On the Road, Disobedient Children Deserve a Beating

Heartshadow Pavilion sits atop the Ai River in Southlyn, its cluster of little houses encircling the main hall, scattered in a way that makes the place look like a water town. The main mode of travel here is by boat.

Since all the residents are women, every little house is designed to be delicate and beautiful. In the hazy moonlight, the houses are bathed in a gentle halo, as if the place were a fairyland on earth.

Unfortunately, Lance Quinn had no time to admire Heartshadow Pavilion’s beauty—he was here on serious business.

Lance found a small boat by the shore, tapped his toes and leapt aboard. The heavy scent of cosmetics inside made him frown.

It was Lance’s first time using this kind of boat, and at first he couldn’t get the hang of it. The boat spun in circles on the water—if not for his skills, he’d have crashed into one of the houses and alerted Heartshadow Pavilion’s people.

But practice makes perfect. Soon Lance figured out how to row, and the boat glided forward, the water slapping noisily beneath him. He worried someone might hear and come investigate, but...

Maybe Heartshadow Pavilion’s people are just too confident, or maybe boats are common at night. The sound of the boat cutting through the water was loud, yet nobody came out to check.

Lance didn’t dare let his guard down—maybe this was a trap. After all, everything had gone way too smoothly so far, so much that Heartshadow Pavilion didn’t feel like a ‘Xuan’ sect at all.

Thinking back to all the traps at Skyvault Palace, and comparing them to the calm here at Heartshadow Pavilion, Lance almost wondered if he’d come to the wrong place.

In truth, Lance was overthinking it. Heartshadow Pavilion wasn’t like Skyvault Palace. Both might be ‘Xuan’ sects, but Heartshadow had nothing worth coveting—and nobody wanted to come here.

Heartshadow Pavilion exists to shelter women abandoned by men. Ordinary people avoid this place, fearing its bad luck.

Heartshadow Pavilion is an isolated little town. No matter how capable its women are, nobody wants to get involved with them. This world still revolves around men—men would never like a place like this, much less its women.

Heartshadow Pavilion is ignored year after year, and the women inside aren’t good at business either. Even the few who can do business never get far—those men in the marketplace would never let Heartshadow’s women get too rich.

Heartshadow Pavilion is more and more strapped for cash. People call it one of the four great ‘Xuan’ sects, but it’s falling apart—so much so that even thieves won’t bother coming here.

After all these years, it’s no wonder the guards here have grown slack. Lance was really getting a bargain tonight.

The boat soon reached the main hall. Lance tapped his toes, skimmed across the water, and landed steadily outside—he hadn’t even gotten close when voices drifted out from inside.

“Madam Red and her people all died horribly. Are we really going to keep doing this job?”

“There’s no way we’re giving back the silver. We lost so many people—this compensation is the least we deserve.”

“Even if we can cancel the job, what about Madam Red? Did she and her people die for nothing? We have to avenge them!”

“Qingyi, I know you were close to Madam Red, but calm down. The people behind this aren’t anyone we can mess with.”

“It’s all Ink Robe’s fault—she only cared about the silver from this job and never checked out the client. That’s why so many from the Red Hall died for nothing.”

The women bickered back and forth, blaming each other. Lance listened for ages but couldn’t make out any real solution—finally, the so-called Pavilion Master cut in: “Enough, all of you. I’ll decide what to do. Go back to your rooms.”

Only then did they grudgingly fall silent, get up, and leave—each taking her own boat back to her house. Not a single one noticed the extra boat on the water.

It’s not that Lance looked down on women, but these Heartshadow Pavilion women were just too careless. Even if outsiders never came, you still need basic defenses. But here...

“Huh, whose boat is that? Why hasn’t it left yet?” The last woman to go noticed a lone boat floating on the water, muttered to herself, but didn’t look into it.

Disappointed, Lance was thoroughly let down by Heartshadow Pavilion. No wonder a ‘Xuan’ sect had sunk so low, forced to compete with assassins for work.

Lance waited in the shadows until all the women had gone back to their rooms. Only then did he step out and walk through the main doors into the hall.

Inside, a woman in white stood with her back to the door, her solitary figure looking forlorn. Hearing footsteps behind her, she didn’t turn around, but said coldly, “I told you not to bother me. Get out!”

“Xuanqing!” Lance said the name with authority. Every Heartshadow Pavilion master is called Xuanqing.

The woman in white jolted, spun around, and saw Lance’s well-kept face. Shock and unease flashed across her features as she demanded, “Who are you? How dare you trespass in Heartshadow Pavilion?”

Even the number one master in the jianghu, Lance Quinn, wasn’t recognized here—proof of just how isolated Heartshadow Pavilion was. Lance felt even less interested in Master Xuanqing.

Even if the sect still obeyed the Nine Provinces Token, what good did that do? A sect this weak was useless to him.

“You don’t need to know who I am. You just need to recognize this.” Lance took out the Nine Provinces Token and strode inside...

“The Nine Provinces Token? Master?” Master Xuanqing’s mouth dropped open, her legs buckled, and she fell to her knees. Lance didn’t even look at her—he went straight to the head seat, let the light fall on her, and sized her up until she trembled. Only then did Lance say, “Xuanqing, do you know your crime?”

“Master...” Master Xuanqing was bewildered. She had no idea what she’d done wrong—she hadn’t done anything these years.

Hmph...

From her demeanor, Lance could tell Xuanqing was not a capable leader. He said coldly, “You secretly colluded with the Southlyn royal house—do you know what you’ve done? Have you forgotten how the Lan clan was destroyed?”

Lance could accept the Xuan sects no longer being loyal to the Former Dynasty, like Skyvault Palace. But he couldn’t accept them being controlled by other royal houses. Heartshadow Pavilion had crossed his bottom line—otherwise, he wouldn’t have revealed his true identity.

Master Xuanqing’s eyes widened even more, stammering, “I—I didn’t know... I didn’t know the client was the Southlyn royal house.”

“Didn’t know? You know nothing, yet you took a job you shouldn’t have. What a responsible Pavilion Master you are. Since when did Heartshadow Pavilion join the Assassin Alliance?” Lance’s words were merciless. Master Xuanqing’s face went white and she lowered her head, speechless.

What Lance said was true—she had no way to argue. But still...

Heartshadow Pavilion had nearly a thousand mouths to feed, none of them any good at business. She had to find a way to support them—what was so wrong with that?

She was deeply dissatisfied with Lance’s accusations. Hidden in her sleeve, her hand clenched into a fist as she fought to control her anger.

The descendants of the Lan clan had never cared whether they lived or died—what right did he have to judge them?

At the same moment, far away in another courtyard, Serena was being harassed again by women from the Violet Hall. To escape, she had no choice but to agree to go with them to Heartshadow Pavilion—for now, at least...

Serena was sure she’d find a chance to slip away!