"What kind of flower is this?"
A shop assistant took it, twirling it in his hand as he joked with a smile.
"Young master, you carry your sweetheart's silk flower even when traveling?"
There were no kapok trees in this small Border Commandery town, so the shop assistant didn't recognize it. The merchant carefully took the flower back.
"This is called kapok flower, not my sweetheart's silk flower," he sighed. "This is the silk flower that saved my life."
At the mention of saving lives, the shop assistant understood. When this merchant's group had arrived, there were injured and dead among them, all in miserable condition. But the inn hadn't been frightened - they'd seen this situation many times before. Bandit attacks, of course.
What was more surprising was that so many had survived the bandit encounter with their goods completely intact.
But how could a silk flower save lives? The shop assistant was puzzled. Another shop assistant passing by overheard and exclaimed.
"Mu Mianhong!" he said.
This exclamation startled many people around them - the accountant sitting at his desk, the customers eating, the waiters carrying trays - all jumped in fright.
"Mu Mianhong!" "Mu Mianhong is here!" "Where?"
Fortunately, before someone could shout "Mu Mianhong's here, run!", the shop assistant quickly clarified, "It's not that Mu Mianhong is here, it's that this person encountered Mu Mianhong."
Like pouring cold water into a boiling pot, everyone calmed down.
"That really scared us to death," the customers complained. "Why frighten people for no reason?"
But many gathered around, curious: "Someone actually saw Mu Mianhong?" "Isn't Mu Mianhong supposed to be away from our area?"
Hearing the chatter, the merchant gentleman also complained: "I'm the one who was nearly scared to death. What exactly is Mu Mianhong?"
"Bandits," the people around said in unison.
Real bandits?
But they didn't seem quite like bandits.
The merchant gentleman described the scene to everyone: "There were old and young among them, they didn't look much like bandits. And when the bandits heard them, they all ran away in fear."
The people around weren't surprised to hear this: "Mu Mianhong - even bandits are afraid of them."
The merchant gentleman grew more curious: "Who is this Mu Mianhong?"
"To speak of Mu Mianhong, we must first mention Green Cliff Stronghold," said the elderly accountant from behind the counter, speaking slowly. "Over twenty years ago, there was a Green Cliff Stronghold in the Great Green Mountains. At its peak, it had thousands of bandits who truly ran rampant without fear. But later, government troops suppressed the bandits, driving them out of the Great Green Mountains. They scattered and drifted everywhere—"
Hearing this, the merchant gentleman made a sound of surprise: "Over twenty years ago? But what I saw was a teenage girl."
Over twenty years ago, this girl wouldn't have been born yet.
Could it not be Mu Mianhong?
"Then I don't know," the accountant said. "No one has seen Mu Mianhong. Some say she's as beautiful as a flower, others say she's as ugly as a ghost, and some say she never ages."
Others chimed in: "I've heard she's a heavenly maiden descended to earth." "Nonsense, I heard she's a night rakshasa." "She can turn beans into soldiers." "She can borrow troops from the underworld!"
In short, no one had seen her true appearance, the merchant gentleman understood.
"Regardless of what she looks like," the old accountant continued his topic, "the Green Cliff Stronghold that was driven out of the Great Green Mountains didn't just disappear. It was this Mu Mianhong who gathered the bandits together, seizing territories everywhere, burning, killing, and plundering—and what they burned, killed, and plundered most were other bandits. They specialize in preying on their own kind."
The merchant gentleman suddenly understood - no wonder those bandits ran away when they heard the name."Wherever Mu Mianhong passes, she leaves behind a kapok flower." The old accountant squinted at the silk flower in the merchant young master's hand. "But Mu Mianhong has never appeared in our area before. I never thought I'd live to see this day."
Even if she kills bandits, a bandit is still a bandit - just like a rakshasa that devours minor ghosts is still a monster.
The common people remained fearful. "I heard even the government troops fear Mu Mianhong." "Mu Mianhong possesses dark magic and is impervious to blades and spears." "To think she's come to our area - how terrifying." For a while, discussions buzzed everywhere.
The merchant young master looked at the silk flower in his hand, his emotions in turmoil. While he owed his current safety to Mu Mianhong, the memory of what he witnessed - especially that child around ten years old who could kill with such proficiency - revealed how fearsome and dangerous they truly were.
"Once this trip is over, I must return home immediately," he murmured. "The Border Commandery is too terrifying."
...
...
The farther they traveled from the Border Commandery, the larger the cities ahead appeared, the more pedestrians filled the roads, and the slower their carriage and horses moved.
Their procession of carriages and horses had to frequently stop to make way for oncoming vehicles. During one such stop, the carriage curtain was flung open as a boy around ten years old shouted loudly.
Passersby on the road jumped in surprise, and the girl riding ahead immediately turned her horse around.
"Xiao Tu, what are you doing?" she scolded in a low voice.
The boy called Xiao Tu pouted: "Sister Xiao Man, I don't want to ride in the carriage. I want to ride a horse. This is too slow."
Xiao Man glared at him: "What child rides a horse? Do you see any children riding horses on this road?"
Not only were there no children riding horses, but even older people were traveling by carriage.
"Don't make people think we're strange! If you reveal our identities and ruin Auntie's plans, I won't let you off easily."
Xiao Tu clearly didn't dare to jeopardize their mission and reluctantly sat back down, idly playing with his belt - only to have Xiao Man snatch it away immediately, along with a gleaming throwing dagger that disappeared into her sleeve.
"What child plays with knives?" Xiao Man muttered angrily.
Xiao Tu rolled his eyes.
Xiao Man then leaned into the carriage and frowned, whispering sharply: "Aunt Cai! Stop sharpening your knife with your feet!"
The white-haired old woman inside grinned: "Alright, alright. My feet were just itchy."
Saying this, she retrieved the knife from near her feet and tucked it beneath her ornate skirt.
Xiao Man sighed with resignation and warned again: "We're getting closer to the Central Plains now. Everyone must be more careful. Whoever ruins our mission will face our stronghold's punishment."
Everyone inside and outside the carriage responded in unison with "Yes."
Such synchronized responses startled the common people passing by on the main road. This group of young and old, with maids and servants, carrying gifts - they looked like a family visiting relatives. But why would they need to respond in unison to a single command?
Are family rules like this nowadays?
A flicker of embarrassment crossed Xiao Man's face before she quickly put on a cheerful expression and said loudly: "We're almost there. Once we see Auntie, we can rest properly."
Xiao Tu exclaimed: "Ah, I miss Auntie so much!"
Xiao Man cracked her whip: "If you miss her, then let's hurry up!"
The carriage and horses creaked and clopped, merging into the flow of people on the main road as they moved slowly forward.
...
...
The capital bustled with activity, carriages and horses moving like flowing dragons, with new excitements every day.
"Hurry and look, the Chu Garden Literary Gathering has ended!"
At this announcement, many people turned to look curiously.The Chu Garden Literary Gathering had become a widely celebrated event, to the extent that scholars arriving from out of town would head straight to Chu Garden as soon as they entered the capital, as if it were a familiar routine.
After all, one of the requirements to participate in the Third Prince’s Hope Spring Garden Literary Gathering was to defeat the Chu maiden.
Of course, while people were initially curious about whether the Chu maiden would win or lose, that interest had gradually faded. There were now far too many other contests and outcomes to follow, along with countless fascinating competitions.
And now, even the competitions themselves had become secondary. With Chu Garden’s beautiful scenery and the exclusive supply of refreshments from Drunken Immortal Restaurant, the event was both entertaining and delightful. Many made a point of bringing their children along to observe and learn.
Due to the overwhelming crowds, Chu Garden had to limit daily entry, making tickets extremely hard to come by.
Was it really coming to an end?
Who said it was ending?
And would the Chu maiden face punishment?
Driven by curiosity, countless people flocked to Chu Garden.
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