Radiant Blade of the Wilderness

Chapter 116: On the Island

Heaven’s Gate Lookout Island was a narrow, elongated sandbar in the river, thick with trees that pressed close to the water’s edge, scattered with piled stones, hidden thatched huts, and even a pavilion or two.

Since the heaven-earth severance, it had drawn not only seekers of the Heavenly Realm, but no lack of young jianghu heroes, literary wanderers, and ordinary townspeople who came to gaze at the sky and carve their names into stone. Had it not been near dusk with a light autumn rain falling, Ding Songyan and Zheng Zhuxi would surely have seen pleasure boats and ferries of all sizes making their way out to the island.

After a careful look through their Candle-Star Pupils, the two turned to each other and both shook their heads.

Nothing.

Heaven’s Gate Lookout Island was said to sit at the river’s heart, but it sat noticeably closer to the Dingjiang Prefecture side. Opposite it were ironworks, fish markets, monk lodges, and Daoist temples that lined the riverbank; downstream lay the docks on the city’s eastern edge. All of it was now wrapped in a hazy drizzle that deepened the autumn melancholy.

The cold wind was bleak outside the window, but the room was warm as spring. Copper pipes ran along the corners and ceiling, radiating a gentle, steady heat.

Compared to the rough surge of a northern heated bed, this circulating warm water was more comfortable and spread its warmth more evenly.

Zheng Zhuxi looked around with considerable curiosity. There was an ivory bed in the inner room, red curtains by the windows, and inside were folding screens, rugs, and curio cabinets. Every piece was fine and beautiful.

Thick red candles burned quietly, casting a warm and indulgent glow. Small incense burners nearby sent up wisps of pale smoke, filling the air with a sweet, relaxing fragrance.

Four songstresses had already tuned their instruments and were playing soft, lilting melodies on dulcimers and pipa. Woven together with the patter of rain outside the window, it made Ding Songyan feel as though he were lying beneath a silk canopy, wrapped in warm, fragrant quilts, with a beautiful woman in his arms, listening to the rain fall drop by drop.

"Play something else." Xie Fengchao spoke up suddenly. "Something rousing. The General’s Command! Play the General’s Command."

The four songstresses took up small drums alongside the dulcimers, and the music surged with energy. Pan Yunzhou, Xu Chang’an, and the others felt their blood stir almost at once. Even Zheng Zhuxi and Ding Songyan found themselves drawn back to another rainy night.

Drenched in mist and tempestuous rain, their clothes were soaked through; yet, they left a body every ten steps as they forged their way through the mountain road!

"Excellent!" Xie Fengchao watched everyone settle around the square table, raised his cup, and looked around the room. "This cup is for the fortune that brought us together!"

He cared nothing about Xu Chang’an’s or Yang Shiduo’s standing. He had always roamed the jianghu precisely to meet all kinds of people.

Ding Songyan and Zheng Zhuxi raised their cups, clinked with the others, and drained them.

As they drank, Xu Chang’an and Yang Shiduo couldn’t help stealing curious glances at the Headless Xing Chang.

Xing Chang opened his navel wide, baring two rows of white teeth, and poured his drink straight in with a gurgle.

Finding it unsatisfying, the Headless turned to the attendant standing nearby and said, "Bring me a bigger bowl!"

As the wine warmed their blood and cheeks, Pan Yunzhou worked to keep the conversation lively, and Ding Songyan played along without making it obvious. The mood at the table grew livelier still. Xu Chang’an and Yang Shiduo gradually found their footing as well, chiming in now and then.

Each of them was secretly moved.

Two or three months ago, they never could have imagined sitting at the same table as prefecture-famous Zheng Zhuxi, the Headless cavalry commander, and the legitimate heir of the Flame Capital’s Xie clan, drinking together, talking freely about the jianghu, and dreaming aloud about the future.

After several rounds, Xie Fengchao finished praising the life-preservation means of the Blameless Profound Art and asked Yang Shiduo what martial art he practiced.

When he learned it was the Iron Wound Fist, Xie Fengchao thought for a moment and said, "The Iron Wound Fist likely descends from the Impregnable Fortress Divine Art. It’s said to derive from a flying fish: the result of consuming it? You’ll fear no thunder, be capable of deflecting weapons, and have a body as hard as iron. If you ever get the chance, you must switch to the Impregnable Fortress Divine Art itself. That way, people from the Divine Empyrean Sect would naturally have to bow their heads to you, heh heh."

A great family like the Xie clan of the Flame Capital certainly had a copy of the Secret Classic of Mountains and Seas—though nowhere near as complete, detailed, or accurate as the one Ding Songyan had handed over to the Brightnight Sect.

The Secret Classic of Mountains and Seas described more than one kind of flying fish, but the moment Xie Fengchao mentioned fearing no thunder and deflecting weapons, Ding Songyan knew which one he meant.

Its form was like that of a pig, with red markings.

Combined with the physical anomalies of Yang Shiduo’s master, Hall Master Liu, Ding Songyan was certain Xie Fengchao had it right.

"The Impregnable Fortress Divine Art..." Yang Shiduo was immediately stirred.

Even his own master hadn’t known the Iron Wound Fist descended from the Impregnable Fortress Divine Art. His master had only told him that without the subsequent viscera installation methods, the Iron Wound Fist could take him no further than the mid-stage Great Proliferation Realm, or perhaps, with exceptional combat talent, a barely attainable fourth-rank Mortal Surpassed standing.

Yang Shiduo was nowhere near the stage where that would become a worry. Yet here, at a single drinking party, the legitimate heir of the Flame Capital’s Xie clan had handed him the answer in passing.

He reined in his excitement and asked in a steady voice, "Young Master Xie, which clan or school does the Impregnable Fortress Divine Art belong to?"

Xie Fengchao didn’t answer right away. He smiled instead.

"Isn’t this worth a cup?"

Yang Shiduo took a large bowl, filled it to the brim, and said sincerely, "Please, Young Master Xie, enlighten me."

With that, he tipped back the strong liquor with a gurgle.

Seeing the bowl drained, Xie Fengchao remarked "good," then thought for a moment.

"If I recall correctly, the Impregnable Fortress Divine Art is held by the imperial court. If you take the martial examination or earn merit in the military one day, it’s not impossible to obtain it."

"I have always intended to serve my country and earn my title on the battlefield." The liquor Yang Shiduo had just drained was rushing to his head. "How could men like us stand by while the lands north of the river remain in the hands of foreign tribes?"

"Well said!" Xing Chang suddenly burst out with a sharp shout.

He rose to his feet, lifted his bowl, and said to Yang Shiduo, "The current emperor intends to push north, but peace has lasted so long and the world has grown so comfortable that many people across every province and prefecture no longer want to fight and die for unification. They’d rather guard their little plot of land. If Great Zhao had more warriors like you, Brother Yang, why would we fear the homeland would not be restored?

"If you ever join the military, come find me!"

With that, Xing Chang poured the bowl of strong liquor into his open navel.

It was well known that every generation of the Headless longed to reclaim their homeland. Because of it, Xing Chang often faced cold looks and cutting remarks from ordinary townspeople, sect disciples, and scions of great families. Finding someone who truly shared his conviction was rare, and he couldn’t help feeling moved—this called for a proper drink.

Feeling Xing Chang’s emotion, Yang Shiduo didn’t decline. He drank another full bowl.

"Well spoken. Youth is the time for soaring ambitions!" Xie Fengchao had taken a real liking to Yang Shiduo. His words prompted everyone to drink another cup together.

That was Zheng Zhuxi’s second cup.

The night deepened. Sparse raindrops tapped against the glass panes outside while the music was stirring inside. The atmosphere was warm, and the food fragrant. The group toasted back and forth, each lost in visions of the future.

"What a shame, Miss Zheng, that your name is only known within Dingjiang Prefecture. That Flame Spear Li Rui didn’t even recognize you; otherwise, we’d all be famous throughout the world." The somewhat tipsy Xie Fengchao was genuinely regretful about it, and he had his own reasons: there had been suspicions that he himself was the Fang clan’s legitimate heir.

People of the jianghu, when not driven by profit, were always driven by reputation.

Isn’t that a good thing? Ding Songyan muttered to himself and steered the conversation toward Heaven’s Gate Lookout Island and the seekers of the Heavenly Realm.

Unfortunately, neither Xie Fengchao nor Xing Chang knew anything about Heaven’s Gate Lookout Island beyond what Zheng Zhuxi already knew.

Pleasantly drunk, Xie Fengchao suddenly grabbed a jar of wine, glanced at the window where the sound of rain was growing stronger, and laughed out loud.

"Since we’re talking about Heaven’s Gate Lookout Island, why not go explore it tonight while the mood is right?"

Ding Songyan and Zheng Zhuxi exchanged a quiet glance and nodded at the same moment.

This way, they wouldn’t need to use sightseeing as a cover at all.

Heaven’s Gate Lookout Island saw visitors regularly, and most of the group were well already tipsy. Everyone went along with Xie Fengchao’s suggestion, Xu Chang’an and Yang Shiduo included.

Xie Fengchao pushed open the glass window and gazed toward Heaven’s Gate Lookout Island at the river’s center. Then, suddenly, he brought his palm down and shattered a black lacquer bookshelf with a single strike.

The songstresses’ music stopped abruptly. The attendant who had been about to step forward and object watched Xie Fengchao toss over a banknote for 100 taels.

He stopped in his tracks, caught the note, and broke into a wide smile.

Smash whatever you like!

"Keep playing!" Xie Fengchao called to the songstresses.

He scooped up several chunks of broken wood and sent some of them scattering out over the river with the Celestial Maiden’s Flower Scatter technique.

To the rousing strains of the music, Xie Fengchao seized his wine jar, leaped out the window, and became the autumn wind itself. He tip-toed off the nearby city wall and the chunks of wood spinning through the air, sprinting toward the river’s heart.

Some of the wood chunks hid true qi within and drifted down slowly, letting him push off them in midair. Others fell straight and fast, unaffected by the autumn wind, and by the time Xie Fengchao reached the river’s surface, they were already floating there as stepping-stones.

He dashed on in this elegant fashion for a stretch, then flung out a second wave of wood into the river, skipping off each piece as he pressed forward.

Just as his momentum gave out, he landed on Heaven’s Gate Lookout Island, as though descended from the heavens.

Xie Fengchao was nearly spent and the alcohol was surging to his head, but he forced himself to hold his composure. He stood gracefully at the island’s edge, as though simply waiting for Ding Songyan and the others to make their way over by whatever means they chose.

What a showboat... Ding Songyan laughed and cursed inwardly.

Zheng Zhuxi murmured beside him, "Good thing the soldiers on the wall all know Commander Xing..."

Otherwise Fifth Young Master Xie would have been turned into a pincushion the moment he crossed the wall.

She glanced at the somewhat dumbstruck Xu Chang’an and Yang Shiduo, her dimples showing as she smiled.

"My movement technique isn’t up to Young Master Xie’s level. I’m going to hire a boat. Does anyone want to come with me?"

"Me." Xu Chang’an was the first to answer.

He knew perfectly well that trying to copy Xie Fengchao would only have him fall to his death.

Ding Songyan and Yang Shiduo agreed as well.

In the cold autumn wind, amid the damp air, Xie Fengchao waited in quiet suffering for nearly half an hour before he finally saw his companions arrive by rowboat, laughing and chatting as they came.

His expression was faintly stiff. He could only console himself that it had at least given him time to recover.

The seven of them wandered Heaven’s Gate Lookout Island, each carrying a wine jar of some size. Zheng Zhuxi and Ding Songyan, walking together, quietly activated their Candle-Star Pupils and began a careful search for any leads that might exist.

Among the island’s scattered rocks were rough stone shelters. Half-rotted thatched huts peppered the grove while pavilions and stone steles were at the center of the sandbar. After completing one full circle, they found nothing but the names carved by countless visitors and the scattered fragments left by generations of Heavenly Realm seekers—nothing familiar, nothing that sparked any new insight.

Standing before a shallow stone grotto, Ding Songyan decided to try his yin eyes.

Zheng Zhuxi stood guard beside him, one hand on her sword, the other holding her wine jar.

Soon, Ding Songyan saw the familiar dark wasteland, the dark stone pillars standing scattered across the netherworld, and far in the distance, the mountain range that might be the Nether Capital.

What struck him as strange was how few ghosts wandered this stretch of the underworld. There were only a handful drifting back and forth.

It was a stark contrast to the dense gathering of ghosts he had seen at Fengshui Bridge before.

As Ding Songyan looked around with furrowed brows, a massive shadow suddenly plummeted from the high, smoke-like darkness where nether-lightning crackled.