Martial King's Retired Life

Book 15: Chapter 118

“Like a turning wheel, life never stops moving. Alas, the trajectory of life is never as simple as that of a wheel. As a result of every individual desire, every wheel changes ever so slightly that the subtle changes go unnoticed in the moment. All the tiny changes add up and become information that can be used to predict how the wheels will change in the future.

“There is always someone who is wise enough to seemingly know the future. He who sees tracks from the shape is wise. He who can comprehend signs from the tracks is a genius. He who foresees the ending from the signs… is no longer human. It could be argued he is not far from godhood ” – “The Wheel of Karma”, Black and White Reflection, 239th Edition.

On the day that the sun, the debt collection voice and the voice of an imperial edict being issued bombarded Ming Feizhen simultaneously, he woke up to a smooth arm and hand on his chest, while his own arm was buried in warm and pillowy valleys. The fragrance and warmth almost sent him back into his sweet dreams until it occurred to him that he should not have had a naked maiden sleeping beside him.

Ming Feizhen woke up as if an emergency was announced and draped his clothes over her in a hurry. As he draped his shirt over her, he realised she was actually still dressed, except that the shirt she wore inside was basically a singlet that still had some cushioning on it so that armour could be worn over the top.

Lass Yu?

It had been the first time Ming Feizhen had heard from – or seen – Yu Feiyuan since they parted in Huzhou. Considering the reverence she was shown in her sect, it made no sense for her to be at Dongpo by herself. Most importantly, why was she in his bed – or rather, pile of plates – while he was drunk and out of commission. Before he could come up with a plausible explanation, he grouched, “Can you people stop staring?”

His Majesty issued three edicts in the morning to inform everyone. After what Ming Feizhen did, he was now someone important in the imperial court. However, never did he imagine someone of his standing would have to wake up for an imperial edict. As he shook his head, he accepted the edict from the eunuch and then chided the individual pestering him to pay up.

“What’s there to look at? National affairs go fast, dummy. So what if I owe you? Wise up, god damn. Leave the bill there, and bring some morning refreshments over. What are you all staring at? She, I and the three eunuchs still have to eat. Dismissed.”

Once he got rid of the debt collector, Ming Feizhen wiped his sweat before starting to study the three edicts. “Are you serious? You can’t be serious!”

Ming Feizhen sent down the edict, frowned, and then picked it up to read again. It was no time for breakfast nor wondering why Yu Feiyuan was sleeping next to him. He made haste downstairs.
There was always a clue to trace.

***

The tranquillity of night, cold air and ancient temple backdrop encouraged peace of mind.

Three monks gathered by the huge stone wall found at the back of Cold Mountain Temple, a place that their predecessors claimed was as ordinary as could be. The only complaint that could have been made about it was the amount of effort it took to keep the area clean. At some point in time, the area became a forbidden zone that nobody besides the temple head’s closed-door disciples could access or even steal a peak at. Their shifu made it sound as if it was the root of the temple. Now, the status of the stone wall was forced to change again. The only reason they chose the spot was due to there being no other place where the three of them could tall.

Everyone at the temple was feeling tense as they were uncertain if the warriors clad in menacing black armour outside of the temple would assault the temple.

The young monk staring at the stars as though they were harbingers of wisdom uttered, “The path through the imperial court has been severed. They have not provided a response, which likely means they will not negotiate with Shizun. If His Majesty has deemed as a bud that needs to be nipped, then not even Empress Dowager Her Majesty will stand up for us in exchange for harmony with her son. At the end of the day, they are family.”

Whether it was at the temple or out in the pugilistic world, the young monk was held in high esteem, but he wore the grey monk robes for the lowest-ranked monks whenever he went out on scouting missions. Ruxing, who was helmed as the strategist of Cold Mountain Temple, was not smiling and instead frowning for the first time.

Ruxing was the one who gathered the peasants to form a wall at the foot of their mountain in order two months ago to incite chaos and buy them time. The ideal scenario would have been to reconcile with the imperial court while they bought time. The other option was for the Qilin Guards and the peasants to fight, which would give them the shallow waters to take advantage of and help their mentor escape covertly. Unfortunately, the imperial court never responded, and even the eunuch who was tasked with delivering messages perished last month. As for the peasants, more and more of them left over time. After all, they had families and jobs to attend to. If Cold Mountain Temple forced them to stay, they would only encourage their supporters to turn on them. All the chaos he desired never occurred, either. The Qilin Guards remained within their barrack after the peasants formed the wall, never entering the city nor disturbing the people. Though the Qilin Guards might as well have been decorations, they were the mightiest counter against Ruxing’s strategy.

“Seeing as Yi Ya has remained stationary for more than two months now, it is safe to assume he could continue this for another month or year.”

Yi Ya never budged or said a thing even when Ruxing tried to set alight their barrack or steal their supplies. Yi Ya captured anyone who tried to infiltrate their camp and added it to Cold Mountain Temple’s list of crimes if they were affiliated with Cold Mountain Temple. If supplies were pinched, he would recoup them if he could or just organise for another camp to deliver them new supplies. When Yi Ya was informed that a monk disguised himself as a commoner to sneak out from the temple and buy necessary items, he just replied, “Got it,” and then never bothered with it. The Qilin Guards under his command never retaliated whether they were assaulted or sworn at.

Yi Ya’s strategy gave the peasants a reason to walk away. They were there to defend Jiyi, but Yi Ya’s actions implied that they misunderstood the imperial court and that the Qilin Guards would just have Jiyi confront Huang Yuzao, and then justice would be served. The commoners did not know the truth, but the Qilin Guards had won their trust with their behaviour. At this point in time, there were less than a few hundred commoners left.

The monk holding onto a jade pot of wine asked, “What’s your point? Just say it straight: you want to hand over Shifu?”

Ruxing did not let the intimidating monk get to him. “My point is that we cannot maintain the status quo. Using the people as a barricade was just to buy time. Many things can change within a time frame of two months, yet Yi Ya has quelled all of the challenges sent his way. He is waiting for us to burn out and corner ourselves. Senior Brother Dou Jiu, I have been saying this every day, and I know you do not want to heed my advice, but… we really do have our backs against the wall.”

The three brothers had debated the matter of escorting their mentor to the imperial court every day since it was announced. Unfortunately, they were unable to even decide on a direction, let alone reach an agreement.

The harmonious method of forcing them to hand over Jiyi was the same as implying, “We only want him alone.” As a matter of fact, nobody mentioned Cold Mountain Temple, giving the impression that they would be willing to pardon everyone as long as Jiyi was handed over. As a result, all members of the temple were on the fence about handing him over.

“Senior Brother Doujiu, as the person in charge of security of the entire temple, you know this best. Morale at the temple is dropping with each passing day. It is not that they see defeat but that they see no hope. Yi Ya is planning to let us whittle away at ourselves; he is sitting still to shave away at our morale. At the moment, we still have the means to fight, but what about a month from now? How about six months from now? Don’t blame our brethren for selling us out at that point and colluding with the enemy. It will all be a consequence of our choices and their strategy.”

Cold Mountain Temple only had two options to begin with. Only a minor number of them were pro-conflict. If the temple, and the monks of Suzhou, were to wage all-out war, Yi Ya would have deserved praise for even making it out alive, but they would be the catalyst to the all-out war between the imperial court and the White Princes – and the first sacrifice. Even if the White Princes could win the war, Cold Mountain Temple would be erased. In a small-scale war, it would be limited to just Cold Mountain Temple and the Qilin Guards. If they could escort Jiyi out of the temple, then the imperial court would have no excuse to besiege the temple for a while. The problem was that they could not confidently say they could beat the three thousand warriors outside. If they wanted a peaceful resolution, they just had to hand over Jiyi, but they were unwilling to.

Regardless if it was in consideration of the figurative forest or the small skirmishes, regardless if it was the imperial court’s reputation or the battle with Cold Mountain Temple, the imperial court was superior at strategy.

Doujiu shook his head following a long think. “We can’t risk the entire temple.”

Doujiu knocked back a big mouthful of water from his wine pot. He quit alcohol since they were possibly on the cusp of war, not that alcohol negatively impacted him. To the contrary, he was notorious for being more daring, stronger and more sophisticated with a sword when under the influence. He just did not want to reek of alcohol around his brothers as it affected them. He chose to drink from a wine pot to maintain the façade that he was not concerned about a war. Among the four of them, he was the mightiest warrior.

“Shizun did have plans of insurrection, so the imperial court isn’t framing him. Plus, considering we were aware, we’re all equally to blame. If one’s mentor is in trouble, his students should step up to the plate. The three of us should shoulder the blame for this.”

Ruxing shook his head. “Even if we bear the blame, Shizun will still not be spared. Do you think the imperial court is just after the culprit behind the uproar in the capital? Fiends’ Genesis started the flames. They lost nothing the night Shizun entered the capital, yet the imperial court is coming after us. They are just leveraging it as an excuse to take us down.

“What puts Cold Mountain Temple at the top? That would be our title as the head of all monks and nuns as well as the reputation of our temple. Only through taking down Venerable Monk will Cold Mountain Temple no longer be a threat. What can we shoulder? Are we worthy? Do you think they would leave Shizun alone if we gave ourselves up? The next time they target us, they’ll send wither Tianhu, Baima or Yingfeng. Considering Yi Ya alone is enough to put us in this pinch, how we will we deal with The Ultimate Three?

“If we’re going to send Shizun out, it’s time to make the decision. If we combine our strength, there’s a shred of hope. If we miss this last opportunity, it’ll be too late.”

Doujiu, shut down, placed the jade pot down. He and Ruxing had been arguing over the same thing, using almost the same words, for the last two-plus months to no avail. He knew when fighting was inevitable, but he could not bring himself to give the order when he was in the moment. Despite his love for combat, he did not want to sacrifice so many innocent lives. Without Cold Mountain Temple, what was the point of his lauded swordplay and sword? Upon opening his eyes again, he had made up his mind. “First Brother, whatever your decision is, I will go along.”

Ruxing and Doujiu cast their gazes to the monk sitting by the middle of the wall.

In terms of martial prowess and wisdom, Mianhua’s juniors had gradually surpassed him; even his fame could not match his two juniors. Still, they respected him sincerely as their senior. Rather than being selected as the successor to Venerable Monk due to favouritism, Mianhua was chosen because he was universally respected.

The handsome monk’s age was indiscernible from his appearance. It seemed impossible for him to anger or brood. Ever since his mentor returned and the Qilin Guards besieged the temple, he never moved from the wall. His fellow disciples, except for Ruxing and Doujiu, thought he was punishing himself or was contemplating how to save his mentor. Since Ruxing and Doujiu knew him better than the others, they believed he was behaving differently as he had a different view to everyone else.

“Doujiu, Ruxing, Xunfeng is no more.”

The three of them did not want to bring up Xunfeng’s death. Doujiu drowned himself in alcohol for several days after learning of Xunfeng’s death and then quit alcohol all together. Ruxing distracted himself from thinking about it with work as if he was running from the grief. Doujiu and Ruxing did not expect their senior to sudden;y bring it up.

“Can anyone tell me why Xunfeng died?”

Although Ruxing thought about it and came up with an answer, he stopped himself from voicing it. It seemed to be a straightforward question, but it was tough to answer.

“After Xunfeng’s passing, the answer to the question kept me up at night. Who killed him?” Mianhua suddenly stood up. “I am done indignantly serving someone for nothing. We’re going to war.”

***

Owing to Cold Mountain Temple being located between cold rock faces outside of Suzhou, it was easy to defend the temple but a daunting challenge to conquer. Being stationed 1.5 kilometres outside of the temple allowed the Qilin Guards to know about anything happening inside the temple. Of course, that excluded Divine Realm adepts who had concealment skills that would allow them to flee. Nevertheless, Venerable Monk Jiyi never made such an attempt, not that it was even a concern on the Qilin Guards’ list.

Venerable Monk was cognisant of the fact that he was between a rock and a hard place. He was forced to hole up in the temple, or the tall tale of the imperial court wronging him and him being willing to be interrogated would crumble. That bought Cold Mountain Temple time and helped them assess other possible avenues. Two months ago, it was a clever tactic. Looking back on it now, he wanted to slap himself and Ruxing into hell.

Escape was no longer an option – at least not publicly before the Qilin Guards barged into the temple. Had Liaoliao fled when the Qilin Guards just arrived, he could have justified it as a decisive tactic of sacrificing an arm to save his life. At the end of the day, as long as he still had his reputation, he could rise from the ashes again even without Cold Mountain Temple. Now that the Qilin Guards had patiently and respectfully waited for more than two months, he would be incriminating himself the moment he fled.

For the longest time, people called Yi Ya Wang Muren’s successor, the future grand commander of the Qilin Guards and the next nightmare of Beijiang. Yi Ya, on the other hand, begged to differ. Wang Muren did not need a successor; it was not possible for anyone else to practice or learn his disciplines. Wang and Xie Clan’s passed-down family disciplines were considered some of the pinnacle disciplines. Howbeit, the only person in their history to ever truly master both clan’s disciplines was Wang Muren.

Wang Muren was able to master both clan’s disciplines at a young age. From there on out, it was all his improvements were all attributed to himself. Since he was not taught, he was unable to teach those same skills to another person.

Yi Ya gave up on pursuing martial supremacy on the day he and his commander arrived at Beijiang; there was no down time on the battlefield to learn and train. Yi Ya honed his skills through surviving rounds upon rounds of hell. The only way to survive there was to use every means to push into new realms.

Yi Ya, sitting alone in his tent, leisurely had a nip of tea. Suzhou’s local magistrate gifted him premium tea leaves and just some daily necessary items due to how strict the Qilin Guards’ rules were. The magistrate did not send gifts in hopes of a promotion but in hopes of the Qilin Guards not causing him any grief. Yi Ya did not drink tea every day because he was a tea connoisseur; he simply could not drink alcohol while at the barrack, and his subordinates brewed him several pots of tea daily.

Yi Ya frowned. Although the tea was not brewed to standard, if his subordinates were afforded the luxury of time to study tea, they would be put through the wringer. That said, he was not a picky eater, so his frown was not due to the lacking tea.

“Hey, what are you looking out?! Why do you refuse to attack the temple? Do you know how long you’ve dragged this out for now? Do you know how many people have submitted complaints about you in court? Do you know people are accusing of you planning to revolt with the thousands of Qilin Guards you have here with you? What sort of military officer behaves like this?! You’ve done nothing besides drink tea since arriving. If you continue like this, we’ll go from a feared army to the laughing stock of the imperial court!” Qian Diaojin kept slamming the table, but the teapot did not budge the slightest millimetre.

Yi Ya had visually expressed his displeasure over the tea numerous times, but he refused to give Qian Diaojin any attention.

“If it’s a hassle for you to deal with the peasants blocking your way, tell us! We’ll deal with them! I guarantee nobody will know you ordered it! Can you just apprehend him already? Every time I return from the capital, there’s an entire extra bag of complaints against you. I can tell you that even His Majesty is gradually growing displeased, too. The imperial court has fed your forces for two months plus, yet you refuse to retaliate when they steal your provisions. Are you glutton for punishment or something?”

Yi Ya blew his tea, then had another nip.

“His Majesty’s order was for you to finish that conniving Ruxing monk, so why are you sitting on your bottom? Yi Ya, don’t think you’re a boss now just because you’re in command this time. If you continue doing as you fancy, there will be trouble. Say something, damn it!”

Yi Ya set his cup down and emotionlessly replied, “His Majesty also put me in charge of this matter. Why aren’t you obeying that order?”

“Sir Zhan, help me get through to him. He has lost his mind.”

The big man wrapped in white cloth sitting off to the side laughed. “He is the boss of this circle. I have no power nor post. How can I tell him what to do?”

“Are you not afraid of the repercussions if you fail?”

Yi Ya responded, “Perfect. I’ll be able to return to Jinyong.”

Qian Diaojin was not just a messenger between the capital and Suzhou; he was also one of the commanders for this operation. He was eager to put on a show since he was a natural at strategizing, but all of his ideas were shot down with, “We’ll wait for a while longer,” every time. The only thing he had been doing in the last two-plus months was acting as a pigeon, yet Yi Ya seemed content to continue waiting for many more months, which Qian Diaojin knew was impossible.

Stationing three thousand elite troops was a stationing considerable force, especially considering the tensions between the imperial court and the Seven Champion White Princes at present. Therefore, it was reasonable to assume Yi Ya was colluding with the enemy when he was a sitting duck with that sort of force at his command. Two months was the absolute limit. If Yi Ya continued delaying for a few more days, His Majesty would probably start to lose trust in him. Suffice to say, it would have been even harder to deal with Cold Mountain Temple in the future if they failed this time, and none of them would be able to live down the shame. All this considered, Qian Diaojin could not help suspecting Yi Ya’s competence as a commander. Sure, Yi Ya had fought many tough battles against the Beijiang folks. Nevertheless, Jiangnan was not Jinyong, so perhaps Yi Ya never had no experience dealing with such dilemmas.

“Jiangnan isn’t Jinyong, after all,” remarked Yi Ya, seemingly reading Qian Diaojin’s mind and giving the latter a jolt. After having another drink, Yi Ya ordered, “Bring it in once you’re ready.”

Following that, Qian Diaojin heard someone start grunting as they pushed something heavy outside the tent. Although he did not recognise the undefinable contraption virtually the size of the tent, his first gut reaction was that the machine would turn the tides the moment it was used.

“Th-this is…”

The meticulously-designed iron and metal ballista appeared menacing, but the arrow attached to it looked even more dangerous. A ballista would have used arrows the size of iron spears if they were large, while this contraption utilised arrows the size of a door battering ram.

“… a cannonbow?”

“Indeed.”

“I’ve never seen one so big, though. The arrow is also monstrous. Where did you get it from?”

“There’s never a shortage of bones, blood and the best war arms beneath Jinyong.”

“From Jinyong…?”

Yi Ya, examining the loaded state of the artillery, bobbed his head. “Yes. This is the biggest weapon Blood Demon left behind – Fomalhaut. We obtained it six years ago and then used it to defend against Beijiang. Emperor’s Entourage definitely knows the results we obtained through it.”

For the longest time ever, the front against Beijiang’s forces was the most critical one for the Central Plain. That included all the fights in the imperial court and other battles they had to engage in.

While the Qilin Guards became “border soldiers” ever since Baima was stationed in the North, Emperor’s Entourage were essentially the “supervisor soldiers.” As His Majesty’s trusted aids, Emperor’s Entourage did not just deliver edicts and reports, but they were also involved in military organisation and even war councils. Owing to Baima not conceded to them and imposing his own will however he saw fit, the supervisors who returned back to the capital were either dead or close to pathologically insane. This was one of the reasons the two bureaus could not get along.

Emperor’s Entourage could never comprehend why His Majesty trusted Baima without question. From their perspective, Baima was the biggest threat to His Majesty. To start, Baima raised the Qilin Guards into a ridiculously strong force. As soon as Yan Shisan fell from power, the Qilin Guards took a portion of his pie, yet His Majesty did not see Baima as a threat. Perhaps he was generous, but as vassals, they were apprehensive. Seeing as the two factions could not see eye to eye at the most fundamental level, it was impossible for them to get along.

“It’s Demon Sect’s creation? Are you playing with me? Yi Ya, what are you Qilin Guards playing at? Where did you find the audacity to keep this sort of weapon? Do you realise how much trouble your grand commander would be in if I reported this?!” snapped Qian Diaojin.

“Have you forgotten who is credited with obtaining this?”

Emperor’s Entourage universally agreed to exterminate Demon Sect back then. Even if Ye Yun’s influence was disregarded, there was still the fact that Blood Demon was part of Demon Sect. Blood Demon’s creations were so innovative and effective that they had the potential to change the tide of battles, and no second soul was able to replicate the creations.

“If there comes a day when the Western Regions transports thousands of these to the Central Plain, who is going to stop them?” questioned Yi Ya.

As much as Qian Diaojin wanted to argue, he did not have a superior argument.

“If we can create imitations, what makes you think the seven states can’t? Blood Demon may be history, but the blueprints may remain. What makes you so sure that such a risk doesn’t exist? Should the threat you’ve disregarded come to be, we’re the ones who’ll be doomed.” After checking the contraption was in working order, Yi Ya ordered for it to be taken away and then continued, “I don’t know what your group thinks we’re plotting, but I can tell you that only one thing is on our minds while at the border and that is to survive. We don’t think about much else. I know what your group suspects me of, but you’re probably wrong. From the moment I arrived here, I had my men transport it here from Jinyong, which took roughly two months.”

Qian Diaojin thought he had to get to know Yi Ya all over again. A while later, he asked, “So… when are you going to deploy it?”

“Tonight.” Yi Ya furrowed his brows in response to Qian Diaojin’s silence. “Weren’t you complaining about me taking too long?”

Yi Ya got up and crushed his teacup in his hand. With his gaze on the hail of fragmented particles, he announced, “This place really is different to Jinyong. It’s boring me to death. Let’s go.”

***

Unexpected or not, it did not change the fact that a large force publicly raided Cold Mountain Temple at night. The small number of peasants sound asleep outside the temple’s initial intention to put up a resistance whittled as soon as they saw the force encroaching upon the temple. In the end, there was only one monk and his sword to stop the Qilin Guards from entering the temple.

“Gentlemen,” The monk sitting cross-legged on the ground with his eyes shut spawned a trail of sparks along the ground, splitting the ground to stop the black-armoured warriors. “Anyone who steps past this line will have to offer his life to this one’s sword.”

The hundreds of warriors carrying torchers held their ground for a long time until someone yelled, “I insist on crossing. You think you can stop me?!”

The large warrior swung his big axe, prompting Doujiu to strike back. Their clash forced the armoured warrior back a step.

“Heh, tougher than I thought.”

Although the warrior’s arms and hands turned numb, he was even more thrilled than before. This time, he swung with enough force to send the dexterous monk back a step.

Eyebrows furrowed, Doujiu uttered, “Xingtian Zhan Qiu?”

Zhan Qiu, holding his axe in reverse, smiled heartily. “They aren’t exaggerating when they say you can’t talk about swordsman in Jiangnan without mentioning Cold Mountain Temple’s monk.”

“What good is there in mentioning that? This one cannot hold back tonight.”

It would have taken the two of them several thousands of exchanges to determine a victor considering their levels, but the intensity was different due to the stakes. Both men had the goal of settling their match in a single exchange, so they charged up their energy as they eyed each other for an opening.

“Cease your hands.”

A golden lotus spawned at the moment the two were ready to launch towards each other. The two of them felt a dizzy spell, and then all they could see was virtually a golden lotus. Notwithstanding his extensive combative experience, Zhan Qiu did not act recklessly as he could not tell if the lotus was real or not. He knew it was a martial technique, but he was unsure of the discipline utilised to manifest it.

“Senior Brother,” hollered Doujiu.

In a loud voice, Zhan Qiu asked, “Mianhua, why not let this one have the honour of seeing you? You would not be so…”

Zhan Qiu saw two monks, but he was unsure when the monk wearing the cassock showed up next to Doujiu. Doujiu watched Mianhua with the knowledge of what just transpired, but he chose not to speak.

Mianhua expressed, “Cold Mountain Temple has never turned visitors away, but we fear we have not prepared sufficiently for your sudden visit. Should you wish to step inside the temple, please inform us of your numbers, the time of your intended visit and come during the day.”

Zhan Qiu smiled. “Are those your rules?”

Mianhua nodded. “Indeed.”

“We are here on His Majesty’s orders to enter the temple and escort Venerable Monk. Are you suggesting Cold Mountain Temple’s rules take precedence over His Majesty’s imperial edict?”

Mianhua bobbed his head. “This one dares not.” He then saluted the temple and conveyed, “Please go on.”

Zhan Qiu suddenly saw the entrance as an abyss of darkness, but forging forwards was his only option.

“Please lead the way.” Zhan Qiu tightened his grip on his axe and led his men in after Mianhua and Doujiu.

Everyone outside, including the peasants, followed in. All they saw were things anyone would expect to see in a temple: resting places, places for studying and places to perform rituals. Halfway through, a confused Ruxing and other monks under his leadership bumped into them. Mianhua ignored everyone and continued leading them to his mentor’s resting courtyard.

After getting no response to his knocks, Zhan Qiu pretended to trip open the door without waiting for Mianhua to speak up. Doujiu and Ruxing went to stop Zhan Qiu, only for Mianhua to stop his juniors.

“Oh, sorry, Venerable Monk. This one accidentally…” Zhan Qiu did not see the person he was after in the rom.

“You are late. The leader of the temple has fled,” elucidated Mianhua, with his two confused juniors glaring at him. He shook his head, then explained, “The imperial court and us have clashed on more than one occasion. They do not seek our destruction but the military and financial authority of Suzhou. We, as monks, should not be involved in the mundane world to begin with. Now, answer me again: why did Xunfeng die?”

Ruxing and Doujiu both knew that Xunfeng did not perish in the chaos of the capital, except they did not dare to voice their genuine thoughts aloud.

“Xunfeng died to a conspiracy that was partially designed by an outsider and partially designed by… Shizun.”

Mianhua looked as aggrieved as when he sat by the stone wall again. “It always eluded me until Xunfeng left. Given Shizun’s abilities, if he wanted to save Xunfeng, or if ever cared for Xunfeng’s wellbeing, Xunfeng would still be with us. Xunfeng died because he no longer held the same value. Brothers, I have realised some things in the last two months I have sat by the stone wall.”

As soon as Mianhua finished speaking, a vividly-real golden lotus spawned beside him. While other monks were perplexed, Doujiu and Ruxing wore ambiguous expressions. They had never been able to manifest such an idyllic lotus in all their time training, let alone a golden lotus.

“Shizun… taught us the wrong way…Using this to fight is handing our lives over to our opponents. Shizun never showed any abnormal signs when using the discipline. Brothers, Shizun has always seen us as mere pawns.” Mianhua turned to Zhan Qiu and placed his palms together. “This one has taken up leadership of Cold Mountain Temple. Henceforward, we have severed all ties to Venerable Monk. Cold Mountain Temple has no shame to continue enjoying the special privileges. All special rights shall be surrendered to the imperial court.”

***

The sound of a gong broke the restful silence of the night, although the sound of a boat moving through the water fast had already left a dent in the peace.

“A boat outside of Gusu’s Cold Mountain Temple in the middle of the night. May this one ask if it is a guest or the owner of the boat inside?”

A monk leisurely stepped out not long after hearing the young man’s question and politely responded, “This one did not know Commander Yi had such an elegant way with words.”

Torches along the riverbank lit up.

“I had no idea you were in the mood for riding boats in the middle of the night, either.”

Liaoliao did not fear the armoured warrior on the bank. “You have been waiting for this one, Commander Yi?”

Yi Ya smiled back. “You wouldn’t go down with your temple. As soon as you hear we’re going to attack the temple, you’ll flee. Little do your folks know that their mentor abandoned them already.”

Glossary

Xingtian – Was a giant headless hero in Chinese mythology whom the Yellow Emperor decapitated.

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