492. Game Between Father and Son

Although there was a blurry “barrier” between them, Xu Qi’an could imagine that the white-robed arcanist’s face was growing more and more serious, more and more unpleasant, darker and darker…

“Or perhaps I should call you ‘Xu Pingfeng’, if that is your real name.”

The white-robed arcanist did not answer. The valley fell silent as father and son stared at each other.

One was dressed in snow-white robes, the other covered in blood.

The wind lifted the arcanist’s robes. He let out a sigh, full of loss, and slowly said,

“How did you figure it out?”

Xu Qi’an grinned, his gaze defiant. “Guess.”

His face was pale and haggard, his ragged clothes soaked in sweat and blood, but after their true identities had been revealed, that unruly look in his eyes only grew stronger.

The white-robed arcanist pondered for a moment and said, “Through the Heaven’s Secrets technique…”

Xu Qi’an sneered:

“Wherever you go, you leave traces. To me, so long as there’s a flaw in your concealment, it will never be unbreakable.”

The white-robed arcanist said nothing, operating the stone disc. The great formation, made up of one hundred and eight smaller arrays, was refining the fortune within Xu Qi’an.

Trapped in crisis, Xu Qi’an remained calm and said,

“What does it mean to shield Heaven’s secrets? Does it mean erasing a person from the world completely? Clearly not, or else no one would know of the first Jianzheng, and the current Jianzheng would be remembered as the first.

“When I learned the truth behind the tax silver case and realised there was a great enemy lurking in the shadows, I kept thinking about how to deal with arcanists, especially their inscrutable shielding of Heaven’s Secrets. Today, now that you’ve shielded me, I wasn’t unprepared for this scenario.

“Gradually, I worked out two limits to the concealing Heaven’s Secrets technique.

“First: there is a limit to concealing Heaven’s Secrets, divided into influence and causality.

“Influence means, if you conceal a stone by the roadside, no one will notice it’s missing. It’s basically been erased from the world, because it has almost no inherent influence; it’s just an unremarkable stone.

“But you can’t conceal Jinluan Hall in the imperial palace, because it’s too important, without it, people’s understanding would break down, logic wouldn’t add up, and the effect of concealing Heaven’s Secrets would be minimal.

“It’s the same as when the current Jianzheng concealed the first generation and all events from five hundred years ago, people still know the Wuzong Emperor usurped the throne, because that event is far too significant, nothing like a roadside pebble.

“Similarly, if you replace objects with people: if you conceal a person, those with little or no connection to them will completely forget them, because their existence or non-existence makes no difference to those people.

“But to their closest family, their dearest friends, their loved ones, logic cannot be reconciled. It’s simple: if you erase my parents, I still won’t forget them, because every person must have parents, no one pops out of a rock.

“So, to ‘persuade’ themselves, to make the logic add up, people self-deceive and tell themselves, ‘My parents died when I was born’. That’s causality: the deeper the bond, the harder it is for the Heaven’s Secrets technique to erase it.”

This was actually what the wild arcanist Gongyang Su, whom Xu Qi’an had met in Yongzhou’s underground palace, had told him.

That rogue arcanist, his school descended from the first Jianzheng, had made the workings of concealing Heaven’s Secrets clear as day.

The white-robed arcanist sighed. “Impressive. What’s the second limitation?”

Xu Qi’an said solemnly, “The second limitation is that for high-ranking martial artists, concealment is only temporary.”

Wei Yuan could recall the first Jianzheng’s existence, but only if he deliberately thought about related information, then he would suddenly remember the Sitianjian once had a first Jianzheng.

The white-robed arcanist nodded. “It depends on causality too. High-ranked people with little connection to you would not recall you at all, but those deeply entangled with you will soon remember, and just as quickly forget. It goes in cycles.

“No surprise, Luo Yuheng and Zhao Shou will soon remember you, but they can’t find this place. Concealing your Heaven’s secrets was only ever to buy time.”

That’s frightening enough… Xu Qi’an thought. Then he said,

“Actually, I suspect there’s a third limitation, but I can’t be sure, maybe you could clear it up for me?”

He paused, then continued regardless of the arcanist’s reaction:

“If I were to appear before my kin, or the people of the capital, right now, would they remember me? Would the concealing Heaven’s Secrets fail automatically?”

“Is that so important?”

As he spoke, the white-robed arcanist traced formation runes in the air, streaks of pure light forming symbols that entered Xu Qi’an’s body, speeding up the refining of his fortune.

“It is important. If my guess is right, then as soon as you appear over the capital, or in front of the crowd, the concealing Heaven’s Secrets will fail on its own, my Second Uncle will remember his big brother.”

The white-robed arcanist was silent for a while, then smiled. “Anything else?”

Xu Qi’an hooked up the corner of his mouth. “The Jianzheng had six disciples in total, but in all my dealings with the Sitianjian’s arcanists, I never once heard mention of the eldest disciple. That’s very odd.

“Thinking about it, the only explanation was that he’d concealed himself.

“But at the time, I didn’t realise the Jianzheng’s eldest disciple was the high-ranking arcanist who appeared in Yunzhou, the mastermind behind everything, because I didn’t yet know the connection between the first and second arcanist ranks.”

If he’d known that a second-rank arcanist had to betray his master to advance, he would have figured everything out sooner and not been toyed with by this Literary Star of the Xu family.

Xu Qi’an spoke calmly and confidently, like a seasoned detective, the situation seeming to reverse as the always-unreadable white-robed arcanist listened in silence.

Though he was on the chopping block, Xu Qi’an spoke unhurriedly, in no hurry at all.

Since he’d known about the white-robed arcanist’s existence and that his own fortune was a ‘gift’ from him, how could Xu Qi’an have ever let down his guard?

No one would treat their own life and death carelessly.

“If I’d kept investigating along those lines, I’d eventually have realised that my true enemy was the Jianzheng’s eldest disciple. But then, I met Ji Qian in Jianzhou and from this imperial bloodline learned crucial information: the existence of that imperial line from five hundred years ago, and that the first Jianzheng was still alive.

“It all made perfect sense, there were no logical flaws. You exploited this information gap and led me to believe the first Jianzheng had survived. Your goal was to drive a wedge between me and the Jianzheng, to make me suspicious of him, because Ji Qian told me that if my fortune was extracted, I might die.

“So, of course, I’d be on guard against the Jianzheng seizing my fortune by force, anyone would be. But in fact, everything Ji Qian told me was exactly what you wanted me to know. No doubt, you were in Jianzhou at the time.”

The white-robed arcanist did not stop inscribing formation runes. He nodded, “That’s true, I didn’t lie to you.”

Xu Qi’an narrowed his eyes, agreeing, “Actually, you deliberately sent Ji Qian for me to kill. Sowing discord between me and the Jianzheng was only part of your aim, the main thing was to get the dragon fang into my hands, so I could use it to destroy the spirit of the dragon ley.”

The white-robed arcanist tacitly acknowledged this, then sighed:

“There was another reason. Dying at the hand of the first generation Jianzheng is always better than dying at the hand of one’s own father. I didn’t want you to know the truth. But in the end, you found out who I really am.”

Xu Qi’an gave a short snicker. “So should I thank you for your fatherly love?”

He took a deep breath and said:

“In fact, it was during the investigation into Zhende that I realised your existence. The imperial diary from years 10 and 11 of Yuanjing had no record-keeper’s name. In the meticulous Hanlin Academy, such an oversight was almost impossible.

“At first, I thought this was a flaw in Emperor Yuanjing himself. Following this lead, I found that the problem lay with that very record-keeper. So I checked the imperial examinations for Yuanjing Year 10, and discovered that the name of the third place tanhua scholar had been erased.

“That tanhua later formed a clique at court, and Su Hang, executed for corruption, was a core member. Duke Cao’s records of omens also mentioned a party with an erased name. If I’m right, the erased word was: Xu Clique!

He glanced at the white-robed arcanist and, seeing no rebuttal, continued:

“I once thought the Jianzheng had erased that scholar’s existence, but later rejected this theory; there was no motive. The Jianzheng wouldn’t get involved in court struggles; to him, factional disputes are mere child’s play.

“So I considered: what if the person who erased that record-keeper’s existence was himself? It would all make sense. But this was just a hypothesis, with no evidence. Also, why would the record-keeper erase himself, and where did he go?

“I never worked it out, until I received a letter from a confidante.”

Xu Qi’an paused, then changed the subject:

“Why was Yunzhou called Xuzhou?”

The white-robed arcanist said coolly:

“The imperial line I supported promised to make my descendants kings of a different house. Once the plan succeeded, Yunzhou would be renamed Xuzhou and belong to the Xu family. Of course, I never cared about that patch of land. Heh, my descendants aren’t limited to you.

“It’s no surprise you guessed I was the Jianzheng’s eldest disciple, but how did you know I was your father?”

Xu Qi’an smiled wryly:

“I said just now, shielding Heaven’s secrets creates logical confusion for close kin, and they patch the confusion with a self-justifying explanation. For example, Second Uncle always believed that his elder brother blocked the blade for him at Shanhai Pass.

“Or the senile old patriarch of the Xu clan, who constantly thought of the Xu family’s Literary Star, the eldest son of the Xu family. But the Xu family’s Literary Star is Cijiu, and I’m just a martial artist. Logically, there’s a flaw here. Clearly, that befuddled patriarch was referring not to me, but to you.

“What really made me realise your identity was the news Erlang sent from the north. He met Second Uncle’s old comrade, who furiously rebuked him for being unfilial and ungrateful.

“Because the one who blocked the blade for Second Uncle was never you, but an old soldier surnamed Zhou. At that moment, all the clues connected, and I finally knew who my true enemy was.”

At the time, Xu Qi’an had sat alone in his study for a long while, full of sorrow for both Second Uncle and the original Xu Qi’an.

“But there’s something I still don’t understand: why would an arcanist like you become a tanhua?”

Xu Qi’an couldn’t hide his curiosity.

The white-robed arcanist sighed softly:

“It was an attempt. If I could help it, I’d never have opposed my teacher. Back then, I had the same idea as you, try to support one of the imperial princes to the throne. But I went further: I wanted not only to make a prince emperor, but to become Prime Minister, to control the core of the dynasty.

“By doing both, I might be able to refine the fortune and reach first rank, becoming Heaven’s Mandate. That was the origin of the Xu Clique.”

Xu Qi’an sneered, “But you failed. Was it because the Jianzheng didn’t agree?”

The white-robed arcanist shook his head:

“He agreed, but with three conditions, I must not use arcanist methods in party conflict; party conflict should be settled by ability alone.”

Xu Qi’an gloated, “So, you lost the court struggle, withdrew from court, and turned to supporting the old imperial line from five hundred years ago?”

The white-robed arcanist nodded, then shook his head:

“It wasn’t that simple. The Xu Clique was huge, just like today’s Wei Clique. All other factions attacked us. But my enemies weren’t limited to them, there was also Yuanjing and the previous Human Sect Daoist Leader.”

What’s that supposed to mean… Xu Qi’an frowned.

But then he figured it out.

The white-robed arcanist sneered:

“The previous Human Sect Daoist Leader knew he couldn’t overcome his tribulation, but wanted to pave the way for his daughter, Luo Yuheng. The fortune of a country is limited, whether two Heaven’s Mandates can arise from one is unknown. Even if it’s possible, there wouldn’t be enough fortune for Luo Yuheng to quell her karmic fire.

“So, the previous Daoist Leader saw me as his enemy. As for Yuanjing, no, Zhende, you know what his scheme was. He wanted to dissipate the fortune and would never tolerate another Heaven’s Mandate being born.

“In such a situation, how could I have won? I was cornered; my teacher just watched coldly, never intervening, never supporting.”

Xu Qi’an couldn’t help but recall the story in Fuxiang’s letter: the fledgling eagle bullied, the old eagle looking on coldly. The fledgling finally flew away, never to return.

So that’s how it was…

“Amidst this crisis, I suddenly thought, why not do as my teacher once did, support a side branch of the imperial line, just as the Wuzong Emperor did? Once the idea arose, I couldn’t let it go.

“Everything I did afterwards was for that goal. Why do you think Zhende allied with the Church of the Warlock God, or I put the dragon fang in your hands, or I knew he’d try to extract the dragon ley’s spirit?”

The white-robed arcanist’s expression carried a trace of smile.

All of it stemmed from a single, scheming conversation years ago.

All of Zhende’s plotting to this day, he had played a major part in fuelling.

Fuck… Xu Qi’an’s face darkened slightly. In retrospect, the plot to sacrifice the dragon ley’s spirit, turn the Central Plains into a vassal of the Church of the Warlock God, and become an undying first rank, such machinations involving fortune could never have come from Zhende himself. At least, not the Zhende of those days.

But for a professional arcanist, it all made sense.

The Great Feng had reached its current state largely because of the Earth Sect Daoist Leader and the Xu family’s eldest son, these two had led the way for forty years.

“Later, I resigned and left the court, schemed with the old Heaven Gu Master, and planned the War at Shanhai Pass. During that time, I shielded myself from Heaven’s secrets, making the Xu family’s eldest son disappear from the capital. Naturally, there were manual tweaks too, like adding back the missing name in the genealogy, or erecting a gravestone for myself.

“The Xu family’s memories were just as muddled and wouldn’t hold up to scrutiny, but as long as no one drew attention to it, they’d simply deceive themselves. If you’d asked around about the past, you’d have found that Erlang once went mad for a time. Of course, such things are shameful, no one would bring them up.

“Old political enemies wouldn’t remember me, by their reckoning, I’m just the past. By the logic of concealing Heaven’s Secrets, once I left court, our causal ties ended. With no deep entanglement, they simply wouldn’t care.”

Xu Qi’an fell silent, then after a few seconds said:

“No wonder you used the tax silver case as a way to get me out of the capital. Even though the fortune in me was hidden by the old Heaven Gu Master before awakening, I was still your son, so the Jianzheng’s attention was on me, more or less.

“If you’d abducted me with force, the Jianzheng would have reacted instantly. But why didn’t you just take me away, instead of leaving me in the capital?”

The white-robed arcanist’s tone changed slightly, tinged with disappointment:

“You only guessed half right, the tax silver case was indeed to get you out of the capital in a reasonable manner. But the reason you stayed and were raised by Erlang was not some clever trick of hiding in plain sight. It was a pure accident.”

“An accident?”

Xu Qi’an frowned.

The white-robed arcanist nodded, his tone calm again, and smiled:

“There’s something I never told you: not everyone can bear the weight of fortune. You were the best vessel, not only because you are of my bloodline, but because you are also of the imperial bloodline.”

???

Even after all that had been revealed today, after so many hard secrets, Xu Qi’an still felt as if he’d been struck over the head, utterly stupefied.

492. Game Between Father and Son

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