Chapter 122: The Phoenix

Li Zhao Wen walked briskly, alone through the alleys of Chen State, softly humming the melody of the poem the boy had just sung, moving forward as the moonlight and starlight were gradually replaced by the bright lanterns ahead.

Li Zhao Wen halted his steps, still standing in the shadows.

She extended her hand to adjust her collar, her smile fading, returning to the composed, unruffled demeanor of a noble young master, unfurled her folding fan—front painted with a master's landscape, back inscribed with four ink characters—and walked calmly back to her residence.

"Young Master has returned!"

A personal attendant hurried forward; Li Zhao Wen tossed her folding fan to him, washed her hands in a golden basin, and all servants withdrew. She then went to pay respects to her father before returning to her own courtyard, where Chang Sun Wugou removed her outer robe, helped her bathe and change into fresh attire.

By lamplight, she reviewed the Juan Sect records, while Chang Sun Wuchou presented the documents for her to examine.

Chang Sun Wugou asked: "What shall the Second Master drink? The usual?"

Normally, Li Zhao Wen drank tea—she had a habit of night tea—and had intended to serve the famous Jiangnan tea, Yǔqián Lóngjǐng, but now she paused slightly, recalling the moment she had snatched wine from the boy; the wine had been crisp and delicious, and now she felt a sudden craving. "Do you have wine from Changfeng Tower?"

Chang Sun Wugou was startled, and glanced at her brother beside her.

Chang Sun Wuchou said: "We naturally have some in the mansion—I'll fetch it."

Li Zhao Wen smiled: "Thank you, Wu Chou."

The wine Wu Chou brought was the same kind as Changfeng Tower's, but its quality was worlds apart; poured into the cup, it glowed like amber. Li Zhao Wen took a sip, frowned slightly, and found it lacking—it was nowhere near as good as the wine she had snatched from Li Guanyi.

The wine slid down her throat like a swift wind.

She said nothing outright, only praised: "The flavor is decent."

She set the wine aside, did not drink again, and continued reviewing the Juan Sect records—each detailing the minor and major events in Chen State over this period. Many incidents, but ultimately all revolved around the approaching Great Sacrifice of Chen.

Chang Sun Wuchou whispered: "There is the highest-level intelligence."

Chang Sun Wugou withdrew.

Only the two of them remained in the room.

Chang Sun Wuchou said: "Rumors say the Emperor intends to hold inter-state martial contests as entertainment before the Great Sacrifice."

Li Zhao Wen replied: "The world has been in turmoil for over three hundred years. Among the states, sword and martial skill are revered; martial sects roam freely, and both court and wilderness boast no shortage of martial masters. Holding martial displays before the Great Sacrifice is a way to inform ancestors and descendants alike that martial readiness has never slackened."

"It's common enough. Yet Wu Chou, you're unusually attentive—there must be something unusual."

Chang Sun Wuchou whispered: "Word has it the Chen Huang will offer a grand reward."

Li Zhao Wen flipped through the records: "If it were merely ordinary martial manuals or divine weapons, you wouldn't be so stirred. Could it be...?"

Chang Sun Wuchou whispered: "A noble title."

"A military merit noble title: the rank of 'Founding County Nan'—fifth rank, upper grade."

Li Zhao Wen's pupils contracted slightly: "A Founding-rank military merit title?"

In today's world of strife, countless warriors have been ennobled for martial merit—but that doesn't mean such titles are easy to earn. They require absolute sacrifice on the battlefield, unwavering courage, and immense fortune.

Even though 'County Nan' is the lowest of the five noble ranks today, its holder may still be addressed as 'Lord.' Ordinary noble titles cannot be inherited by descendants; only a 'Founding-rank' title, equal in stature to the founders of a state, may be passed down for three generations.

To possess such a title—a military merit noble title!

That changes everything.

Not merely an official, not merely wealthy—this elevates one to the rank of 'Merit Nobility.'

Li Zhao Wen pondered: "The Chen Huang intends to elevate someone."

"That person must be of extraordinary importance, to make even this cautious Emperor grow slightly impatient. Or perhaps something recent has forced him to hasten his actions."

"Indeed. With the world in upheaval, if one wishes to launch someone to prominence, what could be more effective than the Ten-Year Great Sacrifice—where all nations' eyes are fixed?"

"Truly, one instant of fame spreads across the world."

Chang Sun Wuchou agreed: "Though in the end, the final contest will surely be among the Night Riders, Tiger Barbarian Cavalry, and Tie Futu, any military unit may enroll—though the news hasn't spread yet. It will be announced widely within a few days."

"Your command includes the Xuanjia Army—will you...?"

Li Zhao Wen refused outright: "No."

"A military force's first appearance must coincide with the pivotal moment of the world's tide."

"The first appearance is a surprise strike; the second loses all initiative. The Chen Huang's treasures are not worth revealing this card."

"My army is meant to appear upon the world's stage."

"Not entangled in the schemes of such aging men—that would be too beneath us. Yet even if he seeks to elevate one man, I doubt he'll succeed."

"Many states boast martial nobles, and Chen State itself has its own talents."

Chang Sun Wuchou realized:

"You've met Li Guanyi?"

Li Zhao Wen smiled faintly: "A man of both literary and martial excellence."

Chang Sun Wuchou hesitated: "Though Li Guanyi's bearing is extraordinary, winning this military merit title will be difficult. The Emperor has staked so much—he will surely issue secret orders for others to hold back; Chen's youths must yield to him."

Li Zhao Wen recalled the phrase: "Are nobles and ministers born of a different breed?"

"Li Guanyi is no one who obediently follows orders."

"If you doubt it, Wu Chou, let us make a wager."

Chang Sun Wuchou smiled and bowed: "I dare not."

"I also believe young Li Guanyi, with his youthful spirit, won't be swayed by a few commands from the Jinwu Guard. His temperament will only make him more defiant—eager to fight with full force."

Li Zhao Wen smiled: "Exactly."

"But having reviewed these records, Changfeng Tower may be relocated."

Chang Sun Wuchou's eyes flickered with surprise—they had placed agents at Changfeng Tower to gather intelligence on Chen State, then synthesized the information for Li Zhao Wen and himself to extract valuable insights.

But in espionage, the most crucial element is relocation.

Spies must move; to stand still is to die.

Remaining fixed in one place forever will inevitably expose them.

Changfeng Tower has already changed twice. The true intelligence network will shift elsewhere, while Changfeng Tower becomes a purely safe enterprise, then washed clean and discarded. Noble families' sons will devour it like wolves devouring meat—and by then, Li Zhao Wen will have vanished naturally.

Only thus is it safe.

Naturally, a great deal of gold and silver would also be lost.

Li Zhaowen's voice was calm:

"The great noble clans, and even many of the elders within the Chen royal clan, are chasing profit."

"What I see is bigger than what they see."

"Mm, right—when you dump the assets, keep the owner of this tower."

Changsun Wuchou was surprised. Over there, the young girl raised her wine cup and drank; she tasted once more that tipsy, wind-like exhilaration, a smile at the corner of her lips, and thought of how Li Guanyi had just been leaning against the black-awning boat, plucking lotus pods and drinking, saying he couldn't bear to part with fifty taels of silver.

Li Zhaowen drank and said: "When the time comes, just give this tower to Li Guanyi."

"He likes his drink, so this, the finest tower in Jiangzhou—"

The girl tossed down her wine cup carelessly, hands clasped behind her back, and said:

"It's his."

……………………

Li Guanyi returned to the Xue household. After telling Xue Lao everything, Xue Lao simply laughed heartily and told Li Guanyi that those so-called Vice Ministers of the Chancellery, the entire Chancellery itself, were all part of Tantai Xianming's faction—slapping his face, well slapped!

The old man already had a few scores to settle, but no way to smack those fellows' faces.

You kid, swing that arm of yours in a full circle and let 'em have it!

Don't worry—if they dare come looking for trouble, this old man will go up and smack them.

Xue Lao was itching for a go.

Li Guanyi didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

He was relieved, though. He had actually been worried about bringing trouble to Xue Lao, but the old man thought nothing of it. Li Guanyi had another bowl of soup at the elder's place, and only then returned to his courtyard. Yaoguang wasn't there. He drew himself a bath, changed comfortably into a fresh set of clothes.

The Qingluan bird had been circling around him the whole time.

He had obtained a wisp of jade liquid from the phoenix, but the Qingluan bird had absorbed it. Li Guanyi felt that today's Qingluan bird was far more spirited than usual. Curious, Li Guanyi couldn't help but wonder: "Could it be that Dharma Aspects can also change again, undergo a metamorphosis?"

His palm stroked the Qingluan bird's feathers.

The bird was enormous. The youth sat cross-legged there, and its wings could nearly gather him beneath them. A faint thread of golden fire-light flickered across the feathers, then vanished in an instant—just like the phoenix fire of Li Zhaowen's Dharma Aspect.

"Perhaps it's really so. When I faced off against Yuwen Lie earlier, the Bai Hu Dharma Aspect also metamorphosed when I came back."

Li Guanyi closed his eyes and meditated. The jade liquid within his body had accumulated to fullness; once he broke through, he could immediately cultivate the Taigu Chilong Strength. With the augmentation of the Six Emptiness Four Harmonies Divine Art, when that moment came, a single punch from him would truly carry three layered transformations: Taigu Chilong, Bai Hu, and the yielding, hidden force.

The Taigu Chilong Dharma Aspect manifested, humming low in the void, full of longing.

Li Guanyi reached out and stroked the dragon's scales, saying softly: "Don't rush, don't rush."

"I still need this surge of inner force to deal with the Imperial Physician."

"A few more days will do."

Li Guanyi planned to imitate the cultivation method of the Wang Yang Strength—each day, let a portion of the Taigu Chilong Strength within his body dissipate, then let the Imperial Physician examine him. After several days of this, step by step, it would look exactly as if he were practicing the Wang Yang Strength, and once he had swallowed the Taigu Chilong Strength, he could thereafter circulate this martial art openly and legitimately.

On this matter, one still had to be cautious.

The next day, Li Guanyi dealt with the Imperial Physician. Under that old man's relieved expression, he listened as the old Imperial Physician told him a great many dietary taboos, then picked up his weapon and headed back to his post at the Jinwu Guard. But before he could get there, he heard a burst of cursing.

The one shouting the abuse was the Jinwu Guard's Qin Xun Yi Wei Yu Lin Lang Jiang.

This proper fifth-rank upper-class Imperial Guard general wore a full suit of armor, his qi and blood like a dragon. Standing in rows before him were the very ones who had been in last night's brawl. After Li Guanyi arrived, he too was barked at, and obediently stood in place.

The youth's gaze swept across them, and the corner of his mouth twitched.

Zhou Liu Ying had blackened eye sockets, Ye Buyi's forehead was slightly swollen, and several others were clutching their backsides and grimacing. It was obvious that, given how the martial-merit families treated these young masters, once they got home, they too would be in for a thorough beating.

The Qin Xun Yi Wei Yu Lin Lang Jiang sneered: "Finally here?"

"Young masters in crimson robes—we wear crimson robes too. Otherwise, should I step down and you take the seat?"

Li Guanyi's mouth twitched. In his heart, he knew the Vice Minister of the Chancellery must have come complaining.

He said obediently: "The General jests."

The Qin Xun Yi Wei Yu Lin Lang Jiang, Gong Zhenyong, laughed in spite of his anger: "Heh, listen to you. You don't wear a crimson robe, you wear a jade belt! I'm just a humble proper fifth-rank upper, just changed into a crimson robe, still wearing a rhinoceros-horn belt—how would I dare call myself a General in front of you?"

He widened a pair of bell-like eyes and bellowed: "A fight!"

"And a fight inside the Changfeng Tower with those civil officials! You've got some nerve, haven't you—ten men beating thirty-four, and putting several of them bedridden. The Vice Minister of the Chancellery's son took at least ten bench-strikes. Tell me, who landed the underhanded blow?"

Apart from Li Guanyi, the other nine stepped forward in unison.

Both Li Guanyi and Gong Zhenyong's mouths twitched.

Those youths looked toward Li Guanyi.

Li Guanyi thought for a moment, then stepped forward.

Gong Zhenyong laughed in spite of his anger:

"Your families have ability, have power, aren't afraid of them—but today a whole pile of people came looking for me!"

"I had just gotten up, opened the door—thirty-four crimson robes!"

"And damn it, one imperially-bestowed purple robe standing right there! I've charged against the Ying country's Tiger Barbarian cavalry and never trembled this much!"

"Damn, that job nearly went soft on me."

"You bunch of dogs…"

Though he was from a noble house, he had risen from the ranks, climbed up from the very bottom. His language was coarse; he had fought hard battles, and habitually would have cursed them as sons of bitches—but he suddenly realized that these fellows' mothers were either legitimate daughters of great noble clans, or imperial relatives by marriage.

There was even one who was related to him by marriage—his own elder sister's son.

If that curse had left his mouth, tomorrow morning it wouldn't be thirty-odd crimson robes at his door.

It would be his own elder sister.

He and his sister were on very good terms.

That sentence was forcibly swallowed back.

Gong Zhenyong's face strained, flushing red as he said: "…Dog, dog, dog-darlings."

"You bunch of stinky brats!"

Several young nobles couldn't help laughing; Gong Zhenyong cursed endlessly, his voice audible outside, making even passing dogs tuck their tails and scurry away—everyone knew the fury of this thirty-something elite general of the Imperial Guard.

But after cursing for a long while, Gong Zhenyong took a sip of tea to moisten his throat, then coughed once and said casually:

"Won or lost."

Zhou Liuying blinked.

He realized, then grinned:

"We definitely won!"

Gong Zhenyong smiled slightly and said: "That's more like it."

Zhou Liuying said: "So, General, does that mean we don't get punished…?"

Gong Zhenyong's smile turned sinister: "Don't get punished? Pfft! What I meant was, if you win, you get punished normally; if you lose?"

"If you lose… hmph…"

All ten Jinwu Guards, including Li Guanyi, shuddered. The general rose—broad-shouldered and muscular, a general who was presumed to start at the Third Layer Realm, hardened by battlefield trials, and among the elite mid-tier commanders of the Imperial Guard—likely Fourth Layer Realm, capable of knocking all ten of them flat with a single slap without blinking.

Everyone held their breath.

Gong Zhenyong glared and barked: "Go guard the Cold Palace already!"

He spoke the softest words with the harshest tone; everyone froze, then burst into joy. One boy shouted: "Uncle, can we guard the Fire Qilin Palace instead?"

Gong Zhenyong kicked him and cursed: "Outside, call me General! General!"

He knew what his lads were up to, knew why they were obsessed with the Fire Qilin Palace: "Fine, fine, go, go, don't bother me."

"I've never seen anyone so unwilling to guard the Cold Palace, yet so eager to guard the Forbidden Palace."

The boys cheered their thanks to the General and scattered, collecting weapons and armor, then marched together toward the Fire Qilin Palace. Though scolded by fathers and brothers, and still bruised from yesterday's brawls, they marched with chests out and heads high—not as if punished, but as if rewarded.

Li Guanyi went along silently. At the Fire Qilin Palace, no one came; the youths merely trained, chatted, and recounted how they'd been beaten by their fathers and brothers the night before.

Military officers always taught their sons with fists.

Somehow, it turned into a contest: I say I took five punches, you say you took ten cane strokes, and they began competing. Ye Buyi sat in meditation with eyes closed; Li Guanyi did the same. After a couple of hours, once several young officers had already left, he said he needed to relieve himself.

He approached the well, activated his Qi-Seeing Technique, and confirmed it was safe.

He bent down and felt a thin rope.

He pulled out the loot he'd hidden here.

Hou Zhongyu's treasure—the artifact that even Fire Qilin flame could not burn, crafted by a Fangshi who reached the pinnacle of the Third Layer Realm—what secrets did it record? A divine art? A supreme technique? Or some forbidden transmission?!

Li Guanyi stared at the untouched leather sack.

After all this circling, killing, dragging it out, then finally coming here—so careful, so cautious.

Secret transmission of the Fire Qilin Palace. Hou Zhongyu's treasure.

Finally in hand.

What's inside?