The Sword Strider Saga

A hundred cavalry stayed poised and quiet, their Fresverds exuding a cold bloodthirst in the dusk. The general Ning Emei in dark armor holding a hundred-pound iron halberd of shining black on a black horse, built a sharp contrast against the hundred white-horse calvary. Meanwhile, thirty-six gleaming swords of the Divine Empyrean Array were aimed at the outsiders in front of the main hall. And bet...

Lyu Qiantang dismounted and drew his Durandal before heading towards the Empyrean Array. Wu Shizhen frowned in disbelief. Xu Fengnian knew this could be a messy and uncontrollable fight. He put little Shanzha in Wei Shuyang's care and said to Yu Youwei, "Take Que'er down the steps with them and stay there unless told otherwise."

Swarms of Taoists pouring out of the Qingyang Temple boosted Wu Shizhen's confidence. He scuttled away from Xu Fengnian, pointed to a stone tablet in front of the temple and sniggered, "All Men on Foot Hereon, decreed by His Majesty."

The Crane Pavilion was said to be inhabited by cranes, but Xu Fengnian's party didn't even find a pheasant there when resting the horses. However, they did see six or seven female disciples around a handsome young man dressed in a Taoist robe.

Xu Fengnian walked away holding hands with Shanzha and Que'er. Old memories started rushing back to the underachieving bandit of Old Meng. Years ago he and his men intercepted Xu Fengnian who was touring around Qingcheng with a servant. Attempting to rob him of some coins, they were all dumbfounded by all those banknotes and curious books stripped from the young man. He was not someone to be trifl...

Xu Fengnian left the Fane musing to himself, "Lord of Qingcheng... sounds pretty mighty, huh. Wanna go take a look?" Wei Shuyang merely smiled. After breakfast, Xu Fengnian went looking for the old God of Sword and found him standing upright, his hand tucked behind. Xu Fengnian lowered his voice and said, "I just put some new stuff in the document chest inside the carriage. If we ever had to run f...

Xu Fengnian looked at Shu Xiu, who was making all the effort to suppress her murderous rage while acting all flustered and skittish. Still hugging Yu Youwei's slender waist, he teased, "My good fellas, if I hand over this beauty for you to dote on, can you let us off?"

Lyu Qiantang entered the courtyard and interrupted their mealtime, saying softly, "Your Highness, we have company. Thirty over people, but they're all common bandits." Xu Fengnian laughed, "Let them all in. Lyu Qiantang and Yang Qingfeng, keep yourselves out of sight, lest you scare them. Oh right, Yang Qingfeng, you might as well notify Ning Emei and standby for orders. Shu Xiu, you stay here."

The group departed after finishing their teas, and according to the itinerary they were supposed to rest in a city around dusk. But Xu Fengnian decided otherwise. He made Lyu Qiantang pick a side path from which to enter the Qingcheng Mountain Range. There were sixty-four peaks in the Qingcheng Mountain Range, forming an encirclement like ancient citadels. The evergreen ancient trees adorned the r...

Warmed up and full from meat and wine, Xu Fengnian was in want of amusement. He was in luck: two young swordsmen had now appeared on the main thoroughfare, each standing on the other side of the road and holding their respective swords. The two swordsmen fought in a whirlwind of chaos, equally matched.

After meeting the Red-Armored Runic Knight on the small trail, Xu Fengnian used his snow-white gyrfalcon to send a secret message to Chubby Chu. He then proceeded to the Jin Residence in Yingchuan County, where he drove Jin Lanting to the heights of ecstasy and despair. Once again, he sent forth a missive; it was his own idea to give Jin Lanting his promotion and ennoblement.

After Xu Fengnian reconvened with Ning Emei, they left the Yingchuan County seat together. Jin Lanting sent them to the city gate with a long face.

Zhao Ningyun bellowed, "How dare you call yourself a monk of Duopondus Monastery? You're asking for it!" As he spoke, his hand struck out without warning. The little monk stood his ground in front of the girl. A gentle breeze brushed away Zhao Ningyun's palm. From the front door of Maesters' Mansion, a young Taoist walked out. He wore his hair in a bun coiffure, secured with a boxwood Taoist hairp...

By the lakeside, Xu Fengnian was squandering precious firewood to cook poultry. Li Chungang, the former God of Sword came soon after, picking up a skewer of half-cooked roast goose and stuffing it into his mouth. After a few mouthfuls, he let out a rare compliment, "Kiddo, stop swinging blades and scaring off Jiang Ni. Best change tack and run a roast meat stall instead, I'm sure you'll have a roa...

Yu Youwei held Empress in her hands and whispered, "Empress, he promised to let me go to the Shangyin Academy and pay my respects to Mom and Dad. I wonder if he's a man of his word though. If we do get to the Shangyin Academy, and if I ask him to let me stay there... Empress, d'you think he'd say yes?"

So that geezer in the sheepskin coat is Li Chungang, the previous God of Sword? Jiang Ni might be outspoken but a liar she was not, Xu Fengnian believed. The geezer being Li Chungang would be fantastic. A thin crane was still better than a whole lot of poultry. So what if he lost to Wang Xianzhi and had his Celesteel broken? The one-armed old geezer actually toppled a Red-Armored Runic Knight with...

Xu Fengnian furrowed his brow and asked, "So this Water Knight's dead for good?" The geezer said mockingly, "Not so fast. Since the red armor's forged according to the five elements, the real show begins only when all five Red-Armored Runic Knights assemble. Now that I've made my move, I don't mind going all the way. They can't be any more troublesome than that revolting Ye Hongting." "Found it,"...

The odd figure in that bright-red armor held no weapons, resolutely standing right in the middle of the narrow trail. The horse riders came to a stop. Shu Xiu and Yang Qingfeng moved to flank Lyu Qiantang on either side, their expressions tense.

They were met with a sudden torrential rainstorm as they entered Yongzhou Province. The group then had to take a shortcut instead of the main thoroughfare and rush to the designated resting place. Xu Fengnian's band of followers might be eager to serve, but this spontaneous route change took a hard toll on them.

Xu Fengnian and Wei Shuyang rode forward side by side. Xu Fengnian asked gently, "Grandpa Wei, what exactly are the strengths of the Ten Masters? Can you make it easier to understand?"

Ning Emei led the hundred light cavalrymen of the Feng Battalion to continue following Xu Fengnian. When he turned his head, he saw most of them looking back lingeringly to appreciate Chen Zhibao's posture and demeanor. He got immersed in contemplation. Of the Four Fangs of Northern Liang, Dian Xiongchu and Wei Fucheng were nurtured by Chen Zhibao and became his henchmen. Dian Xiongchu said with c...

Xu Fengnian left the city with two blades on a white palfrey, followed by a stalwart military general leading over a hundred light cavalrymen. At the front was an unremarkable carriage driven by a comely young woman. People assumed nobody could qualify to sit in the carriage since the prince himself was riding a horse. Five miles out of the city, the hundred crossbow riders of the Feng Battalion d...

As Blind Old Xu grew older, he grew into a habit of reminiscing. He thought of the last decisive battle at Xilei Cliff in the Spring and Autumn Period, when the Lady of Northern Liang, all in white, personally beat war drums that reverberated with thunderous roars. All the troops were touched by her determination to conquer Western Chu before ceasing the drumbeat. A familiar voice came overhead hi...

Before leaving, Xu Fengnian went to see Li Hanlin. Li Hanlin said pitifully, "Fengnian, I'm getting sick from staying home all the time. Why can't you take me on this trip?" Xu Fengnian patted him on the shoulder and comforted him, "This trip is extremely dangerous. You're the only child in your family, so don't get involved in this mess. I'll ask Xu Xiao to get you an official position of the sub...

Xu Fengnian came to white fox-face. White fox-face used Nivisword to tap Xu Fengnian on the shoulder and said flatly, "Now that you're leaving Northern Liang, you can borrow Nivisword." Xu Fengnian wondered, "But I already have Tonitrusword."