Chapter 114: Night Banquet in the Qian Palace (2)

The young people around all assumed Xie Jinhuan was a martial artist; hearing these words, they naturally turned their gaze to the handwriting on the booklet.

Fan Li had originally thought Xie Jinhuan was flattering him, but upon seeing the characters on the book—bold as iron strokes and silver hooks, force penetrating the back of the paper—he narrowed his eyes, took him more seriously, took the booklet, and examined it carefully:

"Hmm... this handwriting truly learns from one's own master, yet one cannot say it merely copies the master's bones and tendons; there is quite a bit of his own stuff inside, looking more like a legitimate disciple's work than Huaiyu's..."

Hearing Master Fan's evaluation was so high, everyone showed expressions of surprise.

Zhang Huaiyu was the direct disciple, having started learning calligraphy at six; discovering Xie Jinhuan's writing indeed looked more like that of a direct disciple than his own, his eyes held a look of disbelief:

"Uh... Brother Xie's handwriting, one cannot cultivate without ten-plus years of effort. I do not mean to doubt Brother Xie, but... um..."

Wei Lu, being a martial artist, had thought he and Xie Jinhuan were kindred spirits; only now realizing it was not quite so, he interjected:

"Brother Xie's martial arts are so domineering; do you still have time to practice calligraphy? Although they say calligraphy is like sword techniques, that is just talk..."

Xie Jinhuan had known since age three that characters are a person's 'business card'; to grind the local natives to dust, he had put in bitter effort, and now he replied:

"Since age three, I copied a thousand characters daily, practicing until I was sixteen; I learned martial arts on the mountain in these past three years. Actually, I spent far more time on brush and ink than on the Martial Path."

"?"

Silence fell around them for an instant, eyes full of doubt.

Hearing these words, even Fan Li found it hard to believe, and asked:

"Does young nephew Xie mean you were not a martial artist before, and only three years ago did you leave your original path to take up martial arts?"

Xie Jinhuan had previously been so over-competitive that he ended up mastering nothing; he only entered Martial Path Rank 8 at sixteen, so by calculation, he truly was an outsider.

However, he did not wish to frighten them too much, so he merely replied:

"It is not exactly leaving the original path; I practiced martial arts since childhood to build a foundation, but before in Jingcheng, I prioritized studying books and did not emphasize the Martial Path. Only in the past three years, with my master's guidance, have I focused my mind entirely on the Martial Path, so my progress has indeed been relatively fast..."

Relatively fast...

You damn fool, you are not even twenty and already Rank 3!

Wei Lu, as a direct lineage member of Snow Eagle Ridge, had started practicing since he could remember, yet now was only at this level; discovering Xie Jinhuan had caught up in three years, he could not help but wonder what kind of divine place Fengling Valley was.

Fan Li knew Xie Jinhuan's talent was extraordinary, but practicing calligraphy and martial arts both require time and energy; it was unlikely one could cultivate both this handwriting and this martial prowess before age twenty, so he handed the small notebook to Xie Jinhuan:

"Young nephew Xie, could you write two characters for this old man to open his eyes?"

Seeing so many people watching, with several ministers even gathering to watch the spectacle, Xie Jinhuan thought it over, said nothing, took the notebook, drew out the hard brush and tucked it aside, then wrote "shua shua shua" on the paper:

"What is the meaning of fighting among brothers in the same room? Golden orchid jade friends, how much friendship..."

The characters were like a roaming dragon rising from the land, spirit surging toward the sky; because he wrote with seriousness, they were even far more beautiful than those in the booklet.

Just seeing the first few strokes, everyone knew this was the hard work of over ten years of tempering, impossible to fake, and astonishment naturally showed in their eyes.

However, the content written was a bit... um...

Linghu Qingmo and others had not yet seen what Xie Jinhuan was writing when they noticed the refined Master Fan's expression froze slightly; he raised his hand and pressed down on the small booklet, words on his lips but unspoken.

"Eh?"

Wei Lu was somewhat confused: "Brother Xie has not finished writing; what is Master Fan doing?"

Fan Li's eyes were strange as he carefully sized up the upright Xie Jinhuan, thought for a moment, and asked:

"Is young nephew Xie also one of the same kind?"

Xie Jinhuan had written the set-piece poem from the 'polishing the mirror' chapter of 'The Golden Orchid Legend'; seeing that the great Confucian Fan had figured it out, he naturally stopped his brush and ink:

"Since childhood I have liked these things; coming this time to visit Master, I wished to ask some questions."

Fan Li inherited the 'Calligraphy' from the 'Dual Sages of Sword and Calligraphy'; his usual hobby was writing a bit of half-true, half-false idle books, such as—The Amorous History of Wei Wu Yi, The Rogue Lu Wu Zhen...

To avoid being beaten to death by fellow Daoists, these books were not made public but published anonymously and distributed at the Academy.

Now meeting a junior talent who imitated his calligraphy and was also a fellow enthusiast, Fan Li was as if he had seen family!

However, discussing this matter openly was too brazen; Fan Li merely stroked his beard with a smile, putting on the air of a virtuous and respected elder, and beckoned Xie Jinhuan to a quiet spot.

Many young talents, seeing Old Fan pulling Xie Jinhuan away to whisper, looked confused and spoke in low voices:

"What is this?"

"He probably sees Brother Xie is asking no small question; he must transmit the Dao in private."

"Really?! Something the current face of the Confucian school can only discuss privately—what kind of great learning must it be?"

"Could it be the mystery of immortality?"

"Possible..."

"This is simply... so enviable."

Xie Jinhuan ignored the idle chatter behind him; only after following Fan Li to the quiet spot did he ask:

"The day before yesterday in Danyang, this junior saw a copy of 'The Golden Orchid Legend'; the allusions inside seem inconsistent with historical facts..."

Fan Li looked left and right, confirmed no one was eavesdropping, then answered in a low voice:

"'The Golden Orchid Legend' was written by my master Ye Ci during leisure time; it is merely fictional banter, certainly inconsistent with historical facts."

Xie Jinhuan asked: "Is the book all fictional banter? As far as this junior understands, after the Wu Sect turmoil, True Person Qixia indeed rarely appeared, and at a young age..."

Seeing Xie Jinhuan's thirst for knowledge, Fan Li carefully weighed his words before replying:

"True Person Qixia was injured during the Wu Sect turmoil, his temperament unstable; my master was even struck by True Person Qixia. He closed himself in the Life-and-Death Gate at only forty, also due to this reason.

"As for the specific circumstances, my master never stated them clearly, and I dare not speculate rashly. However, the book is not all fictional banter; it is possible my master was hinting obscurely.

"If young nephew Xie wishes to learn of this past, you should actually ask Sect Master Nangong. Although she has never met True Person Qixia, as a sect master, she certainly knows the sect's inside secrets."

Xie Jinhuan also wished to ask his dream daughter-in-law, but how could he bring up her master's unofficial history to ask?

Moreover, he did not know when his dream daughter-in-law would return...

Hearing Fan Li's subtle phrasing, Xie Jinhuan also understood that 'The Golden Orchid Legend' might be half-true, half-false, using the content of a yuri novel to hint at True Person Qixia's situation back then.

True Person Qixia met the demoness, and they became inseparable; looking at it positively, it was encountering a great opportunity, impossible to fully control yet impossible to sever; looking at it negatively, it was schizophrenia, giving birth to a heart demon...

As for letting the demoness control the blessed land at night, perhaps it hinted that True Person Qixia could no longer control himself...

This was clearly not good news.

If A Piao was Qixia True Person's 'Heart Demon', then the Demon-Suppressing Tomb held Qixia True Person himself, and A Piao was obviously not yet dead; if the grave was blown open, a schizophrenic madwoman would emerge!

And if A Piao was the 'uncontrollable thing' sealed by Qixia True Person, the consequences would be even more troublesome.

If Qixia True Person, who ranked as Zhang Sect, could not control it, how could he?

Even if the Ghost Wife did not harm him, if he dared to dig it up himself, he would inevitably face the combined assault of all sects and schools.

Thinking of this, Xie Jinhuan felt his heart weighed down by pressure like a mountain; seeing that Fan Li was also unclear, and to prevent loose talk causing trouble, he did not continue the topic, exchanged a few polite words, and then found an excuse to take his leave.

Linghu Qingmo, holding Meiqiu, did not dare to approach and eavesdrop; only after Xie Jinhuan and Mr. Fan parted did she step forward quickly and ask curiously:

"Xie Jinhuan, what were you asking just now?"

Xie Jinhuan certainly could not speak plainly, so he explained offhand:

"Just some court secrets, not suitable for public discussion. Where are we going now?"

"Oh~"

Seeing that Xie Jinhuan seemed burdened with worries, Linghu Qingmo did not press further, but raised her eyes to indicate the main hall:

"The banquet is about to begin; let's go in and sit first. The Emperor and Empress should be coming out soon."

"Let's go."

—

Night fell, and the Linde Hall was brightly lit, with music and song echoing around the beams.

Inside the vast hall, the Qian Emperor and the Empress sat before the Panlong Golden Wall, with Crown Prince Zhao Jinghuan at their side, while Cao Fuer stood hugging a whisk in an inconspicuous corner.

Lady Changning and Wang Shizi, as nephew and niece, sat in the foremost seats on the right alongside several imperial clan members; on the left were the Imperial Father-in-law He Xiu, Li Gongpu, and other high-ranking court officials.

As the personal expert of Lady Changning, Xie Jinhuan being allowed to attend the feast was already a special honor; his seating was basically at the children's table.

However, Wei Lu and Zhang Huaiyu were also nearby, while ahead sat civil and military officials, envoys from foreign states, and titled Ladies; this arrangement was not exactly neglectful.

At this moment, over a dozen dancing girls performed moving songs and dances inside the hall; although the program was very exciting, Xie Jinhuan had no mind to appreciate it.

Since entering the Linde Hall, Xie Jinhuan had been pondering what exactly the Ghost Wife was, while also observing the princes and nobles filling the entire hall through A Piao, who was possessed by a ghost.

Xie Jinhuan had two purposes for this trip: first, to find an opportunity to set a trap for Li Gongpu, and second, to find the Mingshen Sect's hidden agents.

Under normal circumstances, as long as the Ghost Wife was relatively close, she could discern the school and background.

But the facts were exactly as Xie Jinhuan expected: the Imperial Palace was the core of the Great Qian Empire, and when built, it had gathered the wisdom of all sects and schools; the ancestors who had merited merit during the Wu Sect rebellion at the founding of the empire, to prevent demons and evil from disrupting the nation, had also arranged various prohibitions within the Imperial Palace, and even on the side of the palace stood the Eight Directions Bright Tower, with two Super Rank ancestors squatting inside and out.

If a demon or bandit could bypass the scrutiny of countless experts, formations, and treasures to sit in the Linde Hall undetected, they must have used a secret method to conceal all abnormalities, making it difficult even for the Ghost Wife to detect any clues.

At this moment, according to the Ghost Wife's account, hundreds of people were gathered in the entire hall, with cultivation ranging from ordinary people to Super Rank, and schools were of all kinds; she could even spot Wu Sect personnel from Northern Zhou, but found absolutely no demon Daoist cultivators.

Additionally, the Qian Emperor sitting on the Dragon Throne, as well as the Empress and Crown Prince at his side, were completely impossible to probe.

After all, the Qian Emperor, as the supreme ruler of the Great Qian Empire, must guard against calculations by demons and ghosts; although nothing special seemed to be near the Dragon Throne, a protective formation was set up beneath the seat, isolating all internal and external Qi mechanisms, making it impossible not only to probe but also to strike with spells or incantations.

However, judging by his complexion, the Qian Emperor was indeed not very healthy; his skin lacked luster, and he occasionally coughed lightly.

Xie Jinhuan scanned the entire hall, guessing that the Mingshen Sect's hidden agent was likely within this very hall, but he truly could not find any suspicious person; for now, he could only ponder how to set a trap for Li Gongpu...

(End of this chapter)