There was a very humble teashop behind the famous Restaurant Yi Pingxuan in the Western City of Chang’an.
There were two men sitting on a bamboo mat deep inside. The short and fat middle-aged one kept wiping off the sweat dotting his forehead. It seemed he was greatly impacted by the late summer heat, even making his Hebei accent sound somewhat dry.
“You’re a secret guard. You should always do what you’re supposed to. Why not help complete the task while you’re in the Wilderness? I just want you to take a look, not investigate the case.”
The chunky man was Master Xu Chongshan, the Deputy Commander of the imperial palace bodyguards. Today, he deliberately left the palace to secretly meet Ning Que. The latter sitting across him took out a handkerchief from his sleeves and began to wipe his sweat as well. It was clear he wasn’t sweating because of the hot, stuffy summer weather but because of Xu Chongshan’s words.
“General Xia Hou… Do you have any idea what kind of important man he is? You tell me to see him, how do I see him? To see how many beards he got or how many times he goes to the toilet? Your Excellency Xu, I know this is His Majesty’s order. But you should know, based on General Xia Hou’s temper, he’ll certainly be angry with me if he finds out I’m spying on him. He’ll find an unoccupied place to beat me into slush and pack me into a bun to feed to the horses. Who will come and save me then?”
“If General Xia Hou doesn’t leave any evidence of your murder, the imperial palace and the Academy won’t be able to help you based on the Tang laws. If you can leave some evidence before you die, there won’t be any problems…”
“Haha, you know I’m joking,” Commander Luo added.
Ning Que put down his handkerchief and stared at Commander Luo who was smiling in embarrassment. His joke wasn’t funny at all.
This time he was about to go to the Wilderness and was very likely to meet Xia Hou. If he had the chance, he certainly wanted to investigate the man but that was too dangerous. And he did not expect to receive this request at this moment. It seemed His Majesty still wasn’t satisfied with Xia Hou. But what kind of role could he play in the process?
When Commander Xu noticed Ning Que’s silence, he thought the young man still had some resistance in his heart. So he comforted him and said, “Don’t worry too much. His Majesty’s wishes are very simple. You only need to watch General Xia Hou’s behavior and reactions and recount the details to His Majesty after you return. There’s no risk involved.”
“His Majesty likes you and you’re also a student of the Headmaster of Academy. Though General Xia Hou is brutal and cool, he’s not a brutal wild boar in the mountains. He’s not so stupid as to offend you for no reason.”
Ning Que wondered what he should do if he offended Xia Hou.
“It’s fine, right?” Xu Chongshan picked up his handkerchief and wiped his sweat again. He looked hopefully at Ning Que and said, “If there’s no problem, I’ll be returning to the imperial palace. If you’re worried about something in Chang’an City, tell me and I’ll help you to solve it.”
Ning Que said, “You know I have a shop on Lin 47th Street…”
Xu Chongshan hit his chest with gusto, looking extremely heroic. “I’ll watch it for you!”
Ning Que shook his head and smiled. “There’s a little handmaiden. I’d like to ask the bodyguard office to help me look after her.”
…
…
If people knew the Emperor of the Tang Empire sent a secret guard to watch the behaviors and words of the Empire General, it would certainly lead to a political turmoil. To keep it under wraps, the Emperor didn’t summon Ning Que to the palace but ordered Xu Chongshan find a secret place outside the palace to secretly pass on his confidential order.
After receiving the order, Ning Que should have sealed this matter deeply in his heart and not tell anyone. But he never kept any secrets from Sangsang. So when he returned to Lin 47th Street, he told everything to Sangsang who was preparing to cook.
She looked at him who stood by the window and asked, “Is it dangerous?”
He picked up a brush and looked through the window.”The main thing is to observe a man’s speech and behavior, and then inquire about him. Xu Chongshan is right. There’s no danger at all. If it’s truly dangerous, I wouldn’t do it.”
She lowered her head and continued to wash the rice. “So you’ve agreed?”
Ning Que lowered his head to continue drawing the Talisman. “As His Majesty’s secret guard and a major training object among the young generation of the Tang Empire, I always emerge victorious if my country uses me… Ah, but not all the time. I must recognize my life can’t be smooth sailing for too long. You should know why I didn’t refuse.”
It was an opportunity he couldn’t miss. He had been waiting for 14 years for an opportunity to approach Xia Hou. Now he could even observe him under His Majesty’s secret order and look for a chance for revenge.
Sangsang said nothing and rubbed the rice hard inside the basin with her little hands. The water gradually became rice paste after the many layers of rice shell she rubbed out of rice. The rice got thinner and vaguer.
“If you wash it a few more times, can we still see the rice in the steam pot?”
Ning Que put his brush onto an inkstone and watched the picture outside the window. After a moment of silence, he said after a moment of silence, “Don’t worry. I can’t even compete with a finger of Xia Hou. I’m not so stupid to get revenge immediately.”
Sangsang stood up and wiped her hands on her apron. She stared at Ning Que who stood by the window and said, “Young master, since you can’t take me there, you must control yourself when you see Xia Hou.”
“Last year when I participated in the Academy entry exam, I saw the Prince Li Peiyan. Didn’t I control myself?” He shook his head. “We’re hunters who grew up on Min Mountain. Our patience in waiting for our prey is the most powerful weapon we have.”
“What things do you need to bring with you?”
“As usual, three things.”
He would soon bring the Academy students to the Wilderness at the frontier fortress and he might see Xia Hou there. He felt a faint sense of excitement as well as nervousness. Thinking of the potential dangers he might encounter, he was anxious to create the Talisman Arrow as soon as possible.
Sangsang rolled the bottoms of her pants up and sat down by a well after dinner, cutting feathers and grinding arrow tips for him. However, he was absorbed on the white paper on his desk, drawing intricate lines of Talisman.
…
…
Not every place of the Wilderness was desolate. Before the winter wind came, most of its grounds were covered with felt-like green grass. Only when it came to the end of the summer in the Central Plains, would people feel a sense of slightly cold autumn in the Wilderness. The grass would then be covered by frost. They would turn yellow and white, showing a trace of depression.
The hooves of a horse stomped heavily on the frost-covered grass taller than its companions, stepping into the mud. Accompanied by a slight neighing and heavy breathing, more and more horses appeared in the meadow, for the elite cavalries of the Left-Tent palace were escorting the tribe southward.
Further into the southern areas, more than a thousand grassland cavalries waved machetes and shouted strange cries. They penetrated the northern frontier fortress of Yan and instantly occupied a touring village, encircling a caravan.
Along cracked gaps cut by the machetes was the splatter of fresh blood, the flowing summer rice harvested by the villagers, and the scattering of precious tea and salt bags.
The Yan villagers and caravan escorts collapsed in a pool of blood, their bodies falling heavily to the ground like heavy cereal bags and caravan cargo. They instantly lost their lives.
The grassland cavalries shouted with excitement and, after killing everyone, began awkwardly retying the carriage and moving all the food and supplies they could find in their carriage. They then made their way back north.
Summer was over and autumn was here. Winter was also near. The Left-Tent palace tribes that have lost their fertile pasture in the north couldn’t support so many cattle and sheep. If they didn’t hurry and grab enough food before the arrival of the first snow, they would usher in their extinction.
The grassland barbarians didn’t once consider whether the village they have massacred and the caravans should go through such a tragic experience.
In fact, people in the Wilderness were aware of the importance of caravans. However, now that they were facing current panic up front. Even the most intelligent palace military advisers would not force them to think about long-term problems.
The northern frontier fortresses of the Yan Kingdom were attacked by the cavalries of the grassland barbarians. Countless caravans were plundered and countless villages snatched away. The news was quickly spread across the Yan Kingdom by the Wilderness’ winds and then brought to the imperial palace.
Crown Prince Chongming, who had just returned to his country, calmly put on his armor under the indifferent gaze of his father and led 3,000 soldiers to the northern border.
When the city gate opened and the ritual music began, the people of the Yan Kingdom watching the bustling scene showed no excitement. They looked on indifferently as the Crown Prince’s carriage drove by.
The Left-Tent palace in the Wilderness was unable to restrain all the tribes. The barbarian cavalries had gone mad. The frontier fortress troops of the Yan Kingdom and several thousand guard soldiers who only knew how to eat, drink, and play couldn’t stop the grassland cavalries that had wind-like horses and speedy arrows.
Fortunately, the West-Hill Divine Palace had issued an edict and all of the Central Plains states were ready to provide support. However, the dastardly and horrifying Tang Empire would also send its cavalries. What a humiliating but helpless choice for the Yan Emperor and the Yans.
Here was Capital Cheng, the capital of a weak country.
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…
In the Back Mountain of the Academy, the light of dawn gradually became brighter as the fog dissipated.
Fourth Brother and Sixth Brother sat cross-legged beside a water wheel. After their meditation session, they glanced at each other and began repeating the discussion they have had for several days now. In between them was a magical sand table, on which the complicated Talisman lines moved forward slowly before forming a wide range of possibilities.
In the blacksmith house close to a clean river, water vapor turned denser and denser under the water wheel. In a stove with fierce fires, some silver-like or iron-like metals were slowly becoming soft and melting.
Seventh Sister who has just gotten up stood near the upper steam, looking at the silent and worried expressions of the two. After a moment of silence, she threw the wet towel in her hands at a stone and turned to walk to the faraway waterfall at the cliff square.
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…
There was a mountain nearly 35,000 meters away from the capital of the South Jin Kingdom.
Unlike the majestic mountain of the Academy in the southern suburbs of Chang’an that was mostly covered in clouds and fogs all day, this mountain was calmly exposed to clear sunshine. Its every cliff and rock was clearly visible.
The overall shape of the mountain was also distinct. Its three cliffs were relatively smooth, reflecting the light from the Firmament. The cliffs then gathered at the peak, making it look like a sword.
The world’s most powerful Sage of Sword, Liu Bai’s school was at the foot of this mountain. It was a black and white dichromatic old-style ancient garret.
Dozens of young cultivators kneeled and respectfully made a bow toward the ancient garret.
Behind them were swords tightly tied with grass ropes. Unlike ordinary Sword Master’s flying swords, these were relatively long and large. They were more like swords used by martial warriors and each was quietly hidden within their sheaths.
Young swordsmen respectfully kneeled on the ground. The ancient pavilion was still and quiet. After an unnoticed period of time, they heard a soft but sharp sword-like sound. This sound was so sharp as if it could pierce the firm cliff walls behind the Sword Garret and all tangible things in the world.
“You shameful men, don’t ever come back.”
The dozens of young swordsmen kneeling on the floor stiffened and facial expressions were frozen. They appeared nervous but also excited. They stood up and left after giving a positive reply.
Dozens of fine horses were waiting outside, neighing.
Young swordsmen rode the horses and held onto the reins, leaving their sect and heading north.
Here was the Sword Garret, a place full of aces.
…
…
Turbid waves rolled upon the Yellow River. How many waves came to annihilation in an instant? Ferryboatmen held bamboo poles by the river bank, respectfully kneeling on both sides of the wooden road.
The Sage of Sword, Liu Bai, had just comprehended the sword spirit beside the Yellow River back then.
Today, the new generation of cultivators of the Great River Kingdom was about to cross this Yellow River and head north.
…
…
Under a white tower by the sea.
A wrinkled woman dressed in strange clothes made of innumerable pieces of cloth looked indifferently at the younger men in front. She said with a hoarse and strange voice, “If you go north of the Yan Kingdom, you need to cross the territory of the Tang Empire. The imperial court has issued a document so that you can cross it anyway. I believe the Tangs will not cause you trouble.”
A young sadhu looked at the woman in surprise. “Master Quni, are you not coming with us?”
A trace of vicious hatred flashed in the old woman’s eyes as she angrily said, “In the Tang Empire, an evil place with corrupted etiquettes and no belief, it’ll make me feel sick if my shoe is soiled with even a granule of its dust.”
The eldest sister of the Emperor of the Yuelun Kingdom had cultivated Buddhism with her hair reserved from the earliest days of her life. She had a profound cultivation state and an extremely high status in the Buddhism sect. These young cultivators about to go to the Northern Yan under the edict of West-Hill could all be considered her disciples.
She looked at those young men who were respectfully waiting for her order. She said proudly and indifferently, “I walked from the north, directly across Min Mountain. I’d like to see if a Tang can stop me.”
Here was the Yuelun Kingdom, a place shining with Buddhism light.
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…
The hooves of horses stepped on fertile fields as if they could squeeze oil out of the land.
Hundreds of cavaliers moved forward underneath the warm sunshine. They wore pure black armor painted with intricate golden patterns. In the bright light, the golden patterns twinkled across the surface of the black armor, revealing a sense of solemn beauty and exerting a silent pressure.
Several thousand devout Haotian followers who were preparing to kneel and kowtow at the foot of the mountain listened to these thunder-like hoof sounds. They quickly retreated beneath the trees by the roadside. When they saw the faces of the cavaliers, they knelt and kowtowed. They looked surprised and awe-struck.
The West-Hill’s divine guard cavalry was known as the world’s most elite cavalry. Even if those followers who were devoutly kowtowing on the roadside saw just one of them, they would think it as a blessing from their ancestors. Today, they actually saw hundreds of them. They found it difficult to suppress their excitement. Some of the women even fainted out of excitement when they saw the solemn appearance of the sacred cavalries.
Some wealthy and well-informed believers had guessed the reason behind the dispatch of these sacred cavalries. But they still couldn’t figure out why the Divine Hall would attach such importance to those rioting grassland barbarians.
Among the several hundred sacred cavalries were several red-robed Haotian Taoism priests. In the middle of those priests was a young divine guard cavalry general with an extraordinarily handsome, celestial-like appearance. He walked in the sunshine and his armor seemed plated with a layer of Haotian divine light, perfect and inviolable as the son of God.
Here was the West-Hill, a place favored by Haotian.
…
…
The Academy’s Back Mountain was immersed in the deep night.
Ning Que put his Talisman drawings on a table and sat down by the corner in exhaustion. He watched the shaking fire for a moment and fell asleep before he knew it. These days he was tired to the extreme and had overused his brain.
“In such a short time, he actually came up with a solution. That day I praised Younger Brother as a Talisman Taoism genius and he really didn’t disappoint me.” Fourth Brother looked at the lines on the paper and glanced at the sleeping Ning Que in the corner. “I don’t know what gave him such a strong impetus.”
Sixth Brother calculated the number of metals needed for the Talisman Arrow material. He replied,”I can feel he’s in a hurry… as if he’s worried. I don’t know if it’s about going to the Wilderness.”
Fourth Brother said, “The Wilderness… the West-Hill Divine Palace worries about the resurrection of the Devil’s Doctrine. But Younger Brother belongs to the Academy after all. Why worry? Hadn’t Youngest Uncle kill enough Devil’s Doctrine survivors back then?”
Sixth Brother said honestly, “Senior Brother, I really don’t understand the logic behind this sentence. Youngest Uncle has killed many Devil’s Doctrine survivors back then, but wouldn’t Younger Brother be more worried if he actually met someone from the Devil’s Doctrine?”
Fourth Brother looked at him and asked, “Do you think the minister of the Ministry of Rites of the Tang Empire would worry about being killed by the Yans should he go to the Yan Kingdom?”
Sixth Brother looked up and said after a moment of thought, “Of course not. If the Ministry of Rites minister visits Capital Cheng and even suffers a slight harm, I’m afraid the Yan Kingdom will face extinction.”
“That’s the same for Ning Que.”
Fourth Brother said calmly, “If the people of the Devil’s Doctrine dare harm Younger Brother, won’t they be afraid of facing extinction or being killed by Youngest Uncle again?”
“But Youngest Uncle is dead.”
“Yes, but our teacher isn’t. Besides, Second Brother had always wanted a chance to learn from Youngest Uncle.”
“Then what on earth is Younger Brother worried about?”
Fourth Brother looked at Ning Que who was still frowning despite being in a deep sleep. After a moment of silence, he said, “I don’t know, but he’s Younger Brother. Of course, we as his Senior Brothers have to find ways to reduce his worries.”
“What can we do?”
“First, we should make the Talisman Arrows for him.”
“Oh.”
When it came to the end of the dialogue, continuous heavy blacksmithing sounds reverberated in the room. Sixth Brother moved his arm so quickly that his arm looked like a residual shadow. The sounds of iron being hit stretched one by one like a never-ending mine. However, even such a loud ruckus didn’t wake up the fatigued Ning Que.
Fourth Brother held the sand table and endlessly copied the Talisman designed by Ning Que. Based on the notes Ning Que made, he tried a variety of Talisman lines matches and even began trying the array tactics to combine the lines.
The Talisman Arrow required special materials. Though much of its weight were reduced thanks to Sixth Brother’s exquisite empty-tube design, it was still much heavier than ordinary feather arrows. That meant they couldn’t use ordinary hardwood bows. The first thing they must do was to make a special bow before making the Talisman Arrow.
Under the continuous sounds of blacksmithing and the pouring of molten iron into the mud molds, the singular rigid bow part composed of mixed stainless-steels gradually came to shape. Most importantly, the part began to emanate a faint luster under Sixth Brother’s careful drawing.
Fourth Brother had completely mastered Ning Que’s design on Talisman lines and walked over to guide the designing of that part. He looked at Sixth Brother whose fingers seemed clumsy but was holding the silver tray like it was an embroidery thread. He furrowed his brows and asked,” What kind of scorper are you going to use? The material for the Talisman Arrow is very hard and requires high precision. Ordinary scorpers are completely useless.”
Chuckling, Sixth Brother grabbed a small box from his sleeves and retrieved a transparent metal pellet, two-thirds of which was wrapped in mysterious metal slices. “I’ll use high-hardness mixed sliver as its tray and diamond as the scorper.”
“Diamonds don’t take hits well.”
“So I wrapped a layer of iron beneath it. Of course, it’s not an ordinary iron piece but the same type of steel I left last time when Professor Huang and we worked together to build General Xia Hou’s armor.”
“What about the sharpness?”
“I’ve ground it for three full days. The cutting surface is very good. Look.”
Sixth Brother raised the diamond against the roaring fire. Bright yellow flames spread through the complex surfaces and turned into numerous beautiful lights, just like stars in the night sky.
Next, the two men who were used to silence decided to eliminate their Younger Brother’s fears. They started with the hardest part of this job, the archetypal build of the Talisman Arrow. And it was in this section that they encountered an unsolvable problem.
“There’s no problem with the proportions of the four metals, but there are too many impurities in them. I chose the best materials from the Military Ministry, but the material itself has impurities. It’s hard to purify them under the furnace’s temperature.”
Sixth Brother looked at the hot metal and scratched his head. He reluctantly said, “I’ve never tried this method before. It requires a high temperature to forcefully merge these four metals. I don’t know how to do it.”
Just then, the door was pushed open.
Seventh Sister walked inside and looked at the sleeping Ning Que. She laughed and turned to them. “I brought two helpers here. I don’t know if you have any use for them.”
Fourth Brother looked at the two behind her and greeted them with a bow with his hands folded in front. Seemingly to have recalled something, he looked at the sleeping Ning Que with a smile and said, “I finally understand why those Talisman Master ancestors failed to make the Talisman Arrow. Besides Younger Brother, who else has the privilege of having two Grand Cultivator in the Knowing Destiny State be his blacksmiths?”
Second Brother came over without any facial expression and grabbed a heavy hammer.
Chen Pipi smiled and came over, slowly closing his eyes in front of the stove fire.
The fire suddenly became extremely bright before swiftly turning a faint blue color.
Second Brother supported the hat on his head and swung the hammer with one hand, pounding at the burning metal.
Bam!
When the hammer was hit the anvil, it emanated a strong jet of electric-like energy.
Besides Chen Pipi, the rest were all shaken and fell to the ground.
A huge percussion thunder-like sound could be heard in the entire Back Mountain of the Academy.
It caused waves in the clean stream.
Fish swam uneasily.
Inside the old library, a woman copying the Hairpin-style Small Regular Script upstairs looked up toward the east window and kept silent.
Two chess addicts hugged a pine tree.
Two music addicts tightly held the vertical bamboo flute and zither in their arms.
The flower addict protected the flowers before her.
The calligraphic addict continued copying her calligraphy.
Here was the Academy, the world’s only Academy.