Hundred Clan Coalition?
An Fei was indeed informed regarding such an organization of clans, both secular and those associated with the jianghu, especially regarding the snippet of information that the majority of Great Yong below Jiang’an was ruled by the Hundred Clan Coalition.
As per the capital city’s wishes, the clans dutifully enacted the roles of the massive empire’s enforcers and regulators.
It wasn’t wrong to denote those clans as vassal states of Great Yong, though the Lu Imperial Family possessed far more control over their territories than a simple vassal-ruler relationship offered.
Though the Hundred Clan Coalition imposed an impressive blanket of influence over the citizens of the empire, the young girl realized that it wouldn’t be surprising for the Imperial Family to eliminate them without much trouble, and spare enough effort to gather suitable candidates for replacement.
After all… in Jiang’an, she had heard Wei Xuan discuss about Core Formation Realm cultivators as though they were nothing but fresh cabbages lined up on the display of a street market stall, but the people living below revered them as though they were ancestral characters.
“This junior… has indeed heard of the Hundred Clan Coalition,” An Fei nodded her head after a brief deliberation.
“The Hundred Clan Coalition that is responsible for the maintenance and welfare of Great Yong.”
The old man’s lips quirked at the young girl’s vague reply, his eyes twinkling with a brilliant gleam.
Wang Qinian remained as he were, merrily sipping at the fresh cup of longjing tea, his countenance smoothing with each sip.
“Ah… the Hundred Clan Coalition’s responsibility for maintaining the empire’s territory…” the elderly shopkeeper released a melancholy sigh.
“Rather than those responsible for maintaining the empire, it would be the watchdogs that serve as faithful hounds – though Lingxue has no need to adopt such a pessimistic outlook as your old Master. Now then, Lingxue, your Master has a question for you.”
Wang Qinian leaned forwards, the porcelain cup set down onto the table to rest in peace.
The elderly man folded his arms on top of the table as he gazed upon the young girl with an amiable smile, his eyes full of warmth and compassion.
“Question?”
An Fei echoed with a dull tone, her brows furrowing in confusion. The young girl leveraged a scrutinizing glare as her hands instinctively lowered towards the sheathed taijijian on her waist, ready to flee once the situation released the lightest waft of danger.
“How does the Hundred Clan Coalition rear its talents, with the organization having been structured to constantly revolve around competitive rankings and allotments? With the organization structure promoting nothing but internal conflict, how does the Hundred Clan Coalition maintain peace of the empire’s affairs?”
How does the Hundred Clan Coalition rear talents? How does the Hundred Clan Coalition maintain peace of the empire?
Why… was she being asked this question?
An Fei’s confusion bypassed the limit and began to overflow, her mind genuinely unable to discern the motives behind Wang Qinian’s persistent questioning. The young girl felt confused, irritated, perplexed, and above all, mystified at the current situation.
“Perhaps… because of competition and pride?”
“Just competition and pride?”
Wang Qinian raised his right eyebrow, his fingers gently twirling around the outer rim of the porcelain cup.
“Esteemed Senior, this junior isn’t of the Hundred Clan Coalition, so how would I be aware of their inner workings?”
An Fei deeply suppressed her urge to snap and utter a harsh remark towards the elderly shopkeeper, simultaneously massaging the knot of confusion in her heart.
The young girl ignored the gentle streams of steam wafting from her cup of tea, staring directly towards Wang Qinian with an unflinching gaze.
The old man’s lips persisted in their gentle and warm smile, and he raised the porcelain cup to his lips to moisten his throat.
As he spoke with a gentle voice, his expressions were slightly obscured through the water vapor expanding and dispersing before his countenance.
“Lingxue, you seemed to have attracted the malicious will of several families of the Hundred Clan Coalition. Your Master believes… that they include the Shen, Yang, and Du Families, as well as the Heavenly Jade Pavilion?”
“!?”
An Fei’s eyes narrowed in surprise and shock, her hand almost grasping and unleashing the blade sheathed upon her waist in instinct. The young girl hastily ceased her motion, forcing deep breaths of air into her lungs to restore her calm.
Only after her mental state had relinquished itself from the momentary burst of heat did she direct a gaze towards the elderly shopkeeper, though her gaze had become significantly colder and unfriendly.
“This junior must implore the Esteemed Senior to explain,” An Fei’s lips drew into a frown.
“Just how is the Esteemed Senior aware of such matters? And why does the Esteemed Senior declare that the Shen and Yang familial clans have directed malicious intentions towards this small junior?”
“Mh? Oh, Lingxue is curious about her safety?”
Wang Qinian drew a long draft of the tea, his ruddy countenance releasing an equally persistent exhale of breath.
The elderly shopkeeper’s eyes glanced over the slender taijijian sheathed upon the young girl’s waist, before deigning to speak.
“First… Lingxue, you may be companion friends with Ming Yue, to the extent that she may treat you as a sister. However… who is to assume that such friendship will extend to that of Shen Haoren, the Fourth Young Master of the Shen Family, as well as the Shen Family itself?”
The words were lofty and placid, as though Wang Qinian was merely discussing a lecture regarding the basics of cultivation.
The elderly man’s breath, words, and pacing was even and devoid of emotional breaks, causing the gravity of his intentions to become more defined with each passing minute.
“This junior does not understand why the Shen and Yang family clans will host malicious intentions towards myself,” An Fei slowly uttered in an eerily calm voice.
“What can this junior possibly provide that could move the hearts of the Shen and Yang families to enact upon evil?”
The question was rational and cold towards her own circumstances, but An Fei took it as the most representative of the truth.
Outside of the unsettling and conflicting divination of the seven-tailed fox that the Second Elder Sister of the Shen Family and the others of the upper echelons of the Hundred Clan Coalition were obsessed about, the young girl could not determine a proper reason for the two clans to seek her elimination.
“Indeed… what can you provide towards the two clans, Lingxue?”
Wang Qinian’s gentle smile revealed an enigmatic trace. The old man patted his palms, before extending the index finger of his right hand.
“Lingxue does not practice a unique cultivation technique, and your current abilities reside from an external martial arts technique – a family inheritance. However…a small fox, no matter of the number of tails it possess as long as it is a spiritual beast, would indeed garner their interest.”
A small fox?
Xiao Bai?
What did the small fox have to do with… ah!?
The young girl’s body imperceptibly twitched as her mind flashed back to the startling detail that she had not spotted the small fox for a single time since her clash with Du Yongkang.
A drop of cold sweat trickled down An Fei’s tender nape as her fingers clenched into her palms, her heart pulsing with a discernible worry.
The little raven and the small fox… were they faring well?
As for the little raven, the young girl had witnessed the small frame chase away several fierce creatures with a single cry… fierce creatures that would probably contest against the Earth Giant without much disadvantage. The only worry, then, was that…
…why had she not heard a single iota of news regarding the two creatures?
“Ah, Lingxue, your Master must impart a necessary portion of knowledge.”
Wang Qinian’s solemn voice breached through the young girl’s chaotic stream of thoughts, the tone piercing and stern.
As An Fei’s lowered gaze snapped onto the elderly figure in an instant, she noticed that the warm and genial smile had melted from his countenance, replaced by an expressionless slate.
“Lingxue, your Master will only say this once. Remember this well, for I cannot utter such words a second time.”
As if having been influenced by a mysterious force guiding her body without permitting refusal, the young girl’s head bobbed downwards in a small nod. Witnessing her agreement, the elderly shopkeeper closed his eyes, inhaling a deep breath to inundate his lungs with the world’s prayers.
“Lingxue… the Hundred Clan Coalition possesses a side association of wandering cultivators such as myself to train the younger generation without partiality – of which you’ve seen the old shop in this city. Those locations are havens of which any cultivator affiliated with the Hundred Clan Coalition are unilaterally placed under our protection as the established guardians of Great Yong.”
“Answering my second question from before, how does the Hundred Clan Coalition maintain peace of the land despite its internal conflicts?” Wang Qinian’s lips twitched with a wry smile, his heart not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
“The Hundred Clan Coalition possesses a hidden force of which the only indicator of their existence is a brooch of an eagle emblem cast in bronze, silver, gold, or heart jade. Lingxue, you must treasure the sword of my protégé.”
Protégé? Those men who dared to assassinate with a practice sword?
Indeed, birds of a feather flock together, given how strange these people before her were…
