The Return of Stars to the Jianghu

Chapter 24: Legends of the Orchid Pavilion Inn

"At that time, Lanting was one of the most important post stations on the trade route between East and West. At the height of East-West trade, hundreds of merchant groups arrived at Lanting at the same time. That was the first and last time that the total number of merchants exceeded the maximum capacity of Lanting post station, and the magical story happened on that occasion."

Legend has it that at midnight, hundreds of merchants witnessed the Orchid Pavilion slowly rotating counterclockwise, gradually rising until it stopped after rising one meter. At the center of the pavilion, a massive pillar supports it.

In the darkness, people discovered a hidden world beneath the pavilion, with steps leading down to the east, west, south, and north of the entrance.

After that night, all those hundreds of merchant caravans vanished. Some said they entered another world through that entrance; others said it was a secret passage built by some country for war, a huge labyrinth where they got lost and starved to death.

But the story of Lanting didn't end there. A hundred years later, someone suddenly emerged from the Kolem Desert west of the Southern Han Kingdom, claiming to be a member of the Avengers Caravan. However, that caravan had vanished from Lanting a hundred years prior. Two other caravans also disappeared entirely: the Dionysus Caravan and the Aga Transport Caravan. These three caravans had lost all their men and women during that particular transport mission. The remaining hundreds of caravans, as was customary, had personnel stationed in various locations.

Coincidentally, one person emerged from the Black Forest of Western Shu and claimed to be a member of the Aga Transport Team; another emerged from the Buzhou Mountains of Liang and claimed to be a member of the Wine God Merchants.

These three people reappeared exactly one thousand years ago.

Around the time those three people appeared a thousand years ago, a powerful earthquake struck the area where Lanting was located. Lanting became a ruin, and with the completion of road widening on both the east and west sides of Free City, Lanting was gradually abandoned by merchants.

Centuries later, a merchant built a small pavilion on the ruins of the Orchid Pavilion and hung up a plaque bearing the name of the pavilion. However, few people visited that place anymore.

At this point, Li Hongbo paused.

“I guessed it. That book, ‘The Libationer,’ was written by that Dionysian merchant. What is this place called Liberty City?” I didn’t know about Liberty City at the time, so I asked Li Hongbo.

"That was a city located at the crossroads of the Eastern and Western continents. Those three men each wrote a book: Agamemnon, The Libationers, and The Vengeance. However, nowadays, people only know Agamemnon; not many know the names of the other two."

"What should we do now?" I asked Shen Lixi.

"Why don't we go to Lanting first?" Shen Lixi replied.

“You can’t go there,” Shadow said.

"Why?" I asked, puzzled.

"War must have broken out by now. We're in the south of the Floating Life Continent, while Lanting is in the north. Going there is a nine-out-of-ten chance of death," Shadow continued.

“Actually, you don’t need to go to Lanting, because that book simply can’t be there. For the past ten years, many countries and sects have been searching for it. No one has found it. Even if someone did, they wouldn’t announce it to the world.” Li Hongbo paused. “I don’t know which Western sect you belong to, but you seem to know nothing about this book. Why are you looking for it?”

“We were entrusted with this task,” Shen Lixi replied, without explicitly stating that it was a test given to us by our elders.

“Well, we said we’d help, so we’ll at least give you some clues,” Li Hongbo continued, without pressing further.

“You have leads, but those are classified, aren’t they?” Shadow looked at Li Hongbo.

“That’s right, but the world is in chaos right now, so I can only take care of myself first. When I was sent to you, I was already doomed.” Li Hongbo turned to me and Shen Lixi. “I received information that the book was likely on Mount Emei, and we are at the foot of the mountain right now.”

"Mount Emei." I expressed my surprise.

"What? You know?" Li Hongbo looked at me.

“Oh, there’s also a place called Mount Emei in the West,” I replied.

An Ying and Li Hongbo looked at each other in disbelief.

"Thank you." I expressed my gratitude; at least it wasn't like searching for a needle in a haystack anymore. However, I really didn't understand why my parents wanted to find that book. After listening to Li Hongbo's legend, I seemed to understand something—they were just letting us try our luck, not expecting us to find it.

“We are pressed for time, so please give us directions. We’ll head up the mountain now,” I said to Shadow and Li Hongbo.

"There is no direct evidence to prove that the book is on the mountain, and I need to remind you of that. In addition, the road to Mount Emei is very difficult, and very few people other than the Red-Clothed Cult of the Emei Sect can safely climb the mountain."

"What? The Emei Sect? Aren't all the Emei Sect nuns?" I said, not knowing anything about Mount Emei at the time.

“Nuns, no, the main sect of the Emei Sect has long since disappeared. What’s on Mount Emei now is the Red-Clothed Sect. The Red-Clothed Sect does accept female disciples, but they have more male disciples.” Shadow spoke up at this moment. “From here, just walk west to the foot of Mount Emei. As for how to get up, that’s up to you.”

"Then we're leaving," Shen Lixi said to An Ying and Li Hongbo.

“Wait, I just noticed that you all have tents in your bags. I have a favor to ask, I wonder if you could give us one? I hope you can understand.” It was Shadow who spoke up.

"Okay, here you go." I gave the tent to them. Afterwards, Shen Lixi and I went to the woods at the foot of Mount Emei, but we got lost. Fortunately, we eventually found our way out.

Our parents only told us to try to find the book and asked us to return within a specified time. So we didn't go back to Mount Emei and returned to Xiyang instead.

This time when I went out again, I brought this map with me.

……

Finally, Luo Yifei finished telling Li Hongbo's version of "The Legend of the Orchid Pavilion." All the events described were true, but the information about Earth was deliberately omitted.