Legend of The Young Master

Chapter 132: Guan

Jianfeng took several strides before responding. "I disagree, little sister. I believe  Luding is an emerging force within the untamed lands, and for now, we must align ourselves with him. However, he's misguided about this fortress, the Stone Citadel. Here we are, rulers of the forest from the mountains to the river, and he wants us to abandon our territory to attack this single stronghold.

Now, the Citadel has a guardian—one who also wields the power of the demons." Jianfeng continued to run. "I think  Luding  is making a mistake."

"You covet his position and his power," Zinni said. "And it's we who wish to reclaim the Stone Citadel."

"Not if the price is too steep. I'm not Nixi," JianFeng vaulted over a fallen log.

"How can the Citadel have a guardian who is one of us, and we not be aware of him?" Zinni inquired.

"I'm not sure," Jianfeng admitted. "But I intend to find out."

***

Yuanjing Guan of Yuanjing, known among his comrades as the Iron Fist, journeyed southeast along the river, garbed in his Qi armor, on a quest for his clan. The further southeast he ventured, the more his inner turmoil intensified.

Zhi, the senior of the two attendants, hummed a tune, offered respectful bows to everyone they passed, and seemed to relish the world around him. Despite feeling sad inside, he did not show it outwardly, leaving the luxury of the clan behind. Moving away from the grand hall, away from the endless cycle of banquets, games, hunts, and social engagements, Zhi found himself in unfamiliar territory.

Generally, a normal clan apprentice like him lived under the strict rule of the most seasoned warriors. These young men received meager rations and endured grueling tasks, with no opportunity for luxury and banquets. However, Zhi was different; he was the attendant to the renowned Young Master Guan.

Zhi's life was filled with all the pleasures of life, but now, all was gone until his young master completed his mission. Still, it was not all bad. Zhi anticipated the chance to earn his own glory on this quest. Within the Yuanjing clan, he was just another attendant, but here, he was assisting the young master on a quest for the clan.

Tian, the junior attendant, rode with a downcast gaze. Zhi could sense that the junior attendant was unhappy about leaving the luxury of the clan; they had to follow the Young Master they served. Yuanjing Guan wanted to help his attendants cheer up but was consumed by his own vexation.

It was unjust.

Such thoughts were futile. He was naive if he thought he would live a life of luxury forever. Some outer elders had made a mistake, and he had to pay the price. After being assigned this mission unexpectedly, he was unhappy.

By the Heavens and all that was righteous, Yuanjing Guan had paid his dues. He had faced a demon in clan trials and vanquished the accursed creature in single combat using only his armored fists after his blade shattered. The memory was vivid, as was the recollection of confronting the demon. The thought still unsettled him.

Guan had no desire to confront such an adversary again, not for the allure of the most captivating women in the empire, nor for the vast territories that awaited him as an inheritance. He was no coward; he had faced the demon and emerged victorious, witnessed by his father and a host of fifty of his subordinates.

In the entire kingdom of Tianbao, stretching from one boundary to the other, perhaps not even fifty Qi adepts could claim to have defeated a demon in single combat with just their fists. He hadn't wanted to, but he had done it. That should have been the end of it. Yet, the clan despised him.

"To the abyss with the forsaken search. I'll return and say he is dead," he muttered to himself.

His father, one of the inner elders of Yuanjing, governed the ShuiZhen fortress and the multitude of people who paid tribute and relied on its protection. Guan had nothing else to do in life until, out of nowhere, his father informed him that he would be leaving on a mission.

When he was told about the mission, his first reaction was, "By the Heavens, I might as well seek out another accursed demon and slay it, rather than roam the empire looking for that bastard,".

But Guan knew returning home without completing the mission meant losing face. The mission was not difficult, but neither was it simple; it was to find the bastard of Yuanjing Xuan, one of his cousins who had been accepted into the sacred sword sect.

The last news heard about the bastard was that the child was powerful and had awakened a special bloodline power of summoning. The Yuanjing bloodline was special and awakened special abilities for each member. For example, he himself had a special bloodline power that gave him exceptional physical fortitude. But the power to summon spirits, enhanced by the Yuanjing bloodline, made him worry.

Yuanjing Guan was told the whole story when he was given this mission. When the clan heard that one of their heirs had sired a bastard, their first thought was to get rid of him. The clan sent many members to eliminate the boy, but none returned. Later, the boy disappeared. No trace of him could be found anywhere. This concerned the clan, and they tried every method to locate the boy.

The clan specifically asked the boy's grandmother, who was from the Silent Moon Diviner clan, to visit her clan and seek their assistance. The boy was too important for them to ignore. Accepting the clan's demand, Wuyi's grandmother decided to return to her clan to ask for help.

After some extra effort, the diviners of the Silent Moon Seers were able to peer through fate. They were unable to read the fate of the boy, so they extended the search area. They searched for the family of the boy's deceased guardians. One of the guardians, named Bolou, had brothers.

From their divinations, they realized these brothers were supposed to be in a dungeon in the far southern province of the empire. The Silent Moon clan informed Wuyi's grandmother that the two brothers had been rescued by someone who seemed to be Wuyi. If they wanted to find Wuyi, they needed to send someone to the far southeast.