8: Chapter 8 The Feast at Hongmen

Three days later.

The Lingxiao Sect's liaison point in the capital.

Zhou Xian sat in his study, clutching a letter in his hand, his brow furrowed.

The letter was written by Third Prince Xiao Yu himself, and its content was concise and clear: in the name of the Lingxiao Sect, invite Seventh Prince Xiao Xuan to meet at the "Yunlai Pavilion" in the east of the city in three days. If he dared to come, seize him on the spot and interrogate him about the person backing him; if he didn't dare to come, it would solidify his reputation as a "useless waste," and he would have no place left in the capital in the future.

"Father," Zhou Xian looked at Zhou Tong beside him, "the Third Prince is using us as pawns."

Zhou Tong was silent for a moment before slowly saying, "I know."

"Then we..."

"Do as he says," Zhou Tong said. "Since we have already sought refuge with the Third Prince, there is no turning back."

Zhou Xian gritted his teeth and said, "But that Seventh Prince has a backer at the Middle Stage of the True God realm! If that person takes action..."

"They won't," Zhou Tong said. "If that person takes action, they would be making a direct enemy of the Third Prince. Behind the Third Prince is the entire Third Prince's Mansion, five Great Clans, and the Lingxiao Sect. No matter how strong that person is, they wouldn't dare to clash head-on with so many factions."

Zhou Xian fell silent.

Zhou Tong stood up, walked to the window, and gazed at the sky outside.

"Furthermore, this time we are inviting him, not attacking his doorstep. If he dares to come, we have reason on our side. If he doesn't dare to come, it's his Face that is lost. Either way, we won't lose out."

He turned around and looked at Zhou Xian.

"Go, deliver the letter to the Seventh Prince's Mansion."

...

Yongan Ward, Seventh Prince's Mansion.

The first basement level.

Zhao Gao presented the letter to Xiao Xuan.

"Your Highness, it was sent by someone from the Lingxiao Sect's Zhou Xian, inviting you to a meeting at the Yunlai Pavilion in the east of the city in three days."

Xiao Xuan took the letter, scanned it, and smiled slightly.

"A Hongmen Banquet."

Strategist Jia Xu leaned over to take a look, stroking his beard as he said, "The Third Prince wants to test Your Highness's depth. If Your Highness goes, they will surely have an ambush; if Your Highness does not go, they will spread word everywhere that Your Highness is as cowardly as a mouse, solidifying your reputation as a waste."

Xiao Xuan nodded. "What does the Strategist think?"

Strategist Jia Xu pondered, "If you go, it will be fraught with danger. If you don't go, your reputation will be ruined. This is a dilemma."

Xiao Xuan laughed.

"Then I'll go."

Strategist Jia Xu was stunned. "Your Highness?"

Xiao Xuan placed the letter on the desk and said calmly, "The Third Prince wants to see me, so I'll let him see me. He wants to know my depth, so I'll let him know."

He paused, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes.

"However, when the time comes, the one who regrets it might not be me."

Strategist Jia Xu's brow furrowed slightly. "Your Highness, Zhou Tong is at the Early Stage of the True God realm. If he takes action..."

"He won't," Xiao Xuan said. "At least not openly. A Hongmen Banquet is meant to make me bow my head, not to kill me. If I were to die on the Lingxiao Sect's territory, the Third Prince wouldn't be able to escape responsibility either."

He stood up and walked to the window.

"Furthermore..."

He looked toward the south of the city, the corners of his lips curling up slightly.

"This time, I'm bringing someone along."

...

That night.

South of the city, at a Daoist temple.

Jiang Ziya sat cross-legged on a prayer mat and suddenly opened his eyes.

He smiled slightly.

"Is Your Highness coming?"

Just as he finished speaking, a soft knocking sound came from outside the temple.

"Come in."

The door pushed open, and Xiao Xuan's figure appeared in the doorway.

This was the first time Xiao Xuan had come to this Daoist temple.

He looked around and saw that the furnishings inside the temple were extremely simple: a wooden couch, a prayer mat, and an oil lamp. There was nothing else besides these. Beside the couch stood a fishing rod, with a straight hook and no bait, ancient and unadorned.

Jiang Ziya stood up and bowed. "Your Highness."

Xiao Xuan supported him. "Master Jiang, there is no need for such ceremony."

The two sat facing each other.

Xiao Xuan said, "Master Jiang, the Third Prince has invited me in the name of the Lingxiao Sect to meet at the Yunlai Pavilion in the east of the city in three days. I intend to go."

Jiang Ziya nodded. "I know."

Xiao Xuan looked at him. "Master Jiang, what do you think?"

Jiang Ziya smiled slightly. "Your Highness already has the answer in your heart, so why ask me?"

Xiao Xuan also laughed.

"I would like to ask Master Jiang to accompany me."

Jiang Ziya bowed his head. "It would be my honor."

Xiao Xuan was silent for a moment, then suddenly asked, "Master Jiang, what kind of fish can that fishing rod of yours catch?"

Jiang Ziya looked at the fishing rod by the couch, his smile deepening.

"Whatever fish Your Highness wishes to catch, I can catch."

Xiao Xuan's eyes flashed.

"What if the fish I want to catch is at the Early Stage of the True God realm?"

Jiang Ziya said calmly, "Then he is but a fish."

Xiao Xuan stared at him for a moment, then suddenly laughed.

"Good. In three days, I will trouble Master Jiang."

He stood up to leave.

As he reached the door, he suddenly stopped and looked back, asking:

"Master Jiang, I've always wanted to ask—where did you come from?"

Jiang Ziya smiled slightly.

"Your Highness has the answer in your heart, so why ask me?"

Xiao Xuan was silent for a moment, then nodded and pushed the door open to leave.

Inside the Daoist temple, only Jiang Ziya remained.

He watched Xiao Xuan's departing back and murmured to himself:

"Your Highness finally asked..."

He smiled and sat back down cross-legged.

That fishing rod with the straight, unbaited hook still lay beside the couch.

But the radiance on the fishing rod, on this night, shone as brightly as the stars.

...

Three days later.

East of the city, Yunlai Pavilion.

This was a three-story teahouse located at the busiest intersection in the east of the city. Usually, people came and went, and it was exceptionally lively.

But today, the Yunlai Pavilion had been reserved.

The main doors were tightly shut, and two Disciples of the Lingxiao Sect stood in front of the door. Both were at the eighth-rank Grandmaster cultivation level, their eyes alertly scanning the passersby.

In a private room on the second floor.

Zhou Xian sat in the seat of honor, with a pot of tea and several plates of snacks set before him.

Behind him stood four Inner Sect Disciples of the Lingxiao Sect, all at the Ninth-Rank Great Grandmaster cultivation level.

Outside the private room, there were twenty elite Disciples of the Lingxiao Sect distributed at the stairs, corridors, and back courtyard.

Further away, in the teahouse opposite, Zhou Tong sat by the window, his gaze piercing through the street and landing on the main door of the Yunlai Pavilion.

He was the trump card for today.

If Xiao Xuan really brought that guard at the Late Stage of the Void Realm, he would take action.

If that mysterious person at the Middle Stage of the True God realm appeared, he would—

Flee.

He had already planned his escape route.

The sun rose higher.

At the Third quarter of the Hour of the Snake, an inconspicuous blue-clothed carriage slowly stopped in front of the Yunlai Pavilion.

The carriage door opened, and Xiao Xuan stepped down.

Today, he wore a set of black casual robes, with a dark jade belt tied around his waist. His black hair was held up by a jade hairpin. His Face was handsome and clear, his eyes gentle, and a faint smile played on his lips.

He looked just like an ordinary Young Master from a wealthy family.

Behind him, only one person followed.

An old man in gray clothes.

The old man was dressed in drab hemp clothes. His Face was withered and his figure hunched. He looked like an old servant hired by some large household, walking with a tremble as if he might fall at any moment.

The two Lingxiao Sect Disciples at the door exchanged a glance, a flash of contempt in their eyes.

This was it?

The Seventh Prince brought such a withered old man to a Hongmen Banquet?

Where was that legendary guard at the Late Stage of the Void Realm?

"Seventh Prince," a Disciple said with a cupped-hand salute, "Senior Brother Zhou is waiting on the second floor. Please."

Xiao Xuan nodded and led the gray-clothed old man inside.

The two of them crossed the main hall and walked up the stairs.

Everywhere they passed, the Lingxiao Sect Disciples hidden in various places cast their gazes over—some alert, some contemptuous, and some confused.

Xiao Xuan's expression remained unchanged, his steps composed.

The gray-clothed old man followed behind him, his head always lowered and his back hunched, seemingly oblivious to everything around him.

The second floor.

Zhou Xian stood up to greet him, a smile plastered on his Face.

"The Seventh Prince's arrival is a great honor. Please forgive me for not meeting you further out."

Xiao Xuan smiled slightly. "Senior Brother Zhou is too polite."

The two took their seats.

Zhou Xian glanced at the gray-clothed old man behind Xiao Xuan and smiled, "Seventh Prince, this person is..."

"An old servant," Xiao Xuan said calmly. "He has trouble with his legs, so he came along to serve."

A flash of suspicion crossed Zhou Xian's eyes.

He carefully observed the old man but could see nothing.

His aura was ordinary, merely at the Early Stage of the Cave-Heaven Realm, no different from any random Loose Cultivator on the street.

Could it be that the Seventh Prince really only brought such a waste?

Or was that guard at the Late Stage of the Void Realm hiding in the shadows?

Thoughts raced through Zhou Xian's mind, but he remained outwardly calm.

"Seventh Prince, please have some tea." He personally poured a cup of tea and pushed it in front of Xiao Xuan.

Xiao Xuan took the teacup and took a light sip.

"Good tea."

Zhou Xian smiled and said, "This is a spiritual tea specialty of the Lingxiao Sect, taken from a thousand-year-old tea tree on the back mountain. We only get three catties a year. If Your Highness likes it, I'll have someone send a few catties to your mansion later."

Xiao Xuan set down the teacup and smiled slightly.

"Senior Brother Zhou is too kind. However, one does not receive rewards without merit. I suspect Senior Brother Zhou didn't invite me here today just to drink tea, right?"

Zhou Xian's smile faltered.

He hadn't expected Xiao Xuan to be so direct.

"The Seventh Prince is a straightforward man, so I, Zhou, will not beat around the bush." Zhou Xian withdrew his smile and looked directly at Xiao Xuan. "I want to know, who is standing behind the Seventh Prince?"

Xiao Xuan raised an eyebrow.

"Behind me?"

"Yes," Zhou Xian said. "For eighteen years, the Seventh Prince was unknown. Then, as soon as you opened your mansion, a guard at the Late Stage of the Void Realm appeared by your side. Three months ago, the Baili Clan sent people to test you, and they were completely wiped out. Half a month ago, I sent people to test you, and they were also wiped out. My father personally intervened, and the result..."

He paused, his gaze burning.

"The result was that he fled in disgrace."

Xiao Xuan's expression remained unchanged.

Zhou Xian continued, "Seventh Prince, you are a fallen prince. Where did you get a Late Stage Void Realm guard? Where did you get a backer who could make someone at the Early Stage of the True God realm flee in disgrace? Who, exactly, is behind you?"

Xiao Xuan was silent for a moment, then suddenly smiled.

"Senior Brother Zhou, are you asking this for yourself, or for the Third Prince?"

Zhou Xian's expression changed slightly.

Xiao Xuan picked up his teacup, took a light sip, and said calmly:

"If you're asking for yourself, I advise you not to. If you're asking for the Third Prince, I advise you to go back and tell him—if he wants to know, he should come and ask in person."

Zhou Xian's Face darkened.

"Seventh Prince, I am asking you with kind words, yet you refuse to give me Face like this?"

Xiao Xuan smiled.

"Senior Brother Zhou, you set up this 'Hongmen Banquet' with over twenty people lying in ambush upstairs and downstairs, and your father sitting in the teahouse across the street. You call this 'kind words'?"

Zhou Xian's Face turned ashen.

Xiao Xuan put down the teacup and stood up.

"The tea has been drunk, the words have been spoken. Farewell."

He turned to leave.

"Stop!"

Zhou Xian stood up abruptly, and the four Ninth-Rank Great Grandmasters behind him all took a step forward.

Xiao Xuan paused and looked back at him.

"Senior Brother Zhou, is there something else?"

Zhou Xian gritted his teeth and said, "Seventh Prince, if you don't make things clear today, I'm afraid you won't walk out of this Yunlai Pavilion."

Xiao Xuan looked at him, his gaze as calm as water.

"Senior Brother Zhou, are you sure?"

Zhou Xian felt a chill in his heart from that look, but having already nocked the arrow, he had to fire.

"Do it!"

The four Ninth-Rank Great Grandmasters pounced together.

At the same time, the twenty Lingxiao Sect Disciples at the stairs also rushed up.

Then—

A terrifying pressure suddenly descended.

That pressure was as vast as the sea and as deep as an abyss, like the sky collapsing, crushing down from all directions.

The four Ninth-Rank Great Grandmasters bore the brunt of it; they all let out muffled groans and fell to the ground, bleeding from their seven orifices.

The twenty Lingxiao Sect Disciples, halfway through their charge, all froze in place like clay statues or wooden carvings.

Zhou Xian's Face turned deathly pale, his legs went weak, and he almost knelt down.

He used all his strength to look up toward the source of the pressure—

The grey-robed old man.

The old servant with a hunched back and trembling gait, whose aura was no more than the Early Stage of the Cave-Heaven Realm.

At this moment, he slowly straightened his back.

Those cloudy old eyes suddenly became clear as lightning.

Zhou Xian's pupils constricted.

A True God!

And definitely not just at the Early Stage!

"You—you are—"

The grey-robed old man did not look at him.

He only slightly tilted his head, looking toward the teahouse across the street.

There, Zhou Tong stood up abruptly, his Face as pale as paper.

It was him!

It was that mysterious person from that night!

That fishing rod!

Zhou Tong's whole body trembled; he wanted to flee, but his legs felt as if they had taken root, unable to move.

The grey-robed old man's voice sounded in his ear, very light and faint:

"Elder Zhou, we meet again."

Zhou Tong's throat bobbed, but he couldn't say a single word.

"I said last time that if there were a next time, my fishing rod wouldn't mind having one more fish."

The grey-robed old man paused.

"It seems you didn't listen."

With a "thud," Zhou Tong fell to his knees.

"Se-Senior, have mercy!"

The grey-robed old man ignored him.

He withdrew his gaze and looked at Zhou Xian.

Zhou Xian was shaking all over, his teeth chattering, nearly fainting.

The grey-robed old man said calmly:

"Young Master Zhou, I will ask you a question."

Zhou Xian nodded frantically.

"Inside your body, there is a trace of True God Bloodline. Your father passed it down to you, didn't he?"

Zhou Xian was stunned.

How did he know?

The grey-robed old man smiled slightly.

"I will help you take it back."

He raised his hand, his withered finger lightly hooking the air in the Void Realm.

Zhou Xian let out a miserable scream, curling up on the ground as his whole body convulsed.

A tiny thread of light, invisible to the naked eye, was forcibly pulled from his body and floated into the grey-robed old man's hand.

The grey-robed old man glanced at the thread of light and casually crushed it.

The thread of light dissipated.

Zhou Xian slumped on the floor, his Face the color of golden paper, his aura withered to the extreme.

That trace of True God Bloodline in his body had been forcibly extracted.

From now on, his cultivation talent would drop by at least seventy percent.

The grey-robed old man did not look at him again.

He turned, looked at Xiao Xuan, and bowed slightly.

"Your Highness, we can leave."

Xiao Xuan nodded and stepped downstairs.

The grey-robed old man followed behind him with a hunched back and a trembling gait, returning to being that unremarkable old servant.

The two walked out of Yunlai Pavilion, boarded their carriage, and drove away.

From beginning to end, not a single person dared to stop them.

...

The teahouse across the street.

Zhou Tong knelt on the floor, drenched in cold sweat.

The man had left.

That fishing rod had not descended.

He was still alive.

But he knew this was the final warning.

If there were a next time...

He didn't dare think about it.

He struggled to crawl up and staggered into Yunlai Pavilion.

On the second floor, Zhou Xian lay slumped on the ground, his breath faint.

"Xian'er!"

Zhou Tong rushed over, scooped up his son, and wept.

Zhou Xian opened his eyes, his lips trembling:

"Fa-Father... he... he is..."

Zhou Tong gritted his teeth and said, "I know. I know."

He looked up toward the direction where the carriage had disappeared, his eyes full of fear and despair.

That Seventh Prince... just who is he?

...

Yongan Ward, Seventh Princes Mansion.

First basement level.

Xiao Xuan sat in the main seat, with Jiang Ziya standing to one side.

Strategist Jia Xu, General Lu Bu, Zhao Gao, and the others were all present, their eyes filled with awe as they looked at Jiang Ziya.

They had already heard about today's events from Zhao Gao's report.

The grey-robed old man who usually went about with a hunched back was actually a peerless powerhouse at the Middle Stage of the True God realm!

"Your Highness," Strategist Jia Xu took a deep breath, "this Senior is..."

Xiao Xuan smiled slightly.

"Master Jiang, why don't you introduce yourself to everyone."

Jiang Ziya took a step forward and nodded slightly.

"I am Jiang Ziya. Greetings, everyone."

Jia Xu and the others hastily bowed.

"Greetings, Senior Jiang!"

Jiang Ziya waved his hand. "There is no need for such formality. I am just an old servant by His Highness's side, just like all of you."

Jia Xu and the others exchanged glances, the shock in their hearts difficult to express.

An old servant at the Middle Stage of the True God realm?

Just how many more trump cards does His Highness have?

Xiao Xuan saw their expressions and smiled slightly.

"Our own people knowing about Master Jiang is enough. To the outside world, he is still that grey-robed old servant."

Everyone chorused their agreement.

Xiao Xuan stood up and walked to the sand table.

On the sand table, next to the marker for the Lingxiao Sect, a small new symbol had been added.

That was the mark left by Jiang Ziya today.

"After today," Xiao Xuan said calmly, "the Zhou father and son will never dare to move against us again. The Lingxiao Sect will also have some reservations."

He turned around and looked at everyone.

"But this is only the beginning."

"The Third Prince will not let this rest. The Crown Prince will not sit idly by as we grow stronger."

"The road ahead will be even harder to walk."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over everyone.

"Everyone, are you ready?"

Strategist Jia Xu smiled slightly. "Rest assured, Your Highness. Your subjects have long been prepared."

General Lu Bu cupped his fists. "This subject is willing to go through fire and water for Your Highness!"

Zhao Gao bowed. "The Xuanying Guard is ready for Your Highness's deployment at any time."

Xiao He, Chen Qingzhi, Di Renjie, Master Lu Ban, and Zhangsun Wuji all expressed their commitment.

Xiao Xuan nodded and looked out the window at the night sky.

"Good."

"Then let them come."

...

South of the city, at the Taoist temple.

Jiang Ziya had already returned.

He sat cross-legged on a prayer mat, that fishing rod with its baitless straight hook still resting across his knees.

The luster on the fishing rod was much dimmer than before.

He took a look at it and smiled slightly.

"I used some up today, but it was worth it."

He murmured to himself, looking toward the direction of Yongan Ward.

"Your Highness, what this subject can do is clear some obstacles for you."

"The rest of the road, you must walk yourself."

He closed his eyes.

The Taoist temple fell into silence.

...