Chapter 1165: Two Officials Meet at the Mountain Peak
Xuan Du Temple seemed to be the same Xuan Du Temple as always, the jade chimes for Daoist lessons rising and falling one after another, the morning bells and evening drums still melodious, the peach blossoms still there, and cultivation still cultivation.
The Daoists who had been doing odd jobs at Xuan Du Temple had all returned to their respective homes, each with a different mood. Some, the moment they stepped out of the temple gate, directly rode the wind or shrank the earth to traverse mountains and rivers, rushing back to their own immortal abodes and Dao fields to become founding patriarchs, or to the various great dynasties to serve as state preceptors or state-protecting true men. Some, feeling that the temple's vegetarian diet really wasn't fit for human consumption, headed straight for the nearest tavern to reward their five viscera and relieve their cravings. Some unhurriedly went to the immortal ferry to purchase landscape gazettes, using willow branches to beat away the bad luck from their bodies, changing into a brand-new Daoist robe. And some stood outside the gate, silently bowing and bidding farewell to this Xuan Du Temple.
Some Daoists who hadn't known each other originally had developed bad relations here, with scores yet to be settled. Some had become close friends. Only one young Daoist who called himself Sou Daoren remained, still refusing to leave, still working as a handyman.
A pretty young woman with a low seniority at Xuan Du Temple walked along the carved and painted corridor, two Daoist books tucked under her arm. Outside was a white jade square with ancient trees reaching to the sky, green shade like water. She looked at the Daoist who was hugging a broom and staring blankly at the sky, and she really couldn't understand—why not leave when you could? Was he so fond of eating prison food? The temple's vegetarian dishes were famously bland as bird droppings.
This young female Daoist was the little girl from back then whom the old temple master wanted to make beautiful so that Leader Lu would voluntarily marry into Xuan Du Temple.
Of course, as her Daoist age grew, she understood that the head wearing a lotus crown, peeking over the wall and whistling—the leader of Jade Capital—had never thought about marrying into the family.
As one of Yao Qing's "three corpses," Pei Ji, a Dao official of the immortal realm, had caused trouble for Xuan Du Temple, so back then, Senior Sun had him stay at Xuan Du Temple to clean the latrines.
Sou Daoren, no longer using the name "Pei Ji," was very familiar with the young acolytes who were still small and hadn't yet achieved abstention from grains. Although the young-looking Daoist was stern all day, the children liked to visit his room, browse books, play hide-and-seek, and so on. The acolytes might be young with shallow cultivation, but they were extremely sensitive to adults' emotional expressions. So this Sou Daoren had a decent reputation in Xuan Du Temple, at least well-liked by children.
Today, a distinguished guest came to the temple: Yao Qing of the Azure Spirit Dynasty.
Yao Qing was already at the fourteenth realm. Logically, hosting such a guest required someone of appropriate status. But the person responsible for receiving guests was still not the temporary temple master who wasn't in seclusion, Wang Sun, nor even the supervising Daoist. It was only Fat Yan, wearing a peachwood hairpin and the standard-issue Daoist robe of Xuan Du Temple, in his capacity as the temple's greeter.
Yao Qing asked with a smile, "Greeter Yan, before I see Pei Ji, may I meet Mr. Bai?"
Yan Ming said with difficulty, "If Your Excellency wouldn't mind a closed door, I could lead you there to try your luck."
Saying this, Yan Ming thought of a compromise, "Or I could go and announce your visit?"
Yao Qing shook his head and smiled, "Forget it, I wouldn't want to make Greeter Yan take a wasted trip."
Yan Ming chuckled, "Your Excellency is being too formal. I dare not say much else, but at least during my temporary tenure as greeter, Your Excellency can treat Xuan Du Temple as your own home. In the past, Old Sun... Temple Master Sun almost never commented on Daoists from other temples, but he had a few good words for only a handful of people, including Your Excellency."
Yao Qing gave a knowing smile. Such words, you Greeter Yan dare to say, but I dare not believe.
Wasn't it Temple Master Sun, who "only spoke fair words in his life," who called Leader Lu the "Little Excellency of Jade Capital"?
After Yan Ming led Yao Qing to find that Sou Daoren, he excused himself and left.
Yao Qing asked, "Do you know why I left you alone?"
Pei Ji just continued sweeping, gathering fallen leaves into a dustpan.
Yao Qing smiled faintly, "It's not that you hide in Xuan Du Temple, and I dare not come to visit. Temple Master Sun is indeed the most protective of his own, but you, Sou Daoren, are not a registered Daoist of this temple. Matters involving Yao Qing's fundamental Dao path are affairs of another family. Temple Master Sun, both publicly and privately, would not stop me from taking you back to the Azure Spirit Dynasty. Fellow Daoist Tao Xiao, is that not so?"
Pei Ji's Daoist name was "Tao Xiao."
Peach fruit hanging on the tree through winter without falling, suspended dry like an owl's head nailed to wood, can slay a hundred ghosts.
Pei Ji remained silent.
Yao Qing said, "It is indeed regrettable that Xu Jun of the Great Tide Sect got there first, seizing the path of the ghostly Dao."
Pei Ji finally spoke, "Then why did you help him guard the formation?"
Yao Qing said, "That is precisely why I had to help him guard the formation."
Pei Ji asked, "Do you truly intend to kill Xu Jun of the fourteenth realm? Do you truly choose to submit to Jade Capital?"
Yao Qing said, "Not necessarily."
On this visit to Xuan Du Temple, Yao Qing also brought two women: State Preceptor Bai Ou and sword cultivator Fu Xuanjie.
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The decision Chen Ping'an made on behalf of Pei Qian was so simple it didn't seem like a decision—only four words: "We'll talk later."
The Old Scholar said he had to return to the Literary Academy. Mao Xiaodong, the Academic Administrator, was still too small an official to bear the burden.
Today's harsh words, kind words, angry words, strange words, polite words, hurtful words—no matter who said them—would all fall on Pei Qian's heart.
It was better to just not say a single word.
As for what year or day "later" would be, of course, no one could say.
The Old Scholar smiled, "Jiang She, care to walk with me?"
Jiang She nodded, stood up, and followed the Old Scholar out of the room.
Wu Yan called for Bai Jing to come along. Xie Gou naturally wasn't willing, but she couldn't argue with the woman, who forcibly dragged her away.
Ning Yao said she needed to go to South Bhasya Continent, and she took Pei Qian with her to the Dragon Elephant Sword Sect.
Chen Ping'an rearranged the positions of a few chairs in the room, pushing them together casually. He walked to the door, hands tucked into his sleeves, and said, "Come in, let's talk."
Regarding this Lingxi City, Chen Ping'an had never had any thought of possessing it for himself. He had always wanted to open a shop in Tiaomu City.
Liu Xianyang and Cui Dongshan high-fived.
Xiao Mo looked at his master with a guilty expression, as if he wanted to speak but hesitated.
Cui Dongshan patted Xiao Mo on the shoulder and said cheerfully, "Mr. Xiao Mo, you almost unleashed that life-bound flying sword with the greatest killing power, didn't you? That was acting on impulse. Vice Academy Head Jiang and I were both startled. I bet even the Old Scholar was tugging at his beard and worrying at the time—if he stopped you, he'd feel wrong; if he didn't, by now the Literary Academy would probably be holding their meetings on the Night Sailboat."
Xiao Mo didn't deny it. If Jiang She had truly dared to guide the Blazing Star to fall to the human world, then he would have guided his own life-bound star to intercept him.
Before that, he had been unable to find his master's exact whereabouts. It was only when the celestial signs changed one after another that he found an opportunity to strike.
Was there any death warrior like him under heaven?
In the end, it was Liu Xianyang who stopped him, speaking a few harsh words, so Xiao Mo did not deliver his sword.
The chairs were arranged in a circle, and they each took their seats. Cui Dongshan was the first to break the silence, asking softly, "Is that Golden Nectar Dharmarobe of Master's wife really going to be given away?"
It wasn't that he begrudged the Golden Nectar Dharmarobe's rank as an immortal weapon, but this robe was both a token of love and one of the betrothal gifts from Master to the Ning family.
Chen Ping'an lowered his head, rubbing his face with both hands, his eyes dark and unclear. He said softly, "Consider it repaying a debt. It must be settled."
This was all he could do to help Lu Chen.
Chen Ping'an looked down at his wrist, where a red string had always been tied, but with a concealment spell. Ning Yao had long since cut this red string, but Chen Ping'an had kept it.
Back then, it was the young Daoist who set up a fortune-telling stall pushing a cart all the way to Mud Vase Alley, which led to Chen Ping'an opening his door.
If not for Lu Chen's "haphazard matchmaking," he might still have met Ning Yao, but it would have been difficult to have those experiences.
One of Lu Chen's heart-phases had been a noble in purple and gold from the Dragon Tiger Mountain Heavenly Master Mansion. On an overseas isolated island, he died through weapon dissolution, leaving behind an immortal corpse and the Golden Nectar Dharmarobe, which fell into Flood Dragon Abyss.
During the battle at Flood Dragon Abyss, Chen Ping'an wrote a talisman: "Lu Chen's Edict."
And before the dragon-slaying battle, Lu Chen had a great karmic connection with that dragon lady of the "mugwort burning forehead" tale.
Now, Lu Chen was in the savage wilderness's heartland, essentially forcing the pseudo–fifteenth realm extra-worldly heavenly demon of the Heaven Beyond Heaven in Jade Capital to remain pressed down upon the earth.
By refining the extra-worldly heavenly demon, Lu Chen caused it to "sink."
Then, the deeper his entanglement with this world, the harder his ordeal would become, the less he would "sink," and the greater the possibility of the extra-worldly heavenly demon breaking free.
Liu Xianyang laid his sword across his lap and casually smiled, "Do your best and leave the rest to heaven. No need to think about this and that. When busy, be truly busy and carry the most worry; when idle, be truly idle and release the greatest worry."
Chen Ping'an nodded, "I know the principle."
Liu Xianyang said with a mix of laughter and irritation, "I've always wondered—back then, you were the quietest, barely saying a word all day. Where did you later get so many principles to talk about? On all those distant journeys, did you not pick up money but only pick up principles?"
Chen Ping'an nodded with a smile, "Principles are much easier to pick up than money."
Liu Xianyang leaned back, hands resting on the armrests, and kicked Chen Ping'an. "Scattered all over the place, finders keepers, no returns, right? Since you're so money-grubbing, after fighting Jiang She, how come you didn't scrape together anything good? What principles did you pick up?"
Chen Ping'an reached down to pat his robes, not getting angry.
Xiao Mo admired Liu Sect Master even more. Sure enough, as the Old Scholar's inner thought had said: as long as Liu Xianyang was by his side, your master's sky wouldn't fall.
Cui Dongshan turned his head toward the corridor and shouted, "Vice Mountain Lord Jiang, we agreed! From now on, make more money! No more sighing over money!"
Jiang Shangzhen was gloomy and listless, lying in the corridor playing dead. His earlier enthusiasm for earning money had completely vanished, and he had good reason: he wasn't about to provoke Yu Xuan or Liu Jubao. Chief Zhou was like a resentful wife, lying on the ground sighing.
It turned out that Cui Dongshan and the others had set him up. Sect Master Cui had sworn earlier that, both logically and emotionally, he should wholeheartedly recommend his good brother for a promotion, to become the vice mountain lord—but he never specified whether it was the vice mountain lord of Fallen Mountain or the vice mountain lord of the Green Duckweed Sword Sect's ancestral mountain!
How was Jiang Shangzhen to know that Sect Master Cui's poaching would stoop to such unscrupulous levels?
No wonder Xie Gou had been so eager. If he became the vice mountain lord of the Green Duckweed Sword Sect, the chief ritual position would also be vacant.
Since he couldn't be the vice mountain lord of Fallen Mountain, he'd have to make up for it somehow.
Just then, Jiang She, having seen the Old Scholar off, came to the corridor and sat down on a bench, arms crossed, eyeing the man whose Daoist name was supposedly "Collapsed."
Jiang Shangzhen sat up and shamelessly probed, "Senior, you said earlier that you wanted to personally give me a tremendous opportunity. Does that still count?"
Jiang She said with a half-smile, "Didn't I say it's now or never? Doesn't Collapsed True Man understand human speech?"
Jiang Shangzhen, not losing face even in defeat, chuckled, "You're the one who's collapsed."
But Jiang She didn't mind. He stared at Jiang Shangzhen with a complicated look and sighed emotionally, "So alike, truly alike."
Jiang Shangzhen was creeped out by the stare and chilled by the words. His mind raced—what, was he the reincarnation of this guy's illegitimate son?
Then how would his seniority with Pei Qian be calculated? Brother and sister from the same father but different mother?!
In an instant, Jiang Shangzhen's Dao heart wavered. Pei Qian wouldn't recognize it, and neither would he!
Jiang She seemed to change the subject, asking, "Have you heard of the deeds of the Second Patriarch of the Military School?"
Jiang Shangzhen shook his head, "Why bother with such distant idle matters?"
Jiang She sneered, "What follows 'distant idle matters'? Right before your eyes!"
Jiang Shangzhen felt both relieved and apprehensive. He exclaimed in shock, "Me?!"
Jiang She asked, "If you were Jiang She, would one of the first things you do upon leaving the mountain be to search for the traces of the Second Patriarch of the Military School? To see if you could set aside past grievances and join forces for a grand cause?"
"Guess again: who was it that advised me back then to follow the wishes of the Three Teachings Founders—first legitimately occupy a world, openly establish a sect and claim the title of patriarch, and then secretly plot the grand scheme?"
"And why did I take a special liking to you, wanting to personally give you an opportunity?"
"In that fight, it's easy to understand Ning Yao's strong killing intent. But you—why did you always want to cut the grass by the roots and eliminate future trouble?"
Upon hearing this, Jiang Shangzhen was dumbfounded. The more he listened, the more reasonable it sounded.
Jiang Shangzhen felt like he was facing a great enemy. Cui Brother was right: Patriarch Jiang's skill at painting pies was number one under heaven! He had to be careful.
Jiang She said, "Earlier, when I was walking with Mr. Zheng and talked about this, he revealed quite a bit of heavenly secret to me. This Second Patriarch of the Military School—any Daoist not of the 'Wan' generation would find unfamiliar. She has always been ambitious, but unfortunately, her fate was similar to mine: both ended up suffering a 'joint severance.' However, she was slightly better off: one of her souls occupied the physical body, preserving a spark of true nature as the main. The remaining three souls and six spirits were auxiliary, scattered across nine blessed lands in the Hao Ran and Qing Ming worlds. On the Hao Ran side, the Literary Academy and the various continents' military school ancestral courts are jointly responsible for guarding them, recording the 'biography' of each life. On the Qing Ming side, the one city and one tower of Jade Capital keep a tighter watch."
Jiang She sneered, "Among them is your close friend, sword cultivator Lu Fang of Tung Ye Continent, from the Bird's-Eye Peak of Lotus Flower Blessed Land. Hah, Bird's-Eye Peak—the country may change but the nature remains; she still likes to look down from a height."
"Then there's the execution officer Hao Su, whose blessed land ascension shattered mountains and rivers."
"The small Bottle Gourd Continent actually has two military school ancestral courts, only because Snow Wind Temple needs to monitor Gao Jianfu, who came from the Clear Pool Blessed Land of the Proclamation Sect. Another is now serving in the Great Li Dynasty, with a small title but great authority: the Secretary of the Ministry of Rites appointed by Cui Chan himself."
"A certain human monarch of Fu Yao Continent, wearing the Great Frost Armor, has reportedly gone to the Five Colors World. By the way, this fellow shares your tastes—fond of fine wines and beautiful women."
"The Central Earth Divine Continent's former number one martial artist of your Hao Ran world, Zhang Tiaoxia. Greedy for life and afraid of death, to prolong her lifespan, she switched to being a Qi refiner, with the Daoist name 'Long Bo.'"
"On the Qing Ming side, the number one on Mount Ru, a certain Zhu, real name Zhu Dazhuang. This fellow is also a womanizer, coincidentally. He has many Daoist names and aliases, the latest being 'Green Duckweed.' Jiang Shangzhen, why do you think his latest Daoist name is that? Take a guess?"
Jiang Shangzhen said gloomily, "That's not hard to guess. It's taken from 'Feeling this heart has no concerns, a small fish jumps out from the green duckweed.' This man, the solid eleventh of the Qing Ming world, has clearly... woken up, knowing his own Dao foundation."
Jiang She nodded, "Not stupid, indeed."
According to Zheng Juzhong's account, Lu Chen only knew of these seven.
In addition, there were two fish that slipped through the net, lost from sight due to "heavenly changes."
Jiang She continued, "Also, in Bingzhou's Azure Spirit Dynasty, the sword cultivator Fu Xuanjie—this life, she is still a very young woman."
Jiang Shangzhen immediately perked up, "Oh?"
Jiang She smiled, "Now there's only one left. They say Chief Zhou is wealthy because he has a certain blessed land—what was it called?"
Jiang Shangzhen's eyes went blank. Such karmic retribution.
Jiang She said, "Correct, the last one is the sacrificial official of the Sword Legacy Great Wall, Yan Guo."
Jiang Shangzhen was baffled, "What? Who?"
Jiang She laughed, "The 'Lin Shi' of the Qing Ming world, who just reached the eleventh realm of martial arts."
Jiang Shangzhen's eyes were filled with grievance. Are you that idle, using me for entertainment? Can't beat or outtalk Mountain Lord Chen, so you bully the honest man?
Jiang She said slowly, "Hao Su hiding in the Sword Legacy Great Wall as a figurehead execution officer—that's what they call heaven's will."
"Yan Guo found Zhang Tiaoxia, ostensibly to exchange punches on the sea, and soon after, Zhang Tiaoxia switched to Dao cultivation. That was also a well-laid scheme."
"Cui Chan appointed the Secretary of the Ministry of Rites. The Proclamation Sect sent Gao Jianfu and He Xiaoliang to the Pearled Cave Heaven to retrieve the military school's suppression items."
"Wu Shuangjiang secretly infiltrated the Five Colors World to work as a teacher in the Ascension City, one of his aims being that poor soul wearing the Great Frost Armor."
"Yan Guo, who changed his name to Xie Xin'en of the Pearled Cave Heaven and then to Lin Jiangxian of the Qing Ming world, is a good friend of the 'Green Duckweed' Zhu, both in the same prefecture. First, Bottle Gourd Continent has two avatars, belonging to like-minded people. Second, martial artists becoming gods is better than letting Qi refiners rule the human world for eons and eons, which is why Azure Boy Heavenly Lord and Xie Xin'en formed a master-disciple bond. Third, Lin Jiangxian, as a sacrificial official of the Sword Legacy Great Wall, is quite proficient in deducing the flow of time. He was probably waiting for the next 'heavenly change' in Qing Ming to fish in troubled waters—that's killing three birds with one stone."
"Why do you think Zheng Juzhong went to see Excellency Yao Qing? The drunkard's mind is not on the wine but on the landscape."
"Which of these avatars is a fuel-saving lamp? Who is willing to live under someone else's roof and make wedding clothes for others? Who doesn't want to turn from guest to host? Even if they fail to successfully usurp and become the new military school patriarch, eating up all the other 'selves,' they still want to pursue the Daoist freedom of 'I am me.'"
Jiang She laughed heartily. That phrase "so alike, truly alike" was an inside story he had heard during his last journey to the Qing Ming world, just using it now.
Jiang Shangzhen murmured, "So Patriarch Jiang isn't just about brute force after all."
Jiang She was at a loss for words.
Jiang Shangzhen slapped his fist into his palm, "Good, that's good. That means there's still a chance between me and that Miss Fu, whom I've never met."
Jiang She, however, said, "Lu Tai suffers from a surname, Cui Dongshan suffers from for whom he studies, Jiang Shangzhen suffers from a line 'This love can be recalled but was already lost,' Zheng Dafeng suffers from not knowing where to go. Seemingly equally cynical, with absurd speech and deeds, but in truth, they are all eating bitter gourd—unable to express their bitterness, fearing others' pity. So you all have lived this life very awkwardly."
"Who says otherwise?"
Jiang Shangzhen lay back again. "Knowing you're a chess piece—can you leave the board? Knowing you're a fish in a pond—can you go ashore?"
"Do you know what I saw when I watched the human world for ten thousand years from outside the heavens, and what I think it is?"
Jiang She answered his own question, "A paupers' graveyard."
Jiang Shangzhen frowned, silent.
Jiang She clasped his hands behind his head and smiled, "One body, finish one body; one world, return one world. No burdens, light as a feather. Well said. As for the human world, is it a great dream about to wake, still carving fireflies, or is it... whatever. You young people, busy yourselves."
Jiang Shangzhen exclaimed in surprise, "Patriarch Jiang, you're quite talented."
Jiang She laughed self-deprecatingly, "Otherwise, how could I paint pies for you."
Jiang Shangzhen lowered his voice, "Old Ancestor Jiang, do you know any female Daoist companions in the Qing Ming world? I'm most afraid of the beauty trap, and I'd like to taste some fine fare."
Jiang She swore loudly, "I'm talking with you with lofty passion about heaven and earth and all living things, and you're messing with me about beauty traps?"
Jiang Shangzhen said pitifully, "You're impatient again."
After a long silence, Jiang She said, "We plan to go to the Western Buddhist Kingdom."
Jiang Shangzhen nodded, "That's fine."
Jiang She smiled, "You bet a lot on that no-loss game?"
Jiang Shangzhen said, "So-so. I don't have much money anyway."
Jiang She said, "After Lin Jiangxian and Xie Shiji, I suspect two more will soon reach the eleventh realm, one each in the savage wilderness and Hao Ran."
Jiang Shangzhen asked doubtfully, "Is the martial arts scene like that? After Patriarch Jiang collapsed, can the pinnacle martial masters start puffing and panting upward?"
Jiang She glared, "Get lost."
Jiang Shangzhen stood up, "Don't you talk about first come, first served?"
Jiang She said, "When you go into the house, remember to remind Chen Ping'an: Wu Shuangjiang is ultimately not a martial artist. The name taker lets the name go; only half of it goes."
Jiang Shangzhen asked, "Finally a good word. Why don't you say it yourself, Old Ancestor Jiang?"
Jiang She reached out a hand, beckoning, "Come, come, come closer. We're destined to talk more."
Jiang Shangzhen ran into the house and relayed the matter. Chen Ping'an thought it over briefly and told them each to split off a wisp of their mind essence and come to a vast, desolate realm, hovering in the air. Chen Ping'an had already warned them not to land on the ground or climb any mountain.
An empty new mountain peak.
Xiao Mo immediately understood and said, "Good thing I didn't deliver that sword."
Cui Dongshan said, "In the short term, it's not much. In the long run, far-reaching significance?"
Chen Ping'an shook his head, "Actually, it's quite significant."
Jiang Shangzhen asked, "Could this mountain be the whole Blazing Star?"
Cui Dongshan rolled his eyes, "What are you thinking? Jiang She left nothing behind. Even if he wanted to give, he couldn't."
Chen Ping'an said, "Even if both name and substance were complete and could be given away, who other than Wu Shuangjiang would dare to take it?"
Cui Dongshan said, "Master, you climb the mountain yourself. We outsiders should all withdraw, right?"
Chen Ping'an nodded.
He climbed the mountain alone, reaching the peak.
A figure appeared first. He smiled, "Finally we meet, Chen, the Hidden Official."
Chen Ping'an cupped his fists and said, "Greetings, Sacrificial Official Yan Guo."