Vermilion Bird Tower

Biodata

Background

Vermilion Bird Tower was opened by the Sixth Princess and stands in the capital’s prosperous western inner city, near the imperial palace. Its private rooms cater to wealthy and noble guests, while its status and proximity to the court make it appear safer than the unrest outside the capital. 1 42

The tower is governed by strict rules, clear punishments, and a rigid staff hierarchy. Yang Xiao begins work there as a hereditary household slave of the Princess’s estate, assigned as the doorman of Private Room Ding-527 because of his weak health and lack of martial aptitude. 1

Despite its prestigious reputation, the tower contains competing interests and hidden dangers. Peace Sect agents have infiltrated its waiters and odd-job workers, intending to exploit the Grandmasters’ Dao Debate to enter the establishment under false identities. 8 19

Facilities and Layout

Public Areas

• The main hall favors an elegant, antique style rather than overt displays of gold: it is decorated with famous calligraphy, paintings, and artifacts. 8
• The D-rank pavilion has a main hall on its first floor and hundreds of private rooms on each floor above it. 9
• Private rooms, including Ding-527, are built from soundproof Mystic Black Stone; ordinary martial artists cannot overhear conversations inside without exceptional auditory ability. 3 6
• The tower’s rooms are supplied with dedicated doormen’s rooms, allowing attendants to remain nearby while guests occupy a private room. 7

Staff Top Floors

The top floors of the four major pavilions—A, B, C, and D—are restricted to internal personnel. Access requires a Vermilion Bird Tower token and passage through a concealed entrance. 9

• The D-pavilion’s top floor functions as an internal marketplace, with storytellers, performers, dancing girls, stalls, martial schools, a Hundred Plays Gallery, a hot spring, and pawnshops. 9
• Two First Blood martial artists guard the concealed passage to the D-pavilion’s top floor. 9
• The Martial Hall hosts public martial lectures, including those given under the name Lei Jie. 10 11

Underground Scripture Pavilion

An iron cage concealed behind Ding Pavilion descends to an extensive underground complex beneath the tower. 14 15

• The underground area contains bluestone plazas, bridges, pavilions, artificial hills, flowing water, and thousands of floating lanterns. 15
• The Scripture Pavilion holds an immense martial archive: Yang Xiao observes that it contains roughly one hundred thousand techniques, though only a small portion display higher-quality radiance. 15
• Tower waiters receive one lifetime opportunity to use a Martial Introduction to exchange for a martial skill from the Scripture Pavilion. 14
• The banned Yellow Heaven Body Casting Scripture: Warrior Chapter was removed from the imperial palace and stored in the tower after Emperor Ming prohibited it. 16

Administration and Staff

• Waiters work under strict conduct rules: guests must be treated with deference, and staff can be punished for offending them. 1
• Consuming guests’ leftovers is an established but unofficial practice among waiters, including some iron-token staff. 8
• Workers use swill buckets to covertly transport goods, an arrangement widely understood but ignored among the lower-ranking staff. 27

Security and Vulnerabilities

• The tower benefits from the Sixth Princess’s backing and from its location near the imperial palace and the Crimson Blood Guard’s inner-city garrison. 1
• Its high standing is considered sufficient to deter routine searches by the authorities. 32
• Soundproof private rooms and guarded staff passages provide strong internal security, but Yang Xiao’s Spirit Cicada Transformation allows him to hear through rooms that should be secure. 3 6
• Peace Sect agents, including Uncle Mute and Song Qingshan, operate among the tower’s laborers while concealing their true identities. 4 34
• The Peace Sect’s capital branch cultivated numerous informants among Vermilion Bird Tower’s waiters and odd-job workers ahead of its planned infiltration during the Grandmasters’ Dao Debate. 19

Associated Figures and Groups

• Sixth Princess — Founder and patron of Vermilion Bird Tower; Yang Xiao and other hereditary household slaves remain attached to her estate. 1
• Yang Xiao — Waiter and doorman assigned to Ding-527; he uses the tower’s guests, hidden facilities, and martial archives to pursue cultivation. 1 14 15
• Uncle Liu — Iron-token waiter overseeing the fifth floor of the D-wing; he explains staff rules and controls access to information about the Martial Introduction. 1 14
• Ye Feng — Odd-job worker employed at the tower; his work moving through private rooms gives him access to rumors and overheard information. 3 4
• Peace Sect — Covertly infiltrates the tower’s staff network and plans to exploit the Grandmasters’ Dao Debate. 8 19
• Scripture Pavilion Old Man — Guardian of the underground Scripture Pavilion, where tower staff may exchange a Martial Introduction for martial techniques. 15 16

Story Role

• Vermilion Bird Tower is Yang Xiao’s first workplace in the Great Yan capital and the place where he discovers his ability to observe qi and inherit martial experience. 1
• Ding-527 places Yang Xiao near powerful guests such as Fairy Bai and Song Que, allowing him to uncover early traces of the Peace Sect’s activities. 1 3 6
• Its top floors, Martial Hall, and underground Scripture Pavilion give Yang Xiao access to martial knowledge, staff networks, and rare techniques unavailable to an ordinary civilian. 9 10 14 15
• Yang Xiao chooses to remain connected to the tower after learning that the capital and its resources offer his best chance of surviving and strengthening himself. 19
• The tower becomes a central target in the Peace Sect’s planned operation surrounding the Grandmasters’ Dao Debate. 8 11 19