Zhan Bie was stunned, his noodles slipping from his mouth. He stared at the old man, who chuckled again. “The absurdity of the world knows no bounds. In all my years, I’ve never seen anything like this. Some of you here probably know it already. But now… Masui has already fallen!”
A heavy silence fell over the crowd—no one uttered a sound. No matter how drunk they were, the shocking news was like a bolt from the blue, leaving everyone stunned. Among them, Zhan Bie was undoubtedly the most shaken. He had never imagined that, after being out of the city for only a day and two nights, the neighboring country—which should have held out for at least six or seven more days—had already fallen. For some reason, a flash of the Yellow Heaven Rebel Army’s eerie banner and the image of the red and blue dancing girls appeared in his mind. It was terrifying. Cold sweat broke out on his forehead, and he suddenly found it difficult to breathe.
“The Yellow Heaven Rebel Army—many of you must have heard the name! Believe it or not, the great nation of Masui, which had stood for two hundred years, has now been overthrown. The bandit king has seized power, and the country has been renamed Fentian!” The old man, his voice steady, looked at the quiet crowd below the platform and continued, “Their leader, Ruo Wen, rose to power in the northern desert, running rampant across three thousand li (roughly 1,500 kilometers). He became the overlord among bandits, looting enough supplies each month to sustain a small ethnic group for ten years. Gradually, he moved south, growing stronger along the way. Because he traveled in a straight line, the first political entity he encountered was Masui. With only four thousand men, he stormed Masui's borders and, within ten days, brought down Heiyan. The neighboring nations didn't even have time to send reinforcements.”
At this point, the old man paused, coughing a few times. Seeing that no one interrupted, he sighed deeply and said, “Ah... nowadays, traveling to Fentian is like coming to this snowy plain—you don’t need any documents or permits, and it doesn’t matter where you’re coming from or what you intend to do. As long as you have the courage and are willing to risk your life, you can go. Fentian has only existed for a day, but already many have passed through its gates, hoping to strike gold. There, you can take whatever you want—if you can’t win in a fight, you can steal. Even killing someone isn’t a crime.” The old man sipped the tea handed to him by the waiter. After a few slow sips, he continued, “Don’t ask how I know all this. The affairs of the world have nothing to do with me—I’m just an observer. As the ancient sages said, ‘Heaven and Earth are unkind and treat all things as straw dogs; the sage is unkind and treats the people as straw dogs.’ Today, I’m considering myself half a sage. If you have questions, don’t ask the gods or the ghosts—just sit here, bring me a pot of hot Bitter Fragrance tea, and I, Shiji Sou, will tell you all I know!” The old man casually drank his tea, as if the tale of a nation's destruction was nothing more than a passing breeze.
“You’re the Shiji Sou?”
“Shiji Sou, Rong Huo?”
A few knowledgeable patrons whispered in surprise.
The owner of the tea house, a well-connected man, was also taken aback. Seeing that a famous figure like Rong Huo had been begging for tea at his doorstep for seven days straight, he hurriedly brought out a fine pot of tea himself.
“I’ve long heard of your great name. I knew you traveled far and wide, but I never expected a man of your caliber to visit my humble establishment! Here, this is the finest Bitter Fragrance tea—please enjoy it!”
Rong Huo, along with his brother Rong Ruo, had both once served the 33rd King of Yunpei, Na Qida. From the time Na Qida began his travels in the great desert until his return to the palace, more than twenty years had passed. The three of them journeyed across the world, compiling the Great Desert Collection, a monumental work that recorded the upheavals and fires of war in chaotic times. It also included a five-thousand-character summary of the history of the empire that had existed on this land a thousand years earlier. After the transformation of the land into a vast desert, the empire came to be known as the Heavenly Dynasty of the Desert.
After Na Qida's death, the brothers Rong Ruo and Rong Huo left Yunpei to wander the world. Less than two years later, Rong Ruo passed away, leaving Rong Huo as the last living repository of their vast knowledge. He was now over seventy years old and widely known as “Shiji Sou.”
Standing on the platform, Rong Huo appeared at ease, though his eyes occasionally darted to the man in black sitting in the middle of the room. The man still wore a mocking smile, his gaze cold, casually sipping Conqueror’s Wine. Such strong liquor would normally knock out an average man after two cups, but the man had downed ten already, yet his face showed no signs of redness. He remained steady and composed, as immovable as Mount Tai.
Rong Huo lowered his eyelids slightly, then took a breath and resumed speaking.
“Let’s continue. By now, you all know that the most absurd entity is Fentian. And this Ruo Wen—could he be considered an ordinary bandit? Without a demonic cruelty, how could he control his savage generals, who are like wolves and tigers? Wouldn’t you agree?”
Many people nodded in silent agreement as they listened to Rong Huo.
Satisfied, Rong Huo smiled and stroked his beard out of habit. “Now let me ask you, can anyone name someone who could stand against him?”
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