"That kid dares show his face here?"
"Hmph. Carried away by his own success! Pushing people too far!"
Inside the Zhou family's front gates, several disciples whispered with bowed heads.
Their eyes were fixed on the Zhang family's contingent.
Besides the Zhang father and son and the disciples of their school, there were two conspicuous figures: one in a black cloth martial robe with sharp, piercing eyes, and the other tall and burly, with a bald head and a full beard—Li Yan and Sha Lifei.
The Zhou family disciples could hardly stomach the sight.
The other factions were one thing; they all ran in the circles of Xianyang and had ties or grievances of one kind or another with the Zhou family over the years, and today they had come to settle matters cleanly.
But who did Li Yan think he was?
Ever since he arrived in Xianyang, he had made a name for himself by crippling Zhou Bai, and Zhou Peide had even resorted to desperate measures because of it, ending up in the prefectural prison to await execution after autumn.
From start to finish, Li Yan hadn't suffered a single loss.
And now he dared to walk right through their doors? Wasn't that shoving his nose right into their faces?
Of course, given the current state of affairs, none of them dared speak out.
Once the anger passed, only helplessness and sorrow welled in their hearts.
Li Yan's senses were keen, so he naturally felt the barrage of hostile stares.
He couldn't be bothered to care, glancing instead toward the rear.
Standing there was a middle-aged man in black robes, wearing a square scholar-official cap. He was tall, with greying temples and square, imposing features, flanked by two yamen runners.
It was Head Constable Guan Wanche of Xianyang.
Beside him, Sha Lifei took notice and muttered disdainfully, "What're you looking at him for? He's just an opportunist who bends whichever way the wind blows. No need to pay him any mind."
Sha Lifei was right. Plenty of folks on the Guanzhong roads knew that Guan Wanche and Li Yan's father, Li Hu, had once been sworn brothers who shared life and death—a much closer connection than Old Master Zhang's.
Yet when Li Hu died, Guan Wanche had never shown up, nor had he ever visited Li Yan and his grandfather in Fort Li over the years. Li Yan hadn't even known the man existed.
According to Zhang Shitong, when Guan Wanche was transferred to Xianyang as head constable, many assumed he had come to cause trouble for Zhou Pan, yet not a ripple followed.
The only time he had intervened was during the massacre of Zheng Xianhuai's household, when yamen runners tried to make Li Yan a scapegoat, and Guan Wanche had stopped them.
Li Yan didn't care about the fickleness of worldly sentiment.
In the jianghu, the tea often grew cold before the guest even left.
What puzzled him was why Guan Wanche was here today.
As if sensing Li Yan's gaze, Guan Wanche walked straight over. Expressionless, he sized Li Yan up for a few moments and asked coolly, "Do you bear a grudge against me?"
Li Yan replied calmly, "We are strangers. What grudge could there be?"
"Good."
Guan Wanche gave a cold nod and sneered. "Your father and I were sworn brothers, yet he failed my sister. She ran off to Mount Taibai to dedicate herself to the Dao, leaving my mother weeping every single day. Have you ever seen a brother like that?"
Li Yan froze, then let out an awkward chuckle. "Well... that was the previous generation's business. I really don't know much about it."
That brought back an old memory.
One New Year, his father hadn't come home, which had already put Li Yan's grandfather in a foul mood. Then two beautiful women showed up at the front gate, fighting tooth and nail out of jealousy, nearly giving the old man a stroke.
One of them seemed to have been surnamed Guan.
And judging by what they said back then, his father's romantic debts went far beyond just those two...
Recalling this, Li Yan felt utterly helpless.
Looking around, he saw not only Sha Lifei's eyes bulging wide, but even the Zhang father and son and their disciples had perked up their ears, their faces practically dripping with gossip.
"Shoo, scram."
Li Yan shoved Sha Lifei aside and said solemnly, "It isn't my place to comment on the older generation's affairs, but whatever grudges there are, I can take them."
"Take them?"
Guan Wanche sneered. "My sister is meek; she swallowed her grievances in silence. But some women are not so easily trifled with. You think you can handle them?"
His expression softened slightly as he sighed and patted Li Yan on the shoulder. "In the end, you are the son of an old friend. Now that you've entered the jianghu, take care of yourself. Don't take after your father."
With that, he turned on his heel and strode into the Zhou compound.
Beside them, Zhang Yuanshang stroked his beard and nodded. "It seems Head Constable Guan isn't heartless after all, just harboring some resentment. Come, let's see off the Old Monkey today."
With that, he led the group stride for stride into the residence.
Li Yan deliberately hung back a few steps. With practiced subtlety, he pulled a slip of paper from the seam of his shoulder. Glancing at the handwriting, a fierce glint flashed in his eyes.
...
The Zhou family's compound was undeniably spacious, with several courtyards nested within one another. Every courtyard possessed a martial arts training ground lined with weapons racks. It was said that in its prime, the school boasted several hundred disciples.
And those were merely the disciples of the martial arts school, not counting the peripheral associates under the Eight Great Vajras.
It was easy to imagine the Zhou family's former glory.
Yet now, fewer than a hundred disciples remained after the exodus. Many courtyards lay desolate and empty, their grounds littered with debris that no one bothered to sweep.
Before long, the main hall of the Zhou residence filled with guests.
The hall was immense, more than three times the size of the one at the Zhang Martial Arts School. Dignitaries of stature sat along both sides, while their disciples stood behind them.
Even so, a good deal of the hall remained vacant.
Presiding over the golden basin hand-washing ceremony was Zhou Pan's disciple, Zhou Yuanshan, one of the Eight Great Vajras and a member of the Zhou clan. Unlike Zhou Peide, he was tall and burly, with an honest, slow-witted appearance.
Cupping his hands to all four sides, he declared, "Today is an auspicious day, marking the occasion of my master washing his hands in a golden basin. Your presence brings immense honor to our humble abode."
"Spare us the empty pleasantries."
A man in green robes looked somewhat displeased. Taking a sip of tea, he remarked coldly, "With so many jianghu peers gathered here, Zhou Pan didn't even greet us at the door, and now he makes everyone wait. Isn't he putting on far too many airs?"
The speaker was Han Kun, chief of the Canal Gang.
The Canal Gang was a true titan, dominating countless docks across the north. Wherever rivers flowed, its disciples walked, maintaining branch halls everywhere.
The Canal Gang in the north, the Rafting Sect in the south, and the Four Seas Gang on the open waters—practically everyone under heaven who made a living from the water was tied to them in one way or another.
The Xianyang Canal Gang was merely one modest branch.
Even so, Chief Han's standing was formidable, and he was himself a transformative jin master on par with Zhou Pan.
It was precisely the pressure from the Canal Gang and Taixing Livery that had made Zhou Pan wary, prompting him to pull back his influence to preserve what he had left.
Seeing Han Kun lose his temper, Zhou Yuanshan broke into a cold sweat. Just as he opened his mouth to explain, an aged fit of coughing sounded from behind.
"Chief Han, this old man is not putting on airs."
An old man entered slowly through the side door of the main hall. It was Zhou Pan.
Yet he looked thoroughly exhausted, his hair and beard withered and white, as if he had aged years in a matter of days.
"I have made a fool of myself before everyone."
Meeting the surprised stares of the crowd, Zhou Pan smiled self-deprecatingly. "I was just tending to some family matters. Having disciples refuse to show up is one thing, but even my own kin in the Zhou family have been squabbling over dividing the family property. Heh, ridiculous, truly."
Many in attendance were heads of their own houses or factions.
He who does not run a household knows not the cost of rice and firewood.
And only once one took charge did one realize that daily necessities were trivial compared to the misery of a divided house.
Remembering how unassailable and arrogant Zhou Pan had once been, the crowd couldn't help but feel a twinge of sympathy. The jianghu was harsh; who knew when their turn would come?
Zhou Pan seemed to have lost all his fighting spirit. Cupping his hands, he said in an aged, rasping voice, "All my life, I sought to win, always striving to come out on top. As a result, I have few friends and many enemies. Only now do I see that everything is fate, not one bit subject to human will.
"If I have offended any of you in the past, I ask for your forgiveness."
Seeing the crowd remain silent, he let out a wry chuckle and shook his head. "Now I am weary, wishing only to return home and live as an old farmer. Whatever grievances you have, let us settle them all today.
"Life or death, let all grudges be erased!"
Having said that, he glanced to the side and gave a nod.
A copper basin was already prepared there, resting on a stand of finest sandalwood. The basin itself was an exquisite piece, gleaming with a golden luster, carved with five bats, and half-filled with clear water.
Zhou Yuanshan picked up three sticks of incense, lit them, bowed three times to the portrait of the ancestral master hanging in the hall, and inserted them into the incense burner.
The Canal Gang, Taixing Livery, and the various schools led by the Zhang Martial Arts School had already made their plans in advance and naturally raised no objections.
The leaders gave a nod, and disciples stepped forward with strips of red cloth, tying them to the stand beneath the copper basin to signify their consent.
If the three sticks of incense burned down without anyone voicing an objection, the golden basin hand-washing could begin, marking his complete retirement from the jianghu.
"Some matters indeed need to be addressed!"
Luo Shihai slammed his teacup down, his tone harsh. "Old Monkey, don't play the victim here. You never thought like this back when you were throwing your weight around!"
Zhou Pan seemed to have anticipated this. He bowed with cupped hands and said, "Brother Luo, I did you wrong in the past. Men, bring him in!"
As soon as the words left his mouth, two disciples dragged a man into the hall.
He was a handsome middle-aged man, with good looks ruined by swollen, puffy eyes and an air of thorough dissipation from excessive wine and women. Stricken with terror, he knelt and repeatedly banged his head against the floor. "Eldest Uncle, spare my life! Eldest Uncle, spare my life!"
Zhou Pan sighed. "When a family grows large, many things go beyond one's control. Back then, my mother was still alive, and when she gave an order, I had no choice but to offend Brother Luo.
"Zhou Luohai has also committed other crimes, and I have already reported him to the authorities. Head Constable Guan has come today to take him away, and he will likely face execution after autumn.
"Brother Luo, does this satisfy you?"
"Ha!"
How could Luo Shihai truly be satisfied? He sneered, "You old bastard, you certainly know how to sacrifice your kin for righteousness now. Where was this virtue back then?"
Be that as it may, he no longer had an excuse to press the matter. He glared bitterly at Zhou Pan, then had his disciple go forward and tie a red ribbon to the stand.
Zhou Pan maintained a calm expression and cupped his hands to the room once more.
"Friends, does anyone else have a grievance to settle?"
Though he had lost the larger board, how could he attempt to wash his hands in a golden basin without preparation? He had already reached out to the various factions in secret and made substantial concessions.
Even for the difficult Luo Shihai, he had prepared a countermeasure.
He needed only to finish the ceremony, and he would depart Xianyang immediately.
Yet just as satisfaction began to rise in his chest, Li Yan slowly rose to his feet.
"Oh?"
Zhou Pan's gaze turned dark. "Kid, the others have their grievances, but you crippled one of my Zhou family disciples. If anyone has a grievance, it is us!
"Settling scores isn't done like this..."
Expressionless, Li Yan stepped into the center of the hall and asked without the slightest courtesy, "I only want to ask: was my father's death back then connected to you?"
Zhou Pan shook his head. "Your father died in disgrace. Given the chance, I would have preferred to defeat him fair and square."
"A fine 'fair and square'!"
Murderous intent flashed in Li Yan's eyes. "Anqing Hall, Lugong Plateau—Zhou, don't tell me you've forgotten!"
At those words, Zhou Pan's expression instantly changed...
Chapter 79