Chapter 50: Ning Sanniang and Qin Feiyun

Ning Sanniang saw the old Daoist outside the door and, beaming with delight, asked, “Master, what brings you here?”

“Hmm?”

Huayangzi turned around, raising his brows in jest. “Why shouldn't your master come here?”

“No, that's not it…” Ning Sanniang waved her hand with a touch of embarrassment, looking somewhat uneasy. “Master, didn’t you say you were going to wander the lands in search of something? Have you found what you were seeking?”

“No luck yet…”

“Then how do you have time to visit me?”

Huayangzi stroked his beard with a cheerful smile and explained, “I happened to pass through Anqing Prefecture, and figured you should be nearing the Fifth Realm by now, so I thought I'd drop by and see you…”

He glanced around and, smiling, asked, “What’s this? Is your Qingsha Gang not welcoming to your master?”

“Of course, you’re most welcome!” Ning Sanniang, afraid the old Daoist might leave, hurried forward, tugged at his sleeve, and pulled him toward the hall, muttering, “Master, since you’ve managed to visit, you must try the local flavors of Anqing Prefecture.”

“…”

Huayangzi’s eyebrows quivered in fright at her gesture.

More than ten years ago, Ning Sanniang and her brother Ning Hongwu made their living performing on the streets. By chance, Huayangzi, who was traveling in the area, took a liking to Ning Sanniang and accepted her as his disciple to cultivate. At the time, Ning Sanniang was only twelve. She remembered her brother’s exhortations and was diligent in all things…

Yet she was still young, her mind unformed, and her cultivation gave her strange strength she could not control. Stories of her accidentally crushing bowls while serving rice, snapping brooms while sweeping, or ruining Daoist robes while washing them were countless…

Huayangzi’s lineage only ever had two disciples per generation, and their mountain temple was quite impoverished. With her antics, his already meager household suffered further hardship…

Since then, whenever Huayangzi saw his disciple being overly attentive, he would subconsciously try to avoid her…

Now, seeing his Daoist robe’s sleeve on the verge of being torn, Huayangzi hurriedly scolded, “Girl, stop tugging, stop tugging—my sleeve’s about to be ruined!”

“It’s fine…” Ning Sanniang, recalling her childish mishaps at the temple, laughed. “If it tears, I’ll buy you a new one.”

“You’re a grown woman now, pulling and tugging in broad daylight—what sort of propriety is that?”

“My brother says, ‘Once a master, always a father.’ I entered your tutelage at twelve; it’s been thirteen years now. You’re no different from a father to me, so it’s not improper…”

“No, no, I’m not leaving, so don’t pull…”

Huayangzi was dragged into the hall, forced into the seat of honor. Ning Sanniang, afraid he might flee, repeatedly urged him, “Master, don’t rush off,” “Please stay for a meal,” and so on. Only after receiving a definite answer did she dash out the door.

Before long, Ning Sanniang and her brother Ning Hongwu hurried back together…

“Brother, look who’s here…”

“Who is it, rushing about like this? Hmm?”

Ning Hongwu entered the hall and saw the old Daoist seated in the place of honor. His eyes nearly popped out as he quickly stepped forward to pay his respects. “Junior Ning Hongwu, greetings to the esteemed master!”

“No need for such ceremony…” Huayangzi nodded helplessly and smiled. “I’m merely passing through, dropping in to see the girl. No need to make a fuss.”

“Understood…” Ning Sanniang pulled Ning Hongwu to sit, smiling. “Master, I’ve ordered a banquet. Aside from my brother, I’ve invited no one else.”

“As it should be…” Huayangzi nodded slightly, then looked at Ning Hongwu and frowned. “I remember last time, you were quite the handsome young man. How is it you look like this now?”

“I…” Ning Hongwu stroked his beard, unsure how to reply. He couldn’t very well admit he was simply too lazy to shave. So he responded awkwardly, “It’s been nearly ten years since I last saw you, Master. It’s only natural my appearance has changed.”

“Nearly ten years…” Huayangzi nodded in realization, sighing, “For a martial artist not yet at the Innate Realm, ten years is no short time.”

Ning Hongwu nodded silently…

His aptitude for martial arts was average, and it was only after his physique matured, because of Ning Sanniang, that Huayangzi granted him the method to cultivate. After ten years, he still hadn’t reached the Fourth Realm.

His younger sister, Ning Sanniang, had already entered the Innate Realm of martial arts five years ago and now stood among the Fifth Realm!

Though both practiced martial arts, the siblings’ talent was worlds apart…

“Brother, don’t brood…” Ning Sanniang saw her brother’s slight gloom and comforted him. “Haven’t you already reached the threshold of the Fourth Realm? In the martial world, reaching the Fourth Realm by thirty is already considered a hero.”

“I’m not brooding…” Ning Hongwu smiled indifferently. “We siblings were mere street performers in our youth. Thanks to Master’s favor for Sanniang, I, as her brother, benefited as well. With what I have now, what more could I want?”

“Hahaha…” Huayangzi clapped and laughed. “With such a mindset, what’s to fear in achieving great things?”

He then turned his gaze to his disciple Ning Sanniang, teasing her, “Girl, I hear you’ve made quite a name for yourself in the martial world—a ‘Little Flying General,’ they say?”

“…” Ning Sanniang’s expression stiffened at his words, a hint of bitterness in her tone. “Ning Sanniang is Ning Sanniang. ‘Little Flying General’ is just a jest by outsiders, hardly worth taking seriously.”

“Hahaha!” Ning Hongwu burst out laughing. “Master, you may not know, Sanniang has always been fiercely competitive. After years in the martial world, she’s earned the nickname ‘Little Flying General’ for being just a bit weaker than others—it infuriates her.”

He paused, suppressing a smile, and added, “Before breaking into the Fifth Realm, Sanniang kept saying that if ever given the chance, she’d challenge Qin Feiyun for a proper contest.”

“Pfft…” Ning Sanniang snorted derisively. “Qin Feiyun is human, so am I. She’s Fifth Realm, so am I. Why is she called the ‘Flying General,’ while I’m just ‘Little Flying General?’”

“Am I really beneath her?”

“Strength and greatness are measured by skill—when the chance comes, I’ll face her and rid myself of that tiresome nickname!”

“Hehehe…” Huayangzi well knew his disciple’s competitive spirit. He smiled, “Qin Feiyun is of the Duke of An’s family. She survived the purges, and as a woman, roamed the battlefield—she has her own fortune.”

“Duke of An? The Qin family?” Ning Hongwu asked in surprise, “Wasn’t the Duke of An’s family wiped out ages ago?”

“Yes…” Huayangzi nodded, stroking his beard. “The Empress of Great Qian also bears the surname Qin, hailing from the Duke of An’s lineage. It’s said the extermination of the Qin clan was orchestrated by the Empress herself.”

“…” Ning Hongwu was dumbfounded at hearing such royal secrets.

Ning Sanniang hadn’t quite grasped it yet; she counted on her fingers, muttering, “The Empress of Great Qian is surnamed Qin, from the Duke of An’s branch, and planned the destruction of the Qin clan… so…”

She paused, as realization dawned, her eyes wide as she exclaimed, “The Empress of Great Qian wiped out her own family!”

“Just treat it as a story…” Huayangzi shook his head dismissively. “The emperor has been unwell for years, the Empress presides over the Taizai Bureau, the court is rife with intrigue and deception. Even those within the court can’t see through it, let alone you and me, far removed from the capital.”

He paused again, unwilling to dwell further, and changed the subject: “Qin Feiyun is skilled with bow and horse, no less than any man. Her spearwork is unmatched. The title of ‘Flying General’ was given by the imperial court in the Northern Desert.”

“Think about it, girl…”

“The Northern Desert is not like our Central Plains. There, women are seen as possessions, playthings…”

“Yet Qin Feiyun, as a woman, could roam the battlefield and be called ‘Flying General’ by our sworn enemies in the Northern Desert—she’s no ordinary figure.”

“…”

Ning Sanniang nodded thoughtfully, her fighting spirit not diminished but even stronger than before.

Her gaze sharpened, like a hunter spotting prey. She licked her lips and muttered, “If I want to challenge her, I must train even harder.”

…