Chapter 247

Gongsun Feixue had never imagined that the gentle-looking young Daoist was none other than Qin Wu Hou, the Fire Qilin, whose fame had surged across the land in recent years—while the Fire Qilin devoured the Jiangnan region, Yuwen Lie marched through the Western Regions, and the Regent Prince shattered the Tangut clans, these were the tales everyone loved to recount.

The man who existed only in whispered rumors stood right before her, and Gongsun Feixue felt a momentary daze.

Shouldn't he have entered Zhongzhou with Generals Ling Pingyang and a thousand Iron Cavalry of the Fire Qilin?

Why was he here?

Gongsun Wuyue looked at Li Guanyi and said calmly, "Though Chen Chengbi has always refused to reveal your identity, upon careful thought, it wasn't hard to deduce—you've been in the Jianghu for decades, and I rarely misjudge."

Li Guanyi praised, "Senior is formidable."

Gongsun Wuyue looked at Li Guanyi and said, "Feixue is a little older than you, yet her beauty is pleasing, her Wu Gong and character both rank among the finest of her generation; the Piaomiao Pavilion is also one of the top forces in the Jianghu, and the Gongshu Mechanisms will aid your foothold in Jiangnan."

"What do you think?"

Li Guanyi thought for a moment, then smiled without outright refusing, "Senior, you wish to bet on me through a noble alliance, seeking security for your family, is that not so?"

Great noble families, whether courtly or Jianghu-based, when facing great peril, almost always place their bets on the rise and fall of the realm—the victor ascends, the loser falls, a common occurrence.

Gongsun Wuyue said, "For the sake of the family, and moreover, I believe it."

"The disciple of Zu Wenyuan would make an excellent match."

Li Guanyi said, "Yet Senior, betting on me through marriage may not yield the outcome you desire."

Gongsun Wuyue said, "Oh?"

The young Daoist smiled lightly, "Suppose, just suppose, I truly marry Miss Gongsun Feixue, and we treat each other with mutual respect; suppose my Jiangnan region truly rises to dominate the realm—not necessarily to bring universal peace, but to become a regional lord."

"Then the Gongsun family would become the Imperial In-Laws."

"When the Gongsun family stands as Imperial In-Laws, holding this position with the power of the Gongshu Mechanisms, what choice do you think the head of the Gongsun family would make then?"

"Would they not seek to control my descendants?"

"Imperial In-Laws, Jianghu, Gongshu Mechanisms… even if the head of the Gongsun family at that time had no such intention, Senior, consider this—how would the generals and strategists under the Fire Qilin view the Gongsun family then?"

"Have you forgotten the tale of the Red Emperor's wife's clan?"

"If the Gongshu family becomes Imperial In-Laws and wields the Mechanisms, possessing such weapons, the desire to kill will arise naturally—they will attempt to seize control of the Fire Qilin Army, and the army's warlords will surely rebel in fury."

"Yet if they have no such intent, yet still hold martial prowess and Mechanisms while standing as Imperial In-Laws, they become even more vulnerable to being purged."

"Your elder brother died amid Jianghu turmoil—why do you think the storms of the realm and court are less dangerous than those of the Jianghu?"

"Even if the next generation is safe, what of the generations after?"

"In Jianghu disputes, noble families may still survive."

"In court struggles, entire clans are exterminated."

The tale Li Guanyi mentioned of the Red Emperor's wife's clan was of how, eight hundred years ago, the Red Emperor's wife seized control of court affairs, engaging in covert and open struggles with the founding ministers and divine generals—Gongsun Wuyue fell silent, for she too feared this very thing, and smiled faintly, "The Fire Qilin Army is benevolent."

This was one of the negative consequences of the name "benevolence."

People would assume Li Guanyi's faction would never commit morally corrupt acts.

Li Guanyi smiled, his tone calm and composed, saying softly:

"Moreover, I have a strategist under me."

"His name is Wen He."

"He is my left and right arm!"

"Senior, you've heard of Zhou Pinglu—have you heard of Wen He?"

Li Guanyi's expression remained unruffled as he sipped tea.

Then he noticed the expression on Senior Gongsun Wuyue's face freeze, then shift into helpless resignation—she had clearly intended to debate the credibility of this marriage alliance, to refute Li Guanyi's scenario.

But upon hearing that name, the thought vanished entirely.

She sighed helplessly, "If you have such a strategist, then if my family allies with you, we may enjoy decades of wealth and honor before being purged—I've heard of him, rumors say he is cruel and cunning yet bears a reputation for virtue…"

"If he purges us, even our eggs will be stirred into slurry."

"You refuse outright, yet you bring up this man to spoil the mood."

Li Guanyi noticed Gongsun Wuyue's interest had plummeted instantly.

He couldn't help but marvel inwardly.

Truly, a man's name casts a shadow.

Not even the students of the Imperial Academies—

Even the Gongsun family, a great clan so close to Zhongzhou, had clearly heard of Wen He's name.

Li Guanyi didn't know how to evaluate it.

Was this fame spreading across the four corners, or infamy spreading across the land?

He could only admire inwardly.

Impressive. Impressive.

He silently resolved to add extra Ma Fei San to Wen He's wine, and tie three extra knots in the Treasure-Class rope—he suspected he was far from the first to consider ambushing him.

Li Guanyi sensed the conversation had shifted, so he smiled and asked:

"Senior, you know Wen He?"

Gongsun Wuyue said, "Many students who come to buy our mechanical crossbows curse him, swearing they must shoot him dead abroad—for the sake of the people. And one seemed to be Wen He's friend."

"He came weeping bitterly, saying he could not let his friend do such things, yet for the sake of the world, Wen He must be removed—'After I kill him, I will not live alone'—then he wept uncontrollably and chose the most powerful multi-shot explosive crossbow our Gongshu family offers."

"It can pierce three layers of iron armor; its instantaneous explosion can topple a small hill; after rupture, internal fragments scatter with the force of a Cultivation-Level martial artist's hidden projectiles, covering a thirty-zhang radius."

"It is coated with poison that instantly incapacitates a tiger."

Li Guanyi's lips twitched.

Huh???

How did Wen He gain such a reputation in the Imperial Academies?

He suddenly understood why Yuan Zhi and Xiao Zhi wandered the realm—yet Wen He stubbornly stayed within the 【Confucian Ancient Path, Gongyang Su Wang Invincible】 academy, never stepping outside.

He has a clear sense of his own limits.

As for what came after, Master Wenhao was still perfectly fine—so clearly nothing had happened. Li Guanyi was astonished: how had this man managed to make everyone fear him, value him, and yet live so well?

No one in the world understands how to protect himself better than Wenhao.

Lady Gongsun Wuyue fell silent for a long while; she had never held great hope for Li Guanyi's marriage proposal from the start, merely suggesting it as an experiment. Now she merely smiled and said: "Brave and cunning, with the Fire Qilin Army under your command and Yuan Zhi, with Wenhao as your strategist—you are the foremost among the younger generation."

"It's a pity Feixue lacks such fortune."

"The Lady Gongsun clan walks the martial world, with vast wealth and influence. I fear that in decades to come, they will not meet a good end."

"Yet, our ancestor Gongshu Ban and the Mohist founder once clashed with their mechanical arts—one sought to provide, the other to defend. Perhaps their choice of different paths was already decided back then."

Lady Gongsun Wuyue reached out and picked up the 【Lingyun Wood】 that Li Guanyi had placed on the table. This mysterious weapon, a sword, exuded ancient charm, its surface carved with patterns of ancient pines. She looked at Li Guanyi, a trace of regret in her voice:

"Perhaps my family met you too late."

"Even mighty lords desire to ally with my family. Your nature directly refuses—though you gave reasons just now, I suspect you already encountered someone who treated you exceptionally well when you were still obscure?"

Lady Gongsun Wuyue caressed the sword in her hand, suddenly recalling the youthful Daoist priest, full of vigor. Her eyes dimmed slightly as she whispered: "Men of this age do not recognize the Lingyun tree, until it reaches the clouds, then they say it is tall."

"It fits the spirit of this mysterious weapon perfectly."

She returned the sword to Li Guanyi's hands and smiled: "Consider my earlier words unsaid. Just treat me as an old acquaintance of Zu Wenyuan and Chen Chengbi."

Li Guanyi extended his hand to stop her. The young Daoist's expression was calm and gentle:

"Wait."

Lady Gongsun Wuyue looked at him, her eyes holding a hint of doubt. Li Guanyi smiled and said: "I only said that marriage is not a good choice—but I have no intention of abandoning an alliance with the Lady Gongsun clan."

"When I arrived, the Mohist master told me I must gain the help of Senior Lady Gongsun. And my own master said: unite all forces that can be united."

Lady Gongsun Wuyue raised an eyebrow and smiled calmly: "Good. Your temperament resembles your teacher's—unhurried, steady. In the past, I always proposed ideas; now you reject mine and offer a better one?"

"Very well. Let me hear what reasoning you, the Fire Qilin Qin Wu Hou, can present."

Li Guanyi smiled: "Senior, you worry that the Lady Gongsun clan's large-scale mechanical devices will never be tolerated by a ruler who unifies the world, correct?"

Lady Gongsun Wuyue looked at Li Guanyi and said: "Yes."

"Then, if Qin Wu Hou were to seize the world, could you tolerate a clan holding such devices?"

Li Guanyi answered: "Impossible."

"Power grows from the barrel of the gun. Mechanical devices are even more vital than spears. The Gongshu lineage's mechanical theories cannot be controlled by a single family or household."

Lady Gongsun Wuyue patted Lady Gongsun Feixue's hand and laughed:

"He's an honest man."

"If you claimed you could tolerate them, I'd summon my clan disciples to beat you out with sticks. So—what's your idea?"

Li Guanyi held his teacup; the tea inside had been finished. He poured in some clear water, raised the cup, and spoke calmly:

"The Lady Gongsun clan holds the ultimate killing device, like water in this cup. The Lady Gongsun clan is the porcelain cup itself. What you wish to do is protect this water forever. But now, the world is in turmoil—this cup will inevitably fall."

"The water will spill. Senior, do you know how to protect this water?"

Lady Gongsun Wuyue laughed: "Little Daoist, you've met that black monk and learned how to speak riddles? I have a guess—but tell me yours."

The atmosphere had shifted from the solemn tone of a great clan negotiating alliance with a mighty lord to something more harmonious, like an elder and a younger relative. Li Guanyi thought for a moment and smiled: "Senior, I've heard from Elder Chen Chengbi and the Living Buddha."

"They both said you've always been sharp and wise—the cleverest among them."

"Even Grandfather Zu said that if you hadn't intervened back then—"

"The Living Buddha would've been sold off and still counted the coins, perishing six decades ago. How could he now be the third-ranked master of the world, capable of shattering mountains, with a body as indestructible as diamond?"

Lady Gongsun Feixue had first been flustered, then, after being rejected, felt an instinctive sense of loss—not because she had feelings for Li Guanyi, but because she was still a young woman, proud by nature, and the boy's direct refusal had left a small knot in her heart.

Yet now she saw the boy begin praising her grandmother.

Lady Gongsun Feixue froze.

Huh??

Who is this person with such a sweet tongue?

Huh?? Where did the brilliant, calm, legendary general—the one said to swallow ten thousand miles like a tiger, leading tens of thousands of Fire Qilin soldiers into battle—go?

Suddenly, she felt the fierce, legendary youth had shed his mask, becoming approachable. She burst into laughter, realizing how improper it was, and opened her mouth to say something.

But she looked up and saw Li Guanyi's wide eyes—the young man's face hadn't yet hardened to the point of being impervious to embarrassment; he looked stiff and awkward.

The impoverished lord Li Guanyi was desperately flattering Lady Gongsun Wuyue.

He was mentally bargaining, hoping to get a discount on mechanical devices, when her laugh interrupted him—and he grew embarrassed. But Lady Gongsun Wuyue remained composed, squinting and urging: "Keep going, little one."

Lady Gongsun Wuyue teased with a smile: "You've got quite the sweet tongue."

"If Zu Wenyuan had a tongue this sweet, it'd be better."

Li Guanyi said: "Every word I speak comes from my heart."

From the heart of poverty!

Lady Gongsun Wuyue waved her hand, smiling: "One hundred mechanical repeating crossbows."

"And three thousand specially made crossbow bolts."

"Let's talk business."

Li Guanyi still tried to struggle, preserving the dignity of the youngest lord in the world: "Senior, what I said truly comes from…"

Lady Gongsun Wuyue sipped tea. The woman, over seventy yet still elegant, leisurely spoke three words:

"Two hundred."

"But…"

"Three hundred."

The young lord showed no hesitation:

"Done!"

"Senior, you're absolutely right!"

What use is a marquis's dignity? It can't be traded for grain, armor, or machinery.

Li Guanyi thought for a moment, then smiled and said, "Then let's do this: you and I each write down our ideas on paper, and see if our thoughts match."

Lady Gongsun Wuyue laughed, "Clever indeed. Very well, I'll indulge you."

Both took up paper and brush, wrote their thoughts, and Lady Gongsun Feixue brought them over.

She froze slightly, looked at Li Guanyi, then at Lady Gongsun Wuyue, placed the two sheets side by side, and both stared closely—the left text was free and unrestrained, the right brushwork elegant and refined.

【Military】

This was Lady Gongsun Wuyue's answer.

But she looked at Li Guanyi's reply: "The world…"

"What grand ambition."

Lady Gongsun Wuyue sat upright, studied it for a moment, then said, "Just now, I thought: if a cup of water is to last, it must leave the cup and flow into Jianghe. Thus, if the Gongshu family's machinery were to enter the Fire Qilin Army…"

"Then the Gongshu family holds sufficient value for the Fire Qilin Army's combat strength."

"In the future, no matter who seeks to claim the world, no matter which of your descendants rules, none can abandon the army—and within the army, the Gongshu mechanical arts cannot be discarded. Thus, whoever becomes your heir, my family shall endure."

Li Guanyi said, "But if the Gongshu family directly aligns with Jiangnan, it will anger Chen and Ying states, and they will target your family."

Lady Gongsun Wuyue said, "There must be a price."

"Then what is the world?"

Li Guanyi smiled, "Water in a cup takes the cup's shape; poured into a river, it flows with the river. But the cup will shatter, and the river will dry, mud and silt sinking together."

"But entering the world is different: on earth it is a river, ascending to heaven it becomes cloud, falling to mortals as rain or mist, rising and transforming, cycling eternally, never perishing."

Lady Gongsun Wuyue watched the young Daoist rise, his back turned to her, cup raised toward the sky, and said, "Li Guanyi still lives, the Fire Qilin Army prospers—it seems visible across the world. But can Jiangnan remain forever flourishing?"

"Who will be the final victor: me or Ying?"

Li Guanyi answered himself: "I hope it may flourish forever."

"But perhaps I will die on the battlefield, and the Fire Qilin Army will carry my unfinished dream into this whirlpool—yet knowledge endures… One suggestion, Master Gongshu: I hope you will send craftsmen to Jiangnan."

"I want them to teach the Gongshu mechanical arts."

"I want to establish an organization similar to the Scholar's Palace there."

"Select talented individuals from across the world, teach them the secrets of machinery. Of course, this is a chaotic age—these people will become logistics officers for the Fire Qilin Army; and blueprints for mechanical crossbows, objects that may bring disaster, will remain secret."

"These details still need careful discussion."

"The Military, Legalist, and Yin-Yang schools once held knowledge capable of shaking an age—but the Scholar's Palace taught them to all, its status transcendent. Even in great chaos, no one sought to destroy it."

Li Guanyi looked at Lady Gongsun Wuyue and said, "It depends on your choice."

"Will you keep these mechanical arts locked within your family, refusing to release them?"

"Or will you gather talents and teach them, so that when your disciples spread across the world, the Gongshu family and Gongshu Ban become founders like the ancient masters of the Scholar's Palace—even if the Fire Qilin Army perishes, the Gongshu family's knowledge will not die."

"Once knowledge is spread, no one will be so arrogant as to kill everyone who knows it—they will simply continue along the same path, just as the Scholar's Palace rose."

Lady Gongsun Wuyue fell silent: join the army, or found a Scholar's Palace.

"The Scholar's Palace was founded eight hundred years ago by those heroes."

"We…"

Li Guanyi replied, "We need not be weaker than they."

Lady Gongsun Wuyue pondered long. Li Guanyi's suggestion resembled her own plan, yet upon closer examination, it was different: merging directly into the army as part of the Fire Qilin; versus founding a Scholar's Palace, teaching disciples, who then enter the Fire Qilin.

The nature was utterly different.

The final position and treatment of the Gongshu family would also be utterly different.

Li Guanyi smiled, "Don't worry—I have Wen He."

"Wen He's talent will ensure the Scholar's Palace you found remains unharmed."

Such a fierce strategist, yet so reliable in protecting his own domain.

Lady Gongsun Wuyue seemed moved, saying, "I wish to believe you, based on my own thoughts—but I am head of the Gongshu family. How can I trust you won't simply swallow my lineage?"

Li Guanyi said, "The Gongshu family is already in danger."

"Chen Dingye of the Chen family has sent a thousand armored soldiers; the Motian Sect Sect leader has crossed the river like a fierce dragon."

Lady Gongsun Wuyue smiled, "Yes, so you came just in time. Very well: solve one problem for my family, and that becomes your blood oath in the Jianghu—I will believe you, and stake my family on it."

"I'll give you three craftsmen."

Li Guanyi held up his fingers. "Three tasks."

Lady Gongsun Wuyue said, "What?"

The young Daoist replied gently, "You don't trust me—do you trust one of the Six Palace Masters of the Scholar's Palace? The First Mo Juzi of the Mohist school?"

Even this matriarch of a Jianghu family, weathered by decades of storms, felt unaccustomed—she was unaccustomed to someone who didn't cling to every advantage, unaccustomed to someone willing to do more than required.

The heroes of the Jianghu ultimately do not understand the world.

Li Guanyi bowed with clasped hands. "Since we are Jishitong Alliance, I must show sincerity."

"Li Guanyi, by this three-task pact, invites the Piaomiao Pavilion into Jiangnan."

"Three tasks: First, I will halt Chen's troops; second, I will turn the Motian Sect back toward Jiangnan; third, I will go to the Scholar's Palace and seek out the Mo Juzi—if I can persuade him to come…"

"Then we will continue our talks!"

"If we are to be allies, there must be no lingering doubts—you won't suspect me, I won't betray you. Life and death together—that is the way of a true alliance across the world!"

The youth fastened his sword at his waist, black hair stirring slightly, behind him as if a tiger crouched with claws, a crimson dragon murmured low—he bowed, sleeves falling, and in that moment, his robe seemed like armor's cloak drifting like clouds, calm and composed:

"Chen's troops arrive. Motian Sect comes."

"The world is changing."

"I shall, for you, resolve these two matters!"

His quiet aura, like a mountain, unconfined—Lady Gongsun Feixue froze, finally realizing: the sweet-tongued youth before her was, indeed, a great hero, claws bared, breathing power over the world.

Li Guanyi stood and said, "Moreover, a great clan with a thousand-year legacy like the Gongshu should not bear the entire burden on one person's shoulders. Let us call off this marriage alliance."

"Then, since my friend is still resting, I shall take my leave, Guanyi."

The young Daoist, wearing an ancient sword with pine-patterned hilt, smiled and bowed with clasped hands.

Looking at the dazed Gongsun Wuyue, he said sincerely:

"Mother."

Gongsun Wuyue sighed, finally silent, her heart still leaning toward the boy.

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