Three Heads and Fifteen Stars – Xianxia Cultivation Story

finished my narration and was met only with quiet gazes. Did I say something wrong? Should I open my veil and check their emotions as well?

“So…” Huiran finally spoke first. “It’s similar to the Extermination of the Demonic Sects that heralded the golden age of Xia?”

“Oh, there’s something like that here too?” I asked, trying to keep the conversation going.

“Yes. Back then, Xia was still only a small kingdom ruled by a cultivator family. The ruling king rallied the sects and coordinated the war,” Wendao added. “According to the records, the king managed to convince your grandfather to join his side. It happened long ago and is only mentioned briefly in poems and songs, but it was apparently a very tense moment, the demonic sects were trying to do the same thing.”

“My adoptive grandfather? Hmmm. Interesting.” More topics to discuss with my father later.

“And after that?” Huiran asked again. “What kind of golden age followed in your world?”

“It was the golden age of exploration,” I answered. “Remember the twelve kingdoms I mentioned? Nine of them had once been provinces or regions of the Roman Empire. After the discovery of the American continent and the establishment of the colonies, they decided they didn’t particularly enjoy paying taxes.

“Vast lands still stretched east of the Roman Empire, and the empire imposed heavy trade taxes on the rest of the kingdoms. With all the new shipbuilding and seafaring experience they had gained, many kingdoms began sending out their own exploration fleets, carving out lands and colonies of their own in distant places.”

“My homeworld is divided into five continents. Seven if you count the two uninhabitable polar landmasses at the far north and south. It’s not one continuous landmass like this world, at least according to the map I have.”

Looking back at the map Wuchen had given me, this world resembled an oversized Asia and Africa joined together and then flipped. There were surrounding seas, but no sizable landmasses that could support major cities, at least not on a map that lacked any scale.

“Was there any effort toward unification?” Huiran asked with genuine curiosity.

“Unfortunately, no. Geographically speaking, it was nearly impossible. Once the smaller kingdoms began carving out their own empires, the idea of deferring to another empire was no longer necessary. In fact, that was when relations between them started to break down. Other than the formation of the United States of America and the rise of Great Russ, the borders and nations of the world didn’t change much for the next eight hundred years or so.”

Come to think of it, that also explained why I rarely saw any religion other than Buddhism here. If Xia had fully unified the world, centralizing bureaucracy, language, and religion would have been a practical necessity. The sects, however, still functioned like independent enclaves.

Only then did the normal sounds of the dining hall gradually return. I guessed that stories about long periods of balanced power and stagnation didn’t interest most people. Finally, our food arrived. Various dishes were placed in front of Huiran, Wendao, and Ningguang.

As for me, a larger waiter carefully carried the entire oversized bowl by himself and set it gently on the table. All the food at the table would be delicious just from the smell. Another waiter followed with the tall glass of lukewarm tea and a small lacquered box. When he opened it, I saw it was filled with sugar. He must have been uncertain about my order.

Without hesitation, I dumped the entire contents of the box into my glass. That earned several gasps and even a few visible cringes from the people sharing the table. I projected a long spoon, stirred the mixture thoroughly, and then added ice cubes. If the people of this world had never tried cold, sweet iced tea, then it was high time they learned.

As soon as I projected my chopsticks, all of us sensed a surge of Qi flaring with anger. Looking up toward the stairs, I saw Wanxia standing there, clearly furious.

“Oh hey, you’re finally awake.” I called out to her. “Come and sit, we have much to…

But then a hand pushes my bowl off the table. Spilling its content to the floor.

Both of my hands were on her head when I came back to myself. Additional hands had appeared, gripping her limbs tightly. The fury in Wanxia’s eyes had already been replaced by pure fear. It would have been so easy to simply rip her head and limbs off. Twist and twist until they come off.

“Danxing!” a voice shouted.

“Hm? Hmm?” I looked toward Ningguang, who stood beside me. At the table, Huiran looked concerned while Wendao remained impassive. But neither of them had risen from their seats. My eyes returned to Ningguang’s pleading face.

“Alright.” I released her, and the extra hands vanished. I forced the boiling rage back down.

I stood and stared at the spilled noodles. I had really been looking forward to eating them. A pair of waiters and staff quickly arrived, already moving to clean the mess and retrieve the bowl.

“We’ll make a new one right away.” one of the waiters said hurriedly.

“Thank you very much.” I thanked them, only for Fenghuo and half a dozen guards to enter the inn at that moment. They came straight toward us.

I dispelled the projection and made the bowl disappear. “Maybe next time.” The waiters nodded and excused themselves.

Fenghuo stopped in front of us. “The City Lord has invited the disciples of the Tianhe Sect. I bid all of you to follow me.” He cupped his hands and spoke curtly.

I glanced at Huiran and Wendao, both of whom simply shrugged. I picked up my glass of tea. “Sure. Lead the way.”

I drank my sweet iced tea as we followed Fenghuo out of the inn. The sweet taste was the only silver lining in this entire mess. Come to think of it, I wondered how Fumo and Yinrui were doing. Had they already reached the south, and we simply missed each other? I pushed those thoughts aside, there was a more pressing matter at hand.

“Come to think of it, I never asked what this Nine Yin Constitution actually is. What is it?” I asked while continuing to drink.

Huiran briefly explained the situation: how it was both a blessing and a curse, the excess of Yin and Ice Qi, and how the method to cure it was the same as the method used to exploit it.

“Sounds like a fucked up eugenics project.” I said abrasively, not in the mood for politeness.

“No offense.” I added quickly toward Ningguang, who simply nodded. It was clear none of this was her fault. Beside her, Wanxia followed in silence.

“It isn’t exactly a bloodline constitution, brother.” Huiran corrected. “Though there is a chance it can be inherited. The general consensus is that powerful Water spiritual roots are a requirement, though there are records of it appearing without any clear relation to spiritual roots.”

“So it just doesn’t appear often enough for anyone to properly investigate the root cause?”

“Correct.”

Hmmm. That sounds like a random mutation that flared or a recessive gene appearing. I finished the last of my tea, then slammed the empty glass onto the ground. It shattered before vanishing.

FUCK! I really look forward to that noodle!

“Brother Danxing,” Ningguang said cautiously, “is it really that upsetting?”

“I see that both of you have never starved.” I replied sharply toward her and Wanxia.

“Ah, whatever.” I turned to Fenghuo. “What does the City Lord want with us?”

“You will understand when you meet him.” was all he said.

The rest of the walk passed in silence as Fenghuo led us toward one of the largest mansions I had ever seen. It was less a residence and more an inner city of its own. Eventually, Fenghuo handed us over to another servant, who guided us into the main mansion and then to the City Lord’s office, where two guards of the same cultivation level as Fenghuo stood watch.

The moment Huiran, Wendao, and I stepped through, the servant spoke again.

“The City Lord only needs to speak with the three of you. Please follow me for your temporary lodgings.”

The door closed behind us.

“Greetings City Lord.” I followed Wendao and Huiran’s lead as they subtly nudged me.

“Let me finish this one thing first.” A calm old man’s voice answered.

Looking around the office, I found it far more utilitarian than expected. There was only a single large desk, where the City Lord was still writing. Documents were stacked neatly around him, sorted by the bindings on each volume. Behind him stood rows of bookshelves filled with books, scrolls, and various records. There were no decorations, no plants, and not even a small space set aside for guests to sit and wait. It was a thoroughly spartan room dedicated entirely to work.

Finally, the City Lord set down his brush and stood.

“This one is Bǎoshēng (寶生|Treasured Scholar\Precious Life). City Lord of Liu’an city and branch leader of Wanli Merchant Guild.” He cupped his hands and introduced himself.

“I already know each of you,” he continued, waving a hand before we could introduce ourselves. “But Young Master Xuan, is it not impolite to keep your face veiled?”

“I try not to scare people.” I replied, removing the veil and preparing to meet his gaze. I hoped to catch some useful truths during this meeting.

Honesty. Integrity. Cunning.

The principal asked, and the principal returned.

Confidant of the Emperor.

It was fortunate that my eyes could not widen, given that I had no eyelids. I managed to keep my surprise hidden. A confidant of the Emperor? What else had I gotten myself into this time?

“I dare say you frighten people more with the veil than without it,” the City Lord remarked. “But I did not invite you here for pleasantries.”

“Is this because I killed that man outside the inn?” I asked. Was I about to be thrown into prison?

“Irrelevant. This is more about your presence here. The appearance of a Xuan is always considered a bad omen.” He sat back down.

“I… haven’t done anything that warrants that reputation, correct?” I asked to confirm.

“The first time you appeared, the road to the south was destroyed along with the surrounding mountains. The second time you appeared, more than three dozen cultivators died before you even set foot in my city. What do you think?” the City Lord asked.

“Am I in trouble?”

“Are you?” he shot the question back at me.

“I certainly hope not.” I answered honestly.

“Well… not yet. But your arrival coincides perfectly with my latest problem. Something has been stolen from me, and I heard you once dealt with the thief.”

Then it finally clicked. “The owner of this arm?” I pulled the severed arm out of my storage ring once more.

“You keep a severed arm in your ring?” Huiran asked. We had properly buried the corpses from the battle in the Southern Mountain Range.

“It’s, uh… you know, in case I need to trade it back for the stolen items. And also to test whether things can rot inside a storage ring. Which, fortunately, they don’t.” I quickly made up an excuse.

“Regardless,” the City Lord refocused the conversation. “There is something I want you to do.”

“Capture the thief?”

“Not exactly. No one can leave the city without my permission. We will catch him sooner or later. But you are welcome to surprise me.” the City Lord replied.

“You say that, yet haven’t you already tried to use us to catch the thief?” Wendao spoke up for the first time.

Huh?

“In a city currently searching for a thief and under lockdown, it is hard to believe you wouldn’t have manpower ready to disperse a small crowd in front of the inn.” Huiran added.

What?

What were they talking about? Thinking back on it… had the City Lord tried to use us as bait to draw out the thief? Am I the only one realizing now? Am I stupid?

“That is correct. I apologize for the indiscretion. That is partly why I invited the five of you to stay here instead.” the City Lord confirmed. More importantly, it was also to prevent Ningguang’s Nine Yin Constitution from escalating into further trouble.

“Even so, the thief has never fought with the intent to kill until now. He has many tricks, but he has never used the kind of poison that afflicted the young Jiushuang disciple. That attack was… unusually sloppy.” the City Lord continued.

“I take it that is why you did not invite the Jiushuang Sect disciples here as well?” I asked to confirm.

“Yes.” he replied.

The thief had broken his usual pattern on the very day we arrived. Either he was growing desperate… or he had an accomplice. It was clear that both our group and the Jiushuang disciples were under suspicion. If the thief truly was that guy, then my previous encounter with him had been nothing more than a stroke of good luck. I still did not fully understand how I had matched his speed when our eyes met, and given his speed, he should have been able to evade my railgun again. That raised another question. If he was truly that fast, he had no need for poison, which only strengthened the suspicion of an accomplice. Someone that fast could have simply killed Hanmei outright rather than leaving her to be found and rescued.

That meant Hanmei had either overheard something she should not have, been attacked by an accomplice, or been targeted by an entirely different faction.

“Now then… the Smiling Face Troupe. Will they be a problem?” The City Lord made it clear he already knew they were in the city and that we had met them.

“Not unless I say so.” A sharp, oppressive scrutiny suddenly pressed against my mind. I immediately reinforced my defenses with Soul Power. The pressure lasted only a blink. As if he were merely testing my defenses before withdrawing.

“I will take your word for it for now,” he said, backing down. “As for what I need you to do… do you know that a tournament will be held in two weeks?”

“Yes. The Young Dragon and Phoenix Tournament.” Huiran answered, revealing yet another thing I had not known.

“It is finally this city’s turn to host it.” The City Lord then looked directly at me.

“Young Master Xuan, what do you think of being the Master of Ceremonies?”

~ Valarion