Chen Tang watched the scene on Qianyang Street, where Chen Shi was seeing off the gathered provincial graduates and presented scholars, and felt an inexplicable stirring in his heart.
This scene unfolded naturally, not like the deliberate spectacle the Young Master staged.
“These people were deliberately scattered by the court because they fear that, if they cluster around Little Ten, they will beco an uncontrollable force,” he thought silently.
However, the court overlooked one thing: although Tian Yue'e and the others were dispersed, they were also mbers of the Red Mountain Hall Talisman Master Association. When they went to serve as officials across the fifty provinces of the Western Ox New Continent, they would inevitably establish Red Mountain Hall branches everywhere.
When that ti ca, the Red Mountain Hall Talisman Master Association would bloom everywhere. It would no longer be a small, secluded faction; it would suddenly expand to an unimaginable scale!
“The Ministry of Revenue removed from my post, and the staff I placed in the ministry will likely be replaced one by one.”
Chen Tang suddenly realized that these officials were all n he had promoted; their fortunes rose and fell with his. If he fell, they couldn't keep their positions. It would be better to have them join Red Mountain Hall.
As Red Mountain Hall expanded, many vacancies would open up, perfectly suited to accommodate them.
“And I, a Grand Master of Honors with nothing to do, can also go to Red Mountain Hall and do sothing, so I won't be idle at ho and bother Little Ten when he sees ,” he thought.
With that, he imdiately left the Chen residence and traveled to Gaoshan County to see Hall Master Yu, Yu Tiancheng, and laid out his plans.
Yu Tiancheng was both surprised and delighted, repeatedly saying, “Lord Chen joining Red Mountain Hall will bring great prestige to the whole organization. You are most welco!”
They discussed details. Chen Tang explained his idea to recruit the clerks from the Ministry of Revenue into Red Mountain Hall and to open halls in every one of the fifty provinces.
Yu Tiancheng’s eyes shone. The more they spoke, the more in tune they beca. He could not help asking, “May I ask, what is Lord Chen’s codena within the Celestial Court?”
“What?” Chen Tang did not catch it.
Yu Tiancheng clarified, “Lord Chen’s codena in the Celestial Court?”
Chen Tang was stunned. “What Celestial Court?”
Only then did Yu Tiancheng realize Chen Tang did not know about the Celestial Court, so he proceeded to explain its origins.
Chen Tang was dumbfounded, feeling a pang of sadness. “You an the Celestial Court was established by my father? After my father died, it was passed to my son. Neither my father nor my son ever told about this?”
Yu Tiancheng realized his mistake and thought, “So Lord Chen is an outsider…”
Chen Tang cald himself and asked, “What was my father’s codena in the Celestial Court? And what was my son’s codena?”
Yu Tiancheng answered cautiously, “Your honored father’s codena was Instructor, and your son’s codena was True King.”
Chen Tang fell into silence for a long while, then slowly said, “Exterminate the nine clans, huh.”
Seeing his emotions stabilize, Yu Tiancheng felt relieved.
Chen Shi returned ho and did not find Chen Tang there. At that mont Guo Daoist and Yu Lingzi ca to pay their respects. The two were disciples of the Heavenly Master Mansion and Tai Hua Qing Palace respectively; after this tropolitan examination they would not compete for top scholar, and having been granted the presented scholar degree, they would hang a post at the Daoist Records Office as a ceremonial duty.
The two intended to return to their sects to cultivate, and had co to take their leave.
Chen Shi sent them off with a pang of lancholy; this bustling capital would certainly feel a lot emptier because of the departures of people like them.
At that mont he noticed a monk standing opposite the Chen residence, accompanied by a beautiful young girl. She was on tiptoe, blowing on the monk’s shaved head and using her sleeve to wipe dust from the monk’s gleaming scalp.
The monk did not move at all. When the girl finished polishing, the monk bowed to Chen Shi and said, “Layman Chen, I and Martial Aunt Ying have co to take our leave from you.”
Chen Shi looked at the monk, Wuchen the monk, in surprise, then at the girl, Ying Rung. Ying Rung smiled faintly at him, and Chen Shi’s inner demons surged for a mont before he regained composure.
He escorted Wuchen to the post station and asked, “Does the monk have an official position at the Monastic Records Office?”
Wuchen replied, “I have been recorded as a Sutra Lecturer, a genuine eighth-rank official. From now on, I will go begging for alms in different temples and take lodging at monasteries without accepting incense offerings. At Great Bao Guo Temple, there may be further promotion.”
He smiled with a pure innocence.
“You have gained much this trip down the mountain, which is indeed good.”
Chen Shi’s gaze landed on Ying Rung. He smiled and asked, “And the demoness? What did the demoness gain?”
Ying Rung smiled, “I ca to the Western Capital originally drawn by the demonic nature here. After the top scholar contest ended, the demon nature in the city significantly diminished, and it is no longer a holy ground for my cultivation. But I gained a lot. My Dao progress has greatly advanced; maturity is within sight, and Buddhahood is not far off.”
Chen Shi asked in puzzlent, “A demon can beco a Buddha? I am dull-witted—may I ask you about this?”
Ying Rung answered, “A demon can beco a Buddha. It is not the demon’s fault but the world’s. If the world is peaceful, demons cannot absorb any demonic qi or demonic nature in the human realm—how could they then beco Buddhas? Layman Chen, please stay a while.”
Chen Shi stopped and watched them enter the post station.
On his way ho he heard a respectful voice say, “Young Lord Chen, may we walk with you and speak?”
He looked and felt a chill run through him. Qin Su, Tang Baling, Dou Qi, Fang Tan, and other Fu Zheng Pavilion followers of the Young Master were standing by the roadside, waiting for him.
In front of them stood a man in his forties or fifties, dressed in white and commanding presence. He was the one who had spoken.
“My na is Shui Xuanzhi. I was forrly Chief Administrator of the Fu Zheng Pavilion,” the white-clad man said, bowing slightly as he approached.
Chen Shi returned the courtesy, “Chief Administrator Shui’s na is long renowned. How old are you this year, Administrator Shui?”
Shui Xuanzhi answered, “Fifty-one.”
Chen Shi could not help being moved. “To have reached the Mahayana Realm at fifty-one—Administrator Shui’s future is boundless!”
Shui Xuanzhi walked with him, shaking his head, “Layman Chen, you are mistaken. I have reached the Mahayana Realm and have peaked; it will be difficult to make further progress in this life.”
They walked toward the Western Capital’s inner city, and Chen Shi noticed Qin Su, Dou Qi and the others trailing obediently behind them.
“We an no ill,” Shui Xuanzhi said. “You killed the Young Master during the palace examination because he was outmatched. Now the Young Master is dead and the Fu Zheng Pavilion has collapsed. The Young Master’s affairs are in ruins. Even if we had guts, we would not dare oppose the court. Individual prowess against the court is but a drop in the ocean.”
Chen Shi’s eyes flickered. He glanced back at Dou Qi and the others and asked with a smile, “Then why have you co to see ?”
“To secure a lineage!” Shui Xuanzhi halted, his eyes clear as snow as he stared at Chen Shi with sincere intensity. “Young Lord Chen, we are talented n who found no chance. We threw our lot in with the Young Master and gave our all for him, so that our skills might find a place to be used and scholars of the world could have outlets for their talents. The Fu Zheng Pavilion is gone, but our ambitions remain. If Young Lord Chen killed the Young Master, then Young Lord Chen is the Young Master!”
His gaze burned with fervor, almost fanaticism. “Young Lord Chen is not an ordinary top scholar. You have ambitions for the world; you have the resolve to change this era. You are our Young Master! Although the Fu Zheng Pavilion has disbanded, our loyalty has not. If you nod, we will wholeheartedly support you, usher your official career smoothly, and with the Thirteen Great Clans’ backing, your ascent to the throne—becoming True King—will follow naturally!”
Chen Shi asked, “How would I ascend to the throne?”
“As long as Young Lord Chen cooperates, claiming the surna Zhu while Master Chen says you are his adopted son, we will create montum and win the Thirteen Great Clans’ support. Ascension to the throne and becoming True King would then be entirely logical,” Shui Xuanzhi said excitedly.
“The heavens are changing more violently than before. This is a ti for heroes to rise! The Western Ox New Continent has had no True King for over six thousand years. It is ti to restore the True King Era! In the True King Era, everything was better—people lived in peace and plenty, there were immortals, and Mahayana was no longer the limit!” he declared.
Chen Shi’s expression remained calm. He interrupted, “Administrator Shui, do you know why I killed the Young Master?”
Shui Xuanzhi was slightly taken aback. “You had to eliminate the Young Master to rise to the throne because the Young Master was your rival!”
Chen Shi shook his head in disappointnt. “I killed the Young Master because I empathized with the children he persecuted. I saw what the Taiping Sect did. I witnessed the Tianmu Society’s atrocities. I have been to Gongzhou and to Yudu; I know what you have done.”
Shui Xuanzhi frowned and said earnestly, “For the greater righteousness, for the greater cause, to make the common people’s lives better and free from fear and the tornt of evil spirits, we require vast funds, vast power, and sacrifices. These sacrifices are necessary!”
“Administrator Shui, there is no difference between you and the Young Master; you are the Young Master,” Chen Shi said as he glanced at the group. “You all terrify , you know?
“I am afraid you will cut out my Divine Embryo and call it righteousness, insist that I must be sacrificed. I am afraid you will kidnap , cut off my knees, sever my arms, and force to beg, claiming it was necessary sacrifice!
“I fear you will lock in a cage and send into the underworld to steal white lotuses, where I could be devoured by ghost gods at any mont! I fear you will buy girls and force them into brothels, saying it is a necessary sacrifice! Do you understand, Administrator Shui? It is I who am afraid of you, not you who are afraid of ! I am terrified—even in my dreams!”
He paused, then continued, “So Administrator Shui, I must kill you. Right now I cannot beat you, cannot defeat you, so I speak to you calmly. But in the future, I will kill you. You should hide—while I am not yet strong enough, hide as far away as you can.”
His voice could not hide the killing intent, “But rest assured, if you hide in the countryside, I will find you there and kill you.
“If you hide among the powerful, I will hunt you down in their halls and slay you.
“If you hide in a latrine, I will shove your head into the cesspit and kill you there.
“If you hide in a mouse hole, I will find the mouse hole, kill you, and let the mice eat your flesh and drink your blood.”
A faint thread of murderous intent spilled from Chen Shi’s words, and Shui Xuanzhi clenched his fists as it showed through.
Chen Shi remained unperturbed and said slowly, “Administrator Shui, you use the na of righteousness to do too much evil—risking others while never risking yourself.”
Shui Xuanzhi’s eye twitched; his voice turned hoarse. “Do you know I am at the Mahayana Realm? I could kill you with a thought!”
Chen Shi answered lightly, “To kill the top scholar and then stand against the court? If you have that courage, do it now. You are no different from the petty rogues who sided with the Young Master. Hide like a rat until I co to find you and kill you.”
Shui Xuanzhi’s hands trembled and his face shifted in emotion.
At that mont, Left Gentleman Qin Su’s forr husband, Xiang Yunfei, a Director of the Ministry of Personnel, was passing by. Seeing them, he frowned and scolded, “The Fu Zheng Pavilion has long since collapsed and the Young Master is dead. Why are you still gathered here? Disperse! Move along!”
He strode forward and reprimanded Shui Xuanzhi.
Seeing the official robe, Shui Xuanzhi bowed slightly and stepped back.
Xiang Yunfei grabbed Chen Shi’s wrist and led him toward the inner city, lowering his voice, “Why are you talking to these desperate n? Are you courting death?”
Chen Shi glanced back at Shui Xuanzhi and the Fu Zheng Pavilion n and smiled, “Those who do great things but fear death, who bargain for small gains and forget the greater cause, imagine themselves heroes but are but empty sacks. These people are the sa as the Young Master; they cannot succeed. They do not dare hurt .”
Xiang Yunfei snapped angrily, “But that doesn’t rule out the unexpected! Maybe there is a fool bold enough to try. If others throw their lives away, can you gamble with your own? Avoid such things when possible.”
He escorted Chen Shi into the inner city and then released his hand, sighing in relief. “You killed the Young Master and ruined many people’s plans. Many want your head. For the ti being, you should avoid appearing in public. I’ll take you back to the Chen residence!”
They walked side by side when a soft, timid voice ca from behind.
“Old Xiang, I have found my son.”
Xiang Yunfei’s body trembled and he stopped, frozen.
The voice continued from behind him, “Old Xiang, I found Tianyu. Turn around and look.”
Xiang Yunfei turned, eyes blurred with tears.
His beloved Sha Qiutong stood there, holding the hand of her son Xiang Tianyu, on Qianyang Street.
Sha Qiutong looked as she had thirty years ago—still beautiful.
Xiang Tianyu appeared not to have grown, still looking like a child.
“Father, I’m ho.”
The child spoke timidly, “I got lost in the underworld. Over the years I kept thinking about you and Mother…”
Xiang Yunfei’s tears fell like beads on a broken string. He stumbled forward to them, holding Granny Sha in one arm and Xiang Tianyu in the other, overco with grief as he howled and wept.
Chen Shi watched that scene as if thirty years of ti had been interrupted; this family had gone through death and separation and was reunited.
He knew this reunion would be temporary.
Granny Sha and Lord Xiang could never truly return to what they had been thirty years ago.
At the Hanlin Academy, Zhang You was serving as an editorial compiler, a seventh-rank official, a notch below Chen Shi.
That day he received a visitor.
Having heard of the visitor’s arrival, Zhang You hurried to greet him.
The visitor was a handso young man about the sa age, perhaps in his twenties, dressed simply in yellow without embroidery or ornant, his collar the sa plain color, his hair tied back with a silk ribbon instead of a golden crown.
“Zhang You, no need for ceremony. I heard you hold office here and ca to pay my respects to you and the Young Master,” the yellow-clad youth said. “I only just arrived in the Western Capital and heard that the Young Master has passed. I regret it.”
Zhang You bowed, “The Young Master has indeed died. Brother Wujin, I will take you to his grave for offerings.”
The yellow-clad youth nodded lightly. “Thank you.”
Zhang You led the way. “Brother Wujin, you have co out of seclusion—what brought you from Despair Slope? Surely you did not co rely to see and the Young Master.”
The yellow-clad youth said, “The treasure on the Western Capital’s underworld is ripe and is about to erge. I have co to claim it.”
They arrived at the Young Master’s grave. The yellow-clad youth offered incense and wine, and asked in a low voice, “Who killed the Young Master?”
“New top scholar Chen Shi.”
Hearing that, the yellow-clad youth was astonished. “The child prodigy Chen Shi from eleven years ago? He had no Innate Dao Embryo—how did he co back to life and kill the Young Master? How does his strength compare with yours?”
Zhang You said, “Stronger, not weaker.”
The yellow-clad youth pondered for a mont and said, “I should go see him.”
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