Chapter 757: All Seated Are Old Friends

Chapter 757: All Seated Are Old Friends

How can youth last forever, how can the young remain young forever.

The slovenly man was Yao Xianzhi. The sword-wielding woman was Yao Lingzhi.

When they first met, one was a smiling, energetic youth, the other a sharp-edged, spirited girl.

Yao Xianzhi seemed a bit shy, his lips moving but unable to find the right words. He didn't want to say anything polite, and he had too much to say from the heart, not knowing where to begin, so he just remained silent.

Yao Lingzhi, the daughter of Ninth Aunt at the inn in Fox Village, was more straightforward. It seemed that even the years of hardship hadn't worn away her sharp edges. She looked openly at the man and nodded with a smile. "Young Master Chen, it really has been a long time."

Chen Ping'an asked, "Could you take me to see Old General Yao?"

Yao Xianzhi nodded.

Yao Lingzhi noticed the unusual activity around the Yao residence. It seemed Chen Ping'an's arrival had caused quite a stir. That was only natural. The Yao residence nowadays was no longer the Minister's mansion of years past. The Emperor was not in Shenjing City at the moment, and someone had broken in here.

Chen Ping'an said apologetically, "I came in a hurry, so I'll need you to help explain. Just say there's a guest visiting the Yao residence, and Shenjing City doesn't need to be alarmed. As for who I am, there's no need to mention it."

Yao Lingzhi agreed without any hesitation and went to handle the matter herself, letting her younger brother Yao Xianzhi lead Chen Ping'an to visit their grandfather.

Yao Xianzhi walked with a limp, one sleeve hanging empty. The man tried to hide it a bit, but it was futile.

Chen Ping'an asked with a smile, "Were you arguing with your sister just now? About what?"

Yao Xianzhi said quietly, "The older my sister gets, the more she nags. She keeps trying to find me a wife, playing matchmaker all the time, dragging in all sorts of people. She's addicted to it. Those women are put in an awkward position. She knows what I'm like now, yet even if a woman did agree to this marriage, what would she be after? I'm not stupid. It can't be that she's after my youth and handsome looks, can it? Mr. Chen, don't you think so?"

Chen Ping'an nodded. "It's only human nature. It's normal for her to persuade you, and it's normal for you to be annoyed. It's hopeless until the day you meet a girl you like and marry her. Until then, you'll just have to put up with the nagging."

Yao Xianzhi smiled. "Mr. Chen, I look much older than you now."

Chen Ping'an lightly slapped Yao Xianzhi on the head. "Besides looking older, you've also become quite famous and have a temper to match. You even got into a fight with a registered immortal master from White Dragon Cave in the middle of the market."

Yao Xianzhi took the slap and laughed. For the current "Prince Yao," not drinking and still being able to laugh was a rare thing.

In a quiet courtyard, two life-sized painted door gods were pasted on the gate, their golden forms now manifesting, guarding the entrance.

This was no ordinary spiritual manifestation. The two golden door gods before them bore the civil and military fortunes of the entire Daquan nation. It could probably be considered a bit of favoritism on the Emperor's part, but it was both reasonable and justified. The person who helped "gild" the door gods was an official of the Imperial Observatory wielding the Emperor's personal brush, each stroke within the bounds of propriety. And the person who "dotting the eyes" for the two door gods, Chen Ping'an recognized at a glance as the work of a certain Academy Headmaster, a Confucian sage's directive. It was clear that Confucianism, from the Temple to the continental academies, held the Yao family of Daquan in high regard.

From then on, these two door gods, manifesting their paths at this courtyard gate, would be tied to Daquan's national fortune, enjoying the incense of the people for a hundred or a thousand years—the most common type of gilding on the path of the divine.

Earlier, Chen Ping'an had already sensed the unusual nature of this place and could be sure that Old General Yao Zhen was recuperating here. The reason he hadn't landed directly here was, first, it would have been too rash, worried that his sword aura and fist intent hadn't fully subsided, that he was too "full of spirit," which would offend the landscape and inadvertently harm the old general's fate and fortune. Second, Chen Ping'an wanted to calm his own mood a bit with the siblings first.

The two door gods fixed their gazes on the figure in blue robes and then, almost simultaneously, clasped their fists in salute, their expressions respectful, voluntarily making way for Chen Ping'an.

Yao Xianzhi was taken aback. He had thought he would need to explain a bit more to have Mr. Chen pass through this barrier.

Chen Ping'an returned the salute and followed Yao Xianzhi into a room. On the table inside sat a celestial incense burner, purple mist rising, its fragrance refreshing.

An old man with snow-white hair lay on a sickbed, his breathing extremely faint.

Yao Xianzhi moved with great gentleness, pulling up a chair beside the bed for Chen Ping'an, while he himself sat further away.

Before sitting, Chen Ping'an took out several golden talismans from his sleeve and pasted them one by one on the door and windows. These were some of the high-grade talismans recorded in the "Authentic Script of the Cinnabar Book." One of them, called the "Ferry Talisman," could stabilize the mind and soul, reducing the impact of the passage of time. However, this talisman consumed a great deal of talisman paper, and the key point was that refining it drained the cultivator's mental energy far more than drawing offensive talismans. Besides the Ferry Talisman, he also pasted on the door the nearly lost "Ox-Horse Resting Talisman." It couldn't stop oxen or horses from approaching, but it could make the ghostly officials of the underworld see the divine talisman from afar and pause for a while, as an ancient and mysterious form of respect. Such landscape rules were definitely not recorded in any ordinary secret immortal texts of lineage-level collections.

The living and the dead have different paths, just as birds have their paths and mice have theirs. For cultivators, if they haven't opened their celestial eyes or reached the Upper Five Realms, encountering a city god or earth god is not strange. When a cultivator descends the mountain like an immortal coming down to consult the earth, it's even an unwritten rule of the landscape officialdom. But meeting those underworld clerks, who are completely different from the day and night wandering spirits, is extremely difficult—almost as rare as a mortal encountering a ghostly spirit. And once accidentally encountered, it's never considered a good thing for a qi refiner.

According to the obscure records of the Summer Palace, humans, whether they cultivate or not, and the ghostly messengers of Fengdu, walk on opposite banks of the same river of time. Each has their own heavenly path, and they don't interfere with each other. So although Chen Ping'an had traveled far and wide, aside from the experience with Zhong Kui at the Buried River Temple, he had never seen any Fengdu ghostly messengers. And that irregular encounter only happened because Chen Ping'an, accustomed to the stagnation of the river of time, was able to catch a rare glimpse of the Fengdu clerk. Otherwise, even if they were right next to each other, they would have passed by without noticing.

Over many years of travel, whether drawing talismans or giving them away, Chen Ping'an had used up all his precious golden talisman paper. The few rare sheets he used this time were borrowed from Cui Dongshan on the cloud boat earlier.

Drawing the Ferry Talisman would consume the cultivator's mind and spirit. Drawing the Ox-Horse Resting Talisman would deplete one's own hidden virtue.

These taboos were all clearly written in the "Authentic Script of the Cinnabar Book," and Li Xisheng had even specifically annotated beside the ox-horse talisman: "Use this talisman with caution."

Yao Xianzhi sat on his chair, just watching Mr. Chen paste those golden talismans one by one. Though full of curiosity, he didn't ask.

Beyond curiosity, the man inexplicably felt a sense of peace.

It seemed that now that Mr. Chen had finally arrived, even though he himself had become a useless prince of Daquan, he could slack off a little, even in his own efforts. Anyway, he could just let Mr. Chen take care of everything.

Back then, among the three young Yaos of the Daquan border, it had always been Yao Xianzhi who most admired that young sword immortal with the bearing of a grand master. Back then, the youth had been dead set on learning martial arts from Mr. Chen, whose fists were unmatched. Unfortunately, it didn't happen. At the time, he thought there would be plenty of opportunities later, no need to rush. Even if mountain time didn't quite match the human calendar, even if they didn't meet for three or five years, surely they would meet again within ten. He never expected that a blink of an eye would bring two decades, and now Yao Xianzhi had no desire left for practicing fist techniques or martial arts.

Yao Xianzhi wasn't a qi refiner, but he could see that those golden talismans were worth a fortune.

Those immortal masters serving as imperial advisors, every time they used talisman paper of this quality for the nation, their faces would look as if they were cutting off a piece of their own flesh, just to let the court know how much they were sacrificing.

After pasting the talismans, Chen Ping'an quietly walked to the table, reached out his hand over the incense burner, gently brushed it, and sniffed the fragrance. He nodded. It was indeed the work of a master; the proportions were perfect.

Having done all this, Chen Ping'an sat down on the chair near the sickbed.

The talismans other than the Ferry and Ox-Horse ones were relatively ordinary, used to help Old General Yao calm his mind and gather his qi, slightly slowing the process of mental fatigue and bodily decay. For example, one "Sweet Dew Connecting Talisman" used wisps of earth and water fortune to quietly nourish the old man's body. It was only a temporary fix, not a cure, but that was all that could be done. For an old man like this now, even a celestial being like Cui Dongshan using any profound magic or divine ability would only cause more harm than good, a disproportionate disturbance.

From beginning to end, Yao Xianzhi harbored no suspicion.

He believed that even if the Emperor were here, it would be the same.

The Yao family rarely trusted an outsider this much. They hadn't in the past, and they did even less so now. Chen Ping'an was the only exception.

The man just quietly watched this "somewhat late" Mr. Chen.

Because although no one had ever heard their grandfather say why he was stubbornly holding on, the three young Yaos—Emperor Yao Jinzhi, martial arts grandmaster Yao Lingzhi, and Yao Xianzhi—all knew the reason.

Grandfather hoped that in this lifetime, he could see that young benefactor who was his friend across the ages one more time.

Apart from that, grandfather really had nothing else to cling to.

The Daquan nation had been preserved, even the city of Shenjing was completely intact. Every winter when the heavy snow fell, the capital was still that beautiful scene of a glazed wonderland.

Amidst the shattered landscape of a broken Tongye Continent like a willow catkin in the wind, such a stroke of luck was unique to Daquan.

After sitting down, Chen Ping'an rubbed his palms together, then reached out one hand to gently grasp one of the old man's withered hands.

Rubbing his hands to warm them—a martial artist at the Stilled Realm had no need for such superfluous actions, as he could precisely control the temperature of his hands at will.

But it was a subconscious gesture for Chen Ping'an.

A moment later.

The old man's eyelids twitched, but he didn't open them. Hoarsely, he said, "You've come, have you? Really? It's not that Jinzhi girl trying to fool me, is it? Who are you, really?"

"It's me, Chen Ping'an."

Chen Ping'an leaned forward, holding the old general's hand with both of his, bending down and speaking softly. "So many years have passed, but I still often think back to the time when I walked with Grandpa Yao along the bank of the Mai River. We met an old farmer who occasionally made a living salvaging corpses. The old man said his son had fished up someone he shouldn't have, so within a few days, his son was gone. In the end, the old man just said, 'I should have stopped him.' I've never been able to figure out whether it was because so much time had passed that he could talk about it to us outsiders without being so sad, or if there was some other reason that convinced him not to be so sad. Or maybe, in the lives of common folks, some heart-wrenching sorrows fall into the potholes of the world. People fall, but they still have to get up and keep walking. The sorrow sinks down and can't get back up. When a person gets through it, it means the matter has passed."

According to the customs of Chen Ping'an's hometown village, when speaking with elderly people who are free from illness and misfortune, there's actually no need to avoid the topic of life and death.

The old man murmured, "So it really is little Ping'an who has come. If it weren't you, you wouldn't be telling these old stories. If it weren't you, you wouldn't be thinking about these things."

Chen Ping'an said softly, "I kept Grandpa Yao waiting a long time. But to be honest, it wasn't easy for me to get here. Some things come without waiting for me to prepare, as if they just rush at me without warning, leaving me no choice but to endure. At the same time, some things leave, and no matter how I try to stop them, I can't. I just have to bear it. I can't really talk about it to anyone. If I don't say it, I feel stifled. If I say too much, I seem pretentious. So I wanted to find an elder to pour out my troubles to. That's why I came all the way from Jinhuang Prefecture to see Grandpa Yao. You have to listen to me for a while. Back then, I was always in a hurry to move forward. This time, I don't have to rush home."

The old man struggled to open his eyes, his vision blurry. He could dimly make out a man who was no longer a youth, still wearing a jade hairpin. After coughing a few times, a bit of color actually returned to the old man's face. "That's right. True Buddhas only speak ordinary words. You're still the Chen Ping'an I know, but you've grown up a lot. When you were young and suffered, you either shouted loudly, wanting the whole world to hear, or you kept everything bottled up, thinking that in a few days, a few years, it wouldn't matter anymore. But that's not how it is. Now you know that life doesn't always go your way, don't you?"

Chen Ping'an nodded.

The old man raised a hand and gently patted the back of the young man's hand. "The Yao family has some difficulties now. It's not about whether the world is good or bad, but about what is right and proper, and that's what makes it hard. For me, for Jinzhi, they are all knots in the heart. Whether you came or not, whether you can solve the problems now, it doesn't matter. For example, taking another path, making this already old and immortal Yao Zhen even older and more immortal, becoming some kind of mountain or river god—that would be possible, but it can't be done. Little Ping'an?"

Chen Ping'an nodded. "I understand."

Daquan had been able to support Zheng Su, the Mountain Lord of Jinhuang Prefecture, and Liu Yourong, the Water Goddess of Pine Needle Lake. Zheng Su's divine rank was second only to the Five Sacred Mountains of Daquan, and Liu Yourong was a second-rank River God, only inferior to the Water God of the Mai River at Jasper Tour Palace. This was the so-called "when one person attains the Way, even his chickens and dogs ascend to heaven."

And that person was, of course, Yao Jinzhi, the Empress of Daquan.

So, for the meritorious and universally respected Old General Yao to become not just the City God of the capital but even a Mountain Lord of one of Daquan's Five Sacred Mountains would not be difficult.

However, in this Haoran World, it was not unheard of for a woman to rule as emperor, but such cases were few and far between, and their reigns were often short-lived.

In times of chaos, whoever sat on the dragon throne and wore the dragon robe shouldered the responsibility, and being able to stay on the throne was a skill. But once an era of peace arrived, for a woman to ascend and rule as emperor would certainly not go smoothly.

Aside from the last emperor of the Liu clan losing the people's hearts, over the two hundred-plus years since Daquan's founding, all the previous emperors were wise rulers, with hardly a single bad one among them. This meant that the Liu surname was still the national surname of Daquan, whether in the court, the martial world, or among the people.

So, Old General Yao's choice—whether to become a local mountain or river god—was essentially his decision on whether to change the national surname from "Liu" to "Yao." Clearly, the old man's heart leaned toward returning Daquan to the Liu clan. On this matter, it was very possible that Old General Yao Zhen and his granddaughter, the current Empress Yao Jinzhi, had a point of divergence. It could even be said that the old general's thoughts went against the hopes of the entire Yao family, especially the younger generation.

Yao Xianzhi didn't know whether he should be happy or sad.

Grandfather's spirit and energy today were very good, surprisingly good, so much so that he had the strength and the spirit to say a lot of words, more than he had in the previous six months combined.

Chen Ping'an suddenly turned to Yao Xianzhi and said, "Go call your sister over. Both of them."

Yao Xianzhi's face showed bitterness. "The Emperor is not in Shenjing City right now. She went to the old Yao residence on the southern border."

Chen Ping'an was stunned.

With Chen Ping'an's help, the old man slowly sat up. There was even a hint of amusement on his face. He teased, "Didn't negotiate with you either, did she? Yes, that's life."

But just sitting up had already exhausted the old general. He could only move his fingers slightly, as if waving his hand to tell Chen Ping'an not to overthink it. "I've already given my final instructions. The Yao family children are all used to life and death. No one needs to be overly sentimental. So many young ones died on the battlefield. There's no reason for someone who's lived to my age to have a whole room full of people crowded around, making a mess when I go. If they cry, I'll find it noisy. If they don't cry, it'll look like they're unfilial. What kind of nonsense is that?"

Chen Ping'an asked, "Is there anything I can do?"

The old man smiled. "Nothing needs to be done. Just don't disappear without a trace again. Even if we're separated by a continent, we can still communicate through flying sword messages. Don't get involved in Yao family affairs or Daquan state matters. Do you think you're our Yao family's son-in-law or something? Where were you back then? If you hadn't pretended to be dense back then and had been willing to take an extra step or two, maybe... ah, never mind."

Yao Xianzhi secretly grinned.

If this got out, the whole court and country would be in a frenzy trying to dig up the details. Those privately printed books that repeatedly banned yet kept appearing, the unofficial histories and palace romances, would become even more profitable. These books, which severely damaged the court's foundation and the Yao family's reputation, were often fueled by disgruntled scholars living in seclusion. Before his sister Yao Jinzhi became emperor, these books with unsightly content were already popular throughout the court and country. After she ascended, they only slightly subsided, but they still grew like spring grass after a wildfire. Every time the authorities banned a batch, another would pop up. Now, even many high-ranking officials and local magistrates secretly kept a few copies.

But the Emperor couldn't attend to such matters for now. There were a thousand threads of military and state affairs that needed reorganizing. Just the military reform—setting up a total of eighty-six generals across the various circuits—had already stirred up storms and heavy criticism. As for the selection of twenty-four "founding" meritorious officials, it was even more fraught with obstacles. Civil and military officials with enough merit to be chosen were fighting over rankings. Those on the borderline had to fight for a spot at all costs. Those who didn't qualify harbored resentment and wished the Emperor would expand the twenty-four to thirty-six. Even those who couldn't make it into thirty-six, the civil officials wanted the court to create more dukes and princes, while the military officials turned their attention to picking and choosing among the eighty-six garrison forces, each wanting to be a general on the border with Beijin or Nanqi, to command more troops and wield more power. The six generals of the Fox Road in the south, where border conflicts might reignite, and the five generals of the Mai River Road, which would oversee canal and water transport, were the most sought-after plums.

And the Emperor seemed to be hesitating whether to use an iron fist to suppress those unofficial histories, because one misstep would bring accusations of a harsh new emperor launching a literary inquisition.

Chen Ping'an, true to form, was good at playing dumb. He just said, "I'm planning to establish a subsidiary sect on Tongye Continent, probably in the northern part. But since I'll be on the same continent as the Yao family of Daquan, I'm sure we'll have dealings often."

The old man looked puzzled. "Starting a mountain and establishing a sect? Why not choose your hometown in Bottle Gourd Continent? Can't make it there? No, that can't be right. Since it's a sect, there's no reason you'd need to relocate to another continent to take root. Unless your mountain's meritorious service is enough, but the relationship with the Song imperial court of Great Li is not so good?"

In the old general's view, for the young Chen Ping'an to establish a lineage-level immortal mansion was already astonishing enough, not a bit inferior to his granddaughter Jinzhi's successful ascension to emperor. As for the term "subsidiary sect," the old general assumed his old eyes and ears were failing him and he'd misheard.

Chen Ping'an said helplessly, "Grandpa Yao, it's the subsidiary sect that is located on Tongye Continent. The main sect is in my hometown on that continent. It doesn't need to be moved."

The old man's spirits lifted, his weariness swept away. His heart was full of comfort, but he deliberately said in an annoyed tone, "You rascal, not only have you grown older, but your talk has grown even bigger. What, spouting nonsense to fool me? Now that Jinzhi is the Emperor, you want to cut in? Back then, you looked down on a woman from the Minister's Yao family, but now you've finally set your sights on an Empress? Fine, fine. If that's the case, it saves me worry. Jinzhi has high standards, and you're one of the very few of your generation she looks up to. But times are different now. That girl Jinzhi's aspirations are much higher than before, and she's seen plenty of extraordinary people and terrestrial immortals. I'm afraid it'll be harder for you to succeed now than it was back then. Just take that young imperial advisor who sticks to her like a burr—he won't let you have your way easily. Xianzhi, what's that person's name?"

"Shaoyuan Ran of Gold Peak Temple, one of the earthly immortals on our Tongye Continent with the best chance of reaching the Upper Five Realms."

Yao Xianzhi replied with a laugh, loud enough for everyone to hear. "But in my opinion, he's no match for Mr. Chen."

Chen Ping'an's head started to ache, so he simply kept his mouth shut.

The old man had indeed spoken a lot today and had to close his eyes to rest. After a long silence, he opened them again and spoke slowly, "Our Yao family has never been good at dealing with scholars, especially those in officialdom. Their guts are too twisted. One person can say the positive and negative sides of a statement and still claim to be right on both counts. So Jinzhi will have a hard time. If it weren't for Xu Qingzhou and his group of martial artists, who are allowed to wear swords at court, and Old Duke Shen Guo, who can help Jinzhi speak a few words, the outside of the Yao residence today might not be guarded by door gods and imperial immortals, but would be under house arrest."

All those officials and scholars who had lost their reputation and integrity in that war, and who then managed to survive by fleeing into the capital region, but now failed to secure positions in the central government or important posts—they would all naturally oppose the Yao family's rule. They would want to claim moral righteousness and return the national surname to Liu. A woman ruling the country—what kind of order was that?

Chen Ping'an said, "Xu Qingzhou?"

Yao Xianzhi nodded. "I know he has a deep enmity with Mr. Chen, but I still have to say a fair word for him. In recent years, he's shown some backbone in the court."

Xu Qingzhou, an old general approaching seventy, carried the great sword "Da Qiao." He was now a Front-Line General of Daquan, with outstanding military achievements. Back then, Xu Qingzhou had led all his elite personal troops, voluntarily going to the border, advancing and retreating alongside the Yao family's iron cavalry, until they finally held Shenjing City. He had bet big and won big. He became one of the pillars of the Daquan military after Old General Yao.

Years ago, Xu Qingzhou was just a young general who had bet everything on the eldest prince. Together with the academy gentleman Wang Qi, the grass-and-tree hermit Xu Tong, and Duke Shen Guo Gao Shizhen, he had participated in that earlier dangerous hunt to kill Chen Ping'an. But at that time, Xu Qingzhou had made a decisive choice, even turning against the eldest prince Liu Cong, and resolutely withdrew from that gamble. As a result, his family indeed sat on the cold bench of officialdom for many years.

Chen Ping'an smiled. "The enmity is not small, but I still have a decent impression of Xu Qingzhou and Duke Shen Guo."

Back then, Chen Ping'an had formed a death feud with both of Daquan's princes: first the third prince Liu Mao, then the eldest prince Liu Cong. Liu Cong was the eldest legitimate son of the old Daquan emperor Liu Zhen. There was a distinction between older and younger, legitimate and illegitimate. In the end, Emperor Liu Zhen chose the legitimate son, who had a good reputation among civil officials, to succeed him. As for the third prince Liu Mao, he had long since turned to cultivation and seeking immortality. Neither of them had shown up during that war, with Liu Mao quietly studying green prayers and verses in a small Daoist temple.

But Liu Cong, the prince who was temporarily regent amidst the chaos, ultimately failed to preserve the Liu clan's rule. After the war on Tongye Continent ended, Liu Cong launched a military mutiny on a rainy night, trying to seize the Imperial Seal from Empress Yao Jinzhi. He was thwarted by a secret imperial advisor nicknamed the Knife Sharpener, who joined forces with a short woman squatting behind a pillar eating a late-night snack, and the attempt failed.

It was said that when the disheveled prince was dragged out of the great hall by armored soldiers, he was utterly dejected. Then he laughed loudly into the rain and cursed a strange remark: "I should have known to wait until the rain stopped before making my move. No memory! You just wait, be careful that Daquan doesn't end up with the surname Chen!"

Chen Ping'an had been carefully observing the old general's qi flow. It was better than he had expected. Although it had been a brief return of vitality earlier, it seemed that the Daquan national fortune had undergone a subtle change. Chen Ping'an roughly deduced that either there was a life-bound lamp in the palace, or the Imperial Observatory had some secret methods that slightly overstepped the Temple's rules. Someone was trimming the lamp and adding oil there. And the "oil" being added was something no immortal master or mountain or river god could ever obtain, because it was the intangible national fortune of Daquan itself. Could it be that Yao Jinzhi, at the old Yao estate on the border, had taken some measure to extend the national fortune? For example, successfully expanding Daquan's borders again, finally settling the ownership of Pine Needle Lake with Beijin, and incorporating the entire lake into Daquan's territory?

The sword-wielding woman gently pushed open the door.

The old man said, "I'm a little tired. I'll sleep for now. But it seems I can still wake up this time, not like before when I closed my eyes and had no confidence I'd open them again."

Yao Lingzhi carefully helped her grandfather lie back down to rest.

Chen Ping'an didn't leave the room immediately. Instead, Yao Xianzhi pulled his sister out first.

The siblings stood in the corridor outside, speaking in low voices. Yao Lingzhi said, "Master was very strange. He directly asked me if the visitor's surname was Chen. Could it be that he knows Young Master Chen?"

Yao Lingzhi's martial arts master was none other than Daquan's chief imperial advisor, the Knife Sharpener Liu Zong from Lotus Flower Blessed Land. However, this Knife Sharpener had not revealed his background, not even to his direct disciple Yao Lingzhi.

Yao Xianzhi was a little distracted and suddenly asked a question, "The Empress is not a cultivator, so why has her appearance changed so little over the years? Mr. Chen is a sword immortal, and his changes have been considerable."

Yao Lingzhi suppressed her anger. "Empress! Empress! It's fine elsewhere, but at home, can you not be so distant? Don't you know how hurt Jinzhi gets every time you deliberately observe the etiquette of ruler and subject and call her 'Your Majesty'?!"

Yao Xianzhi said calmly, "Since she's become emperor, a little bit of hurt is nothing."

Yao Lingzhi lowered her voice, but her face showed even more anger. She said huffily, "It's not like the court assembly fight outside the palace gates back then, is it? How much longer are you going to hold a grudge against your sister? You're a member of the Yao family! Can't you consider the bigger picture of the court a little? Do you know how hard it is to keep the scales balanced? If Jinzhi truly wants to act fairly and impartially, in other people's eyes, she'll just be favoring the Yao family. A single move affects the whole board. Do you think being emperor is easy? If Jinzhi were just the Empress, believe me, not just you, but even your comrades in arms would all be heavily favored by the court. Besides, how many times has Jinzhi hinted to you privately? Have patience. Endure a little injustice now. The losses you suffer today will be compensated in the long run. Think carefully. To carefully balance the factions in the court, how many meritorious Yao family loyalists and court allies will be left out of the twenty-four meritorious officials? Is it just you, Yao Xianzhi, who is suffering?"

Yao Xianzhi crossed his arms. "It's hard for even a clear official to settle family disputes. And now we're an imperial family. I understand the reasoning. If I didn't consider the bigger picture, I would have resigned and gotten out of the capital long ago, to get out of everyone's way. Do you think I care about this prince title or the position of Capital Magistrate?"

According to Daquan law, a prince and a duke are both of the first rank.

Now, in addition to the once-dominant Shen Guo Duke's mansion, there were eight more dukes, both civil and military heavyweights, including Grand General Xu Qingzhou.

Yao Xianzhi's irritation got the better of him, and he punched his brother on the shoulder. "You're just a stubborn fool who only cares about his own feelings and doesn't listen to reason!"

The punch made Yao Xianzhi's body sway, and his empty sleeve fluttered gently. Seeing this, Yao Lingzhi's eyes reddened. She wanted to say something soft to her brother, but she was afraid that if she did, Yao Xianzhi would become even more willful. A thousand emotions welled up in her, and the woman who had once drawn her sword against a prince could only turn her head and wipe away her tears privately.

A figure in blue robes opened the door gently, closed it gently, and came into the corridor.

Yao Lingzhi quickly composed herself and said to Chen Ping'an, "Young Master Chen, no one in the capital will pry into your identity. Today, it will be as if nothing happened. But I can't stop someone from sending a flying sword message to the south."

Chen Ping'an thanked her and then said to Yao Xianzhi with a smile, "You should go to the border and drink the northwest wind. You really are not cut out to be a tactful capital magistrate."

Yao Xianzhi's eyes lit up. "Mr. Chen, can you put in a word with Grandfather? What you say carries the most weight. I don't need to be a general commanding an army. I don't have the ability for that. Even a scouting commander, a sixth-rank military officer, would be enough for me."

Chen Ping'an smiled. "No problem, I can help. But only if you truly understand the reasoning your sister was telling you about. Otherwise, if you go to the border to feed horses, at the first sign of trouble in the capital, the slightest wind, you'll act on impulse. You think you're just a scouting commander, but what do others see? A few words of instigation in your ear, a brother-in-arms suffering injustice in officialdom, and you might lead a few hundred elite cavalry all the way to Shenjing City, wouldn't you? If I were the Empress, I'd let you be a peaceful prince with closed doors, the easiest option. What do you care if you can still fight for justice for those brothers who came back from the battlefield? That court assembly fight outside the palace gates? You kicked over a few civil officials? Tell me about it. Wow, and you think you're a Stopped-Realm martial artist invincible at the foot of the mountain, or an Upper Five Reaches immortal master with divine powers?"

"I was young and ignorant. I acted on impulse, didn't I? I learned it all from Mr. Chen. When I see injustice, I just throw a punch first, regardless of anything else."

Yao Xianzhi started off feeling a bit down, but the more he listened, the happier he became. He chuckled. "Mr. Chen, you should have seen it! Those defenseless civil officials! If Xu Qingzhou hadn't stopped me, I could have knocked them all to the ground by myself. There's no chance like that now. Forget about assistant ministers, even a minor official in the Revenue Bureau can't be scolded or hit anymore. They're too precious. I should have kicked a few more while it was dark."

Yao Lingzhi listened helplessly, but she breathed a sigh of relief.

At least with Mr. Chen around, her brother wouldn't say those sarcastic words that only upset those close to him.

Chen Ping'an reached out and shook the lame man's empty sleeve. Instead of offering comfort, he teased, "It's a good thing you're the Magistrate and not a lone wanderer in the martial world. Otherwise, a grandmaster at the Fifth Realm like you would inevitably get the nickname 'One-Armed Fist.' What happened? Was it an Upper Five Reaches great demon that chopped it off? If not, don't bother telling me. There's nothing worth mentioning."

Yao Lingzhi cautiously glanced at her brother.

Unexpectedly, Yao Xianzhi didn't feel bad at all. Instead, he said proudly, "On the battlefield, it was a close call. It was a demonic creature at the Earth Immortal level, a sword cultivator! Hiding and sneaking, it struck me from below with a treacherous move. A flash of sword light, and damn, I didn't even feel the pain at first."

Chen Ping'an looked at the sword-wielding woman.

Yao Lingzhi smiled. "He's bragging. In the chaos of the army, nobody knows how he lost his arm. But there was indeed a demonic sword immortal nearby at the time, striking fiercely with swords, sword lights flying everywhere."

Chen Ping'an nodded. "Then let's just say it was cut off by a sword immortal. Otherwise, there's no good story to tell at the drinking table."

Yao Xianzhi looked expectant and asked in a low voice, "Mr. Chen, I heard the fighting in your hometown was even fiercer. They fought to the death. From Old Dragon City all the way to the central auxiliary capital of Great Li. Did you encounter any genuine great demons on the battlefield?"

Chen Ping'an thought for a moment and answered with a smile, "I encountered a few. I fought some, and with others, we only barely saw each other from a distance."

Yao Xianzhi continued, "Mr. Chen, I mean great demons! The Upper Five Reaches kind! How many? Can you count them on one hand? If not, my admiration for you will be cut in half."

Chen Ping'an reached out and patted the man on the shoulder, smiling. "Don't talk to people like this anymore."

The bearded man laughed heartily.

Yao Xianzhi unconsciously started walking with his limp, no longer hiding it. His sleeve fluttered as it would.

Yao Lingzhi smiled along with him. From the time of the war until now, she hadn't seen her brother smile so brightly in years.

Some truths, Yao Xianzhi actually understood. But he understood them and didn't really want to. It seemed that as long as he acted ignorant, there was still something he could do. Once he understood, there was nothing left to do.

So whether it was his sister, who was now the Empress Yao Jinzhi, or his sister Yao Lingzhi, who he still regarded as such, when they spoke to him, Yao Xianzhi couldn't listen. If he did, he would only feel worse.

The three left this courtyard and returned to Yao Xianzhi's residence.

Yao Lingzhi hesitated for a moment, then said to Chen Ping'an, "Young Master Chen, I have a master. He's been an imperial advisor in our Daquan capital for many years. He's a martial arts grandmaster. Earlier, he seemed to have caught sight of your figure and rushed over immediately. He asked if the guest at the Yao residence was surnamed Chen. I didn't answer, but perhaps my master has already figured something out. He asked me to pass along a message, saying he knows Farmer Zhong. In the past, he and that Farmer Zhong once dealt with a sword immortal surnamed Yu."

Chen Ping'an nodded. "I am indeed an old acquaintance of Miss Yao's master. If there's no taboo at the residence, I'll put on airs and let him trouble himself to come to the Yao residence to reminisce."

Yao Lingzhi said, "I'll go call my master over now."

Chen Ping'an asked, "That Water Goddess of the Mai River, is she at Jasper Tour Palace now?"

Yao Xianzhi laughed. "No. Our Water Goddess shattered most of her golden body. She said she was too ashamed to be the water god anymore and refuses to go to Jasper Tour Palace. Every day, she stays in the Sword Hall of the Imperial Observatory, refusing to go anywhere else, waiting anxiously for a reply from the Temple. She says she knows His Holiness the Sage of Literature, and the Grand Sword Immortal Zuo, and even one of the Sage's youngest disciples. She claims to have met them all. So she wants to try sending a letter to that venerable, profound, learned, approachable, and kind Sage of Literature, to see if he can help her ask the mountain immortals for a better life-saving water pill for Old General Yao. Because she knows the pills from her own Water Palace at Jasper Tour are useless and can't help the Empress or my grandfather."

Yao Xianzhi quickly added, "Those flattering words about the Sage of Literature weren't mine. That was after I drank with her, the Water Goddess counted on her fingers, and after a burp, she'd say another thing, her expression extremely serious. But I don't really believe it. I think she hasn't met any of the three in the Sage's lineage. She was bragging to me while drunk. Although Grand Sword Immortal Zuo was once on Tongye Continent, why would he take the initiative to visit Jasper Tour Palace and meet our Water Goddess? There's no reason for that."

Chen Ping'an stood up and said to Yao Lingzhi, who hadn't gone far, "Please trouble Miss Yao to also inform the Water Goddess. Just tell her directly that it's Chen Ping'an."

Yao Lingzhi left to deliver the message.

Chen Ping'an asked Yao Xianzhi about some details of the Daquan war from years past.

Liu Zong arrived shortly. The old man probably hadn't strayed far from the Yao residence at all.

Chen Ping'an stood up and clasped his fists. "Senior Liu."

Yao Xianzhi also stood up, clenched his fist, and gently tapped his chest. "Greetings, Imperial Advisor Liu."

The Knife Sharpener Liu Zong nodded at the slovenly man, then rubbed his chin, staring straight at Chen Ping'an, and sighed, "Young Master Chen has become even more handsome, like a banished immortal. It easily makes me recall my own youth."

Yao Xianzhi was baffled. Did Mr. Chen and Imperial Advisor Liu have a very good relationship?

The three sat down.

They hadn't exchanged many words before a short woman hurriedly flew down on the wind, landing in the courtyard. She widened her eyes and, after confirming Chen Ping'an's identity, stamped her foot and said, "The rice wine and eel noodles are all gone! What do we do now?!"