Chapter 99: Chapter 99

“Junior Brother Shen!”

Shen Xiuhan looked up at the sound.

Atop the towering vermilion tower ship, a round-faced girl in a goose-yellow dress was leaning out over the rail, waving at him.

“Fifth Senior Sister?”

Surprise crossed Shen Xiuhan’s eyes.

The girl was none other than Mei Hall’s Fifth Senior Sister — Ding Qing.

She was ordinarily posted with the Luo clan, serving as the personal bodyguard of the Luo family’s eldest young lady, Luo Tangyin.

Early last month she had made a brief trip back to Changyun County — supposedly to purchase some items for Luo Tangyin — only to rush back to the prefectural city the very next day. He hadn’t expected to run into her again here.

“What brings Senior Sister out this way?” Shen Xiuhan asked, feigning ignorance.

Ding Qing leapt lightly from the ship, landing in front of him with barely a sound.

“I was supposed to stay at Bixia Mountain Estate for a while, standing guard while the young lady attempted her Hidden Strength breakthrough. But then…”

She paused, a note of excitement creeping into her voice.

“A few days ago, word came from the main household. The Wang clan — one of the Five Families — is organizing a Longxiang Martial Feast here in Changyun County! The top three finishers get to cultivate in the Dragon Blood Essence Pool for three days. The moment the young lady heard, she changed her plans on the spot and set out for home overnight.”

Off to the side, the silent, arms-folded Xiao Wu caught the words “Dragon Blood Essence Pool,” and a sharp glint flared in his eyes.

He stepped forward, his voice steady and resonant.

“Pardon me, miss — this Dragon Blood Essence Pool, is it the exclusive spirit-realm controlled by the Longxiang Army, one of the Great Qi’s five armies?”

Ding Qing hadn’t paid the rough-clothed young man any attention until now.

But the moment Xiao Wu spoke, she felt an inexplicable surge of masculine presence wash over her like a wave.

It pushed her back half a step. Color rose to her cheeks. She glanced sideways at Shen Xiuhan.

“Junior Brother, this gentleman is…?”

“Don’t worry, Senior Sister. Brother Xiao is a friend I’ve recently made. He means no harm.”

Shen Xiuhan raised a hand to reassure her.

Only then did Ding Qing steady herself. She regarded Xiao Wu, hesitated a moment, then answered truthfully.

“That’s right — the very spirit-realm under the Longxiang Army’s control. I hear the spiritual energy inside is so dense it forms mist, and the blood-qi surges with tremendous force. For a martial artist attempting to smash through a major barrier, the effect is transformative.”

“The Wang clan has gone all out for this feast. Their promise is that the top three finishers not only enter the Pool to cultivate, but those who wish it can also enlist in the Longxiang Army. Depending on their cultivation, they’d receive military posts — centurion, deputy camp commander, and so forth!”

“Is that so…”

Xiao Wu clapped his hands, eyes blazing with fervor.

“A man born between heaven and earth should carve an immortal name defending his country! This Longxiang Martial Feast — I’d very much like to give it a try!”

Ding Qing watched the spirited young man, and an inexplicable flutter of admiration stirred in her chest.

But in the next instant she caught herself, cheeks burning, inwardly mortified.

‘What’s come over me? Have I lost my mind? Junior Brother is standing right here — I absolutely must not lose my composure!’

She shook her head hard, gathered herself for a beat, then continued.

“The Longxiang Martial Feast is no small affair. According to the main household’s letter, it aims to assemble the young talents and Hidden Strength experts from all the major powers and martial halls across Changyun and Changshui counties.”

“Preparations are still underway. I’d estimate the official opening won’t come for another ten days or so. If Brother Xiao truly intends to compete, keep an ear to the ground for news from the inner city’s major houses…”

“Many thanks for the information, miss.”

Xiao Wu clasped his fists with a gallant smile.

They exchanged a few more pleasantries. Seeing the hour growing late, Shen Xiuhan ducked into the canopied cabin.

He carried out the iron fish-basket containing the Ink-Bone Green Fish and passed it to Ding Qing.

“Senior Sister, this is a second-tier Ink-Bone Green Fish. Would you trouble yourself to bring it back for Master? Ask her to fire up the furnace and refine it into pills for me…”

“A second-tier treasure fish?”

Ding Qing lifted the lid for a look.

Feeling the fierce qi-blood pulsing inside, she couldn’t help but let out a soft gasp.

Before she could ask further —

On the tower ship’s second deck, behind the beaded curtain, came a crisp, clear chime of collision.

A moment later, a graceful figure emerged from the cabin door, flanked by attendants.

It was a woman.

She wore a snow-white gown that seemed to glow. Tall and slender, her face was devastating in its beauty. Yet frost gathered between her brows, lending her an air of cold, aloof distance — as though nothing in this world were worthy of her attention.

None other than Luo Tangyin.

Luo Tangyin gazed down from on high. Her lips, red as cinnabar, parted. Her voice fell like a cold spring.

“Xiao Qing, it’s time to go.”

Ding Qing stuck out her tongue, hastily waved goodbye to Shen Xiuhan and Xiao Wu.

“The young lady’s getting impatient — I have to run! Junior Brother, I’ll see you at the hall!”

With that, she turned and trotted off to meet her mistress.

Beside him, Xiao Wu heard that cool, ringing voice. His thick brows twitched upward, and he raised his gaze.

In that instant, their eyes met.

The moment Luo Tangyin’s gaze locked with Xiao Wu’s from her vantage above, her expression froze.

She stared down at the gallant young man below, held there for several full breaths.

And then — this ice-cold beauty whose name resounded across Changyun — felt a bloom of vivid crimson rise unbidden to her porcelain cheeks.

She turned away toward the cabin, took two steps, and stopped.

An internal struggle.

She turned back. Her lovely eyes darted, not quite meeting Xiao Wu’s gaze. Her voice had lost its frost and carried instead a thread of softness.

“This gentleman… are you also from Changyun County?”

Xiao Wu clasped his fists and answered in a clear, ringing voice. “My name is Xiao Wu. I am indeed from Changyun County.”

Luo Tangyin bit her lower lip. The flush on her face deepened. Under the stunned gazes of every servant on deck, she spoke again.

“The wind and waves on the lake are no small thing. If it wouldn’t trouble you, sir… would you care to board the ship and travel with me?”

“Ha ha ha! An offer of such grace — it would be rude to refuse!”

Xiao Wu accepted without a shred of hesitation.

He even remembered to turn and call back to Shen Xiuhan.

“Brother Shen — see you in Changyun!”

With that, he boarded the tower ship as though it were the most natural thing in the world, and his figure vanished behind the beaded curtain.

On the water, Shen Xiuhan watched the ship recede into the distance. For a long moment, his mind went blank.

This Luo clan eldest young lady — by all appearances, she was the type to freeze a man at a thousand paces.

Yet in front of Xiao Wu…

Not only did she speak first, she had blushed and invited him to sail with her?

This sort of scene was the kind you only heard from storytellers in wine houses and pleasure halls.

Or in the dime novels scribbled by down-on-their-luck scholars who couldn’t pass their examinations…

He never imagined… he’d see it play out before his very eyes.

So this was the fortune-halo of a Child of Destiny?

…

The tower ship vanished beyond the waterline. The wind on the lake turned biting.

Shen Xiuhan was about to step into the cabin.

When all at once —

FWOOSH…

BANG!

From the east, with no warning at all, came a shrill whistle.

Then a blinding burst of blood-red smoke exploded across the sky.

Before Shen Xiuhan could react, two more detonations followed in rapid succession.

FWOOSH… BANG!

FWOOSH… BANG!

Three arrows in a row, scarlet glare blotting out the sky.

Shen Xiuhan whipped around, eyes fixed on the direction of Yunyi Island. His face hardened.

“Signal rockets…”

When Shen Xiuhan had first arrived on Yunyi Island, Deng Shan had given him these very flares.

With explicit instructions:

‘These signal rockets are for emergencies only — to be used solely when Chenjian Wu attacks!’

And three launched at once could mean only one thing.

A major Chenjian Wu assault.

Yunyi Island…

Was in dire peril.

“I need to get back. Now.”