Chapter 51: The Fate of the Former Dynasty?
The food and wine were served…
The Ning siblings and Huayangzi treated each other as old friends, eating and drinking without reservation.
Ning Sanniang, with her striking and bold appearance, was just as forthright in temperament. Having grown up within the world of martial brotherhoods, she was skilled in both drinking and feasting. Perhaps it was the shadow of early poverty, or the years of bland meals on the mountain, but once she descended, a sense of compensation and rebellion took hold—nowadays, her appetites were insatiable.
Like a seasoned gourmand, she not only ate heartily, but with discernment.
“Master, you must try this…”
Ning Sanniang rose, tore off half a red-skinned duck, and held it to Huayangzi’s lips, grinning. “This is Red-skinned Duck from Drunken Wind Tavern, a true delicacy, unmatched in our town.”
Huayangzi winced at the sight.
“Why bother with all that ascetic discipline when you’re traveling?” Ning Sanniang muttered, seeing her master’s reluctance. “Besides, it’s not as if I haven’t seen you sneak a bite or two before. There’s no outsiders here—just taste it… just a taste…”
“You incorrigible disciple!”
Though Huayangzi glared at her in mock anger, scolding her with the words, his hand had already taken the duck, and he began to eat…
“Hehehe~”
Ning Sanniang burst into unrestrained laughter. “I knew you couldn’t resist it either!”
Beside her, Ning Hongwu struggled to stifle his own amusement, his shoulders trembling as he tried not to laugh aloud. To distract himself, he quickly changed the subject, “Sanniang, speaking of this Red-skinned Duck from Drunken Wind Tavern, it reminds me of a funny story involving you.”
“Oh?” Ning Sanniang shot him a curious glance. “A funny story about me?”
“Remember that dock laborer you saved from Zhang Wannian a while back?”
“The one who killed Zhang Shichen?”
“Yes, that’s the fellow…” Ning Hongwu nodded, and with the ease of a storyteller, recounted the tale of Liu Shen and the Red-skinned Duck.
“Haha~” Ning Sanniang was thoroughly entertained. “Turns out I have a fateful connection with that boy.”
“Indeed, fate is a mysterious thing…” Huayangzi, recalling the funeral procession they’d encountered on the road that day, mused, “There are some destinies you can’t escape, no matter how you try; others, you could never force, no matter how you strive.”
Ning Sanniang nodded thoughtfully…
“By the way, Master,”
Ning Hongwu seemed to recall something important. He set down his chopsticks and, with grave sincerity, said, “Sanniang told me you’ve been wandering in search of something. Now that the Green Sand Society is the dominant force in these parts, with many hands at our disposal, if there’s anything you need, just say the word.”
Huayangzi could only give a wry smile and shake his head. “If it could be found with manpower alone, it would have been found already.”
Ning Sanniang frowned, puzzled. “Master, what exactly are you searching for? How is it that five years have passed and you still haven’t found it?”
“It is a matter of great consequence, and in truth, it concerns your own guild as well…” Huayangzi hesitated for a moment, but after years of fruitless searching and with all who should know already aware, he decided there was no need for secrecy.
“I am searching for fortune—national fate.”
He sighed and asked, “Do you know how the previous dynasty fell?”
“National fate? The former dynasty?” Ning Sanniang scratched her head, unable to see any connection between her master’s quest for ‘national fate’ and the fall of the previous dynasty.
“The former dynasty was the Liu Han, which perished during the reign of Emperor Han Yong,” Ning Hongwu reflected for a moment and continued, “The Han was strong, but Emperor Han Yong was vainglorious, extravagant, cruel, and scorned the worthy.”
“During his reign of more than a decade, he waged dozens of wars, and at home, he exhausted the people’s labor, conscripting millions to satisfy his whims.”
“To ease his travels, he cut through rivers, forged canals across eight circuits and thirteen prefectures, built tens of thousands of dragon boats for bureaucratic amusement, constructed palaces and pleasure gardens across the land, and each year demanded the fairest maidens from among the people…”
“Such debauchery and madness are beyond recounting…”
“Rebellions among the people grew ever fiercer, only to be brutally suppressed. Fortunately, the Taizu of the Qian dynasty was blessed by Heaven, issued proclamations across the counties denouncing Han Yong’s crimes, and gathered a host of supporters…”
“In the end, the Liu Han fell, and Han Yong perished at Taizu’s hand.”
When he finished, Ning Hongwu saw his sister eyeing him in surprise, as if to ask when he had acquired such knowledge.
He shrugged, explaining, “These stories are all in the storybooks and opera scripts—you just never paid them any mind.”
“A nation is usually destroyed in weakness, but the Han was lost in its strength…” Huayangzi sighed. “Han Yong was not as incompetent as his name suggests, nor did he fall solely by Taizu’s hand. The collapse of the Liu Han was entangled with too many threads for me to unravel—I only know the broad strokes.”
Ning Hongwu was stirred by this and, after glancing around, whispered, “Master, are you speaking of the Sacred Fire Sect?”
“Indeed.”
Huayangzi nodded and said, “It’s said that the canal-building, dragon boats, palaces, and selection of maidens were not for pleasure, but to nurture the nation's fortune, to cultivate the Han’s national fate.”
“But he was too impatient, overestimated himself, and underestimated the people’s resolve to rebel…”
“With threats inside and out, the Sacred Fire Sect seized the moment as he was nurturing the nation’s fate, severing his connection to it. That is how the Han fell in its prime.”
“Legend has it that after the Liu Han’s fall, its fortune did not disperse entirely but lingered in the rivers and canals. Taizu built the Floating Mountain Dam upstream on the Sha River to control the waters of the realm, hoping to blend the Han’s fortune into that of the Qian…”
“Do you recall the great flood five years ago, which swept through two circuits and five prefectures…”
Seeing the Ning siblings nod, attentive and eager to listen, Huayangzi went on, “That flood was caused by the breach of the Floating Mountain Dam!”
“During that time, the heavens shifted, strange omens appeared.”
“I calculated and searched for a long time before deducing that the dam’s collapse should have been an auspicious sign of the merging of national fate, but instead, it was accompanied by the ominous sign of Mars guarding the heart.”
“Later, I consulted friends, read the records, and even visited the Astronomical Bureau, learning that the dam’s breach was likely caused by the manifestation of the previous dynasty’s fortune in the water!”
“In short, Taizu’s wish was unfulfilled—the former dynasty’s fortune, after years of cultivation, failed to blend with Qian, but instead took form, rushing downstream and breaking through its confines!”
The Ning siblings were dumbstruck.
Though both were warriors, unversed in such mystical matters as ‘national fate’ and ‘astral omens,’ they were not fools. They recognized the gravity of these revelations.
“The fortune of the former dynasty manifesting as water…” Ning Hongwu frowned. “Master, do you know what form this so-called fortune took? Could it really be a flood dragon?”
“It’s hard to say…” Huayangzi shook his head with a sigh. “Legend has it Han Yong sought to cultivate a dragon-shaped fortune for the Han, but he’s long dead, and the nation’s fate may not have grown as he wished, so no one knows whether it became a dragon or not…”
He paused, then hinted, “It could be a dragon, or it could be a tree by the river, a fish in the water—or perhaps even… a person…”
“A person???” Ning Sanniang’s brows knitted in disbelief. “That illusory thing can take human form?”
“Who can say…” Huayangzi chuckled. “Even if it cannot become human, it can certainly attach itself to one…”
He smiled mysteriously and added, “In recent years, the heroes of the canal guilds have risen and grown in power—perhaps this, too, is connected.”
Ning Hongwu felt his temples throb, clearly shaken by such secrets.
“You don’t believe me?” Huayangzi, seeing his reaction, laughed. “Do you know why martial cultivation emphasizes ‘without fortune, there is no path to mastery’?”
“Think about it: among all those who excel in the martial way, which one is not favored by fortune?”
“So, is it that fortune must come first before achievement, or does achievement bring fortune?”
“Personally, I lean toward the former—without that thread of destiny, greatness is impossible!”
After a moment’s thought, Huayangzi continued with a smile, “To tell you the truth, I once suspected that your canal guild’s leader, Tu Xiong, was the very one favored by the former dynasty’s fortune…”