Childhood Friend or Destined Encounter? - Chapter 1

Legend has it that in ancient times, there were two great divine treasures: the Hetu (Yellow River Chart) and the Luoshu (Inscription of the River Luo). Fuxi obtained the Hetu and used it to derive the Five Elements and the Eight Trigrams, which later generations used for astrology, divination, and calculating the mysteries of heaven. Great Yu obtained the Luoshu, using it to successfully manage the great floods, divide the world into nine provinces, and establish the Nine Laws to govern society. After Fuxi’s passing, the Hetu was kept by his descendants, who withdrew from the world to guard it through the generations, forming the reclusive Dun-Yi Clan. After Great Yu departed, the Luoshu was passed down through the kings of the Tang, Wen, Wu, and Zhou dynasties. Sages relied on the “Art of the Emperor” within it to create a thousand years of prosperity and brilliance.

By the time of the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, various lords coveted the power of the Luoshu. Wars broke out, beacon fires lit the skies, and in the chaos of constant conflict, the Luoshu vanished without a trace. To spare the common people from the suffering of war, the Dun-Yi Clan re-emerged. Relying on their hidden knowledge, they assisted virtuous monarchs and left their names in the annals of history, including famous figures like Zhuge Liang and Dongfang Shuo.

The wheels of history rolled forward. For thousands of years, there were always those who tried every means to track down the Hetu and Luoshu, hoping to unite the two divine objects and use their power to achieve their deepest desires. Yet, all failed. But human ambition never truly dies.

A dark night with high winds is the perfect time for murder and arson.

The sky above the long-hidden Dun-Yi Clan was illuminated by countless torches. The air of despair spread rapidly through the peaceful, secluded clan amidst slaughter, pained cries, and weeping.

A line of armored soldiers stepped over the wailing crowd. The leader wore a sinister iron mask. He pulled his longsword from the chest of a young child beneath his horse, his low voice chillingly cold, “I’ll ask one more time. Where is the Hetu hidden? For every ten seconds I count, I will take a life. If you are still stubborn after a stick of incense has burned, then, not a single soul shall be left alive!”

“Ten, nine, eight…” The masked man dismounted and paced through the crowd, as if picking who would be best to kill first.

“We’ve already told you, the Hetu is not here! No matter how many times you ask, the answer remains the same!” A man with waist-length hair was covered in blood, looking haggard, his eyes filled with overwhelming hatred.

“Seven, six, five…” The masked man walked closer, knocking the long-haired man to the ground with a swift elbow strike.

“Father!” A little girl nearby rushed forward and hugged the man tightly.

“Is this… your daughter?” Seeing this, the masked man lifted the little girl with one hand, a glimmer of interest in his eyes, “She really is quite cute.”

“You beast, let her go!” Ignoring his own safety, the long-haired man lunged forward to grab the masked man’s sword hand, only to be kicked back to the ground. Simultaneously, a stunning woman who had been silent until now suddenly charged forward. She bit the masked man’s left hand hard, snatched the little girl from his grasp, and rolled away dozens of paces with her in her arms.

The masked man was momentarily stunned. Just as he was about to give chase, a subordinate hurried to his side and whispered something in his ear.

His expression became unreadable, “She’s here too? Then I’ll go meet her personally. Guard this place well, do not let a single person escape alive!”

However, the masked man found nothing at the scene. When he finally tracked down the woman his subordinate mentioned, they were in a forest two miles outside the clan village. The woman was tightly holding the hand of the little girl he had just been holding.

The woman had clear, elegant features, dressed in a set of royal palace robes and wielding a longsword that shimmered with a clear light. It was a strange combination, yet remarkably harmonious.

The masked man actually recognized the noblewoman, but he feigned ignorance. Lowering his voice, he said, “Today’s matter has nothing to do with you. If you are wise, leave now and you may live. If you insist on opposing our Baqi Pavilion, it won’t matter if you are royalty, you will end up in a grave.”

“You slaughtered my brother-in-law’s entire clan and harmed my sister and niece, yet you have the nerve to say it has nothing to do with me.” The woman shielded the little girl behind her and drew her sword, “Today, you either have the skill to keep me here, or I will make you pay tenfold for what you’ve done!”

Though she wore palace attire and looked like someone who lived a life of luxury, her martial arts were exquisite. Protecting a child alone, she still had strength to spare while being besieged by several elite martial arts masters.

The masked man did not strike yet. He patiently waited for his subordinates to wear down her stamina. When the moment was right, he crossed his hands and struck forward with his palms. However, the target of his strike was…

“Ci’er!” The noblewoman turned her head, only to see the little girl falling like a withered leaf, blood spilling from her body. Her eyes turned red with rage. One hand supported the girl’s back to protect her heart with internal energy, while the other swung her sword with murderous intent at the approaching masked man.

The masked man dodged, but he was a fraction too slow. The sword qi sliced through his iron mask, splitting it in two.

“So it’s you…” The woman looked up, finally seeing the man’s true face.

In the center of the Youjian Inn, an old storyteller sat surrounded by a crowd. Fanning himself, he vividly recounted a legendary tale of the martial world. He had just reached the part where, twelve years ago, the Baqi Pavilion annihilated the Dun-Yi Clan to seize the Hetu.

The old man intentionally paused for suspense. An impatient patron, Tea Guest A, couldn’t wait, “What happened next? Did the Baqi Pavilion succeed? Are there any survivors of the Dun-Yi Clan?”

“Are you stupid? If the Baqi Pavilion actually got it, with the divine power of the Hetu, the empire wouldn’t still be named ‘Zhu’ today. As for survivors, I’ve lived for decades and never seen one, so I really don’t know if they’re dead or alive,” Tea Guest B chimed in.

“If this story is true, those Baqi Pavilion people are truly loathsome. To wipe out an entire clan just for a vague legend,” Tea Guest C sighed with regret.

“Sigh, speaking of which, the Baqi Pavilion has really wreaked havoc in the martial world over the years, harming martial artists and kidnapping women and children. Why doesn’t the imperial court do something!” Tea Guest D said indignantly.

“The Baqi Pavilion is a martial arts organization, after all. The court and the martial world have always stayed out of each other’s way, so it’s hard to intervene. Many heroes and righteous men tried to take them down before, but after a few rounds with them, they all returned in defeat,” Tea Guest E shook his head.

“If that’s the case, is there really no one in the martial world who can deal with the Baqi Pavilion?” Tea Guest F asked curiously.

“That leads me to the main point of my story,” the storyteller said, seeing that the atmosphere was primed, “Before now, there truly was no one. Rumor has it the Master of the Baqi Pavilion has obtained the power of the Luoshu and is no ordinary opponent.

“But now, a young hero has emerged. You all must have heard her name: the famous eldest disciple of the Cangxuan Sect, Feng Ya.

“They say Feng Ya joined the Cangxuan Sect as a child and was personally taught everything by the Sect Master himself.

“At fifteen, she entered the martial world and wiped out the thirteen dens of the Black Wind Bandits with a single sword.

“At sixteen, she defeated the top young talents of every major sect to become the champion of the Youth Hero Tournament.

“At seventeen, she fought the Black and White Twin Evils, who had been famous for thirty years, and didn’t lose a step.

“At eighteen, she went into seclusion to study profound martial arts and has rarely been seen since.

“Now she is twenty-one, and it’s safe to say she has few rivals in the world.

“If you wonder why she is so capable at such a young age, there are many theories, but the most likely one is that the Hetu… is in her hands.

“Her reappearance will surely change the landscape of the martial world and pull the Baqi Pavilion out by its roots!”

The storyteller spoke with such passion that his face turned red. After that long speech, he quickly drank some tea to catch his breath.

Applause broke out in waves, and the audience seemed to want more. Only a girl in pink, sitting at a side table, whispered to the white-clothed woman carrying a sword, “This is the storyteller you found? He’s describing you like some earth-shattering legend, is this even reasonable?”

“As a protagonist, one naturally needs some legendary flair. It suits the audience’s taste,” the woman in white took a sip of tea, her expression as calm as her tone.

“But I seem to remember that when we first met, you were very badly injured,” the girl in pink teased mercilessly.

“…”

Before the woman in white could answer, the girl in pink continued, “So, are those stories he told about you actually true?”

“They happened, they were just given a bit of a dramatic treatment,” the woman in white picked up a peanut and chewed it seriously.

“Dramatic treatment? Like wiping out the thirteen dens of the Black Wind Bandits at fifteen?”

“The bandit chief was getting married. The guards all went to the main hall, and everyone in the camp got themselves drunk. I sneaked in and just tied up the chief.”

“Winning the Youth Hero Tournament at sixteen?”

“The opponents were all old friends I knew. They said if they won, they’d have to listen to those old geezers nag for ten days or two weeks, and the prize wasn’t attractive enough. So, we drew straws and I was the one pushed to win.”

“Fighting the Black and White Twin Evils at seventeen without losing?”

“They lost a bet to me. I tricked them into promising not to use internal energy, otherwise, word would get out that they were bullying a junior.”

“Going into seclusion at eighteen to study profound martial arts?”

“I went out once and got injured by someone who came out of nowhere. My master said from then on, I shouldn’t throw my name around and should stay low-key to maintain an air of mystery.”

“You’re really something,” the girl in pink stared wide-eyed. She reached out with her chopsticks to grab a peanut to calm her nerves, only to find the dish was already empty. She retracted her chopsticks gloomily and asked with some concern, “You want to lure the snake out of its hole, but with such an exaggerated story, will the people from Baqi Pavilion actually believe it?”

“When it comes to the Hetu and Luoshu, they would rather believe a lie than miss a chance. Besides, other than the part about the Hetu being in my hands, everything else he said was technically a fact.” The woman in white replied while turning her chopsticks toward a plate of dried tofu.

“I’ve heard the legends he mentioned at the start, but how do you know about the Baqi Pavilion wiping out the Dun-Yi Clan twelve years ago? Ever since I was little, the Dun-Yi Clan has only existed in myths. How can you be so sure?” The girl in pink was now full of curiosity and didn’t notice the second plate was almost empty too.

“It’s a logical deduction based on the Baqi Pavilion’s usual way of doing things. A story needs a complete logic to feel full and real.” A dark light flickered briefly in the white-clothed woman’s eyes. She finished speaking and set down her chopsticks, “I’m done eating. Let’s go.”

It wasn’t until the woman in white stood up to leave that the girl in pink noticed the empty plates, “You really didn’t leave a single bite for me!”

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