Where Immortals Once Walked

Yes, as a descendant of Shao Jian, Fang Canran could not help but strike back at the Ke Family. After all, it was this family who had sold out their state for glory in their ancestors’ day.

Whether it be national hatred or family enmity, both were part of Fang Canran’s motivation.

He Lingchuan had been to the Ke Family estate before and remembered how splendid and dazzling it had been, how rich it was with worldly luxury. Never mind anything else, the Ke Family’s gardens had been crafted with extreme extravagance and exquisite care. For more than a century, they had been continuously refined and embellished, and among all the floating islands, they could be called unique. Yet in a single day, they had been destroyed beneath the hooves of the Giant Thunderclap Beasts.

Sect Leader Xue then said, “Although the Lingxu incident caused an astonishing commotion, the true losses were not mainly monetary.”

In truth, the losses lay in prestige and in the hearts of the people.

Elder Dao added, “The Heavenly Palace was closed for more than two months. On the surface, it was to repair the palace buildings. After all, the damage was too severe, and I don’t know whether it has reopened now. But in our view, it was very likely shut tight for a long negotiation with Juju.”

He Lingchuan smiled and said, “Juju is sinister and greedy. The Heavenly Palace truly found itself an excellent opponent.”

“Indeed.” When Elder Dao and Sect Leader Xue heard him reveal Mount Xu’s guardian spirit’s nature in a single sentence, they knew this young man had very likely dealt with Juju before.

Mm, since he participated in the Lingxu City incident, he must have crossed paths with Juju.

Of course, they kept their thoughts in their minds. “After Juju broke free of the Grand Spirit-Gathering Array’s restraints, even if it couldn’t defeat Lingxu’s heavenly gods and monsters, so long as it burrows into the earth and into oceans of magma, no one can do anything to it. An advantage like that is truly only reserved for those most blessed by Heaven.”

If Juju had not been so special, the Heavenly Palace would never have thought of recruiting it back then and appointing it as Mount Xu’s mountain god.

Everything had its advantages and disadvantages. Once the fellow could no longer be controlled, it immediately became the Heavenly Palace’s stumbling block in post-disaster reconstruction!

If the heavenly gods refused the terms it offered, and Juju acted up, would it merely be the palaces on the mountain that were struck? Would it merely be the city beneath the mountain that trembled?

What would be damaged then was the dignity of the heavenly gods and the Monster Emperor!

All of Lingxu City and all of Beijia were watching. This was a matter of such gravity that even the Heavenly Palace found itself under enormous pressure.

“They still reached an agreement in the end?”

“They probably did, because Lingxu City experienced two more minor earthquakes. Supposedly, they weren’t even strong enough to knock over teacups.” The moment Elder Dao said this, his face lit up with delight. “I estimate that Juju demanded a very suitable price.”

“I think so too.” He Lingchuan shook his head. “But the heavenly gods have always believed themselves far above others, and they’re used to throwing their weight around. They are beings accustomed only to trampling others. How could they tolerate someone else holding them by the throat? Hah, I suspect the Heavenly Palace won’t be able to swallow this insult and will sooner or later find a chance to retaliate.”

Elder Dao clapped his hands and laughed. “Haha, and that would be wonderful. They’re neighbors who can’t move away from each other. No matter when they settle accounts, it won’t be too late.”

“What about Mount Xu’s grand array?” He Lingchuan asked again. “Mount Xu is the source of Lingxu City’s spirit veins. Now that the original array has been broken and can no longer gather spirit qi from all directions for Lingxu City’s use, how will the greater monsters cultivate in the future?”

Once one had grown accustomed to privilege, it was difficult to give it up.

“That is unclear for now.” Elder Dao shook his head. “Juju has been tricked and suffered losses before. Now that it is awake, it should obstruct them in every possible way.”

Even if Lingxu City could obtain another star map, if Juju moved the positions of Mount Xu’s nine peaks, the new grand array would fail.

“As for the impact of the Lingxu City incident, I heard that Lingxu City’s imperial court nearly argued itself into chaos over whether the imperial capital should build walls.”

“Build walls?” He Lingchuan recalled the first time he had seen Lingxu City: a gigantic city beneath blue sky and white clouds, a city without walls. To ordinary people, it was an absolutely stunning sight to behold!

At the time, Bai Ziqi had even told him that Lingxu City did not need walls.

That pride and confidence had been plain in every word.

What about now? How many people in Lingxu City could still keep that confidence?

“Yes. The officials who insisted on building walls believed that if Lingxu City had high gates and deep walls, the Giant Thunderclap Beasts might not have been able to damage the Lower City heavily. And the righteous men who created chaos that night—mm, in their words, rioters—would not have escaped Lingxu City so easily.” After speaking so much, Elder Dao drank some water to moisten his throat. “To avoid repeating the same mistake and to give the city’s people more security, they believe that Lingxu City should build walls and raise gates. They believe that there’s no need to bury hidden dangers merely for the sake of face.”

“The opposition, however, believes that Lingxu City’s lack of gates and walls demonstrates its strength and confidence, and also promotes openness and freedom. That is what draws talented and capable people from across the world to join them. If they build high gates and deep walls, it will only highlight their weakness, and the city’s people will be even more frightened. I also heard that Lingxu City’s Minister of Finance said something in court—”

“Oh? What did he say?” He Lingchuan was very interested. Seems like the Minister of Finance’s household managed to escape harsh punishment from the elixir of youth case, especially with Yao Mao even having the leisure to argue in court.

“He said: At a time like this, Beijia’s face is more important than its substance.”

“Hm, something like that won’t be settled through argument.” He Lingchuan said leisurely, “How did the Monster Emperor decide in the end?”

“We don’t know. We haven’t received the latest news yet.”

He Lingchuan thought back to what he had seen at Lingxu Imperial Academy. The many students there had all praised Lingxu City’s atmosphere as free, open, and inclusive.

Lingxu City had stood for nearly six hundred years. It had its own methods of governance, and some ideas had long since become unshakable. No matter who tried to move them, enormous cracks would form should things be forced.

Building city walls was only one example among many.

“There are countless other arguments around hunting down the culprits, assigning blame, and reconstruction.” Elder Dao sighed. “Even I feel worried on the Monster Emperor’s behalf.”

Then why are you smiling so happily? He Lingchuan asked him, “Has there been any follow-up to the elixir of youth case?”

“Oh, yes, though the much greater incident overshadowed it. In the end, the case was closed hastily, and no one said much about it.” Elder Dao thought for a moment. “State Preceptor Qing Yang was the principal offender. They stripped her of her position as a state preceptor and demoted her to a commoner. Cen Boqing, as an accomplice, was stripped of his title and post, his family’s property was confiscated, and he was sentenced to one hundred strokes of the rod and exiled to the north. Oh, right. Before he was exiled, he and Yao Xingning divorced.”

A famed aristocratic family like the Minister of Finance’s could absolutely not be associated with a criminal official. He Lingchuan understood that no matter how loving Cen Boqing and Yao Xingning had been, when disaster came, they had to split apart.

Perhaps Cen Boqing not being sentenced to death had already been the result of the Minister of Finance and Yao Xingning’s active maneuvering, with the condition that Cen Boqing had to agree to divorce.

“As for Minister of Finance Yao Mao himself, he bore responsibility for inadequate supervision. His salary was halved, and he was fined a hundred thousand taels.”

He Lingchuan had not heard the name he wanted to hear, so he pressed, “What about Nian Zanli? The surrendered general from Yuan.”

“Nian Zanli? Who is that?” Elder Dao silently repeated the name several times before shaking his head. “I’ve never heard of him.”

He Lingchuan sighed inwardly.

Perhaps Nian Zanli’s post had been too low to reach Elder Dao’s ears. Or perhaps Nian Zanli’s crime had never been made public at all and had instead been dealt with internally by the Heavenly Palace.

Whichever possibility it was, Nian Zanli’s outcome would not change.

The strangest thing about the entire elixir of youth case was that State Preceptor Qing Yang, whose crimes were the most severe, had received only light blame and light punishment. She had not even needed to suffer a beating, merely returning to the world of commoners to continue living. Yet Nian Zanli, whose crimes were the lightest—no, Nian Zanli, who had nothing to do with the case at all—was probably rotting alone in some unknown corner by now.