Chapter Ten: The Significance of Yangzhou

A bowl of icy river water splashed onto Shanzong’s face, but he did not awaken as Xu You had imagined. Facing Zuo Wen’s perplexed gaze, Xu You coughed awkwardly, realizing he had made a rookie mistake. Shanzong had been knocked out by Zuo Wen’s internal force, not from a collision—how could the trick of pouring cold water, as seen on television, possibly be effective?

“He seemed quite irritable just now. Let’s help him cool off first,” Xu You said, returning to his seat on the meditation mat. “Fenghu, wake him up!”

Zuo Wen delivered a swift kick, and Shanzong immediately regained consciousness. His hands and feet were bound tightly with fisherman’s knots; the more he struggled, the tighter they became. Few people could escape such restraints. He shook his head, water trickling to the corners of his mouth, and instinctively stuck out his tongue to lick it. Enraged, he shouted, “You southern barbarians dare to insult me?”

Despite his drenched clothes from plunging into the river twice, he still noticed water had been poured on his head. Xu You replied coolly, “The Confucian way has three principles: one may be close but not coerced, may be intimate but not forced, may be killed but not humiliated. You first kidnapped, then coerced, and now want to invoke your ‘no humiliation’? Besides, you are a thief—unwelcome in court, despised among the people, hated by all, even dogs avoid you. How could Confucian etiquette apply to someone like you?”

“You—!”

Shanzong was so furious he could hardly speak, his tongue tied in knots whenever he faced Xu You. After a long pause, he finally shouted, “You’re killing me!”

Xu You picked up a cup of hot tea, sipped it, and said, “Speak now—honesty will be rewarded, resistance punished. Who are you? What is your relationship with Guo Mian? And what ties do you have to the Governor’s Office of Yangzhou?”

Honesty will be rewarded, resistance punished?

Shanzong’s trade was piracy at sea; he had met all kinds of oddities. Some hid their wealth better than a century-old turtle hides its head, requiring rough interrogation. Though he was no expert compared to the brutal officials in the Yellow Sands Prison of Jinling, he knew a fair bit. Yet he had never heard any interrogator begin so openly, asking directly to the heart of the matter—honesty would be rewarded? Go fool a child with that!

Shanzong spat and replied, “Want to know? Go ask Guo Mian, ask Liu Quan…”

Xu You set down his teacup, responding with a faint “Oh,” and said, “Perhaps I should inquire about the Shans of Henei…”

Shanzong paused again, his bravado diminishing. “The Shans of Henei are the Shans of Henei—what does that have to do with me? Ask whoever you like!”

“With your appearance, quite distinctive, it shouldn’t be hard to find out. If you really are a scion of the Shan clan, taking to piracy—are you not afraid of tainting the reputation of Lord Juyuan?”

“Where does a barbarian get off spewing nonsense? It reeks…”

Xu You’s lips curled, cutting him off, “If you utter another curse, I won’t care whether you are of the Shan clan or not. I will immediately send people along the river to spread word that Shanzong, pirate of the Dark Sea, hails from the Shan clan of Henei, bearing the blood of Lord Juyuan. Yet he murders, robs, commits foul deeds, and is the most vile, shameless, and inhuman beast in all of Chu!”

Shanzong stared at Xu You in astonishment, then shook his head and said, “I admit I’m no good, but compared to you, I bow in defeat!” No matter what, he refused to curse again.

“Likewise,” Xu You replied, walking over and crouching before him. “Since you’re done cursing, let’s have a casual chat. If you speak truthfully, once we pass Xiling County, I’ll let you off the boat, no deception.”

Shanzong remained silent. Xu You knew he was too proud to speak, but silence meant consent. He asked, “I’m just curious—you’re not from the Governor’s Office? You colluded with Lord Liu to frame Guo Mian, so why are you so afraid of pursuit by the Dark Cloud Guard?”

“Foolish!” Shanzong rolled his eyes. “Who told you I was in league with that old dog Liu? Actually, I just—” He remembered Xu You’s warning and quickly changed his wording, “I was angry. I’d just come up from below the boat, intending to borrow some food for the road. Then I heard you blathering about how I and Liu conspired to frame Guo Mian. I got annoyed and grabbed the boatman and the black-haired girl, planning to teach you a lesson, but instead I got taught one myself.”

Xu You raised an eyebrow. Shanzong grimaced, “That wasn’t cursing, it’s just habit—I can’t change it all at once!”

Xu You actually didn’t have much dislike for Shanzong. The man was shrewd, witty, and capable. Had the autumn equinox not happened to teach the White Tiger Fist, so fierce and unstoppable in close quarters, any other girl—even twice as skilled—would have struggled to pose a real threat to him. Moreover, Shanzong’s demeanor was unrestrained, carrying the wild bravado of a Dark Sea pirate, unlike the rules and constraints that permeated civilized society. If not for their vastly different circumstances, Xu You wouldn’t mind befriending him.

“If you’re not with them, why did you offend Lord Liu?”

“That… is a long story.”

“No matter, there’s still some time before Xiling—we have plenty of time.”

Seeing there was no escape, Shanzong was forced to recount his feud with Liu Quan. It turned out that an official from Liu Quan’s office was tasked with transporting a shipload of pearls, ivory, and glass from Panyu to Wu Commandery. For reasons unknown, the ship bore no Liu clan banners and was thus seized by the Dark Sea pirates as it passed through Wangzhou.

Piracy is piracy—whether merchant or noble, the Dark Sea pirates lived by this trade. Seeing a ship full of treasures and not robbing it would be unprofessional. The problem was, Liu Quan was not an ordinary merchant, nor an insignificant noble. He was the Governor of Yangzhou.

Consulting the histories of the Southern Dynasties, from Liu Yu’s ascension in the first year of Yongchu to the third year of Chen’s Zhenming when the last ruler was captured by Sui forces, Yangzhou had forty-nine governors, forty of whom were imperial kin, and only nine were ministers of other surnames. In one hundred forty years, these nine ministers served only twenty-odd years in total. When Liu Mu advised Liu Yu, he said, “Yangzhou is the foundation and must not be entrusted to outsiders.” Clearly, Yangzhou was the most crucial of all provinces: whoever held Yangzhou controlled the capital and, from there, the empire. Liu Yu, Xiao Daocheng, Xiao Yan, Chen Baxian—all became Governor of Yangzhou before ascending to the imperial throne.

Liu Quan had just been appointed at the start of the year, trusted by An Zidao, both a bulwark of the southeast and a pillar of the realm’s stability. For the pirates to provoke such a man was truly kicking a steel plate.

Upon learning his treasure ship had been robbed, Liu Quan didn’t deploy troops or launch a campaign. He simply sent death squads to the Dark Sea with an ultimatum: return the ship and valuables within three days, or the Dark Sea would know no peace. The pirates knew better than to challenge him. Though they relied on their terrain, unafraid of an army, constant harassment by naval forces would ruin their business. After discussion, they meekly relented, delivering the treasure ship to the mouth of Hudou within the deadline.

Shanzong couldn’t stomach this humiliation. He alone slipped inland, trailing the treasure ship to Wu Commandery. Discovering that the ship was bound for Jinling, he followed it to Jingkou, intending to set it ablaze. Yet, as he was about to start the fire, he was discovered and had to flee, pursued all the way, even hiding in Taihu Lake for more than half a month. Eventually, he found refuge on Guo Mian’s Golden Banner ship passing by, only to be cornered at the Changhe crossing—a miserable fate!

Xu You fixed his gaze on Shanzong, snorted coldly, and turned to leave. “Fenghu, take one hundred thousand coins. At every dock from here on, hire people to announce Shanzong’s origins and character. Within a month, I want all under heaven to know!”

“What? You’re breaking your promise…” Shanzong was dumbfounded, unable to understand how things had suddenly turned sour.

“I said earlier—you must speak truthfully. Your story was full of holes. So you don’t resent me, let me ask: Do you really think that, just for a failed arson, Lord Liu personally wrote to each prefecture, mobilizing dozens of Dark Cloud Guards to hunt you for so long? Either you overestimate yourself, or underestimate Liu Quan and the Dark Cloud Guard. Such elite forces have no time for your games.”

Shanzong hesitated, seeing Xu You about to leave, and blurted, “You win. Before I tried to burn the ship, I accidentally entered a cabin and—damn it, who would have thought—I stumbled upon Liu Quan’s sixth daughter bathing…”