Chapter 106: and translation of chapter title

The sky was overcast, a gloomy haze filled Xinzheng, the flags that once flew on the city walls had vanished, replaced by a black flag with a red border bearing a large seal‑script "Qin" character, signifying that the land here had been annexed and also indicating the shift of the times.

"The wheel of history is truly huge!" Zhou Shuo stood in a secluded street corner, gazing at the large flag he hadn't noticed before, and couldn't help sighing a little. This situation meant that Wei Zhuang and his companions' efforts had failed; as their friend he felt a bit regretful, but as a Huaxia person he felt somewhat fortunate, for the very foundation of Huaxia's unification began right here.

"Hall Master, the Qin authorities have recently imposed a lockdown; we'd better not linger here." Tie Lao Cai gazed at the unfamiliar flag on the city wall, glanced left and right cautiously, then edged up to Zhou Shuo's side and whispered his advice.

"Hmm, I understand. Then let's go back!" Zhou Shuo looked at his subordinates, whose attitude was cautious but not overly sorrowful, and couldn't help nodding; he could understand their cautious mindset as well as their feeling of helplessness in the face of changing times.

Actually, if one imagines putting oneself in their shoes, Zhou Shuo feels that he too would be powerless, because the changes of the era cannot be altered by one person alone; they are brought about by many factors working together. Ying Zheng is quite outstanding, but behind him stands the Qin state, which has struggled for five generations. His great‑grandfather was very strong, and he embodies the unwillingness and struggle of hundreds of millions of Chinese—times and hero complement each other.

"Do you know what's happening at the palace these days? And what about the Purple Orchid Pavilion?" Zhou Shuo asked Tie Lao Cai. Although times have changed, he cannot neglect the things he promised to do.

"The Purple Orchid Pavilion has long been disbanded and is now empty; as for the palace, on the day the Great King ordered surrender it was already taken over by the Qin, and it is said that the nobles and officials are now detained inside." Tie Lao Cai answered Zhou Shuo while scanning the surroundings with both eyes, fearful of suddenly running into a Qin patrol.

"The Purple Orchid Pavilion has disbanded? The King of Han has ordered surrender!" Zhou Shuo didn't have time to express doubt about the pavilion's disbandment before being shaken by the sudden news.

"Hmm, the Qin army suddenly invaded Han a month ago, besieging Xinzheng; after ten days of siege, word suddenly came from the palace that the Great King had announced surrender, and the Qin troops entered the city that day, killing many, even Guan Rang …" Tie Lao Cai nodded slightly, recounting the fall of Xinzheng while feeling lost and dispirited; Zhou Shuo's other subordinate in Xinzheng, Guan Rang, died at the hands of the Qin on the day the city fell, because he was unwilling and resisted.

Living is a miracle, one can also do many things, and thanks to you for protecting many brothers. Zhou Shuo, hearing about Xinzheng's capture and surrender, suddenly realized: that's how the surrender happened. But seeing the dejected old man, he couldn't help sighing, comfortingly patting his shoulder. The old man's behavior could be called scrounging for survival, but being alive is meaningful. The Hall of Preserving Life also lost many people in the fall of Xinzheng city, yet some survived—this is thanks to Tie Lao Cai's proper leadership.

"Thank you, Hall Master." Tie Lao Cai wiped his eyes.

"Any news from the Great Liang side?" Zhou Shuo looked at the old man wiping his tears, couldn't help sighing, the Purple Orchid Pavilion has disbanded, Nong Yu wasn't sent to me, and I don't know how things are over in Great Liang either!

"No, in these chaotic times, we've lost contact with Ye Jiujie and Li Kai's side, but I've heard that King Wei intends to surrender to Qin, even offering women and land." Tie Lao Cai shook his head, and couldn't help sighing; even as a lowly member of society, he could see the prelude to a change of heaven—the era of warring kings is coming to an end.

"Whether King Wei offers or not, it's none of our business; what we need most now is to survive, survival brings hope, we should care a bit more about the brothers' food, clothing, housing, and travel, then seize the chance to gather some news, help me see where the Purple Orchid Pavilion people have gone, and also the whereabouts of Princess Honglian." Zhou Shuo patted Tie Lao Cai's shoulder.

"Mm, thank you, Hall Master." Tie Lao Cai looked at the boss who kept patting his shoulder, forced a slight smile; to survive is to have hope, being alive is a hope; although Han is gone, the Hall of Preserving Life remains, and my brothers and family are still here.

Tie Lao Cai used to be just the leader of a street gang, unwilling to be subdued by Zhou Shuo, and then, like gathering for a game of mahjong with his old rivals, they formed together a motley Hall of Preserving Life; but now he suddenly realizes that, despite its mismatched nature, he has actually developed a sense of belonging to that organization—this is the wonder of worldly affairs.

He sent his subordinates to investigate where the Purple Orchid Pavilion had gone after disbanding, while Zhou Shuo himself wasn't idle either; he used his divine soul to search the entire Xinzheng city, starting from places he knew, because the war's spread had wiped out many jianghu forces in Xinzheng, the stations of the Seven Absolutes Hall were all empty, Tang Qi was nowhere to be seen, but Zhou Shuo did find some traces of the Purple Orchid Pavilion, at Liu Manor.

Liu Manor, formerly the residence of Han's Left Marshal Liu Yi, once a prominent place due to the master's influence, but after Liu Yi was killed, it quickly became empty, even the remaining mistress needed the aid of Purple Orchid Pavilion's Zhou Ji from Liushas; however, in this wartime moment, although it remains deserted, it hasn't been violated at all, and a crowd of women still reside inside.

"When was the last time I came here?" Zhou Shuo looked at the plaque on the gate, recalling his previous visit: it was when he befriended Liushas and, at midnight, raced with Wei Zhuang in a lightness skill friendly competition, rushing here to save Lady Hu, who was almost killed by a vulture; I remember she was Li Kai's lover and Nong Yu's birth mother.

With past memories in mind, Zhou Shuo stepped forward and pushed open the manor's main gate, then, taking advantage of no one around, he closed the gate and headed straight toward the inner chambers where presence was dense; before entering the inner chambers, he was stopped by two maidservants wearing simple curved-hem robes, their faces gorgeous.

"I'm looking for Lady Hu." Zhou Shuo looked at the two gorgeous women he'd never seen before, but whose bodies were taut with strength and whose sleeves hid weapons, and he spoke first to state his purpose.

"The lady is no longer here, sir, you've come to the wrong place." The two gorgeous women exchanged a glance, then politely shook their heads.

"Where did she go, then? Is Zi Nu here? I'm an old acquaintance of hers, not here to cause trouble." Zhou Shuo looked at the two cautious women and couldn't help asking again.

"May I ask who you are, sir?" The two women, somewhat surprised, sized up Zhou Shuo.

"I'm Zhou Shuo; have you heard of me?" Zhou Shuo looked at the two women, not quite sure if they were from the Purple Orchid Pavilion, since there are too many women in the Pavilion and he hasn't met them all.

"Ah, it's Master Zhou." The woman on the left sized him up from head to toe, her eyes flashing.

"Yes, that's me, though I'm a bit sorry—I don't really recall seeing you at the Purple Orchid Pavilion." Zhou Shuo looked at the girl with bright eyes, nodded his head, then felt a little embarrassed.

"I have seen you, Master Zhou—I'm Qing Jin. Once you came to the Purple Orchid Pavilion looking for Elder Sister Zi Nu, I was the one who guided you; no problem, let's call the sisters out! This is Master Zhou, a friend of Elder Sister Zi Nu and Master Wei Zhuang." The girl in the curved-hem robe, seeing Zhou Shuo's straightforwardness, burst out laughing, then explained to the sisters beside her; hearing her say that, the other woman finally relaxed, went inside, and spoke with the people within.

"And what about Zi Nu and Wei Zhuang?" Zhou Shuo looked at the familiar Qing Jin, indeed feeling a bit of recognition; upon further thought, he seemed to have indeed seen her before, but that's not the point—are Zi Nu and Wei Zhuang in Xinzheng?

"Elder Sister Zi Nu has… Master Wei Zhuang, I don't know what happened, but he was suddenly summoned away from Han; a few days later Qin launched a full-scale attack on Han, and after the Qin army besieged the city, Lady Hu and Nong Yu were taken into the royal palace; seeing the situation turn bad, we quietly hid ourselves here." Upon hearing Zhou Shuo's words, Qing Jin's eyes instantly reddened; she held back her sorrow and related the whole story.

"Zi Nu… Lady Hu and Nong Yu were taken into the royal palace?" Zhou Shuo, hearing Qing Jin finish her account, didn't even bother with the news of Zi Nu's death, but was shocked that Lady Hu and Nong Yu had actually been taken into the palace!

"Yes, it was Lady Hu who sent someone to take them away, because with the Qin army attacking the city, everywhere in Xinzheng except the palace would no longer be safe, so…" Qing Jin lightly nodded her head, and Zhou Shuo also recalled that Nong Yu seemingly had an aunt who was a noble in the palace, which made it not strange at all.

"Well then, are all the sisters of the Purple Orchid Pavilion here? Is this place still safe?" Zhou Shuo thought about Nong Yu and Lady Hu's whereabouts, while looking at Qing Jin and also at the faint silhouettes of warblers and swallows behind her that still dared not show their faces, and he couldn't help feeling a headache.

"Earlier, a few sisters tried going out to gather news, but never came back; we don't dare go out anymore. Fortunately we still have some stored grain, and there's a well in the rear courtyard. Although the Qin troops love to kill, they don't dare arbitrarily intrude here; we've posed as maidservants, turned away several patrols, and haven't encountered any trouble since." Qing Jin's face showed difficulty, yet she looked at Zhou Shuo with a glimmer of hope.

"I can't really help with anything else either—are your supplies enough?" Zhou Shuo felt annoyed, this matter having come up, one truly can't ignore it, but he can't help much either; he can't go slaughter the Qin army, nor is he capable of doing so.

"If possible, please give us some food, sir—our stored grain is running low." Qing Jin's face showed expectation; the war has just ended, the Qin army has imposed full martial law, controlling all supplies, the stored grain has been eaten up, and since they dare not go out onto the streets, what they need most is food.

"Well, I'll take care of this—don't worry, is there anything else you need?" Zhou Shuo looked at Qing Jin's hopeful gaze, couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief in his heart, not knowing what to say; he fears most that in times like these he can't be of any help, and it seems the greater his strength, the more helpless he feels when faced with things beyond his power.