Southern Song Dynasty Territory.
On West Lake in Hangzhou, a flower boat was anchored at the center of the lake.
A beautiful melody from a zither drifted across the water.
Passersby all turned to look, their eyes filled with admiration.
"What a lovely tune!"
"This melody belongs in the heavens. How could mortals hear something like this in the human world?"
"This must be the music of Gao Dianjing, Hangzhou's number one zither artist!"
"If only she could play a song just for me, that would be wonderful!"
The nearby tourists all looked on with awe, clearly familiar with the musician.
At the same time.
Inside the flower boat on the lake.
Two breathtakingly beautiful women were seated. One was playing the zither, the other listening quietly.
After a long while, the piece ended.
"Lady Dianjing, your music truly lives up to your reputation. Even across the entire Nine Provinces, it would rank among the highest tier." The woman in red said with a smile as she sipped her tea.
"To be praised by the Rosy Beauty Queen, Qi Bishao, is my great honor."
It turned out these two were Gao Dianjing, the top zither artist of Hangzhou, and Qi Bishao, one of the Left and Right Guardians under Long Zunyi, leader of the Southern Song Dynasty's Anti-Yuan rebel forces.
She was known as the Rosy Beauty Queen and a female general resisting the Yuan Dynasty.
"Lady Dianjing, may I ask why you sent it to me this time? I don't believe we've ever had any prior dealings. Also, the message you had someone deliver earlier... what did that mean exactly?"
Qi Bishao didn't waste time and got straight to the point.
"No rush. Take a look at these letters and you'll understand." Gao Dianjing replied with a slight smile as she handed over a stack of letters.
Qi Bishao looked puzzled but still accepted them and began to read.
After finishing the first letter, her expression changed, growing dark.
Without stopping, she quickly flipped through the rest of the letters.
With each one she read, her face grew more grim.
When she finally finished the entire stack, Qi Bishao stared at Gao Dianjing with a guarded look.
"What is the meaning of this, Lady Dianjing?"
"To uncover such secret information... you clearly aren't just some ordinary musician."
"Who are you really? Why did you show me these?"
Gao Dianjing showed no surprise at Qi Bishao's vigilance.
She calmly took a sip of tea.
"You've heard of the Azure Dragon Association, haven't you?" She asked softly.
"The Azure Dragon Association? The one from the Ming Dynasty?!"
Qi Bishao's expression finally changed.
"You're one of his people? He sent you here?"
There was a slight tremble in her voice.
"I am the Hall Master of the March Hall within the Azure Dragon Association." Gao Dianjing replied without hesitation.
"The March Hall Master? I can't believe the Azure Dragon Association has infiltrated even other dynasties!"
"That man hid his cards well."
Qi Bishao clenched her teeth, her expression conflicted.
"You're not afraid I'll expose your identity?"
"I'm not. Because His Majesty trusts you." Gao Dianjing said with a faint smile.
To Qi Bishao, it felt unbearably infuriating.
That figure from deep within her memory surfaced again, stirring up complex emotions.
"Hmph. I know what I need to do now. Goodbye."
She had no intention of staying here a moment longer and got up to leave.
"If you ever need help, just send a letter. My people will arrive immediately."
"No need. I'll handle my own affairs."
As Qi Bishao stormed off, Gao Dianjing's expression turned solemn once more.
"Hall Master, what should we do next?"
"With Qi Bishao's ability, can she really deal with this threat?"
"Our opponent is someone from the Yuan Dynasty's National Master Mansion. Their strength is not to be underestimated."
At this moment, the madam of the flower boat approached and bowed respectfully.
"No matter. His Majesty didn't assign this mission to just our March Hall. The July and September Halls were sent as well."
"With that sly fox of a July Hall Master involved, there's no need to worry."
"If something goes wrong, His Majesty will blame them, not us."
"We just need to focus on our own duties."
"Yes, Hall Master. I'll keep our people watching closely."
Who would have thought Zhu Houzhao would place members of the Azure Dragon Association within the Southern Song Dynasty.
The real question was, how many other dynasties had also been infiltrated by the Azure Dragon Association?
==========
Ming Dynasty Territory.
In front of a somewhat rundown city.
This was a city recently taken over by the White Lotus Cult.
Though it was quickly reclaimed by the Ming Dynasty forces, it had still suffered serious damage.
"Those White Lotus Cult fools were worthless. I invested so much effort and time, and they couldn't even last a month!"
"The Ming Dynasty's defense force is terrifying."
"If the Tang Dynasty had this kind of strength, then Li Keyong, Zhu Wen, and the Empress wouldn't have betrayed us."
A mysterious and seductive woman in purple stood before the city, her eyes filled with resentment.
She soon turned away. With the mission failing, she had to return to the Tang Dynasty and report to the Bad Marshal.
Just as she moved.
Boom!
Barely a hundred meters away, a terrifying surge of energy came flying.
It struck the purple-clad woman directly, halting her escape.
"Meng Po, since you've come to the Ming Dynasty, why leave so soon?"
"Why not stay a while longer?"
A teasing voice echoed in her ears.
A moment later, a beautiful and elegant woman appeared in front of her like a ghost.
Though she gave off no aura, she emitted an overwhelming pressure.
The purple-clad woman's expression changed dramatically and she became alert.
"Who are you? Why block my path?"
"And who is this Meng Po you mentioned?"
"True, the Xuanming Cult now belongs to the Yuan Dynasty after Zhu Wen defected."
"So the title of Meng Po no longer applies to you."
"In that case, you should recognize the name Shi Yao."
"You're the Heavenly Star of the Tang Dynasty's Bad People!"
Upon hearing this, the purple-clad woman finally lost her composure.
She was visibly shaken.
"How could this be? Only the Bad Marshal knows my true identity. How do you know?!"
Her first thought was betrayal from her superior, but quickly dismissed the idea.
The only possibility left was that the woman before her was far more dangerous than expected.
"Who are you?"
Since her identity had been exposed, she dropped all pretenses.
"You can call me Li Shengnan."
"You're strong. For someone so young to have reached the Heavenly Human Realm Land Immortal... you must be a subordinate of Emperor Zhu Houzhao?"
Though she posed the question, her tone made it clear she already believed the answer.
"I'm the Hall Master of the October Hall in the Azure Dragon Association."
Li Shengnan revealed her identity directly.
"Aren't you afraid I'll reveal who you are?"
"You'll need to escape first."
"You entered Ming Dynasty Territory, incited the White Lotus Cult to rebel, and stirred up unrest among the nobles. Don't you think you owe us an explanation?"
"Come with me to the Azure Dragon Association headquarters, the Heaven Mocking Palace."
Li Shengnan's tone was firm and left no room for argument.
Shi Yao's face darkened.
She knew of the Heaven Mocking Palace.
Her Bad Marshal had once been gravely wounded there.
That place was a death trap.
If she entered, she might never come out again.
She would rather die than be taken like this.
"Hmph. Dream on!"
"Let's see if you're strong enough!"
"You won't have a choice. Even among Great Grandmasters, you're considered strong, but against a Heavenly Human like me, you're out of your league."
"Take this!"
With a cold shout, Li Shengnan leapt forward.
In an instant, she was right in front of Shi Yao.
Boom!
One palm strike.
Shi Yao coughed up blood and was sent flying.
She crashed to the ground violently.
To think that someone close to Yuan Tiangang, the Bad Marshal, could be defeated so easily.
Whoosh!
With a flick of her finger, a beam of energy shot out.
It hit several key pressure points.
Shi Yao was immediately paralyzed, unable to move.
Without another glance, Li Shengnan grabbed her by the collar.
And soared away at great speed.
Her destination was the Heaven Mocking Palace.
With such a key figure in hand, the Azure Dragon Association would surely extract the information they wanted.
Perhaps this Shi Yao would one day become a pivotal piece in their conflict with the Tang Dynasty.
She was a valuable pawn.
One worth keeping alive... for now.
==========
"I didn't expect you people to be from the Northern Song Dynasty's Imperial City Division."
"I thought it would be Ying Zheng's Black Ice Platform from the Qin Dynasty!"
At the foot of a mountain, a regal woman with a powerful aura stared contemptuously at those before her.
She had assumed she would face the Qin Dynasty.
But it turned out to be mere Northern Song Dynasty agents.
Huang Shang from the Northern Song Dynasty was far too arrogant.
Always stirring trouble in the Ming Dynasty instead of handling his own dynasty.
He clearly overestimated himself.
"Who are you? A Ming Dynasty's Dark Guard?"
The Northern Song Dynasty's Imperial City Division often dealt with the Ming Dynasty's Dark Guard.
"I'm the leader of the Azure Dragon Association's August Hall. You can call me Water Mother Yin Ji."
"What? It's you Azure Dragon Association people again?"
"Aren't you only responsible for matters in the Martial World? Why meddle in court affairs too?"
The Water Mother Yin Ji glanced at them with disdain and didn't respond.
To her, even speaking to them was disgusting.
"What a pity. A Vice-Director of the Imperial City Division."
"With your talent, you had the potential to become a true Land Immortal."
"Too bad, you're dying today."
As soon as she finished speaking, she leapt forward and unleashed a palm strike.
Before her opponent could react, she had already landed several more vicious blows.
Blood sprayed everywhere.
Boom boom boom boom!!!
Pfft! Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!!!
Blood flew in all directions, the scene gruesome.
"Die!"
"No... impossible. How can I be this outmatched?"
"Go to hell!"
Her attacks rained down on the Vice-Director of the Imperial City Division.
A series of bodies collapsed to the ground.
Lifeless.
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
List of Characters:
Broken Void ( 破碎虚空 )
・Gao Dianjing ( 高典静 ) — March Hall Master of Azure Dragon Association
・Qi Bishao ( 祁碧芍 ) — Left Guardian of Anti-Yuan Army
Lofty Waters Verdant Bow ( 云海玉弓缘 )
・Li Shengnan ( 厉胜男 ) — October Hall Master of Azure Dragon Association
Painting Jianghu ( 画江湖 )
・Shi Yao ( 石瑶 ) — Heaven Protecting Star of Bad People
Legend of Chu Liuxiang ( 楚留香传奇 )
・Yin Ji ( 阴姬 ) — August Hall Master of Azure Dragon Association