“Lina…”
Li Miaozhen was startled, grabbing the little dark-skinned girl from the Southern Marches to stop her collapsing.
At the same time, the Heaven Sect Holy Maiden, who had some skill in medicine, held Lina’s hand and felt her pulse.
Her pulse was extremely strong and chaotic. Inside Lina’s body, it was as if a turbulent force was about to explode at any moment.
“It’s… it’s the Sevenfold Gu…”
Lina’s brows knitted, her pretty face twisted in pain, lips white, her words came out in broken gasps,
“It’s a very powerful Gu, Heaven Gu Grandma gave it to me. To keep it safe, I… I swallowed it. I didn’t expect it would be so fierce, it’s not like any other Gu.”
Chu Yuanzhen, Li Miaozhen, and Master Hengyuan looked at Lina with mixed feelings.
She really would swallow anything!
Hengyuan stood and headed out. “I’ll get Song Qing, no, Yang Qianhuan, no, get… get…”
He trailed off, suddenly lost.
Chu Yuanzhen sighed, “Just grab any white-robed Arcanist.”
Hengyuan nodded and went out at once.
Any random Arcanist would be more reliable than the Jianzheng’s personal disciples…
Soon, a young white-robed Arcanist entered confidently. Lina was already writhing in pain on the floor, her belly swelling and shrinking like a leaky ball.
Is she pregnant or what… thought the young Arcanist as he bent over and took Lina’s pulse. His face changed.
“Well?” asked Chu Yuanzhen.
“There’s something inside her, and it’s awakening. It needs to be removed quickly, or she might die.” The Arcanist spoke professionally.
“Thank you, brother,” said Li Miaozhen with cupped fists.
“Oh? I can’t help with this,” the Arcanist shrugged. “I haven’t studied the Anatomy Manual. Song Qing is the best at that, if you want to learn, best to ask him. But Song Qing and his fellow alchemists all have certain mental issues.”
At this, the Arcanist raised his chin, a note of mockery in his voice,
“I don’t want to wreck my own brain like they did. I’m not like them.”
Li Miaozhen and Chu Yuanzhen recalled Song Qing and his crowd’s eccentric ways and fully agreed, the young man clearly “looked down” on Song Qing’s behaviour.
It seems most people in the Sitianjian are still normal… the two Heaven and Earth Society members thought. Then Chu Yuanzhen asked,
“It sounds like there are different factions in the Sitianjian?”
The Arcanist nodded, “Strictly speaking, every personal disciple of the Jianzheng must take on apprentices in the master’s stead and teach a group. Hmm, Junior Sister Caiwei doesn’t need to teach students, the students need to teach her.”
Chu Yuanzhen and Li Miaozhen felt a chill. “Who’s your teacher?”
At this, the young Arcanist raised his chin, turned, and stared at them with the back of his head, “Senior— Brother— Yang— !”
Thank you, don’t come again!
Chu Yuanzhen and Li Miaozhen kicked him out.
…
Before the Jianzheng spoke, he paused for effect, leisurely finishing his cup of wine before saying,
“Do you know what the dragon ley spirit is?”
Xu Qi’an felt just like back at school, hearing the teacher tap the board and say, “Do you know what calculus is?”
Know my arse… He shook his head honestly, then seemed to remember something, “The fusion of fortune and ley lines?”
That was the idea of the dragon ley. Senior Sister Zhong Li had mentioned it.
The Jianzheng nodded, “The dragon ley is the fusion of fortune and ley lines, but it’s different from fortune. Arcanists can only control it to a very limited extent. That’s why Emperor Zhende hid in the dragon ley, to conceal himself.
“In this world, only the Earth Book, that peerless treasure, can truly control the dragon ley.”
Years ago, the Earth Sect Daoist Leader had used the Earth Book to set up a teleportation array beneath the dragon ley… Xu Qi’an suddenly understood, and caught the detail in the Jianzheng’s words.
Arcanists had extremely limited control over the dragon ley, not none at all.
The Jianzheng continued,
“The dragon ley spirit is shattered, spreading all over the central plains. This symbolises a land without a true ruler. The Great Feng now is like a castle in the air, with no foundation in the dragon ley; the dynasty will soon be on the verge of collapse.”
Isn’t that a bit too abstract… Xu Qi’an frowned, but then heard the Jianzheng explain,
“The dragon qi is scattered far and wide. Whoever gains it, if upright, will become a great hero. If corrupt, he will bring disaster. Some will take to the hills, some carve out their own fiefdoms. Throughout history, when the Central Plains’ destiny ran out, the court might not yet be in chaos, but the jianghu would fall apart first.”
So those with dragon qi are a low-rent version of me? Or even lower-rent… Xu Qi’an understood the Jianzheng’s meaning at once.
With half the country’s fortune, he had risen quickly to third rank, becoming the famous Silver Gong Xu.
If a good man got dragon qi, he might do some good after rising to power, but if a wild or wicked man got it, he’d just use it to do evil.
The Central Plains was about to fall into chaos…
Thinking of this, Xu Qi’an grew anxious.
Emperor Yuanjing had practised Daoism for twenty-one years, the people had suffered enough, and now things would only get worse. It really matched that old saying:
When dynasties rise and fall, it’s the people who suffer.
The Jianzheng suddenly turned and said solemnly, “This is your karmic burden.”
Xu Qi’an’s heart sank.
“You killed Zhende, shattered the dragon ley spirit, and now hold half the country’s fortune. The Great Feng’s decline is deeply tied to you. If the dynasty falls, as the vessel carrying half the fortune, you’ll be buried with it.
“And as for me, as the Master of Heaven’s Mandate, my end will be no better.”
The Jianzheng’s tone was still calm, but the look in his eyes made Xu Qi’an realise how serious and real it was.
“What should I do?” Xu Qi’an pinched the bridge of his nose.
Chu Caiwei glanced at him, a little sympathetic, her big eyes glistening. Her slender, cold fingers gently massaged his brow, smoothing the frown.
“Collect the scattered dragon ley spirits, piece them together, and bring them back to the capital. This is something only you can do, not just because of karma, but also because you hold half the Great Feng’s fortune, which is drawn to dragon qi.
“Besides, you have an Earth Book fragment. It can help you extract dragon qi from others and serve as a container. I’ll teach you the incantation for using the fragment to draw out dragon qi.”
“But teacher, he’s still full of nails, shouldn’t you take them out first?”
Chu Caiwei poked Xu Qi’an’s chest, where one of the nails pierced right through his heart.
The Jianzheng shook his head, “These are Buddhist treasures, Demon Sealing Nails. If they’re pulled out by force, he’ll die. A special method is needed.”
Hearing this, Xu Qi’an gave a bitter smile. His last hope vanished.
It made sense, really. The nails were meant for Shenshu; with someone like that, an ordinary magic tool could never seal him.
It had to be an extraordinary treasure.
There goes all my cultivation… Xu Qi’an sighed.
“The Demon Sealing Nails can only seal Shenshu for a while, twenty years at most, sixty at best. After that, Shenshu will break free. That’s why the Buddhists sent him to the Great Feng to be sealed,” said the Jianzheng. “But you can’t wait that long, so now I’ll tell you the second thing.”
Xu Qi’an’s spirits lifted, his face brightened, “You have a way?”
He thought, as expected of the Jianzheng, always full of backup plans, always so reassuring.
“I cannot remove the Demon Sealing Nails, but the Buddhists can.”
“The Buddhists wouldn’t do it for me,” Xu Qi’an frowned.
The Jianzheng looked at him and said, “Isn’t Shenshu a Buddhist himself?”
Xu Qi’an’s eyes lit up, as if he had grasped something, but was still uncertain. “You mean…”
The Jianzheng nodded, “Go and gather Shenshu’s remains, restore his soul, and he will naturally remember how to remove the Demon Sealing Nails. This was also the condition set by the Nine-tailed Celestial Fox for helping you. I agreed to it on your behalf.
“You’ve stayed in the capital long enough. It’s time you went out for a while.”
Xu Qi’an frowned deeply and shook his head with a sigh,
“Jianzheng, you’re making things hard for me. Now that I’ve lost all my cultivation, if I leave the capital, I’m just a lamb to the slaughter. That wretched bastard Xu Pingfeng is probably drooling as he waits for me.
“And even if I can avoid him, without my cultivation, how am I supposed to collect Shenshu’s remains?”
Worst of all, he couldn’t even start rebuilding his martial arts.
To restore his cultivation, he needed to gather Shenshu’s remains; to gather the remains, he needed his cultivation, a deadlock.
Zhong Li came over, gingerly reached out, and rubbed his head to comfort him.
Xu Qi’an glared at her. Senior Sister Zhong Li hastily explained, “The medicine’s ready, drink… drink your medicine…”
“Zhong Li, you’re his senior aunt, no need to be so afraid of him,” the Jianzheng smiled.
Zhong Li glanced at Xu Qi’an. Her eyes, hidden in her messy hair, seemed a little brighter.
Auntie, it’s me, Guo’er…1 Xu Qi’an curled his lip. At another time, he’d have teased her, but he was in no mood now.
Collecting dragon qi, gathering Shenshu’s remains, both were incredibly difficult, and he was just a cripple.
At this moment, he heard the Jianzheng laugh, “Opportunity is always close at hand.”
With that, the Jianzheng stamped his foot. Formation patterns lit up, spreading into a three-metre-wide array.
Within the array, a figure appeared, a girl in light clothing, hair in a trendy bun, skin tanned, face pale, lips bloodless: Lina, rolling on the ground in agony.
Seeing Lina in such a state, both Xu Qi’an and Chu Caiwei were shocked.
“What’s wrong with her?”
Chu Caiwei shouted, her face anxious.
The Jianzheng glanced at his young disciple and said, “That’s what happens when you eat anything you like.”
Chu Caiwei froze, her mouth open in shock.
Satisfied, the Jianzheng drew Lina before him, inserted two fingers into her belly, and drew out a white jade insect, scorpion-shaped, with six segmented legs.
Its head had two jet-black eyes, making it look oddly cute.
The insect struggled violently between the Jianzheng’s fingers before going still.
She eats even this? At least take the head off… Chu Caiwei jumped back in shock, giving Lina a complex look.
Blood poured from Lina’s abdomen, but she suddenly looked relieved, as if freed from torment.
“What is that?”
Xu Qi’an frowned, and for a moment, he felt as if the strange insect was watching him.
Moreover, the look in its eyes gave an odd illusion of intelligence.
The Jianzheng studied the jade-coloured insect and said,
“A brand new kind of Gu insect, artificially cultivated. As for its name, you’ll have to ask this young madam.”
Gu insects from the Southern Marches were of two kinds: those with a name, a normal breeding population like animals; and those created artificially, a brand-new species.
The latter usually could not breed, nor form a population.
This jade-coloured worm was the latter.
“It’s called the Sevenfold Gu. Before I left the Southern Marches, Heaven Gu Grandma gave it to me. She said she foresaw its destined owner would be in the Central Plains.”
Lina sipped the water Chu Caiwei gave her and nibbled on some jerky, explaining cheerfully,
“Granny said it was very important. I was afraid of losing it, so I swallowed it. It’s usually very quiet in my body, today, for some reason, it went crazy.”
You said a lot, but you still haven’t explained what Sevenfold Gu actually is… Xu Qi’an grumbled inwardly.
The Jianzheng smiled as he held the insect, “Sevenfold Gu, an apt name.”
He paused, then explained for Lina,
“The shaman clans have seven tribes, based on the seven major schools: Heaven Gu, Strength Gu, Heart Gu, Desire Gu, Medicine Gu, Dark Gu, and Corpse Gu.
“Each school specialises in something. This Sevenfold Gu combines all seven schools. It brings together the power of the shaman clans.”
Lina nodded repeatedly, “Grandma said her husband spent half a lifetime refining it, but never finished it. She spent another twenty years to complete it. It’s really powerful.”
All seven schools in one? That’s a treasure… Xu Qi’an stared at the jade-coloured, scorpion-like Sevenfold Gu, and said,
“Its appearance doesn’t match its power at all.”
The Jianzheng shook his head, “It hasn’t fully awakened. If it had, that girl would already be dead.”
Lina looked terrified.
“It’s yours now,” the Jianzheng tossed the Sevenfold Gu in front of Xu Qi’an.
“For me?”
Xu Qi’an was stunned.
“Of course it’s for you,” the Jianzheng said, half-smiling, “The old Heaven Gu Elder and that bastard disciple stole the fortune to seal the Gu God. If I’m not mistaken, if the disciple got the fortune, he’d have to bear the karma of sealing the Gu God.
“If he didn’t get the fortune? The Heaven Gu Elder wouldn’t have overlooked that. So he made the Sevenfold Gu. If my bastard disciple didn’t get the fortune, that karma would be passed to you through the Sevenfold Gu.
“You’re the destined one the old grandma spoke of.”
Xu Qi’an was silent.
The Jianzheng continued,
“Absorb the Sevenfold Gu, and you’ll have extraordinary power for a time. Only then can you travel the jianghu, gather the dragon ley spirits, seek Shenshu’s remains, and remove the Demon Sealing Nails.
“Also, the Heaven Gu tribe have the ‘Hidden from Knowledge’ trait, which counters the qi-watching technique. It’ll help you avoid Xu Pingfeng while you’re on the road.
“Your only real threat is Vaidurya Bodhisattva, who holds the Walker Dharma Aspect, but I’ve already driven her back to the Western Regions. Of course, you can refuse this gift. No one will force you.”
Can I even refuse? This is my only hope. In the face of an open scheme, all secret schemes are child’s play… The Jianzheng lured the Western Bodhisattva away to pave the road for my travels? This LYB really does make me feel secure… Xu Qi’an’s mind raced.
Still, he did not feel short-changed. If you took something from someone, it was only right to repay them.
The Jianzheng looked at him and said quietly, “Drip your blood and bind it.”
Xu Qi’an was silent for a long time, then shook his head, “I still have some things left to resolve. Give me a day.”
I’ve only seen the first two or three episodes of a TV show of Shen Diao Xia Lü but I’m assuming this is referring to Yang Guo, the protagonist, with Madam Long. The original book is part of the Legend of the Condor Heroes series by Jin Yong. ↩
Comments for this chapter. You will need a GitHub account. Please follow all terms and conditions of GitHub issues and maintain etiquette in the comments. Cookies are required for this functionality.
If you want to talk with other readers about Nightwatchers (or other cultivation type books) you can join our cultivation groupreading discord server!
I also have a Kofi, which for legal reasons is definitely for supporting my digital art only (promise!): ko-fi.com/yanxin ... plus I guess server space isn't free, and I don't want to put ads/trackers... ever, so thank you if you do!