The heavy rain that had been gathering in the sky finally fell before the wedding, as though it had come specifically to wash the grounds clean for the ceremony.
Before dawn had even broken, the spectators were already in position.
The instant the bridal sedan was carried out of Houjia Alley, the entire lane was drowned beneath overwhelming cheers. The gongs and drums at the front could no longer be heard at all. Jianghu people perched on the walls each displayed their own talents, with every sort of blowing, plucking, drumming, and singing imaginable.
A perfectly good wedding procession had somehow turned into an evening gala.
Sitting inside the sedan, Fu Xi Yan felt the veins in his forehead jumping one by one. He knocked on the wall of the sedan. No one responded for ages. Amid this level of noise, such a tiny sound was almost impossible to notice.
He considered making a fuss, then held back.
Other people’s congratulations might be somewhat inappropriate, but this was his own joyous day. There was no need to turn the celebration into complete chaos.
The sedan left the alley and entered the main road, where even more jianghu spectators had gathered. Most of those waiting below the mountain to see the procession were people without the qualifications to enter Immortal Treasury Palace and drink wedding wine. No one knew who first shouted, in an astonishingly loud voice, “Let us see the bride!” But after a brief silence, the cry spread with incredible speed.
Most people still possessed enough reason and manners to shout, “Greetings, Young Madam!” instead, showing proper respect. Unfortunately, that still did nothing to stop the Crimson Dragon King in Young Master Pei’s hair from flashing brightly again and again.
Normally dazzling and impossible to overlook, the Crimson Dragon King was only a drop in the sea amid today’s crowd. Its majesty remained, but it was no longer particularly conspicuous.
It flashed for a long time, yet the tidal shouts around them continued. Combined with the wide assortment of instruments, they formed a chaotic wedding-procession symphony.
Suddenly, several swords painted red thrust in from both sides of the sedan. They moved so quickly that by the time the Phoenix-Roosting Unit noticed, the sword tips had already entered the sedan.
Fu Xi Yan calmly gripped Wind Chime, which warned him through vibration. His body turned with extraordinary lightness along the sword points. Somehow, inside that cramped space, he found the one narrow gap that let him avoid every attack.
The assassins’ swords had already reached their maximum extension because Phoenix-Roosting Unit members had seized their wrists, while Hidden Dragon Unit members clamped their throats. Without giving them any opportunity to speak, they prepared to drag the attackers away.
The assassins seemed to have anticipated this ending. Savage smiles appeared on their faces, and black blood began running from the corners of their mouths.
Silence slowly spread outward from both sides of the sedan, through the crowd that had witnessed the assassination. The earth-shaking cheers gradually became waves of confused questions.
People farther away could not see what had happened nearby and could only hear scattered fragments of description, creating even greater uncertainty.
Blood at a joyous event was considered inauspicious.
Who dared cause trouble directly beneath Immortal Treasury Palace?
Had they stopped valuing their lives?
Apparently, they had. Phoenix-Roosting Unit members silently lifted the assassins’ corpses and carried them away without fanfare, hoping to smooth the matter over.
Fu Xi Yan sprang out of the sedan. He tapped one foot lightly against the carrying pole and flipped onto the roof. Warm sunlight fell across him. His clear, stunning face lit up everyone’s eyes and also seemed to “seize” their throats. The crowd finally fell quiet in waves. Faint whispers could be heard, apparently asking, “What happened to the fatty we were promised?”
Fu Xi Yan’s sleeves fluttered lightly. His eyes turned tenderly toward the groom seated upright on his horse ahead. A brilliant smile rose at the corner of his lips as he declared in a ringing voice, “On Immortal Treasury Palace’s great day of joy, a few villainous scoundrels dying only adds to the festivities!”
At a time like this, the actual words hardly mattered. What mattered was preventing the assassination from damaging the wedding atmosphere, keeping the occasion from going cold and becoming a disaster.
So after Fu Xi Yan opened, Tan Bu Ju, who had come with the wedding procession, answered loudly, “May the righteous path flourish forever, and the wicked path cease to exist!”
The spectators, who had just been stunned by the sudden upheaval and did not know what to do, seemed to find their backbone. They immediately began shouting along.
“May the righteous path flourish forever, and the wicked path cease to exist!”
“May the righteous path flourish forever, and the wicked path cease to exist!”
The bridal sedan now had several holes stabbed through it and looked rather shabby. Fu Xi Yan leapt down, landed on the horse, wrapped his arms around Pei Yuan Jin’s waist, and pressed close. “Was I handsome just now?”
Pei Yuan Jin turned his head slightly and seemed to laugh softly. Then, under Fu Xi Yan’s expectant gaze, the two rapidly switched positions.
…
Fu Xi Yan expressionlessly raised a hand and straightened the back of his collar, which had been slightly distorted from being lifted.
Pei Yuan Jin wrapped an arm around him, took the reins, and continued forward.
The sun was bright. Ahead, Mount Fujun was covered in lanterns, ribbons, and masses of flowers. The beastkeepers responsible for the palace’s “immortal birds and beasts” had somehow acquired magpies, which now stood in clusters on the branches calling happily, filling the mountain with celebration.
Pei Xiong Ji and the elders and chief managers had emerged from seclusion and changed into new clothes. Only Shou Nan Shan looked unwell. Yu Su Huan had painted two streaks of rouge on his cheeks, but even that could not conceal his poor complexion.
Because of a single sentence from Jing Luo, Shou Nan Shan had chosen not to break through to Martial God over those two days. He could not be sure that if he advanced, he would still be able to attend the wedding.
Come to think of it, if not for his matchmaking, perhaps the Young Master and Young Madam would still be playing that game where a mountain stood between them and even a veil felt impossibly thick. How could there have been today’s intimacy and happy reunion?
He absolutely deserved that matchmaker’s cup of wine.
Zhao Tong Qu stood at the very back of the crowd like a wandering ghost.
Before going down the mountain, Jing Luo had never ordered him confined, so Zhao Tong Qu remained free and had not been imprisoned inside his residence as he once imagined. Moreover, because he was still Thunder Division Chief Manager, matters concerning the Thunder Division were still handed to him. Jing Luo’s proposed handling had received Pei Xiong Ji’s approval, so what reached Zhao Tong Qu’s hands were all expulsion orders that required only his signature and seal before they could be issued.
Zhao Tong Qu knew Jing Luo was cutting away his wings piece by piece, then turning those severed wings into arrows aimed back at him. He also knew this was the price he had to pay after his scheme failed and he chose not to stake everything on one desperate fight.
The newlyweds had not yet reached the mountain, but news of the assassination had already arrived ahead of them.
Zhao Tong Qu distinctly felt that after everyone heard the news, their gazes drifted toward him, sometimes openly and sometimes not. He could only smile bitterly. To anyone looking at it, an attack with no possibility of success, committed solely to bring bad luck and disgust to a wedding day, looked like the impotent venting of someone incompetent.
Whether one focused on the incompetence or the venting, both pointed faintly toward the Thunder Division.
The matter seemed related to him and yet was not. But to say it was unrelated was not quite true either. So Zhao Tong Qu could only remain silent, like a mosquito on the wall that should never have existed in deep autumn.
The farcical assassination came quickly and disappeared just as quickly. Some spectators even whispered that perhaps someone had deliberately created trouble simply to get a look at the bride.
If Fu Xi Yan had heard them, he probably would have sprayed saliva across their faces and told them to wash their brains properly. Who would throw away their life just for one glimpse of a bride?
Then again, the assassins’ actual reason for throwing away their lives was not particularly respectable either.
Xiao Zhang had examined the corpses and confirmed they were all peripheral, lowest-ranking members of the Thunder Division. They had made no effort to hide the cloud-pattern uniforms they wore, which made it obvious the objective was simply to disrupt the wedding.
Someone had to be directing them from behind. That person did not care about these few lives and only wanted to make things unpleasant for the newlyweds.
Fu Xi Yan thought, My idol’s plan to clean up Immortal Treasury Palace probably won’t be as easy as he imagined.
Jing Luo naturally understood this as well.
Never assume every opponent will stand at the same height as you and play the same game. The people who ruin plans, surprise you, and catch you unprepared are often the ones who are not particularly intelligent. Clever people can be analyzed through motive, profit, loss, and self-interest. With fools, it is difficult to predict exactly how deep their foolishness goes.
A thankless task like this should fall to someone no one would thank anyway.
He ordered the corpses delivered to Zhao Tong Qu’s residence.
The Lightning Division obviously guarded the second half of the procession more tightly. They escorted it cautiously all the way to the foot of Mount Fujun, where Fu Xi Yan waved to the jianghu people who had followed them.
Not everyone could go up to Immortal Treasury Palace, but continuous banquet tables had been set up at the foot of the mountain. Jianghu people could eat and drink freely, and ordinary commoners passing by were equally welcome to sit down and have a cup of wedding wine.
Fu Xi Yan followed Pei Yuan Jin up the mountain.
News that Fu Xi Yan had slimmed down had already spread through the jianghu on the day of the Jiangcheng wedding procession. Still, hearing was one thing and seeing was another. Having the actual person appear in front of them remained visually shocking.
Fu Xi Yan thought, This is probably why makeover bloggers were so popular in my previous life.
Pei Xiong Ji showed no particular reaction. In his heart, fat or thin, Fu Xi Yan was still his daughter-in-law, the person who would spend a lifetime with his son. If his son liked him, that was enough. As a father-in-law on either side of the wedding, why would Pei Xiong Ji have so many opinions?
The person whose reaction changed most was actually Ying Zhu Cui.
From the moment Fu Xi Yan entered, she stared at him for a long time. The expression that had remained icy for days finally softened, as though only now had she sincerely accepted this marriage from the bottom of her heart.
They performed the wedding bows once more. When the ceremony ended, it was time to offer wine.
Shou Nan Shan finally got to drink the matchmaker’s wine he had been looking forward to. Afterward, though, his face seemed even paler, and the two patches of rouge on his cheeks looked as if they were sitting awkwardly atop his skin.
Yu Su Huan took him into the rear hall. The remaining people were guests from all over. Famous righteous sects already based in Northern Zhou, such as Qinling Sect and Xia Family Fort, naturally attended. Even the Four-Way Merchant Alliance sent wedding gifts.
Fu Xi Yan normally disliked using true qi to force alcohol out of his body because it felt too wasteful. This time, however, even he could not hold out. Every guest who came to Immortal Treasury Palace seemed able to drink more than the last.
Eventually, even forcing the alcohol out with true qi was not enough. Fu Xi Yan simply closed his eyes and collapsed against Pei Yuan Jin, mumbling drunkenly, “Aiya, why do people multiply the more I drink? One, two… one head, two heads…”
His fake drunkenness had almost no technical skill behind it, but Young Master Pei cooperated perfectly. He immediately picked Fu Xi Yan up and, under cover from Tan Bu Ju and Gao Ze, finally escaped to the bridal chamber.
Behind them the celebration remained loud and chaotic. The truly drunk people shouted, “Raid the bridal chamber!” while the sober ones shouted, “Crimson Dragon King!”
Pei Yuan Jin carried Fu Xi Yan back to their room. Before he could say anything, Fu Xi Yan abruptly straightened in his arms and jumped down. “Come, come. Let’s study breaking through to Golden Core, then help Chief Manager Shou enter seclusion.”
As he spoke, he pulled out the little notebook where he had copied things down over the past several days and spread it across the table.
Pei Yuan Jin immediately put away his wandering thoughts and followed Fu Xi Yan’s gaze. When he saw one particular character, he frowned. “This is… what character?”
Fu Xi Yan said without much confidence, “There should be a character like this?”
Pei Yuan Jin thought, dipped his brush in ink, wrote four characters on the paper, and asked, “Which one?”
Fu Xi Yan flushed and pointed at one. “Probably this?”
Pei Yuan Jin said, “This character is pronounced kui. It may refer to the Big Dipper, and can also metaphorically refer to the first true-essence meridian.”
Fu Xi Yan had just been brimming with confidence, believing he could help the great experts of Immortal Treasury Palace shed their pathetic Foundation Establishment rookie status. Now he immediately began doubting himself. This secret manual of his… surely it would not make them end up like Ouyang Feng practicing the Nine Yin Manual backward?
“Um. Maybe you should carefully check whether I copied any other characters wrong?”
…
The dragon-and-phoenix candles of their wedding night burned down, and dawn began brightening the horizon.
Fu Xi Yan narrowed his eyes and dozed against Pei Yuan Jin’s shoulder.
After spending the entire night organizing the cultivation method while serving as a human pillow, Pei Yuan Jin checked everything one more time. Only after confirming the sentences flowed logically and contained no reversed or jumbled errors did he finally set down the brush.
The instant Pei Yuan Jin moved, Fu Xi Yan woke. Before he even understood where he was, he blurted, “Did it work?”
Pei Yuan Jin said, “There should be no problem.”
Fu Xi Yan said, “Chief Steward Jing said Chief Manager Shou has held it back for several days and probably can’t hold it much longer. We should hurry and let him release it.”
Pei Yuan Jin’s hand paused over the papers. He turned his head with an almost-smile.
Fu Xi Yan blinked innocently. “Did I say something wrong?”
Pei Yuan Jin lowered his head and kissed his lips. “No. Very correct. I hope the next time I face such a difficulty, you will be equally anxious on my behalf.”
Fu Xi Yan’s mind, not yet fully awake, struggled to turn. Then he suddenly cursed, “Fuck! You pervert!”
Pei Yuan Jin considered the accusation false. On his wedding night, he had spent the entire night writing while sitting beside his wife. What kind of obscene man did that? He was practically a saint.
The “saint” brought his “delicate wife” to greet the “holy father.” After tea was offered and red envelopes exchanged, Pei Xiong Ji smiled with satisfaction. “Good, good, good. Immortal Treasury Palace will be yours from now on. Decide when the timing is suitable and we can hold the succession ceremony too.”
This decision had clearly not been discussed beforehand. Ying Zhu Cui could not help exclaiming softly, “Palace Master!”
Pei Xiong Ji waved a hand. “All these years, palace affairs have basically fallen on Jing Luo. I’m Palace Master in name only. Why keep occupying the position without doing the work? If Jing Luo were willing, I’d rather hand the seat to him.”
Jing Luo smiled. “The Palace Master wants to ascend. Do you imagine I do not?”
Pei Xiong Ji sighed. “Looking back, I don’t even know whether founding Immortal Treasury Palace was right or wrong.”
The two pushed the position back and forth as though Immortal Treasury Palace were a hot potato. Off to the side, someone watched and nearly went mad with jealousy. Zhao Tong Qu thought in a daze: If these people had not displayed this attitude their entire lives, how would I ever have developed such impossible hopes?
Naturally, something as important as succession to the palace could not be completed just because Pei Xiong Ji slapped his head and Pei Yuan Jin dropped to his knees. Pei Xiong Ji saying it now merely expressed his stance.
It laid groundwork for the eventual transition between old and new.
After the ceremony, Pei Xiong Ji and the elders prepared to return to the forbidden grounds and resume seclusion.
Jing Luo said, “Young Madam probably has not visited the forbidden grounds yet. Why not go take a look? You’ll have use for them sooner or later.”
Fu Xi Yan had already been looking for an opportunity to hand over the cultivation method. Jing Luo’s suggestion gave them a perfectly reasonable opening.
Pei Xiong Ji had long grown accustomed to following Jing Luo’s arrangements. He nodded immediately and said nothing.
After they left, Jing Luo stopped Zhao Tong Qu again. “How does Chief Manager Zhao intend to find the mastermind behind the wedding assassination?”
Zhao Tong Qu said, “I examined the attack. The method was hasty and did not resemble a carefully arranged plan. There should be many clues left behind. Why not issue a reward? Anyone who provides information that proves true may be admitted into Immortal Treasury Palace and given a position suitable to their martial arts. What does Chief Steward Jing think?”
The matter had most likely been carried out by expelled Thunder Division members. Who would know information about them? And what did those people want most?
It had to be said that Zhao Tong Qu’s move to pull the firewood from beneath the cauldron was both vicious and ruthless.
Jing Luo looked at him meaningfully. “Approved.”
Zhao Tong Qu bowed, then slowly turned and left.
He had sacrificed so much simply to preserve his position as Thunder Division Chief Manager. Naturally he could not give up halfway. If he had managed to walk this far despite the Palace Master never thinking well of him, then naturally he could continue walking the road ahead.
Inside the forbidden grounds, on an open patch of land, Pei Xiong Ji, Shou Nan Shan, Baili Shen, Ji Mo, Yi Jue, Pei Yuan Jin, and Fu Xi Yan all sat in a circle.
Fu Xi Yan cleared his throat and slowly explained everything he had seen inside the Earth Mirror.
When the others heard that someone above Martial King had to undergo lightning tribulation before advancing to Golden Core, every one of them wore an expression like Granny Liu entering Grand View Garden.
Elio’s Notes: Granny Liu’s visit to Grand View Garden in Dream of the Red Chamber is a famous scene of a rural outsider being overwhelmed by an unfamiliar world of wealth and wonders. The comparison here means the experts suddenly feel like complete newcomers.
Ji Mo could not resist interrupting. “Could it be that Elder Yu and Elder Tan’s true essence wasn’t damaged at all, but was actually trying to advance to Golden Core?”
Fu Xi Yan scratched his head. “That, I’m not sure about. But advancing to Golden Core definitely requires tempering through lightning tribulation. There’s no doubt about that.”
Baili Shen said, “There really was thunder in the sky that day.”
Pei Xiong Ji and the others recalled the scene and realized they had indeed heard thunder and seen lightning. It had lasted only briefly, and the lightning had flashed in the sky only a few times, so they assumed it was simply a change in weather. Could it be that Tan Chang Gong and Yu Cao had already drawn down lightning tribulation at that time?
Pei Xiong Ji said, “I once read a description in an ancient text that said lightning flashes and thunder roars at the moment of ascension. Back then, I thought it was simply there to heighten the atmosphere…”
Ji Mo said, “Since ancient times people have said that those who do evil will be struck by lightning from Heaven. Who would have guessed that getting struck is actually one step of cultivation?”
Fu Xi Yan had read enough stories to have an opinion. “This is what they call seizing the fortune of Heaven and Earth. Naturally, Heaven and Earth have to test you.”
Pei Xiong Ji and the others passed around the cultivation method Fu Xi Yan had copied from memory.
Ji Mo said, “Rather than calling this a cultivation method, it feels more like…”
For a moment, he could not find the right words.
The others likewise had the answer on the tips of their tongues but could not express it, and one after another began missing Jing Luo.
Pei Yuan Jin said coolly, “The process of advancing to Golden Core.”
“That’s it, that’s it!” Ji Mo was delighted, feeling as though he finally possessed a reliable spokesman.
Pei Xiong Ji and the others also revealed gratified smiles.
Fu Xi Yan: “…”
He finally understood how exhausting his idol’s life normally was, and why whenever Pei Yuan Jin met him, he stopped wanting to speak and stopped wanting to think. Apparently the man was simply overworked every other day.
Fu Xi Yan said, “There is too much content inside the Earth Mirror and Heaven Mirror. I still haven’t reached the cultivation method Master Shi mentioned, but I did find a pill formula. Uh… I’m about eighty or ninety percent sure I copied it correctly.”
After the incident with the character kui, he no longer dared speak too confidently.
He took out the formula and handed it over.
Pei Xiong Ji looked at it twice, then passed it to Baili Shen. “Take a look. Does it seem familiar?”
Baili Shen said, “It is eighty or ninety percent similar to the prescription Yan Xie gave Elder Tan and Elder Yu.”
Ji Mo also took it and looked. “Unfortunately Yan Xie left after writing the prescription. If he were here, perhaps he could tell us which formula is better.”
Fu Xi Yan instinctively said, “Use his.”
Shou Nan Shan asked, “What formula is this?”
Fu Xi Yan said, “It is the formula for the Golden Origin Pill. In theory, if these medicinal ingredients are refined in a pill furnace, they should produce a finished pill. Taking one during advancement can greatly increase the chance of succeeding.”
Shou Nan Shan said, “The Earth Mirror remained unopened for so many years in Master Shi’s hands. Later it fell into Young Madam’s possession and was… hidden for many years. Why would Yan Xie possess a similar formula?”
Fu Xi Yan’s heart tightened. Could it be related to Mother? After all, the Earth Mirror entered her belly while she was pregnant with me.
Pei Xiong Ji waved a hand. “Whatever the reason, he was willing to give us such an important prescription, so everyone in Immortal Treasury Palace owes him gratitude. Everyone has their secrets. We accepted his kindness. Why question where that kindness came from?”
Shou Nan Shan said “Yes” with shame.
Pei Xiong Ji looked toward Fu Xi Yan and spoke gently. “This matter is extremely important to me, to Immortal Treasury Palace, and to the martial path beneath Heaven. But before we personally verify it, do not mention it to anyone else.”
Fu Xi Yan nodded in understanding. “Father-in-law should also verify it carefully. No one knows what kind of road this becomes if you keep walking.”
What he knew came from television settings with no foundation in reality.
What the Earth Mirror said was all theory.
In this world, at least for now, no one could prove the Golden Core road was viable. If they walked forward, no one knew whether what awaited them was a broad road into the clouds or a ten-thousand-zhang abyss.
Pei Xiong Ji laughed freely. “We were already walking along a road without knowing what the future held. Simply pointing us in a direction is already enormously meaningful.”
After he spoke, Shou Nan Shan, Ji Mo, and the others all offered agreement and praise. Even the habitually taciturn Yi Jue smiled at Fu Xi Yan, then smiled again.
Amid the praise from so many great experts, Fu Xi Yan quietly puffed out his chest and proudly looked back at Pei Yuan Jin.
Pei Yuan Jin could not resist reaching out and pinching his cheek, immediately drawing angry glares from the entire circle of great experts, including his own father.
Pei Yuan Jin: “…”
After leaving the forbidden grounds, Fu Xi Yan’s steps remained light. But after bouncing along for a while, he became a little dejected. “If only Master Shi were here too.”
Pei Yuan Jin rubbed his head.
Fu Xi Yan rolled his eyes. “Father-in-law and the others are still inside. I’ll call someone…”
Pei Yuan Jin directly used his mouth to block the path Fu Xi Yan intended to use for calling.
In the middle of their intense collision, Pei Xiong Ji’s voice rang out at a perfectly inappropriate moment. “No need to call. I can hear you.”
…
Fu Xi Yan and Pei Yuan Jin both straightened immediately, adjusted each other’s collars, then calmly held hands and walked away as though nothing had happened.