become a cesspit of filth, reeking beyond words!"

"It is precisely because great bandits and fierce outlaws like you give them support that so many ignorant commoners let evil rise from the edge of their courage—raising blades to kill, robbing wealth from the rich, then imitating your Patriarch, that Heavenly King Li supposedly eager for the public good and righteous in aid of others, fleeing into the forests and mountains and joining strongholds. They become bandits from then on, bringing disaster upon the people. You are truly a malignant tumor upon all living beings!"

"Old ghost, you spew bloody slander! It is plainly your so-called renowned sects, together with the government, aristocratic families, and local powers, who collude to extort layer upon layer until the people cannot live on. They have no choice but to flee into the forests and mountains and become fugitives. You shameless old thief, you twist black and white like this—do you truly think no one can cut off your dog's head?"

"You juniors, what qualifications do you have to argue with us? Where is Li Qingshan? Let him come out! What, does he dare act but not dare bear the consequences?"

"Hehe, why is not a single Li Family member to be seen at tonight's feast? Could it be that old ghost knew his deeds had been exposed and that he would surely face the combined assault of heroes across the world, so he ran away early and left you outsiders to serve as scapegoats..."

Inside the Hall of Righteous Gathering, both sides clung to their own arguments, their faces flushed red as they argued fiercely. The atmosphere grew increasingly tense, already on the verge of spiraling out of control.

Just then...

"How lively!"

A light laugh drifted in from outside.