Chapter 920: Borrowing Thousands of Mountains and Rivers from All of You (Part 1)

Chapter 920: Borrowing Thousands of Mountains and Rivers from All of You (Part 1)

Chen Ping'an accompanied Little Mi Li on a patrol of the ferryboat, and two boat stewards approached from the opposite direction.

The law keeper Changming, dressed in a snow-white robe, arrived leisurely. Because she was to attend the lower sect’s celebration, she had temporarily taken on the role of head steward of the Wind Kite Ferryboat. She stopped, her bearing graceful and dignified, and performed a wanfu salute to Chen Ping'an. "Greetings, young master."

As the second steward personally appointed by the young mountain lord, Jia Sheng, the old immortal, had tidied himself up from head to toe. He had a gaunt, refined appearance, with hair and beard as white as snow. Residence transforms the qi, nurture transforms the body—he increasingly carried the air of a transcendent master. The old immortal had pulled out his finest attire: now he wore a Daoist robe and cloud-treading shoes, with a small jade chime tucked at his waist. This item was a spiritual artifact that the blind old Daoist had bought with his own money many years ago from a thatched stall in Qilong Alley, one that had caught his fancy. On the jade chime, the carving was simple and archaic, inscribed with a line of tiny ancient seal script: "Heavenly wind strikes the chime, I chant the Yellow Court; golden sound and jade vibration, all heavens pay respect."

Jia Sheng stood beside Changming, a step behind, and gave Chen Ping'an a Daoist salute, saying reverently, "Paying respects to the mountain lord."

As for the lotus-thread cloud-treading shoes on the old immortal's feet, they were one of the gifts from Young Master Xiao Mo.

Chen Ping'an smiled and explained, "I just dragged Xiao Mo along to walk through the Five-Colored World. We only just got back."

Jia Sheng said with great regret, "The mountain lord's wife didn't come back with you?"

Chen Ping'an nodded. "She needs to go into seclusion and can't get away. Besides, given her current status, it's not really appropriate for her to travel back and forth between the two worlds too often."

The old immortal sighed. "A destined marriage arranged by the Old Man of the Moon, yet even so, there's still more parting than meeting. Both the mountain lord and the mountain lord's wife have had a hard time of it."

Chen Ping'an just hummed in acknowledgment, smiling without saying anything.

The law keeper Changming glanced at the young mountain lord and said understandingly, "Young master, is there something you wish to discuss?"

Their first meeting had been in the prison of the Old Deaf Man, which was also the dojo of the Executioner Hao Su.

By the stream, there was a woman doing laundry and a maidservant washing silk. At first glance, they looked like two naturally beautiful village girls.

Time passed swiftly, the sun and moon shuttled like shuttles, and before they knew it, many years had gone by.

Back then, two young swordsmen who had been thrown into the prison by the Grand Old Sword Immortal each had their own fortunes. Du Shanyin became the only direct disciple of Hao Su, while the simple-hearted You Yu became the disciple of the Old Deaf Man.

The young girl, who was the incarnation of a Gu Yu coin ancestor, eventually followed her master Hao Su as she left the Sword Qi Great Wall. She changed her name to Ji Qing and traveled through the Haoran World with Du Shanyin, once appearing in the city of Rongmao on a night-sailing ship.

Back when the White-Haired Boy had said the word "manifest," helping the "Hidden Office Ancestor" see their true forms, it was said that Ji Qing's skin had then shown an ancient, deep green color, and a small skylight seemed to open on her forehead. This was because when she was born from the sample copper coin at the beginning of the world, the strokes were like cuts, and the knife marks still remained.

Chen Ping'an seemed to want to say something but hesitated.

Changming smiled slightly. "Young master, is it that you urgently need gold essence copper coins?"

Hit the nail on the head.

Chen Ping'an was no stranger to gold essence copper coins. In fact, it could be said that the young kiln worker from Niping Alley had seen more gold essence copper coins in the small town back then than the amount of real gold and silver circulating in the marketplaces.

In the old days, when they were used as toll money for entering the Lizhu Cave Heaven, there were three kinds of gold essence copper coins: Greeting Spring Coins, Offering Coins, and Suppressing Evil Coins.

The earliest ones were three kinds of standard mother coins cast by the Mohist Master. Chen Ping'an guessed it was most likely the work of Mr. San Shan Jiu Hou. Otherwise, the Da Li Song clan back then was merely a vassal state of the Lu dynasty, far from being the Da Li court that ruled one continent as one nation. With the shallow foundations of the Song clan at that time, they simply couldn't have invited the Mohist Master to cast coins.

And these three kinds of coins were the top grade among the world's gold essence copper coins. It was only because the Da Li Song clan had strict control back then, and every bag of coins was like going from the left hand to the right, that they didn't circulate to other continents. Later, when the Lizhu Cave Heaven shattered and fell to the earth, descending from one of the thirty-six minor cave heavens to the rank of a blessed land, some of the three kinds of gold essence copper coins secretly cast by the Da Li court began to slowly leak out from the Song clan's treasury, quietly paying off some of the mountain debts.

According to the White-Haired Boy, the sample coins of the world's ancestral coins often come in pairs. If both could manifest the Great Path and give birth to spiritual intelligence, they would be the world's foremost immortal couple.

Chen Ping'an stopped beating around the bush and said openly, "My lifebound flying sword, 'Moon in the Well,' needs to refine a River of Time to raise its rank. Over at Flying Ascension City, Ning Yao gave me some, which should have been enough for me to forge a River of Time. But this kind of sword refining is different from the usual; it's a bottomless pit."

Changming smiled warmly and asked softly, "More is always better, that's simple and clear. Why would the young master be troubled? Is it that only the prefect can set fires while the common people can't even light lamps? Or is it that on Fallen Mountain, only the mountain lord is allowed to work diligently, a swallow carrying mud to patch the house, while others aren't allowed to do their meager part for the mountain lord?"

Chen Ping'an was momentarily speechless.

Actually, it wasn't that simple. If it were just ordinary immortal currency exchanges, Chen Ping'an would have no trouble at all. But gold essence copper coins were related to Changming's own cultivation of the Great Path. For him to use them to refine his sword, Moon in the Well, more was better, but for Changming, it was even more critical. For her, there was no other way to raise her realm except by "eating" coins, and only gold essence copper coins would do. It was somewhat similar to mountain and river spirits, who could only rely on the world's incense to refine their golden bodies; all other Daoist techniques and immortal methods were illusions.

Changming asked with a smile, "Does Changming rely on her realm to be the law keeper of Fallen Mountain? Chief Consultant Zhou is a Sword Immortal of the Immortal realm, Mi Yu is about to become an Immortal realm swordsman as well, Sect Master Cui is an Immortal, and the konghou player at Qilong Alley is even at the Flying Ascension realm. So how am I supposed to manage? Should I just step down from being the law keeper and hand it over to the Great Sword Immortal Mi Yu after he breaks through?"

The exchange between the mountain lord of Fallen Mountain and his law keeper wasn't deliberately hidden; they didn't use mind-to-mind communication, obviously not treating Old Immortal Jia as an outsider.

Jia Sheng, standing nearby and listening intently, found the situation taking a bad turn as he continued to listen.

Daoist Changming was angry.

And this was the first time she was angry, and it was directed at their mountain lord!

Truly worthy of being the law keeper of Fallen Mountain! If it were him, he wouldn't dare.

Changming continued, "As for the two unexpected gains—if I hadn't followed the young master, even if those things were right in front of me, how could Changming have taken even a bit of them into my grasp?"

Back in the prison on the Sword Qi Great Wall, after the Hidden Official and the Executioner had settled matters, Changming, now with a new identity, had used her innate divine ability to gather the scattered remnants of the gods' corpses into golden sand, piling them into a mountain. Its size was comparable to the Dragon-Slaying Cliff at the Ning Residence, a considerable scale. Eventually, those golden sands, tempered by the River of Time, attached themselves to Changming's robe, coalescing into a priceless and rare dharma robe.

Why had Changming, who could have easily obtained these Daoist opportunities so close at hand, never touched any of them in the long years? Of course, it was because it wasn't appropriate for her to do so, and she didn't dare to. Even though she was one of the Executioner's attendants at the time, if the Grand Old Sword Immortal hadn't tacitly allowed it, and the Old Deaf Man hadn't permitted it, these private properties of the Sword Qi Great Wall could never have been taken away by the Executioner Hao Su or Changming.

According to the estimates of the foreign demons, that veritable "golden mountain" could, in the Green Chaos World, be refined into the pure golden bodies of three or four River Gods or Mountain God Prefecture Lords.

The second time was on Fallen Mountain. The mountain lord's senior brother, Jun Qian, had once delivered punches at the border of Treasure Bottle Continent against the trespassing remnants of the gods beyond the realm. In the Northern March region, there had been successive downpours of golden rain.

Back then, in the prison of the Sword Qi Great Wall, Changming had felt far closer to the young Hidden Official than Ji Qing had. It was a kind of spiritual affinity that resonated with the Great Path.

Chen Ping'an had no choice but to say, "Then I won't stand on ceremony with you. We'll discuss the specifics after we return to Immortal Capital Mountain."

Seeing Changming's look of confusion, Chen Ping'an explained, "I'm about to take Xiao Mo on another long trip."

Little Mi Li had been standing quietly beside the good mountain lord.

Chen Ping'an ruffled the little girl's head and said with a smile, "This trip is actually thanks to an offhand remark from the Right Protector."

At the Three-Lang Temple in Northern Julu Continent, inside a humble alley restaurant.

Just because Yuan Xuan had asked a few more questions about the Hidden Official, the atmosphere had become heavy.

Liu Xu kept his hand covering the wine bowl in the same posture and asked with a smile, "An old acquaintance? How do you mean?"

Fan Yu used sound condensation to ask, "Grandpa Liu, should we really not inform the Three-Lang Temple about this?"

The Nascent Soul old sword cultivator replied with his mind, "It's fine. It's not even a misunderstanding worth making a fuss over."

In truth, Liu had his own concerns.

Don't provoke anyone you don't have to provoke, especially someone as single-minded as Liu Xu.

When he was easy to talk to, everything could be discussed. When he wasn't, not even Yuan Xuan's great-grandfather, or perhaps even the head of the Luo Ma He Liu clan, could stop him. So it was better not to try to be clever and just wait and see.

But from this, it was clear that Liu Xu, who had called the man "Second Shopkeeper" from beginning to end and never "Hidden Official," had no small measure of respect for Chen Ping'an.

What talk about being only slightly better than a nodding acquaintance?

Who would believe that?

Only Yuan Xuan, still acting as if nothing was wrong, asked with a smile, "Uncle Liu, I heard that that Hidden Official Chen is not only a sword cultivator but also a martial arts grandmaster?"

According to the list from back then, as one of the top ten young talents across several worlds, the last generation of the Hidden Official from the Sword Qi Great Wall was a Nascent Soul sword cultivator and a peak martial artist.

Liu Xu moved his hand away and picked up a chopstickful of sour-spicy cabbage. He nodded. "When I first arrived at the Sword Qi Great Wall, the Second Shopkeeper wasn't actually a sword cultivator yet, but his fist techniques were indeed very high. I heard from Huang Shou that the first time the Second Shopkeeper traveled to the Sword Qi Great Wall as a youth, he lost three times to Cao Ci. Later, when he returned to the Sword Qi Great Wall, Cao Ci had already left the thatched hut on the wall, but the Second Shopkeeper won against Yu Juanfu of the Mystic Secret Dynasty in the Central Earth. I witnessed both of those fist-fighting matches from start to finish."

Yuan Xuan asked again, "Does the Hidden Official Chen like to carry a sword on his back and wear dharma robes?"

Liu Xu stopped drinking and just picked at his food, chewing slowly. "Normally, he doesn't wear dharma robes, but when he's on the battlefield, he likes to put on several layers. Quite a few local sword cultivators on the Sword Qi Great Wall, especially the younger ones, started to follow his example and no longer considered it shameful. It was more important to stay alive, and maybe even earn more battle merits. As for how many dharma robes the Second Shopkeeper wore at most, that was always a mystery. By that time, the Second Shopkeeper had already gone to the Summer Resort Palace to serve as the Hidden Official, so I couldn't ask him."

"The saying 'South Huang Shou, North Hidden Official' isn't widely circulated yet, but you'll understand its significance in the future."

"On the battlefield, you'd rather run into Ning Yao than the Hidden Official. That's not a joke."

"Besides Li Zhen, the closed-door disciple of the Tuo Yue Mountain Ancestor, and that batch of sword immortal seedlings from the Jia Shen Tent—each one more obscure in origin and with a bigger background than the last—they set up a carefully orchestrated ambush, but they still suffered a great loss at the Second Shopkeeper's hands. And now, Feiran, the sword cultivator who is the common master of the Barbaric World, also once ambushed the Second Shopkeeper."

Doesn't seem quite right?

In his impression, the man was extremely courteous.

Could it be a case of the same name and surname? And he had also come to their Northern Julu Continent? Was there really such a coincidence in the world?

Liu Xu frowned slightly. "Yuan Xuan, can't you just speak more directly?"

Yuan Xuan laughed heartily and finally stopped beating around the bush. He told Liu Xu the details of his own travels to Guixu Valley back then. At Tonglu Lake, he had seen a sword-carrying wanderer wearing a bamboo hat and a dharma robe. He had even invited the man to fish with him. It was clear that the man, like his "Yuan One-Foot" nickname implied, was a true kindred spirit. During that trip, besides going after the Jia fish, Yuan Xuan had also wanted to catch a type of silver carp known in the mountains as "Little Lake Dragon." It grew one pound per year, and after a hundred years, it would grow two "dragon whiskers," which lengthened by one inch every three hundred years. When the whiskers reached one foot, the carp could become a river dragon... And that young wanderer, who seemed both a pure martial artist and a sword cultivator, was experienced in his ways and meticulous in dealing with people. When they parted, he even praised Yuan Xuan as... an old hand at the game!

When Liu Xu heard this, he smiled. "The Second Shopkeeper was just being polite with you. Don't take it seriously."

Yuan Xuan was put on the spot and took a big gulp of wine.

Fan Yu and the old sword cultivator exchanged a smile. It seemed that Liu Xu had hit the mark.

Probably convinced by the boy's words, Liu Xu put down his chopsticks, raised his bowl towards the three of them without saying anything, and drained it in one go.

Yuan Xuan followed suit, forcing himself to finish half a bowl of Green God Mountain wine.

The two attendants sighed in relief and also drank their bowls dry.

"Little Xuan, if you have time, take Old Brother Liu and Miss Fan to Luo Ma He for a visit."

Liu Xu stood up, cupped his fists in farewell, and finally said with a smile, "Remember to settle the bill."

Yuan Xuan waited until Uncle Liu had left the restaurant before taking a deep breath. He obviously wasn't as relaxed as he seemed on the surface.

The old man said telepathically, "Young master, now you truly feel the might of a Nascent Soul bottleneck sword immortal, don't you?"

Yuan Xuan nodded vigorously.

The Uncle Liu of just now had made the boy feel too unfamiliar.

The man walked alone through the alley.

Some things, like alcohol, have a strong aftertaste.

Like going to the Sword Qi Great Wall.

----

An Autumn Wind Shrine in Treasure Bottle Continent that hadn't been claimed by anyone, a strange, drifting ferry boat on the sea, the Guanhai Tower in the Gold Armor Continent where an ancient celestial immortal had bestowed a destiny, a hidden vein in the Fuyao Continent brimming with endless business opportunities and wealth, and in the Four Seas, many long-lost Dragon Palace ruins and celestial mansion sites were constantly emerging...

This was the result of the Haoran World connecting with the Barbaric World and then briefly linking with the Green Chaos World.

The Rain Dragon Sect had a female sword immortal who had come to Yun Qian some time ago to settle accounts.

It was Nalan Caihuan from the Sword Qi Great Wall.

This came as a great relief to Yun Qian, who had been up to her ears in trouble for the past few years.

Handling sect affairs was truly not Yun Qian's forte. So, acting without hesitation according to a secret agreement made many years ago, she voluntarily resigned as sect master and handed the position over to this outsider, Nalan Caihuan. She then took on the role of the sect's law-keeping patriarch.

Fortunately, the Rain Dragon Sect of today was no longer the big, conservative sect of yesteryear. The old ancestral precepts and the ancient system of the Ancestral Hall had long become dead letters. Moreover, "former sect master" Yun Qian was the only upper fifth-realm cultivator, and Nalan Caihuan's background and sword cultivation realm were clearly visible. So, the change of sect master went relatively smoothly.

Nalan Caihuan had also brought a group of trusted cultivators with her to join the Rain Dragon Sect. The number wasn't large, just six: three sword cultivators and three ghost cultivators, all Earth Immortals.

In the newly built Ancestral Hall, a simple and hasty ceremony for the sect master's resignation and succession was held.

To be honest, Yun Qian hadn't been able to invite any high-ranking cultivators of significance. Her early travels to the three eastern continents with the sect's disciples hadn't accumulated much in the way of mountain friendships.

Today, after an Ancestral Hall meeting ended, the cultivators who had seats had all dispersed to their own homes. One advantage of a small sect was that even a Dragon Gate realm cultivator could easily occupy a large island on the sea and establish a dojo.

Only the sect's law keeper remained.

Nalan Caihuan was now sitting in the main seat of the sect master, sprawling her legs and bouncing one foot as she casually flipped through a thin book of mountain and water records.

Back in the accounts room of the Spring Pennant Studio, she had been in the same state. Who could control her?

Of course, only when a certain someone came to Inverted Mountain to check the accounts would Nalan Caihuan restrain herself a little.

In truth, at Nalan Caihuan's first Ancestral Hall meeting after arriving at the Rain Dragon Sect, as soon as everyone heard her name, they had no objections.

Of course, it wasn't that there were truly none; it was that no one dared, or rather, no one dared to show any expression on their faces. If Nalan Caihuan caught sight of any, who knew if that Nascent Soul bottleneck sword immortal would just hack them to death on the spot and toss them to the fish?

Reason with her? Nalan Caihuan's flying swords, her realm, and her consistent style of action were the silent reasons laid out on the table.

Remember, on this new sect master's home battlefield, Nalan Caihuan, Qi Shou, and Mi Yu—who had won the nickname "Rice Stopper" at the Nascent Soul realm—had exactly the same methods for killing demons. They were extremely bloodthirsty, cruel and ruthless. Any demon clan cultivator who fell into their hands never met a good end.

So, Nalan Caihuan and the gentle-natured, soft-spoken Yun Qian were as different as heaven and earth as sect masters.

After just a few glances at the sparse Ancestral Hall register, Nalan Caihuan had to flip through it again. She squinted at Yun Qian and asked with a smile, "I heard you searched the Aquamarine Palace several times?"

Yun Qian felt a bit guilty and blushed. "I came back empty-handed every time."

Nalan Caihuan was exasperated. "You think the barbaric demon clan are all fools who just leave treasures on the ground for you to pick up? Yun Qian, with a law-keeping patriarch like you, I, as sect master, am truly blessed!"

Yun Qian's face turned slightly red, and she said nothing.

As for the sarcasm, she let it wash over her. She had heard plenty of it in her life—from her former senior sister sect master, from the members of the Rain Dragon Sect's Ancestral Hall, from some talented juniors, and even from within the Aquamarine Palace itself...

The Rain Dragon Sect's Aquamarine Palace, originally built on Inverted Mountain, had been knocked into the sea by Jiang Yunsheng, the gatekeeper boy of Inverted Mountain. Even though the likelihood of her finding the Aquamarine Palace was extremely slim, Yun Qian still clung to a sliver of hope. She had several times used water-repelling spells and dived into the seabed, but found no trace.

As for the sect itself, besides Yun Qian, a Jade Purity realm cultivator who held up appearances, there were only five Earth Immortal cultivators: four Core Formation cultivators and just one Nascent Soul cultivator.

The current Ancestral Hall register listed only just over ninety registered cultivators. This was after Yun Qian had gathered up the scattered islands that had been vassals to the old sect; otherwise, the situation would have been even bleaker.

Among them, the old Nascent Soul cultivator—when Yun Qian had tried to recruit him a few years earlier—had actually tried to take advantage of her predicament. He shamelessly proposed that if she would become his Dao partner, he would be willing to become the law-keeping grand minister of the new Rain Dragon Sect and donate all his wealth to the public treasury. If she felt awkward about that, he would take another step back—just a few nights of springtime pleasures, a bit of cloud and rain, would suffice.

Back in the older days of the Rain Dragon Sect, which had always been ruled by female cultivators, a Nascent Soul cultivator from a vassal territory daring to spout such nonsense would have been asking for death.

Yun Qian knew that she was indeed too weak-willed, with only her realm to show for it. Otherwise, her decisive senior sister would not have sent her off to Inverted Mountain back then, and only nominally in charge of an Aquamarine Palace.

She had never interfered in the actual business dealings. The cultivators in charge were all trusted confidants of her senior sister. The annual "audit" of the accounts was nothing more than a formality. Ironically, Yun Qian's main concern was that if she seemed too indifferent, her senior sister might scold her for not caring about the Aquamarine Palace's affairs.

Nalan Caihuan said with a sly smile, "That old pervert was distracted just now during the meeting. He wasn't listening to a word I said, and he kept sneaking glances at you with a furtive look. Was he sending you telepathic messages? Whispering sweet nothings?"

Yun Qian shook her head. "It's nothing."

Nalan Caihuan frowned. "Yun Qian, don't forget who the sect master is now. Whatever I ask, you answer honestly."

Yun Qian hesitated for a long time before finally speaking vaguely. She said that the former sect's law keeper had hoped she could forget past grievances and work together to revive the Rain Dragon Sect.

Nalan Caihuan sneered. "If I hadn't come to be this sect master, with that simple mind of yours, sooner or later that old guy would have gotten his way with you, crawling all over you."

Yun Qian's face turned bright red with anger and shame. She glared at the blunt-talking female sword immortal.

Nalan Caihuan clicked her tongue in admiration, letting her gaze travel up and down the Jade Purity realm female cultivator.

This Yun Qian—she looked slim, but in truth, she had a voluptuous figure. She seemed cool and aloof on the surface, but there was a hidden, natural charm and seductive beauty about her. Perhaps this was what it meant to be a fox spirit—not the kind that was always flaunting itself, attracting bees and butterflies.

Nalan Caihuan took out a flask of wine and started talking dirty before even taking a swig. "If I weren't a woman, I'd definitely covet you too. I'd bathe you every day and slobber all over you every night."

Yun Qian trembled with anger, her hands gripping the armrests of her chair. She snapped, "Nalan Caihuan! Please watch your words!"

Oh, now she's not even calling me sect master. Using my full name. She must be really angry.

Nalan Caihuan pouted. "Can't take a joke. If you were on the Sword Qi Great Wall, you'd have to just hide and not come out."

Yun Qian took a deep breath. "Sect master, please don't make jokes like this in the future."

Nalan Caihuan glanced at Yun Qian's heaving chest, then at her own. She muttered quietly, "Comparisons are odious."

Yun Qian began to close her eyes and rest.

Nalan Caihuan closed the register and made a chopping motion across her throat. "Yun Qian," she said, half-jokingly, "why don't I help you get rid of that Nascent Soul cultivator who just eats and does nothing? There's no point in keeping him, and he's just an eyesore and a source of aggravation."

The main thing was that he took a fixed sum of salary every year for doing nothing, and that made Nalan Caihuan's heart ache just thinking about it.

Yun Qian immediately opened her eyes, panic-stricken. "We can't act so capriciously. Even just to remove him from the Ancestral Hall, we need a proper reason. Otherwise, the Rain Dragon Sect will have a hard time attracting new grand ministers and guest ministers in the future. Even if someone were willing to join us, would we really dare to take them in?"

Yun Qian looked serious and spoke firmly. "Nalan Caihuan, even though I'm not skilled at managing affairs and even less suited to be a sect master who manages the big picture, I still understand one thing: it is absolutely unacceptable to solve problems by killing people just because things don't go your way. If you insist on this path, then no matter what, I will not allow you to remain the sect master of the Rain Dragon Sect. You can call me a usurper or an oath-breaker if you like, but I have to make this principle clear to you. I would rather see the Rain Dragon Sect fall apart again, see its cultivators scattered, and even lose the title of 'Sect' entirely, than willingly hand over a sect to a cultivator who delights in indiscriminate killing. I will not stand by and watch the Rain Dragon Sect go down the wrong path."

Nalan Caihuan leaned back in her chair, crossed her legs, and rested them on the table. She said nothing, just tapped her fingers on the armrest in a rhythmic pattern.

Yun Qian met her gaze, her eyes unwavering.

Nalan Caihuan suddenly burst out laughing. "Alright, alright! I was just joking. Look how serious you got. I'll have a proper talk with that Nascent Soul cultivator. And I'll make sure to learn from you—calm and composed, with a kind face and gentle tone. I guarantee I can get our number four to straighten out his act and serve the Rain Dragon Sect well."

She would certainly keep her word.

When she got the chance, she would find that old Nascent Soul cultivator and ask him if he wanted to die. Only a fool would want to die. That Nascent Soul was no fool; of course he didn't want to die. Then she could ask the second question: from now on, could he cultivate more, do more work for the sect to earn money, and drool a few fewer pints over their dear law keeper, Yun Qian? The old Nascent Soul might say one thing and mean another, so she'd give him a sword wound—a minor one, not fatal. That would teach him a lesson. Finally, she'd ask him if he dared to sneak away from the Rain Dragon Sect, or if he'd rather be a wanderer with no home, eating and sleeping in the wilderness all year round.

Yun Qian asked tentatively, "Sect master, you're really not joking?"

Nalan Caihuan was a bit exasperated. Just by the form of address, she could see what was on Yun Qian's mind.

Nalan Caihuan even felt a little reluctant to tease or bully her anymore. She changed her mind and sent a telepathic message. "I'm actually at the Jade Purity realm now. I'm just waiting for some blind fool to bully the Rain Dragon Sect so I can challenge them to a sword duel with perfect justification. Keep this a secret."

Yun Qian hurriedly stood up to congratulate the sect master.

Nalan Caihuan said in exasperation, "I just told you to keep it secret! Sit back down!"

Yun Qian obediently sat back down, her face full of joy, like a carefree young girl.

After leaving the Sword Qi Great Wall, Nalan Caihuan first went to the Shanshui Grotto in Fuyao Continent. Claiming to be from the Spring Pennant Studio at Inverted Mountain, she took over that sect. Then she started doing business with a nearby secular dynasty. During that time, she encountered a local female cultivator from Fuyao Continent named Gong Yan, who was at a decent realm—Jade Purity. But in Nalan Caihuan's eyes, this kind of sect-registered cultivator from the Haoran World was like Yun Qian—what a certain someone would call a "paper-mache" realm. However, Gong Yan, though not good at fighting, had quite a head for business. They were kindred spirits, and they quickly found a mutually beneficial arrangement.

Anyway, Nalan Caihuan knew that the Shanshui Grotto wasn't a place to stay for long. She sold off its assets, pocketed the immortal coins and treasures, and soon filled her coffers to overflowing. Of course, she didn't dare to take it all for herself. She only kept a twenty percent cut. For the rest, she handed it over to a Confucian gentleman in charge of the treasury at the Wen Temple—now apparently promoted to a vice-mountain master at a college in Fuyao Continent. It wasn't that Nalan Caihuan had too much money; she was just worried that the young Hidden Official would come to settle accounts with her later.

Even though the young Hidden Official hadn't placed any restrictions on her, Nalan Caihuan was careful with her profit-making methods, careful not to cross the line.

After draining the Shanshui Grotto of its wealth, she traveled north and visited Gold Armor and Liuxia Continents, buying and selling all the way.

Just counting the dimensional pouches she carried, Nalan Caihuan had six on her person, plus two spatial rings.

Nalan Caihuan asked with a smile, "Our Hidden Official has done a great favor for you Chen Qian and the Rain Dragon Sect. Have you thought about how you'll repay him?"

As soon as this topic came up, Yun Qian showed that she had some ideas of her own. But just as she was about to speak, Nalan Caihuan, in her old habit, started talking nonsense again. "Why not just be straightforward? Offer yourself to him! You can't see him, you say? But isn't there a legendary, extremely difficult-to-master secret art in your Rain Dragon Sect? I heard even your senior sister couldn't learn it. But you, bumbling around, the fool who's wise by luck—aren't you acclaimed for that... 'Scented Bedchamber, Cloud and Rain Realm'?"

Yun Qian sighed and simply didn't answer.

The young Hidden Official—what a master of strategy, what an aloof and self-contained figure. Unfortunately, she had never had the chance to see him in person.

A night wanderer, draped in the stars and the moon.

For some reason, Yun Qian had heard tales from the Sword Qi Great Wall. Every time she imagined a young man from elsewhere in a wineshop, amidst the bustling noise of the crowd, she felt that when he lowered his head to drink, he seemed especially lonely.

Yun Qian and Nalan Caihuan, each lost in their own thoughts, left the Ancestral Hall together.

A few days later, honored guests arrived. Yun Qian knew them all: Shao Yunyan, the sword immortal from Spring Pennant Studio, and Mrs. Tuoyan from the Plum Garden.

If you added the Liu clan's Monkey Stomping Residence, that made all four private estates of the old Inverted Mountain.

Mrs. Tuoyan was planning to go to the Green Plum Temple at Nantang Lake in Treasure Bottle Continent to see that Zhou Qionglin.

Without a sword immortal to protect her, Mrs. Tuoyan wouldn't have dared to wander around alone.

So they passed by the Rain Dragon Sect, which had "changed dynasties." Seeing that Nalan Caihuan had somehow become the sect master, Mrs. Tuoyan was stunned. Shao Yunyan, however, had known about it all along, so he wasn't surprised.

At the Rain Dragon Sect, Mrs. Tuoyan chatted with Yun Qian about old times, while Shao Yunyan walked shoulder to shoulder with Nalan Caihuan. In the old Spring Pennant Studio accounts room, besides the two of them, there had been Yan Ming, Wei Wenlong as an assistant, and Great Sword Immortal Mi Yu stationed at the gate.

Shao Yunyan said with a smile, "It's only been a few years, but it feels like a lifetime ago."

Nalan Caihuan shrugged off the comment. Unless it was about money, she had no interest.

Shao Yunyan sent a telepathic message with some news. Nalan Caihuan's face filled with shock. She blurted out, "What? Really?!"

Chen Ping'an could carve words on the city wall?!

Shao Yunyan smiled. "Believe it or not. If you don't believe me, go take a look yourself. It's not far."

Nalan Caihuan let out a deep sigh. "What's there not to believe? When it comes to that guy, nothing is strange."

To be honest, Nalan Caihuan was genuinely afraid of the young Hidden Official, maybe even more than Mrs. Tuoyan was.

Both of them had learned a hard lesson at his hands.

Did that guy have some grudge against beautiful women?

But with Yun Qian here, he seemed quite considerate.

Nalan Caihuan pushed aside her shock and started recruiting. She invited Shao Yunyan and Mrs. Tuoyan to be guest ministers of her sect. Since they were old acquaintances, talking about money would just hurt the friendship.

Thanks to the multiple nurturing-sword gourds on that string of vine, Shao Yunyan's swordsmanship was only average by Sword Qi Great Wall standards, but he had good connections in the Haoran World.

Shao Yunyan had no problem adding another honorary guest minister title. In the Haoran World, certain upper fifth-realm cultivators with a knack for making money accumulated a long list of grand minister and guest minister positions. As for Mrs. Tuoyan, she and Yun Qian had been close for years, so she certainly had no objections.

Shao Yunyan didn't stay long at the Rain Dragon Sect. After just two days, he dragged the reluctant Mrs. Tuoyan away to continue their sea-crossing journey.

Along the way, they passed the Creatures Grotto on Reed Flower Island. Mrs. Tuoyan wanted to take a look around again. Shao Yunyan had to remind her, "Do you really think this is a sightseeing trip?"

Mrs. Tuoyan shot him a flirtatious glance. "The Hidden Official didn't give me a specific deadline, so there's no hurry, right?"

There was one good thing about dealing with Chen Ping'an: the transactions were fair and very clean.

Shao Yunyan barely managed to stop Mrs. Tuoyan from going to the Yuzhu Sect's Cloud Grotto Blessed Land. Instead, they boarded a transcontinental ferry and headed straight for Old Dragon City in Treasure Bottle Continent.

When they reached the Nantang Lake area, Mrs. Tuoyan looked at the withered plum trees. She rubbed her brow and clicked her tongue. "A terrible sight. There is no word for it but tragic. The Hidden Official has given me a huge problem."

Because of the string of gourd vine, Shao Yunyan was half an expert in plant cultivation, even more advanced than an average agricultural cultivator.

Shao Yunyan nodded. "It's indeed difficult. If it's really too much, don't force it. The Hidden Official won't mind."

Mrs. Tuoyan smiled sweetly. "Won't force it? It's normal for Sword Immortal Shao to say 'won't.' Men, after all."

Shao Yunyan ignored the jab and just said, "Either don't get involved. If you really want to help the Green Plum Temple restore its old appearance, then go all out."

Mrs. Tuoyan rolled her eyes. "Do I need you to tell me that?"

The two rode the wind across the surface of Nantang Lake toward the island where the Green Plum Temple was located.

They landed in front of the temple's main gate. The gatekeeper was a young girl at the Cave Abode realm.

Mrs. Tuoyan handed over two name cards she had prepared in advance. The cards were of rose-red paper, inscribed with gold powder: "Mei Sou," with the Daoist name "Plum Blossom Master."

Shao Yunyan glanced at his own name card and smiled wryly. "Shao Shanshi." A very elegant name, but no Daoist title.

Mrs. Tuoyan said with a smile, "We come from Southern Brasa Continent. We heard that the plum blossoms at Nantang Lake are extremely beautiful, so we came to see them." She pretended to look around. "Seeing is believing."

The young gatekeeper looked embarrassed. Was this visitor joking?

Shao Yunyan didn't let Mrs. Tuoyan ramble on. He smiled and said, "We were passing by and thought we'd beg the Green Plum Temple for two bowls of plum syrup."

The girl braced herself and asked softly, "Honored guests, besides the name cards, do you have mountain and water passes issued by Da Li?"

In the past, the Green Plum Temple hadn't had such strict rules. But times had changed. Da Li's regulations were clear, and no one dared to treat them lightly.

Shao Yunyan nodded. "Yes." He took two travel permits for mountain affairs from his sleeve. These had been used when attending the sect ceremony at Fallen Mountain. Moreover, since the Dragon Elephant Sword Sect had established itself in Southern Brasa Continent, both he and Mrs. Tuoyan were registered cultivators. When traveling, they naturally carried the permits with them.

Shao Yunyan's was under his real name. According to regulations, the permits needed to state the sect or organization. For a wandering cultivator, the place of origin had to be clearly written.

Mrs. Tuoyan used an alias, "Mei Qingke," and also gave herself a Daoist name, "Qu Xian."

The girl was sharp-witted. When she saw "Dragon Elephant Sword Sect" on the permits, she was startled. After double-checking, she immediately returned the permits, made a Daoist salute to Shao Yunyan, and performed a wanfu to Mrs. Tuoyan. Addressing them respectfully, she said, "Greetings, Sword Immortal Shao, Sword Immortal Mei."

It didn't matter what their actual realms were. If they were registered cultivators of the Dragon Elephant Sword Sect, calling them "Sword Immortal" was the right thing to do!

Even if she lived in obscurity, the girl knew about the Dragon Elephant Sword Sect. It was an unattainably high sword sect.

Grand Sword Immortal Qi from the Sword Qi Great Wall led it! And within the sect was that great female sword immortal named Lu Zhi!

She had heard that the number of disciples in the sect was extremely small, and all without exception were sword immortal seeds.

Anyway, they were all great figures far, far away.

She never expected to be so lucky as to meet two of them today.

Mrs. Tuoyan couldn't help but laugh. Covering her mouth, she giggled. "Oh my, being respectfully called 'Sword Immortal Shao.'"

The girl shyly changed her address. "Great Sword Immortal Shao?"

Mrs. Tuoyan barely suppressed her laughter.

Shao Yunyan was even more exasperated.

The girl led the two honored guests to see the temple master. She plucked up her courage and asked in a small voice, "Sword Immortal Shao, Sword Immortal Mei, do you know Mr. Lu?"

Nowadays, countless female cultivators in the Haoran World admired Lu Zhi.

This great female sword immortal, originally from the Haoran World, had chosen to make the Sword Qi Great Wall her home and regard sword cultivators as her fellow townsmen.

She had outstanding battle merits and a strong personality. It was rumored that Lu Zhi was also stunningly beautiful and was one of the top ten peak sword immortals of the Sword Qi Great Wall, qualified to participate in the legendary city-wall discussions...

Now, cultivators in the Haoran World had heard many things about the Sword Qi Great Wall through hearsay. So many people liked to talk, and so many more liked to listen, that there was a saying: "One wine feast can't finish telling ten thousand years of stories."

For this young Green Plum Temple cultivator girl, the interest and attention were mostly on Lu Zhi.

And of course, Ning Yao, who was said to be a fairy couple with the last Hidden Official.

Shao Yunyan said with a smile, "Our sect doesn't have many people now, so of course, we know Mr. Lu."

Mrs. Tuoyan reached out and rubbed the girl's cheek, laughing. "Admiring only our Mr. Lu—you have excellent taste, little lady."

The girl blushed.

In the Green Plum Temple, countless withered plum trees seemed to come back to life, instantly sprouting countless new branches.

Mrs. Tuoyan sent a telepathic message. "I've just lost three hundred years of my Dao!"

Shao Yunyan smiled telepathically. "Go tell the Hidden Official yourself."

Mrs. Tuoyan immediately changed her tune, feeling guilty. "At least two hundred years."

"I have no say in it. But with the Hidden Official's temperament, he'll definitely come inspect it."

"One hundred and twenty years! If it's one year less, I'll take your surname!"

"Reporting it as a hundred and fifty years—I think that would be fine."

"Shao Yunyan, you're not going to say one thing to my face and another behind my back, are you?"

"After all, we're from the same sect. You can't even trust me that much?"

"Don't try to trick me! I'll take you seriously!"

"Forget it, I'll let you in on the secret. The Hidden Official himself gave the go-ahead for you to pad the number by twenty or thirty percent."

"..."

----

Dieyun Ridge, a Mountain God Temple in the Qi Crossing Waters of Central Treasure Bottle Continent.

In an instant, mist rose, filling the entire temple.

An uninvited guest had arrived. She wore a mask, had a tall, slender figure, and a long sword hung at her waist with a golden sword tassel.

Her qi aura was extremely dense with water fortunes. If she hadn't been deliberately suppressing her water god aura...

The low-ranking mountain god, Dou Yan, would have felt suffocated, like an ordinary person drowning.

Dou Yan recognized the visitor and dared not be negligent. He immediately emerged from his golden idol form, hurriedly changing into a rarely-worn mountain god official robe to avoid being impolite.

When he looked closely, he saw that besides the sword, she also had an official waist token from the Da Li Ministry of Rites, inscribed with the calligraphy of the head of the Tianshui Zhao clan.

It was the Qi Crossing Perennial Spring Marquis, Yang Hua.

The mountain god's golden body landed and made a bow. "Dieyun Ridge Mountain God Dou Yan, pays respects to the Qi Crossing Perennial Spring Marquis. Your Excellency's distinguished presence, I, the humble god, failed to welcome you properly."

Yang Hua nodded coldly and glanced at the incense burner on the long table at the foot of the golden idol. It seemed that the mountain fortune of Dieyun Ridge alone might not be enough to nurture a incense sprite.

However, the stability of Dieyun Ridge's dragon vein and mountain root surprised Yang Hua a bit. It was not inferior to the tenacity of a small country's five sacred mountains in years past.

If a sect's foundation can be seen in the number of Earth Immortal cultivators who started peaks, then for a great river marquis like Yang Hua, whose "courtyard garden is deep, how deep," one had to look at the number of mountain and river temples within her jurisdiction. Whether each mountain and river temple had an incense sprite was the most intuitive "threshold." If crossed, it would nourish the golden body and speed up the improvement of rank. If not, it was a year-after-year "subsistence farming." So the importance of incense spirits was similar to a cultivator forming a golden core.

Dou Yan was still worried about the situation of his good friend Cen Wenqian. The mountain god decided to skip the official flattery and get straight to the point with the marquis, even if he had to brace himself. If Yang Hua had come today to personally interrogate him about the Tiaobo River matter, then both he and Dieyun Ridge would share the burden with the River Earl Cen. So he asked cautiously, "Your Excellency, does your visit to my humble temple concern Cen Wenqian's matter of changing a river into a lake?"

It was no wonder Dou Yan was uneasy. Without the permission of the Da Li court and the Qi Crossing Marquess Residence to take such an action, it was a major taboo for a mountain and water spirit. If they encountered an unsympathetic superior, it might be hard even to keep the golden body and the temple.

Yang Hua ignored the question. She stepped out of the temple and walked toward a bamboo-built viewing pavilion on a cliff. The small pavilion had a plaque reading "Piling Green, Pushing Clouds," and the couplets were also the work of the Tiaobo River Earl Cen Wenqian. The masked female river marquis entered the pavilion. With one hand behind her back and the other on her sword hilt, she looked out at the completely dried-up Tiaobo River, which had changed course. Not far away was a brand new lake, connected to the Dieyun Ridge mountain range. The water was clear and spiritual. It seemed that the original Tiaobo River water creatures hadn't been drawn into the lake by Cen Wenqian's water magic. It appeared that River Earl Cen had some sense of proportion.

This great river course change was a major affair, involving a wide range of things. Just the people who had to leave their homes numbered over a million. So the Da Li capital and the secondary capital had jointly drawn five vice ministers from the Rites, Public Works, and Revenue Ministries to establish a temporary office for the great river course change, overseeing the matter. The Central March and the Perennial Spring and Linli Mountains—one mountain and one river—were responsible for coordination. In this region alone, six river tributaries, including the Tiaobo River, had been abandoned.

Except for Cen Wenqian, who was lucky enough to benefit from the misfortune of gaining a lake from the sky and didn't need to relocate, the water gods, river earls, and river wives of the other five tributaries had no choice but to follow Da Li's predetermined plan. They had to abandon their original temples and water mansions, change their golden body locations, be transferred to the residences of higher-ranking water gods as water officials, or lower their golden jade registers to become new river spirits. For the loss incurred by moving their golden bodies, the Da Li court could only provide a certain amount of gold essence coins, at most making up seventy or eighty percent. The rest would have to be filled by the local people's incense.

A blessing in disguise was that this kind of "water god crossing mountains, mountain god wading through rivers" relocation, while grueling for the mountain and water spirits, wouldn't damage the foundation of their divine path.

Dou Yan followed Yang Hua nervously, his heart pounding. Judging by her demeanor, was she really coming to interrogate Cen Wenqian?

In officialdom, whether on the mountain or below, when you meet a new superior, you like to get to the bottom of their origins.

For example, if a person came from a wealthy family, you'd ask about their clan and surname. If they were of humble origin, you'd ask about their mentor, their examination patrons, and especially who their father-in-law was.

Dou Yan wasn't as inflexible as his neighbor and good friend Cen Wenqian. Whether alive as a human official or dead as a guardian spirit, Cen Wenqian was clearly more adaptable. He had accumulated more incense friendships in the mountain and water officialdom and had more inside information. So Dou Yan had long heard a whole basket of stories about this Perennial Spring Marquis. She had a big background and an even bigger patron. She was said to have connections that reached the heavens—truly someone with influence at court!

In the Da Li capital region, the grand leader of the various celestial mansions, large and small, was called the Perennial Spring Palace. One of its old masters was one of the tomb guardians of the Song clan's place of origin for the Da Li dragon.

It was said that the Da Li Empress Dowager Nan Zan, who came from Yuzhang Commandery in Hongzhou, had once "left the capital by imperial decree" in her early days as empress and had lived as a hermit at the Perennial Spring Palace. Yang Hua, at that time one of the empress's trusted maidservants, later served as the water god of the Iron Talisman River for a few years. Now she had just been appointed as the Perennial Spring Marquis of Qi Crossing. What a coincidence! Who wouldn't envy her?

Even though Yang Hua's rank as a water god remained unchanged—still a third-rank water god—whether in terms of the waters she governed or her actual authority, she had undoubtedly been promoted. This was like the head of a minor government office in the court versus a vice minister of a major ministry—there was no comparison.

Furthermore, the Iron Talisman River was located in the old Dragon Prefecture of Da Li's heartland. Dragon Prefecture was a region teeming with spirits, a hotbed of trouble. It was also a neighbor to the Cloud-Carrying Mountain, where the Northern March mountain lord held sway. There were constraints everywhere, similar to the "appended county" in the civil service, subject to the authority of others. So coming to "serve as an official" in the central region's great river was undoubtedly an excellent assignment.

As for the vacant position of the Iron Talisman River water god, some said it would be filled by a promotion from the Three Rivers water god at Red Candle Town. Others said an outside water god would be transferred in. There was plenty of speculation.

Dou Yan really didn't know whether his humble Dieyun Ridge could bear much of the marquis's wrath on behalf of Cen Wenqian.

The first thing Yang Hua did as the new Perennial Spring Marquis of the great river was to issue a decree forbidding all subordinate mountain and water spirits from coming to congratulate her.

So to this day, many of the prefectural city god lords from Da Li's southern region had not yet met this Perennial Spring Marquis.

That was because Yang Hua planned to visit all the mountain temples, water mansions, earth god temples, and various city god temples under her jurisdiction within two years. It would be a kind of undercover inspection, with no advance notice given to any temple. She wanted to personally evaluate the amount of merit and demerit of each spirit. After two years, she would gather all her subordinates for promotions and demotions. Whether to reward or punish, everything would be done according to the marquis's residence regulations. Any indolence or incompetence in the residence's various departments, or any local spirit who thought they could rest on their laurels, would have to wait and see.

According to the new laws and regulations enacted after the Wen Temple meeting, apart from the ceremonial aspects of the golden jade register, they were almost a complete copy of the Da Li dynasty.

Furthermore, the Confucian sages had established a set of regulations for mountain and water spirits. In each continent, a great river could be recognized with the creation of at most three top-rank positions—"Duke," "Marquis," and "Earl"—and one or two River Prefects. Currently, at the Qi Crossing in Treasure Bottle Continent, there was only one marquis and one earl. Yang Hua's Perennial Spring Marquis and the Linli Earl, an old river dragon from the Qiantang River's Wind and Water Cave. No water god in Treasure Bottle Continent had yet obtained the Duke of the Great River title, and the position of River Prefect was also vacant for now.

Currently, the Confucian saints of the Central Wen Temple presided over the ceremonies for the world's mountain and water spiritual recognitions. For things like the Four Seas Dukes and the Central Earth's Five Sacred Mountains, one of the Wen Temple's vice patriarchs would personally appear.

For the great river Dukes, Marquises, and Earls, the ceremony would be presided over by a libationer from one of the colleges. Then would come the college's vice libationers and the mountain master of the local continent's college.

She had left the Iron Talisman River, which had only rank and no real power, and not much scope for action. But now, as much as forty percent of this great central river's waters was under her jurisdiction. And officially, the "Qiantang Elder," the old dragon whose dojo was at the Wind and Water Cave, was only enfeoffed as the Linli Marquis, half a step lower than her Perennial Spring Marquis. As long as the Qi Crossing didn't have a Duke-order river lord like the Water Duke, Yang Hua was the preeminent water god among the many.

The Da Li court had intentionally created this situation, wanting the continent's water gods to compete for that prestigious position through their achievements and their own records.

Yang Hua withdrew her gaze, sat down in the pavilion, and didn't make the Mountain God Dou Yan sit down to appear approachable. He could stand and answer her questions. Whether he had the right to sit would depend on his ability.

If after this round of questioning she was extremely dissatisfied, it remained to be seen whether Dou Yan could hold on to his position as the Dieyun Ridge mountain god.

Next, she asked Dou Yan a series of questions: changes in the number of households in the Dieyun Ridge region, taxes and grain reserves in several prefectures and counties, the cultural and educational achievements of several superior counties' instructors in recent years, the recompilation of local chronicles, the construction of various official and private memorial archways, the repair of postal roads, how to deal with some abandoned charitable estates... The variety was endless. Yang Hua not only asked in great detail but also asked about the changes in the number of child scholars in the last ten years—whether the overall trend was increase or decrease, and how it looked in specific prefectures and counties...

Yang Hua asked about all of these. In short, she would pick two or three questions from each of over a dozen categories—cultural affairs, products, trade, and so on. Dou Yan could only answer about half of them satisfactorily, and Yang Hua was clearly not pleased with some of the answers. She pointed out omissions or small numerical deviations on the spot, making the mountain god, who was standing respectfully and answering questions, feel his scalp tingle. He felt like a schoolboy who had been neglecting his studies, facing a strict teacher who was meticulously checking his homework.

While feeling anxious, the Mountain God Dou Yan also had a strange feeling: he began to envy his old friend Cen Wenqian. If the River Earl encountered similar questions, he would certainly just be blunt and plead ignorance!

Dou Yan suddenly remembered a strange man he had met before, a man in a green robe whom he had mistaken for an official from the Da Li Ministry of Public Works. When he first appeared by the Tiaobo River, he had made a series of pointed remarks about Cen Wenqian, saying things in a very sarcastic tone—that River Earl Cen was indeed too casual, disdained management, didn't care about the amount of incense at all, and that in two hundred years, only two "like wives" of the people along the Tiaobo River had passed the Jinshi examination...

Could this have been a kind of... advance notice? Like a leaked exam question?

Was it because this man was extremely familiar with the Perennial Spring Marquis Yang Hua's style of doing things, so he had given him an early warning?

Back then, he had treated it as a joke, thinking that this guy was just beating around the bush to insult Cen Wenqian, and it was quite satisfying to hear. But now, he had become the joke.

Yang Hua seemed satisfied, as about thirty percent of the questions she asked went beyond the duties of a mountain god.

It could be said that Mountain God Dou Yan of Dieyun Ridge had not brought her any unexpected surprises, but he had earned the appraisal of "conscientious."

Yang Hua suddenly said, "I heard that Cen Wenqian served as a commissioner of transport for a country during his lifetime."

Dou Yan carefully chose his words. "Your Excellency is perceptive. Cen Wenqian, as a former vice minister of public works, overcame opposition, managed the complex relationships between the capital and local officialdom and interest groups, and successfully oversaw both the dredging of the waterways and the establishment of grain stores. In his three years in office, he achieved considerable results. I won't speak in clichés about 'merits for a thousand years,' but I can say that Cen Wenqian's posthumous title of 'Wen Duan' was not undeserved."

Yang Hua said nothing.

Dou Yan was at a loss. A higher rank crushes a person, and the difference in their official ranks was vast. And most importantly, as the Perennial Spring Marquis, Yang Hua held great power, and the Da Li court wouldn't interfere too much in the affairs of the great river.

Yang Hua turned her head to look at the old Tiaobo River channel. She suddenly remarked, "I recall that the Tiaobo River once had the reputation of 'old fish leaping over the waves to chew on flowers and eat.' Now that the river has been changed to a lake, it's a bit of a pity to lose the unique apricot blossom bass, which graced so many poems and fine works by scholars over the centuries."

Dou Yan's heart leaped with joy.

But Yang Hua's next question made Dou Yan fall into an ice cave immediately. "Previously, the Water Mansion Inspection Department sent an official document to the River Earl's residence asking for the specific reasons and process. Why has there been no reply for so long?"

Dou Yan cursed inwardly, but not against the honest officials of the marquis residence's Inspection Department. He was cursing River Earl Cen Wenqian, who was such a clam that he hadn't even given him a heads-up.

Now, the Perennial Spring Marquis's residence for the great river had two plaques hanging at the same government office: the Great River Marquis Residence and the Blue Sky Palace.

One was the official title granted by the court, and the other was the divine dojo of the water spirit.

By regulation, there were sixteen departments, among which the Water Mansion Inspection Department was a critical agency that dealt with serious matters.

Previously, the marquis's residence had received a letter from Dieyun Ridge. At the end of the letter was a private seal: "Chen Shiyi."

It had almost caused trouble.

Although the envelope was addressed "Personal: To the Perennial Spring Marquis," and not the more polite "Respectfully to be Opened" or "Dao Opening," the clerks in charge of receiving correspondence didn't dare to casually take a letter, see the phrase "Personal" on the envelope, and actually deliver it directly to a great river marquis, the master of the residence, making him "personally unseal" it.

Moreover, the sender was Mountain God Dou Yan of Dieyun Ridge. The water mansion clerks had to look up the archives to find out he was a tiny mountain god. This led to a mistake. The receiving clerk first, according to procedure, found a vice official in charge of such matters at the marquis residence. Under this official's witness, they opened the letter together. Since not many old hands from the Iron Talisman River Water Mansion had been brought to the great river marquis's residence, and Yang Hua didn't have a habit of nepotism, she used some new faces transferred from the Da Li secondary capital. Most of them were former water gods and aquatic immortals who had benefited from the river course changes. Even if they hadn't been promoted, they had at least become close subordinates of the marquis.

In short, there was a tangle of rights and wrongs in the mountain and water officialdom. Several high-ranking officials in the water mansion's various departments had longstanding grudges against the small river earl Cen Wenqian. They just didn't like Cen Wenqian's aloof temperament. One of the supervising officials of the Archives Office, probably thinking he had found a golden opportunity, took the "evidence" to his colleagues in the Inspection Department. The latter, as his duty required, dared not be lax and sent a letter to the Tiaobo River Earl Cen Wenqian. The contents were severe in wording but generally remained within official procedure. Among other things, it demanded Cen Wenqian clarify the true identity of the person who called himself "Daoist Master Cao" but used the seal "Chen Shiyi," and which sect he was from.

When the Inspection Department's supervising official reported the matter to the Perennial Spring Marquis, Yang Hua said nothing at the time. She didn't immediately order the Inspection Department to send people to the Tiaobo River. Otherwise, the Inspection Department only needed the new Perennial Spring Marquis to nod, and they could arrest the River Earl Cen for illegally building a lake and expanding his private territory.

But deep down, Yang Hua had no intention of pursuing the matter against the Inspection Department, but she was already very angry about the Archives Office water mansion vice official's personal vendetta.

If she had just received the secret letter, she would have read it and tossed it aside, pretending nothing had happened. She would have simply ignored it.

She might even have handed it directly to the Da Li Empress Dowager in the capital.

She had no connection with Fallen Mountain whatsoever and had no incense friendship with Chen Ping'an.

At most, Yang Hua would have acted impartially, rewarding and punishing fairly. As long as the Dieyun Ridge mountain god and the Tiaobo River earl didn't break the rules, that was best. If they expected her to take care of their official careers in the future, that was wishful thinking on Chen Ping'an's part.

Then her own water mansion had made this mess. The Inspection Department directly sent a reprimanding document to the Tiaobo River, bypassing Dieyun Ridge and Dou Yan, forcing Cen Wenqian to publicly reveal the identity of "Chen Shiyi."

So she had had to come in person to Dieyun Ridge and the Tiaobo River.

Otherwise, it would have been clear that the young mountain lord of Fallen Mountain had already written a personal letter to inform her. Yang Hua had not shown any special favor to Dieyun Ridge. Chen Ping'an couldn't find any fault with that.

This matter would have been tacitly dropped between the water mansion and Fallen Mountain, a mutual understanding. But now it seemed that Yang Hua had received the letter and still let her water mansion clerks deliberately harass the River Earl Cen Wenqian. This changed the nature of the matter. If not handled properly, it would be like her Perennial Spring Marquis Residence slapping Fallen Mountain in the face.

Even if Yang Hua had no wish to cultivate connections with Fallen Mountain, she certainly didn’t want to become an enemy of it.

So she sent a letter to the Da Li court. Soon, she received a secret letter from the imperial palace in the capital.

But it all came from the Perennial Spring Palace. It was, of course, written in the Da Li Empress Dowager's own hand.

The letter had just one sentence: "As per the letter, and without violating the ceremonial laws of Da Li's mountain and water system, the Perennial Spring Water Mansion can treat Dieyun Ridge and Tiaobo River favorably."

This put Yang Hua at ease.

But she couldn't help speculating: was Chen Ping'an scheming against her?

Otherwise, he could have just sent the letter himself. Why would he have Dieyun Ridge's Dou Yan do it? And in that letter, he deliberately obscured his identity, mentioning "an old acquaintance from Dragon Prefecture," writing in a vague and roundabout way, especially that phrase, "always traveling far away, never had the chance to visit the Iron Talisman River Water God Mansion," and "now the great river's official duties are busy; just wait until the Marquis has some leisure time, send a message, and I will dare to come and trouble you." Did he have no shame?

If Chen Ping'an had clearly identified himself on the envelope, would anyone in the water mansion's various departments have dared to make things difficult? They would probably have felt honored just to receive the letter, without even opening it!

Besides, nowadays, which mountain immortal mansion on the continent wasn't afraid that the young sword immortal who liked to dismantle ancestral halls might send them a letter containing only the words "I challenge you to a sword duel"?

Although she couldn't see Yang Hua's expression, Dou Yan sensed that the marquis was not in a particularly good mood at the moment.

Yang Hua stood up. "Dou Yan, as a mountain god, you should benefit the region you govern. You must continue to do your best from now on. Keep in mind that the mountain and water officialdom is not entirely the same as the Da Li civil service. The latter emphasizes 'staying within one's bounds, performing one's duties, not doing too little, and not doing too much.' But for us mountain and water spirits, within your own jurisdiction, whether it's mountain immortal mansion cultivators or the prefectures and counties below, you must pay attention to everything, big or small."

Dou Yan quickly bowed. "I humbly accept your Excellency's instruction."

Dou Yan, in officialdom, feared a superior who was abstract, but he was not afraid of one who was pragmatic.

After that, Yang Hua went to the old Tiaobo River temple and met the River Earl Cen Wenqian, who looked like a young Confucian scholar.

When the marquis asked about the official document from the Inspection Department, Cen Wenqian only said that he would follow the rules and had nothing to explain.

Yang Hua remarked with a smile, "A backbone that's too stiff isn't suitable for being an official."

The small river earl replied calmly, without warmth, "If the backbone isn't stiff, what kind of parent official would you be? The kind of official who is a mere ancestral tablet, receiving offerings from the people but never seen?"

Yang Hua sneered. "A good, honest official is easy to be; a capable minister is hard. You could say that about Dou Yan, but coming from your mouth, it's a bit ridiculous."

Cen Wenqian was silent.

The sage said, "In life, one is honored; in death, one is mourned." During his lifetime, he had served as Minister of Rites, and after his death, he was posthumously awarded the title of Grand Guardian of the Heir Apparent, with a fine posthumous name. Indeed, Cen Wenqian could be said to have enjoyed the ultimate mourning and honor. Even after his death, becoming the river earl here, he had once been full of passion and a warm heart. But repeatedly hitting obstacles, finding office even more difficult than when he was alive, he watched helplessly as the government became dark, the ruler and his ministers were muddled, and his neighboring mountain and water colleagues everywhere ostracized him. They conspired with the court officials, civilian and military, to jointly suppress the Tiaobo River. It was said that several promising scholars of letters, who had secret lanterns from the Tiaobo River hanging behind them in the afterworld, would move their entire families away, only to pass the imperial examinations with flying colors in just a few years... In the end, Cen Wenqian could only become dejected and disheartened.

Yang Hua also didn't feel like discussing official matters with Cen Wenqian. This river earl could just enjoy the lake from now on. Later, the marquis's residence would issue an order to gather the nearby river dragons and water spirits, collect those apricot blossom bass, and put them back into the lake for cultivation. From now on, her water mansion would simply treat Tiaobo Lake as if it didn't exist, and it would be a sufficient explanation to Chen Ping'an. In any case, Cen Wenqian was not adept at accomplishing things, but he wasn't the type to cause any major trouble either.

Seeing that the marquis was about to leave, Cen Wenqian hesitated for a moment, then took out a booklet from his sleeve. He said, "Marquis Yang, these are my humble views on the Qi Crossing great river course change. Although Da Li has already advanced most of the project and the hydrological network is clear, in my opinion, certain things may not have been perfected. For example, in the Dendrobium River region, the Da Li Ministry of Public Works officials and water engineers have adhered too rigidly to old rites and systems in the two matters of 'cutting bends' and 'reversing the flow.' Furthermore, regarding the post-dredging soil improvements in the three prefectures of Wu Prefecture, while the short-term results are remarkable, in the long run, there are many drawbacks. Within the next hundred years, there is a high probability of the 'river-snatching' danger."

He paused, then smiled wryly and stopped talking about the unpleasant trivialities. He concluded, "I only hope that the officials of the course-change department temporarily set up at the Perennial Spring Marquis's residence will take a little look at this."

Yang Hua took the thick booklet and asked suspiciously, "Why didn't you present it earlier?"

Whether Cen Wenqian submitted it to her own great river marquis residence or to the Ministry of Public Works in the Da Li secondary capital, it would have been perfectly fine. There was no taboo against skipping levels in the civil service.

Because the Da Li court had clear regulations on which matters low and mid-level officials were "not permitted," "permitted," and "permitted to make exceptions to the rules" in submitting suggestions to the court.

Officials just needed to act according to the rules. There was no such thing as "discretionary handling" after the fact. The Da Li laws were all written very clearly and precisely.

Cen Wenqian replied, "I'm not afraid of it being read for nothing; I'm afraid of it being written for nothing, only to end up taking up space in some archive room."

Yang Hua actually began flipping through the booklet right there. She shook her head and said, "Cen Wenqian, don't have such thoughts in the future. Whether it's the newly established course-change supervisory office, packed with vice ministers, or my own course-change department, this booklet is not destined to gather dust. Moreover, according to the law, the supervising officials, even if they don't adopt your suggestions, must give you a definite reply. The court and the water mansion need to file records. Furthermore, the Ministry of Personnel in the Da Li capital and secondary capital sends officials every year to the archives to spot-check official documents. These eventually become part of the content for the quadrennial 'Grand Evaluation' of local officials."

Yang Hua closed the book and said abruptly, "Let's go to your water mansion for a while..."

Intending to read the booklet carefully, she reconsidered and said, "Forget it. I'm an outsider after all. I can hardly tell right from wrong based on what's in the booklet. You come directly with me to the water mansion's course-change department and explain the matters in the booklet in detail to the water mansion officials. Even though I'm an outsider, I'll sit in on the meeting."

Cen Wenqian asked doubtfully, "Leave immediately?"

"Otherwise?" Yang Hua laughed dryly. "I don't care for fishing. Besides, the entire Tiaobo River has dried up. Unless, River Earl, you intend to act as host and offer me some wine?"

Cen Wenqian laughed. "In the art of officialdom, I'm far inferior to Mountain God Dou Yan. Something like inviting a superior to drink—I'm incapable of that."

Yang Hua laughed. "Before coming to you, I went to Dieyun Ridge. I didn't get to test Mountain God Dou's tolerance for alcohol."

Cen Wenqian seemed to have something to say but held back.

Yang Hua said, "Dou Yan is not bad. He's quite attentive to things that seemingly don't require his concern. He's more than enough as the mountain god of Dieyun Ridge."

Cen Wenqian breathed a sigh of relief.

The marquis and the river earl each used their water magic to head directly to the Perennial Spring Marquis's Water Mansion, but Yang Hua slowed down to accommodate Cen Wenqian.

Cen Wenqian looked down at the rivers and mountains. Suddenly, he sent a telepathic message: "Will the Da Li court, thirty or fifty years from now, still maintain the same upward and vibrant energy it has today?"

After all, beneath the mountain, it was still a matter of one dynasty, one court.

And now the Da Li dynasty no longer had the national advisor, Cui Chan.

Who could guarantee that the next Da Li Song emperor would still be a wise ruler of outstanding talent, and would not change course, causing the national momentum to decline?

Yang Hua nodded with a smile. "I'm sure it will."

It was actually a question that bordered on treason, but Yang Hua answered without hesitation.

Cen Wenqian asked, "Why is Marquis Yang so certain?"

Yang Hua's mood was complicated, her thoughts wandering far. After a moment, she came back to herself and smiled. "We'll just have to wait and see."