Chapter Ninety-Seven: How Frightening Ignorance Can Be, Part One

“How could it be impossible? Zuo Lengchan of the Mount Song Sect has already sent Ding Mian, the Pagoda-Hand, together with several of the Thirteen Protectors and elite disciples of the sect, to slip into Hengyang City. Liu Third Master, don’t tell me you know nothing of it,” Yang Xin said coldly.

Liu Zhengfeng truly did not know. Every day he had to greet guests from all corners with a smile, and at night he had to slip out for secret trysts with Qu Yang...

“What are they coming here for? I certainly did not send them an invitation!” Liu Zhengfeng’s expression changed.

“What do you think they came for? To drink your retirement wine? Since even my Mount Hua Sect knows about your affair with Qu Yang, how could Zuo Lengchan possibly not know? Moreover, Zuo Lengchan’s ambitions are immense. He is determined to unite the Five Mountain Sword Sects. Even after becoming their盟主 he will not be satisfied; he still wants to merge the Five Mountains into one sect and become its master, so that he may stand against Shaolin and the Sun Moon Cult in a three-way balance of power.

“But the Five Mountain Sword Sects, though linked by shared interests, are only bound together for self-preservation under pressure from the Sun Moon Cult and Shaolin. Each sect has its own inheritance and traditions; how could they ever agree to merge? So Zuo Lengchan needs to kill the chicken to frighten the monkeys. Unfortunately, Liu Third Master, you are that chicken.”

“Would the comrades of the jianghu stand by and do nothing? And this is Hengyang City, the territory of Mount Heng Sect,” Qu Yang said as he rose to his feet and retorted before Liu Zhengfeng could speak.

“Comrades of the jianghu? Naive! Do not think so highly of the righteous path, and do not think so poorly of the Sun Moon Cult. In essence, the Sun Moon Cult and the great orthodox sects are no different!”

“The so-called comrades of the jianghu are nothing but fence-sitters. They go wherever the wind blows. And yes, this is indeed Mount Heng Sect territory—but the sect master, Master Mo, spends his days wandering around playing, singing, and doing anything but his proper duties. No one knows where he has gone now.”

“Besides, Ding Mian is not coming alone. There is also Lu Bai, Fei Bin, and others. All the skilled fighters of the sect have been sent out. If they seize Liu Zhengfeng’s family and use them to threaten him, Qu Yang, Elder Qu, what will you do? Rescue them or not?” Yang Xin suddenly turned the point directly toward Qu Yang.

“Will you go to rescue them as an individual, or as an elder of the Sun Moon Cult? If you go as an individual, can you save them? If you lead men as an elder of the Sun Moon Cult to rescue them, even if you save your Brother Liu, can the one at Blackwood Cliff, the Master Dongfang, let you off?”

“Either way, it means death! If I die together with Brother Liu, I shall have no regrets!” Qu Yang said, stiffening his neck.

“Your own death is one thing, but what about your granddaughter, Qu Feiyan? Such a lovely little girl would not simply be slain with a single stroke if she fell into the hands of the Mount Song Sect. And as for your Liu Third Master’s family, I hear Liu Zhengfeng’s daughter, Liu Qing, is also a beauty. Whether they fall into the hands of the Mount Song Sect or your Sun Moon Cult, none of them will come to a good end.”

Cold sweat began streaming down Qu Yang’s face.

He thought about it for a long while. It was a dead end, with no solution. Yet he still asked unwillingly, “Brother Liu has already entered official service and has the protection of an official rank. Surely he can still escape this disaster.”

“Entered official service? Are you certain?” Yang Xin looked at Qu Yang as though he were a fool.

“Certain! Brother Liu has purchased a vacant post as a military commander, and the imperial envoy is staying right here at Return Goose Tower. I do not believe the Mount Song Sect would be so bold as to murder a man under official protection,” Qu Yang replied, forcing himself to remain calm.

“Hahahaha! A man under official protection, a military commander, an imperial envoy... You people truly are ignorant. And ignorance is terrifying!” Yang Xin said with contempt.

“What do you mean?” Qu Yang was startled. Could there be some hidden matter inside this?

“The literal meaning. Since all of you are here, I might as well educate you a little.” Yang Xin laughed aloud.

“Liu Third Master’s choice to purchase an official post was indeed a brilliant move. With an official rank protecting him, even the Mount Song Sect would hardly dare to lay axe or blade on Brother Liu. It is only that Liu Third Master is very busy. Tell me, who helped you run back and forth to handle all these affairs?”

“Oh, I was the one who got a line to the prefect, offered him some silver, had him make the arrangements, and then my disciple Xiang Dainian ran about repeatedly. Was there anything improper?” Liu Zhengfeng said, pointing at Xiang Dainian.

Yang Xin glanced at Xiang Dainian without speaking, and continued, “May I ask to see that imperial envoy?”

Liu Zhengfeng froze, not knowing what Yang Xin intended. But as an old hand who had long led a sect, he sensed that something was very wrong and immediately said, “Dainian, go and invite Lord Zhang over.”

Xiang Dainian promptly brought back the Lord Zhang who had come to proclaim the edict.

“Who wants to see this official?” Lord Zhang swaggered over like a crab, walking with utter insolence.

“You are the official here to proclaim the edict?” Yang Xin asked suddenly.

“Of course this official is here to proclaim the edict, or why else would I be here?” Lord Zhang said arrogantly, with his nose in the air.

“What rank do you hold, and what office is it?”

“This official...” Lord Zhang began to stammer, then flew into a rage and shouted, “How dare a mere jianghu nobody pry into matters of the court? Upon seeing this official, why are you not kneeling?”

“Smack!”

Yang Xin raised a hand and slapped the air. Lord Zhang was sent flying from the second floor straight down to the first. “Pingzhi, bring that fat pig up here for me.”

Lin Pingzhi immediately leapt down to the ground floor and hauled back up the Zhang official, whose face had been smashed into a pig’s head.

“Uncle-Master, that won’t do, that really won’t do,” Liu Zhengfeng hurriedly pleaded.

“Liu Third Master, do not panic. Everyone, you do not understand official matters. You have all been deceived. This is not an official at all,” Yang Xin said, shaking his hand.

“Uncle-Master, what do you mean?” Liu Zhengfeng asked quickly.

“Liu Third Master, you said you purchased a post as a military commander. Now, does anyone here know what a military commander means in our Great Ming?”

Before Liu Zhengfeng could answer, Yang Xin continued on his own, of course guessing that Liu Zhengfeng likely did not know either.

“A military commander is a martial office of our dynasty, an officer in charge of camp troops. The hierarchy of martial posts goes, in order, from squad leader, to captain, to patrol officer, to garrison commander, to regional commander, to guerrilla commander, to military commander, and then to grand commander. A military commander is a frontier general in charge of stationed troops, a third-rank martial post. At its peak, it can command as many as ten thousand soldiers. Among martial officials, second only to the grand commander, it is the highest-ranking office...” Yang Xin explained in terms as simple as possible for Liu Zhengfeng to understand.

“In some remote regions, a military commander is practically the highest military authority in the frontier, holding the lives of ten thousand men in one hand. To put it a bit grandly, such a person is almost like a provincial viceroy. Since the founding of this dynasty until now, there has never been—indeed, I have never even heard of—anyone who could buy such a post for a military commander with a few pieces of silver and gold!”

“Not to mention a military commander, not even a guerrilla commander or a regional commander would be possible. At best, one might buy a local garrison command, and even that would be a hollow title with no real authority. I do not know whose connections Liu Third Master used, but the claim is outrageous: to grant Liu Third Master a military commander’s post outright. Even the one in the palace could not casually bestow such an important office on him, could he?” Yang Xin said sternly.

Liu Zhengfeng’s face went white in an instant. Not only Liu Zhengfeng, but Qu Yang, Mi Weiyi, and Xiang Dainian all turned deathly pale as well.

Before any of them could explain, Yang Xin went on, “Also, since the founding of this dynasty, there has never once been an official who came personally to proclaim an edict. Those who come to proclaim edicts are all palace eunuchs, and eunuchs are castrated men! Am I right, Lord Zhang?”

“To impersonate an official is a capital crime, punishable by extermination of three generations. To impersonate a palace envoy and falsely proclaim an imperial decree is punishable by extermination of nine generations! Speak! Who exactly are you?”

Lord Zhang’s face went from white to greenish-black, with an unhealthy gray mixed in. Whether he was frightened senseless or still hoping for luck, the Zhang official remained clamped shut and refused to say a word.

Liu Zhengfeng was equally stunned. “Right... those who come to proclaim edicts are eunuchs. They are not officials at all.”

The people of Mount Heng staggered, shocked and furious, their eyes fixed tightly on Lord Zhang. It was obvious now that the Mount Heng Sect had been deceived; this so-called Lord Zhang was not a eunuch at all.

“Extermination of nine generations, you say. Do you know which nine generations that includes? Let me tell you just which nine generations are meant by extermination of nine generations!”