Over the past few days, Duan Qian had practically carved the habit of erasing traces into his bones. He efficiently destroyed the corpses and eliminated all evidence, then drove the old ox onward.
Fu Xi Yan lay in the cart, somewhat silent. Of course, as a hostage, he had remained quiet throughout most of the journey, but this time the silence felt different.
After driving for a while, Duan Qian finally said somewhat awkwardly, even angrily, “You blame me for killing them?”
Fu Xi Yan sighed. “No.”
“You’re certainly acting like it!”
“I really don’t.” Fu Xi Yan said, “I was only wondering whether there was another solution just now, one that didn’t require taking lives. For example, we could have beaten them into idiots. But then, even if they survived, they would lose all quality of life and might be better off dead… so that can’t exactly be considered a better solution either.”
Duan Qian stared at him dumbfounded. “I don’t understand you.”
Yes. Some of Fu Xi Yan’s ideas looked strange and completely out of place to people in this world. But he believed he needed to remain restrained and vigilant when it came to killing. If he became too accustomed to it, or even began relying on it, he would gradually lose his reverence for life and become increasingly numb. If he eventually became someone like Ban Qing Yu or Wu Xuan Yin, that would be truly terrifying.
＊
“The road to Shu is harder than ascending the blue sky!”
Li Bai’s The Hard Road to Shu contained a grand total of 294 characters, yet Fu Xi Yan could remember only those nine. No, that was not quite right. Since those same nine characters appeared three times in the poem, that made twenty-seven. Round it off, and he had memorized one-tenth of the work.
Elio’s Notes: This is the famous refrain from Li Bai’s poem Shu Dao Nan (The Hard Road to Shu), describing the legendary difficulty of traveling into Sichuan. Fu Xi Yan naturally turns even literary appreciation into questionable mathematics.
When Fu Xi Yan entered Bashu, he had solemnly recited that line. Duan Qian, who had already traded the ox cart for a carriage, sat on the shaft driving and shook his head. “The official road is very flat. It isn’t difficult at all.”
Fu Xi Yan lifted the curtain and chatted with him. “Are we just passing through, or is our destination here?”
Duan Qian said with a headache, “You’ve asked that countless times already.”
“If you gave me an actual answer, I wouldn’t keep asking.”
“I genuinely don’t know!”
Fu Xi Yan rubbed his aching old waist. “After Bashu comes Yunnan and Guizhou… Ghostshadow Organization’s headquarters can’t possibly be in Myanmar or Laos.” His Chinese might have been terrible, but his geography was respectable.
“Where are Myanmar and Laos?”
“The Pyu Kingdom and Shan.”
Duan Qian clearly had not psychologically prepared himself for international travel. “If it’s there, forget it.”
Fu Xi Yan refused. “We’ve already come this far.”
That was what he said, but after entering Bashu, Fu Xi Yan clearly sensed that Duan Qian had become somewhat distracted. He constantly encouraged Fu Xi Yan to lie down inside the carriage. And then Fu Xi Yan remembered something.
Mount Huaying was in Bashu.
While they stopped along the road to eat, Fu Xi Yan abruptly asked, “Is our destination Mount Huaying?”
Duan Qian revealed a strange expression. “Why would we go to Mount Huaying?”
Fu Xi Yan narrowed his eyes and examined him. Then he suddenly said, “I’m ending the plan.”
“Really?” Duan Qian’s voice rose slightly.
Fu Xi Yan said without hesitation, “It’s too dangerous. I’m not alone anymore. I can’t gamble with both my life and Yuan Jin’s.”
Duan Qian visibly relaxed. “To be truthful, I’ve been considering exactly that throughout this journey. Going alone into Ghostshadow Organization’s headquarters is too dangerous, especially when you haven’t even decided how to deal with the leader. A Martial King or Martial God could kill either of us far too easily. I’m afraid Young Master Pei might still be wandering around searching for your heart-shaped flatbreads when both of us have already kicked the bucket. We should wait for another opportunity.”
Seeing how sincere he sounded, Fu Xi Yan began wondering whether he had been overly suspicious. He was just about to take back what he said when golden sand suddenly erupted into the air and formed a vast net that trapped him inside.
“You fucking…”
＊
There really was not even the tiniest shred of trust left between human beings!
Fu Xi Yan lay inside a pitch-black box with an enormous mouthful of steamed bun stuffed between his teeth. Judging from its length and width, plus the occasional wailing coming from outside, this was probably a coffin.
A living person lying inside a coffin was considerably more ominous than hiding inside a swill barrel.
While struggling to swallow the bun, Fu Xi Yan tried circulating his true qi. He had no idea what method the other side had used, but his meridians seemed completely blocked, as though some major traffic accident had occurred and brought every route to a standstill.
His body possessed extraordinary recovery. Even if someone pierced his heart, it would heal shortly afterward. Therefore, whatever restrained him had to rely on an external force.
He remembered the golden sand filling the sky and cursed inwardly.
Fu Xi Yan had seen that golden sand once when he first met Pei Yuan Jin. Qi Zhong, Supervising Manager of the Lightning Division in Shaanxi, had used it to capture Tang Gong and Lu Rui Chun. Later, Fu Xi Yan asked Pei Yuan Jin about it and learned it was called the Golden Sand Heaven-Ensnaring Net. Although merely an earth-tier treasure, it was a single-use consumable and extraordinarily expensive to create. Most people kept one as a life-saving measure or collectible and rarely actually used it.
Duan Qian using one merely to capture him could be considered an enormous investment. Clearly, the man had prepared from the beginning to use force if Fu Xi Yan refused to cooperate obediently.
That was not how partners were supposed to behave.
Thinking about the direction they were currently traveling and the possible candidates Wei Li Ming had originally identified for Ghostshadow Organization’s leader, a terrifying possibility gradually surfaced in Fu Xi Yan’s mind.
The last time Fu Xi Yan parted from Mo Xiao Ran inside Southern Yu’s imperial palace, the man had said he would come looking for him. And Mount Huaying… was exactly where the Heaven-and-Earth Mirror was located.
But if Mo Xiao Ran had arranged everything, how could Duan Qian possibly possess that person’s handwritten letter? Pei Yuan Jin had examined it personally and confirmed the handwriting was genuine.
Could the two of them be working together?
The more Fu Xi Yan thought, the more frightened he became. Mo Xiao Ran seemed to turn into one of those faceless black silhouettes from comics, looming across the entire world with only two sinister glowing eyes and a crooked, calculating smile visible.
No. He could not scare himself like this.
If those two men had genuinely joined forces, the Immortal Treasury Palace could not possibly still look the way it did today.
But on second thought, Pei Xiong Ji clearly disliked Zhao Tong Qu, yet he had allowed the man to bounce around inside the Immortal Treasury Palace for so many years. Could someone truly have been interfering from the shadows?
Thoughts always became unusually sharp and expansive in darkness. They surged from one side to another, forward and backward without rest, until exhaustion finally brought sleep. The coffin did contain air holes, but they were very small. Whenever Fu Xi Yan’s emotions rose and his breathing quickened, the oxygen inside became insufficient. He drifted into a daze, slept, then woke again at some unknown time.
Duan Qian opened the coffin several times to feed him milk and thin porridge. Fu Xi Yan always drank first and cursed afterward. It was not because he expected to awaken Duan Qian’s conscience. He was simply bored out of his mind and needed somewhere to vent. Unfortunately, no matter how many elaborate insults he prepared, most of them were buried halfway through by the soft body of another enormous steamed bun.
Fortunately, the buns were always fresh.
The most recent time the coffin opened, Duan Qian fed him a bite of meat bun.
Fu Xi Yan looked at him resentfully. “I haven’t gone to the toilet in several days.”
Duan Qian said, “For someone at the Dao-Entry Stage, holding it isn’t difficult.”
Fu Xi Yan exploded. “I haven’t reached grain abstention yet!”
By now Duan Qian had grown completely accustomed to these emotional outbursts and ignored the “nonsense.” “We’re almost there.”
Fu Xi Yan’s heart sank.
Before closing the coffin lid, Duan Qian leaned over and whispered beside him, “Don’t worry. Things aren’t as terrible as you imagine. I won’t hurt you, Little Junior Brother.”
Rather than calming Fu Xi Yan, that abrupt form of address made him even more nervous.
Under what circumstances could he and Duan Qian possibly count as martial brothers?
Naturally, under the Puppet Path. One of them was Yin Fei Yu’s adopted son, while the other was Jin Yuan Xiu’s biological son, but they shared the same grandmaster: Mo Xiao Ran.
Viewed from that perspective, Duan Qian changing sides no longer seemed strange at all. Perhaps Mo Xiao Ran had known about Duan Qian’s relationship with Yin Fei Yu all along. He had not exposed it while Yin Fei Yu remained alive, but now that she was dead and Duan Qian had lost his support, this was the perfect moment to win him over.
With Mo Xiao Ran’s chameleon-like acting ability, if he genuinely wanted to deceive someone, Fu Xi Yan doubted many people could escape. He certainly did not have enough faith in Duan Qian’s intelligence.
Throughout the days spent lying in the coffin, Fu Xi Yan had desperately wished Pei Yuan Jin would catch up soon. Now, however, he no longer thought so. If the person waiting ahead truly was Mo Xiao Ran, perhaps going alone would actually be better.
After reading the book his mother left behind, Fu Xi Yan had always known this day would eventually arrive. He simply expected the meeting to happen much later, after he had become much stronger. At minimum, he wanted to reach Martial King. Only then would he possess enough confidence when the two finally faced one another.
But perhaps Mo Xiao Ran had no intention of allowing him enough time to prepare. Thinking about it that way, a faint streak of contempt suddenly appeared amid Fu Xi Yan’s fear.
Even someone as powerful as Mo Xiao Ran could apparently feel insecure. He actually wanted to pinch Fu Xi Yan out while he was still a seedling rather than wait for him to grow.
The extreme mixture of emotions made Fu Xi Yan start humming.
After having steamed buns stuffed into his mouth for several days, he felt as though his throat had been stretched wider. Even his humming sounded rougher and more heroic, carrying the tragic grandeur of a warrior leaving and never returning…
Pah, pah, pah!
＊
After entering Mount Huaying, Fu Xi Yan felt the coffin separate from its wheels and get lifted by several people. The coffin bearers walked steadily and moved quickly, but they showed absolutely no concern for the person inside. Fu Xi Yan rolled around like an unsecured ball, smashing forward, backward, left, and right. Several times he felt the meat bun in his stomach preparing to return the way it came, only for the steamed bun lodged in his throat to act like a bottle stopper and force everything back down.
After enough time passed, he had no choice but to temporarily release all his worries and force himself into sleep.
Such terrible transportation conditions exhausted him both physically and mentally. Whatever trial and pressure awaited him afterward, he needed to conserve his strength.
Even though his meridians remained sealed, a martial artist’s control over the body far exceeded that of an ordinary person. Within moments, Fu Xi Yan had entered a sweet sleep and tossed all the bumping and swaying out of his mind.
He briefly woke once during the journey, discovered the coffin was still moving, and promptly fell asleep again. Only when the coffin finally became completely still did he immediately release himself from sleep and wake fully alert.
The outside world was filled with natural sounds.
Birds called. Water flowed. Slow, leisurely footsteps gradually approached… Not Duan Qian. It did not sound like Mo Xiao Ran either. Mo Xiao Ran appeared and disappeared like a ghost and moved almost soundlessly. His footsteps had never been this plain.
While Fu Xi Yan was still thinking, the coffin lid slowly slid open. An aged hand reached inside and casually pressed several points on his body. Fu Xi Yan immediately felt icy currents retreat from several major acupoints, damp and cold against his skin. The hand withdrew, and an elderly voice chuckled. “After so many days, haven’t you had enough of lying down?”
Fu Xi Yan first raised one hand and pulled the steamed bun from his throat. Then he kicked away the coffin lid and flipped out.
He stood on the summit of some mountain. Ahead, rosy clouds drifted across the sky in magnificent layers. Behind him stood an utterly ordinary thatched cottage. A stream curved around the fence and ran past his feet. Tree ferns and Cathaya trees stood tall and elegant on both banks, creating a thick forest that blocked the sky. It looked exactly like some recluse’s hidden residence.
Mo Xiao Ran actually lived somewhere like this?
While wiping the damp, icy water from his skin, Fu Xi Yan secretly studied the white-haired, white-bearded old man who had released him from the coffin.
The old man smiled and studied him in return.
Seeing that the man remained silent, Fu Xi Yan could no longer resist asking, “Are you Mo Xiao Ran’s elderly form?”
The old man froze, then smiled bitterly and shook his head. “I am Shi Yi Ming.”
…
Fu Xi Yan was horrified!
To be fair, spending too much time trapped in darkness could genuinely cause psychological problems. To stop himself from developing anxiety or depression, whenever Fu Xi Yan woke, he forced himself to think about anything and everything so he could ignore his circumstances as much as possible.
Although he eventually concluded that Ghostshadow Organization’s leader was Mo Xiao Ran, he had considered other candidates throughout the deduction: the Qinling Patriarch, the Heaven-and-Earth Mirror’s first disciple, Ban Qing Yu, Wu Xuan Yin, even Northern Zhou’s emperor. He had examined practically everyone imaginable, yet somehow never considered either the Master of the Heaven-and-Earth Mirror or the Palace Master of the Immortal Treasury Palace.
Call him an idealist, naive, or innocent if you wanted. Fu Xi Yan simply felt that this world’s darkness was already vast enough. Toward the only two remaining lights of the righteous path, he still maintained the most basic respect and trust.
So what exactly was happening now?
This wasn’t merely a house collapsing.
His entire worldview had collapsed!
Fu Xi Yan asked in a trembling voice, “You were the one who told Duan Qian to bring me here?”
Shi Yi Ming nodded. “I was.”
Fu Xi Yan asked, “Duan Qian said he was bringing me here to reveal Ghostshadow Organization’s leader… Was that a lie?”
Shi Yi Ming awkwardly stroked his beard and sighed.
That sigh chilled Fu Xi Yan’s heart from beginning to end.
No way… It couldn’t possibly be what he thought, right?! Forget trust. At this rate, even his faith in humanity was about to disappear.
Shi Yi Ming said, “I brewed tea. Let’s go inside and speak slowly.” Seeing Fu Xi Yan’s face filled with resistance, he added, “Apart from me, someone else wishes to meet you.”
He had already turned toward the cottage, but Fu Xi Yan’s feet seemed rooted to the ground.
Without looking back, Shi Yi Ming said, “It isn’t Mo Xiao Ran.”
Fu Xi Yan stared at the green mountains, clear waters, falling blossoms, and flying birds outside. He took a deep breath and finally gathered enough courage to follow Shi Yi Ming through the fence.
It was not that he had suddenly stopped caring about life and death. He simply understood that when the Master of the Heaven-and-Earth Mirror invited someone inside, refusing probably would not change whether that person ultimately entered the cottage.
Fu Xi Yan stepped onto the flagstone path. Moss covered the stones, making them slick beneath his feet, which showed that the path was rarely used. Yet a water vat, broom, rain cape, shovel, iron tongs, and other everyday objects sat outside the cottage. This did not look like a temporary residence. Did whoever lived here simply rarely go outside?
Fu Xi Yan slowly reached the cottage door.
Inside was one large open room, with a folding screen directly opposite the entrance. He could vaguely make out two people seated beyond it.
He hesitated for a moment, then raised a hand and knocked.
Shi Yi Ming said, “Didn’t this old man already invite you inside?”
Fu Xi Yan carefully stepped over the threshold. A light, clean fragrance of tea lingered throughout the room. He walked around the folding screen and found two people seated beside a tea table.
One was Shi Yi Ming. The other wore a purple brocade robe and a jade crown. Even seated cross-legged on a cushion, his posture remained straight and his figure looked tall.
Before Fu Xi Yan even reached him, the man rose, turned around, and bowed respectfully. “Jing Luo, Chief Steward of the Lightning Division of the Immortal Treasury Palace, greets Young Madam.”
Strangely, without identification papers or a secret recognition code, Fu Xi Yan instinctively believed him the instant he said his name. Still, caution made him ask, “Do you have proof?”
Jing Luo smiled and took a seal from his robes.
The seal was pitch black, but on careful inspection, tiny golden fragments glittered within it. This was Jing Luo’s personal weapon and the true body of his Artifact Path incarnation, a heaven-tier spiritual artifact known as the Myriad-Buddha Seal.
The reason Pei Yuan Jin had accepted the letter delivered by Duan Qian as genuine was because it bore the imprint of this exact seal.
The moment Fu Xi Yan held it, he could clearly sense the power within. It lacked the fierce domination of the Crimson Dragon King, yet possessed an immense, far-reaching vastness.
He hurriedly returned the Myriad-Buddha Seal and helped Jing Luo straighten.
Only then did Fu Xi Yan finally get a proper look at his face. He was pale and clean-shaven, with clear, gentle eyes. He did not look as young as Pei Xiong Ji, but neither was he as elderly as Shi Yi Ming. If forced to assign him an age range, he looked approximately middle-aged.
“Young Madam, please sit.” Jing Luo personally placed a cushion for him.
Fu Xi Yan smiled bitterly. “Before I sit… may I ask one question?”
Jing Luo smiled and nodded, already prepared to resolve whatever major confusion Fu Xi Yan had.
“Um… where’s the toilet?”
＊
After emerging from the woods, Fu Xi Yan felt as though his entire soul had ascended. Duan Qian, that bastard, really had forced him to hold it for days. Yes, Fu Xi Yan was a Dao-Entry martial artist, but his martial arts had been sealed!
He returned muttering curses under his breath, yet his mood had lightened considerably. Shi Yi Ming and Jing Luo’s appearance had been completely unexpected, but Fu Xi Yan still wanted to believe in the humanity and radiance of the world’s only two great lights of the righteous path.
Perhaps… Duan Qian really had not deceived him. Perhaps things genuinely were not as terrible as Fu Xi Yan had imagined.
When he returned to the cottage, Shi Yi Ming had already poured tea. The preparation was extremely old-fashioned, containing star anise, cinnamon, red dates, and candied fruit. One bowl warmed Fu Xi Yan’s entire stomach.
Shi Yi Ming then brought over a plate of tea snacks. Fu Xi Yan ate every last piece, without even leaving the crumbs.
Seeing this, Jing Luo glanced at Shi Yi Ming. His expression remained gentle, but a faint trace of reproach appeared in his eyes.
Shi Yi Ming did not defend himself. He smiled bitterly. “This was my mistake. Had I not made the wrong decision years ago, I would never have planted Ghostshadow, this disaster for the martial world and the realm beneath Heaven.”
Fu Xi Yan glanced at Jing Luo. Seeing him remain silent, Fu Xi Yan cautiously asked, “So… you really are Ghostshadow Organization’s leader?”
Shi Yi Ming seemed unsure how to answer. Jing Luo rescued him instead. “The Mirror Master has spent these years in seclusion. Ghostshadow has been controlled by Song Qi Yun. Every evil deed Ghostshadow Organization has committed in recent years was personally directed by Song Qi Yun.”
Fu Xi Yan quietly asked, “Including stealing the Harmonized Yang Pill?”
Jing Luo said, “Naturally. He wanted to install Tang Gong’s daughter as Young Madam of the Immortal Treasury Palace and infiltrate the Palace indirectly. Unfortunately, he underestimated the power of the Harmonized Yang Pill.”
Fu Xi Yan finally understood.
Among all the people beneath Heaven, Tang Gong and Willowwood Manor were hardly noteworthy, and Tang Bao Yun’s personal strength was equally unimpressive. Why would Ghostshadow Organization steal something as precious as the Harmonized Yang Pill only to give it to them? Looking back, it was because both Tang Gong and Tang Bao Yun were exceptionally convenient to manipulate.
Shi Yi Ming said shamefully, “Little Friend Fu, this old man wronged you. I will naturally give you a proper explanation.”
For a moment, Fu Xi Yan did not know what to say.
Strictly speaking, without Ghostshadow Organization, there would never have been anything between him and Pei Yuan Jin.
If Fu Xi Yan had never consumed the Harmonized Yang Pill, he would never have gained the opportunity to spend day and night beside the Immortal Treasury Palace’s Young Master, much less slowly fall in love until their feelings became mutual. That would have been another story entirely. Perhaps at this very moment, Pei Yuan Jin would already be embracing some beautiful wife… The thought alone somehow made Fu Xi Yan angry.
Especially since one of those beautiful wives could have been that bastard Ban Qing Yu!
For a moment, Fu Xi Yan could not decide whether he ought to blame Shi Yi Ming or thank him.
So he could only dryly ask, “Why did you establish Ghostshadow Organization?”
From its name to its purpose, the organization had never sounded particularly respectable.
Shi Yi Ming repeatedly sighed.
“Fifteen years ago, that unworthy disciple of mine came here crying that everyone in the Heaven-and-Earth Mirror had begun treating Mo Xiao Ran as master. Rumors throughout the jianghu said that evil had taken control of the Heaven-and-Earth Mirror. He said he wanted to establish a special force to restrain Mo Xiao Ran. I agreed and even gave him the two young attendants who served beside me. I believed the three of them working together could preserve one last chance for the Heaven-and-Earth Mirror. I never imagined…”
Fu Xi Yan could not resist asking, “When exactly did ‘I never imagined’ turn into ‘I finally found out’?”
Shi Yi Ming choked on the question and instinctively looked toward Jing Luo.
Jing Luo said, “After I told him.”
Shi Yi Ming said, “I have not taken a single step away from Mount Ba in twenty years.”
Fu Xi Yan’s eyes practically glittered with worship as he stared at Jing Luo. “Chief Steward Jing, how did you discover that the Mirror Master was Ghostshadow Organization’s… spiritual leader?” At last he found a description that sounded reasonably accurate and diplomatic.
Jing Luo said, “When Ghostshadow Organization first emerged, I sent people to investigate it. I have always known where it came from. In the beginning, Song Qi Yun genuinely did perform some good deeds.”
Yet after Ghostshadow Organization deteriorated, Jing Luo still did not interfere.
First, the Immortal Treasury Palace Master and elders had entered seclusion, Zhao Tong Qu was causing trouble, and the Palace already had more than enough internal problems. Second, the Immortal Treasury Palace primarily targeted the Puppet Path and notorious heretical factions already infamous throughout the jianghu. Openly turning against Song Qi Yun could have caused direct conflict between the Heaven-and-Earth Mirror and the Immortal Treasury Palace, which would have been deeply unwise.
Fu Xi Yan asked, “Then why come now…?”
Jing Luo said, “Two reasons. First, Ghostshadow Organization participated in stealing the Harmonized Yang Pill. Second, during the new-city scheme, Ghostshadow’s leader personally intervened.”
Those two events proved that Song Qi Yun had now completely positioned himself against the Immortal Treasury Palace. The danger he represented was already no less than Mo Xiao Ran. Jing Luo could no longer remain on the sidelines and tolerate him continuing to commit evil.
The instant he finished speaking, Fu Xi Yan saw Shi Yi Ming’s entire expression dim. Not even his white beard could conceal how pale his face had become.
At that moment, he looked no different from an ordinary elder watching a younger generation wander onto the wrong path and commit evil, heartbroken yet helpless.
Fu Xi Yan felt somewhat sorry for him. The Master of the Heaven-and-Earth Mirror had spent a lifetime building an illustrious reputation, yet just look at the people who followed him: disciples Song Qi Yun and Tang Gong, son-in-law Mo Xiao Ran… If he managed to leave no successor at all in this lifetime, perhaps that would count as three lifetimes of good fortune.
But Fu Xi Yan felt far more pity for the innocent souls who had died for no reason.
People said that once someone entered the jianghu, it became an ocean too deep to escape. But what about all those people who had never entered the jianghu at all? Those who had always kept their distance from it? Why did they have to drown in that same sea?
…If you don’t know how to raise children, could you please stop taking disciples?!
Perhaps Fu Xi Yan’s displeasure showed too clearly on his face. Shi Yi Ming’s expression became even grayer. After a moment of silence, he turned toward Jing Luo. “I would like to speak with Little Friend Fu alone.”