So Number Seven really is the Holy Son of the Heaven Sect. I didn’t expect to run into him here… Chu Yuanzhen’s eyes flashed as he grew somewhat interested in that Number Seven whom he had never met.
Back when Li Miaozhen was fighting bandits in Yunzhou, the Heaven and Earth Society members already knew that Number Seven had an extremely close relationship with her. Otherwise, he would not have entrusted an Earth Book fragment to her for safekeeping when their lives were in danger.
Given the Heaven Sect’s system of Holy Sons and Holy Maidens, it was not hard to guess that Number Seven was likely the Holy Son of the Heaven Sect, a senior or junior brother to Li Miaozhen.
However, Li Miaozhen herself kept this strictly secret and never mentioned it, so it was only speculation, never confirmed.
Now, after hearing what Li Miaozhen said, Chu Yuanzhen could finally confirm that Number Seven was the Holy Son of the Heaven Sect.
Phew, at last I’ll get to meet a normal Heaven Sect disciple… Chu Yuanzhen complained inwardly.
He was almost fed up with Li Miaozhen. It would have been fine if she simply fought injustice and punished evil along the way, but she also liked to spend lavishly. What did one rely on to travel the jianghu? Was it not, above all, silver?
At their worst, the three of them could not even afford to stay at an inn.
Li Miaozhen explained this as: “For us, is there really any difference between sleeping outdoors and lodging at an inn?”
Chu Yuanzhen had no words to retort.
Xu Qi’an is much better! If I travelled the jianghu with him, we would surely feast on delicacies, visit beautiful sights, and at night, go to the brothel or Jiaofangsi for some wine and pleasure…
“Let’s go!”
Li Miaozhen was the first to step into the inn. As it was not mealtime, only a few drinkers were scattered across the main hall.
She walked straight to the counter and asked the innkeeper, “Has a very handsome young man checked in here recently?”
Li Miaozhen was very confident that, given that scoundrel’s looks, the innkeeper would definitely remember him if he had seen him.
The innkeeper thought for a moment, then asked hesitantly, “Just how handsome do you mean by ‘very handsome’?”
Li Miaozhen turned to point at Chu Yuanzhen. “Even more handsome than him.”
The innkeeper glanced at Chu Yuanzhen’s looks, then shook his head. “Never seen anyone like that. This young man is graceful and refined, a rare sight in the world. It’s impossible for anyone to be more handsome than him.”
Chu Yuanzhen sheathed his long sword with satisfaction.
Li Miaozhen frowned slightly, pondered a moment, and said, “Has a Daoist stayed here lately?”
“Yes.”
“Who?”
The innkeeper glanced past Li Miaozhen’s shoulder and looked behind her. “Isn’t that person right behind you?”
Startled, Li Miaozhen turned and saw that, at some point, a beautiful woman with a cold and elegant air had appeared behind the three of them. She wore feathered robes, a lotus crown, long, straight eyebrows, eyes an unusually pale glass-blue, and her features were exquisitely carved.
“Master.”
Li Miaozhen exclaimed with joy, quickly hurrying up to the beautiful woman and saying,
“Master, why have you come down the mountain? Why are you here? I haven’t seen you in two years, disciple has missed you so much. Being able to meet here really is fate.”
Bingyi Yuanjun looked at her coldly. “I traced you here all the way. Wherever Lady Flying Swallow goes, her fame precedes her, it’s not hard to find you.”
She paused, then said, her tone devoid of emotion, “Just for what you said earlier, three years facing the wall would not be too much.”
Even if they had parted for ten years, when disciples of the Heaven Sect met, they should simply nod to each other expressionlessly.
… Li Miaozhen stuck out her tongue. “But I’m still training! Before reaching third rank, I can’t comprehend the path of Supreme Detachment from Emotion.”
She quickly made introductions. “This is Chu Yuanzhen, a nominal disciple of the Human Sect, previously the zhuangyuan scholar of the Great Feng. This is Hengyuan, a warrior monk from Qinglong Temple.”
Bingyi Yuanjun gave them a cool glance. “Sword Embryo. Sharira.”
The four sat down by the table. Bingyi Yuanjun calmly asked, “After two years travelling in the world, have you gained any insight into Supreme Detachment from Emotion?”
Li Miaozhen’s eyes darted about wildly. “Ah, well… your disciple is still working on it.”
Bingyi Yuanjun said icily, “Hold out your hands.”
Li Miaozhen obeyed in confusion.
A faint golden light shot from Bingyi Yuanjun’s sleeve and tightly bound Li Miaozhen’s wrists.
“Spirit-binding cord?”
Li Miaozhen gasped in shock, completely unprepared for this turn of events. “Master, what are you doing?”
Bingyi Yuanjun’s face was cold, her tone equally devoid of emotion. “By the Heavenly Venerable’s order, I am to arrest Li Miaozhen and return her to the sect to study again the Heaven Sect’s secret canon.”
Chu Yuanzhen and Hengyuan looked at each other, uncertain what to do.
“Why?”
Li Miaozhen was at a total loss.
Bingyi Yuanjun’s face was expressionless. “Heaven Sect disciples must be detached, with few desires. The trials of the mundane world are permitted, but excessive entanglements with karma are not. The Heavenly Venerable considers that you have deviated from the sect’s teachings, so you must return and re-study the canon. Only when you attain understanding will you be released.”
When Heaven Sect disciples travelled the world, the right way was to observe from the sidelines, watching human joys and sorrows without attachment.
But Li Miaozhen was not like that. She loved to plunge right into the muddy world itself, joyfully rolling around.
Just as I thought, Li Miaozhen is a Heaven Sect oddity. She cultivates Supreme Detachment, but is obsessed with heroism and chivalry. It was only a matter of time before this happened… These were all the complaints filling Chu Yuanzhen’s head.
Li Miaozhen protested, “Master, disciple is only tempering my heart in the mortal world!”
Bingyi Yuanjun nodded. “Explain that to Heavenly Venerable after you return to the sect. But first, I must assist Senior Brother Xuancheng in apprehending the Holy Son.”
Hmm? The Holy Son? The Heaven Sect even wants to arrest the Holy Son?
Chu Yuanzhen was puzzled and could not help glancing at Hengyuan, who seemed to share his confusion.
Bingyi Yuanjun stood, took Li Miaozhen in tow, and began to leave.
“Master, Master! I don’t want to return to the sect. I have a year left of my training! How can you be sure I cannot attain Supreme Detachment from Emotion? Please, plead to the sect for me…”
Led away, Li Miaozhen stumbled as she begged for mercy continuously.
Hengyuan hastily stood up and called out, “Senior, Li—”
Before he finished speaking, Li Miaozhen stopped him.
Lady Flying Swallow sent them a message:
“Don’t try to stop her, she will kill you. Someone who has comprehended Supreme Detachment from Emotion will not kill out of anger or for good or evil. Good and evil people are no different in their eyes.
“But if they judge you an obstacle, they will cut you down without hesitation and without caring who you are. Never block her… But do not give up on me either. If I return to the sect, I’m afraid I’ll never escape again.”
Hengyuan replied in a low voice, “What should we do then?”
Li Miaozhen gritted her teeth. “Go find Xu Qi’an. That bastard may be crippled, but at least he still has the standing of a third rank. He won’t die easily. There’s still hope. Master still needs to go catch that Li Lingsu, so she won’t drag me back just yet.”
Bingyi Yuanjun led Li Miaozhen out of the inn, summoned a flying sword, and the two of them leapt on its back and soared away.
On seeing this, Chu Yuanzhen hurriedly summoned his own magical longsword and, together with Hengyuan, followed from afar.
A fierce wind battered their faces, vast earth unrolling beneath them, rivers winding like silver ribbons, mountains and valleys spread out like piles of sand.
Chu Yuanzhen sent a message, “Master Hengyuan, contact Xu Qi’an at once.”
“Amitabha. This humble monk is already contacting him,” Master Hengyuan replied.
…
Zhangzhou.
The Zheng family cemetery.
Xu Qi’an tied the little mare to the trunk of a tree by the path, leaving behind Mu Nanzhi, Li Lingsu, and the puppet Hengyin who wore a cloak and a bamboo hat, then walked on alone.
After leaving Leizhou, they returned immediately to Zhangzhou to retrieve the little mare from President Yang, then came to Zheng Xinghuai’s hometown, a rather impoverished county under Zhangzhou’s jurisdiction.
The Zheng family was a powerful local clan, but before Zheng Xinghuai’s rise, they had been nobodies.
Later, as Zheng Xinghuai rose through the ranks and eventually became Governor of Chuzhou, the entire Zheng family reaped the benefits, shooting to local prominence and even building a family cemetery.
Zheng Xinghuai’s tomb could be spotted at a glance, the most luxurious and imposing one.
With the Chuzhou massacre case finally concluded, Zheng Xinghuai received a grand burial. The magistrate of this Pingkang County was quick-witted, and promptly established a City God Temple, elevating Zheng Xinghuai as its presiding deity.
Now, its incense burned vigorously.
“Sir Zheng, I have come to see you.”
Xu Qi’an set out some food before the grave, a jug of yellow wine, and two cups.
He drank a cup himself, then poured a cup before the grave, remaining silent all the while as time slipped by quietly.
“Whose tomb is that?”
Li Lingsu seized the opportunity to ask, hoping to glean something of Xu Qian’s true identity from these details.
“A most capable man,” said Mu Nanzhi.
“A most capable man?” Li Lingsu’s eyes lit up. “Madam, could you tell me about him?”
With his damned charm, he was certain Madam would not refuse.
“Not in the mood.”
The princess consort rolled her eyes.
Oh? Madam is in a foul mood today? Li Lingsu gave an awkward laugh.
Soon, having finished the jug, Xu Qi’an glanced at the tombstone, hesitated slightly, then used his finger as a pen and wrote a line in small characters:
“Official rank and riches are nothing but words on paper, scattered like ashes upon the dust.”
Zheng Xinghuai had been moved to say this when, in deepest grief, he saw Chuzhou reduced to ruins and all his life’s work destroyed in an instant.
This scholar, whose life was so full of setbacks, ended up paying with his life for these words.
Xu Qi’an bowed deeply three times before the tombstone.
Having completed his offering to Sir Zheng, he planned to return to Yongzhou and attend the “Martial Assembly”. There were still twenty days until the agreed date.
Between Leizhou and Yongzhou lay Zhangzhou. It happened to be exactly on the way, so he could take it easy, and perhaps, with his sense for the Dragon Qi and its resonance, pick up a few strands along the journey.
At this moment, it felt as if someone had given his brain a sharp slap.
This meant someone wanted to “chat privately”.
Xu Qi’an ignored it, but the slaps kept coming, the other party seemingly quite anxious.
He then carefully took out the Earth Book fragment, held it in his sleeve, and let a thread of his spirit enter the shard.
In the grey, misty mirror world, eight halos shimmered with a soft, chaotic glow.
One of them flashed on and off, its halo rippling.
“Master Hengyuan?”
Xu Qi’an’s spirit became a “tentacle”, connecting with the circle that represented Number Six.
“Sir Xu, something terrible has happened!”
Seeing Xu Qi’an respond, Hengyuan breathed a sigh of relief.
“What is it?”
“Daoist friend Li Miaozhen has been taken away by her teacher.”
??? A string of question marks flashed through Xu Qi’an’s mind. “Master, please explain what happened from the start.”
Hengyuan said,
“After you left the capital, Benefactor Chu, Daoist Li and I left together, searching for your whereabouts while upholding justice. But this afternoon, Daoist Li spotted the secret signal from the Heaven Sect.
“It had been left by her master. Daoist Li met her master, and as they talked, this Heaven Sect elder suddenly produced an enchanted rope and subdued her.”
“But why?”
Xu Qi’an was greatly shocked, as stunned as if a friend had told him: I booked a room with a beautiful lady, and while I was in the shower, she pulled out one bigger than mine.
It was about that absurd.
“This Heaven Sect elder said Daoist Li had strayed from the Heaven Sect’s teachings, and, to prevent her from losing herself in the mortal world, would bring her back to the mountain to study the sect’s scriptures again. But Daoist Li said that if she were taken back, she might never be able to leave the mountain again. Their parting could be forever.”
I always said Li Miaozhen was an oddball, she was a Heaven Sect Holy Maiden, yet forced herself into becoming a lady vigilante. She’s doomed… Xu Qi’an’s face twitched, and he replied mentally:
“So, she hopes I can save her? Hm, since neither you nor Chu Yuanzhen acted, that means her master must be at least third rank Yang Spirit. Given my current state, how could I save her? Besides, I don’t even know where you are.”
Hengyuan said,
“There is still a chance. That Heaven Sect elder said she had come down the mountain not just to retrieve Daoist Li, but also the Holy Son. Next, she’s going after the Holy Son. Daoist Li said he’s to be found at an underworld faction called the East Sea Dragon Palace, in Donghai County.
“Sir Xu must meet up with the Holy Son before the Heaven Sect does. This matter is most urgent. You must find the Holy Son and not let him be captured, or it may be too late.”
What luck, that dead scoundrel is right beside me… Xu Qi’an sent back, “Pass on a message for me.”
Hengyuan asked, “Please speak, Sir Xu.”
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!