If alarm clocks existed in this era, the dong just now would have been the alarm ringing, warning that there was little time left for Mo Xiao Ran to give his answer.
Zheng Jiao Jiao had both hands on the table. He appeared to be stroking his teacup, but true qi flowing around his fingertips showed that he was ready to strike.
Mo Xiao Ran lowered his head and took a sip of tea, not even looking at the other man. His leisurely manner seemed to suggest that he was a friend rather than an enemy.
“I can swear to help you complete the grand formation. As for whether you break through to Golden Core…” With a mocking curve to his lips, Mo Xiao Ran continued, “I’ve never entrusted my fate to somebody else’s luck. If you want absolute certainty, you can try killing me. But killing me won’t be any easier than reaching Golden Core.”
That point struck home with Zheng Jiao Jiao. Having shared a master for years, he knew how deep Mo Xiao Ran’s schemes ran. Precisely because that mind was so deep, he feared it; and because he feared it, he was suspicious.
Many years later, he was once more faced with a choice.
Back then, he had chosen to stake everything on a desperate attempt and had killed Cheng He Cheng, eventually acquiring the Sect Master’s Soul Seal and the Haojing grand formation. Now, faced with even greater odds in his favor, he should choose…
Zheng Jiao Jiao rubbed the rim of his teacup, his gaze fathomless, but his lips curved into a smile first. “Remember back then, when none of us could break through? We began suspecting the No-Return Sect’s cultivation method. You and I both abandoned the Profound-Breaking Essential Arts. You founded the Puppet Path, and I chose soul cultivation. In the beginning, we were always hiding from Master while secretly comparing what we’d learned. Those were happy times.”
The recollection stirred Mo Xiao Ran’s memories, and his expression gradually softened.
“Yan Zi and General Da both benefited from your guidance. Otherwise, General Da would never have had the chance to escape with his life back then,” Zheng Jiao Jiao said.
Mo Xiao Ran smiled. “Are you still brooding about that?”
Zheng Jiao Jiao kept sensing deeper meaning in the smile, though he feared he was merely being paranoid. Suppressing his discomfort, he said, “You even wanted to join forces with him to kill me. Ah, but you were merciful enough not to invite the White Tiger King.”
The old man at the other table twitched his ears but did not turn to look.
“He was still at the western frontier then,” Mo Xiao Ran said.
Zheng Jiao Jiao decided he had done enough to appeal to their old friendship and casually reminded him of his oath. Unexpectedly, Mo Xiao Ran made no attempt to play with the wording. Just as he had agreed, he swore upon his three hun to help complete the grand formation.
The oath came so easily that Zheng Jiao Jiao felt unsettled again. He suddenly asked, “This body of yours is your real body, isn’t it?”
“We’ve known each other for so many years. Could there be a fake?”
Zheng Jiao Jiao narrowed his eyes. Before he could speak, Mo Xiao Ran added on his own, “Do you want me to make an oath with my body too?”
“Would you?”
“Heh.”
“Actually, swearing on your body wouldn’t cost you much. After all, you have such an excellent son. He’s now the master of the Heaven-and-Earth Mirror and the young madam of the Immortal Treasury Palace. Commanding the righteous path and conquering the martial world, isn’t that what you’ve always dreamed of?”
“You should already know that the reason we could never break through to Golden Core has nothing to do with our cultivation methods or our bodies,” Mo Xiao Ran replied. “Since the body isn’t the problem, I prefer to keep the old one.”
By now, Mu Kai Sen, who had been overseeing the construction of the iron tower, was approaching with his men. Zheng Jiao Jiao seized the last moment to ask, “Then do you ever regret having such a troublesome son?”
Mo Xiao Ran smiled. “He’s my own flesh and blood.”
Zheng Jiao Jiao lowered his eyes and said with an ambiguous smile, “Then congratulations.”
As they spoke, Mu Kai Sen and the others arrived.
Zheng Jiao Jiao rose. “Next, I’ll be relying on the two of you to protect me as I cultivate.”
“You’re using a soul body now,” Mo Xiao Ran observed. “If anything goes wrong with the formation, aren’t you afraid your soul will be scattered?”
With the crucial moment upon him, Zheng Jiao Jiao at last stopped being suspicious and indecisive. The sun was high overhead, the bright daylight full of life. He shook out his sleeves and strode toward the iron tower, brimming with ambition. “Those who cultivate the Dao must fight Heaven for their fate.”
As the most exalted structure in Northern Zhou, the corner tower of Haojing’s imperial palace had always enjoyed a view all its own. Now, however, an iron tower blocked that view.
Wang Yu stood on the corner tower with a hand on the railing. Hu Yu and Zhang Cai Fa stood behind him.
Under Zhang Cai Fa’s heavy clothing, his legs were trembling so badly that only his fear of the emperor allowed him to maintain a semblance of composure. Hu Yu appeared calm, although his expression was grim.
“How many civilians have been evacuated?” Wang Yu asked.
Hu Yu lowered his head. “Before I entered the palace, fewer than twenty percent. Mo Xiao Ran’s men are harassing the areas around the gates. Many prominent families are trying to escape too, making the scene chaotic. Fortunately, disciples of the Qinling Sect are helping maintain order. At present, we are guarding five gates, including Qixia and Yanxing.”
Wang Yu nodded calmly. “What about Chancellor Pu?”
“Cen Bao En personally escorted him out of the city.”
“Take the people in the palace and leave.”
“Your Majesty?” Hu Yu stared at him in shock.
“Go quickly.” Wang Yu waved a hand. “I can probably hold out for a while. Take as many people away as you can during that time.”
Hu Yu hesitated before answering, “Your subject obeys the imperial command. May Your Majesty remain in peace and health.”
Zhang Cai Fa’s lips quivered. He looked instinctively at Hu Yu’s departing back, struggling with indecision, when Wang Yu said mildly, “If Zhang Yuan were here, he’d already have prepared all sorts of amusing remarks to cheer me up.”
Zhang Cai Fa shook and hurriedly knelt. “This servant is dull-witted.”
“If Yu Shuang Xi were here…” Wang Yu paused, then laughed suddenly. “He would probably follow Tie Rong Rong and help Mo Xiao Ran. If Zhang A Gu were here, he wouldn’t be as panic-stricken as you.”
Zhang Cai Fa prostrated himself in terror, unable to speak.
“Never mind.” Wang Yu seemed to lose interest. “I’m the emperor. I must have someone to wait on me, so I won’t let you leave. Go have a meal brought. I’ll eat right here today.”
For a moment Zhang Cai Fa didn’t know whether he had moved farther from death’s door or closer to it. Trembling, he stood and accepted the order.
Lunchtime had long since passed, and the imperial kitchens had already prepared the meal, which was soon served.
Now that Zhang Cai Fa knew he had no escape route, he actually calmed down and served Wang Yu according to the rules. But Wang Yu did something highly unusual. He reached across the table and rearranged the dishes himself.
He pushed the dishes he disliked far away and brought the ones he liked close.
When he finished, Wang Yu nodded in satisfaction. “I’ve wanted to do that for a long time.”
Zhang Cai Fa tried to serve him some food, but Wang Yu pushed him aside. “I’ll do it myself.” He took up his chopsticks and moved his fingers swiftly, looking completely different from the way he usually ate.
If Zhang Cai Fa had not been at his side almost without interruption for the last two days, making a substitution impossible, he would have suspected this emperor was an impostor.
Wang Yu ate quickly. When he was about seventy percent full, he instinctively slowed down, but remained reluctant to stop and kept taking the occasional bite. Suddenly, he asked, “Do you think I’m a good emperor?”
“Of course.” Zhang Cai Fa answered on instinct and then ran out of words. Elaborate praise of the emperor was an indispensable skill for palace attendants, and Zhang Cai Fa had practiced plenty in private, but his mind had yet to return from its brush with the gates of death. He struggled for a long time before Wang Yu glared at him and forced him to improvise. “When I was young, I heard that an official who lets the people live decent lives is a good official. Your Majesty is the highest official beneath Heaven, and all the people under your rule are living well. Naturally, Your Majesty is a good emperor.”
“If they’re all living well, why did you enter the palace?”
Zhang Cai Fa was stumped again. “Didn’t Your Majesty say an emperor needs people to serve him? That’s why this servant came to the palace, to serve Your Majesty.”
“A little quick thinking, at least.” Wang Yu smiled faintly.
“Every word comes from this servant’s heart,” Zhang Cai Fa said.
“Then what do you think of the Prince of Yunzhong and the Prince of Longnan?”
Zhang Cai Fa dared not touch that subject. He merely said, “This servant grew up in a mountain village and knows nothing of affairs beyond the mountains.”
“Neither of them was as good as I am.”
Wang Yu brandished his chopsticks as though passing judgment on the realm. “The Prince of Yunzhong was backed by the aristocratic clans. They would have constrained him afterward. The deeper those families put down roots, the less ground the common people would have to stand on. A wise ruler who would bring order? That was merely the clans sacrificing something in the present to lay the groundwork for their future gain. It’s like borrowing money from a moneylender. Whatever you take today, you’ll have to repay twice over later.”
Only he and Zhang Cai Fa were in the tower. Zhang Cai Fa dared not disagree, so whatever Wang Yu said went unchallenged.
“The Prince of Longnan was a great commander in battle, but no administrator of a country. If he fought wars the way he wanted, charging east, west, north, and south, Northern Zhou would be short of money and grain within five years. The people would have no decent life then.”
Coming back to himself, Zhang Cai Fa said, “Your Majesty is wise.”
“I’m not wise either. If I were…” Wang Yu pointed his chopsticks toward the iron tower rising skyward, seemingly supported between earth and heaven. “That thing would never have appeared in Haojing.”
The iron tower was very tall.
Of course, its height was relative. To someone with Fu Xi Yan’s experience it was hardly impressive, but to the common people of Northern Zhou, it was astonishing.
They had heard rumors of strict inspections in the city over the previous two days. That morning, they learned that someone had attacked the gates during the night. So when the ward chiefs told them to pack their things and leave, most immediately complied. A few stubborn souls swore they would live and die with their homes.
Either way, the city was in uproar. Some people fled, others searched for someone.
It was amid that noisy confusion that Zheng Jiao Jiao climbed the iron tower.
From up high, he could see the chaos in the city below.
After assembling the tower, Mu Kai Sen had taken his men to support Duan Qian, who was blocking the gates around the city. Even if they had left the gates wide open and allowed everyone to flee, Haojing’s population was large enough that the people remaining would still allow Zheng Jiao Jiao to activate the formation. New City had held fewer than five percent as many people, and the formation there had still worked.
Zheng Jiao Jiao eagerly opened the box Mo Xiao Ran had given him. Hidden within the Ice-Soul Yin Spring was a piece of true essence dug from someone’s body.
He was about to place the true essence into the formation eye when he suddenly sensed the surrounding spiritual qi being drawn away at a frantic rate. The center pulling it away was the imperial palace next door.
Wang Yu stood upon the roof of Tai Chi Hall, his palm slowly tracing the shape of the taiji. The formations set around the palace abruptly activated, drawing in the spiritual qi above all Haojing with ravenous force!
He had spent so long bringing in so many formation masters for more than just listening to them talk.