Chapter 908: The Gatekeeper
On the southeastern coastal region of Precious Vase Continent, a young man and woman had browsed through a paper-mounting shop in a county town, then moved to the neighboring tavern. They picked a table against the wall. The man ordered a catty of Maochai wine and a few small dishes to go with it, while the woman added an extra plate of salt-preserved plum preserves.
The man looked up at the poems inscribed on the wall by the village scholar. The woman glanced over, picked up a sour plum, chewed it, and found it truly sour.
The man took a book from his book box and placed it on the table. Sipping his wine, he casually flipped through a manual on physiognomy.
He enjoyed reading miscellaneous books. In his daily life, he even dabbled in such esoteric arts as wind-angle divination, bird augury, and the techniques of void and deception. As he liked to put it, "Too many skills don't weigh you down." When traveling away from home, one more craft meant one more bowl of rice.
The woman's eyebrows curved like spring mountains. When she had something on her mind, her long, autumn-water eyes seemed veiled by misty clouds and watery haze encircling the peaks.
She appeared troubled, her brows knit with worry. Unable to help herself, she asked via heart-to-heart communication: "Yu Lu, do you think I can refuse his request?"
Someone had previously sent her a letter, saying he intended to take her on as an unregistered disciple—not the kind that formally enters the inner circle. Moreover, once she later broke into the Upper Five Realms, she would be free to switch loyalties or establish her own sect. But the more accommodating the other party seemed, the more uneasy she felt. It was simply because, during her years of wandering study, that scheming individual had bullied her so badly that she still had psychological scars.
Yu Lu said, "I think it's actually a good thing."
It was something that was destined to be impossible to refuse, so there was no point overthinking it. But Yu Lu didn't say that out loud, to keep Xie Xie from worrying even more.
After all, the letter sender was Cui Dongshan.
Xie Xie snapped, "You think?! Then why don't you become his unregistered disciple?"
Yu Lu smiled and let it go. He was a pure martial artist—what could Cui Dongshan teach him? Besides, with his connection to Chen Ping'an, Cui Dongshan wouldn't dare take advantage of him.
Xie Xie knew her anger was unreasonable and that taking it out on Yu Lu made no sense. She raised her wine bowl as a gesture of apology.
Yu Lu patiently explained, "Now that his status has changed, Cui Dongshan will soon become the leader of a sect. He'll restrain himself a lot when dealing with you in the future. Besides, Cui Dongshan has high cultivation and many treasures. Setting aside his eccentric temper, having him as a Dao instructor is a dream come true for any Earth Immortal."
Xie Xie remained anxious.
Words like "generally," "ordinarily," and "in theory" had never applied to that big white goose.
Suppressing a smile, Xie Xie said seriously, "If you're too embarrassed to speak up, it's fine. When we get to Immortal Capital Mountain later, I'll find an opportunity to privately put in a good word with Chen Ping'an. If you can't trust Cui Dongshan, you can always trust Chen Ping'an, right? Probably without me needing to say anything directly, Chen Ping'an will say a few harsh words to Cui Dongshan on your behalf. No matter how lawless Cui Dongshan is, he wouldn't dare ignore his teacher's reprimand."
Xie Xie relaxed a little and sighed, "Hopefully it'll be like that."
She genuinely envied Yu Lu. He dared to address that big white goose by name directly. She couldn't do that.
At first, she thought that since Cui Dongshan was taking over as the sect leader of the subordinate sect, each on a different continent, they would be far apart. So after receiving that letter, Xie Xie had been on tenterhooks all these days, neglecting her cultivation, unable to concentrate.
Back when their group traveled to Sui Dynasty's Mountain Cliff Academy, Yu Lu had quickly broken through to the Golden Body realm. But so many years had passed, and he was still a Far Wandering Martial Artist at the Feather Transformation realm.
Even if Yu Lu was easygoing and didn't care much about winning or losing, he would still feel some guilt. After all, in nearly thirty years, Yu Lu's martial realm had only risen by one level.
Yu Lu's bone constitution and martial talent were actually excellent. This was the aftereffect of a pure martial artist taking shortcuts, making Yu Lu's bottleneck at the Far Wandering realm extremely difficult to break.
In contrast, Xie Xie, after having all her Dragon-Trapping Nails removed by Cui Dongshan, had been cultivating smoothly. She was now a Core Formation Earth Immortal with a loosening bottleneck.
One was the deposed crown prince of the Lu Dynasty; the other was once the mountain leader of the Lu Dynasty's immortal mansion, a favored daughter of heaven.
Over the years, Yu Lu and Xie Xie, fellow townsfolk and classmates, had seemed to travel together constantly. It wasn't exactly inseparable, but they had spent days and nights together.
Yet no romantic feelings had developed between them.
Xie Xie asked, "Back then, when you acted impulsively, do you regret it?"
"Of course I regret it. It made me lose the confidence to spar with Chen Ping'an. If it were you, wouldn't you be angry? I'm just broad-minded and don't like to dwell on things. Otherwise, it wouldn't just be regret—I'd be sick with remorse, probably sulking every day, and by now I'd be a drunkard."
Yu Lu sipped his wine, turned a page, and smiled. "But regret aside, I'd still do what had to be done. Even if I had to start over, I'd make the same choice, act on impulse again, and regret it again."
In the early years, when Xie Xie was a fallen descendant, the person she hated most was not even that Great Li woman, nor Cui Dongshan who took her as a maidservant, but this crown prince who showed no pain of national subjugation. She could even say she loathed him.
So from the Yuan family ancestral home in Erlang Lane all the way to the Sui Dynasty's Mountain Cliff Academy, Xie Xie utterly despised that prince, who was so lax in temperament and seemed completely indifferent even if the sky fell.
It wasn't until the incident at Mountain Cliff Academy involving Li Huai that Yu Lu, using some secret technique and leveraging the residual martial fortune of a nation, managed to break into the Golden Body realm. He beat that young worthy out of the academy.
The optimal choice would have been for Yu Lu to rely on his own ability, steadily break into the Golden Body and Far Wandering realms, advance from the eighth to the ninth realm, or when charging from the Mountain Summit to the Ultimate realm, facing an insurmountable bottleneck, only then use that martial fortune as a stepping stone to build a heavenly ladder and climb higher.
Because of this, Xie Xie's impression of Yu Lu changed. Although he seemed carefree, he still had some sense of responsibility. He wasn't entirely worthless.
But when at the academy Yu Lu spent every day fishing by the lake instead of studying, and got along well with the Sui Dynasty prince Gao Xuan, Xie Xie started to get annoyed with him again.
Now Yu Lu still liked fishing, but he released all his catches. By great rivers and lakes, he and Xie Xie often encountered fellow enthusiasts. Even without a rod in hand, Yu Lu would squat aside and watch for half a day, claiming that fishermen liked watching others fish.
Yu Lu laughed. "Come to think of it, after more than ten years of hard training, my Far Wandering realm foundation isn't too bad."
Xie Xie narrowed her eyes and smiled. "Don't compare yourself to Cao Ci or Chen Ping'an. How about comparing yourself to Pei Qian?"
Yu Lu said helplessly, "Then I might as well compare myself to Chen Ping'an."
Pei Qian had already won martial fortune several times by being "strongest" in a certain realm.
Truly unimaginable. That mischievous, lazy little rascal back then actually learned to fight, and so well at that.
Xie Xie asked out of the blue, "Haven't you ever thought about finding a way to cultivate immortality? I heard that on Parasol Leaf Continent, there's a Pusang Cloud Grass Hall with a unique secret method that lets martial artists dabble in immortal arts. You could try your luck there. We've already wandered through most of Precious Vase Continent. We might as well go travel Parasol Leaf Continent next."
Yu Lu laughed silently. After a moment of silence, he shook his head. "I've never thought about becoming some kind of immortal."
At the back of the tavern, someone gently lifted the green bamboo curtain and then let it fall heavily. Xie Xie glanced sideways. A young girl stood behind the curtain, gazing affectionately at someone.
Oh, not a light movement either. Why didn't the girl just tear down the whole bamboo curtain? Then Yu Lu would hear her more clearly, wouldn't he?
Xie Xie asked, "When are you going to visit Miss Mao and Fairy Mu?"
They had met two exceptionally brilliant young women by chance at an ancient battlefield site and an immortal ferry crossing.
Xie Xie wasn't blind. She could tell those two had fallen for Yu Lu at first sight.
Yu Lu smiled. "It was just a perfunctory polite remark. Like 'We'll catch up another time,' 'Next time I'll pick up the tab,' 'Should we order two more dishes?' Whoever takes it seriously is the fool."
Hearing Yu Lu's witty remark, Xie Xie laughed.
Among their old classmates, Lin Shouyi was an academy worthy and had even served as the temple master of Qidu.
Even Li Huai was a worthy now.
And Li Baoping, who was currently studying at some academy in the Central Earth Divine Continent, had already been examined by two academy libationers on her scholarship and declared a nobleman. She was a female scholar capable of imparting the Dao to academy Confucians.
However, in the history of the Haoran World, there had never been a precedent of a woman serving as the head of the seventy-two academies or as a director of the schools.
Yu Lu closed his book and asked, "When should we take a trip to Jiang Province?"
Now part of Great Li's territory, Jiang Province was where Xie Xie's former sect was located.
Because her master had resolutely refused the Great Li court's offer of surrender back then, the sect had been destroyed.
Xie Xie's face turned pale.
Yu Lu said softly, "If you don't go through it, you can't get past it."
Xie Xie lowered her head, biting her lip, but ultimately shook her head.
Yu Lu smiled. "Then there's no rush."
This was one of Yu Lu's good qualities—he seemed to be flexible about everything.
Xie Xie breathed a sigh of relief and nodded. "I will definitely go."
It sounded both like a promise to Yu Lu and like she was encouraging herself.
Yu Lu used sound condensation to speak into her mind: "Aren't you curious about the letter Cui Dongshan sent me? Or have you already guessed the contents?"
Xie Xie remained silent.
A rare look of sadness appeared on Yu Lu's face. He muttered to himself, "Can continuing a dynasty in a foreign land really be considered restoring a kingdom?"
Xie Xie downed her bowl of wine in one gulp, eyes shining. "Yes, of course it can! When we get to Parasol Leaf Continent, we'll pick a spot. It doesn't matter if the territory is small. We'll plan carefully for ten or twenty years first. Once I break into the Nascent Soul realm, you'll ascend the throne and declare yourself emperor, and I'll be the national preceptor!"
New Chu Province, Huaihuang County.
Li Huai, accompanied by the Tender Daoist, walked through streets and alleys. At the mouth of a narrow, secluded alley, they found Dong Shuijing, who had arranged to meet them there.
Dong Shuijing had made a special trip back to his hometown to meet Li Huai.
Li Huai joked, "I hope I'm not delaying half-a-city Dong from making big money?"
Dong Shuijing smiled. "You don't need to stare at the account books or personally work the abacus to make money."
Dong Shuijing led Li Huai to his ancestral home. He cooked three bowls of wontons himself and brought them to the table.
In the courtyard, next to a well, a willow tree was planted.
Li Huai pretended not to notice anything, only regretting that he had only a single sister.
The Tender Daoist saw through Dong Shuijing's cultivation level at a glance and wasn't surprised at all. In this old Li Pearl Cave Heaven, a young man in the Nascent Soul realm wasn't a Flying Ascension realm. What was there to be shocked about?
If his young master's friend didn't have some skill, that would be the real surprise.
If he had encountered an old Nascent Soul cultivator who had lived for centuries, the Tender Daoist might have been shocked—how had that person cultivated? A waste!
He might even have scolded him to his face: "Old man, aren't you ashamed of this blessed land of your hometown?"
As if sensing the old man in yellow's thoughts, Dong Shuijing smiled and said, "It's just a realm built with money. Please forgive me, Senior Taoist Taoting."
The Tender Daoist wasn't surprised that the other knew his old identity. With money, one could make even ghosts push the millstone. Half-a-city Dong of Precious Vase Continent had a family fortune that couldn't be underestimated.
The Tender Daoist laughed heartily. "It doesn't matter how you got the realm. A realm is a realm. In this Haoran World, who would dare laugh at that Money God of the Aiai Continent? The same principle applies to you, Little Dong."
As soon as he said "Little Dong," the Tender Daoist felt a pang of nostalgia. He recalled back then, he had also chased after a certain "Little Dong" who had passed through the Ten Thousand Mountains.
Li Huai slammed the table. The Tender Daoist immediately shut up. Had he said something wrong?
Li Huai gave a thumbs-up. "Shuijing, delicious! Two more bowls!"
It was clear that Dong Shuijing often came to this ancestral home. By the time Li Huai had finished another bowl of wontons, Dong Shuijing had set up a brazier and was squatting beside it, roasting taro and grilling zongzi.
Pulling off the string and peeling back the bamboo leaves, Dong Shuijing revealed a golden-brown zongzi. Seeing it made Li Huai hungry again. He snatched the zongzi and broke it in half, giving one part to the Tender Daoist.
Dong Shuijing had to peel another zongzi. The three sat around the fire. Dong Shuijing spoke softly, "The husband of Girl with Goat-Horn Braids, Bian Wenmao, has just been appointed as the education commissioner of our Chu Province. It's not a promotion, though—he's been sent from the capital to the provinces to gild his resume. But this position of education commissioner, newly established by the Great Li court a few years ago, is a prestigious and clean post. Ordinary people can't get it. Usually, it's given to old officials from the Hanlin Academy or the Six Ministries in the capital who have no hope of further promotion. Before they leave officialdom to retire to their hometowns, the emperor grants them this special honor. The education commissioner itself has no official rank. For example, in the Ling and Qing provinces within the capital's jurisdiction, the posts are held by a former vice minister of works and a former chief minister of the Court of Diplomatic Reception, respectively. Now Bian Wenmao's official position is assistant in the Court of Imperial Entertainments. After his four-year term as education commissioner of Chu Province ends, he'll return to the capital to become a junior vice director of the Court of Imperial Entertainments. The chance of him eventually taking charge of the Court of Imperial Entertainments is slim. More likely, he'll be transferred to one of the Six Ministries or sent out again as a provincial official. He'll accumulate positions until he reaches some rank, eventually gaining a relatively low-ranking academician title. That might give him hope of a decent posthumous name. As for being enshrined in the Imperial Ancestral Temple—that's out of the question. Bian Wenmao wouldn't even dare think about it."
Li Huai gnawed on the zongzi, looking completely lost. "Huh?"
The Tender Daoist sighed with emotion.
Little Dong had rambled on for ages. His young master would only need to give a concise one-word reply.
Dong Shuijing laughed. "You're an academy worthy now. According to the new regulations of the Sacred Temple, you'll inevitably have dealings with the Great Li court in the future. These seemingly tedious and boring matters of officialdom are things you'll have to deal with sooner or later."
Nowadays, personnel changes in the Great Li officialdom were frequent. From the capital to the provinces, the post roads were busy. In New Chu Province alone, almost all the top officials at the provincial, prefectural, and county levels had been replaced with new faces.
Wu Yuan had been appointed as the provincial governor of Chu Province. Having left the position of Huaihuang county magistrate in disgrace back then, this was a glorious comeback.
And Wei Li, a former official from the Huangting Kingdom who had served as governor of Longzhou, had now gone to the Great Li auxiliary capital to succeed as Minister of Rites.
Before that, Cao Gengxin, the head of the Kiln Affairs Supervisory Office, had moved from Longzhou Supervisor to Vice Minister of Works in the auxiliary capital, then been promoted to Vice Minister of Personnel in the Great Li capital, thus entering the central government.
Yuan Zhengding had been promoted to governor of the neighboring Hong Province to the north.
The new prefect of Baoxi Commandery in Chu Province, Jing Kuan, had previously been a director of a bureau in the Ministry of Revenue in the capital, managing the finances of three provinces including Hong Province.
But in truth, many times, Dong Shuijing—this secretly positioned debt-collector of the Mohist school—envied Li Huai's ability to go with the flow, or perhaps to find peace in any situation.
Li Huai said guiltily, "I know that our classmate Zhao Yao is now Vice Minister of Justice in Great Li. And our former magistrate, Wu Yuan, has returned as the provincial governor of New Chu Province. And that supervisor Cao, who liked drinking and hated attending office hours—didn't he get transferred to the Ministry of Personnel in the capital a few years ago as some big official?"
Dong Shuijing smiled and asked, "And?"
Li Huai sighed. "That's all."
The Tender Daoist began to defend him. "Young master, why trouble yourself with these mundane worldly matters that involve the government?"
Li Huai shook his head. "Our Great Li is different."
Regardless of how this worthy title had fallen from the sky and landed on his head, now that he was a worthy, Li Huai didn't want to do a worse job than others.
During his study travels as a child, late at night in the wilderness, when Chen Ping'an was keeping watch, he had shared some heartfelt thoughts with Li Huai. He couldn't remember them clearly now, only the gist: that a person, in the years when all they had to do was study, shouldn't fear not remembering the sages' principles in books—they should fear not even wanting to do this one thing well. Then when they later left the study and no longer had to read, it would be easy to fail at the next thing.
At the time, Li Huai had said he just wasn't suited for studying. Chen Ping'an said he wasn't suited for making porcelain either—he learned too slowly, his hands couldn't keep up—but as long as he worked hard, he would have a better chance of doing the next thing well.
The Tender Daoist immediately changed his tune. "Young master, with such humility, how could great achievements not come to pass?"
It wasn't that Taoting had no backbone; it was that old blind man was too overbearing.
For example, on this journey to protect Li Huai, the old blind man had given Taoting an order: "If my disciple gets so much as a scare, I'll break all five of your legs."
Poor Tender Daoist. Now he feared Li Huai might burn his tongue drinking tea. A Flying Ascension realm cultivator reduced to such a role as protector. Though there might be no precedent in the future, there was certainly none in the past.
Even so, the old blind man still seemed unable to let go of Li Huai. From who knew where in the Barren Wasteland World, using some ancient secret art, he could directly enter Li Huai's dreams and then drag Taoting, a Flying Ascension cultivator, in as well.
The Tender Daoist felt as if he had returned to the Ten Thousand Mountains. In this night sky, the earth trembled with thunder. In his "dream," Li Huai threw on a coat and ran out of the thatched hut. He saw that all around the foot of the mountain, the entire earth was golden. Dense ranks of golden-armored puppets crowded together.
One golden-armored puppet, taller than the mountain, knelt on one knee at the base of the mountain. Slowly raising its enormous head until it was level with the peak, it stared at Li Huai.
The old blind man strolled slowly to the cliff edge. Grabbing the arm of this disciple he had snatched halfway, he drew some talisman-like marks and said something that made Taoting's eyelids twitch: "From now on, they're yours to command."
Taoting cautiously stole a glance at Li Huai's expression. There was no elation or ambition—only fear.
Sigh.
His young master was fine in every way, but he just lacked ambition. If he had the chance, he would risk death to remonstrate...
Huh?
It turned out the old blind man had stomped on his back. A crisp crack. Broken again.
In the end, Li Huai just said, "Can I first hear Chen Ping'an's opinion?"
The old blind man actually nodded in agreement. He even helped his disciple straighten his collar, speaking in a tone of gratified old age, praising Li Huai for being steady in his actions, just like his master.
This exchange between master and disciple had the Tender Daoiner, lying on the ground silently reattaching his spine, almost staring his own dog eyes into the old blind man's sockets.
A knock came at the door of the residence.
A visitor had arrived.
To avoid any awkwardness, Li Huai was about to take his leave.
Dong Shuijing laughed and stopped him. "No need to leave. It's our Supervisor Jian, who's eager to achieve great deeds but can't find the way. He's been stumbling along in recent years and has suffered quite a bit."
Jian Feng had succeeded Cao Gengxin as the new Kiln Affairs Supervisor in Longzhou. Before taking office, he had been full of ambition. He thought that Cao Gengxin, a lazy drunkard who just coasted along, could get promoted by idling away. If he took over, he would handle all the office's affairs with perfect order.
The Kiln Affairs Supervisory Office, openly and secretly, actually hung two official plaques, meaning its chief held two official titles simultaneously. Within the Supervisory Office, plus the several textile bureaus later established by Great Li, and for example the Timber Procurement Institute set up in Hong Province—these were all the emperor's eyes and ears. Their secret memorials and intelligence reports could reach the throne directly.
But when Jian Feng actually arrived in Huaihuang County, he hit obstacles everywhere. The great clans of the town all had complex relationships, deeply intertwined and extremely cliquish. The water god of Iron Talisman River, Yang Hua, held a high rank in mountain and water hierarchies and had powerful backing, so he refused to comply. The water gods of Embroidered Flower, Flowing Tranquility, and Jade Liquid Rivers near Red Candle Town also ignored him. The mountain god of Chess Pier Mountain, Song Yuzhang, and several others, plus the city god temples at provincial, prefectural, and county levels, and the civil and military temples within the province... none of them took this fourth-rank supervisor seriously. When he first arrived, full of pride, he waited a full half year without a single official visiting the Supervisory Office at night. Fine, if they wouldn't come to him, he would go to them. But he was repeatedly shut out, and even when he got through the door, there was nothing to discuss.
Jian Feng had to write to his old friend in the capital, the former prefect of this commandery who had been promoted to governor of Hong Province, Yuan Zhengding.
In his childhood in the Yichi Lane of the capital, he had liked to follow the slightly older Yuan Zhengding in focused study, ignoring worldly affairs.
Yuan Zhengding did send a reply—but it was a blank sheet of paper, not a single word written on it.
However, Jian Feng eventually figured out some of the ways of officialdom. Holding his nose, he imitated his predecessor: more watching and listening, less talking and going out.
Fortunately, the supervisor position had no term limit.
But he couldn't just sit there staring blankly forever. So when he heard that Half-a-city Dong had returned to his ancestral home, Jian Feng immediately came to visit—in plain clothes, of course.
When he saw the young man in Confucian robes and the old man in yellow, Jian Feng merely exchanged polite greetings.
He recognized Li Huai as a local from the town, now a worthy of Mountain Cliff Academy.
As for that kindly-faced old man, he was a stranger. The Supervisory Office had no relevant secret files on him. Before coming, Jian Feng had ordered someone to record this in the books and also sent someone to Ox Horn Ferry to check the travel documents left by the ferry Li Huai had taken.
Dong Shuijing seemed completely ignorant of official etiquette. He didn't ask Li Huai and the old man to leave this somewhat shabby room, nor even suggest they move to another place.
If this had been when he first took office, Jian Feng would have been displeased. But he had eaten too many soft refusals and closed doors, which had worn away his edges and temper.
Dong Shuijing invited Supervisor Jian to sit and handed him a zongzi. Jian Feng thanked him, expertly brushed off the dust, peeled it, and began eating. This didn't require Jian Feng to pretend to be approachable. Although he came from a Great Li noble family, he had studied at Spring Mountain Academy for many years and had funded several study tours himself by earning money along the way. Yuan Zhengding often teased him that he should have worked in the Ministry of Revenue.
Since there were outsiders present today, Jian Feng had to start with official platitudes. He discussed some matters barely related to kiln affairs with Dong Shuijing. After all, many kilns were no longer government-run. And this Half-a-city Dong, pulling strings behind the scenes, had almost monopolized the entire porcelain export trade. For instance, the Baoxi kiln, which had been converted to private operation, was now under the name of some puppet merchant Dong Shuijing had propped up.
Dong Shuijing chatted with him easily, keeping a tight-lipped and appropriate demeanor.
Li Huai was deeply impressed.
Jian Feng had already mentally prepared himself to leave empty-handed. While still eating the zongzi in his hand, he casually brought up the establishment of local schools and the road and bridge projects funded behind the scenes by Dong Shuijing. Some aspects needed improvement; not all the silver had been spent wisely. These matters were beyond the Kiln Affairs Supervisory Office's purview, and trivial besides. But Jian Feng, being so bored as supervisor, had noticed them and felt many details needed refinement. Since he had finally managed to see Half-a-city Dong today, he figured he might as well say a few irrelevant words, even if they were annoying.
Sure enough, Dong Shuijing was perfunctory, merely saying he'd look into it later when he had time. Jian Feng knew with certainty that it was hopeless.
After leaving the house, walking alone through the shabby alley, Jian Feng smiled bitterly. Another wasted day.
He truly deserved the reputation of being the most pathetic supervisor in history.
Back in the house, Li Huai hesitated as if to speak.
Dong Shuijing shook his head and laughed. "When you hit a wall, the dull sound is conscience."
Li Huai asked, "Did you read that in a book, or did Chen Ping'an say it?"
Dong Shuijing laughed in exasperation.
Li Huai chuckled. "You dropped out early. You've read less than me."
Dong Shuijing hesitated, struggling for a long time, but ultimately couldn't bring himself to ask.
But Li Huai immediately knew what Dong Shuijing wanted to ask. "If it's just between two choices, I'd definitely pick you as my brother-in-law."
Dong Shuijing was skeptical. "When you see Lin Shouyi, what will you answer to the same question?"
Li Huai burst out laughing.
Dong Shuijing didn't press further. Instead, he turned to look at the willow tree by the well in the courtyard. It looked delicate and fragile. The man's gaze was as gentle as the willow.
At a minor government office under the Ministry of War's Bureau of Transportation in the capital, located in Hat Ribbon Lane, the Courier Express Office, two important guests who had never set foot there before arrived today.
One was from the Ministry of War itself, the other from the Ministry of Rites. Both held the rank of director of a bureau, and both were among the most powerful capital directors in the Great Li court.
The head of the Courier Express Office, a scion of a capital family named Fu Hu, had a very accomplished elder brother named Fu Yu. Fu Yu had recently come from the provinces to report to the capital, having completed his term as prefect of Baoxi Commandery in old Longzhou. He had been transferred to the position of vice supervisor of the Heir Apparent's Office, one of the Nine Minor Chief Ministers, overseeing the Left Spring Office. Fu Hu both respected and feared this successful cousin, who was also a full decade older, acting almost like a father.
Today, after handling official business, Fu Hu had been lounging with his legs crossed, holding a mutton-fat jade hand piece. When the gate clerk informed him of the news, he was startled so badly that the wine he had drunk at Cattail Grass River the previous night seemed to evaporate. He feared he had committed some terrible mistake in his duties. In the past, during the Lu Dynasty, there had been a case of a stolen seal box from the Ministry of War, which had far-reaching consequences. The emperor was furious, investigations followed one after another, and in the end, even the spare seal box of the Courier Express Office was melted down by a warehouse clerk. This led to the loss of many official caps and heads throughout the Lu court's Ministry of War. At the time, the Great Li Song clan, as a vassal state of Lu, had treated it as a joke.
When he learned they had come for Old Lin, Fu Hu paced around the room twice. Stamping his foot, he decided to brave the dragon's pool and tiger's den.
Old Lin had been diligent all these years, working like an old ox, uncomplaining. He got along well with Fu Hu, never fought for power, and always did his work.
Besides, he was the top man at the Courier Express Office. He had to protect his own brothers.
But when Fu Hu reached the office of Lin Zhengcheng and saw the two people inside, his courage evaporated instantly. He didn't even notice that his Old Lin, facing these two uninvited guests, was merely sitting by the stove, leaning forward to warm his hands, without even rising to greet them. His airs were as grand as a minister of one of the Six Ministries.
For the two men standing in the room were: the elderly white-haired man was a director of the Ministry of Rites' Bureau of Sacrificial Affairs, and the imposing burly man was a director of the Ministry of War's Bureau of Military Appointments!
These two official positions had always been personally selected by National Teacher Cui Chan, and their appointments didn't even require approval from the ministers and vice ministers of War or Rites.
Lin Zhengcheng had just stood up, but the head of the office, who had poked his head in the doorway and then swiftly retreated, had already vanished.
Lin Zhengcheng had to sit back down. Nodding to the two directors, he said, "I understand His Majesty's intent. I'll depart immediately for the Timber Procurement Institute in Yuzhang Commandery."
The old director smiled. "It should have been Vice Minister Cao of Personnel leading the way to personally inform Mr. Lin at your office. But as soon as Vice Minister Cao heard it was to see Mr. Lin, he twisted his ankle and was busy finding ointment."
Cao Gengxin had served many years as the Kiln Affairs Supervisor in Longzhou. Only because he held that position had he been able to access a top-secret file of the Great Li government.
In the Li Pearl Cave Heaven, there was a highly concealed "official identity" without rank or salary. But to the Great Li court, it was more important than any kiln supervisor throughout history.
It was called "Gatekeeper," meaning the doorkeeper.
This person was the true eyes and ears of the Great Li court, the true confidant of the Great Li Song emperor, or more accurately, of National Teacher Cui Chan.
And the last Gatekeeper assigned by Great Li to the Li Pearl Cave Heaven was none other than Lin Shouyi's father, the former assistant in the Supervisory Office, now the minor official of the Courier Express Office in the capital, Lin Zhengcheng.
And Cao Gengxin had an even bigger guess.
In the former Li Pearl Cave Heaven, and now in the Great Li capital, Lin Zhengcheng had very likely retained that Gatekeeper identity. If one day the young mountain master of Fallen Mountain and the Great Li Song clan reached a complete breakdown in negotiations, this Lin Zhengcheng would be the last flood-control levee National Teacher Cui Chan left for the Great Li capital. At the very least, he could ensure Chen Ping'an wouldn't go on a killing spree.
Although Cao Gengxin didn't understand how a mid-level cultivator of the Fifth Realm could accomplish this, he stuck to one principle: if he couldn't afford to offend someone, he simply wouldn't approach them.
Seeing that the two directors were still standing there, Lin Zhengcheng asked, "In such a hurry to rush me on my way?"
The old director gave a wry smile. After a moment of silence, he shook his head. "I wouldn't dare."
Since there was nowhere to sit, the director of Military Appointments crossed his arms and leaned against the doorframe. He was genuinely curious about this unassuming man. If not for this unusual official transfer, he would never have known Lin Zhengcheng had such a background. In fact, as the director of Military Appointments, he was merely here to guide the old man standing next to him. Officially, he had no authority over Lin Zhengcheng, the future head of the Yuzhang Timber Procurement Institute.
Hong Province had recently established a new office called the Timber Procurement Institute. Its nominal duty was solely to arrest those who illegally cut down giant trees.
Similar to the Kiln Affairs Supervisory Office in Chu Province and the Silk Weaving Bureau in Wu Province, the rank of the chief official might differ, but the nature was roughly the same.
And Hong Province, which bordered Chu Province to the north, contained the famous Yuzhang Commandery. Apart from being the ancestral home of the current Great Li empress dowager, it had been renowned since ancient times for its towering trees. It was also rumored to be the place where the legendary Twelve Sword Immortals of antiquity attained the Dao and ascended. Hence, the Great Li officialdom had a witty saying: "Great Yuzhang, Little Hong Province."
Seeing that the two still showed no sign of leaving, Lin Zhengcheng smiled and asked, "Shall I set up a banquet here at the Courier Express Office to entertain you two?"
The old director felt deeply exasperated. Of all the locals from the Li Pearl Cave Heaven, aside from Dong Shuijing who was somewhat better, none of them spoke pleasantly!
He had lingered here to help His Majesty obtain a clear, unambiguous assurance from this man.
It sounded absurd—the emperor, the ruler of a nation, having to resort to indirect means to extract a definitive answer from a seventh-rank official.
But it wasn't funny at all.
What was even more excessive was that this man kept pretending to be obtuse.
Lin Zhengcheng picked up a pair of tongs and gently stirred the charcoal fire. He muttered to himself, "Someone once told me a Zen saying: 'A golden Buddha cannot pass through a furnace; a wooden Buddha cannot pass through fire; a clay Buddha cannot pass through water.'"
The old director nodded. "Understood. I'll report this to His Majesty immediately."
The two powerful directors left the Courier Express Office.
Outside on Hat Ribbon Lane, the director of Military Appointments communicated via heart-to-heart: "What does that mean?"
The old man said, "You and I don't need to understand. His Majesty will know."
After hearing that the two directors had left his territory, Fu Hu went to Old Lin's office. Hesitating for a moment, he stepped over the threshold. Seeing Old Lin standing, he gestured for him to sit and carefully asked, "Old Lin, what did they talk to you about? Can you give me any hints?"
Lin Zhengcheng said, "They used connections to arrange a transfer. I'm going to the Timber Procurement Institute in Yuzhang Commandery, Hong Province."
Fu Hu asked, "Still as an assistant?"
The man shook his head. "As the head."
Fu Hu was taken aback. Lowering his voice, he said, "That's not right. If I remember correctly, the head of that Timber Procurement Institute is a sixth-rank official. You're just a seventh-rank now. Old Lin, whose connections did you use? So impressive you can skip half a rank?"
The man smiled. "Better not to talk about that outside. It's taboo."
Fu Hu laughed heartily and clapped the man on the shoulder. "Old Lin, congratulations! Honestly, if it were just a transfer without promotion, still the same old thing, playing second fiddle, I'd have chewed you out. I'd suspect you were unhappy working by my side. Since it's a promotion, a skip-rank one at that, no question about it. Tonight, at Cattail Grass River, we're having a feast! My treat!"
The man nodded. "Director Fu treats, I'll pay."
Fu Hu gave another heavy slap on the man's shoulder. "Hey, I've underestimated you all these years. Old Lin, you're actually good material for an official!"
After Fu Hu left, the man silently stared at the charcoal in the brazier and sighed softly.
The burial site selection for that couple in Mud Vase Alley.
Back then, he had secretly gone to the back courtyard of the Yang Family Pharmacy, found Old Man Yang, and broken court regulations to beg desperately for a favor.
And that copy of the "Mountain-Shaking Fist Manual" that eventually fell into someone's hands.
And on that night, he had secretly taken out some of his private collection of snake-gall stones and thrown them one by one into Dragon Whisker River, as if waiting early for a certain straw-sandaled boy with a basket to see and pick them up.
That was all he could do.
He asked for nothing else. He just hoped that one day, when he was no longer an official, no longer serving as the so-called Gatekeeper, that lonely child, who had grown from boy to youth, who had started a family—when he met him during festivals or holidays, Lin Zhengcheng would call him "Uncle Lin" from the bottom of his heart. And he himself could deserve that address with a clear conscience.
At the onset of winter this year, the ancestral mountain sword chamber of Taihui Sword Sect received a personal invitation from Fallen Mountain's Mountain Lord Chen Ping'an. He invited Sect Leader Liu Jinglong and his disciple Bai Shou to attend the subordinate sect's founding ceremony on Parasol Leaf Continent the following spring.
The invitation said that before the ceremony, in late winter, the Wind Kite ferry would travel north across the continent to the Ji River, docking near the Chongxuan Office ferry in the Dayuan Dynasty. It would trouble Sect Leader Liu to stroll over and board the ferry southward, saving the unnecessary expense of a cross-continent ferry fare. The letter also reminded Liu Jinglong of one thing: if he wished, he could bring along Shui Jingshan's Fairy Lu Sui and travel together to Immortal Capital Mountain in the south.
Liu Jinglong took the invitation and flew on his sword to Fluttering Peak.
Bai Shou asked tentatively, "Old Liu, can we not go?"
Bai Shou had just returned from a journey to Cloud Goose Kingdom, leading several younger sword cultivators of other peaks—six not-so-old sword cultivators—to train in Cloud Goose Kingdom and the surrounding mountains and rivers.
After all, Bai Shou was now, in terms of sect registry identity and sword Dao cultivation, a genuine senior elder and protector.
When the group of young sword cultivators returned safely to the mountain, the Taihui Sword Sect's ancestral hall had given a high evaluation to this young Core Formation peak master of Fluttering Peak: meticulous, thorough, and experienced in the ways of the martial world.
In Cloud Goose Kingdom, Bai Shou hadn't directly met Cui Gongzhuang, a Ninth Realm martial artist. This chief guest elder of Lock Cloud Sect's Nourishing Cloud Peak was now very well-behaved. He had changed his ways, almost becoming a great philanthropist. He kept his disciples and grand-disciples on a tight leash, forbidding them from acting recklessly, or else he would personally clean house. This had boosted the sect's reputation considerably.
After a hard journey down the mountain, the moment he returned to Fluttering Peak, Bai Shou heard this shocking news—both terrible and wonderful. He felt a mix of joy and sorrow.
His brother Chen's Fallen Mountain had just been promoted to sect status and had immediately gone to the southernmost Parasol Leaf Continent to pick up a subordinate sect. That was the best news imaginable.
But the problem was, Bai Shou couldn't even think of her without feeling nervous. Never mind meeting her face to face.
The last time someone visited Fluttering Peak, disaster fell from the sky. She gave him one punch, and he was shaking on the spot.
The time before that, also at Fluttering Peak on his own turf, someone just passed through. One punch later, the peak master, the sect leader's direct disciple, was writhing on the ground like a martial artist doing stance practice.
And the time before that was at Fallen Mountain.
Bad things don't happen more than three times!
If he could truly learn from his mistakes, Bai Shou would be considered a genius of caution by now.
Bai Shou had even privately sought out an old Daoist immortal well-versed in fate calculation to see if their eight characters were in conflict.
The old immortal had taken their birth dates and looked puzzled. He said there was nothing wrong—neither clashed with the other. Finally, he praised the sect leader's first disciple: "Peak Master Bai's eight characters are very sturdy."
Liu Jinglong couldn't be bothered to remind Bai Shou that according to Chen Ping'an, Pei Qian didn't even know her own birth date. Even her name was fake, chosen by Pei Qian herself later.
But Chen Ping'an could tell Liu Jinglong that, while Liu Jinglong shouldn't reveal the secret to Bai Shou.
Liu Jinglong smiled and asked, "What do you think?"
Unlike the foundation-opening ceremony of a single peak, any subordinate sect founding ceremony in the Haoran World could be considered a grand event that only occurs once in a millennium.
According to established customs in the cultivation world, unless it was a sworn enemy sect, even if one didn't attend in person, it was customary to send a congratulatory gift.
After all, a new sect-level immortal clan appearing out of nowhere on a continent was always something that brought face to the continent's cultivators.
The abundance or scarcity of martial fortune on a continent could be seen simply by counting the number of Ultimate Realm martial artists. Similarly, the depth of a continent's heritage was often reflected in the number of sect-level clans.
So when the Sackcloth Sect established itself at Bone Sand Shoal back then, even though the Northern Azure Continent didn't welcome this outsider, once the Sackcloth Sect had truly taken root and held its official ceremony, the vast majority of immortal clans still had to hold their noses and send a gift. It was just that the gifts weren't heavy. Some immortal mansions deliberately sent only a few Snowflake Coins.
That rule was also observed—light gift, deep meaning. If the Sackcloth Sect thought it was too little, that would be their lack of generosity.
But when Fire Dragon Patriarch of Prostrate Peak made a rare appearance at Wood Garment Mountain to attend the ceremony and even gave a heavy gift of artifact rank, the immortal mansions that had "forgotten" quickly sent belated congratulatory gifts in good measure.
When a patriarch known for his empty sleeves and poverty had broken precedent to pay out money, no one else had an excuse not to spend.
Otherwise, they might be remembered by the patriarch.
Bai Shou still wouldn't give up. "Sending the gift is enough. Chen Ping'an won't mind. If it comes to it, I just won't go. When you see Chen Ping'an, tell him I need to go into closed-door cultivation soon."
Liu Jinglong laughed. "As long as you don't provoke Pei Qian, what are you afraid of? It's not like she'll spar with you for no reason."
Seeing Bai Shou still hesitating, Liu Jinglong didn't want to force his disciple. He said considerately, "If you really don't want to go, fine. Just practice your sword well on Fluttering Peak. I'll explain to Chen Ping'an."
In addition to the invitation, Chen Ping'an had also sent a secret letter to Liu Jinglong. In it, he mentioned a female formation master named Han Zhoujin in the Great Li capital. She was from the Pure Lake Blessed Land of Divine Proclamation Sect, a member of the Great Li Earthly Branch, and had a hidden identity as a guest elder of the Great Li Purple Zhao Yan family. Han Zhoujin had the fortune of a certain immortal mansion ruin, had a significant background, and was quite accomplished in talismans. So Chen Ping'an asked Liu Jinglong to stop briefly in the Great Li capital during his southern journey to give Han Zhoujin some guidance in formation techniques.
Bai Shou gritted his teeth. "Fine, I'll go! I haven't been to Parasol Leaf Continent anyway."
Liu Jinglong nodded with a smile. "The ancestral hall hinted to me about one thing: they want to ask you, as peak master, when you plan to take disciples, to expand Fluttering Peak's lineage."
Actually, the ancestral hall's greater hint was about asking the sect leader if he had any suitable candidate for a Dao partner.
Bai Shou was stunned for a long moment. He found it utterly ridiculous. Grinning, he said, "Take disciples? Me?"
Although he had been on the mountain with Old Liu for some years now, Bai Shou always felt like he had just started learning swordsmanship, and at any moment someone might challenge him and knock him flat. So he had absolutely no awareness that as an Earth Immortal peak-opening cultivator, he was equivalent to opening a new Dao lineage for the ancestral hall.
Bai Shou waved his hand. "Don't rush me."
On a peak, all alone, without taking disciples—if it made him a laughingstock, it would only be a joke for Liu Jinglong. But if he took disciples, what about his dignity as a teacher?
Currently, with insufficient realm and no victorious sword duels to his name, would his disciples be shouting every other day, "Master has been beaten unconscious!" or "Disaster! Master has fallen down again!"?
Bai Shou remembered something and asked, "How's Lock Cloud Sect doing?"
Liu Jinglong said, "Nourishing Cloud Peak will soon voluntarily form an alliance with us."
Currently, over a dozen mountain forces had formed alliances with Taihui Sword Sect. Besides Spring Dew Garden, Color Sparrow Mansion, and Cloud City in the southeastern part of the continent, there were several old immortal mansions like Thunder God Manor on the west coast. That Thunder God Manor of Infant Mountain had suffered an inexplicable blow a few years ago. Even the gold-lettered plaque at the mountain gate had had the words "God Manor" scraped off. The two outsiders who had done it—thieves likely hit by a door plank—were caught and then released.
Liu Jinglong and Taihui Sword Sect had no ambition to become a mountain alliance leader commanding the masses. This relatively loose alliance was more for convenience in trade and commerce. It was akin to a marital relationship between families down the mountain.
Bai Shou laughed. "So our Taihui Sword Sect has gained another pawn?"
Liu Jinglong frowned slightly.
Bai Shou immediately raised both hands in surrender. "Consider that a fart!"
Liu Jinglong gently reminded him, "You must understand that a sword cultivator's careless words are no different from a challenge to the heart."
Whether cultivator or mortal, in the lake of everyone's heart, there were heavy stones at the bottom. And every stone could be a casual, thoughtless word from someone else on the path of life.
Bai Shou said, "Mm, I'll be more careful from now on."
The young sword cultivator grinned. "Don't worry. On Fluttering Peak, apart from talking to myself, I don't have much chance to speak. And off the mountain, I hardly talk at all."
Liu Jinglong thought that one of the most wondrous formations in the world was the Li Pearl Cave Heaven that had hung suspended in the northern skies of Precious Vase Continent for many years.
A cultivator's minor world was generally acknowledged to have two types. One was where a sage of the Three Teachings sat in a academy, Daoist temple, or Buddhist monastery, which could boost one's realm by one level, even allowing a Nascent Soul cultivator to cross the heavenly moat and become a Jade Purity cultivator. A sage sitting within could simultaneously turn the minor world into a place of thin spiritual energy, occupying the advantages of heaven, earth, and man. An outsider cultivator, unable to mobilize even a trace of heaven and earth's spiritual energy, would consume their own spiritual energy with every spell or magic treasure deployed. The greater the power, the larger the drain, like a hole being opened. And this outflow of spiritual energy would in turn nourish the minor world, like "tribute offerings." Opponents would see a shift in power—unless the realm disparity was enormous, the outcome was certain. The other type was when a great cultivator used formations to construct a minor world, filled with all kinds of illusions and obstacles. In the early days, the Li Pearl Cave Heaven had both features. Outsider cultivators who entered also had to follow even more wondrous Daoist rules. So this time, when Liu Jinglong planned to attend the subordinate sect ceremony, besides going to the Great Li capital to find Han Zhoujin, he also wanted to visit the old Longzhou region of Great Li. There, he hoped, without violating Great Li's laws, to use the stones from other mountains to polish jade—or more accurately, use other mountains' jade to grind his own stones. He had mentioned this to Chen Ping'an during his last visit to the sect, so in this secret letter, Chen Ping'an straightforwardly told Liu Jinglong to study the residual formation traces to his heart's content, because he had already spoken to the Great Li court.
Suddenly, Liu Jinglong received a flying sword message.
It was from Liu Zhiqing of the Golden Crow Palace.
Bai Shou asked curiously, "What's up?"
"Sword Immortal Liu wants to challenge someone to a duel."
"Who?!"
With lightning speed, Bai Shou pulled an almanac from his sleeve and flipped through it. "Three days from now—it's a good day!"
The old almanac of Northern Azure Continent was probably unique in the entire Haoran World.
In a year, there were about a dozen days marked: "Suitable for Sword Duels."