"If I can't do it, I'll stay in the city and be the Third Young Master's maid forever."
Xiao Zuo looked directly at me and said in a deep voice, "Although you are young, you are calm and capable in your actions, and your martial arts skills are among the best of your generation. With you always by Nuo'er's side, it is indeed possible to ensure that he will not cause any more trouble... This bet is very attractive."
"Will you agree?" I asked, holding my breath nervously.
"Why not?" He answered very readily, "As you said, I have achieved everything I need, except for one regret, which is my son Xiao Nuo. A month can eliminate my biggest worry and bring back an outstanding son. Why not?"
With a gentle sigh of relief, I smiled and said, "Master said that you love adventure the most in your life, and you'll agree as long as the stakes are high enough."
“A lifelong commitment, that’s a huge gamble,” Xiao Zuo said, extending his hand to me.
I exchanged three high fives with him, but my heart was in turmoil, disturbed by his last words, which had robbed me of my usual tranquility.
A lifelong commitment...
Based on distinctive features
August 10th, sunny. All is well.
Gong Feicui arrived at Youzhu Yourouxuan early in the morning, dressed neatly. She had just swallowed a mouthful of bird's nest porridge when the messenger arrived.
"Madam, Aunt Wang wants to see you."
Which Aunt Wang?
"It's the one that sells tea eggs in the east of the city."
"What's up?"
"She wanted to sell tea eggs on her way to the sword-testing platform."
"Jade Essence?" Gong Feicui called out without even looking up.
Yu Cui, standing behind her, flipped through the ledger she was holding and said, "Miss, the stall is no longer available."
Gong Feicui said to the person in charge, "Did you hear that? Go tell her to apply for a stall earlier next year."
No sooner had the words left his mouth than another voice rang out from outside the door: "Madam, the Sand Dragon Gang is fighting with the waiter at the Fulai Inn."
"Why are you fighting so early in the morning?"
"Reporting to you, Madam, they found a cockroach in the breakfast."
Gong Feicui pondered for a moment and said, "Pass on my message: Fulai Inn has failed in its management and service, tarnishing the reputation of our city. It is hereby expelled from Baili Town. In addition, the Shajiao Gang dared to cause trouble on the first day of the Sword Trial. Half of their ticket money will be refunded and they will be expelled. They will be barred from participating in the Sword Trial for the next three years."
"Yes." The person left in a hurry.
In the following hours, things kept happening one after another, and Gong Feicui was so busy that she didn't even have time to eat a bite of breakfast. An hour later, Uncle Cai arrived. Unexpectedly, he not only walked hurriedly, but also spoke much less verbosely than usual, only saying one sentence at a time.
"Madam, the opening ceremony is about to begin."
"Alright, let's go." Gong Feicui stood up and led Cai Bo, Yu Cui, and a group of people out the door in a grand procession.
Meanwhile, on the road leading to the sword-testing platform.
"Take a look, come and see! Heirloom jade items on clearance sale, treasures for protecting the home and warding off evil spirits..."
"Hey—don't miss out! Proudly produced by the West City Blacksmith Shop, a century-old brand, honest and trustworthy..."
Amidst the continuous hawking, Feng Chenxi lowered the carriage window, but this did little to block out the noise, as Xiao Nuo kept the other window wide open, peering out excitedly at the spectacle, occasionally calling out, "Stop! Stop! I want to buy those goldfish... Stop! Stop! I want to buy a bag of chestnuts..."
And so, the carriage stopped and started no less than ten times, and our Third Young Master Xiao bought back a whole bunch of things, such as: a tank of goldfish, three of which died soon after it was bought; a wooden sword with shiny fake silver foil on the blade; a kite with a beautiful face painted on it that looked a bit like Zhong Kui... In short, they were all completely useless things, piled up on his seat, leaving him no room to sit, so he had to sit next to Feng Chenxi.
Even so, if Feng Chenxi hadn't appealed to his emotions and reasoned with him, he would have still planned to load that obviously fake Qin Dynasty bronze cauldron onto the carriage.
Feng Chenxi began to feel deep sympathy for Xiao Zuo. Having such a precious son was already a tragedy, not to mention having a wife who was obsessed with business. Everyone knew that if it weren't for Gong Feicui, Baili City would never be in this state today.
If you filter out this chaotic scene, Feng Chenxi can roughly imagine what Baili City used to be like: neat long streets, refreshing and delightful bamboo houses, farmhouses in the distance shrouded in mist, and the occasional sound of oxen bellowing... The completely unadorned appearance of the city must remind people of the word "Shangri-La".
But now, the paradise has become a trading market dominated by small vendors... Feng Chenxi shook her head.
Just then, the carriage stopped, not because Xiao Nuo wanted to buy something again, but because they had arrived at the Sword Testing Platform.
As Feng Chenxi alighted from the carriage, a vast hunting ground came into view. Surrounded by small bridges, artificial hills, bamboo groves, and trees, the environment was surprisingly charming. In the center of the hunting ground was a pool of clear water, upon which sat a waterside pavilion. The windows and pillars of the pavilion were carved with scenes from theatrical dramas, while the stone steps and railings were adorned with carvings of flowers, lotuses, clouds, and water—the craftsmanship was exquisite and lifelike.
Countless benches formed concentric circles around the waterside pavilion, already filled with heroes of the martial arts world. Some whispered among themselves, some peered out, and many more held paper bags and ate chestnuts, melon seeds, or braised eggs, all bought from the long street they had just crossed.
Seeing this, Feng Chenxi had to admit that although Gong Feicui had turned a once-prosperous martial arts holy land into a bustling marketplace, when it came to leading people to wealth, no one could compare to her.
Just then, Xiao Nuo got off the bus carrying a bag of chestnuts, apples, tangerines, and other snacks. It seemed he originally wanted to reach out and pull Feng Chenxi, but his hands were full of food, so he could only raise his chin at her and say, "Sister, come with me. Mother saved seats for us in the front row."
The sun was shining brightly, and laughter and chatter filled the air. Feng Chenxi's mood suddenly brightened, and she followed along, asking with a smile, "We came to watch the martial arts competition, what are you doing with so much food?"
"The martial arts competition won't start for another hour. Before that, there will be an opening ceremony performance, which we can watch and eat at the same time," Xiao Nuo said.
An opening ceremony performance? Unheard of. Feng Chenxi followed him and squeezed to the front row, where they saw Gong Feicui and others occupying a long table, with several empty seats next to it.
Not long after we sat down, a man and a woman came up from the waterside pavilion in front of us. The man was handsome and the woman was pretty. They looked like a perfect couple.
Gong Feicui nodded to them, and the man then announced in a loud voice, "Heroes, esteemed guests..."
The woman continued, "Ladies and gentlemen..."
Then the two of them said in unison, "Distinguished guests—hello everyone!"
The man continued, "First of all, thank you all for traveling a long way to Baili City to participate in the annual sword-testing tournament."
The woman continued, "Secondly, I would like to thank the three major sponsors of this sword-testing tournament: Luoyang Gong's Jewelry..."
After a slight pause, two women jumped out from the audience, holding up large signs that read "Gong's Jewelry," and walked around, saying in a sweet voice, "If you love her, buy her this."
The woman on the waterside pavilion continued, "The miraculous tonic pills from the Capital's Wonderful Hands Hall..."
The two women in front of the audience changed the sign to "Miracle Hands Hall" and said, "If you get injured in a martial arts match, don't take medicine. If you want to take medicine, take a super tonic."
"Haining Whole Turtle Feast"
The two women changed their sign again and said, "The greatest virtues are those who serve the country and its people."
A burst of laughter erupted from the audience. The two figures on the waterside pavilion exchanged a smile and said in unison, "Now, the opening ceremony of the Sword Testing Tournament officially begins. Please enjoy—"
With that, the two stepped down from the waterside pavilion. At the same time, a large group of young girls carrying pipa (a traditional Chinese stringed instrument) rushed up. The man's voice explained from behind the curtain: "This part of the performance is called 'Dancing Baili City.' The song and dance performance with the rich characteristics of Baili City will form the main body of this stage of the performance. Twenty-four beautiful Baili City girls will be the first to appear. They will jointly perform 'Ode to Baili City'... Ah, we can see that the girls participating in the performance are very excited. The one running in front almost tripped and fell!"
The man was clearly explaining using internal energy. Although the girls had started playing music, they couldn't drown out his voice, and everyone in the audience laughed.
Before the laughter had even subsided, a little girl dressed in pink and jade-like attire stepped forward and began singing in a sweet, childlike voice to the tune of a pipa: "What a beautiful city, what a beautiful city..."
“Uncle Cai,” Gong Feicui groaned weakly, “what are you doing? She’s tone-deaf.”
“Reporting to Madam,” Uncle Cai said without changing his expression, “it’s alright, she’s just a child, and the audience buys into that.”
As expected, when the song ended, despite the little girl's peculiar voice and unclear pronunciation, everyone still gave her a warm round of applause.
Gong Feicui rolled her eyes and decided to wait and see.
A moment later, the twenty-four pipa girls left, and a group of strong young men carrying primitive wooden sticks came in.
A woman's voice came from behind the curtain: "This is the second part of the opening ceremony, called 'Bai Li Cheng Kung Fu,' which includes martial arts and drum performances. It is worth mentioning that their costumes are modeled after the clothing of the local Bo people, and are very distinctive in ethnic style."
The young men on the waterside pavilion started a chaotic brawl, throwing punches and kicks at each other like demons dancing wildly. Just when it was a terrible sight, a giant leather drum was brought up, and a muscular man lay on it, leaping and bounding to the beat of the drum, acting like a monkey.
Gong Feicui finally couldn't hold back any longer and slammed her hand on the table, saying, "Uncle Cai, how do you explain this?"
“Replying to Madam,” Cai Bo replied in a very calm voice, “this is a national characteristic, which is especially liked by strangers.”
“Uncle Cai…” Xiao Nuo said with a mournful face, “But we’re already tired of seeing this.”
"Third Young Master, this old servant has no choice. If I want to please outsiders, I can't care about the locals."
What's truly infuriating is that after the performance, the applause from the audience members from all over the world actually lasted for a long time.
"A bunch of country bumpkins who've never seen the world!" Gong Feicui cursed fiercely, but secretly she made up her mind: next year she should also hand over the planning of the opening ceremony to Uncle Cai.
Then, an astonishing scene unfolded: after the young man stepped down, about a dozen men and women rushed onto the waterside pavilion. The women wore large flowers in their hair, and the men had flags stuck in their backs. What they had in common was that each of them had a ghost face painted on them. They stood on the stage and began to sing in a hoarse voice, which sounded like ten thousand ghosts crying together, making one's hair stand on end.
The narrator explained, "Now we are proceeding with the third part—the theatrical performance. The actors from Baili City's Pear Garden will perfectly interpret the essence of opera culture."
"Uncle Cai..." Gong Feicui's voice had become so different that it was unrecognizable as hers.
“Uncle Cai…” Xiao Nuo’s chestnuts spilled all over the ground.
Uncle Cai, feigning ignorance, said, “Madam, Third Young Master, you must know that the most important thing for a successful opening ceremony is to have unique features. That Bo people dance just now is a local specialty of our Baili City, while opera is a specialty of the entire Chinese nation. How could we not use it? Such a unique singing style and such strange costumes will definitely leave people stunned... Ah, right! Remember that Persian last time? Didn't he stare with wide eyes?”
Feng Chenxi finally couldn't hold back any longer and said with a straight face, "It must be from being scared."
A storm is brewing
I finally couldn't hold back anymore and said sternly, "They must have been scared." Judging from this scene, it's quite similar to the scene of the hundred ghosts walking at night in Yinshan. It's a wonder that Uncle Cai came up with this idea.
The noisy opening ceremony, which lasted almost until lunchtime, finally ended, and the sword-testing tournament officially began.
I subconsciously scanned the room, but didn't see the person I hoped to see.
Xiao Nuo grabbed a handful of sunflower seeds and handed them to me: "Sister, what are you looking for?"
"Oh, no..." I lowered my eyes, and after a long pause, asked casually, "Isn't City Lord Xiao coming?"
"Mother said that Bao should bet until the very end, so she sent my father to play chess with Master Jingyuan."
"A treasure?" I glanced at Gong Feicui; it was indeed her usual style. Just then, the male commentator announced loudly, "First to appear are the best of the fourth generation disciples of Baili City—Ji Xun and Zhong Weixin."
Two handsome young men, one dressed in red and the other in blue, jumped onto the high platform and bowed with their swords raised.
Xiao Nuo muttered, "They have no creativity at all. All they do is swords. These people just won't put their minds to thinking of other martial arts techniques."
I raised an eyebrow slightly: "Isn't a sword good enough?"
“Even the best food gets boring if you eat too much,” Xiao Nuo said, her eyebrows dancing with excitement. “By the way, sister, on your way to Baili City, did you encounter Zhao Yan, the ‘Twelve Linked Hooks’? I heard his twelve linked hooks are incredibly amazing, with barbs at both ends, and they can be long or short, more flexible than a whip and sharper than a throwing knife. I really want to see them…”
Strange, isn't this Young Master Xiao supposed to be a novice in martial arts? Why is he so interested in weapons? I said calmly, "But his martial arts skills aren't that great, so even the most skillful weapon is useless to him."
Xiao Nuo opened her eyes wide and stared at me for a while, then suddenly smiled and said, "Sister, do you learn martial arts just to compete for superiority? In my opinion, a first-rate master who has mastered the moves taught by the master is not as lovable or useful as a third-rate martial artist who comes up with new moves on his own."
I don't know why, but even though his voice wasn't sarcastic, I still felt embarrassed. When I turned to look at him again, his eyes were clear as a mirror, seemingly completely unaware of how much his words had affected me.
Instead, Uncle Cai noticed my unease and interjected, "Miss Feng, don't overthink it. My third young master may not be good at much else, but he is quite knowledgeable about martial arts. Unfortunately, he only talks the talk but doesn't walk the walk."
Another one that doesn't work. I smiled and remained silent. Even if this Young Master Xiao does have some things that don't work, they're more likely to work than not.
As they spoke, the boy named Ji Xun was forced to retreat repeatedly by Zhong Weixin, completely unable to resist, and boos rose from all around.