Wuxia: Starting Off With 60 Years of Inner Strength

You scratch my back, and I’ll scratch yours. The martial world wasn’t just about the daily glint of blades, old grudges, and tangled passions.

More often than not, it was about human relationships and social etiquette.

You show me respect, I show you respect. You flatter me, and I’ll naturally flatter you in return.

Friendships were often forged in this crucible of mutual praise.

This was simply one facet of navigating the complex social world.

The atmosphere at the banquet was quite pleasant. Fang Yinuo was a gifted speaker, and Jiang Ran even more so.

They were both masters of social grace, and their rapport grew with every word.

Before long, they were all getting along famously.

This made Ruan Yuqing look at Jiang Ran with renewed admiration.

’He was young, his martial arts were phenomenal, and he was both socially adept and effortlessly diplomatic.’

’What kind of person could have possibly nurtured such a prodigy?’

As the banquet drew on and the wine flowed freely, it was clear the feast was nearing its end.

Fang Yinuo, his face flushed red from the drink, shook his head as a wave of anger surged through him.

"That little brat, Fang Li! He knew Brother Jiang would be here tonight, but he just ran off and hasn’t returned."

"Looking for medicinal herbs for Brother Jiang, he says? More like he’s gotten himself lost!"

"When he gets back, we’ll see if I don’t just break his legs!"

At this, he turned to Jiang Ran, clasping his fist in his palm and bowing repeatedly.

"Brother Jiang... Fang Li is a good-for-nothing. Please, don’t take it to heart."

"I will make this right by you."

"But you’re his elder, so please don’t hold it against him... After all, this old brother of yours only has the one son."

"Sigh, you have no idea. The day he was born..."

By this point in the night, aside from the abstaining Li Tianxin, Ruan Yuqing, and a few others at the table, everyone else was more or less drunk.

Of the five Hall Masters, two were absent due to injuries sustained earlier in the day. Of the remaining three, two were now passed out under the table.

The only one left conscious was staying sober to handle any emergencies.

Those two had passed out from taking drinks on Fang Yinuo’s behalf.

One would step in to toast Jiang Ran, then the other would do the same.

In the end, Jiang Ran was perfectly fine, while the Three Rivers Gang was nearly wiped out.

It got to the point where Fang Yinuo was grabbing Jiang Ran, calling him his brother, and was on the verge of scooping up a handful of dirt to serve as incense for a sworn brotherhood oath, and there was no one left to hold him back.

Even the sober Hall Master couldn’t restrain him... he was so anxious he was about to start pacing in circles.

Jiang Ran smiled, settling in to hear if there was some grand tale behind Fang Li’s birth.

’Perhaps auspicious clouds had filled the sky, or maybe five bolts of lightning had shaken the world and split a stone asunder, from which Fang Li himself had sprung forth...’

Just then, the sound of footsteps echoed from outside the doors.

He turned his head just in time to hear a series of WHOOSHES.

Several figures were thrown into the main hall.

CRASH! The wooden doors shattered as several figures tumbled across the floor. They struggled to their feet, their faces covered in blood.

The man in front immediately dropped to his knees, kowtowing.

"Gang Leader, this is bad... We were ambushed..."

"Ambushed?"

At this sudden turn of events, Fang Yinuo’s heart sank.

He was drunk, but not dead drunk.

He was still aware of what was happening around him.

He just couldn’t fight the dizziness, and his mind was sluggish. But when he looked up and saw a group of people who had, at some unknown point, infiltrated the grounds just outside the hall, he understood this was no friendly visit.

He immediately slapped his forehead, looked around, then grabbed a wine jug and smashed it over his own head.

CRACK! Blood streamed down his face.

The sharp sting of pain sobered him slightly.

He focused his eyes, and a look of realization dawned on his face.

"I was wondering who it could be. So, it’s you, Zuo Mingqiu!"

"Shouldn’t you be cooped up in your Black Water Stronghold? What are you doing running to my Three Rivers Gang?"

"Are you looking to die?"

Their leader, Zuo Mingqiu, was a man in his thirties.

He wasn’t unattractive. A lock of hair fell to obscure half his face, and though his skin was dark, his eyes were cold and sharp.

Yet, a smile played on his lips.

"We didn’t come here looking to die today, of course."

"We’ve come to ’borrow’ something from you, Gang Leader Fang."

"And what might that be?"

Fang Yinuo’s brow furrowed. He strained his ears, but realized that despite this group having been here for some time, there wasn’t a single sound from outside the gang’s headquarters.

Yes, there was a banquet tonight, but only those present in this hall were drinking.

’Could the entire Three Rivers Gang have gotten drunk?’

At that thought, a heavy feeling settled in his chest.

Just then, Zuo Mingqiu spoke with a smirk.

"By order of my master, I, Zuo Mingqiu, have come to the Three Rivers Gang today. I am here to take the Three Rivers Water Token from you, Fang Yinuo, and to demand that you cede Gathering Island!"

"Bullshit!!"

Fang Yinuo roared in fury.

"The Three Rivers Water Token grants command over the entire Three Rivers region! It was won through the years of my Three Rivers Gang’s hard work and with my own two hands and martial skill at the Three Rivers Water Assembly!"

"You, Zuo Mingqiu, think you can just take it for the asking? Do you have any respect for me at all?"

"Or for the sanctity of the Three Rivers Water Assembly?"

Jiang Ran looked at the people swarming inside and outside the hall, feeling a little lost.

He subconsciously glanced over at Li Tianxin, only to find him watching the sudden turn of events with rapt attention.

There was even a glimmer of curiosity in his eyes.

Jiang Ran was speechless. ’He’s no help,’ he thought. ’He probably has no idea what this Three Rivers Water Assembly is, either.’

Just as he was about to ask someone, Ruan Yuqing whispered in his ear.

"The Three Rivers Water Assembly is a gathering for all the major figures of the Green Forest from across the Three Rivers region."

"This waterway is vast, so there have to be rules. They serve as both a restriction and a protection."

"After all, the sword of the imperial Court still hangs over our heads."

"If people acted without rules, doing whatever they pleased... they’d inevitably bring about their own destruction."

"But who gets to decide the rules?"

"That’s why there’s the Three Rivers Water Assembly, held once every ten years."

"Whoever can prove themselves superior to all others at the assembly gets to command the Three Rivers region for the next ten years!"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Ran finally understood.

’This must be the very foundation of the Three Rivers Gang’s power!’