The battle was over, but the work of dealing with its aftermath had only just begun.
Jing Luo gathered the remaining people from Immortal Treasury Palace, the Qinling Sect, the Jinwu Guard, and the Yulin Guard to collect the dead and clear the battlefield. Pei Xiong Ji and the others returned to the Count Yongfeng residence with Fu Xi Yan.
Yin Fei Yu did not accompany them. After all, she had come from the Puppet Path, and Immortal Treasury Palace had hunted her for many years. Even knowing that they had fought shoulder to shoulder and that Fu Xi Yan would protect her, she still felt uncomfortable around them. As He You You needed to take He Si Yu home to Southern Yu for burial, Yin Fei Yu and Duan Qian went along to escort her.
Pei Xiong Ji and the others had only just advanced to the Golden Core Stage, and everything about it was new and exciting to them. Seeing that Pei Yuan Jin did not know how to ride a flying sword, they all fought to teach him, only to learn that the Crimson Dragon King had shattered.
The moment the subject came up, that familiar sniffling, sobbing noise started again.
Pei Yuan Jin took out the sword hilt. Pei Xiong Ji inspected it. “I see. It’s probably developed a sword spirit. The information Xi Yan gave me mentioned that a spiritual weapon can produce an artifact spirit after being tempered by lightning tribulation. You’ve turned a misfortune into a blessing.”
Pei Yuan Jin held up the hilt with no blade attached. “And what use is it?”
Fu Xi Yan offered a perfectly sincere suggestion. “It could play your entrance music every time you appear.” Everyone else arrived with a dramatic dun-dun-dun. Pei Yuan Jin could have sniffle-sniffle-sniffle. How distinctive!
Pei Yuan Jin: “…”
Pei Xiong Ji said, “Didn’t you recover the blade fragments? I’ll find that swordsmith and have him melt it down and forge it again for you. Collecting the materials will take some effort, of course. But that’s fine. You’re all grown up now and can find them yourself. It won’t be my problem.”
Pei Yuan Jin: “…”
Maintaining harmony within a family truly was an eternal challenge.
* * *
In the middle of the night, a group of unexpected visitors arrived at the Count Yongfeng residence.
After encountering Fu Xi Yan and Pei Yuan Jin, Pu Jiu Lin had quietly turned his party around, finally making it back before dawn. Haojing was desolate. Even the guards at the city gates were Jinwu Guards temporarily filling in; the original guards had already been sent away.
Once he had learned what happened, he hurried straight over.
“I humbly ask Young Master Fu to permit this old man to bring His Majesty’s remains home.”
That was why he had been unable to wait even a moment longer.
Fu Xi Yan understood how he felt. Exhausted in body and mind though he was, he received the man patiently. “Chief Steward Jing has already had the Yulin Guard… bring him back.”
They had all been present when Wang Yu’s remains were gathered. The wounds covering his body were so terrible that even Pei Xiong Ji and the others had been moved by the sight.
The Jinwu Guards at the city gates had probably remained at their posts all along and thus knew nothing of what happened afterward.
With that, Pu Jiu Lin lost his last shred of hope. He sat dazed for a while, until a sound came from outside. Pei Yuan Jin, tired of waiting alone in the room, had come to see what was happening.
Pu Jiu Lin abruptly collected himself. “Forgive my discourtesy. There is actually another matter on which I would like to seek your opinions.” He paused. “It was also His Majesty’s wish. Before I left the capital, His Majesty had already prepared for the worst. As both of you are subjects of Northern Zhou, may I ask what you think of the next emperor?”
Fu Xi Yan stared. “You’re asking us?”
Pu Jiu Lin smiled bitterly. “Northern Zhou cannot withstand another upheaval. To be frank, I am asking on behalf of its people as well. His Majesty has departed so suddenly, with wars breaking out along the borders. The country and its people need a new sovereign capable of stabilizing the court.”
Fu Xi Yan’s sleepiness vanished at once.
For Pu Jiu Lin to ask them this could only mean that none of Wang Yu’s surviving children was an outstanding candidate with an established reputation. What he was really seeking was their assistance. If a military revolt or internal disorder broke out, he hoped Immortal Treasury Palace or the Heaven-and-Earth Mirror would help put it down. That made the candidate they favored terribly important.
Fu Xi Yan said, “Why not ask Ancestor Qiu?”
The Qinling Sect’s ties to the Northern Zhou court needed no explanation. Qiu Xi Hong could practically be counted as half an official.
Pu Jiu Lin sighed. “Immortal Elder Qiu has too many private ambitions. Once we invite a god in, it may be hard to send him away.” There was also a measure of discreet flattery toward Fu Xi Yan in those words.
Fu Xi Yan hesitated.
He truly admired Wang Yu for fighting to the death for his people, so much so that he could not bring himself to reject this responsibility. But Immortal Treasury Palace had always stayed out of imperial affairs… He glanced at Pei Yuan Jin, who was leaning against the doorway with an expression that plainly said, Do whatever you like, as long as we can go to bed soon. Fu Xi Yan looked away again. “What if I choose Prince Longnan?”
Pu Jiu Lin was silent for a long time before he sighed and took several secret edicts from his robes. After sorting through them, he selected one. “An elder brother passing the throne to a younger brother is not without precedent. I ask Young Master Fu to carry this edict to Yanzhou and escort the new emperor back.”
Fu Xi Yan was genuinely shocked this time. “You knew Prince Longnan was in Yanzhou? And was this secret edict really written by Emperor Jianhong… by His Majesty himself?”
Pu Jiu Lin nodded. “His Majesty said Prince Longnan has long enjoyed a fine reputation and rendered distinguished military service. No one could object to his succeeding to the throne.”
After a moment, Fu Xi Yan asked, “Then what are the other edicts for?”
Pu Jiu Lin answered without hiding anything. “They name the Third Prince, the Tenth Prince, and Liu Huan, respectively.”
Fu Xi Yan had never expected Liu Huan to be among the candidates.
Pu Jiu Lin explained, “However, Liu Huan and Liu Tan Du are father and son in name. If His Majesty passed the throne directly to him, it could arouse suspicion throughout the realm and undermine stability. So His Majesty wrote that Prince Longnan should first ascend the throne, then adopt Liu Huan. That would give Prince Longnan and Liu Huan the status of father and son, making the succession entirely natural, while preventing Liu Tan Du from using a father’s authority to coerce the new emperor.”
Wang Yu had clearly thought through his final arrangements with great care. He genuinely hoped to minimize unrest as the throne passed to a successor.
Fu Xi Yan looked at the secret edicts spread across the table, his heart unbearably heavy.
Wang Yu had gone into battle with full knowledge he might never return. Even at the moment of departure, what occupied his thoughts was not the selfish desire to preserve his own bloodline but love for his country and its people. What extraordinary courage, what magnanimity befitting an enlightened sovereign! If Fu Xi Yan used this opportunity to support Prince Longnan, wouldn’t he be taking advantage of a dead hero and betraying that hero’s descendants? He liked Prince Longnan, and there was also his connection to Yu Su Huan. He knew Prince Longnan would probably make a decent emperor. Even so, he could not bring himself to decide.
He shook his head. “I can’t make this decision.”
Pu Jiu Lin stared, then looked to Pei Yuan Jin. Pei Yuan Jin turned his face away, wearing an expression that said it had nothing to do with him. After some thought, Pu Jiu Lin suggested, “Why not ask Prince Longnan what he himself thinks?”
Such openhearted selflessness left Fu Xi Yan a little embarrassed instead. “Do you really mean that?”
“His Majesty entrusted this responsibility to me because he trusted me. I must not tarnish the fine reputation he built over his lifetime. Even if Prince Longnan were not among the candidates, he is still a son of the late emperor and a descendant of our founding ancestor. He has a duty to offer his counsel on the future of the Wang dynasty. In fact…” Pu Jiu Lin paused briefly before continuing. “His Majesty also left Prince Longnan a letter.”
Northern Zhou had suffered a terrible calamity. Everything needed rebuilding, and every citizen had a duty to help put the country to rights. Wang Yu had been willing to put the very throne on the table, yet here Fu Xi Yan was hesitating and making excuses. How petty of him. He made up his mind on the spot. “All right.”
That agreement meant more than merely promising to consult Prince Longnan. It meant taking responsibility for ensuring that Northern Zhou’s imperial succession proceeded smoothly.
Once he had agreed, Fu Xi Yan wasted no time. At first light he prepared to leave for Yanzhou, where the fighting was still ongoing.
This time, however, their mode of transport was rather unusual. Pei Xiong Ji and several elders were instructing a thoroughly impatient Pei Yuan Jin.
“Make sure you remember everything and practice until you’re good at it. If you fall off, that’s your problem. But if you break your wife, where will you find another one who’s so clever, so pretty, and always smiling?”
Seeing Pei Yuan Jin take out a flying sword, Pei Xiong Ji repeated his warnings, still not entirely reassured.
Pei Yuan Jin glared sideways at him. “Why are you worrying about my wife? Don’t you have one of your own? Right. You don’t.”
Pei Xiong Ji: “…” How had he never noticed before what an exasperating child this boy was?
Pei Xiong Ji sneered. “Before I came, your Aunt Qin told me I should drop by when I have time.”
Pei Yuan Jin said, “You have to be invited over before you can drop by. It’s different at my house. I get to sleep there every night.”
Pei Xiong Ji: “…”
Fu Xi Yan, who had arrived a little too early and overheard something he would rather not have heard: “…”
Tan Chang Gong had been enjoying the spectacle from the sidelines, but as it seemed there would be no more entertainment, he cleared his throat. “It’s getting late. You should set off. We’ll go with your father to buy a sword in town, then we’ll be leaving as well.”
Fu Xi Yan had not expected them to depart so soon. He asked instinctively, “What about Chief Steward Jing?”
Pei Xiong Ji said, “Hm? Ren Fei Ying and Wei Li Ming both need to recover from their injuries, so he’ll stay behind to oversee things for now. To be fair, he’s had more than enough on his plate over the years. Once he’s finished with this mess, he ought to come back and enter seclusion to attempt the Golden Core breakthrough. I hear Apothecary Jiang has made some Golden Origin Pills, and they work rather well? Have him refine a few more for Old Jing. If he needs any ingredients, Yuan Jin can find them.”
Pei Yuan Jin, looking none too pleased, asked gloomily, “When you broke through to the Golden Core Stage, did all of you have enough true qi?”
Pei Xiong Ji and the others exchanged glances and burst into laughter.
Pei Yuan Jin’s face darkened still further.
Fortunately, Bai Li Shen knew when to stop teasing. Before Pei Yuan Jin could lose his temper, he said, “We didn’t all attempt the breakthrough at once. Besides, we’d already been transferring true qi to one another to preserve our true essence. Whenever someone ran short of true qi during the Golden Core breakthrough, we used the same method. Luckily, we managed to pull through.”
Pei Xiong Ji gloated. “Don’t envy us. Your cultivation method is unusual, and so is your true qi. Apart from your wife, no one can help you.”
Pei Yuan Jin sneered. “And whose fault is it that my cultivation method is so unusual?” Wasn’t Pei Xiong Ji the one who had altered and patched the original method until it turned into this?
Pei Xiong Ji suddenly rubbed his chest. “You don’t know how tyrannical the original method was, or how many hidden injuries I’ve suffered all these years. I just couldn’t bear for you to follow in my footsteps…” Seeing that Pei Yuan Jin remained unmoved, he changed tack at once. “And anyway, if your cultivation method weren’t so unusual, would you ever have met Xi Yan? Don’t tell me you regret it.”
Pei Yuan Jin turned toward Fu Xi Yan. “Where’s Fireworks in an Instant?”
Pei Xiong Ji scoffed. “You’ve only just learned to ride a flying sword, and you already want to soar into the heavens? Even if someone gave you Fireworks in an Instant, or the Exquisite Pagoda itself, what would you do with it?”
If Pei Yuan Jin had still been half joking a moment ago, that remark genuinely stirred his fighting spirit.
Fortunately, Yu Cao and Tan Chang Gong stepped in to smooth things over, averting the tragedy of a father and son slaughtering each other.
Pei Yuan Jin could not be bothered with his father any longer. He took Fu Xi Yan by the hand, stepped onto the sword, and flew away.
Pei Xiong Ji’s sword was quite broad. If they stood with their feet together, sideways across the blade, it was fairly stable. But once the sword took off, Fu Xi Yan struggled to keep his balance, swaying forward one moment and leaning helplessly backward the next.
Pei Yuan Jin had to control the flying sword with one hand and hold Fu Xi Yan around the waist with the other to keep him from falling.
Fu Xi Yan had imagined himself standing upright and proud on the flying sword, gazing down at the magnificent landscape in perfect comfort. Instead, he could barely stand after takeoff and had to sit cross-legged. If he hadn’t been worried that the sharp blade might slice into the backs of his thighs, he would even have liked to dangle his legs over the edge. Still, the position was not bad, except that the sword was slippery enough that Pei Yuan Jin had to grab his hair bun to stop him sliding off.