Chapter 197: The Current Times of Lingxiao

The northern borderlands.

The Grand Eunuch Hai Xian of the palace led a group to offer condolences.

In the great decisive battle ten years ago, the Demon Emperor and Gu Zhanting both suffered heavy losses. At the same time, the Imperial Preceptor True Person Tinglan ambushed the Demon Clan's Holy Mountain, beheaded the Great Priest of the Demon Clan, and burned the Holy Temple to the ground. The Demon Clan suffered a crushing defeat and their vital energy was severely damaged.

Gu Zhanting returned his troops to recover from his wounds. Because a famous general had fallen during the war, Grand Tutor Huo Liancheng was recalled from retirement to take charge of the Great Qian's military affairs. His son, Huo Xingyuan, led the great army northward, expanding territory by hundreds of miles over several years. He achieved illustrious merit, advanced his own cultivation from the second grade to the first grade, was enfeoffed as the Marquis of Zhenyuan, and returned to the capital in glory.

Many people felt that the hardest battles were already fought, so whatever came next was easy pickings for anyone, and the Huo family had merely been lucky. This wasn't entirely objective; although the Demon Clan was defeated, there were still many powerful figures in their various branches. Huo Liancheng and his son's personal strength and military capabilities were indeed quite formidable; the results achieved by someone else in charge might not have been this good.

Overall, in this campaign, both Gu Zhanting and the Huo family rendered important service to the Great Qian.

In fact, Gu Zhanting began to change starting from after this battle.

Gu Zhanting, whose injuries were difficult to heal, clearly had a mindset different from before...

After Huo Xingyuan returned to the capital, he wanted to cultivate his second son, Huo Zhang, to take over the northern border. Of course, Huo Zhang's growth was not that fast; the affairs of the northern border were temporarily managed by his great generals under his command, while Huo Zhang, as one of those generals, was responsible for a specific defense sector.

The Demon Clan is not the same as nomadic tribes. In a world where personal strength has such a huge impact, a single high-grade demon roaming around can cause chaos in a border city, and preventing demons from infiltrating the interior is also a very headache-inducing matter; building a Great Wall is useless.

Back then, Sheng Yuanyao explicitly stated during the banquet that the origin of the demons must be traced to the root; if they were infiltrating from the north, the loopholes must be plugged—in other words, the main general of that defense sector would have to face punishment. However, in reality, how to plug such loopholes and whether the main general of that sector should resent you were things the young melon girl hadn't thought about much.

In short, there were no major wars in these few years, but various friction and conflicts continued unabated. Many people kept earning small merits in the northern border. Including many sect members who went to the borderlands for tempering; some bold ones even ventured deep into the demon realm, and whether they could return was unknown.

However, the loss of a city has not occurred in these few years.

Against this backdrop, the imperial court occasionally sending condolences to the northern border has become a norm; whether there is an incident or not, they send someone there. It is unclear whether it is purely for condolences and rewards or contains an intent to inspect. The eunuchs in the palace also quite like taking on this task; they can skim a layer of oil from the condolence gifts, and upon reaching the border, the generals will offer another layer of oil, profiting from both ends.

However, this time someone from the Sacred Land is going along... it's not that they can't skim, it depends on the person.

Hai Xian looked at the Daoist beside him and said with a smile, "Daoist Xunzhen, I don't quite understand magical artifacts; help me take a look at this jade pendant, how is it?"

Daoist Xunzhen clearly understood what the eunuch meant; he didn't dwell on it and smiled, "It's just so-so. It might not be good enough for the border soldiers. Eunuch Hai could have it consecrated again."

Hai Xian breathed a huge sigh of relief and handed the jade pendant directly to Daoist Xunzhen, "How could the effect of a True Person from the Sacred Land consecrating it be better? I'll trouble the True Person then."

Daoist Xunzhen accepted the jade pendant without showing emotion and quickly steered the conversation, "The Imperial Preceptor did not give specific instructions on where to go this time, saying we should handle it as we see fit. Where does the Eunuch plan to go?"

Hai Xian said, "Your Majesty's intention is to visit General Pei's side."

Daoist Xunzhen sighed, "The Pei family values face and holds their rules tightly; this trip might be in vain."

Hai Xian felt a kinship and said, "We can still turn to other places; Your Majesty didn't say we must visit only one place. Does the True Person have any suggestions?"

Daoist Xunzhen smiled, "I heard the Second Young Master of the Huo family is generous and hospitable."

Hai Xian blinked, "Taking this route, the Second Young Master of the Huo family seems closer. How about going there first?"

The two were in perfect agreement; the convoy quickly turned and headed straight for Huo Zhang's defense sector.

Since they were all cultivators, they didn't need caravans of big and small carts; everyone just needed their personal storage rings. A group flew off and arrived in a few days.

Before they even arrived, they felt something was wrong; why did it smell like chaos and turmoil?

In the distance, power exploded, the sound like thunder; it looked exactly like a battle was being fought.

Daoist Xunzhen's expression turned serious, "We won't enter the main city; let's go see the source of that commotion."

Hai Xian had no objection; their condolences indeed contained an element of supervision and inspection. Accidentally discovering a situation might even be a merit.

Upon arriving, they saw it was actually a siege.

Looking again, it was Huo Zhang leading a crowd to attack his own city.

Hai Xian suspected he had woken up too abruptly and rubbed his eyes for a long time. It was truly Huo Zhang attacking his own city, and the defensive formation in the city was even the style of the Tianyao Sacred Land.

In the distance, another group of troops galloped over, the "Pei" character fluttering on their flags. It was Pei Qingyan's cousin branch, Pei Zhao, the cousin of Pei Yu, who was also the one Hai Xian originally intended to visit first for condolences.

Seeing the army attacking from both sides, the city finally gave up defending. Several great demons abandoned the city before Pei Zhao could surround it, laughing wildly all the way: "Hahahaha! The Huo father and son shake the northern border with their might. We thought the Huo family had some extraordinary cultivation, but it's nothing more than this, nothing more than this, hahahaha!"

Huo Zhang's face turned iron-green. Breaking into the city, he shouted, "There are people inside the city colluding with the demons, selling the city and betraying the country. Seize them all and interrogate them strictly!"

"Hold!" Pei Zhao flew over, saying coldly, "General Huo, what great authority!"

Huo Zhang sneered, "What, does the Pei family also collude with the demons?"

Pei Zhao said coldly, "I only know that someone faced a mere small group of demons attacking the city with no defense at all, leading to the loss of the city. Now do you want to massacre the city to silence the witnesses?"

Huo Zhang took a deep breath, urgently searching for a countermeasure in his heart.

This Pei Zhao really came at the wrong time. If he hadn't come, Huo Zhang could have entered the city, dragged out a batch of people, and beheaded them, solidifying the fact that someone sold the city to lure the demons, and that he had discovered it in time to retake the city. But with Pei Zhao standing there, how could he smear dirt and cut people down?

"Brother Pei, since this matter has caused no loss but rather merit, why not be happy about it? Why haggle over such a small matter of factional strife?"

Pei Zhao was so angry he laughed, "You want to smear dirt on innocent people and kill to plug their mouths, and you call this a small matter?"

"The demons were able to hold out here for two days and two nights; naturally, someone assisted them. How is that smearing dirt? A single interrogation will reveal the truth."

"You!"

"This is Huo's defense sector. Does Brother Pei intend to act beyond his authority?"

Hai Xian and others watching from a distance understood clearly. While Hai Xian was still pondering the pros and cons of taking sides, Daoist Xunzhen on the other side had already flown out, "Eunuch Hai, the Northern Border Inspection and Consolation Envoy, is here. We all know what is happening in this place."

Pei Zhao sighed in relief, while Huo Zhang's face suddenly turned pale.

Retaking the city in a mere two days; originally the situation could have been covered up without a trace, and perhaps even turned a bad situation into a good one, achieving a merit. That Pei Zhao heard the wind and rushed over to cause trouble was one thing, but why did someone from the palace arrive at exactly this moment?

This time it's a disaster...

The Capital. Night Listening Waves was giving a lesson to Lu Xingzhou when a paper crane floated into the room and landed in Night Listening Waves' hand.

Night Listening Waves gently burned it, revealing a faint smile, "Your strategy of sending an envoy to offer condolences succeeded; the timing was just right."

Lu Xingzhou said, "That counts as luck."

"Your Majesty, regardless of other things, at least regarding the matter of the demons, he considers it a lifetime achievement and talks about it constantly. He will not allow anyone to smear him." Night Listening Waves said, "Therefore, this matter of Huo Zhang could, at worst, cause him to lose his position and return to the capital, or at best, cause him to be demoted by several grades to atone for his crimes, and create a thorn in Your Majesty's heart. Regarding the significance of striking at the Huo family, it is more valuable than the Huo Jin and Huo Lu matters you did before, let alone the beating that day, which was purely venting anger and utterly meaningless."

Lu Xingzhou grinned, "Being able to remove a blockage from the heart is meaning; how can it be called utterly meaningless?"

Night Listening Waves rolled her eyes at him, "So in your view, this matter of Huo Zhang is less valuable than that beating of Huo Heng, is it?"

"Of course not." Lu Xingzhou stood up and bowed, "Only until this moment did I see the true hope of shaking the Huo family. Before this, it seemed advantageous everywhere, but in reality, there was nowhere to strike... Thank you, Mr., for your guidance."

Night Listening Waves said indifferently, "There is no need to thank me; this matter is inherently one of family and nation... Was the Pei family's interference something you called for?"

"Yes."

Ye Tinglan looked at him with deep meaning for a long time before finally smiling: "You... are very good."

Although her veil obscured her full face, that smile still made Lu Xingzhou lose himself in thought. The eyes on the veil curved like a pair of moons, carrying a hint of coquettish charm.

Suddenly, he felt those coquettish eyes seemed familiar... a bit like Yuan Muyu...

Just as he was lost in thought, Ye Tinglan quickly put away her smile, frowned, and asked: "What are you looking at?"

"Uh... nothing." Lu Xingzhou came to his senses, lowered his gaze, and said: "I just feel Mr. rarely laughs heartily, and always seems weighed down by worries."

"So what?"

"You should smile more; it looks good."

A phantom palm appeared behind his head, nearly striking down. Ye Tinglan held back, finally not striking, but only snorted coldly: "I am your mentor. If you speak to me again with that flowery tone you used to deceive Pei Chuyun and Sheng Yuanyao, just wait and see how I beat you!"

Lu Xingzhou sighed: "That is the truth. You worry about the Yama Hall, you worry about the Demon Clan, and you also worry about this rotten civil and military administration... Although with great power comes great responsibility, and since Mr. is a First-Rank official, worrying before the world worries is understandable... but you do not hold that position, and besides, there are those above you of Super-Rank. These are matters the Emperor and the Imperial Preceptor should consider."

Ye Tinglan's eyes shifted: "Then what do you think of the Imperial Preceptor? Do you think she doesn't care?"

"She certainly does care; just look at how she sent Miss Qingli to protect Shen Tang. Moreover, Mr. is also a friend of the Imperial Preceptor, so her character is known from her circle. However..."

"What?"

"Her methods are too gentle; she lacks the resolve to burn her boats and cross the river, so many things cannot be accomplished. If I were Super-Rank, heh..."

Ye Tinglan sneered: "No wonder you are a Judge of the Yama Hall, your mouth full of Yama Lord's words, heh."

Lu Xingzhou: "..."

"Let's go." Ye Tinglan stood up: "Have you finished saying your goodbyes to the woman you should?"

Lu Xingzhou was stunned: "Are we leaving the capital now?"

"For us cultivators, to go or stay is a single thought; wherever the spirit moves, the body travels ten thousand li. What is there worth being sticky and lingering, delaying and clinging?"

Lu Xingzhou fell silent for a moment, then bowed again: "Mr. speaks truly."

"So, have you finished saying the words of farewell?"

"Finished. They already know I am leaving."

"Then there is no need to say it again, only adding to the sorrow of parting. Let's go."

At almost the exact moment these words left his mouth, Pei Chuyun suddenly felt something. The brush she was using to take notes in the Imperial Academy paused slightly, leaving a large blot of ink on the paper.

Then she smiled faintly and whispered to herself: "Farewell, my Young Master."

Sheng Yuanyao, holding her bruised and swollen buttocks, limped out of the ancestral hall, suddenly paused, and looked up at the sky.

Sheng Qingfeng frowned and said: "What, wanting to curse someone sick again?"

Sheng Yuanyao stared blankly at the daylight for a long time, then suddenly said: "Do you know our Sheng family's ancestral tradition is originally the Way of the Battlefield?"

"Yes, so what?"

"Lu Xingzhou and the Pei family were secretly plotting against Huo Zhang before... If he gets dismissed or something, can I take his place?"

Sheng Qingfeng didn't know whether he was surprised or pleased: "You're not playing anymore?"

"I have to catch up, otherwise I won't even have the qualification to be a brother... In their eyes right now, I'm just a melon."

"..." Sheng Qingfeng thought for a while, then sighed softly: "If you truly have the ambition to advance, regardless of whether Huo Zhang has problems or not, I can send you to join the army. But Yuanyao..."

"Hmm?"

"Joining the army is not like the Demon Suppression Bureau; it means hanging your head on your belt buckle. If you want to mix for merit like Huo Zhang, then it's better not to go; here in the capital, Father can always protect your freedom for a lifetime."

Sheng Yuanyao clasped her hands and performed a subordinate's bow: "My goal is the Heroic Heroes List."

"Lu Xingzhou himself hasn't even made the Heroic Heroes List."

"..." What does that have to do with him? This is my own climb."

【End of Volume Two】

(End of this chapter)