Li Lingsu sidestepped, scrutinised Miao Youfang carefully, and then cautiously took a step back, saying:
“What trick are you playing at?”
Miao Youfang looked aggrieved and said indignantly:
“What are you talking about? Protector Yuan and I are old acquaintances. I met him when I was following Silver Gong Xu in the Southern Marches.
“You and I have also travelled the jianghu together, so we’re friends. Out of kindness, I’m going to introduce him to you, yet you suspect me of acting out of ulterior motives.”
Li Lingsu looked surprised:
“Oh, we have not seen each other for a few days and you already speak in such a refined manner, the influence of mingling with the compiler really is different.”
Through their conversations during the day, he learned that Miao Youfang had been serving as Xu Xinnian’s deputy and bodyguard during this period.
After speaking, the Holy Son said grumpily:
“The way you acted just now was exactly like that cheap bastard Xu Qi’an.”
Does that mean I could also win the affection of a matchlessly beautiful woman…? Miao Youfang remained unfazed, saying:
“Protector Yuan is a Yao of the Southern Marches, honest by nature and never lies. Besides, he also possesses a divine power.”
Having grown up a street rogue and wandered the jianghu for years, Miao Youfang had mastered the art of lying through his teeth.
Li Lingsu instantly became interested:
“What divine power?”
Miao Youfang said mysteriously:
“This Protector Yuan knows all matters under heaven. Anyone’s secrets, he knows them inside out. Even the things you find hardest to speak about, he knows them clearly.”
On hearing Miao Youfang’s words, the officials and generals from Qingzhou, who had suffered much from the “monkey’s torment”, showed complex and expectant expressions.
This scoundrel Miao Youfang, sly as ever, said this on purpose in order to prompt the Holy Son of the Heaven Sect to recall his most embarrassing memory, so as to let Protector Yuan see what was in his heart.
This could not be called completely heartless, just entirely inhumane!
However, after having themselves been victim to such tricks, the officers and generals who had retreated from Qingzhou all had just a little bit of… anticipation!
If you have fallen into such a trap, you hoped others will as well.
Amid their anticipation, there was a hint of dissatisfaction, because the Heaven Sect’s Holy Son practised supreme detachment from emotion.
Such a person would be as calm as still water, unlikely to have any particularly interesting secrets.
This Miao Youfang is full of bad ideas… Li Lingsu’s eyes turned, and he smiled:
“I don’t believe it! Unless you prove it to me.”
After roaming the jianghu with Xu Qi’an for so long, they had come to understand each other’s strengths and weaknesses. From his knowledge of Miao Youfang, he certainly did not mean well.
But the Holy Son, experienced and well-travelled, really did not believe there was anyone such as this in the world.
Seeing Li Lingsu fall into the trap, Miao Youfang was delighted and could not wait:
“Protector Yuan, go on, quickly, show him what you can do!”
Protector Yuan nodded slightly. His azure, clear eyes looked at Li Lingsu and he spoke:
“Miao Youfang’s heart tells me: Hurry, hurry and reveal Li Lingsu’s most shameful secret, and make him lose face in front of everyone, just like when we caught him privately meeting and exposed him on the spot with that woman from the Wanhua Tower who could be his mother.
‘If you won’t let me be your lover, then I’ll be your son.’ I still recall that line now and find it hilarious. Hahahahaha…”
The scene fell instantly silent. In the crisscrossing candlelight, the atmosphere became so quiet a pin could be heard falling.
Everyone at the feast silently put down their cups, staring in astonishment at Li Lingsu and Miao Youfang.
That woman from Wanhua Tower… Xiao Yuenu’s face darkened.
Miao Youfang was stunned, caught completely off guard, as if he and his ally had agreed to target the enemy together, only for his ally to suddenly backstab him and lump him together with the enemy.
He wanted to see Li Lingsu make a fool of himself, but had never thought he would be made the clown too.
Li Lingsu, holding his wine cup, froze in place, feeling as though his ‘clothes’ were being stripped off piece by piece, from body to soul, exposed naked before dozens of people present.
He, the dignified Holy Son of the Heaven Sect, what face had he left to survive in the jianghu in the future?
What meaning is there left in living… His face first flushed red, then slowly turned pale.
Protector Yuan glanced at Li Lingsu with his azure eyes, then looked towards Miao Youfang:
“Miao, let’s die together!”
Protector Yuan, shocked, said with concern:
“Miao Youfang, this Protector offers you a bit of advice: run!”
Damn, you haven’t even revealed what Li Lingsu’s most embarrassing secret is yet, oh, maybe it’s happening right at this moment… Miao Youfang tossed aside his wine cup, and a martial artist’s danger sense began signalling him to flee.
Urging him to escape at once.
With two swishing sounds, Miao Youfang and Li Lingsu vanished from the magistrate’s compound.
The scene was silent for a few seconds. Yang Gong coughed heavily, forcing a laugh:
“Drink, drink, it was all just a joke, meant only to enliven the feast.”
The former Qingzhou officials and generals all chimed in, saying drink, drink.
They were well satisfied.
Some fourth-rank experts of the Wulin Alliance looked slightly perplexed, as if they understood yet did not fully comprehend what had happened.
As for Li Miaozhen and the other Heaven and Earth Society members, they were wide-eyed, faces full of astonishment.
What Protector Yuan had just recited were the very words Li Lingsu had spoken in private to Master Rongrong from Wanhua Tower back then.
To shamelessly, brazenly say such words in secret is one thing, but to have them revealed in the presence of so many, if it were me, I might have drawn my sword and ended myself on the spot… Chu Yuanzhen thought to himself.
The dignified Holy Son of the Heaven Sect, consorting with a woman old enough to be his mother. The elders of the Heaven Sect might not care, but Li Lingsu is bound to become a laughing stock in the jianghu, a legendary figure. Aye, senior brother, better retreat into detachment as soon as possible. Hahahaha… Li Miaozhen roared with laughter inside.
Master Hengyuan mused for a moment, then said:
“Could it be that this Protector Yuan has mastered the buddhist Heart-reading Technique?”
Protector Yuan, hearing the words, looked over, pressed his palms together, and said,
“This Protector did spend some time with the Buddhist sect.”
Master Hengyuan nodded slightly. Chu Yuanzhen asked:
“Buddhist Heart-reading Technique?”
Hengyuan explained:
“The Heart-reading Technique is a Buddhist secret art, able to read others’ hearts. However, its limitations are great, it is almost ineffective against those of the same rank.”
Everyone understood at once. No wonder Protector Yuan did not read Li Lingsu’s heart just now, but instead read Miao Youfang’s.
Li Lingsu was one of the leaders among fourth-rank Daoists, stronger than Protector Yuan.
“Yuenu has a question for Protector Yuan and Lady Flying Swallow.”
Hearing that the Heart-reading Technique was ineffective against those of equal rank, Xiao Yuenu no longer hesitated. Rising gracefully, she drew everyone’s attention.
Li Miaozhen and Chu Yuanzhen exchanged glances, each more or less understanding what was to come.
Women from Wanhua Tower valued their reputation highly. The more susceptible they were to gossip, the more carefully they conducted themselves.
Back when Xiao Yuenu dealt with Liu Hongmian, she had done so by framing her as unchaste.
Wanhua Tower women could marry, but only with the sect’s permission, they could not fall in love freely.
Now, as tower mistress, Xiao Yuenu clearly could not ignore news that the Heaven Sect’s Holy Son might be having a secret affair with a beautiful woman of her sect.
“What do you wish to ask?”
Protector Yuan calmly gazed at this woman, who counted among the top human beauties.
“Just now, you said the Heaven Sect’s Holy Son Li Lingsu had an unusual relationship with one of my Wanhua Tower disciples…?”
“It was Miao Youfang who said so, not me.” Protector Yuan deflected the blame.
Xiao Yuenu ignored the details, asking gravely:
“Did Miao Youfang say which disciple, or what her name was?”
Protector Yuan shook his head:
“Miao Youfang did not say. Judging by Miss’s tone, as if seeking justice, is there something inappropriate? Why not let men and women enjoy each other’s company? Did you not also fancy Silver Gong Xu yourself?”
Xiao Yuenu’s delicate face changed, her voice rising slightly:
“What nonsense!”
Protector Yuan looked to Fu Qingmen, speaking honestly:
“Just now, that gentleman asked whether you regretted not marrying Silver Gong Xu. You told him to shut up, but your heart said: I didn’t actually refuse back then either.”
People’s heart-voices were like flies buzzing around. Normally he did not care for them, but whenever certain sensitive words cropped up, he paid closer attention.
Such as “Silver Gong Xu”!
The heads of the Wulin Alliance all looked at Xiao Yuenu in astonishment, their complex expressions seeming to say: We never thought you would be such a Xiao Yuenu.
With her thin veil, Xiao Tower Lord’s face instantly turned crimson. As a woman, her embarrassment and awkwardness at this moment were no less than Li Lingsu’s earlier.
At the feast, everyone made a long “Ohh” noise, casting teasing glances at Xiao Yuenu.
Heroes love beauties, and beauties love heroes. How could any maiden not be taken with a prodigious talent like Silver Gong Xu?
“Hmph!”
Xiao Yuenu flung her sleeve and strode away quickly, skirts swirling.
Isn’t it that he can’t see through fourth ranks’ hearts? Chu Yuanzhen tilted his head and cast a bewildered glance at Master Hengyuan.
Li Miaozhen’s gaze followed the departing figure of Xiao Yuenu, only withdrawing once she had rounded the archway and left the courtyard. Only then did Lady Flying Swallow look away, raise her teacup and take a sip, thinking disdainfully:
Hmph, yet another woman coveting Xu Ningyan. It’s honestly exhausting.
Protector White Ape paused, his azure, clear eyes turning to Li Miaozhen, uncontrollably reading her mind:
“Your heart tells me: Hmph, yet another woman coveting Xu Ningyan. It’s honestly exhausting!”
“Pfft!” Li Miaozhen spat out her wine.
“What nonsense are you spouting?!”
Now she too experienced the pain in her senior brother’s heart, her cheeks burned fiercely. Amidst her air of heroic spirit, there was now a hint of feminine charm.
Chu Yuanzhen snuck a sidelong glance at Li Miaozhen. Just as expected, she liked Xu Ningyan… No, I mustn’t keep thinking about this. The Master said, “Is it not pleasant to learn with a constant perseverance and application…
Protector White Ape, now uninterested, withdrew his gaze, ignoring Chu Yuanzhen.
Ah, even Lady Flying Swallow is… The expressions of the Wulin Alliance’s fourth-ranks instantly became complicated.
Although Xiao Yuenu was dubbed the number one beauty in Jianzhou, her figure and bearing both first-class, for the martial artists of the Wulin Alliance, their dream woman had always been Lady Flying Swallow, Li Miaozhen.
Among chivalrous folk of the world, few did not admire Lady Flying Swallow.
“Ahem ahem!”
As the host, Yang Gong had to smooth things over. Smiling, he said:
“Let’s drink, let’s drink. Protector Yuan doesn’t mean any harm. His innate divine ability is a perfect match with the Buddhist heart-reading technique, but when his power slips out of control, there’s nothing he can do.”
Protector White Ape, still harbouring some sense of self-preservation, said earnestly:
“Sorry…”
Then suddenly changed tack: “Administrator Yang’s heart tells me: This evening’s banquet is truly entertaining, to see all these proud figures, one after another, shamed and making fools of themselves.”
Yang Yan, Jiang Lyuzhong, the other Gold Gongs, the Wulin Alliance’s fourth-rank experts, and Chu Yuanzhen and the rest all gazed silently at Yang Gong.
The smile on Yang Gong’s face slowly froze, like a silent mountain-and-water painting.
…
The banquet ended early. With a few people’s misfortune as a lesson, no one dared continue eating. After all, the difference between a ‘big shot’ and a ‘laughing stock’ could be nothing more than a single glance from Protector Yuan.
Sacrificing just Li Lingsu and a few others was enough, everyone else was a personage of status, no need to dig their own graves.
The lodgings for the Heaven and Earth Society’s members had all been arranged in the same courtyard, their rooms adjacent.
Not long after the dispersal, Chu Yuanzhen and the others noticed Li Lingsu returning, dragging a badly bruised Miao Youfang with him.
“Brother Li, I was also screwed over by that monkey. We ought to unite against outsiders, let’s have monkey brains for dinner tonight!”
Miao Youfang tried to deflect trouble onto others.
Li Lingsu gave no reply, while Li Miaozhen pushed open her window and said:
“Alright, one chopstick each!”
At the sound, Miao Youfang turned and his eyes lit up.
He saw that there was another alluring woman in the room, dressed in white, her features exquisite and delicate, her every gesture filled with an intoxicating charm that was poison to men.
Susu had only just broken through recently; her abilities had advanced. From a seductive vixen ghost adept at bewitching men, she had become a formidable fighting ghost as well.
In her spiritual form, she was very powerful. Yet once merged with a body, she was simply an ordinary woman with a strong mind.
That was the real reason why Susu had hesitated all this while, it certainly wasn’t out of fear of measuring depths with that Xu fellow.
“I feel like I’ve seen this sister somewhere before,” Miao Youfang grinned.
“Forget it. She’s Xu Ningyan’s concubine,” Li Miaozhen bluntly replied.
“Oh, greetings, Mistress.”
Miao Youfang adopted an attitude of utmost respect.
Li Lingsu sat himself at the stone table in the courtyard and called out loudly,
“Junior Sister, Brother Chu, come outside for a moment.”
Li Miaozhen closed her window, opened the door, and stepped into the yard. From the other end, the door also opened and Chu Yuanzhen, in his azure robe, entered the courtyard.
Li Lingsu patted the stone table, signalling them to sit, and said excitedly,
“That stinking monkey can see through people’s hearts, even a beyond-mortal could easily trip up!”
Li Miaozhen and Chu Yuanzhen were startled.
“Really?”
“If you don’t believe me, ask Miao Youfang,” Li Lingsu said, giving Miao a kick.
The great hero Miao Youfang could be flexible and could even betray his own master, immediately admitting,
“Even Silver Gong Xu often got tripped up by that monkey while in the Southern Marches.”
Chu Yuanzhen’s mind stirred. “And so?”
Li Lingsu eagerly rubbed his hands.
“We need to take revenge! Take revenge on Xu Ningyan, on Daoist Jinlian, on al-Asura. The monkey is the perfect instrument for turning their own methods against them!”
Miao Youfang sneered,
“Silver Gong Xu knows Protector Yuan very well, he won’t fall for it.”
Li Miaozhen’s eyes shone,
“But Daoist Jinlian and al-Asura don’t know about it! With the kind of person that bastard Xu Ningyan is, he absolutely won’t warn them, he’ll just go along with it. We can at least get revenge on Jinlian and al-Asura first.”
Chu Yuanzhen clapped softly.
“Good!”
Miao Youfang interjected,
“The monkey belongs to Senior Brother Sun, you’ll have to ask if he’ll sell him.”
Meanwhile, in another room, Hengyuan sat cross-legged on his bed, listening to the discussion outside. He frowned slightly, feeling something was off. The Heaven and Earth Society hadn’t been like this before, had it?
Who was it that started this atmosphere where everyone wanted to see others lose face?
…
Sun Xuanji walked along the pebble-studded path. The desolate garden was silent, the pavilion quiet, and the houses with their upturned eaves in the distance already dark.
He entered the garden, unerringly found Protector Yuan curled up in the rockery, hiding in the darkness.
Protector White Ape had been wary, but once he saw it was Sun Xuanji, he relaxed at once.
His azure eyes fixed on Sun Xuanji, he directly read Senior Brother Sun’s thoughts, and then replied,
“I sense hostility coming from all sides. I’m afraid of having my head cut off for monkey brains while I sleep, so I’m hiding… I didn’t say much, I just told the truth… and I didn’t offend anyone, at least not every fourth-rank expert…
“I shouldn’t read the minds of experts of third rank or above? Don’t worry, Senior Brother Sun, I’d never try to read the hearts of second-rank experts. I just can’t control my power. But I’m not tired of living, I’d never provoke a second-rank.”
Sun Xuanji nodded, relieved. If that was the case, he could still protect this monkey.
…
Deep into the night.
The Qingzhou Provincial Administration was brightly lit.
After retreating from Xunzhou City on the border with Yongzhou, and following a period of rest and tallying the fallen, the Yunzhou army’s generals could finally gather to discuss matters.
“General, the tally is complete: from Siege Regiment One through Six, all six thousand men were wiped out…”
“General, we lost twenty-one cannons, six heavy crossbows. The second regiment of the Vanguard was completely destroyed…”
“General, in the Warrior Regiment, three hundred entered battle, a hundred sixty-two are lost, and eighty heavily wounded…”
“General…”
Qi Guangbo lounged back in his chair, silently listening to his generals report the casualties for each division.
After the battle that day, the Yunzhou army had suffered catastrophic losses, over ten thousand dead and wounded. Such a staggering loss felt like blood was dripping from one’s heart.
The only consolation was that the siege regiments were made up of rabble, new recruits added after occupying Qingzhou and thus not Yunzhou’s core troops.
The Warrior Regiment was also not core, but losing them hurt even more, as it was full of martial artists and experts.
Among them were not a few fourth, fifth, and sixth-rank experts, the absolute spearhead in siege assaults.
But this time, the Great Feng’s garrison had simply too many fourth-rank masters.
“Sigh!”
Ge Wenxuan gave a long sigh.
“This defeat has dealt a great blow to our army’s morale.”
As he said this, the other generals could not help but recall the slump among their own troops.
Morale was pragmatic: win, and morale soars; lose, and spirits sink.
Of itself, defeat was not so bad, victory and defeat were common in war. The issue was, the one who beat them was Xu Qi’an.
That Xu’s reputation shook the Central Plains, his name was too resounding.
When victorious, it mattered little, but in defeat, the troops’ morale would plummet to rock bottom since they believed that their foe, Silver Gong Xu, could not be beaten.
Especially now, the Yunzhou army had changed since leaving Yunzhou, having absorbed jianghu folk, Qingzhou refugees, and disaster victims from all over. Its structure was now complicated.
And among these, there were countless who revered Xu Qi’an.
Today, someone was beheaded on the spot by his superior for saying just one sentence: “Silver Gong Xu is invincible, unbeatable,” on the grounds of spreading panic throughout the army.
Qi Guangbo took a sip of tea, his tone still calm:
“Let me tell you something: the Daoists of the Earth Sect have been utterly annihilated.
“Today in Qingzhou, they were attacked by a powerful enemy. All the Earth Sect’s high-ranking members, including the Daoist Leader Heilian, were slain. Only a few junior Daoists who had been out survived by sheer luck.”
The generals present turned pale at these words.
After returning to Qingzhou, they had, through their own channels, learned that there had been a great battle in the Provincial Surveillance Commission during the day. But the utter annihilation of the Earth Sect Daoists, they definitely hadn’t heard of that.
Heilian was a second-rank beyond-mortal, how could he just die like that?
In an instant, a gloom settled even heavier in the hearts of everyone present.
Qi Guangbo seemed to feel that the blow wasn’t heavy enough, and continued:
“Today’s battle was a trap set by Xu Qi’an, who used the coup in the capital and the safety of Ji Yuan to lure the National Teacher and us into attacking Yongzhou. He then took charge on the field, pinning down the National Teacher and Agaruka Bodhisattva.
“His clique was responsible for killing Heilian, weakening our beyond-mortal strength.”
Yang Chuannan frowned tightly:
“Who killed Heilian?”
That was the crux of the matter.
Ji Xuan gnashed his teeth and said:
“A second-rank Arhat of the Buddhist Sect, simultaneously a third-rank Vajra, al-Asura!”
The already tense atmosphere in the great hall grew even heavier and more silent. The generals looked at each other, their faces grim.
They had lost one Heilian, while the enemy had gained a second-rank expert. As one side weakened and the other grew stronger, the gap between them was instantly narrowed.
At last, Qi Guangbo showed a solemn expression and said:
“Do you understand now? This is Xu Qi’an! He managed to revive a dead game which even the National Teacher thought unsolvable. He is Wei Yuan’s successor, the piece raised by the Jianzheng, someone who absolutely must not be underestimated.
“This man is nothing like Yang Gong. If any of you think the coming battles will be the same as in Qingzhou, then sooner or later you’ll die on the battlefield.
“If you don’t want to die, then pull yourselves together.”
The generals fell silent.
For no reason, Ge Wenxuan thought of Xu Qi’an’s origins, and of the tangled enmity between him and his teacher.
To this day, how does teacher view this legitimate eldest son?
Is it anger? Hatred? Regret? Or… perhaps just a tiny spark of fear?
Xu Qi’an had reached the second rank.
In single combat, a second-rank Arcanist was no match for a second-rank warrior. That abandoned tool, once meant to be a vessel, had now become a peerless warrior whom even teacher found hard to defeat.
Of course, if teacher held home advantage, if, say, the battlefield was in Qingzhou, it would be another matter.
Bang!
Ji Xuan suddenly slammed the table, his face twisted with anger as he shouted:
“So what if he is second rank? Even with three second-rank experts today, they were still suppressed by Agaruka Bodhisattva. When Baidi returns to Jiuzhou one day, and the two first-ranks join forces, who in the Great Feng could stand against us?
“Don’t weaken your own spirit while inflating others’. Just let that good-for-nothing Xu strut around for a few more days.”
Young Master Ji Xuan’s state of mind is a little off. Today’s battle seems to have hit him hard. Well, he had always thought he’d already caught up to Xu Qi’an… Yang Chuannan understood this and sighed inwardly.
Ji Xuan’s words rekindled the belief and confidence among the generals.
That’s right. With two first-ranks joining forces, and with Great Feng having lost the Jianzheng, how could they resist?
At this moment, a soldier called loudly from outside the hall:
“General Ji, the scouts have brought back something, saying it’s for you.”
The military leaders inside turned to look at the sound. Ji Xuan frowned and said:
“Bring it in!”
The soldier carried in a square wooden box and respectfully placed it on the table, reporting:
“A scout team was ambushed on the Yongzhou border. The Great Feng army left one survivor and sent him back with this, saying it was for you.
“There’s a formation on the box, we couldn’t open it.”
Ji Xuan frowned, pressing one palm on the surface of the box and exerting a little force, sure enough, he felt the formation resisting.
He increased the pressure slightly, pushing the formation to the verge of shattering. During this, his warrior’s danger sense did not trigger.
This meant that opening the box posed no danger.
Confident in both his own ability and in Xu Pingfeng’s invincibility within Qingzhou, Ji Xuan drew his palm across the surface of the wooden box, forcefully breaking the formation.
“Crack!”
He opened the box.
Inside was a human head: the skin a bluish tinge, the eyes bloodshot and bulging, a look of terror frozen on the face. The facial features resembled Ji Xuan’s by forty to fifty percent.
Ji Yuan!
That Xu killed Young Master Ji Yuan, how dare he… The generals at once fell silent as cicadas, casting cautious glances at Ji Xuan.
What they saw was a face twisted and grief-stricken, almost bestial in its anguish.
Ji Xuan had only one brother, a full sibling, two years his junior.
Because they were both born of concubines, the brothers never had to worry about the struggle for the imperial succession, and so had always been close since childhood.
Ever since their mother died, Ji Yuan had been Ji Xuan’s only family. To people like them, a father was not family, and neither were other brothers and sisters, they were all just rivals in a game.
Now, his only kin was gone.
“XU QI’AN!!!!”
Ji Xuan’s heart-rending roar echoed, somewhere between a wail and a howl of rage.
…
Two streets away from the magistrate’s official residence was a mansion, where Xu Qi’an was to stay temporarily.
Originally, it had belonged to a wealthy merchant of Xunzhou City, but after learning that Qingzhou had fallen, he’d fled with his wealth, retainers, and womenfolk, abandoning the house.
After all, at a time like this, no matter how fine the house was, one couldn’t sell it.
The east room was brightly lit, Luo Yuheng was sitting cross-legged on a soft bed, quietly cultivating.
Creak,
Suddenly, the door to the outer room was pushed open, ever so cautiously, and a figure slipped in furtively.
Luo Yuheng opened her eyes, her long, straight brows knitting in annoyance. She said coolly:
“If you have something to say, speak outside. Say it and go. Do not disturb my cultivation.”
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