Author: 哔哔 (Bi Bi) / Jin Gang Quan
Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/
Chapter 25
Zhuyue City lay in the southwest, but it was built on a plateau. The closer they got, the colder the weather became, while the sunlight grew harsher and more intense.
In the mornings, Huo Fenghua would wrap a sable-fur cloak over his clothes. By noon he’d be sweating from the heat and had to take it off, and at the same time he still needed to wear a bamboo hat to shield himself from the blazing sun.
As they traveled, they kept pushing Huo Fenghua to practice martial arts.
They spent nearly a month on the road. By the time they reached Zhuyue City, Huo Fenghua had at least managed to acquire some rudimentary kung fu. He could strike a pose that looked convincing enough, and he could barely block two or three of Wen Heyi’s moves. Any more than that and he was done.
When they arrived, Huo Fenghua sat on horseback and stared at the towering walls and the lofty bronze city gates, finally understanding what “rich enough to rival a nation” really meant.
It was midday. The gates stood open. Guards in white fur-lined jackets held spears and stood on either side, and they didn’t conduct strict searches on those entering or leaving.
After Huo Fenghua entered the city, he instinctively looked back up at the walls. Only then did he realize the gate was in fact heavily defended. Dozens of elite soldiers were stationed along the top, longbows in hand, carefully watching every person who passed through.
Zhuyue City was vast and densely populated. Unlike war-torn Xichou, the city bustled with prosperity. Shops lined the wide streets, and countless vendors called out as they hawked their goods. Walking along, you didn’t see a single beggar. Everyone looked well-fed and at ease.
They rode at a slow pace. It took nearly half an hour before they reached the guest lodge Zhuyue City had prepared for the young martial artists coming to compete in the marriage competition. The lodge was spacious as well. Huo Fenghua asked the steward who received them and learned that one lodge housed twenty to thirty contestants, and with their attendants, a single lodge could accommodate fifty or sixty people.
And because Huo Fenghua was entering under the identity of Huo Fengnian, his status was special. The steward arranged for the four of them to stay in a small side courtyard.
They had only just settled in when Shao Feijie left the lodge with Jia Duo, leaving Huo Fenghua and Wen Heyi in the courtyard. Wen Heyi picked up a long bamboo pole from somewhere and used it to rap at Huo Fenghua, urging him to hurry up and practice.
Huo Fenghua caught two of Wen Heyi’s moves barehanded. Then the bamboo pole snapped down on his palm. He shuddered in pain and tried to snatch the pole, but Wen Heyi flicked his wrist. The end of the pole slipped lightly out of Huo Fenghua’s grasp, and with a turn he smacked Huo Fenghua on the backside.
“I’m done,” Huo Fenghua said, annoyed as he walked over and sat on a stone bench, rubbing his stinging palm.
Wen Heyi said, “With those flowery punches and embroidered kicks, how are you supposed to marry the city lord’s daughter?”
“It’s not like I want to marry her,” Huo Fenghua said. “You’re the ones forcing me. Besides, even if I spend these last few days training without eating or sleeping, do you think that means I’ll be able to marry the city lord’s daughter?”
Wen Heyi twirled the bamboo pole and sat down on the stone bench beside him.
Huo Fenghua glanced at him and lowered his voice. “Martial Uncle, is Marshal Shao off greasing palms?”
“Greasing palms?” Wen Heyi’s gaze drifted over.
Huo Fenghua smiled. “With my skills, what marriage competition could I compete in? Shao Feijie brought me all this way, so it can’t be just for show. If he’s got some other plan, then he must be going to pull some strings.”
Wen Heyi smiled back. “So who do you think he’s gone to pull strings with?”
Huo Fenghua propped his chin on one hand. “Shao Feijie is the Grand Marshal of Xichou’s armies, a high-ranking general. He must know some powerful figure in Zhuyue City, like a general or something…”
“He went to see the city lord,” Wen Heyi suddenly said in a quiet voice.
Huo Fenghua was a little surprised. “So he really does have ties with the city lord.”
Wen Heyi’s fingers slowly rubbed along the slender bamboo pole. “Ten years ago, Zhuyue City wasn’t as prosperous as it is now. It was still a vassal territory of Xichou. Back then, the city lord, Pan Yan, personally went to Xichou’s capital Huijing with his daughter Pan Zishu to present tribute. That’s when Marshal Shao met Pan Yan. And by coincidence, your brother Huo Fengnian got along well with Pan Zishu. Pan Yan even joked about marrying Pan Zishu to Huo Fengnian. This time, Marshal Shao rushed here to ask whether Pan Yan still remembers what he said back then.”
Huo Fenghua froze. “Was it just something he said in passing, or was it an actual betrothal?”
“Marshal Shao said it was just in passing,” Wen Heyi replied. “But the late emperor held a banquet in the palace to receive Pan Yan and his daughter, and he said it in front of all Xichou’s civil and military officials. After all, a gentleman’s word is his bond.” As he finished, he tapped Huo Fenghua’s hand lightly with the bamboo pole.
“So that’s what this is about,” Huo Fenghua finally understood the purpose of the trip. “But Xichou’s fallen. If I were Pan Yan, I’d never marry my daughter to a prince of a ruined nation. Helping Xichou restore itself would be too hard, and the price would be too high.”
Wen Heyi watched him for a while, then sighed. “That’s what’s boring about you. Isn’t doing what can’t be done the fun of life? If I were Pan Yan, I’d marry my daughter to Huo Fengnian, then march east under the banner of restoring Xichou. First recover Xichou’s lands, install Huo Fengnian as a puppet emperor, and once the timing is right, strike down Donglin in one go and unify the Central Plains. Then find a chance to assassinate Huo Fengnian and take the throne myself. Wouldn’t that be far more interesting than clinging to a tiny Zhuyue City?”
After hearing that, Huo Fenghua suddenly felt a chill crawl up his spine. “Martial Uncle… are you planning to do the same? Help Xichou restore itself and then kill the puppet emperor and take the throne?”
Wen Heyi smiled gently. He lifted Huo Fenghua’s chin with the bamboo pole and said softly, “Good Disciple, what do you think?”
Huo Fenghua slapped the bamboo pole away, shivering with goosebumps. “Martial Uncle, stop joking.”
They waited at the lodge until after dinner before Shao Feijie returned with Jia Duo.
The first thing Shao Feijie did was call Wen Heyi into his room. He shut the door and spoke with him in private for nearly two hours. During that time, Jia Duo kept watch over Huo Fenghua, giving him no chance to eavesdrop. Afterward, Huo Fenghua tried to ask Wen Heyi what Shao Feijie had said, but Wen Heyi kept dodging the question and never told him a single honest word.
So the days passed in a blur of training, eating, and sleeping. One morning, Huo Fenghua woke to find Wen Heyi already sitting in his room. A brand-new set of clothes lay on the round table.
Wen Heyi said, “Put on the new clothes. Today you’re going to the marriage competition.”
Huo Fenghua took a deep breath and realized he was actually nervous.
Pan Zishu’s marriage competition was set at a drill ground in the south of Zhuyue City. Earlier, Huo Fenghua had asked the lodge steward and learned that nearly four hundred contestants had submitted name cards to participate, from the Central Plains and from the borderlands and foreign tribes alike.
To ensure fairness, the city lord himself drew lots to assign each contestant an opponent and a round. Only by winning your round could you advance.
Matches were held on the central platform. Because blades had no eyes, and this was supposed to be a happy occasion, each bout would stop at “a touch is enough.” If the weaker fighter insisted on clinging stubbornly, they only needed to be forced off the platform for the other side to be declared the winner. When the final victor emerged, he would still have to spar once with the city lord’s daughter, Pan Zishu. Only if he won could he take her hand.
The matches began at dawn that day. Huo Fenghua changed into a new light-yellow outfit. Feeling it was too cold, he still wrapped himself in the sable cloak, a ring of soft white fur around the collar that made his skin look like gleaming snow.
On the way to the drill ground, Wen Heyi remarked, “With how frail you look, if I were the city lord, I wouldn’t marry my daughter to you either.”
Huo Fenghua pulled his cloak tighter and replied with, “Cold.”
When they reached the drill ground, Huo Fenghua saw a sea of people. Besides the contestants, Zhuyue City’s citizens had come from the surrounding areas to watch. They had to dismount while still far away and proceed on foot. By the time they squeezed their way inside, they were sweating all over.
The grounds were enormous. For this marriage competition, tall viewing stands had been built all around to accommodate spectators. Directly in front stood a newly built two-story pavilion. On the second floor was a viewing terrace. In the middle sat a broad chair, and beside it was another chair draped in pale pink gauze, presumably for the city lord and his beloved daughter. Neither had appeared yet, and the terrace was guarded only by many strong young soldiers.
As someone who had submitted a name card, Huo Fenghua was separated from Wen Heyi and the others after entering and was led to the front-row seating for contestants.
Alone, he felt uneasy. He looked up and scanned the stands, trying to spot Wen Heyi. But after searching left and right, he didn’t see him. Instead, in a corner of the stands, he caught sight of a familiar face, handsome and sharp.
Feng Tianzong!
Just then, someone behind him shoved him. He stumbled and turned around to see a poorly dressed young contestant pushing him aside, telling him not to block the way.
Huo Fenghua moved away a little. When he looked up again, the spot was already empty. The Feng Tianzong he’d seen a moment ago seemed like a phantom, but it still gave him a vicious fright.
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