In front of Immortal Treasury Palace’s forbidden grounds stood only a wooden sign Pei Xiong Ji had casually stuck into the earth. Four large characters were written across it: “NO UNAUTHORIZED ENTRY.” Like the forbidden grounds themselves, the sign endured wind and rain day and night and had already begun to rot. Only those four characters looked as bright and fresh as when they were first written, every stroke filled with force.
Every time Zhao Tong Qu came here, he never quite dared look directly at the sign. It felt as though those four characters themselves were four sword techniques, every one aimed straight at a fatal point. Only this time did he stop before the sign and stare at it for a long, long while.
He looked at the characters for “person” and “enter” and thought: so the difference between them was that one still held its neck straight while the other had already bowed its head. He had lowered his head countless times, yet still had never truly been allowed “in.” Now that he had finally raised his neck and wanted to live like a person, so many barriers still stood before him.
Elio’s Notes: The sign reads 闲人免入. Zhao Tong Qu is playing on the visual similarity between 人 (“person”) and 入 (“enter”): in his metaphor, 人 looks upright while 入 looks as though it has bowed its head.
Behind him, sword intent surged, seemingly reminding him that someone had arrived.
Zhao Tong Qu slowly turned and looked at the young man before him, whose back was always straight and whose entire body seemed filled with pride. As always, Zhao Tong Qu lowered his head, hiding the envy in his eyes, and saluted respectfully. “Greetings, Young Master.”
Pei Yuan Jin asked, “How do you intend to end today’s situation?”
Zhao Tong Qu said, “I ask Young Master to consider the Thunder Division’s years of hard work and service and not punish them too harshly for this breach of propriety.”
“Leaving their posts and coming to Mount Fujun without headquarters’ approval is dereliction of duty.”
“I thought returning to the mountain to report for duty already counted as approval.”
“The Lightning Division will not be abolished. The Wind and Rain Divisions will not be merged. Headquarters’ orders must still be obeyed. The matter of the successor can be discussed.” Pei Yuan Jin delivered his final decision on the Thunder Division’s four proposals.
At the last point, Zhao Tong Qu’s gaze flickered. He slowly shook his head. “The first three are the important ones. Young Master is a heaven-born genius. We have no objection to you succeeding the Palace Master.”
Pei Yuan Jin raised a brow. “So the fourth proposal was merely added to make an even pair?”
Zhao Tong Qu said, “If only one voice comes from below the mountain, it is small and easily ignored. But when enough people speak, even those far away can hear some movement. They merely want someone on the mountain willing to listen to their voices.”
Pei Yuan Jin asked, “And that person is you?”
Zhao Tong Qu bowed. “Young Master is extraordinarily gifted and your martial achievements are immeasurable. You have no interest in administrative affairs. I can share that burden.”
Pei Yuan Jin asked slowly, “And if I refuse?”
“Immortal Treasury Palace was founded by the Palace Master and elders with their own hands. We have received their grace and virtue and only possess what we have today because of them. We ought to repay even one ten-thousandth of that kindness with our lives, yet instead we ask for more after receiving so much and bargain with our benefactors. Truly ungrateful.” Zhao Tong Qu gave a faint laugh, as though mocking himself and perhaps mocking someone else as well. “I imagine Young Master thinks the same. But even if we have received kindness, we are still human. Humans have selfish desires. What is wrong with fearing death and clinging to life? Does Immortal Treasury Palace not also pursue immortality?”
Pei Yuan Jin tilted his head slightly. Something strange flashed through his eyes, but it vanished quickly, as though Zhao Tong Qu had truly caught his attention only for that brief instant. Once the instant passed, the man was no longer worth watching.
Pei Yuan Jin’s words were like the Crimson Dragon King leaving its sheath, simple and direct as they pierced through Zhao Tong Qu’s intentions. “If I hand authority to you, you stay. If I refuse, you take them and leave. That is the true purpose of this performance.”
Zhao Tong Qu was not surprised that Pei Yuan Jin had seen through it.
Young Master Pei might have devoted himself to martial cultivation, but he was no mindless brute. Otherwise Zhao Tong Qu would not have spent so much effort scheming against him only to repeatedly end up drawing water with a bamboo basket.
He sighed. “Having reached this point, I have no other choice.”
There was some sincerity in that sentence.
When Zhao Tong Qu first arranged for the Thunder Division chief managers to come up the mountain and pressure the palace, his original goal had been to build momentum for himself to seize the position of Vice Palace Master.
This was not blind arrogance. Before taking that step, he had tested Jing Luo many times. Yet Jing Luo had never spoken or commented on Zhao Tong Qu’s movements and seemed to tacitly permit them. Zhao Tong Qu could not help wondering whether Jing Luo too had grown tired of palace administration and intended for Zhao Tong Qu to replace him.
If not for the upheaval on Huaying Mountain, where Jing Luo, Shi Yi Ming, and Pei Yuan Jin joined hands to lay a trap that led to Song Qi Yun’s death, Mo Xiao Ran’s departure, and Fu Xi Yan taking control of the Heaven-and-Earth Mirror, Zhao Tong Qu might still have been immersed in his dream of entering Immortal Treasury Palace’s highest ranks.
Whether Jing Luo had meant the whole affair as killing a chicken to warn the monkeys or not, Zhao Tong Qu had still felt the fox’s grief when the rabbit died.
So he urgently changed his plan.
He no longer wanted to wade through Immortal Treasury Palace’s muddy waters. He intended to leave. He could leave like a homeless dog, but he could not leave empty-handed.
Of course Zhao Tong Qu knew events might not unfold as beautifully as he imagined. He had experienced too much since childhood and had long grown accustomed to living beside disappointment.
But with opportunity in front of him, he had to stake everything on one attempt.
He slowly knelt. “I know the Thunder Division’s actions are unforgivable, but palace law contains one rule: if a chief manager or elder offers years of accumulated merit and his office itself in exchange for mercy, merit and fault may cancel one another. As Thunder Division Chief Manager, I am willing to invoke that rule in exchange for everyone else’s safety.”
That precedent had originally been created when a former Rain Division chief manager tried to save her lover. Later, Fu Xi Yan had used it to save Yu Yu Er. Now it had become Zhao Tong Qu’s tool for leaving Immortal Treasury Palace.
Pei Yuan Jin said, “The Thunder Division chief managers defied their superiors, while the Thunder Division members gathered and forced their way up the mountain. Those are two offenses. Which side does Chief Manager Zhao intend to save?”
Zhao Tong Qu threw caution aside. “Both. If my merit is not enough, I’ll use my life to make up the difference!”
He was gambling that Pei Yuan Jin would not damage Immortal Treasury Palace’s spotless reputation merely to make things difficult for him. Zhao Tong Qu was, after all, the Thunder Division Chief Manager. On the surface he had committed no major crime. Pei Xiong Ji had failed to seize evidence against him all these years, and Pei Yuan Jin could not either.
Pei Yuan Jin looked down at him. “But you colluded with the Ghostshadow Organization, stole the Harmonized Yang Pill, and framed your colleagues. Your crimes are unforgivable and your own life is already forfeit. Where would you find a second life to exchange for theirs?”
Zhao Tong Qu’s head snapped up. “Young Master must not slander me without evidence!”
Pei Yuan Jin said, “The Ghostshadow Organization’s headquarters were in Laitan Town. Song Qi Yun was the mastermind behind it.”
Zhao Tong Qu’s face turned cold. “That is a frame-up!”
The fury in his eyes was genuine. His disbelief was genuine too. He truly felt that he was being framed. And in fact—
Pei Yuan Jin had no evidence for anything he had just said. After Song Qi Yun’s death, they had sorted through the man’s possessions, including the missions Chao Yun had received and issued. Nothing connected Zhao Tong Qu or Immortal Treasury Palace to them. Even the portion involving Lu Rui Chun and the transfer of the Harmonized Yang Pill was absent.
There were two possibilities. First, Zhao Tong Qu and Song Qi Yun had never been connected. Second, matters concerning Zhao Tong Qu and Immortal Treasury Palace had been assigned by Song Qi Yun to a separate team and never passed through headquarters.
Jing Luo was unsurprised by this. The Thunder Division Chief Manager of Immortal Treasury Palace ought to have been one of the Ghostshadow Organization’s most important partners. Naturally he deserved special treatment.
At the time, Jing Luo had told Pei Yuan Jin, “I’ll handle this matter.”
Unfortunately, Jing Luo had far too many things to handle. The aftermath of the Ghostshadow Organization kept him tied up and unable to split himself in two. After circling around and around, the matter ultimately landed back in Pei Yuan Jin’s hands.
Pei Yuan Jin answered with something seemingly unrelated. “The cell you stayed in before probably hasn’t been cleaned yet, has it?”
Zhao Tong Qu looked up at him.
Pei Yuan Jin said, “Stay a few more days.”
Pei Yuan Jin and his father were father and son after all, and their approach to problems was always simple and forceful. If something was inconvenient to deal with right now, then delay it until the person best suited to handle it arrived.
Zhao Tong Qu said heavily, “If Young Master cannot produce evidence today, forgive me for refusing!”
That night, torches dotted Mount Fujun like stars, while Houjia Alley, quiet for so long, entered a new era of constant arrivals and departures.
Pei Yuan Jin had only just left when another heavyweight guest arrived, one so significant that Tan Chang Gong was genuinely shocked.
Tan Chang Gong could no longer remember how long it had been since he last saw the man. He had already prepared himself to wait much longer, yet the man suddenly appeared out of nowhere.
He stared upward blankly and asked, “Where did you come from?” Then he looked at Yu Cao beside him. “You see him too, right?”
Yu Cao closed his eyes, unwilling to admit that he was recuperating alongside an idiot.
Travel-worn Jing Luo still maintained his noble, elegant image. The gleaming jade crown on his head could practically compete with the moon. He paid no attention at all to the shock caused by his sudden arrival. Instead, he casually straightened the clutter on the table before sitting with graceful composure. “Something this serious happened at the palace. How could I not return?”
Tan Chang Gong instantly became energetic. “You knew the Thunder Division would make a move?”
“The Lightning Division monitors every region. How could we not know?”
“Then why didn’t you do something?” If his physical condition had permitted it, Tan Chang Gong would have jumped directly into Jing Luo’s face and shaken that jade crown back and forth.
Jing Luo said calmly, “Immortal Treasury Palace expanded too quickly. The quality of the people beneath it is uneven. It is time to clean house.”
Yu Cao suddenly asked, “Does the Young Master know?”
Jing Luo said, “He should be able to guess part of it.”
Tan Chang Gong was infuriated by this irresponsible answer. “The Young Master already went up the mountain. What if a real clash breaks out? Let’s see how you explain yourself then!”
Jing Luo remained perfectly composed. “The Palace Master and elders are all on the mountain. Even if a clash breaks out, the Young Master will not lack support.”
Yu Cao’s expression shifted slightly. “You intend to… wipe them all out in one sweep?”
Huaying Mountain had only just lost three major figures, causing half of the righteous martial world to collapse. If Mount Fujun erupted into internal conflict now, the other half might start shaking too.
As one side declined and the other rose, the crooked and heterodox sects that Immortal Treasury Palace had suppressed for years would probably celebrate wildly.
Jing Luo said, “Why would it go that far? Immortal Treasury Palace has never been a place ruled by rigid discipline. As long as someone does not violate the righteousness of the jianghu, the conscience of Heaven and Earth, or the basic limits of being human, they are free to come and go. Precisely because of that, too many people have slipped in to fish in muddy water. Over time, the good and bad have mixed together and become a burden. This is simply an opportunity to clean things up.”
As he spoke, Lightning Division members began appearing in the courtyard one after another. After handing in reports, each bowed toward Yu Cao and Tan Chang Gong, then left without looking back.
Tan Chang Gong felt uncomfortable all over. “Why do I feel like they’re coming over here to burn incense for us?”
Yu Cao said, “Say ‘me,’ not ‘us.’”
Jing Luo found the light too dim, so Tan Chang Gong had someone bring lamps. In an instant the hexagonal pavilion became bright as day.
Watching Jing Luo work seriously, Tan Chang Gong shifted his legs uneasily and turned toward Yu Cao. “I lay here useless for so many days without ever feeling useless. Watching Jing Luo now is the first time I’ve genuinely felt pretty useless.”
Before Yu Cao could answer, Tan Chang Gong hurriedly added, “I said I. I didn’t say we.”
Yu Cao adjusted himself into a more comfortable reclining position and closed his eyes. “Don’t look at me. I’m no longer an elder of Immortal Treasury Palace. I’m useless with a clear conscience.”
Tan Chang Gong: “…”
Tan Chang Gong looked toward Jing Luo and awkwardly said, “How about… you see if there’s anything you need me to look at?”
Without hesitation, Jing Luo tossed an entire pile of intelligence reports from the table at him.
Tan Chang Gong: “…” Damn it. How unfortunate that the pile failed to knock him unconscious!
He picked up the papers, yawned, rubbed his eyes, and was just preparing to read when Jing Luo stood up. “Wait. Where are you going?”
Jing Luo said, “Home.”
He said it with such complete confidence that Tan Chang Gong temporarily lost the ability to respond. “Then… then you finished your work?”
Jing Luo answered as though it were obvious. “Aren’t you here?”
…
Tan Chang Gong watched him stroll away with magnificent ease. After staring blankly for a long time, he finally reached over and shoved the person beside him.
Yu Cao was already snoring earnestly.
Tan Chang Gong: “…”
You’re a Martial God! What breathing problem could you possibly have? Why are you snoring? Get up!
Tan Chang Gong, who had slacked off for decades and finally developed enough conscience to share a colleague’s workload only to step directly into a huge pit, had no idea that on Mount Fujun not far away, another pair of colleagues were likewise locked in a stalemate.
The atmosphere between those two, however, could only be described as swords drawn and bows bent.
Zhao Tong Qu had made up his mind that he would not return to the dungeon. He had gone to enormous lengths to hold Fu Xi Yan back and rushed to leave the dungeon before Pei Yuan Jin reached the mountain precisely because he wanted a quick resolution. If he returned there now, everything he had done would become meaningless.
He said, “I want to see the Palace Master.”
Pei Yuan Jin looked at him. “Among the people who came today, how many are actually prepared to leave Immortal Treasury Palace?”
Zhao Tong Qu said, “If Young Master agrees to the requests—”
“Even if you establish a new sect, you will be nothing more than a third-rate force.” Pei Yuan Jin said indifferently, “Immortal Treasury Palace has countless enemies. After you leave, the heterodox sects once hunted by Immortal Treasury Palace will come for you. Without a Martial King holding the line, how will you protect yourselves?”
Zhao Tong Qu was not frightened by the future Pei Yuan Jin described and remained calm. “We never wished to leave…”
“If you kill yourself, I can agree to all their conditions. Why not?”
Zhao Tong Qu froze. His expression immediately changed.
Pei Yuan Jin said coolly, “If I say that in front of them, how will you conduct yourself?”
Zhao Tong Qu understood perfectly well that up to this point he had cultivated the image of a good superior and leader who stood up for his subordinates. That was why those people trusted him, why they allowed themselves to be quietly incited by him, and why they dared risk coming up the mountain. Pei Yuan Jin’s words would unquestionably place him over a fire.
He looked at Pei Yuan Jin and, for the first time, genuine wariness appeared on his face.
Over the years, Zhao Tong Qu had worked painstakingly inside Immortal Treasury Palace and believed his grasp of human nature had reached perfection. Pei Yuan Jin might be a martial genius, but when it came to dealing with people and affairs, Zhao Tong Qu had always believed the distance between them enormous. Fu Xi Yan at Pei Yuan Jin’s side had at least possessed a little ability in that direction. Zhao Tong Qu had never expected that Pei Yuan Jin was not incapable. He simply had no desire to bother.
Pei Yuan Jin looked at the fine sweat forming on Zhao Tong Qu’s forehead and said indifferently, “Go.”
Zhao Tong Qu straightened his back. “I will never return to the dungeon.”
He thought that if he truly had to die, then he would use this life to strike a flaw into Immortal Treasury Palace’s perfect reputation, even if it was only one thin crack.
At least then someone might still remember him.
The moon slowly tilted westward.
He had seen countless nights like this and countless moons like this, yet he had no idea whether tonight’s moonlight would be the final scene of his life. He could not help looking at his surroundings again.
The dense trees reminded him of the day his mother died. The sky had seemed somewhat brighter then.
Light footsteps slowly approached. Pei Yuan Jin looked toward the direction they came from and saw Ying Zhu Cui walking toward them, every step deliberate and firm.
Before she could speak, Pei Yuan Jin said to Zhao Tong Qu, “Since you intend to break with Immortal Treasury Palace for the Thunder Division, you should announce it in front of everyone.”
Zhao Tong Qu froze. His gaze shifted toward Ying Zhu Cui not far away. For some reason, her figure slowly overlapped with another silhouette from many years ago, one he had hated, resented, and eventually allowed to blur.
He lowered his head slightly. “Thank you, Young Master.”
Then he saluted Ying Zhu Cui and strode away.
Only after he left did Ying Zhu Cui slowly approach and salute Pei Yuan Jin. “Thank you, Young Master.”
Pei Yuan Jin said, “If even a Martial God can deliberately let her footsteps be heard, how could I refuse to leave one path open?”
Ying Zhu Cui had wanted to defend Zhao Tong Qu, to talk about how difficult these years had been for him, the way every mother could ramble endlessly once the subject became her child. But facing Pei Yuan Jin’s indifferent expression, the words died in her throat.
Pei Yuan Jin said, “Have you ever considered what happens if one day he commits evil outside—”
Ying Zhu Cui hurriedly said, “I will personally punish him. I will show no mercy.”
Pei Yuan Jin said, “No need. I will.” The Crimson Dragon King in his hair seemed to sense its master’s intent and flashed with a bloodthirsty red glow.
Ying Zhu Cui’s heart jolted violently. For a moment she no longer knew whether pleading for Zhao Tong Qu just now had been right or wrong.
Pei Yuan Jin did not remain there to accompany her while she sorted through her feelings. He quickly followed Zhao Tong Qu toward the entrance to the mountain road in front of Immortal Treasury Palace. Since the play had already reached this point, naturally it needed a beautiful finale.
By the time he arrived, Zhao Tong Qu had clearly already announced his decision. Apart from a few of Zhao Tong Qu’s trusted followers, the other chief managers looked completely dumbfounded by the outcome.
When the jianghu judged the strength of a martial faction, it was never by headcount. Otherwise the Heaven-and-Earth Mirror could only be considered an unranked organization. High-level combat power was the only thing that determined a sect’s standing.
Just as Pei Yuan Jin had said earlier, only inside Immortal Treasury Palace were these people chief managers of the greatest sect beneath Heaven. Once they left, with Zhao Tong Qu at peak Dao-Entry as their strongest fighter, they could at most become a third-rate force.
Naturally, this was not the outcome they wanted.
One Thunder Division chief manager finally could not restrain himself. “Young Master, we have risked life and death for Immortal Treasury Palace. Can you truly not tolerate us?”
Zhao Tong Qu nervously looked toward Pei Yuan Jin, terrified that the moment Pei Yuan Jin softened, he would say something like, “Everything is negotiable once Zhao Tong Qu is dead.” Pei Yuan Jin merely said, “Those who stay will be demoted to ordinary disciples.”
The Thunder Division chief managers’ faces changed. Every one of them had accumulated countless merits to climb to their present positions. Losing something after possessing it was obviously harder to accept than never having possessed it at all.
The man said, “We merely submitted proposals. We did nothing wrong!”
“We did nothing wrong!”
“Nothing wrong!”
The originally scattered voices gradually merged into one and exploded across the mountaintop.
Members of the Wind, Rain, and Lightning Divisions immediately grew tense.
Tan Bu Ju walked behind Pei Yuan Jin. Xiao Sang and the others gathered around as well.
Pei Yuan Jin looked toward Tan Bu Ju. “You explain.”
As Vice Chief Manager of the Lightning Division, Tan Bu Ju was responsible for disciplinary punishment. He immediately began without thinking. “You came under the pretext of reporting for duty while actually intending to pressure headquarters with proposals. That is deceiving your superiors, offense one. You colluded with guards and assembled without authorization, offense two. You fabricated accusations and framed colleagues, offense three.”
He infused his voice with true qi and instantly drowned out everyone else.
The Thunder Division members protested. “When did we ever frame colleagues?”
Tan Bu Ju said, “Two of your four proposals involve the Lightning, Wind, and Rain Divisions. You talk beautifully, with neat arguments one after another, yet your so-called evidence is all hearsay. Do you think the Lightning Division is stupid?”
One Thunder Division chief manager said, “But everything we said is true! Check the records from past years. Of the four divisions, only our Thunder Division has suffered catastrophic losses!”
Tan Bu Ju rolled up his sleeves. “And your Thunder Division certainly hasn’t trained fewer cultivation arts, eaten fewer pills, or taken fewer weapons!”
The Thunder Division chief manager said, “That was to make us more capable of risking our lives!”
Tan Bu Ju kept firing. “So you admit you’re supposed to risk your lives! When it’s time to eat, you take everything as your due. When it’s time to fight, you whine. You want to eat without shitting and still take every benefit for yourselves?”
Zhao Tong Qu sighed heavily. “Enough! Matters have reached this point. More words are useless. Young Master, permit me to exchange my accumulated merits and my office itself. Please agree to let them leave safely.”
“No need.”
A clear voice came from the direction of the mountain road. Immediately afterward, Jing Luo’s jade crown appeared first beyond the dark mass of people blocking the path.
Jing Luo lightly tapped both feet and quickly passed through the crowd. Reaching Pei Yuan Jin’s side, he smiled faintly at Zhao Tong Qu. “You have all served Immortal Treasury Palace for many years and possess both merit and hardship to your names. If your proposals are rejected and you choose separate paths, that is perfectly ordinary. Simply leave. Chief Manager Zhao has no need to make such a sacrifice.”
…
Everyone was stunned by the abrupt reversal.
Zhao Tong Qu froze slightly. “It was my failure to discipline them…”
Jing Luo waved a hand. “You voluntarily entered the dungeon. That already counts as punishment. Over the years, the Thunder Division has flourished under your management. Everyone has seen it. How could we chill the heart of a meritorious official over such a trivial matter? Besides, although part of the Thunder Division is leaving, even more will remain. As Thunder Division Chief Manager, how can you sacrifice the greater whole for a smaller part?”
Zhao Tong Qu tried to speak again. Jing Luo suddenly stepped forward and said softly beside his ear, “If you insist on doing this, I will have no choice but to suspect that you personally planned everything behind the scenes. You should understand that leading a mass rebellion is a capital offense anywhere. Giving up one chief-manager position and a lifetime of merits would not be enough to cancel it.”
Zhao Tong Qu’s entire body trembled. Jing Luo patted his shoulder, then addressed the Thunder Division crowd still too stunned to recover. “The night is late. Immortal Treasury Palace will not keep our fellow travelers here. Please go down the mountain. Ah, and since the guards let them come up, those guards can go down with them as well.”