In the eighteenth year of Yongtai, on the fourteenth day of the eighth month.
The city of Luoyang welcomed the Central Plains martial world's quadrennial grand gathering as scheduled—the Youth Heroes Assembly.
Organized by the Justice Sect, this assembly was unprecedented in its grandeur. As early as the beginning of the eighth month, they had already begun building anticipation. By today, the city was brimming with clamor and bustling with immense excitement.
For the common folk of the city, this assembly was just like a festival. It spurred economic growth, provided plenty of spectacle to watch, and gave them bragging rights when talking to outsiders in the future—it brought a hundred benefits without a single drawback.
The authorities, on the other hand, had a bit of a headache over such events. With so many jianghu figures in the city, friction was inevitable. Even though martial artists followed their own rules and lives lost generally did not require official intervention, the authorities still bore the pressure of maintaining public order.
Fortunately... to relieve that pressure, Shen Youran had greased quite a few palms, so the officials had simply "put up with it."
On that morning, just after the hour of the dragon, the elders from various major sects who were attending the assembly, along with the invited "young heroes," began arriving one after another at the Justice Sect headquarters.
Martial practitioners generally rose early; arriving at this hour, when the sky had fully brightened, was just right.
Of course, there were exceptions...
Take those two bastards, Sun Yixie and Huang Donglai. Since they were already staying right inside the Justice Sect compound, they had no need to get up early, wash, change clothes, grab invitation cards, and pay a formal visit... They could simply wait at leisure.
Moreover, during these past days, the two had grown so idle that they had developed the habit of sleeping until the hour of the snake. So while everyone else was arriving at the Justice Sect for the gathering, those two were still fast asleep in their room, snoring away.
By the third quarter of the dragon hour, the reception hall of the Justice Sect was packed with heroes and champions from all walks of life.
Seated upright in the main seat at the far end of the hall was, naturally, the current sect leader of the Justice Sect, as well as the youngest sect leader in their sect's history—Shen Youran.
At this moment, even a man as composed as Sect Leader Shen could not help but beam with pride, his joy written plainly across his face.
On the surface, he was reveling in the prestige and respect he had garnered at this moment; in secret, he was rejoicing even more that his "grand scheme" was near fruition.
"Sect Leader, all invitations have been accounted for, and everyone has arrived," a disciple stepped up to Shen Youran and whispered.
Hearing this, Shen Youran immediately replied, "Good. Prepare to serve the tea."
"Yes, sir." Receiving the order, the disciple quickly withdrew.
Before long, more than a dozen Justice Sect disciples arrived in the corridor outside the main hall, each holding a tray laden with teacups, waiting for their cue.
At this point, Shen Youran rose from his seat at the opportune moment and cleared his throat.
Even before he spoke, the mere act of standing up drew the attention of nearly everyone in the hall.
"Everyone..." The instant Shen Youran spoke, the hall fell into respectful silence. The chatter ceased entirely as everyone quietly listened to Sect Leader Shen's address. "Fellow comrades of the jianghu, venerable seniors and teachers: I am deeply honored by your presence today. If Shen has been negligent in his hospitality, I beg your generous forgiveness."
Courtesy was always necessary, and Shen Youran was certainly well-versed in polite pleasantries.
"Sect Leader Shen is too modest." "Greetings, Sect Leader Shen." ...
The guests in the hall rose one after another to return the courtesy. Though spoken with various words and sounding somewhat chaotic, their sentiments were roughly the same—polite formalities.
Of course... there were those who showed no courtesy at all.
For instance, seated below were the second and third in command of the Water Transport Gang: Feng Shunfeng and Feng Shunshui. The two remained seated without moving an inch, not even sparing Shen Youran a glance. In any case, everyone in the martial world knew that the Water Transport Gang was on bad terms with the Justice Sect, and they did not care if people saw it.
However, no matter how bad the relationship between the two factions was, as one of the Four Sects and Three Gangs, the Water Transport Gang still had to dispatch two influential figures to attend an occasion like today's. What was more... Di Bujuan, the chief of the Water Transport Gang, had his own nephew invited to the assembly this year; if only to protect their own, they had to send people.
Moments later, once the clamor of replies died down, Shen Youran spoke again: "Shen is untalented, but having been nominated by various sect leaders and seniors, I have led the Justice Sect in undertaking the preparations for this Youth Heroes Assembly. Thanks to everyone's good fortune, all arrangements are now in order, and the opening is at hand... Allow Shen to offer tea in place of wine to toast everyone. I hope all my fellow martial artists will do me the honor of drinking this cup together with me..."
As he spoke, his Justice Sect disciples carried the tea inside and distributed the cups into the guests' hands.
When it came to wine, some disliked it or could not drink it; but tea was something anyone could drink. Refusing it had only one explanation: deliberately slighting the host.
And the ones brazenly refusing to give Shen Youran face at this critical juncture were, naturally, those two from the Water Transport Gang...
While everyone else raised their cups toward Sect Leader Shen, only Feng Shunfeng and Feng Shunshui remained seated, not even reaching for the cups on the small tables beside them.
"Second Master Feng, Third Master Feng... what is the meaning of this?" Shen Youran naturally noticed their behavior. Pausing his toast, he faced the two men and asked.
With that question, the gazes of everyone in the hall snapped toward the two Fengs. Whispers immediately rippled through the crowd, undoubtedly gossiping about the feud between the Water Transport Gang and the Justice Sect.
Under the scrutiny of so many eyes, the two did not show the slightest panic.
After a brief silence, Feng Shunfeng stood up unhurriedly. He cupped his fists to the crowd around him, then looked toward Shen Youran and replied, "Sect Leader Shen, Feng has a question. Taking advantage of the fact that all our fellow martial artists are here today, I would like to consult you."
Hearing this, Shen Youran's face darkened, though he slowly set down his teacup. "Second Master Feng, please speak freely."
A sneer crossed Feng Shunfeng's coarse, broad face. Stroking the tuft of beard on his chin, he asked in a sarcastic tone, "I've heard that for this assembly, in addition to the invitation list decided jointly by the major sects, Sect Leader Shen personally invited several young heroes who were not on the list... Is this true?"
"It is indeed true," Shen Youran answered openly and uprightly. "This is one of my prerogatives as the organizer of the assembly, as all our peers present are well aware. Does Second Master Feng object to this?"
"Hmph..." Feng Shunfeng snorted coldly. "Then could Sect Leader Shen explain to everyone on what basis the people you personally invited qualify to be called 'young heroes'?"
Hearing this, Shen Youran smiled as well. "Heh... Is Shen's judgment not sufficient?"
These words were rather arrogant.
Yet if one truly debated whether it was sufficient... it ought to be.
In today's martial world, even if the Luoyang Justice Sect's standing could not quite rival supreme sects with deep lineages like Shaolin or Wudang, it was certainly far beyond the reach of second- or third-rate sects. In the years since Shen Youran had assumed leadership, the Justice Sect had stood head and shoulders above the Four Sects and Three Gangs, boasting peerless prominence.
For a young person to be acknowledged by a first-rate sect leader and expert like Sect Leader Shen, calling them a "young hero" was naturally more than justified.
But Feng Shunfeng cared nothing for that. He was here to pick a quarrel in the first place, and he would stir up trouble whether he had reason or not...
"Ha! Good! What fine 'judgment'!" Feng Shunfeng let out a fake laugh, his gaze immediately darting toward a young monk in the hall. "This Little Master Chun Kong... though he has never set foot in the jianghu, he is the prized disciple of Master Jichen of Shaolin Monastery. That you invited him, fine..." He paused, then glanced toward a youth clad in a light-colored robe. "This successor to the 'Flying Crane of Mount Cang,' Young Hero Liu Yikong—you invited him... I imagine no one would object either." He paused once more, and his expression shifted. "However... I've heard you also invited someone named Sun Yixie, the young master of a merchant household from Hangzhou. What is the meaning of that?" His sarcastic tone returned in full force. "Could it be... that spots in the Youth Heroes Assembly can be bought and sold?"
Feng Shunfeng's words were venomous. Without a shred of evidence, solely based on Sun Yixie's family background, he hinted in every way that Shen Youran had taken bribes from the Sun family to invite Sun Yixie to the Youth Heroes Assembly.
Of course, as our story reveals in secret, Shen Youran indeed had a conspiracy and indeed coveted things from the Sun family, but he certainly was not doing it for mere money.
Nevertheless, gossip was a fearful thing... Furthermore, Sun Yixie and Huang Donglai had been viewed by outsiders as Shen Youran's "cronies" all along. So the moment Feng Shunfeng voiced this, many in the hall who already harbored jealousy or suspicion toward the two began buzzing with chatter.
"Second Master Feng, you go too far with—" Shen Youran began to refute him.
Unexpectedly, right at that moment...
"Hahahaha..."
A hearty burst of laughter rolled in from outside the doors.
The laughter boomed like spring thunder, shaking everyone present. Within mere strides, the person swept inside like a gust of wind through the hall, coming to a halt right in front of the Feng brothers.
Everyone in the hall looked closely: the man was around forty, dressed in Daoist robes, with a long sword on his back and a horsetail whisk draped over his arm. Every gesture and movement exuded an extraordinary aura of righteousness.
Many who had seen him before recognized him instantly, gasping his name in muted awe—the "Silver Daoist," Bai Ruhong.
"What a fine 'merchant's young master'!" The moment Bai Ruhong came to a halt, he cast a contemptuous look at Feng Shunfeng. "This poor Daoist has traveled all the way from Jiangnan to here. Along the road, everything I saw and heard told of one Sun Yixie of Hangzhou and one Huang Donglai of Shu... These two wiped out mountain bandits at Zouma Stronghold, cowed river bandits at the mouth of the Yangtze, solved a bizarre murder in Luzhou Prefecture, and slew six outlaws in Dragon King Cave... At a maneater inn, they took down 'Red Chopstick Tip,' and at Zhixian Pavilion, they bested 'Little Dezu'..." Having rattled off this entire list in a single breath, he turned to sweep his gaze across the hall. "This poor Daoist would like to ask you all: among the 'young heroes' seated here, how many consider yourselves superior to these two 'young masters' when it comes to performing chivalrous deeds?"
The young heroes of both sexes present were only seventeen or eighteen years old, and most still had some sense of shame.
Chastened by Bai Ruhong's words, many who had just been quietly sneering at Sun and Huang hung their heads in shame, or at the very least averted their eyes and held their tongues.
"Senior Bai..." Hearing this, Feng Shunfeng felt rather embarrassed. "These deeds... were they truly done by them? Could you have misheard rumors from somewhere?"
His attitude toward Bai Ruhong remained exceedingly respectful. Everyone in the jianghu knew that the four known as "Golden Beggar, Silver Daoist, Bronze Scholar, and Iron Monk" belonged to no sect, acted entirely on whim, hated evil like a mortal enemy, and were notoriously temperamental. Simply put... their martial arts were astonishingly high, and no one could control them. If one of them felt he held the moral high ground, he would strike at the slightest provocation, and a single strike might cripple your martial arts for good.
Thus, even if Feng dared to offend Shen Youran, he did not dare act insolently before Bai Ruhong.
"Nonsense!" Bai Ruhong showed no such courtesy to Feng Shunfeng. "Then where did you hear that Sect Leader Shen took bribes from the Sun family? Or did you deliberately intend to sling slander?"
"No, no, no... I didn't mean that at all..." Feng Shunfeng instantly caved.
At this point, naturally no one dared question Sun Yixie's qualifications or accuse Shen Youran of shady dealings anymore.
Observing with a cool detachment from afar, Shen Youran felt that things had gone far enough. He needed to offer Feng a way out; otherwise, if a fight truly broke out, it would only jeopardize his grand affair.
"Senior Bai, please do not be angered." A breath later, Shen Youran stepped forward briskly, arriving beside Bai Ruhong and the Feng brothers. Cupping his hands in salute, he said, "I believe... Second Master Feng had no ill intent, merely worrying that the assembly's spots might have been handled improperly, which prompted his question. My worthy younger brothers Yixie and Donglai have indeed only just ventured into the jianghu, so it is understandable that Second Master Feng was unfamiliar with their deeds."
"Hmph." Hearing this, Bai Ruhong returned Shen Youran's salute, then glanced askance at Feng Shunfeng. "It seems Sect Leader Shen is still the one who understands reason and grasps the bigger picture... Very well, out of respect for your face, this poor Daoist will hold his tongue."
"This junior thanks Senior Bai." Shen Youran immediately beamed and signaled to his subordinates to serve Bai Ruhong tea as well.
A moment later, Shen Youran returned to the main seat. At last, he drank the toast of tea together with everyone.
This time, even the people from the Water Transport Gang had no choice but to show him that respect...
And with this single sip of tea, thirty percent of Shen Youran's grand scheme was already secured. As for the remaining seventy percent... that shall be revealed in the chapters to come.
Chapter 42