Stranger Danger

“What do you think of this ‘West Wing Dream’, Duke?”

Inside the Chu River Embassy, the Pacification King and the Martial Might Duke were sitting in a pavilion, savoring a cup of delicious wine, and enjoying an opera play.

The opera play was the famous “West Wing Dream”. It told the story of a poor scholar and a wealthy family’s woman falling in love with each other at first sight, and how they were able to break free from the shackles of tradition and conventional ethics to be together.

The story was nothing new, but the performer on stage was the famous Qi opera singer, Ling Mingjue. His singing was graceful and melodious, lingering and gentle, intoxicating and stimulating.

After the performance was over, the Pacification King closed his eyes and savored the moment for a bit before asking the Martial Might Duke what he thought about the opera play.

“It’s okay. I’m an uncouth man. The love between a man and a woman is just cringey and boring to me.” The Martial Might Duke chuckled. “If your wine isn’t as good as it is, I would have left a long time ago.”

The Martial Might Duke was in his fifties. He was tall, muscular, and sported a rugged appearance. His voice was loud and sharp like the beat of a drum, capable of deafening a man’s ears if they were standing too close.

The Martial Might Duke’s true name was Guo Ximian, and he was a noble of Chu with true power and influence. His life story was quite the legendary one.

Guo Ximian was born in the Guo Clan of Jian Nan, and the Guo Clan was an aristocratic clan in the Jian Nan region with a long history. At the time, Guo Ximian was a lineal descendant, his father was the clan patriarch.

From the moment Guo Ximian was born, he already stood at a level most people could never reach even if they toiled their whole lives. Logically speaking, Guo Ximian was destined to become the next patriarch. Even if he turned out to be inept and useless, he still would have enjoyed a lifetime of luxury.

However, man plans and heavens laugh. Not long after Guo Ximian was born, his father was ambushed and killed during an outing, and the branch family seized the opportunity to take over. Not long after that, the new patriarch launched an all-out attack against the main family. Guo Ximian’s mother was killed, but he survived thanks to a family slave. He was eventually adopted by a pair of ordinary husband and wife.

Unfortunately, his adopted parents were killed by mountain bandits when Guo Ximian was eight years old. He himself was kidnapped and forced to become a mountain bandit himself.

The mountain bandits thought Guo Ximian too young to understand what had happened to him, but he was precocious and knew with every fiber of his body that his kidnappers were his parents’ killers. He also understood that he was no match for them at his age, and that he couldn’t reveal his hatred one bit. If he did, the bandits would not hesitate to add another child to their body count.

So, he buried his hatred deep and pretended to be one of them. He patiently waited for the opportunity to take revenge.

Finally, when he was twelve years old, Guo Ximian secretly poisoned the wine during the bandit leader’s birthday feast. He was able to kill all seventy two of them, cut off their heads, and dragged them over to his parents’ grave using an ox cart. He piled the heads in front of their graves as offerings to his parents below.

With that done, Guo Ximian joined the army next. The Jiannan prefecture bordered the One Hundred Thousand Mountains of Nanjiang, and countless tribes and bandits lived within those mountains. They were a source of constant trouble to the people of Jiannan.

Tempered by blood and fire, Guo Ximian started as a lowly pawn, but eventually became the general of an army. Then, several hundred Nanjiang tribes decided to turn traitor, and the Jiannan prefecture fell into grave danger. However, Guo Ximian was able to unite the people, splinter the tribes, and lead an army of tens of thousands to stamp out the traitors of Nanjiang.

The heads tumbled like logs, and the blood ran like rivers. Over a hundred thousand Nanjiang natives had died in Guo Ximian’s hands. It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that Guo Ximian had snapped the spine of the hundred tribes of Nanjiang via brute force and dealt them a blow they might not recover even with a century’s of rest and recuperation.

Killing one person was a crime, but killing ten thousand people was a heroic deed, and killing one hundred thousand people was a kingly merit. So, Guo Ximian came to be known as the Blood King.

To this day, the name “Blood King Guo Ximian” struck terror in the hearts of the hundred tribes of Nanjiang. He became the living boogeyman who kept the adults wide awake during some nights.

Because Guo Ximian pacified the hundred tribes of Nanjiang and did Chu a great service, he was conferred the Great General of Jiannan. Today, he led an army of three hundred thousand at Nanjiang called the Nanjiang Pacification Army.

This was why Guo Ximian the Martial Might Duke was one of the most powerful and influential persons in Chu.

“Your love is fully devoted to your nation and realm. I can understand why someone like you would find such small love beneath you.”

The Pacification King took a sip of wine before continuing, “But of course, that is not to say that the big love is always greater than the small love. They all have their wonders and intricacies. Only those who understand the beauty of a man and woman’s love may know the goodness of mankind. personally I think that you are missing out on one of the greatest pleasures of humanity, duke!”

The Pacification King was in his forties, and his appearance was the complete opposite of the Martial Might Duke. His countenance was handsome and refined, and his bearing felt almost divine. His every gesture, every expression was elegant beyond reproach and picturesque to the point where it felt as if he did not belong to this world. This was evident from the fact that the female attendants serving him could not stop sneaking looks at him and losing themselves in his countenance.

“Allow me to refill your wine, Your Highness…”

“No, allow me…”

As soon as the Pacification King set down his wine cup, they immediately rushed over to refill it. They were practically pushing each other to reach his side first.

Sensing their lustful gaze and sudden behavior, a guard wearing a set of black armor and a dark red mask suddenly took a step forward. His eyes were cold and full of killing intent. It looked like he would slay the female attendants where they stood if they dared to take another step forward.

The man’s killing intent was so terrifying that the female attendants felt like they had suddenly fell into an ice pond. They immediately froze in their tracks, faces turning as white as sheets and bodies trembling like leaves in a storm. It would not be surprising if one or all of them were to faint at any moment.

“Enough, Tongueless. Why are you scaring them? Women are made to be loved!”

The Pacification King chided his bodyguard before smiling at the trembling women. “Forgive him. Also, I don’t require your services, so please, take your leave.”

“Thank… thank you, Your Highness.”

“Thank you, Your Highness.”

The Pacification King’s voice was like a gust of spring wind. It gradually blew away the fear gripping their bodies. After they regained control of themselves, the female attendants hurriedly got up to their feet, bowed to the Pacification King, and took their leave.

Despite almost being frightened to death just now, the female attendants did not forget to look back at the Pacification King repeatedly until they were finally gone.

“Looks like your magnetism hasn’t waned with the years, Your Highness!” Guo Ximian laughed.

The Pacification King Chu Xunxian was another legendary figure of Chu who was famous throughout the entire world.

If Guo Ximian became famous—or more accurately, infamous—throughout the world for his violent merits, then the Pacification King Chu Xunxian became famous because of his behavior and legend.

The Pacification King Chu Xunxuan was the older brother of the Emperor of Chu. Born from the same womb, it was said that the birth of Chu Xunxian was celebrated by auspicious birds carrying spiritual fruits, and congratulated by celestials riding colorful clouds. The Directorate of Astronomy had declared that the auspicious signs pointed toward an age of prosperity for Chu and personally named him Xunxian (Seeking Celestial). Happy beyond words, the Emperor of Chu at the time immediately conferred him the crown prince and announced a general amnesty for the entire realm.

Chu Xunxian was born extraordinary. He began speaking when he was just three months old. He was literate at the age of one, and capable of composing poems and couplets at the age of three. He mastered the classics and scriptures many schools of thoughts at the age of twelve, and was familiar with three thousand Daozang[1] at the age of fifteen. To say that his knowledge was as deep as the sea was just right. Even the Jixia Academy Chief Libationist at the time was so impressed with Chu Xunxian that he said this, “This old man began his ceaseless studies a century ago, and yet he was outdone by a fifteen years old! Truly, this boy is a living celestial.”

1. The Daozang is a large canon of Taoist writings, consisting of around 1,500 texts that were seen as continuing traditions first embodied by the Daodejing, Zhuangzi, and Liezi. ☜

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