Song of Adolescence

Chapter 183 Golden Robes Bright Moon

The general in the golden armour who’d led a thousand cavalry had just left Ningzhe City, and another elegant gentleman in golden robes rode into the city on a white horse. He carried a long sabre at his waist, with his hair tied up high. His eyes were as bright as the moon, and the ladies who saw him as he passed by couldn’t help but blush.

"Excuse me, my lady, is the way to Jiangnan’s Lei Clan Fort straight ahead?" Even his voice was clear and modulated.

The young lady hurriedly covered half of her face with a handkerchief as she replied, "Once you cross through Ningzhe City, it’s another hundred miles and you’ll reach the place the noble sir asked about."

The golden-robed gentleman nodded. "Since I’m already here, I’m not in a hurry. I’ll rest for a bit. My lady, may I ask which is the most famous wine shop in the city?"

The young lady was taken aback, and she thought that this gentleman intended to ask her to join him for a drink. She suddenly panicked. "That… Donglu wine shop in the eastern city is quite famous, so it’s the city’s…"

"Thank you, my lady." The golden-robed gentleman used his scabbard to knock lightly on his horse’s rump and left just like that. He left behind a small city girl whose heart rose then dropped as she stood there in place, completely dumbfounded.

"The person who’d just left was the highest ranking person in the Beili Army, General-in-chief Ye Xiaoying?" In the Donglu wine shop, the disciples of Huiyue Pavilion were still having a discussion.

Sima Luchen, the master of Huiyue Pavilion, nodded. "Golden armour and twin blades, and leading a thousand cavalry also armed with twin blades. There can’t be another one like him in the Beili Army. If any other battalion dares to imitate the Ye Banner Battalion, their barracks will surely be flattened by Ye Xiaoying. There was no mistake."

"The highest ranking person in the Beili Army. Why is he so concerned about the affairs of Lei Clan Fort? Could what happened at Lei Clan Fort have something to do with the Beili imperial court?" One of the disciples asked.

"Not necessarily so. But, do you all know who was the highest ranking person in the Beili Army before Ye Xiaoying?" Sima Luchen took a sip of wine.

One of the disciples looked around furtively before he whispered, "The Beili Grand Protector Langya Prince?"

Sima Luchen shook his head. "Langya Prince was a Prince, after all. He’s not considered an actual military man."

The disciple thought for a while, and suddenly realized, "The white General Lei Mengsha!"

Sima Luchen nodded. "Dressed in white with battle armour, facing the wind with bright prospects. Golden armour twin blades, killing and attacking decisively. These two phrases referred to the two greatest generals of Beili at the time. Lei Mengsha was ranked higher than Ye Xiaoying, so he was truly the highest ranking person in the army. But, the two were very close, and there were even rumours that Lei Mengsha died to protect Ye Xiaoying. So this time, Lei Mengsha’s home was attacked, and it’s entirely possible that Ye Xiaoying came because of this."

"You have clearly overestimated Ye Xiaoying\'s chivalry and righteousness. Back then, when Lei Mengsha was excommunicated from Lei Clan Fort, Ye Xiaoying summoned his soldiers that very night and proclaimed he was going to march through Lei Clan Fort." A clear voice suddenly sounded.

"Who!" The disciples present immediately drew their swords vigilantly.

"Don\'t be nervous, don\'t be nervous. I’m just a passer-by." The man who’d walked up to the second floor was the golden-robed gentleman. He immediately waved his hand and sat down at a small table next to the people from Huiyue Pavilion.

The disciples saw that the man had a handsome face and a kind tone. They turned to look at the pavilion master, and Sima Luchen also felt that the man before them had no ill will, so he nodded. "Withdraw your swords."

"From your robes, you’re heroes of Cangzhou’s Huiyue Pavilion?" The golden-robed gentleman poured himself a cup of wine and asked with a smile.

"The noble sir has a good eye." The disciple named Zixian bloomed with happiness at the word ‘heroes’. "That’s right."

"This senior with a face as bright as the moon, and a build as sharp as a sword, must be Sima Luchen, the pavilion master of Huiyue Pavilion?" The golden-robed gentleman looked at Sima Luchen who was sitting the furthest away from him.

"That’s right, he’s our teacher. Dare I ask which sect this noble sir is from?" Zixian asked curiously.

"I’m not from any clan nor sect. I just learned some swordsmanship for self-defense from my family’s training yard," the golden-robed gentleman replied.

"Oh? The noble sir’s accent doesn’t sound like he’s from around here." Zixian thought for a while. "You sound like you’re from the north."

The golden-robed gentleman gave a thumbs up. "This hero has a good ear. Indeed, I came all the way south from Heavenly Revelations City in the north."

"The imperial capital, Heavenly Revelations? Sure enough, this sir looks so rich and noble. No wonder, because you’re from the imperial city!" Zixian exclaimed in surprise.

The golden-robed gentleman nodded. "Yes, I heard that the Lei Clan Fort, which is a little further south from here, held a Heroes Banquet in recent days. I was really looking forward to it, so I rushed all the way here without telling my family, just to pay homage to the glorious heroes."

Zixian dumbly lost his smile. "Without a Heroes Invitation, you can\'t attend the Heroes Banquet."

"Ah, is that so…" The golden-robed gentleman looked disappointed.

"However, even if you had a Heroes Invitation, the Heroes Banquet is already over. Can’t you see that we’re all on our way back?" Zixian sighed.

"Why is that?" The golden-robed gentleman was puzzled.

"Have you heard of the Hidden River?" Zixian was afraid that he might have misspoken again, so he turned his head to glance at his master. However, he realised that his master had been staring at the golden-robed gentleman’s long sabre with a thoughtful look, and didn’t look like he was about to stop him.

"The number one assassin organization under Heaven?" The golden-robed gentleman queried.

"That’s right. This time, they attacked the Heroes Banquet, intending to kill all the heroes under Heaven. But Lei Clan Fort’s Clan Leader Lei Qianhu, and Tang Clan’s Grandmaster Tang fought them back, but regretfully, the two heroes also died in the battle." Zixian sighed, drew the sword in his hand and waved it with a look of regret. "It\'s a pity that I was poisoned and unconscious at the time. Otherwise, with my martial arts, I could have killed a few of those Hidden River assassins!"

"Oh?" The golden-robed gentleman narrowed his eyes. "Then, isn’t Snow Moon City the leader of the alliance with Lei Clan Fort and Tang Clan? Didn\'t they help in the battle?"

Zixian shook his head. "Snow Moon City did, indeed, send their people, but they were all their young disciples. They weren’t of much use. We heard that they’re all severely injured now."

"I see." The golden-robed gentleman nodded, then sighed and murmured, "Looks like I won’t be able to drink this wine."

"What\'s wrong?" Zixian was taken aback.

"Thank you to this hero for your words. I will take my leave now. If you visit Heavenly Revelations in the future, and don’t mind my company, look me up for a drink of wine. I will gladly entertain you!" The golden-robed gentleman stood up and clasped his fists.

"If we’re to look this noble sir up for a drink, we must know how to find this noble sir." Sima Luchen, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly said, "Dare I ask this noble sir’s surname?"

"My surname is Xiao." The golden-robed gentleman laughed, turned around and went downstairs.

After watching him leave, Zixian was very puzzled and asked his master, "Shifu, this person only gave his surname, and not his full name. If we’re really going to look him up, how can we find him?"

"No, if you want to find him, it will be very easy to do so," Sima Luchen said quietly. "Did you forget? He said that his surname is Xiao and he lives in Heavenly Revelations City."

"Then, shifu meant…" Zixian said in a daze.

"The present Emperor, His Majesty has a youngest imperial brother. All his other brothers were enfeoffed with the title of Prince and sent to their own fiefs of land. Only this youngest imperial brother was bestowed the title of Marquis and stayed in Heavenly Revelations City. A while ago, when His Majesty visited the Western Regions, this Marquis was even appointed as Regent.” Sima Luchen swirled the wine cup in his hand. “This Marquis is known to dress in golden robes with a long sabre at his waist.”

"Huh?" Zixian was so frightened that his knees went weak again.

"Looks like this matter is really not as simple as it appears," Sima Luchen muttered.