Chapter 12: Antiquing
This prison, specially built by the Great Li court to confine the demon barbarians of the Wildlands, was a landscape secret realm utterly devoid of any foul aura. Standing within it felt like being a person in a painting.
The young Hidden Official and this seamstress of such harsh methods seemed more like a noble young gentleman taking a servant girl along for a scenic tour.
Nian Xin explained, "The prison is divided into three levels. Yan Jiaoran and I are jointly responsible for interrogations, with a division of labor. He is in charge of gathering Wildlands geography and secret records from various sects, while I am responsible for organizing the Dao techniques and recording them in ledgers. Yan Jiaoran is an old hand here. It is said that this forbidden ground was built at the personal expense of his Zizhao Yan clan."
Chen Ping'an nodded. Yan Jiaoran, a native of the Zizhao Yan clan but without any official status, was a confidant of Senior Brother. The Great Li Earth Branch formation master Han Zhoujin was brought to Great Li from the Qingtan Paradise of the Shengao Sect by Yan Jiaoran. In fact, every Earth Branch cultivator was a protective talisman for their original family or immortal mansion, a pardon plaque that could be used up and discarded. For example, regarding the minor maneuvers of the Horse Dung Yu clan disciples within the National Teacher's Mansion, the reason Chen Ping'an and Zhao Yao did not completely wipe them out or expose them in the official gazette but instead gave the entire Yu clan a generation's grace period to withdraw from the court was not because the Horse Dung Yu clan had produced an empress, Yu Mian, but because this was an unwritten rule established by Cui Chan at the inception of the Great Li Earth Branch.
Nian Xin said, "Every time Yan Jiaoran comes here, he brings two carefully cultivated personal disciples. That pair, a man and a woman, are both young Golden Core cultivators who have trained here for many years. They are no novices, ruthless, but unfortunately lacking in skill."
"This prison has two passages. One leads to your National Teacher's Mansion, and the other leads to a secondary peak of the Eastern Peak. Both are guarded by dedicated personnel. The middle level of the prison is in charge of only one old man named Su Kan, who occasionally comes here to watch the excitement."
Chen Ping'an said, "Su Kan is a pseudonym. He once held a position in the Yushu Academy of the ancient Heavenly Court, specifically the Kan Kan Department."
Nian Xin suddenly understood. No wonder Great Li was confident in letting Su Kan guard this pass alone.
Chen Ping'an asked, "Have there been any prison breaks in history?"
Nian Xin nodded. "Yes, once. It was stopped by Su Kan, so the chaos did not affect the secondary peak of the Eastern Peak. The mastermind behind that secret plot was a Celestial Immortal realm cultivator, along with over a hundred demon beasts that charged out with him. They were all dealt with by Yan Jiaoran. Afterwards, Yan Jiaoran, Su Kan, and the Eastern Peak Mountain Lord jointly investigated and verified that no demon beasts had slipped through the net."
Chen Ping'an said, "Was this conclusion personally approved by my senior brother?"
Nian Xin shook her head. "I arrived later and only heard it as a piece of lore. I'm not clear on the inside details."
Chen Ping'an was silent for a moment. "Tell Yan Jiaoran to copy a set of the files and send them to the National Teacher's Mansion."
This was a massive suspended platform with a floor of emerald jade, like a frozen lake, inscribed with countless golden threads. In the center stood a stone tablet, clearly imitating the suppression methods of the Three Mountains and Nine Marquises.
The inscription on the tablet, engraved in intaglio, totaled over a thousand characters, and it seemed that a craftsman had used gold inlay technique to fill in over eight hundred characters intermittently.
The cages confining various demon races were located along the outermost ring of the platform's edge. Although there appeared to be no magical prohibitions, no demon beast could cross the invisible thunder pond even half a step. They either appeared in human form or revealed their massive true selves, using magical powers to conjure all sorts of illusory Dao grounds, enduring the years here, not knowing when they might see the light of day again.
The arrival of the young Hidden Official today was truly a novelty. So it quickly stirred up a commotion. There was no help for it—they had had to pass through that "gate" at the Sword Qi Great Wall, which had been severed in two, back when they came to Haoran. And that neither-human-nor-ghost red-robed Hidden Official was just too conspicuous. One glance and you saw him. No wonder that, after the war, in the remote hinterlands of the Wildlands, some small and medium sects might not be able to recognize all the Throne Great Demons, but as long as someone mentioned that "welcome and farewell" final Hidden Official, everyone could say something about him. Over time, his reputation grew.
Soon, a female cultivator with a jade hairpin in her bun, wearing a loose ritual robe, woke up from her bed. She supported herself on the edge of the bed with both hands, using her toes to pick up an embroidered shoe and gently swinging it.
Her eyes were bright and spirited. Staring intently at that watchdog who finally looked like a person, she said in a pure Great Li official dialect, her voice soft and sticky, "Oh, isn't this His Excellency the Hidden Official? What brings you here for a stroll? A rare guest. Has the demon race already launched a massive counterattack on Haoran, and you've hurried over to silence us? Or has Zhou Mi already succeeded, and the entire human world will become a demon-race-ruled world?"
One good thing about the Wildlands demon race: they respected the strong the most.
How deep was Bai Ze's betrayal of the Wildlands demon race? When Bai Ze returned to the Wildlands, even ancient great demons like He and Guan Yi, who were prideful and unruly, when they truly met Bai Ze face to face, didn't they respectfully address him as "Old Master Bai"?
Earlier, during the confrontation between Chen Qingliu's sword and Bai Ze, Zheng Juzhong's evaluation of Bai Ze could be said to be very low, but one must also consider how many people Zheng Juzhong had ever cursed since he achieved Dao.
Nian Xin, the seamstress, was in her element here. In her early years on the Sword Qi Great Wall, she hid in Old Deaf's prison. After wandering around, she ended up in the Great Li dynasty, and she was still dealing with demon races. What a coincidence. On the contrary, when she was the second-in-command of the Criminal Official lineage at Feisheng City, she was never quite comfortable in those years—too many rules, too restrictive. She preferred this kind of place.
Chen Ping'an smiled. "Your Wildlands already has a new batch of Throne Great Demons. There aren't many old faces left. It seems only Zhu Yan and Fei Fei remain, and Fei Fei has already reached the Fourteen Realm."
She tugged at her collar, her eyes seductive. "Forget it, forget it. Why bother with matters from the ends of the earth? Hidden Official, do you need a servant girl to warm your bed?"
Seeing the young Hidden Official silent, she tilted her chin toward her neighbor on the right. "I can call Sister Yushu to join us. She's one of the great beauties of our Wildlands. Don't judge her now—skinny as a rail, flesh and blood blurred together, looks creepy. But before, even I would be tempted by her figure. It's just her bad luck. Years ago, she refused to be the concubine of Throne Huang Luan, and later rejected Fei Fei's invitation. Otherwise, how could she have fallen to such a miserable state? She would have long returned to the Wildlands to throw her weight around. Your Excellency Hidden Official, even if you're indifferent to women, trust me this once. Just toss her a bottle or two of elixirs. Once she restores her true appearance, you'll be shaken to the core, unable to look away. Then I'll set up a romantic canopy, and the three of us can share the clouds and rain. Wouldn't that be delightful?"
The female cultivator with the Dao name "Yushu" sat cross-legged. Her cheeks were sunken, her body emaciated, and for some reason, her entire body was covered in bloodstains, with many holes on her arms and legs.
She only coldly glanced at the slowly walking man in the blue shirt. He had his hands in his sleeves, and under his arm was a booklet.
Nian Xin briefly introduced the identities and backgrounds of these two female demon cultivators to Chen Ping'an. The one with the Dao name Yushu, using the alias Gao Zhu, had extremely hard bones. Every time she was tortured, she said not a word, as if some obsession sustained her need to survive. As for the vixen-like woman, her name was Fu Xian, and she had no Dao name. She was a sword cultivator whose natal flying sword had been destroyed on the battlefield. Every time Nian Xin approached her, even before applying torture, she would already be in tears, panting softly.
Most of the captives here were Jade Pu and Earth Immortal realm cultivators, along with a few pure martial artists with strong physiques: one Peak Realm and two Far Traveling Realm. But after years of suffering torment, their martial foundations had long been damaged. It was only because their bodies were tough enough that they hadn't dropped in realm.
Some were skilled in battlefield tactics, once valued generals in various military camps. There were also a few beasts with considerable killing power, who had run rampant in Tongye Prefecture, killing for fun with all sorts of methods. And there were some young cultivation prodigies who had failed to escape from Baoping Prefecture in time or had been captured on the companion capital battlefield, ending up here where torture was as common as meals.
Chen Ping'an said calmly, "Zhou Mi is dead. You can choose not to believe it."
As soon as the young Hidden Official said this, the prison fell instantly dead silent, not a hint of noise.
The gaunt Yushu sneered, "Chen Ping'an, even if you were dead and were a ghost deliberately using yang aura to conceal your roots right now, Wenhai Zhou Mi would not die."
Nian Xin's eyes suddenly burned. This woman still had the spirit to provoke? Her fault.
She hadn't served her well enough.
Chen Ping'an flipped open the booklet under his arm, moistened his fingers, quickly turned the pages, and let his eyes roam as if following a map, reading some secret records about the demon races.
He casually tossed the booklet into his sleeve, curled his lips, and said, "Nian Xin, release them all. Every single one. Then stay by the stone tablet and watch the show."
Nian Xin didn't bother asking why. She flew over to the giant turtle-supported stone tablet, took out two jade pendants, and embedded them into two slightly concave spots on the tortoise shell. Instantly, white mist shrouded the stone tablet, the golden threads on the jade floor dimmed, and the layer after layer of strict prohibitions used to suppress the demon races were lifted. Simultaneously, surges of thick blood aura and various rancid smells spread out.
They weren't stupid. They knew what kind of place this was. Trading a few verbal blows with the Hidden Official, this watchdog of the Wildlands, was already a gain.
But there were still those unafraid of death. They stepped out of the now-unrestricted invisible cages, tentatively moving forward, choosing to face this final Hidden Official of the Sword Qi Great Wall head-on.
Nian Xin was a bit surprised. It wasn't that hard-boned Yushu, but the most easily broken vixen Fu Xian.
She smiled and murmured, "I just wonder if back home, the celebration for my master's ten-thousand-year longevity ceremony is lively, and if I can still buy the immortal brew of Jiuquan Sect at the lowest price..."
Fu Xian's company was the only elite Wildlands force that managed to bypass the Great Li border's heavy surveillance, landing from the sea on the northwestern coast of Baoping Prefecture, attempting to quickly cut through the hinterland straight to the Great Li capital and behead Emperor Song He.
Needless to say, it was a suicide mission. Whether they succeeded or failed, they couldn't escape this fate.
Fu Xian's natal flying sword was severed by the sword cultivator Bai Shang of Beijulu Prefecture.
There was also a young-faced demon martial artist, a Peak Realm cultivator, who strode forward toward the blue-shirted figure, gnashing his teeth. "Chen Ping'an, I want to have a fist duel with you. Even if I lose and die, it will be a worthy death, better than being tortured beyond life by this crazy old hag whose name I don't know. Remember this, you stinking Hidden Official surnamed Chen. My name is Murong Shuzhi. Among your Haoran sect, I come from a top-grade noble family."
Nian Xin said with a smile, "Thanks for the compliment."
Chen Ping'an rolled up his sleeves and smiled. "I have a bad memory. Even if Murong Grandmaster announces his name, I might not remember it for more than a few days."
Murong Shuzhi—the key was the surname.
In the Wildlands, if a sect headquarters or a powerful clan could possess a long-inherited "surname," it was both a luxury and a difficulty.
A surname in the Wildlands was far more precious than a casually chosen Dao name. That was why the sword cultivators of the Jiashen Tent valued the granting of surnames by Tuoyue Mountain or Zhou Mi so much.
Nian Xin was astonished to find that Chen Ping'an, before even delivering a punch, already possessed a unique aura similar to that of a cultivator attaining ascension, resonating momentarily with heaven and earth.
That was a Dao scene that cultivators had painstakingly pursued for ten thousand years! Heaven and man united!
With Chen Ping'an as the center, following the rhythm of the blood circulation in his body and his pulse, it was as if martial arts could also manifest the Great Dao. On the platform, visible ripples of fist intent appeared, spreading outward with the rhythm of a dull pulse... The rhythm of fist aura was like mountains row upon row approaching. The over two hundred demon beasts standing at the outermost edge of the platform breathed heavily, the flow of spiritual energy within them becoming increasingly stagnant. Several demon beasts that had intended to risk everything and launch a sneak attack on the Hidden Official were horrified to find that they couldn't even use their grand-refined natal objects, as if suppressed by the Great Dao!
In this scenario where advancing meant certain death, only Fu Xian, with her naturally vixenish face, stubbornly advanced with difficulty, her two ritual robe sleeves swaying and flapping noisily.
Chen Ping'an neither looked down on her nor looked up to the other demon beasts. He simply gently twisted his neck.
On his face and in his eyes at this moment, there was an indescribable contradictory meaning, both cold and fervent.
Almost divine, like a supreme god overlooking the human world. Also almost like a primordial beast freely roaming the wilderness, possessing infinite freedom.
Since you're all so hard-boned.
Might as well kill everyone.
Next time I visit the Wildlands, I'll string your heads together in a line, hanging high above the battlefield. Tell the forgetful Wildlands: visiting Haoran comes at a price.
I will put your heads together with the heads of all the new Thrones, build a tall pyramid of skulls, which will become a new Tuoyue Mountain in the Wildlands.
Clearly sensing Chen Ping'an's martial arts height, Murong Shuzhi, as one of the only two who had stepped out, was evidently already afraid and regretful. Once a pure martial artist has second thoughts, the rising fist intent begins to ebb. He silently stopped in his tracks.
Wasn't this Chen Ping'an at most at Peak Realm back then? Why did he have the aura of the legendary God Layer? As soon as he returned to his homeland of Haoran, he broke through two major barriers in the Stagnation Realm in succession?
He had thought that since they were both Peak Realm martial artists on the life-and-death arena, he could set a rule forbidding the use of swordsmanship or immortal arts. If he used his trump card skill, he might succeed. He didn't dare hope for a life-for-life exchange, but dying and injuring him—delaying this Hidden Official's Dao path, such as causing heart demons during his Nascent Soul cultivation or flaws in his Dao heart when advancing from Jade Pu to Immortal—wouldn't be a loss. Not a losing deal at all. At least at the moment of death, his heart would be relieved.
Seeing the situation was unfavorable, this Far Traveling martial artist immediately changed his tune. "Hidden Official, the name I just reported was just an alias. As for my real name, I can tell you later."
Chen Ping'an withdrew his gaze from Fu Xian, turned to look at this Peak Realm martial artist, and nodded. "Alright. Your real name can wait."
The next moment, Murong Shuzhi's vision blurred. The next, he felt the platform tilt, and then all his vision turned pitch black.
In the eyes of Yushu and the others, Chen Ping'an approached swiftly, raised his hand, and slapped off Murong Shuzhi's head with one blow. The head instantly left the neck and soon smashed into pulp on the ground.
They began to worry about Fu Xian's fate.
In fact, after so many years of imprisonment, they had developed some feelings for one another. For some reason, the Great Li court had never deliberately restricted their verbal expressions. So many cultivators had exchanged knowledge. Since death was inevitable, they might as well set aside sectarian prejudices and wholeheartedly cultivate the Dao. Being able to see the Dao scenery of a higher realm, a higher level of heaven and earth, receiving congratulations from fellow Daoists, bystanders, and cellmates—it was something to hold on to amid the bitter hardships.
Chen Ping'an came before Fu Xian, who was staggering with difficulty. He raised his hand again. The female cultivator subconsciously closed her eyes, completely unaware that her face was already covered with tears.
After waiting a moment, she opened her eyes again. Fu Xian looked blankly at the young Hidden Official, as if puzzled. At a moment of life and death, why did you show mercy?
Chen Ping'an asked, "There's no record in the booklet of your connection to Yufu Palace. Are you an unregistered disciple of its founding patriarch, Yan Shi?"
Fu Xian's eyes suddenly blazed with fervor. But the next moment, she felt as if she had fallen into an ice cave. Why couldn't she use that sect's heavy treasure?
Nian Xin, standing by the stone tablet, had to remind her, "Fu Xian, look down. Your chest has been pierced. Since the grand-refined object is no longer on you, how can you use it for a mutual destruction with His Excellency Hidden Official?"
Nian Xin already understood. Fu Xian had pretended all these years to be someone who would rather live in pain than die, just to wait for Cui Chan to appear, or for Chen Ping'an to come face to face today?
Chen Ping'an raised his hand. It turned out to be a golden heart, like a talisman pouch. He asked curiously, "Was this Zhou Mi's insidious trick, or your own ingenious idea?"
Fu Xian looked down and saw that indeed, there was a bloody hole in her chest. But for some reason, she felt no pain.
Chen Ping'an explained, "One, the punch was too fast. Two, I just learned your true identity and used some unorthodox method. Wait a moment, and your heart will ache."
Fu Xian, perhaps insane herself, still had the leisure to poke a finger into the hole in her chest, wiggling it, feeling nothing unusual. She couldn't determine at all what lineage the Hidden Official's unorthodox method belonged to. She was known as a "bookcase" in her sect, having read all the books in the Yufu Palace's collection. But her master, cherishing her talent, had ordered her to hide her brilliance, repeatedly reminding her of the great principle that divine objects conceal themselves, lest they bring humiliation.
Chen Ping'an returned the golden heart to her and asked with a smile, "How many talismans are hidden inside? Tens of thousands? Hundreds of thousands? Could they really kill an Immortal or wound an Ascension face to face?"
Fu Xian put the heart back in its place. Just as she was about to brag about her skill, in an instant, she clutched her chest, fell to the ground, and rolled in agony.
Nian Xin said, "Same as always. Don't believe her, Hidden Official."
Fu Xian's soul trembled violently, curling up. Hearing Nian Xin's sneers, she groaned in pain and wanted to curse that female executioner, but it was futile.
"I'm asking you: what is your relationship with Yufu Palace? Cherishing talents in the Wildlands is your master's or Zhou Mi's business. It's not my turn as a Hidden Official."
Chen Ping'an first stepped on Fu Xian's head, then raised and lowered his foot, "chopping off" Fu Xian's entire arm from the shoulder on the spot.
Fu Xian trembled. "I am a true disciple of Yufu Palace. I am the senior sister of Qiu Yun, one of the Heaven Stems of the Wildlands, a talisman cultivator. But the two of us joined Yufu Palace less than a century ago."
Chen Ping'an changed direction, stepping on and breaking Fu Xian's other arm. His gaze shifted slightly, as if starting to stare at her ankle... Fu Xian immediately hurriedly said, "Refining the heart into a 'library tower' filled with talismans was my own idea. Years ago, my master thought it feasible and gave me some advice. To prevent accidents, he also gave me four of his personally written 'Door God Talismans.' Then I spent a full sixty years drawing one hundred and twenty thousand talismans of varying grades and brushwork, with different ranks of quality. Additionally, I received over a dozen large talismans from Yufu Palace, which I also refined as the formation core of the tower. Before I descended the mountain, my master was quite pleased, saying this could wound an Ascension cultivator and be enough for self-defense."
Chen Ping'an first broke her ankle, then said, "Heal it yourself."
At the same time, Chen Ping'an called out the names of a dozen or so demon cultivators, with a puzzled expression. "What's everyone standing around for? You are all famous disciples of major sects. Hurry up and write out the Dao techniques passed down by your respective Patriarch Halls. When you finish, I'll confirm whether there are any omissions or intentional errors, so I can send you on your way."
Between Fu Xian's shoulders, calves, and the broken limbs, countless golden threads appeared. Her blood also showed a strange, light gold color.
As expected, Chen Ping'an asked, "Fu Xian, is your blood a natural talisman spring?"
Fu Xian nodded. "But my master never let me bleed to make 'talisman ink.' He just told me to cultivate well and try to surpass his talisman realm in the future, to reclaim the word 'talisman' from Haoran. If I ever have the chance, maybe I can go to Qingming again and show off to one of my master's old friends. But who that old friend is, my master didn't say his Dao name."
Chen Ping'an rubbed his brow. It was clear that Fu Xian's master was both the undisputed number one talisman cultivator of the Wildlands and a true Dao-seeker in the real sense.
This founding patriarch of Yufu Palace had the Dao name "Yunshen" and the real name Yan Shi.
Last time Chen Ping'an made a deal with Old Temple Master, there was an "added item" that they had already agreed upon but which the old man added a price to at the last minute. The condition was that Chen Ping'an would later tour the Wildlands and make a trip to Yufu Palace, saying, "Sword slash Yan Shi, help him shed his skin."
The Old Temple Master's tone at the time was casual, as if telling a child to run to the street to buy a bottle of soy sauce or vinegar.
The only benefit was that there was no deadline.
Chen Ping'an was only curious about one thing: why didn't Zhou Mi simply devour Yan Shi and gather the fortune of the Wildlands' talisman path onto himself?
As if guessing the Hidden Official's thoughts, Fu Xian cautiously said, "Zhou Mi highly respected our master's erudition. He often secretly visited Yufu Palace. They never discussed the situation in the world but only gathered to discuss some... to my mind, useless learning."
Even knowing that such words were a provocation to the Hidden Official, and she would likely suffer more for it, Fu Xian, lying in a pool of blood, couldn't help but say a few good words for her master—words that the world back home knew nothing about.
Chen Ping'an made no comment. He came to a "desk." The Jade Pu demon cultivator, writing furiously, didn't dare raise his head, only asked, "Hidden Official, you're not trying to trick us, are you? Is Zhou Mi really dead? And Shou Chen—how dare he share the same reputation as you? Didn't you casually kill him?"
Chen Ping'an kept his hands in his sleeves, looking down at the delicate handwriting. It was quite decent. He said, "After Yang Zhi and that batch of old Thrones, great sword immortal Shou Chen can already be considered an old figure among the new Thrones. Do you think he's a cabbage leaf you can just snap off?"
The demon cultivator nodded vigorously. "Southern Shou Chen, Northern Hidden Official. That Shou Chen is truly not just for show. I suppose if he were weak, it wouldn't highlight the Hidden Official's prowess."
Chen Ping'an looked at the Dao technique text. "Will killing Shou Chen rely on your mouth? Have you been secretly studying the sages' books in our Haoran world, mastering the ability to command fate with your words? Teach me?"
The demon cultivator's smile turned awkward. He wrote faster, as if divinely inspired, and added, "You jest, Hidden Official. I have indeed read some Haoran books. I'm confident I could take first place in the imperial examinations. But I would never dare to hope for the saintly power of 'words carrying heavenly authority' in this life."
Chen Ping'an asked, "If I go to the Wildlands and seize the position of overlord from Fei Ran, would the crowd obey?"
That young Jade Pu cultivator, who had once served as deputy commander of a military camp, immediately put down his brush and looked up. "They would obey. They must obey! I would be the first to agree, willing to serve His Excellency Hidden Official with all my strength, leading troops to attack Tuoyue Mountain... By the way, Hidden Official, who is that overlord of the Wildlands? What's his name?"
Chen Ping'an said, "Sword cultivator Fei Ran, junior brother of the old Throne Qie Yun."
The Jade Pu cultivator sighed deeply, in heart-wrenching pain. "When there are no heroes, even a commoner can gain fame. Has our Wildlands fallen so low that such a cat or dog can become the overlord of the world?"
Chen Ping'an said, "That damned bird was on the battlefield at Sword Qi Great Wall, sneakily gathering leftovers, and almost killed me."
The demon cultivator immediately changed his tune. "If so, he deserves to be the overlord!"
Chen Ping'an said, "In addition to this Dao text, write more about the shortcomings in the Great Li troop deployments on Baoping Prefecture back then."
The demon cultivator nodded. "Easy, Hidden Official. How's my cursive running script? Not bad?"
Chen Ping'an smiled. "I suspect Fei Ran could write better with a charcoal stick held between his toes."
The demon cultivator, for some reason, said, "Hidden Official, let me tell you a heartfelt truth that's way off topic. There's a peach tree in front of my cave dwelling back home. When it blossoms, it's even more beautiful than the plum blossoms all over the hills at the Qingmei Temple on Nantang Lake."
Chen Ping'an casually said, "Maybe I'll take a look someday to see if you're bragging."
This whole rambling conversation, all in the Wildlands elegant language, didn't feel awkward to Nian Xin and the Wildlands spectators.
Noticing a commotion in the innermost cell, the old coachman arrived here. He opened a door in the void outside the platform and watched from afar.
During this time, Chen Ping'an kept flipping through the small booklet, correlating some secret events on Tongye Prefecture. He casually killed a few demon beasts. With each death, a gold-inlaid character appeared on the stone tablet.
Suddenly remembering something, Chen Ping'an called Yuan Huajing, threw the booklet to him, and asked if he had any demon cultivators or martial artists he fancied. The sword immortal Yuan, whose natal flying sword was "Yelang," looked at the booklet, which was practically a book of life and death, with sparkling eyes. After quickly weighing the pros and cons, he named three people. Then he noticed the strange atmosphere—not just the seamstress Nian Xin with a half-smile, but even the Wildlands beasts were looking at him oddly. It turned out that the three Yuan Huajing had chosen were: the Peak Realm martial artist whose head was already split open, Fu Xian, and a Jade Pu cultivator who was busy writing about the pros and cons of Great Li's troop placements.
Chen Ping'an said, "You can leave now."
Yuan Huajing laughed angrily. "Are you messing with me?"
Chen Ping'an said, "You can pick a different batch."
Yuan Huajing searched his memory, shook his head with regret. "The rest are all chicken ribs—useless. I haven't yet reached Jade Pu. They would just waste the quota."
The remaining over two hundred demon beasts, about half of them, began cursing the ancestors of this unknown sword cultivator, who seemed to have his eyes on his butt, in Wildlands elegant language or their native dialects.
Yuan Huajing expressionlessly flipped through the booklet again, pointed out the few demon beasts that cursed the loudest, and said calmly, "National Teacher, I've chosen. These few."
Chen Ping'an smiled. "Wait until you reach Jade Pu."
The Sword Immortal Yuan came and went in a hurry.
Chen Ping'an said to the four demon beasts Yuan Huajing had pointed out, "If you don't want to end up worse than dead, turned into puppets, you'd better think it over before this bottlenecked Nascent Soul sword cultivator enters seclusion."
Chen Ping'an turned to look toward the old coachman. "Whether it's you or Yan Jiaoran, if there's something you fancy, you can directly ask the Great Li court for it. If you have the ability, you can even rob it openly. But you must not be clever or steal."
"Even if you did steal, you should at least hide it well, so I don't find out."
"Otherwise, like now, we're both in an awkward position."
Su Kan only took the new National Teacher's words as nonsense. He sneered, "If you want to condemn someone, there's always a pretext. Of course, now that you're in a new world without Zhou Mi, your status is at its zenith. Not just the Great Li dynasty; even outside Baoping Prefecture, the right and wrong and life and death of mountain cultivators are all up to you."
Chen Ping'an smiled. "No wonder you're a regular customer of the Changyuan Vinegar Shop in the capital. Eat too much, and your words all have the same taste."
Su Kan stared straight back at him, thought for a moment, sighed, and said, "I'll return it to you. As for Yan Jiaoran, you handle it yourself. It has nothing to do with me, not even half a copper coin."
The old coachman reached out, grabbed a demon beast he had accepted as an unregistered disciple from his Dao ground, and tossed it toward the platform. It was a demon beast with a graceful figure, looking like a young maiden.
Chen Ping'an looked at her, clucking his tongue in wonder. "At least over a hundred Earth Immortal cultivators risked their lives to clear the way, trying to send you, the 'entrusted orphan,' out to see the light of day. Tell me yourself, just how good your cultivation aptitude is?"
She looked indifferent. "Kill me or slice me, do as you please."
Chen Ping'an said, "But you're just one of the Hundred Sword Immortals of Tuoyue Mountain. If I remember correctly, your ranking is quite low. You're poles apart from Zhu Qie and the like. Logically speaking, you shouldn't have caught the eye of a half-assed master like Su Kan. Spill it: what hidden lineage do you have?"
Su Kan sighed. "She and Yushu are both unregistered disciples of Zhou Mi. They served as maids and proofreaders for many years. Later, Zhou Mi gave them to Tuoyue Mountain and Yufu Palace. Yushu is Yan Jiaoran's pick. As for my disciple, her physical body has been destroyed. Bookkeeping is easy; it's simple to hoodwink the heavens. Practicing as a ghost can also reach the top. Rest assured, I confirmed her Dao roots. Zhou Mi didn't tamper with anything. But Yan Jiaoran was overly cautious, still choosing to let Yushu suffer here. As for the escape route he arranged for her, ask Yan Jiaoran yourself."
Chen Ping'an turned to Fu Xian and smiled. "No wonder you wanted to drag Yushu into serving together. The bonds of a fellow disciple—moving and tragic."
Fu Xian's face was ashen. Her earlier deliberate "harassment" of Yushu was indeed intentional. She just hadn't expected the Hidden Official to expose it.
Nian Xin asked in confusion, "Wasn't Yan Jiaoran Cui Chan's confidant?"
Chen Ping'an said, "He is also the decision-maker of the Zizhao Yan family. He always has to plan ahead. If one day Great Li really has no National Teacher, where will he and his family go?"
Su Kan sighed with emotion. "Too clever by half. Yan Jiaoran is just being human."
Chen Ping'an said, "Whether the garlic-selling pickle shop raises prices or changes its master—who are you to decide?"
Su Kan was momentarily speechless.
Chen Ping'an said, "I deliberately delayed coming here to audit accounts, giving you both an opportunity. You just couldn't grasp it."
Yan Jiaoran did not bring his two personal disciples. He came alone, cupped his hands, and bowed. "Your subordinate admits guilt and accepts punishment."
Chen Ping'an waited a moment, looked up with hands in sleeves, and said with a smile, "I thought you would claim it was my senior brother Cui Chan's secret instruction—to give all the demon beasts in custody a faint glimmer of hope, like a flickering lamp in a dark, shabby room on a windy night, about to go out."
Yan Jiaoran said, "I thought of it, but I wouldn't dare say that."
Chen Ping'an waved his hand. "You can take Yushu away. Su Kan can also take her away. From now on, you two are no longer in charge of this place. The precondition is that the Zizhao Yan family should learn from the Horse Dung Yu family. But you, Yan Jiaoran, still have advisory rights over the choice of the person in charge of Great Li's accompanying army cultivators. As for Su Kan, accept another unregistered disciple: Zhao Duanming. You must teach him fully in your thunder techniques."
Yan Jiaoran was greatly relieved. "I obey."
Good. Just think of it as new court officers replacing the old. Living a seclusion life for twenty or thirty years, building a private villa, raising flowers and birds—as the old saying goes, "a pergola, a fish tank, pomegranate flowers, a fat dog, a chubby maid"—wasn't this the leisurely life he had always dreamed of?
Su Kan asked suspiciously, "Such a good deal? There's no trick or trap here?"
Chen Ping'an squinted at him.
Not just Nian Xin, but even the demon beasts watching understood the simple meaning of that look: You deserve this?
Su Kan was unconcerned. "When the National Teacher has time, he can drop by my house. We can chat about old times, flip through the old yellow pages, use them as appetizers with wine. The flavor will surely be excellent."
Earlier, the old Heavenly Court had been replaced by the new Heavenly Court, and the new Heavenly Court had scattered like wind with Zhou Mi's fall from the human world.
Su Kan, Feng Yi, and the other ancient gods had been steeped in the mortal world for ten thousand years. They were more like humans now.
As long as one lives long enough and sees enough people and events, one finds that new things that fool even experts are always antiqued.
Chen Ping'an nodded.
The human world sways, and in the blink of an eye, ten thousand years pass. I am with you all, together in a dream of souls.