The so-called vacation had, after all, come to an end.
Although that Second Imperial Princess had displayed plenty of sincerity—going so far as to damage her own Dao foundation to swear a heavy oath—the unspeakable difficulty she claimed to harbor still left Gu Chengming unable to trust her.
After all, in this Capital, those who trusted others too easily already had grass growing three feet tall on their graves.
Having settled his mood, Gu Chengming changed into the brocade robes that symbolized a Night-Patrol Guard of the Great Qian and once again headed to the Night-Watch Bureau to report for duty.
The moment he stepped through the gates of the Hidden Dragon Court—before he'd even had the chance to greet the colleagues he hadn't seen in days—Gu Chengming keenly sensed that something was off.
The crowd, who had been drinking tea and chatting, all swung their gazes toward him in unison the instant he walked in.
The emotions packed into those stares were far too complicated—there was shock, there was envy, and even a touch of something strange.
Song Qing stared at Gu Chengming for a long while, then finally squeezed out a baffling exclamation: "Brother Gu, you're really something."
Gu Chengming's heart gave a violent lurch, and his steps even faltered.
Could it be that the matter of Ji Yixi coming to find him had been exposed?
That shouldn't be possible. That Princess had sworn an oath that she'd keep it secret, and she'd disguised herself every time she came. Apart from his own Elder Yu, who only knew how to eat and drink, no outsider had seen her. Unless... that carriage had been too conspicuous?
"Brother Song, what makes you say that?"
Gu Chengming probed cautiously: "This humble one has spent these past few days in closed-door rest at home—how could I be anything special?"
Song Qing was immediately dumbfounded, then his eyes went wide with a 'you're still playing dumb' expression: "You don't know? You made it onto the Hidden Dragon Ranking!"
"?"
A question mark popped up over Gu Chengming's head.
What was that?
Li Dujiang, who was holding a cup of goji tea nearby and whose complexion was still somewhat pale, couldn't bear to watch any longer. He set down his teacup, cleared his throat lightly, and explained:
"Junior Brother Gu hasn't been in the Capital long, so it's only natural he wouldn't know. This Hidden Dragon Ranking is a list established by the Great Qian's Imperial Astronomical Bureau, specifically to record the most promising young cultivators within the Great Qian who are below the third realm."
Gu Chengming had a sudden realization—he vaguely remembered that the Great Qian did indeed have such a ranking mechanism in the game.
"So that's how it is. But how does the Imperial Astronomical Bureau know a cultivator's potential?"
Gu Chengming was a bit puzzled: "Don't tell me the Great Qian's aura-reading masters can see through a person's root-bone and aptitude from afar?"
Li Dujiang shook his head: "Though this ranking is called 'Hidden Dragon,' it's actually a solid record of combat results. The Imperial Astronomical Bureau observes the whole realm; any duel between cultivators that occurs within the Great Qian, so long as the commotion is great enough, will be recorded. They rank you based on your past records of slaying demons and banishing evil, or of dueling with others."
With that, he drew a jade talisman with a moist, lustrous sheen from his sleeve and handed it to Gu Chengming:
"This is the current edition of the ranking. Take a look yourself and you'll understand."
Gu Chengming took the jade talisman and sent his divine sense into it.
A screen of light unfolded within his sea of consciousness, divided into the Heaven Ranking, the Earth Ranking, and the Hidden Dragon Ranking. The Earth Ranking was mostly third-realm cultivators, while the Heaven Ranking was almost entirely fourth-realm cultivators.
Gu Chengming scanned down the list and soon, at the sixty-fourth position, saw his own name.
[Hidden Dragon Ranking No. 64: Gu Chengming]
[Origin: Inner Sect of the Wenjian Sect]
[Cultivation: Early Second Realm]
[Combat Record: On his first day in the Capital, slew the third-realm evil entity Nightmare Roving Corpse, then slew one mid-second-realm evil entity, a Filth-Corpse Demon, and one third-realm evil entity, a Rouge Skeleton. Half a month later, at the Jubo Commerce Guild, slew two second-realm sword cultivators and withdrew unscathed from the hands of a third-realm tribulation cultivator. On Shangyuan Night, assisted the Night-Watch Bureau in breaking a fourth-realm evil cultivator's grand formation (though the Director took action in this battle, his earlier merit in breaking the formation and tying up the enemy cannot be discounted).]
Looking at row after row of those detailed records, Gu Chengming couldn't help but be a little astonished.
The Imperial Astronomical Bureau's intelligence channels were truly terrifying. Apart from the segment where he'd drawn upon dragon-qi aboard the Drunken Dream Boat being omitted, everything else was almost exactly right, down to the last detail.
"Sixty-fourth place..." Gu Chengming stroked his chin.
"Junior Brother Gu, don't think that's low."
Seeing him deep in thought, Li Dujiang assumed he was dissatisfied with his ranking and consoled him with a smile:
"This ranking encompasses all the young talents of the Great Qian's thirteen circuits, among whom there is no shortage of true-line disciples of the great sects and geniuses cultivated with the full effort of aristocratic clans. You've only been out in the world for a month, yet you managed to carve your way from obscurity into the top hundred, and at sixty-fourth no less—that's exceedingly rare even in the history of the Night-Watch Bureau."
"What's more, simply making it onto this Hidden Dragon Ranking means you've entered the court's sight."
Li Dujiang pointed at the waist token at Gu Chengming's hip: "With this kind of credential, once you've spent a bit more time in the Bureau, your Night-Patrol Guard status will likely be upgraded to Small Banner."
Song Qing, standing nearby, also sighed with feeling: "I really envy you, Brother Gu. If I could land a spot on the Hidden Dragon Ranking, I could brag about it back at the Tianding Sect for at least ten years."
Gu Chengming smiled but didn't pick up the thread, instead continuing to flip through the jade talisman in his hand.
A thought struck him, and he began to look through the records of past rankings.
Since it was ranked by combat records, surely quite a few of his own sect's seniors would be on it too.
Sure enough, as a holy land of sword cultivators, the Wenjian Sect carried great weight on the list.
As he flipped through, Gu Chengming's gaze suddenly froze—at a rather low position, he discovered an extremely familiar name.
[Past Hidden Dragon Ranking No. 93: Yu Wenqiu]
[Origin: Wenjian Sect]
[Combat Record: On the shores of the East Sea, at mid-second-realm cultivation, slew one late-second-realm rampaging flood-dragon demon.]
"..." Gu Chengming.
Looking at that lone single line of combat record, then thinking of his own Elder who did nothing but eat and sleep, he couldn't help but feel a sense of absurdity rise in his heart.
So Elder Yu had once had a glorious moment in her youth?
But no matter how he looked at it, this record seemed like the only time she'd ever acted, and only because she'd been pushed to her limit?
And ninety-third place at that...
Gu Chengming mused that if he casually mentioned his own ranking when he got back, he'd probably get to see another one of Elder Yu's amusing expressions.
After that, he flipped further up, and in the same edition as Yu Wenqiu, a name from the Wenjian Sect sat atop the ranking.
[Past Hidden Dragon Ranking No. 1: Luo Jinyao]
[Origin: Wenjian Sect]
[Combat Record: Charged alone, single sword in hand, into the Northern Demon Territory, slaying twelve third-realm great demons and countless second-realm demon beasts. During the Capital's upheaval, with a body at peak second realm, withstood three moves from a fourth-realm evil cultivator without defeat...]
Luo Jinyao.
The combat records Yu Wenqiu had mentioned before surfaced in Gu Chengming's mind. Looking at it now, they all seemed to belong to this person... So the one who'd "beaten up a prince" was actually this Elder Luo as well?
Elder Yu's luck was a little too good, wasn't it?
With such a powerful thigh to cling to, Elder Yu had probably lived quite comfortably back in the day.
Sigh. A free-riding lapdog.
...
After some idle chatter, everyone dispersed to attend to their own duties.
By the afternoon, on his way to the Internal Affairs Hall, Gu Chengming ran headlong into the ruddy-faced Vice-Commander Liu.
"Aiyo, Chengming!"
Vice-Commander Liu spotted him from afar, that square, upright face breaking into a grin like a blossoming flower. He rushed up in a few strides and slapped Gu Chengming heavily on the shoulder with a loud 'smack':
"Good lad! You've really done me proud!"
"You have no idea—these past few days at the regular meetings, every time Director Zhou opens her mouth she's praising you. Says you're meticulous in thought, measured in action, a rare talent for our Night-Watch Bureau. Even I, as the one who brought you in, have been able to stand a good bit straighter these past few days!"
Gu Chengming said modestly: "It's all thanks to the Vice-Commander's cultivation of me."
"Enough, no need to be so polite with me."
Vice-Commander Liu waved a hand, then his expression turned solemn and he lowered his voice, his tone growing grave:
"But praise aside, there's one thing I have to remind you of."
"You've had your dealings with that Longevity Sect bunch. They're a pack of rats from the gutters—they hold grudges fiercely, and their methods are sinister and vicious."
"This time they suffered a great loss aboard the Drunken Dream Boat, losing a fourth-realm Elder. They definitely won't let the matter rest. Though the Bureau is already conducting a city-wide manhunt, there's no guarantee none have slipped through the net."
Vice-Commander Liu fixed his eyes on Gu Chengming and earnestly instructed:
"You must be extremely careful during this period. If you run into any situation you can't possibly overcome, or you feel something's off..."
"Forget about face or pride, forget about 'rooting out evil completely'—the first thing you do is run. Run toward the Night-Watch Bureau, run toward somewhere your Night-Patrol Token can't be cut off. If you hit trouble, notify me through the Night-Patrol Token at any time. Staying alive is what matters—understand?"
Warmth rose in Gu Chengming's heart, and he nodded in acknowledgment: "This subordinate understands."
"Good that you understand."
Vice-Commander Liu let out a breath, then, as if recalling something, fished a storage pouch from his bosom and stuffed it into Gu Chengming's hands:
"Also—didn't you take a liking to a superior escape technique before? I got it approved for you. The Red Dust Phantom Body Formula, along with the pills to aid in its cultivation—take them all."
Gu Chengming took the storage pouch, his heart stirring—this was precisely what he lacked most right now.
"Many thanks, Vice-Commander."
"What's there to thank? This is what you deserve."
Vice-Commander Liu waved his hand and turned to leave, but after a couple of steps he turned back and added: "Oh, right, one more thing. Even though you were on leave this time, it was on account of a work-related injury, plus the Director's special approval, so it counts as... what's that phrase again? Right—paid leave!"
Saying this, Vice-Commander Liu chuckled: "All told it's been a full month. Remember to go to the Stipend Hall to collect your pay—don't forget about it, that's no small sum of spirit stones!"
At the words "collect your pay," Gu Chengming's eyes lit up faintly.
"This subordinate will go right away!"
Watching Gu Chengming's noticeably brisker steps, Vice-Commander Liu laughed silently, shook his head, and walked off with his hands behind his back.
The Internal Affairs Hall, the Stipend Bureau.
As the heavy pouch of spirit stones dropped into his palm, the gloom that had built up in Gu Chengming's heart from the recent string of setbacks finally dissipated for the most part.
The Great Qian's stipend was indeed not watered down. Add to that the paid leave Director Zhou had specially approved and that hefty demon-slaying bounty, and his current financial ease was something he'd never enjoyed even back in the Wenjian Sect's inner sect.
"So this is what it feels like to eat the emperor's grain..."
Gu Chengming hefted the money pouch, then turned and walked toward the Armaments Bureau next door.
In the earlier battle aboard the Drunken Dream Boat, in order to block that tribulation cultivator's wrathful strike, the Stone-Render had borne the brunt; a rice-grain-sized notch had been chipped from its blade, and its spiritual resonance had suffered no small damage.
Gu Chengming first spent some merit to have the Bureau's artifact-refining master restore the Stone-Render to its original state, then his gaze fell upon the dazzling array of the exchange catalogue.
With his current merit, if he wanted to exchange for a finely crafted Dharma Sword from a renowned master, he'd find himself a bit stretched thin.
But if he only sought to complete a bond...
"I'll take this one."
Gu Chengming pointed at a line in the corner of the catalogue.
A moment later, a clerk came out carrying a long, deep-black wooden case.
"Lord Gu, this is the Night-Watch Dharma Sword you requested."
The clerk introduced it with a smile: "This sword is a standard-issue second-tier Dharma Sword that the Ministry of Works tailor-made for our Night-Watch Bureau. Though the materials can't compare to those one-of-a-kind pieces from renowned masters, it wins out in being sturdy and rugged, with excellent spiritual-power conductivity. And if it breaks, there's no need to feel bad about it."
Gu Chengming opened the wooden case. A longsword, entirely jet-black, plain and even somewhat crude in form, lay quietly within.
The blade bore no fancy ornamentation whatsoever; only near the hilt were the two characters "Night-Watch" engraved, exuding a stern, martial air of the ranks.
It was indeed a mass-forged, assembly-line product, winning out in being cheap and practical.
Gu Chengming reached out and gripped the hilt.
"Hmmm—"
As his divine sense probed into it, the blade trembled lightly, emitting a low, deep hum.
Though its spiritual nature was inferior to the Wave-Listening, its sharpness inferior to the Light-Splitter, and its heft inferior to the Stone-Render, this Night-Watch nonetheless possessed a unique steadiness.
And it was in that very instant.
At the bottom of Gu Chengming's field of vision, the [Sword Gambit] interface that had been dormant for so long suddenly blazed with a beam of light.
The fourth sword slot, originally dim and gray, was instantly lit up as the [Night-Watch] fell into place.
[Bond / Dharma Sword (4/4) Activated]
Row after row of text surfaced before Gu Chengming's eyes:
[Bond Special Effect Upgrade: Riding the Wind on Sword, Taking a Head from a Thousand Miles. When you simultaneously equip or control four "Dharma Sword"-class weapons, the sword formation advances.]
Gu Chengming's heart leapt with joy—it had worked, just as expected.
He ran through a brief deduction within his sea of consciousness.
With the Wave-Listening as the core for the main assault, the Light-Splitter for speed and roving, the Stone-Render for heavy pressure and defensive holding, and this Night-Watch to anchor the formation's footing.
With all four swords drawn at once, that sense of seamless harmony was far beyond what the earlier Three Talents Sword Formation could compare to.
Relying on this Four Symbols Sword Formation, even without drawing upon dragon-qi, it was not impossible for him to last a few more rounds against that tribulation cultivator.
"A fine sword."
Gu Chengming sheathed the sword and patted the wooden case with satisfaction.
After leaving the Internal Affairs Hall.
Perhaps because of his recent promotion and pay raise—his days at the Night-Watch Bureau going far too smoothly—the rate at which the «Zhouli Heavenly Harmony Righteous Heart Method»'s favorability grew had visibly slowed.
Gu Chengming pondered that, although he'd temporarily figured out the behavioral pattern of the Zhouli Heavenly Harmony Righteous Heart Method, the source of it all still lay with that Director Zhou.
Since Zhou Qingmu had given him that jade slip back then, telling him to go to the Imperial Academy to look at her insights from those years, surely there would be some opportunity there to let this method advance by leaps and bounds.
His mind made up, Gu Chengming tucked away the jade slip and headed straight for the Imperial Academy.
The Great Qian Imperial Academy, a place where the cultural lineage converged.
Its vermilion gates towered majestically. On either side, rather than the stone lions that stood at the Night-Watch Bureau, stood two stone steles carved full of classical doctrines and sagely words.
The students coming and going were all in azure robes and scholar's caps, their steps composed, exuding that refined nobility of 'all pursuits are base, only study is exalted.'
Gu Chengming had just reached the entrance when two brocade-clad guards stopped him.
"This lord, please halt."
The guards' attitude was quite courteous, cupping their hands as they said:
"The Imperial Academy is a sanctified place of study and cultivation. None but the Academy's own students, or great scholars bearing an invitation, may enter without authorization."
Gu Chengming wasted no words, drawing from his sleeve the jade slip Zhou Qingmu had given him.
Upon seeing that jade slip, the guard swallowed, his voice respectful yet nervous:
"Please wait a moment, my lord! This matter is of great importance—I'll go report to the Chancellor at once. Please wait, I'll be right back!"
With that, he stumbled and staggered through the gate as if there were a ghost chasing him from behind.
Gu Chengming stood at the entrance, watching the guard's flustered retreating figure, unable to suppress a touch of puzzlement.
Before long, the guard came running back, panting, with no great personage following behind him—but the expression on his face was even more deferential, so much so that he didn't even dare to look directly at Gu Chengming. Lowering his head, he made a gesture of invitation:
"My lord, this way, please."
Gu Chengming stepped inside.
All along the way, every Imperial Academy student or attendant who passed by—upon seeing the guide-guard's terror-stricken manner, and then the faintly visible token in Gu Chengming's hand—without a single exception, halted their steps and performed a gaze-saluting bow.
Gu Chengming quietly circulated the «Yin-Yang Creation Strategy», carefully sensing the energies around him, yet the emotions that came back made him feel things were rather subtle.
Most people's reactions were awe plus pity... Awe was easy to understand, but what was the pity supposed to mean?
Gu Chengming's brow arched slightly. Just as he was puzzling over it, the guard led him through a long corridor and arrived before a side hall named the "Heart Sutra Hall."
Before leaving, the guard seemed to have held it in for a long time, and finally couldn't help but cautiously ask:
"My lord, forgive this lowly one's prattling, but are you Lord Zhou's disciple?"
Gu Chengming was momentarily stunned, then answered offhandedly: "No, I'm her subordinate. I serve in the Night-Watch Bureau."
The words had barely left his mouth when the guard let out a long sigh, his tone heavy: "My lord, you've had it hard."
With that, he bowed deeply once more, and without waiting for Gu Chengming to reply, turned and took his leave.
Gu Chengming: "..."
Now he understood why everyone along the way had been looking at him with that kind of expression.
Director Zhou's reputation at this Imperial Academy didn't seem to be very ideal.
Carrying a measure of curiosity and bemusement, Gu Chengming pushed open the doors of the Heart Sutra Hall.
The moment he stepped inside, the first thing that met his eyes was not any sage's statue or scroll of calligraphy, but a blade.
A colossal stone blade, fully fifteen zhang long, was stabbed—abruptly and incongruously—into the plaza at the very center of the great hall, with shattered rock strewn all around it.
The blade was plain and rugged, without any fancy ornamentation, yet it radiated a suffocating sense of oppression.
It was driven at a slant into the ground, the bluestone slabs around it cracked inch by inch, as though someone had forcibly hurled it down from the highest heavens.
And around that stone blade were rings upon rings of exquisite, elegant pavilions and towers.
This crude aesthetic of violence formed an extremely jarring visual clash with the gentle, refined scholarly air surrounding it—utterly out of place, yet possessing an uncanny harmony.
Gazing at that stone blade, Gu Chengming felt only more puzzled.
This was a sanctified place of the Imperial Academy—what was the point of erecting such a thing here? To warn students that the 'Six Arts of a gentleman' also included military preparedness?
Just as he stood there observing, a young scholar in Confucian robes strode out from within the hall to greet him.
This man had refined, handsome features and looked like a scholarly type, but when he saw Gu Chengming, his expression carried a knowing look of someone who'd long understood the purpose of the visit, along with a faint, barely perceptible helplessness.
"This must be the lord from the Night-Watch Bureau?"
The scholar cupped his hands in greeting and, without asking much, said straightforwardly:
"Those above have already explained. You've come to read the notes of insight that Lord Zhou left behind."
"Precisely." Gu Chengming nodded. "I'll trouble you to lead the way."
"My lord, please follow me."
The scholar led Gu Chengming around that enormous stone blade and walked straight into the depths of the great hall.
The collection within the Heart Sutra Hall was as vast as the ocean, rows upon rows of bookshelves reaching all the way to the dome.
But the scholar did not linger in those mainstream sections marked 'Classics, Histories, Philosophies, Collections.' Instead, he led Gu Chengming winding this way and that, until at last they arrived before a secluded, even somewhat dust-covered bookshelf in the farthest corner of the hall.
"We're here."
The scholar pointed at the entire row of books before them, packed full to bursting, his expression growing somewhat complicated.
Gu Chengming swept his gaze over them.
Good heavens, these several hundred volumes, packed full—were they all written by Zhou Qingmu?
This Director Zhou was swamped with affairs every day; she actually had the leisure to write so many books? This tireless industriousness with the brush nearly rivaled those great scholars whose writings were said to equal their own height.
"Are these all Lord Zhou's insights?" Gu Chengming asked, casually pulling out a volume.
The scholar looked at Gu Chengming, his lips moving as though he had something to say but hesitated.
He glanced left and right to confirm no one was around, then leaned in a little closer, lowered his voice, and with a note of well-meaning reminder in his tone, said:
"My lord, this place is indeed all Lord Zhou's writings."
"However..."
He paused, hesitating again, and finally—as if afraid Gu Chengming might stray onto the wrong path—couldn't help but speak up:
"If you're going to read, just pick a few to flip through. But whatever you do, do not... do not believe them entirely."
Gu Chengming was curious: "Why is that?"
The scholar's face showed difficulty, and at last, as if throwing all caution to the wind, he worked up the courage to add:
"To be honest, most of the books here are actually not acknowledged by the Imperial Academy's Chancellor or its professors."
"The reason they're still allowed to sit here—even to occupy an entire shelf of their own—is not because the principles within are so profound, but purely because..."
He pointed at the enormous stone blade outside the hall and gave a wry smile:
"It's because of Lord Zhou's prestige in serving the nation and its people... and her contributions to the Imperial Academy."
"Take that blade outside, for instance. That's not a statue. Back then, in order to persuade the Chancellor to agree with her views, Lord Zhou personally... stabbed it there."
"..."
Gu Chengming fell silent.
Through the window lattice, he glanced once more at that stone blade that no one had dared to pull out to this day—and quite possibly could not pull out at all.
Right. Now he completely understood.
No wonder Director Zhou's reputation at the Imperial Academy was so subtle; no wonder those people had looked at him with eyes full of pity.
Your books get to sit here purely through goddamn force of arms?
"Thank you for the reminder."
His mood complicated, Gu Chengming offered a word of thanks.
Seeing his task complete, the scholar was unwilling to linger; he cupped his hands and hurriedly took his leave, as if even drawing a little closer to this bookshelf would taint him with some kind of bad luck.
In the corner of the great hall, only Gu Chengming remained.
He sighed and turned his gaze back to the bookshelf before him.
No matter what, since he'd come, he ought to take a look.
After all, that Director's attainments in the martial path were genuinely solid; perhaps there really were some unique insights to be found. He casually picked up the book he'd pulled out earlier and turned past the cover to look.
The title read, plainly—
«Zhouli: How to Use Your Fists to Make the Imperial Academy Acknowledge Your Ideals»
"..."
Gu Chengming's eyelid twitched. He silently closed the book and stuffed it back.
This title really did get straight to the point.
He casually picked up a slightly thinner one beside it, thinking this one ought to be more normal.
«Zhouli: On Why a Copper Gallbladder-Flask Filled with Hot Water Is the Best Weapon for Both Beating a Female Cultivator and Not Injuring Her»
"?"
Gu Chengming's hand jerked, and he nearly flung the book to the floor. He quickly closed it and set it back down.
[Within the sea of consciousness, seeing him pick up the book and then put it down, the «Zhouli Heavenly Harmony Righteous Heart Method» grew a bit anxious.]
[Chengming, why aren't you reading?]
Gu Chengming flat-out ignored it, his gaze sweeping over the bookshelf in a circle before finally locking onto the thickest book, placed in the most conspicuous position.
«Zhouli General Principles»
"General Principles... this ought to be the proper stuff, right?"
Thinking this, Gu Chengming reached out and took it down, opening to the first page.
What met his eyes was a line of preface, its strokes pressing through the very paper:
[What is Zhouli?]
[The world all believes that ritual (li) is a bind, a set of rules. Yet I hold that ritual is reason (li).]
[The so-called Zhouli refers to a system of ritual-law, devised by Zhou Qingmu during her studies at the Imperial Academy, capable of making everyone calm and kindly disposed toward one another.]
[Note: This ritual-law is widely recognized and endorsed by the students of the Imperial Academy.]
"..."
Damn! No wonder the 'Zhouli' that this Zhouli Heavenly Harmony Righteous Heart Method conceived of differed so greatly from his own.
So the 'Zhou' in Zhouli really was just the 'Zhou' of Director Zhou?!
A side hall of the Imperial Academy, medicinal fragrance curling through the air.
Though this place was not as grand as the Heart Sutra Hall, it won out in tranquil seclusion. Extremely profound isolation formations had been laid out all around, such that even a fourth-realm divine sense could not easily probe within.
Atop a cloud-couch in the hall, a woman with hair white as snow, dressed in plain physician's robes, sat cross-legged behind that Harmonious Joy Sect Elder Gu Chengming had once met.
Her hands pressed against the girl's slender, thin back, a vibrant, vital pale-green spiritual power surging within her palms, flowing like a smooth trickling stream into the other's body.
The girl, whose complexion had originally been ghostly pale as paper, gave a violent shudder, opening her mouth to spew out a clot of stagnant black, foul blood.
With this mouthful of blood expelled, her perpetually taut little face recovered a touch of color, though her aura remained listless.
And the white-haired woman behind her who'd performed the technique also swayed slightly, fine beads of sweat seeping from her temples—clearly this healing had been an enormous drain on her as well.
After a long while, the spiritual glow scattered.
The white-haired woman slowly withdrew her power, exhaled a long breath of turbid air, and looking at the petite back before her—now dabbing at the corner of her mouth with a handkerchief—said in a tone tinged with helplessness and reproach:
"Senior Sister Xiaoxiao, don't do anything this dangerous again in the future. If those demonic Longevity Sect folk had been the least bit prepared in advance, this time it wouldn't have been as simple as a heavy injury."
The girl addressed as "Senior Sister Xiaoxiao" paused, then whipped her head around and glared at the white-haired woman:
"Call me Senior Sister Fu!"
She indignantly tossed the handkerchief aside and thrust out her nonexistent chest, emphasizing: "And besides, I'm not your senior sister anymore. Since you joined the Imperial Academy and became a physician of the Great Qian, you and I count as people on different paths now!"
She had always hated people calling her by her real name—after all, the name Fu Xiaoxiao really was far too lacking in presence, far too unbefitting of her status as a Harmonious Joy Sect Elder.
The white-haired woman—now the chief physician of the Imperial Academy's College of Medicine—merely smiled gently at this, her eyes brimming with indulgence, like one watching a sulking child: "All right, all right, all right, Senior Sister Fu."
She rose and poured a cup of warm water, handing it over, yet her tone still carried a hint of grievance:
"Since we're not on the same path, then why did Senior Sister Fu still go wade into these muddy waters? That backlash-seal within your body had already reached its eruption phase. By rights you should be recuperating quietly within the sect to suppress your cultivation. Risking your life against the Longevity Sect for a few unrelated people—was it worth it?"
Fu Xiaoxiao took the cup and gave a 'hmph': "What? Is sheltering the common folk something only you officials of the Great Qian are allowed to do?"
The white-haired woman sighed, looking at this stubborn-mouthed, soft-hearted senior sister of hers, and said gently:
"You know perfectly well that's not what I meant."
Fu Xiaoxiao took a sip of water, her voice dropping a notch: "All right, all right, I didn't die, did I?"
"And the Longevity Sect's evil cultivator?" the white-haired woman asked.
At the mention of combat records, Fu Xiaoxiao perked up instantly, thumping the cup down on the table: "A piece of trash who hadn't even reached the fifth realm—naturally slain with ease by this seat!"
At this point, she furrowed her brow with a touch of resentment:
"If that scoundrel hadn't been so despicable and shameless, using the innocent commoners beside him as a threat, forcing this seat to take one of his underhanded moves head-on—him? He couldn't even touch the hem of this seat's robe!"
Hearing this, the smile in the white-haired woman's eyes deepened.
She knew that, although this senior sister of hers was rather freewheeling in her conduct, at her core she possessed a chivalrous spirit purer even than a sword cultivator's. Back at the Harmonious Joy Sect, she'd received a great deal of care from this senior sister.
She'd heard that when she had decided to leave the Harmonious Joy Sect, this senior sister had been the most heartbroken of all—a matter that left her feeling quite guilty.
So she could understand the other's sulking, petulant mood upon seeing her.
"All right, all right, all right—Senior Sister Fu's might surpasses the ages, first under heaven."
The white-haired woman praised her as one would coax a child, then her expression turned serious:
"But during this period, do not push yourself anymore. Though my «Liyou Life-Restoring Formula» is wondrous, it can only barely protect your Dao foundation from collapsing. Your body right now is like a porcelain vase covered in cracks—it looks fine, but it's actually terribly fragile."
"If you duel with anyone again—even a mere third-realm—you'd be as good as defenseless, and then you'd truly be in danger."
"I know, I know."
Fu Xiaoxiao leaned back against the soft couch, finding a comfortable position to sprawl in:
"I'm not an idiot. My life is my own—do you think I don't know to cherish it?"
As she spoke, Fu Xiaoxiao seemed to suddenly remember something. She stealthily peeked into the storage pouch at her waist, her expression turning a little awkward.
She'd left in a hurry this time, and being used to a lavish hand in daily life, she only now discovered that the pouch had a pitiful six thousand five hundred spirit stones left in it.
Her heart tightened. She counted out six thousand spirit stones from within, loaded them into a money pouch embroidered with a Harmonious Joy flower, and slapped it down with a 'smack' onto the wooden table beside the cloud-couch.
"Oh right, this is the consultation fee and medicine cost for this time."
The white-haired woman looked at that heavy money pouch, momentarily stunned, then helplessly pushed it back:
"Senior Sister, what need is there for such formality between you and me? What's more, you were injured this time while saving people—whether for public reasons or private, I shouldn't take your money."
Fu Xiaoxiao forcibly stuffed the money pouch into the white-haired woman's hands: "One thing is one thing, separate matters."
Holding that still slightly warm money pouch, the white-haired woman secretly sighed inwardly.
At this point, Fu Xiaoxiao's gaze grew a little evasive, and her voice unconsciously softened a few degrees:
"The part that's short... I'll make it up to you next time we meet."
Watching her look—heartbroken to death over the money yet still forcing herself to keep up appearances—the white-haired woman smiled and accepted the money pouch:
"All right, then as Senior Sister wishes."
Though she said this, she had already secretly made up her mind to find an opportunity later to quietly hand these spirit stones to Yun Wan and have her find a way to slip them back into Senior Sister's funds.
The white-haired woman packed up her medicine chest, and seeming to have seen through the awkwardness and relief in Fu Xiaoxiao's heart, she turned and, as if casually, brought up a topic:
"Oh right, Senior Sister Fu. A few days ago I heard from Yun Wan's message that you'd just passed the «Yin-Yang Creation Strategy» on to a male disciple of the Wenjian Sect?"
"Hm?"
Fu Xiaoxiao was startled, then somewhat puzzled: "Your information is quite well-connected. Yun Wan told you?"
"Yun Wan was just worried about your injuries and mentioned it in passing."
The white-haired woman smiled, a trace of curiosity flashing in her eyes:
"For someone to catch Senior Sister Fu's eye—to the point you'd even invoke an Elder's privilege to pass on the method—what's so special about that disciple?"
At the mention of Gu Chengming, Fu Xiaoxiao's originally listless spirits perked up a little. She recalled that day's conversation in the little tower shrouded in the shadow of "barrenness"; though the process had been somewhat unbearable to look back on, that young man's aptitude and disposition truly left nothing to fault.
"He really is a fine seedling."
Fu Xiaoxiao remarked, serious for once: "His disposition is resilient, neither servile nor arrogant. And his talent in the sword path is quite high—at such a young age he's already at the second realm. Most importantly..."
She paused, not mentioning the matter of the Charm Bone, only saying vaguely: "In any case, he has a very rare pure-yang constitution. If he's properly taught, he'll surely become a great vessel in the future."
"Gu Chengming..."
The white-haired woman softly recited the name once, a thought stirring in her heart.
Before she'd begun healing Fu Xiaoxiao, she had heard the guards at the door mention that today a young man bearing Director Zhou's written warrant had entered the Heart Sutra Hall, and the name had seemed to be exactly this.
"Now that really is a coincidence."
The white-haired woman covered her lips and laughed softly, looking at Fu Xiaoxiao as she said: "Right now, he's here within the Imperial Academy."
The moment these words came out, Fu Xiaoxiao—who'd been sprawled on the couch playing dead—shot upright in an instant:
"He's at the Imperial Academy?"
She certainly hadn't forgotten how last time at the Yayuan this kid had broken her composure with a single remark about her "barren figure," causing her dignity to be swept clean off the floor.
This debt—she'd been keeping a record of it in her little notebook!
"Where? Hurry, take me to see him!"
Fu Xiaoxiao grabbed hold of the white-haired woman's sleeve, urging her impatiently.
The white-haired woman was amused by her fiery, impetuous manner and helplessly shook her head:
"At the Heart Sutra Hall. Senior Sister, slow down—your injuries haven't fully healed yet..."
"I can't be bothered with all that."
This time she was prepared—wouldn't she charm him to death?
Meanwhile, on the other side.
The instant he walked out of the Heart Sutra Hall, Gu Chengming suddenly felt a little dazed.
To put it bluntly, the core of Zhouli came down to a single sentence: I find you displeasing, so I'll make that my ritual.
Even flipping over the table would count as rectifying the etiquette of the dining table.
Gu Chengming raised his head and looked once more at that enormous black stone blade on the plaza before the hall.
On the way in, he'd thought it abrupt; looking at it again now, he only found it entirely natural, perfectly of a piece—which couldn't help but make him start to doubt himself.
Could it be that I've really been assimilated by Director Zhou?
Just as he was thinking this, he ran headlong into two figures.
One white, one red—it was precisely that Imperial Academy chief physician, Li Suizhuang, along with the menacingly charging Harmonious Joy Sect Elder, Fu Xiaoxiao.
Gu Chengming was a bit surprised—wasn't this the Harmonious Joy Sect Elder he'd met last time? How was she here?
At the same time, a line of text appeared before his eyes.
[The Yin-Yang Creation Strategy reminds you that, although she's somewhat advanced in age, this is one of the few female leads within the Harmonious Joy Sect who can be recruited.]
Damn, how do you even know about this?
Gu Chengming grumbled inwardly, trying his best to keep a straight face. His steps paused, and he cupped his hands in a bow: "Greetings—"
"Just call me Senior Sister Fu."
Fu Xiaoxiao cut him off one step ahead, her hands clasped behind her back, chin tilted slightly up. That originally somewhat ill-fitting red dress had now been slightly tailored to hug her figure with a bit of spiritual power—only that tender little face still carried no deterrent force whatsoever.
She said: "Since you've cultivated my sect's «Yin-Yang Creation Strategy», you count as half a Harmonious Joy Sect disciple. Calling me 'Elder' is too distant."
Gu Chengming thought to himself that, judging by her age, she was probably several hundred years old, and that calling her 'Senior Sister' aloud might just shave a few years off his own life—but seeing the other's "if you don't call me that I won't let you pass" stance, he could only comply gracefully.
"Senior Sister Fu."
This single utterance set Fu Xiaoxiao beaming with delight, and that bit of vengeful fury instantly subsided by half.
She immediately drew half a step closer, blinking her big eyes, and asked with a touch of anticipation:
"Then take another look—how do you find me now?"
Gu Chengming was startled, and asked, puzzled: "How do I find what?"
"My appearance! My looks!"
Fu Xiaoxiao stamped her foot in frustration, even spinning a circle on the spot, her skirt-hem flying:
"Don't you feel there's some kind of change? Like, become more mature, possessing a lingering charm? Or that one look and you can't tear your eyes away?"
She had deliberately channeled a full twelve-tenths of her cultivation method's power, confident that in Gu Chengming's eyes right now she was absolutely a peerless mature beauty outshining all others.
Gu Chengming sized her up seriously, his gaze flicking once toward the dizzy, woozy Hundred Bones Resonance—which was mumbling "Sovereign Gu, what is it you're pressing against my back?"—and after weighing his words, he still told the honest truth:
"Still the same."
"..."
Fu Xiaoxiao's body instantly slumped, the whole of her like a popped balloon, visibly deflating.
Unwilling to give up, she pressed on: "Do you have some kind of top-grade magic treasure on you that can shield against illusion techniques? Or an innate Falsehood-Shattering Dharma Eye?"
Gu Chengming thought of his big pile of cultivation methods and nodded: "Mm... something like that, I suppose?"
"Fine then..."
Fu Xiaoxiao completely lost her spirit, muttering things like "young people these days are really hard to deal with" and "won't give a person the least bit of face."
Seeing this, the white-haired woman beside her covered her lips and laughed softly, then stepped forward and said warmly: "This humble one is an Imperial Academy physician, Li Suizhuang."
She did not mention her relationship with Fu Xiaoxiao, merely saying simply: "I just now heard that you were in the Heart Sutra Hall and, out of momentary curiosity, came along to take a look."
"So it's Senior Li." Gu Chengming returned the courtesy.
Li Suizhuang's gentle, lustrous eyes circled over Gu Chengming, as if sensing something, and she asked with some curiosity:
"I see what looks like threads of sentiment drawn through the flow of your energies. Might I ask whether what you cultivate is the 'Passionate Sword Formula'?"
Gu Chengming shook his head: "What this junior cultivates is not the Passionate Sword Formula."
At the same time he felt a touch of curiosity—this Passionate Sword Formula was actually known even to people of the Great Qian?
"Not the Passionate Sword?" A flicker of surprise crossed Li Suizhuang's eyes, then she shook her head, her tone unexpectedly carrying a hint of regret: "Then that really is a pity."
She changed the subject: "I hear you've come to read Director Zhou's notes of insight on her heart-method?"
"Precisely."
"Now that really is a coincidence."
Li Suizhuang seemed to think of something, the corner of her mouth curving into a smile laden with meaning as she looked at the faintly visible Righteous Noble Breath upon Gu Chengming, without pointing out where exactly this "coincidence" fell.
Fu Xiaoxiao, however, listened with displeasure from the side. She curled her lip and cut in:
"What's worth learning about that stuff of Zhou Qingmu's? It purely leads students astray. You'd be better off studying with me than with her."
Gu Chengming felt this was a bit subtle. Seeing his unconvinced expression, Fu Xiaoxiao instantly grew anxious:
"Don't you not believe it! Back in the day, at my peak, I was evenly matched with Zhou Qingmu, fifty-fifty! If I hadn't been ambushed afterward..."
At this point, she seemed to feel that this 'a hero recounting his past valor' behavior was a bit beneath her dignity—and that her current self truly was rather pitiable—so she sighed, waved her hand, and said:
"Forget it, never mind."
She turned her gaze back onto Gu Chengming, and at this glance she gave a soft "Eh?", her eyes filled with astonishment:
"Huh? You've already gotten the «Yin-Yang Creation Strategy» past the threshold?"
It had only been a few days?
An ordinary disciple would need three to five months just to sense the energies, yet this kid had already condensed a yang-seed? So this was the worth of the Charm Bone?
Seeing her bring up serious matters, Gu Chengming dispensed with the pleasantries and seized the chance to ask for guidance: "Senior Sister Fu has a discerning eye. It's just that this junior brother has run into some confusion in his cultivation."
"This «Yin-Yang Creation Strategy» emphasizes the seamless harmony of heaven-and-earth yin and yang, and it is indeed peerless at regulating one's energies. But according to what the method records, it seems one must wait until great accomplishment, combined with dual-cultivation techniques, before its true might can be brought to bear."
Gu Chengming asked, puzzled: "Does that mean that, apart from nurturing the body, cultivating this method offers no means of facing an enemy at all? Surely one can't keep consuming the sect's resources while being nothing but an idler who only knows how to keep fit?"
"Means of attack?"
Hearing this, Fu Xiaoxiao was first startled, then delighted: "I'd thought you wouldn't ask this until after you'd crossed the threshold. I didn't expect you to notice so quickly."
She cleared her throat and put on the manner of a teacher and role model to explain:
"If you treat the «Yin-Yang Creation Strategy» as an ordinary internal-energy heart-method, then you've got it gravely wrong. All of the Harmonious Joy Sect's methods are, in fact, merely one vast reservoir, but to mobilize the power within that reservoir against an enemy requires a catalyst."
"This catalyst, within my Harmonious Joy Sect, is called the 'Red Dust Art.'"
At this point, Fu Xiaoxiao's eyes suddenly lit up, as if she'd thought of some fun idea.
"As it happens—all talk and no practice is just empty bluster. Let me demonstrate it for you right now. Only by experiencing the taste of the Red Dust Art firsthand can you truly learn how to use it."
She looked at Gu Chengming, rather eager to give it a try.
Gu Chengming hesitated a moment. Thinking this was a rare learning opportunity, he nodded: "Then I'll trouble Senior Sister Fu to demonstrate."
"Watch closely!"
Fu Xiaoxiao's expression turned solemn. She raised her right hand, fingers held together like a sword.
To let Gu Chengming see clearly, she deliberately slowed the pace of her spiritual power's flow.
Gu Chengming activated his Piercing Insight and clearly saw a strand of pink spiritual power condense at her fingertips, then transform into an extremely subtle ripple that, following some bizarre trajectory, slowly pointed toward the space between Gu Chengming's brows.
"Strike!" Fu Xiaoxiao called out softly.
However.
One breath, two breaths, three breaths.
Gu Chengming stood where he was, blinked, his expression unchanged, without the slightest reaction.
"Eh?"
Fu Xiaoxiao was baffled. She withdrew her finger and looked at it: "Why didn't it work?"
Refusing to believe it, she took a deep breath and mobilized her spiritual power once more. This time her movements were a tiny bit faster, but she still maintained the instructional demonstration pace and pointed at Gu Chengming again.
"Strike!"
Still like a stone sinking into the sea.
Fu Xiaoxiao was beginning to doubt her life—just how absurd was this kid's spirit-soul defense?
Just as she gritted her teeth, preparing for a third demonstration.
Gu Chengming, watching his Huiyuan Sword Formula and Qingxin Formula suffer one after another, hurriedly interrupted: "No need to demonstrate anymore, Senior Sister Fu."
He extended his hand, fingers held together like a sword, mimicking Fu Xiaoxiao's earlier movement with a little gesture: "I've already learned it."
Fu Xiaoxiao thought, really? "You learned it just from watching? Do you know how the spirit-soul frequency inside is supposed to vibrate? Do you know the proportion in which to blend the two energies of yin and yang?"
Somewhat disbelieving, she said: "Try casting it at me once."
Seeing that Fu Xiaoxiao seemed to be serious, Gu Chengming thought, then let's give it a try:
"Forgive my offense, Senior Sister Fu."
His gaze condensed slightly. He raised his hand, fingers held together like a sword, the movement identical to Fu Xiaoxiao's earlier demonstration—even the trajectory of the spiritual power's flow not off by the slightest fraction.
"Hmmm—"
The instant his fingertip pointed out, the very air seemed to turn thick and amorous. There was no pink radiance, only a formless yet utterly domineering force of attraction that, in an instant, enveloped Fu Xiaoxiao.
Fu Xiaoxiao had been about to mock him a little, but in the next moment she let out a muffled groan, her legs going weak, nearly losing her footing.
Her complexion reddened at a visible speed—a flush that climbed from the base of her neck all the way to the crown of her head. Her body trembled faintly, and wisps of visible white steam actually began to rise from the top of her head.
Anyone with eyes could tell she seemed to be enduring something.
A moment, a quarter-hour, a long while...
At last she abruptly lifted her head, and those originally arrogant big eyes were now misted over with a watery haze.
With a fierce yet faintly pitiful gaze, she fixed her eyes on Gu Chengming, and with trembling hands fished from her bosom a storage pouch embroidered with mandarin ducks frolicking in water, then, hands shaking, held it out before Gu Chengming.
"This is my entire fortune—there are five hundred spirit stones inside."
"Take it!"
Gu Chengming was a bit dumbfounded—what was the meaning of this?
On the other side, Fu Xiaoxiao was nearly crying with urgency: "Hurry, take it!"
Even as she spoke, Fu Xiaoxiao was using all her strength to hold back what she truly wanted to say.
——Please, take it, and then give me one more time.
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