Unsheathed

Following the departure of Cui Dongshan, the entire Cai Manor heaved a collective sigh of relief, as if they had just bade farewell to a deity of calamity.

The only ones who were feeling a little disappointed were the beautiful maidservants who had gotten the chance to serve him during his brief stay.

After leaving the provincial city, Cui Dongshan didn’t return straight to the capital city. Instead, he took up residence in a large Daoist temple on the outskirts of the capital.

There was an elderly Daoist priest in the temple that held the revered title of “Daoist Master,” and Cui Dongshan had come to visit this Daoist Master with the intention of “exchanging discourse on matters related to the teachings of Daoism.”

Wei Xian knew that this elderly Daoist priest had to have been a spy of the Great Li Empire that had been planted in the Great Sui Nation.

During a spate of boredom, Cui Dongshan had shown Wei Xian a list of names of spies from the Great Sui Nation who were currently lurking in the Great Li Empire. Of course, there were only more that were still yet to be unearthed. Many of those names had been circled in red, and Cui Dongshan told Wei Xian that these were spies who specialized in selling intelligence.

Essentially, they were double agents who would sell intelligence to both sides as long as the price was right, and according to Cui Dongshan, they were particularly fun to deal with.

Hence, it came as no surprise to Wei Xian when the elderly Daoist priest was revealed to a spy of the Great Li Empire, but what did come as a surprise to him was that after a brief exchange of intelligence, the two of them really did sit down onto a pair of cushions and begin discussing the teachings of Daoism.

Before long, Wei Xian was nodding off as he listened to their discussion.

Following the elderly Daoist priest’s departure, Cui Dongshan pointed at his vacated cushion as he urged, “Sit on it while it’s still hot.”

Wei Xian did sit down, but he did so on the ground instead of on the cushion.

Cui Dongshan pulled a small, antiquated table from his minimization treasure, and the table was laden with the four treasures of the study. He unfurled a sheet of exquisite letter paper that was most likely reserved for imperial use and began writing on it.

“Mr. Cui, why is it that you’ve suddenly changed your mind and left the Cai Manor to return to the capital city, only to stop here?” Wei Xian asked.

This was a question that had been confounding Wei Xian this entire time.

Cui Dongshan’s gaze remained fixed on the sheet of letter paper, and instead of answering the question, he raised a seemingly completely unrelated one of his own: “Do you think the heart is difficult to comprehend?”

“Of course,” Wei Xian replied with a nod.

Cui Dongshan had once been a widely renowned master calligrapher on the Middle Earth Divine Continent, so it was a very pleasant experience for Wei Xian just to see his handwriting from afar.

Cui Dongshan continued to write out his letter, which contained a summary of all of the intelligence that he had gathered, and he continued, “The heart of man seems to be difficult to predict, but in reality, it’s nowhere near as complicated as you think it is. Fear of death and a will to live are universal traits among all humans, perhaps even among all living beings.

“The thing that sets us apart from animals and beasts are our higher order emotions, isn’t that right? The more exceptional someone is, the more they’ll be plagued by these higher order emotions.”

Wei Xian thought about this for a moment, then replied, “That’s true, but there are also some who have learned to find balance and temper those emotions.”

Cui Dongshan set down his brush, then shook out his wrist as he sneered, “All those who claim to have found balance are fence-sitting idiots who sway whichever side the wind blows. They want money, they want power, they want beautiful women. They want everything, which is fine, but one has to know the importance of not biting off more than they can chew.

“Liu Qingfeng, Li Baozhen, Wei Li, and Wu Yuan are all very intelligent men, but they all have various flaws. Wu Yuan agrees with my teachings of pragmatism, and he’s technically even a disciple of mine, but in the past, he was a beneficiary to the empress of the Great Li Empire, and he feels like he owes everything that he has today to the empress.

“As a result, he’s constantly conflicted in his treatment of national matters and personal ties, leading him to lead a very conflicted and tiresome life. Li Baozhen’s pursuits are nothing special, and he doesn’t fit in the mold of the Confucian orthodoxy as much as Wu Yuan. All he wants is to accumulate merits and accolades in order to climb higher in the official hierarchy.

“However, it must be said that his ambitions outweigh his current capabilities. Out of the four, Wei Li is the purest Confucian, and he regards the future prosperity of the nation as important above all else. However, he’s still a little too short-sighted, only accustomed to looking at a nation’s future over the scale of centuries when he should be considering an entire continent’s future over the grand scales of thousands of years.

“Liu Qingfeng is the one that I rate the highest of the four. Unfortunately, he possesses no cultivation aptitude, so his lifespan will be very limited. It seems like the heavens really do envy brilliant talents.”

Wei Xian was rather taken aback to hear this.

This was the first time that he had ever heard Cui Dongshan describe anyone as a brilliant talent.

This entire time, Wei Xian had been mulling over Cui Dongshan’s claim that human hearts were easily predictable.

However, before he had a chance to raise any questions on the topic, Cui Dongshan said, “I’m sure you must be thinking that my method of gauging the hearts of others appears to be feasible, but in reality, there are many volatile factors that can affect different people in different ways.

“Perhaps an unforeseen mishap could change everything, so my proposed method is extremely difficult to execute and also very unlikely to yield accurate results. Hence, you believe it to be unreliable, is that right?”

Wei Xian nodded in response.

Cui Dongshan smiled as he pointed at his own head and said, “Not only does cultivation grant one a longer lifespan, it’ll also make one smarter over time.”

He then swept a sleeve through the air, spilling a large handful of immortal currency on the table as he continued, “There are several large categories that human hearts can fall into, and the calculation methods of Foretellers can be used to establish ten categories for everything to fall into. You’ll come to discover that all of the so-called volatile factors that you’re thinking of will have no impact on the final outcome.”

Before Wei Xian had a chance to say anything, Cui Dongshan smiled as he continued, “Perhaps ten categories still won’t be enough to ensure a sufficient degree of accuracy. In that case, how about a hundred?”

“The teachings of Foretellers have always been looked down on in the Majestic World. Hasn’t it only ever been championed by Commercialists, who also have a rather shaky reputation? Could it be that in addition to Confucianism, you’re also a proponent of Foretellers?” Wei Xian asked.

“You think far too highly of Foretellers if you believe that they deserve endorsement from me,” Cui Dongshan sneered. “I’ve explored even the finest details concerning the three immortal souls and seven mortal forms. In comparison, the teachings of Foretellers are far too easy to master.”

Wei Xian was rendered speechless upon hearing this.

After going off on that long tangent, Cui Dongshan finally circled back to Wei Xian’s initial question as he continued, “Right now, I have a good grasp on everyone and everything in the academy, with the only exception being that foreign scholar, Mr. Zhao.”

A puzzled look appeared on Wei Xian’s face upon hearing this.

“How could an elderly scholar like him possibly hope to compete against a Confucian sage like Mao Xiaodong? You’ve personally said to me that Mao Xiaodong isn’t an inflexible and incompetent Confucian scholar, so surely he wouldn’t be bested by Mr. Zhao. On top of that, you also said that the emperor of the Great Sui Nation definitely wouldn’t dare to target Li Baoping and Li Huai unless he wanted to personally bring about the demise of his own nation.”

A disdainful look appeared on Cui Dongshan’s face as he sighed, “Have a good think about this. I already told you the answer earlier. You need to look at these problems from a higher vantage point.”

Wei Xian’s heart jolted slightly upon hearing this.

A cold sneer appeared on Cui Dongshan’s face as he continued, “To the emperor of the Great Accomplishment, his nation is everything, but do you think the truly powerful figures pulling the strings behind the scenes would care about the fate of the Great Li Empire and the Great Sui Nation?

“If they can decide the future of an entire continent just by assassinating a child or two, would you not be tempted if you were in their shoes? The followers of Commercialism would be overjoyed to see this. After all, there’s always money to be made from wars. As for the powerful Diplomatists who’re lurking in the shadows behind the scenes, they’ll also be happy to instigate such a conflict.”

Wei Xian became so excited upon hearing this that his hands began to tremble.

As the founding emperor of the Southern Garden Nation, this was the world that he wanted to live in, one in which there was great turmoil and conflict.

He wanted to see a world in which all powerful figures, regardless of whether they were emperors or lofty immortals, were swept up in the all-powerful tide of fortune and reduced to pawns of destiny that had no control over their own fates.

All of a sudden, some sobering thought seemed to have occurred to Cui Dongshan, and he wiped a hand over his own face as he said in a dejected manner, “I possess so much knowledge and ability, yet look at what I’m doing right now! I’m hatching plots left, right, and center, but it’s all for completely trivial crap!

“That old bastard is plotting to take over the entire Eastern Treasured Vial Continent, while I can only keep an eye on the Great Sui Nation for him like a guard dog looking after his backyard! Not only are my talents completely wasted here, I have to constantly worry about any single misstep possibly getting me renounced by my teacher…”

He then clenched his fist and pounded it heavily against his own chest as he cried, “It hurts right here, Old Man Wei!”

Wei Xian watched as Cui Dongshan rolled around in the room like a scorned child, and he couldn’t help but be overcome by a sense of exasperation.

————

Ever since the founding of the Great Sui Nation, the Gao Clan had always treated scholars very well.

As the newly crowned Zhuangyuan, Zhang Dai was currently still working in the Imperial Hanlin Academy, he already owned a courtyard with three entrances and ten rooms in the capital, paid for by the Ministry of Revenue.

On this day, Zhang Dai was taking a stroll in his empty courtyard at around dusk. After feeding the red koi fish in the vat, he entered his study to play out a game of go in accordance with a manual.

Zhang Dai hailed from an unremarkable background, and he had performed decently well in the county and town examinations, but his performance was nothing special. However, he had performed exceptionally well in the final examination, and that was what had catapulted him to the title of Zhuangyuan.

After becoming the Zhuangyuan and moving into this estate, the only thing that changed about his life was that he had hired a coach driver and purchased a horse-drawn carriage. Aside from that, he rarely went out drinking or meeting with others, and it was difficult to imagine that this young man in his early twenties was the newly crowned Zhuangyuan of the Great Sui Nation.

It was even more difficult to imagine that he would be able to deliver such a rousing address in the Cai Manor before departing in the same carriage with Miao Ren.

Both Cai Feng and Miao Ren felt like this was completely reasonable. As the Zhuangyuan, Zhang Dai had become a very renowned figure across the entire nation, and on top of that, he was one of the four spirits.

He came from a humble but pure background, and he harbored very pure and lofty ambitions, thereby making him easy to control. In their eyes, he was the type of person who could be easily manipulated into doing their bidding as long as they could convince him that what he was doing was for the good of the nation.

As Zhang Dai was playing out the game of go on his own, he was interrupted by the sound of door-knocking, and he raised his head as he said, “Come in.”

The door was opened to reveal the old coach driver that he had hired, who informed, “Mao Xiaodong has left the academy with a young man by the name of Chen Ping’an.”

“Weren’t they vowing to kill Mao Xiaodong? Let them go ahead and do just that,” Zhang Dai said in an expressionless manner. “Get the insider that we planted in the academy to make up a reason to convince Zhao Lu to leave the academy with his white deer, then take him to a secluded place, knock him unconscious, and hide him.

“Make sure you don’t rouse any suspicions from that Nascent Tier gatekeeper, Liang Rensi. Once you’ve successfully snuck into the academy, act fast and aim to kill at least one of them. Of course, you’ll ideally kill both.”

The old coach driver nodded in response.

After a brief hesitation, Zhang Dai revealed, “I’ll be leaving the capital tonight.”

The old man smiled as he replied, “After successfully carrying out this operation, you’ll be sure to make leaps and bounds up the hierarchy once you return to the Middle Earth Divine Continent.”

Zhang Dai offered no response to this.

Following the old man’s departure, Zhang Dai set down the go manual in his hand before looking down at the game on the board before him as if he were a general surveying a battlefield.

————

In the southeastern region of the Eastern Treasured Vial Continent, there was a private manor on the outskirts of the capital of the Azure Phoenix Nation.

A young man who was one of the leaders of the Great Li Empire’s Green Ripple Pavilion spies was present with a dark look on his face.

He was joined by various important figures from the Azure Phoenix Nation’s imperial court and literati world, and of course, all of these people had already been won over by the Great Li Empire.

Li Baozhen was looking down at the ground with a completely untouched cup of tea sitting on the table next to him, while everyone else was looking quite uneasy.

All of them had gathered here for a common objective.

They were going to launch a smear campaign against the old minister, Liu Jingting, who had already retired to the Lion Garden, and ensure that he suffered a catastrophic and permanent fall from grace, making it impossible for him to unite all of the scholars and literati who had fled south to the Azure Phoenix Nation. The Azure Phoenix Nation still needed a healthy and thriving literati world, but what it didn’t need was a dominant force like Liu Jingting.

As long as they could drag Liu Jingting’s reputation down into the mud, all of the major scholarly factions would instantly be fractured.

This was something that the Great Li Empire wanted to see, and even the emperor of the Azure Phoenix Nation would think of this as something that had both benefits and drawbacks. At the very least, he wouldn’t have to be bothered by those clueless outsiders who somehow felt like they had a right to interfere with the politics of the Azure Phoenix Nation.

Once all of those major clans became a fractured mess, the emperor of the Azure Phoenix Nation would be able to split the spoils with the Great Li Empire and win over those major clans.

However, the dozen or so people present had mustered up all of the power that they could gather to attack Liu Jingting, pulling up all of his past works, including poems and official letters, to search meticulously for anything that they could use against him.

However, not only had they failed to achieve their objective, their actions had incited mass outrage in the literati world of the Azure Phoenix Nation.

Some current serving officials of the imperial court and renowned Confucian scholars who were originally at odds with Liu Jingting were so disgusted by this that they had united to defend him, and all of the major clans who had fled south to the Azure Phoenix Nation were particularly enraged, holding mass protests and processions for Liu Jingting.

In fact, all of this had created such a massive stir that rumors had even begun to spread in the capital of Liu Jingting’s imminent return to the imperial court, accompanied by a promotion to the role of chief minister of the Ministry of Rites.

Li Baozhen raised his head as he smiled and said, “There’s no need to be so anxious, everyone. In the wake of our failure, I will be the first to suffer the consequences, and only after that will all of you be held reprehensible. Perhaps the imperial preceptor will give us another chance out of the kindness of his heart.”

On the surface, these seemed to be words of consolation, but everyone present felt a chill run down their spines upon hearing this.

Of course, Li Baozhen was furious at these incompetent fools!

Right at this moment, two figures appeared at the entrance of the hall, and one made their way inside, while the other remained outside.

A resigned look appeared on Li Baozhen’s face at the sight of the scholarly man who had entered the room. He had thought that he would be able to carry out this plot to perfection on his own, but the outcome had been far from ideal.

Upon setting foot in the hall, the man said, “You’re already halfway there, everyone. From here, there are three more steps that you have to execute. The first step is to temporarily cease your smear campaign against Liu Jingting and begin praising him instead.

“There are three sub-steps to this step, the first of which is for you and your friends to produce some candid and objective literary pieces to put a conclusion to all of this and make it so that your previous claims against Liu Jingting aren’t completely devoid of validity. After that, you get another group of people to begin glorifying Liu Jingting, using vocabulary that’s as exaggerated and sappy as possible.

“Praise him and his literary works to the point that it feels like he should be inducted into the Confucian temple following his death. The third sub-step is to prepare another batch of writings for the purpose of attacking all of the officials and renowned scholars who have defended Liu Jingting.

“Make the attacks completely indiscriminate, and use vocabulary that’s as nasty and damaging as possible, but make sure to keep one thing in mind, which is that the point that you’re trying to get across with these writings is that all those who have defended Liu Jingting are his lapdogs.”

Initially, everyone in the hall was full of disdain toward the scholarly man, but as he elaborated on his plan, everyone began to realize that it was an extremely innovative one.

The man continued, “The second step is to wait for some time before resuming the smear campaign against Liu Jingting, but make sure to be more strategic with your criticisms this time. All of your criticisms must be accompanied by what appears to be pieces of praise, but are actually only pieces of further condemnation.

“For example, even though Liu Jingting’s morality is questionable, he has undoubtedly done more good than bad, and many of his disciples have gone on to reach lofty heights. After that, you can provide examples of his most prominent disciples and the official ranks that they’ve reached, thereby invoking envy from others.

“Another example is that even though Liu Jingting wasn’t able to achieve much during his political career, he’s at least been free from corruption. All that’s under his name is the Lion Garden, which may be renowned across half the continent, but that’s neither here nor there.

“In the eyes of bystanders, these writings will appear to be quite placid and neutral while also defending Liu Jingting. As a result, many neutral bystanders will unwittingly accept what’s presented in these writings as facts, and would only make them even more envious of Liu Jingting.”

Everyone in the hall exchanged a few glances with one another upon hearing this.

The man smiled as he continued, “The third step is to make slanderous claims on Liu Jingting’s private life. The writing doesn’t have to be exceptional, but the headlines have to be attention-grabbing. For example, ‘Liu Jingting’s Lascivious Visit to a Nunnery on a Stormy Night,’ or ‘The Blurred Lines Between Liu Jingting and the Beautiful Maidservants of His Lion Garden.’

“While you’re at it, make some catchy limericks for everyone to spread, and adapt these slanderous tales into stories for storytellers and the general public to share.”

In the face of everyone’s perplexed reactions, the man explained, “You may think that this will all be useless effort made in futility, but that’s not the case. Impoverished scholars who are down on their luck love reading stories like these, and the general public loves to spread gossip, regardless of whether there’s any truth in the tales that they’ve been told. Before long, the entire capital will have been made aware of Liu Jingting’s supposedly dubious moral standards.”

In the end, the man pulled out a piece of paper, then strode over to Li Baozhen before handing it to him as he explained, “I’m assuming none of you are familiar with trivial things like avenues for printing erotic novels and the price that you should expect to be charged per copy printed, as well as how much money should be given to storytellers to tell these stories.

“I’ve written all of that down on this piece of paper so that you can avoid being fleeced. These businessmen may not be particularly powerful or lofty in status, but they’re very cunning, and all of them follow their own set of rules, so if you go in without a clue about their prices and the way that they like to do things, not only will you be heavily fleeced, they’ll also look down on you for your ignorance.”

With that, the man took his leave and turned to depart, but upon reaching the entrance of the hall, he suddenly turned back around with a smile as he said, “It’s only thanks to the hard work that all of you have put in that I’ve been given the opportunity to show off these insignificant skills of mine. I hope that I’ve been of some help to all of you.”

Everyone looked on with dazed expressions as the man departed.

Li Baozhen’s mouth had run completely dry as he held the piece of paper in a tightly clenched fist, while everyone else’s skin was crawling.

The man that they had just been visited by was none other than Liu Qingfeng, Liu Jingting’s eldest son.