Chapter 100: Qinghe Commandery Prince (Special Bonus Chapter for the Patron

Luodu, in the back garden of the Qinghe Commandery Prince’s mansion, within a small pavilion.

“My Lord, we’ve confirmed with the River God—the Lieyang Marquis has truly left.” Li Dan, the Lacquer Garden Official, sighed.

The Qinghe Commandery Prince was a middle-aged man of about forty, strikingly handsome, with sword-like brows arching into his temples, eyes like polished lacquer, and three short strands of jet-black beard, meticulously groomed and gleaming.

At this moment, he wore a purple long robe, moved with calm grace, and carried an air of noble distinction.

“If he’s gone, can we force him to stay?”

The Commandery Prince stood with his hands behind his back, gazing far across the lake where egrets played, his voice soft and distant.

“But the unrest in the Thirty-Six States hasn’t calmed, and even the Qin Imperial Envoy hasn’t arrived—how could he leave? Just now, our Shu Kingdom’s sacred heirloom was stolen by thieves—he should remain in Luodu to stabilize the situation!” Li Dan exclaimed.

The Qinghe Commandery Prince sighed, “The Lieyang Marquis had many reasons to stay longer—but the Emperor has passed away.”

“Your servant knows the Emperor’s death is a catastrophe, but why is the Lieyang Marquis in such a hurry to return?” Li Dan asked.

“Do you think ‘a catastrophe’ is just a metaphor for the Emperor’s death? The heavens themselves are truly collapsing.”

The Commandery Prince turned, his expression complex: “Forget the reactions of the Eight Directions’ feudal lords—within Qin alone, over a dozen rebellions have already erupted.”

The Lieyang Marquis isn’t just eager to return—his own court nobles are pressing him to go back immediately.

Think about it: why did the Upper Kingdom’s envoy, who should have crossed west long ago, suddenly delay his arrival until two months from now?”

“It’s not just the Thirty-Six States of the Western Sands in chaos—the Eastern Sands are in turmoil too, and both regions need the Upper Kingdom’s envoy to restore order.”

Li Dan was stunned. “The Emperor has only just passed—has the situation already deteriorated this badly?”

“The greater the Emperor’s greatness, the greater the chaos after his death,” said the Qinghe Commandery Prince.

Li Dan murmured, “Emperor Qin unified the Central Plains, and the ten thousand feudal lords of the Eight Directions all bowed to him as Emperor. The Qin domain spans all Four Continents.”

Everywhere on earth where men dwell, all chant the Emperor’s name, all revere the majesty of Qin.”

Since the Middle Antiquity, no ruler has ever matched Emperor Qin.”

But Qin has princes—has a Crown Prince!”

Crown Prince Fusu is renowned for his virtue; all the feudal lords of the world submit to him—who dares rebel?”

The Qinghe Commandery Prince said, “If Crown Prince Fusu could ascend the throne immediately, the Lieyang Marquis wouldn’t be in such a rush to return.”

“I hear the Qin court is now ruled by Empress Dowager Zhao, the Emperor’s mother?” Li Dan asked.

The Qinghe Commandery Prince nodded: “At the time of the Emperor’s death, Crown Prince Fusu was accompanying General Meng to the Northern Seas to suppress the ‘Xiongnu Rebellion.’”

“Now? The Emperor has died—shouldn’t the Crown Prince return to the capital?” Li Dan asked.

The Qinghe Commandery Prince shook his head gently: “It’s not that simple. First, the Xiongnu are backed by the Demon Race—not a mere skin disease, but a fatal wound.”

The northern frontier must be held firm; if the Xiongnu surge south, the entire Central Plains faces annihilation.”

Especially now, in this time of universal chaos, the Northern Continent may descend into turmoil—but the war must not spread to the heartland of the Central Plains.”

“Also, the behavior of Qin’s ministers confuses me.”

Not everyone supports Prince Fusu’s succession—on the contrary, there are many who oppose him.”

The Emperor left no clear edict. Alas—whether there even was an edict, the Upper Kingdom’s nobles are still arguing over it.”

Li Dan felt his ideals shattered by harsh reality, murmuring: “This is the Celestial Kingdom, the court of the Upper Kingdom—yet its nobles, just like us, fight for power and ignore the greater good of the state…”

“The Upper Kingdom isn’t the Western Pure Land—how could it be without power struggles? Even on Lingshan, I hear the Buddhas themselves are now vying for supremacy!” said the Qinghe Commandery Prince.

Though he said so, the Commandery Prince himself was deeply shocked by the intelligence received from Wanshou Mountain.

He wasn’t shocked by the Upper Kingdom’s internal strife—he was shocked that they would fight at such a time, so utterly disregard the greater cause.

It took Li Dan, the Lacquer Garden Official, great effort to recover from the blow of realizing “not all Upper Kingdom scholars are gentlemen.”

“My Lord, Qin is too far from us—we can only send distant blessings. Now that the Lieyang Marquis has left without a word, what should we do?”

“Do what must be done—the chaos in the Thirty-Six States is the current rulers’ problem. The Thousand-Handed Thief…”

The Qinghe Commandery Prince frowned in thought for a moment, then asked: “What does the Guan family of Yingxiang say?”

“The Guan family is a mess,” Li Dan said with a wry smile. “Guan Wenlong was given eighty strokes of the military cane by the Lieyang Marquis—if not for Divine Doctor Min’s skill, he’d be past his seventh day already.”

Even with Divine Doctor Min’s timely rescue, Guan Wenlong’s legs are ruined.”

Outsiders believe Guan Wenlong violated the Fire Crow Army’s regulations, and the Lieyang Marquis enforced discipline ruthlessly.”

But the First Lady surely knows her husband’s plight is tied to the Second Lady, Wen Danxia.”

Then the main and secondary branches of the Guan family erupted into conflict.”

Guan Huchen—whether he heard it from the First Lady or used his Qianliyan to see something—he learned of his wife’s affair with his brother, stabbed Wen Lady , and was slashed seven or eight times in return, now lying back in bed.”

He’s now loudly demanding a divorce!”

I doubt he’ll get it—Wen’s old matriarch is still sharp as ever!”

The Qinghe Commandery Prince waved his hand in disgust: “I don’t care about the Guan family’s filth—I only want to know where the Thousand-Handed Thief is hiding.”

“The Guan family is too chaotic to handle anything else. When I visited, Guan Huchen and Guan Wenlong were moaning in bed, completely unaware of the Thousand-Handed Thief’s whereabouts,” Li Dan said.

“I never expected those two brothers—I asked about the Guan City God,” said the Qinghe Commandery Prince.

“General Chen Taiping burned a petition at the City God Temple immediately, but we’ve received no response yet. So I went to the Guan residence—Guan Huchen promised to notify My Lord the moment he hears anything.”

After a pause, Li Dan added: “I suspect the Guan City God won’t have good news—it’s been several days already.”

Zong Erbu isn’t a fool—he wouldn’t flee to Tianmen Town without some confidence.”

Spirit power is indeed strong, but the world holds countless extraordinary beings and arts—spirits and gods cannot monitor everything.”

The Qinghe Commandery Prince said: “I know all that. But it’s not about ability—it’s about courage.”

‘Immortals’ are separated from mortals—spirits dare to intervene in human affairs, yet fear the power of ‘Immortals.’”

But the Five Thunder Eight Trigrams Master Talisman is of critical importance.”

Even if the Guan City God fears retaliation from the ‘Western Eight Immortals’ and wants to stay out of it, he has no choice.”

“What if he stubbornly claims ignorance?” Li Dan asked.

The Qinghe Commandery Prince said coolly: “Have the State Lord invite the entire Guan family of Yingxiang to Luodu under the guise of honoring a meritorious subject, and summon palace physicians to treat Guan Huchen and Guan Wenlong.”

Li Dan pondered: “So this is the ‘cup of wine.’”

But this ‘wine’ isn’t a good one.”

The main function of the Five Thunder Eight Trigrams Master Talisman is to protect Luodu from great demons.”

By summoning the Guan family to Luodu and bestowing them with imperial favor, you also make them share the risk of demonic attacks.”

“My Lord, do you still remember Sha Manyu?” Li Dan asked.

“What about her?”

Li Dan said: “Liu San wants to know your thoughts. You originally placed Sha Manyu in Hongxiu Courtyard because you weren’t sure of the Lieyang Marquis’s stance—now that he’s left…”

His expression grew troubled: “If the Lieyang Marquis didn’t care about Sha Manyu, why did he immediately find an excuse to nearly beat Guan Wenlong to death?”

But if he did care, why did he leave so cleanly, taking over a dozen Western generals with him, yet never even looked at her?”

The Qinghe Commandery Prince mused: “I didn’t understand it before, so I placed Sha Manyu in Hongxiu Courtyard to observe the Lieyang Marquis’s reaction.”

Now I think I understand.”

The key isn’t Sha Manyu—it’s the Lieyang Marquis himself.”

Don’t provoke him, and he deals with you fairly; provoke him, and he turns private matters into public justice.”

Guan Huchen schemed against him and slandered him behind his back—he was killed.”

Guan Wenlong volunteered to meet the Fire Crow Army at Liulin Ferry—he too had schemed against the Lieyang Marquis.”

Whether or not the Lieyang Marquis deliberately used Sha Manyu as a target to make a point…”

Guan Wenlong’s intent to move the Fire Crow Army away from Sha Manyu was genuine.”

The Guan family considered the Fire Crow Army using Sha Manyu as a shield, and also considered the Eight Immortals of Feixian Ferry shooting down the sun—Sha Manyu’s killing of Kong Zan and crippling of Zhou Lang aiding the Lieyang Marquis.”

Yet they still arrogantly believed their status as ‘Shu Kingdom’s Reception Minister’ would make the Lieyang Marquis hesitate.”

Alas, Guan Huchen was foolish—he didn’t know Gao Xianjue had ears that heard the wind.”

But Guan Wenlong was known for his calm wisdom—how did he repeat his brother’s mistake?”

Li Dan chuckled: “When Mrs. Wen brought her daughter to his door, Guan Wenlong knew it was inappropriate—but what else could he do?”

What else could he do?”

Besides, he was within Yingxiang’s territory—the City God would cover for him!”

I just wonder why the City God didn’t intervene this time, letting Wenlong be crippled.”

The Qinghe Commandery Prince said coolly: “Everyone assumes Guan Huchen survived thanks to Huawuxiang.”

No one realizes the City God dared violate heavenly law and misuse divine authority.”

Men don’t know, gods don’t pursue.”

But Guan Wenlong was publicly delivered to Bao’an Clinic—Divine Doctor Min’s diagnosis is known to all.”

Besides, Guan Wenlong only lost his legs.”

Why should the old ghost risk losing his City God’s cap?”

That old ghost has spent his life in caution.”

Guan Wenlong is different from Guan Huchen—even if he truly died, the old ghost wouldn’t intervene.”

“Alas, Guan Wenlong was foolish—but poor Sha Manyu suffers for it,” Li Dan lamented.

“If Guan Wenlong hadn’t been foolish, we wouldn’t be here lamenting for her. It’s simply fate.”

The Qinghe Commandery Prince sighed: “I sent her to the Jiaosifang because I didn’t understand the Lieyang Marquis’s intentions, and I had to accept the Guan family’s burning hot potato.”

Coincidentally, Yan Feiying sent another burning hot potato—Dou Gengyan.”

So I paired them together—it would better attract the people behind the ‘Western Eight Immortals.’”

The Lieyang Marquis was in Tianmen Town—if he intended to use Sha Manyu as a target, this was perfect.”

Moreover, according to Shu Kingdom law, imprisoning a foreign princess in the Jiaosifang is customary.

Even if one misjudges the Marquis of Radiant Sun’s intentions, there is still room to recover.

Now that the Marquis of Radiant Sun has left, joining the Jiaosifang is already a fact.

He changed the subject, curious: “What’s the current state of Sha Man Yu? How is her shattered-bone injury recovering?”

She was sent to Hongxiu Fang and lay unconscious for several days; upon waking, she immediately ran and jumped, demonstrating the ‘Tiger Soul Sword Intent’ before a crowd of martial artists, astonishing everyone.

That same night, under Dou Gengyan’s guidance, she cultivated the ‘Spring Qi,’ the internal breath method of the ‘Male Dragon Art.’

Now she cultivates internal qi every night in the pool.

Thanks to Dr. Min’s help in fusing the sword-bone’s spiritual essence into her physique, her strength has grown rapidly lately.

Yesterday at Busigui, she used her toes to grip a branch and knocked away Lan Ruomei’s Purple Lightning Twin Swords—utterly unbelievable.

Li Dan recounted in detail the sword duel between Xiao Yu and Lan Ruomei yesterday.

He then added emphatically, “Old Du of Busigui wasn’t joking with Liu San.”

Lei Zhen of Tianmen Hui forcibly broke through to Human Immortal and failed; his true qi reversed, his meridians shattered—he likely has no more than a few months to live.

Lei Zhen naturally hopes his son, Lei Tianyang, will inherit the position of leader.

Lei Tianyang is Liu San’s illegitimate son; her stance cannot change.

But Old Du of Busigui secretly pledged allegiance to ‘Poisonous Hand Yenluo’ Hao Ruhai.

Last year, on your birthday, Hao Ruhai gifted a five-hundred-year-old lingzhi mushroom, and you drank a cup with him.

Li Dan cautiously glanced at the Commandery Prince; seeing his expressionless face, not a flicker in his eyes, he lowered his head and continued: “Besides Hao Ruhai, several other commanders of Tianmen Hui—such as ‘Four Seasons Sword’ Zhang Manqing, ‘White Bone Whip’ Hai Wei, and ‘Digging Mouse’ Bai Tiansheng—all harbor ambitions for the leadership.”

After all, becoming leader of Tianmen Hui brings both fame and fortune, and it signifies a chance at ‘immortal fortune.’

“According to old custom, let those commanders fight among themselves—by wit or by strength—and the strongest shall become master.”

“But under no circumstances must this interfere with my business, nor destabilize Tianmen Town,” said the Clear River Commandery Prince coolly.

“Of course, no one dares break the rules. Even if there’s internal strife, it remains private, confined among the commanders,” Li Dan replied immediately.

The Clear River Commandery Prince smiled faintly: “I thought Sha Man Yu was utterly ruined. I didn’t expect her to rise again so quickly—she doesn’t seem discouraged at all, yet presses forward with vigor.”

“Dr. Min personally cared for her for three days and three nights, helping her absorb the sword-bone’s spiritual essence into her physique. Thus, her bloodline now holds exceptionally abundant ‘internal breath,’ making internal power cultivation unusually easy,” Li Dan explained.

The Clear River Commandery Prince chuckled: “Physical recovery is easy; an unyielding will is hard to find.”

“Then what is Your Highness’s intention?”

“Watch her future achievements. If she becomes a second Five Supreme Sword Maiden, I’ll grant her the surname ‘Li’ and adopt her as my foster daughter—why not? If not—well, I’m very busy.”

The Clear River Commandery Prince is occupied with countless affairs; if she fails to reach the level of the Five Supreme Sword Maiden, she is not worth his time or effort.

Li Dan nodded; he was not surprised by the Prince’s decision.

“Should Generals Li Hu and Li Bao remain at Hongxiu Fang, waiting for the big fish to bite, or be recalled?”

The Clear River Commandery Prince sighed: “Hu and Bao are only skilled in stealth and tracking—they haven’t even touched the threshold of Human Immortal.”

Even if the big fish arrives, it will merely be a case of the big fish eating small shrimp.”

If the Fire Crow Army were still in Tianmen Town, the Hu and Bao brothers need only slightly distract the enemy, leaving the big fish to the Marquis of Radiant Sun.

But now the Marquis of Radiant Sun is gone.

“Though the Marquis of Radiant Sun has left, General Chen Taiping and five thousand Feathered Forest Guards are stationed in Tianmen Town,” said Li Dan.

The Clear River Commandery Prince hesitated: “The Feathered Forest Guards were only recently assembled from elite troops drawn from southern prefectures and counties. Their combat strength is mediocre—and if Chen Taiping were lost, it wouldn’t be worth it.”

“What about Sha Man Yu?” asked Li Dan.

The Clear River Commandery Prince said: “I made an agreement with Guan Wenlong. The imperial court may take custody of Sha Man Yu, but the Guan family—primarily Guan Chenghuang—must bear part of the responsibility for her supervision.”

She killed Kong Zan and crippled the Sword Immortal Zhou Lang, yes—but that was due to good fortune and the power of the three thousand Fire Crow Army formation.

Yet Kong Zan and Zhou Lang were among the very top Human Immortals of the West; most Human Immortals are inferior to them.

If Sha Man Yu attempts to flee Shu, ordinary martial artists may not stop her.

I have no desire to waste excessive manpower or resources on her.

That’s why I placed Sha Man Yu in Tianmen Town, not Luodu.”

Li Dan first understood, then asked: “If Li Hu and Li Bao are withdrawn, will Guan Chenghuang intervene if the Western Eight Immortals retaliate against Sha Man Yu? And what of Dou Gengyan? You know her talent.”

“If Old Guan were willing to oppose the Western Eight Immortals, the Guan family wouldn’t have rushed to abandon ‘Guan Yu.’ His duty is only to ensure Sha Man Yu remains within Shu’s borders for the next ten years.”

The Clear River Commandery Prince glanced back at the Lacquer Garden Official, then added: “I never said to withdraw Hu and Bao.”

I care only about Chen Taiping.”

General Chen is a rare, utterly loyal immortal general of our Great Shu royal house.”

Losing him to the Western Eight Immortals would be too great a loss.”

Hu and Bao will remain permanently stationed at Hongxiu Fang.”

Let them act as circumstances demand.”

In case of trouble, first send word outward to summon Tianmen Town’s garrison and the heads of all guilds to jointly ambush the intruders.”

Hmm, go again and inform the several Human Immortals of Tianmen Town.”

Use my favor to ask them to lend a hand if needed—succeed if possible, but no need for them to risk their lives.”