"I've heard you own a White Jade Beauty, exquisitely carved by a master hand and possessing incomparable grace. I have long yearned to see it. At midnight tonight, I shall come by moonlight to take it. You are a man of refined taste and surely won't make me return empty-handed."
The note lay flat on the polished marble tabletop. Candlelight shining through a pink silk shade cast the pale-blue paper in a curious shade of lavender, making the elegant handwriting seem all the more graceful and carefree. There was no signature, but the paper carried the scent of tulips. That ethereal, poetic fragrance was enough to reveal who had written it.
The recipient was Jin Banhua, the son of a wealthy and powerful family in the capital. He sat beside the table, his fair, handsome, and well-groomed face contorted in pain as though someone had slashed him with a blade. He glared at the note as if it were a summons from the King of Hell.
Three other people were in the elegant flower hall. One was a formidable-looking old man with graying hair and beard. Hands clasped behind his back, he paced back and forth across the hall, having already covered the same ground countless times. He might as well have walked all the way from the capital to Zhangjiakou.
Another was a black-clothed man with high cheekbones, eagle-like eyes, and a grim, brooding air. He sat beside Jin Banhua, gently stroking a pair of fine-steel Judge's Brushes on the table. His long, dry, bony fingers, with their prominent joints, looked as though they too had been cast from steel in the lamplight.
Both men looked grave. Their sharp gazes darted repeatedly from the window to the door, then from the door back to the window.
The third was a short, scrawny, bald old man in plain clothes. He sat far away in a corner, resting with his eyes closed. There was nothing remarkable about him from head to toe, except that, for some inexplicable reason, his ears were missing. In their place was a pair of gray-white artificial ears, made of some unknown material.
The old man in brocade passed the table and abruptly picked up the note. He sneered. "What is this supposed to be? An invitation? An IOU? With nothing but this slip of paper, he expects to take the most precious of the Four Treasures of the Capital City, the Jade Beauty..."
He slapped the table hard and barked, "Chu Liuxiang! You think far too little of the heroes of the Nine Cities!"
Jin Banhua wore a pained expression and stammered, "But he's used notes just like this to take countless rare treasures. Whenever he says he'll take something at Zi Hour, no one can keep it safe until Chou Shi."
The black-clothed man said coldly, "Oh, is that so?"
Jin Banhua sighed. "Last month, Marquis Qiu of Juanlian Alley received a letter from him saying he was coming to take the Nine Dragon Cup passed down in the marquis's family. Young Marquis Qiu not only locked the cup in a Secret Chamber, but also asked two imperial experts to guard the door: Quezi He, 'Heaven-Turning Twin Palms,' and Fang Huan, 'Plum Blossom Sword.' Their defenses were watertight. But when the appointed time passed and they opened the door... alas, the Nine Dragon Cup was still gone."
The black-clothed man sneered. "Old Escort Chief Wan is no Quezi He, and I, the Life and Death Judge, am no Fang Huan. Besides..." He glanced at the bald old man and continued slowly, "with Elder Ying here, whose name strikes terror into every thief in the land, if the three of us still can't deal with Chu Liuxiang, then there must be no one else in the world who can."
The bald old man narrowed his eyes and smiled. "Brother Ximen, don't flatter this old man. Ever since the battle at Yuntai, I've been past my prime. A man who earns his living with his ears has them cut off—isn't that like a beggar with no snake to play with?"
If anyone else had suffered such a crushing defeat, even having both ears cut off, they would never mention it themselves. If someone else brought it up, they would draw their blade and fight. But he spoke openly with a smile, as though he were rather proud of it.
The old man in brocade was none other than Wan Wudi, head escort of the Wansheng Escort Agency in the capital, known as the Iron Palm Golden Dart. Stroking his long beard, he laughed heartily. "Everyone in the martial world knows Bald Eagle's hearing is unmatched. Though he suffered a small defeat at Yuntai, a setback can turn out to be a blessing. With those White Robe Divine Ears fitted, his hearing is even better than before."
Bald Eagle shook his head and smiled. "I'm old, and past my prime. If I weren't determined to meet this marshal of bandits, this young master of rogues, I'd never have returned to the martial world."
Jin Banhua suddenly smiled. "I've heard people in the martial world say that Elder Ying can tell a person's sex, age, and identity just by hearing their breathing. Once Elder Ying has heard someone breathe, they can never escape him. No matter where they flee, he'll track them down."
Bald Eagle's eyes narrowed to slits as he smiled. "Rumors in the martial world are always exaggerated."
The sound of a night watchman's drum drifted faintly through the evening breeze. The Life and Death Judge sprang to his feet. "It's Zi Hour."
Jin Banhua rushed to the corner and lifted a painting of a lady, rendered in fine brushwork. Behind it was a hidden door. He opened it and saw that the carved sandalwood box was still safely inside. He let out a long breath and turned with a smile. "I didn't expect your reputations to actually scare Chu Liuxiang off."
The Life and Death Judge threw back his head and laughed. "Chu Liuxiang, Chu Liuxiang! So you're just..."
Suddenly, Bald Eagle hissed, "Shh..." The Life and Death Judge's laughter stopped at once. From outside the window, a low, deeply alluring voice called out with a smile, "I've accepted the Jade Beauty. Chu Liuxiang has come to express his thanks."
Wan Wudi dashed to the window and struck it open with his palm. In the darkness at a distance stood a tall figure, holding something three feet long. By moonlight, it looked lustrous and smooth. The man was still smiling as he said, "I stole the treasure at Wu Hour, but only came to offer my thanks at Zi Hour. My manners are wanting. Please forgive me, please forgive me."
Jin Banhua had gone deathly pale. He cried out, "After him! Quickly!"
The candlelight flickered, and the wind rushed through. The Life and Death Judge and Wan Wudi leaped out through the window.
Bald Eagle asked in a low voice, "Was that really the Jade Beauty?"
Jin Banhua stamped his foot. "I saw it clearly. It couldn't be mistaken."
As he stamped, he leaped out too. It turned out that this young master from a wealthy family was no weakling.
Bald Eagle, however, gave a slight shake of his head and sneered. "Others might fall for your trick, but I... hmph!"
His eyes fixed on the sandalwood box as he walked toward it, one step at a time.
Suddenly, a tremendous clang rang out behind him. He jumped clean off the ground.
His White Robe Divine Ears were made of an alloy that carried sound exceptionally well. The clang nearly burst his eardrums. He had always been so proud of those divine ears that he had never dreamed they might have such a fatal flaw. Startled, he flipped through the air and struck out with both palms in quick succession—but there was no one behind him.
Another clang sounded outside the window. Bald Eagle kicked off with both feet and hurtled outside. A gong's ringing still echoed beneath the window.
Bald Eagle's face changed at once. He cried out, "This is bad!"
He spun around and darted back through the window. The sandalwood box was still sitting there, safe and sound. But the curtain at the other window was fluttering.
Bald Eagle stood there, frozen like a stone. The look on his face was strange; it was impossible to tell whether he was laughing or crying. He kept muttering, "Chu Liuxiang, Chu Liuxiang, you really are formidable. But don't get too pleased with yourself. I've heard your footsteps now. One day, I'll find you."
A rush of wind sounded behind him. Wan Wudi, the Life and Death Judge, and Jin Banhua swept back in one after another. Wan Wudi was carrying a three-foot jade carving of a beauty. He laughed. "So that was a decoy. This Jade Beauty is fake."
The Life and Death Judge said, "Even if it's fake, it's worth a few taels of silver. That's what you get for trying to steal a chicken and losing your rice. The great Bandit Chief took a fall tonight, too."
Bald Eagle stared blankly at the sandalwood box and muttered, "This one's fake. Then where's the real one?"
Jin Banhua's face changed again. He stammered, "The... the real one must be in the box."
As he spoke, he was already rushing over to open it. But there was no Jade Beauty in the box. Jin Banhua cried out and fainted.
Wan Wudi went over to look. Inside the box lay another pale-blue note, carrying the same ethereal, romantic fragrance and written in the same elegant hand: "The young master lost his beauty among the flowers; the Bandit Chief left fragrance on the moonlit trail."
"Grafting flowers onto plum trees, making the false seem real! Using their expectations against them... very clever indeed! Chu Liuxiang... not bad."
Chu Liuxiang had just stolen the White Jade Beauty and was speeding home when he suddenly saw someone standing ahead, hands clasped behind his back and facing away from him, blocking his Future Path.
He was a very young man, around twenty, dressed in gray. His features were neither handsome nor flawed, with sharp lines and a faintly sunny smile that inspired goodwill at first glance.
Yet from his deep-set eyes, Chu Liuxiang could see a stubborn, almost fanatical resolve. His not particularly tall frame seemed to hold the vastness of the whole world.
What a terrifying man! That was Chu Liuxiang's first impression of him.
Thinking this, Chu Liuxiang clasped his fists respectfully. "May I ask your name, friend, and why you're waiting here for me?"
"My name? I've had quite a few—at least three or four. For now, you can call me... Bai Yu Jing!" He Heng abruptly turned to look at the legendary Bandit Chief, sizing him up.
Chu Liuxiang's eyebrows were thick and long, full of rugged masculine charm, yet his clear eyes were so refined. His nose was straight, a sign of a strong, decisive nature. His thin lips, their corners turned upward, seemed somewhat cold; but whenever he smiled, his strength became gentleness, and his coldness turned to compassion, like a warm spring breeze sweeping across the land...
Chu Liuxiang was indeed a handsome man by any standard. But that had nothing to do with He Heng. He gave Chu Liuxiang a cold smile and declared solemnly, "I built this road, and I planted these trees. If you want to pass, leave your money behind! I'm here today to... rob you!"
As he spoke, He Heng seemed to feel that this wasn't intimidating enough, so he immediately raised the Longevity Sword in his hand and slashed at a boulder nearby. In an instant, the rock split in two.
He Heng raised an eyebrow at the stunned Chu Liuxiang and shouted, "Hand over everything valuable on you!"
Chu Liuxiang's feelings at that moment were complicated, peculiar, and strange...
He was known as the Bandit Chief, the foremost bandit in the land, and today someone had actually tried to rob him. What was he supposed to do when one bandit met another?
Before you continue