Chapter 668: The Old Immortal

However, whether it was the Imperial Prison or the Ministry of Justice's main jail, no matter if you were once a powerful eunuch director in the palace or a grandee of the Grand Secretariat, or even a noble of duke, marquis, or earl rank, once you arrived here—regardless of past or future—in these two places, you were still a prisoner after all, and had to stay in a cell waiting for rescue efforts from outside, or for luck to arrive.

But ever since the thirtieth year of the Wanli reign, the number of prisoners in the Imperial Prison and the Ministry of Justice jail had grown fewer and fewer, and the interiors had become empty and deserted. The reason was simple: the Son of Heaven had not held court for over twenty years. From the Grand Secretariat down to the Six Ministries and every government office, there were far too many vacant posts. No matter how vicious the political strife, the Wanli Emperor would never intervene or show bias, only sitting on the memorials without issuing them. The losers merely needed to resign or be dismissed from office. With things going on like this, who else would end up in the Imperial Prison or the Ministry of Justice jail? Only recently had one person been imprisoned—that was Yang Hao, the Military Commissioner who suffered a great defeat in Liaodong. With a failure like that, he could not avoid imprisonment and awaiting punishment.

Apart from these, many nobles in the capital knew of one special exception. This man held no power or official post, and his family were commoners—it was said he started out as a cobbler. He was arrested in the twenty-third year of the Wanli reign and was to be sent to the Ministry of Justice jail at once. But before he even reached the capital, a major figure stepped in to intercede, and he was directly acquitted and released. Then this man did not go home; instead, he came straight to the capital and enjoyed another twenty years of glory. Five years ago, in the forty-second year of the Wanli reign, he was arrested again. At that time, the evidence of his crimes was truly conclusive, and several grandees spoke out, making it impossible to gloss over. He was seized directly and thrown into the Imperial Prison.

For a figure like this to enter the Imperial Prison, he would surely be flayed alive if not killed outright. The agents of the prison were not genial to every prisoner—only to important offenders. If they didn't squeeze the oil from your bones, it was dereliction of duty. But toward this powerless, post-less former cobbler, the agents were exceedingly courteous, providing for him as if he were a grandee who had not been dismissed. Then, after he had been in the Imperial Prison only a few days, someone from within the palace spoke up and had this figure moved from the Imperial Prison to the Ministry of Justice jail.

The Imperial Prison of the Embroidered Uniform Guard's Prison Bureau was directly under the Son of Heaven's control, making it difficult to tamper with. The Ministry of Justice jail, on the other hand, was jointly managed by several offices, with plenty of buck-passing and opportunities to exploit loopholes and pull strings. Even so, this figure did not get out of the Ministry of Justice jail. He entered in the forty-second year of the Wanli reign and has not come out to this day.

Only, his imprisonment was different from others. A residence was built specially for him inside the main jail—a residence that actually had two courtyards. Someone cleaned it, someone attended to him, and whatever he needed, someone would immediately go buy. What was even more absurd was that, inside this Ministry of Justice jail, he could even receive outside visitors. Sometimes the jailers guarding this grandee were just like servants in a mansion, leading guests in and out.

No one thought there was anything wrong with this. This figure's influence reached everywhere. Many of the grand eunuch directors of the twenty-four government offices in the palace called themselves his disciples. The Son of Heaven's consorts always provided incense offerings. Imperial relatives often came to request an audience. Although no court officials appeared in person, their family members always sent people here to pay respects. With a figure like this, how could the entire Ministry of Justice not treat him as an ancestor to be worshipped? It must be known that even the wife of the Minister of Justice sent people to deliver gifts.

For such an unconventional lord, the head jailers and guards of the Ministry of Justice jail were quite willing to serve him. This lord was very generous, and the benefits everyone received from him were even greater than what they got from the families of important prisoners. Moreover, this lord's abilities were heaven-reaching. He knew the names and backgrounds of everyone working in this jail, and also knew where they lived and how many people were in their families. Over these years, there had been someone with no sense who tried to extort him, and had even devised a method to deal with this lord's backers. Unexpectedly, this lord didn't even go to those figures in the palace or the court. He simply said, "You will come to a bad end." And then that very night, the entire family of the jailer who tried to extort him died completely...

The jailers knew this man's surname was Wang, his given name was Sen, he was already over seventy years old, and he was from Jizhou in Zhili. They knew nothing else. Some with better-informed sources did know a bit of the inside story, but they dared not say a single word more—the example of the exterminated family was right before their eyes! Everyone addressed this man as "the Old Immortal."

The weather in mid-July was sweltering. Outside, people thought this place was cool, but the jailers and guards themselves were all drenched in sweat and miserable. In previous years, there was no fear of this, as nobles would send ice to relieve the heat, and everyone could share in the benefit. But this year it was not to be. This "Old Immortal" was about to pass away in seated meditation and ascend to immortality, and he had even calculated the day of his transcendence: between 7 and 9 p. m. on the evening of the twenty-first of July. By all accounts, there were still three days left.

Ever since the Old Immortal announced this date, the grand eunuch directors of the twenty-four offices, the consorts of the inner palace, the imperial relatives, and the inner household members of high officials in the court all sent people one after another, and some even came in person. Everyone who left wore an expression of deep emotion, and the parting gifts were exceptionally lavish. Even the staff all received quite a lot of reward money. But in these final three days, he would only see two groups of guests each day—one group during the day, one group at night. The daytime group was received in the morning, and the nighttime group after dark. The rest of the time, this Old Immortal was sleeping.

On the night of July nineteenth, two guests surnamed Lin were invited into Old Immortal Wang Sen's quarters. The jailers and guards did not care to ask questions, but they could tell the two men were probably brothers.

The servants who originally attended to him in the small courtyard had all been dismissed. Only one jailer remained to look after his daily needs, but when receiving guests, this jailer would often walk out of the courtyard. As for this jailer's background, everyone tacitly understood. After the Old Immortal arrived at this jail, this jailer had been transferred here from the Five Wards Military Command. The connections involved were easy to figure out.

"Master..." The elder of the Lin brothers knelt down the moment he entered the room, choking with emotion as he kowtowed. His younger brother prostrated himself directly behind him, not even daring to raise his head.

The "Old Immortal" Wang Sen sat cross-legged on a bamboo couch. He wore a pure white Daoist robe made of fine silk, with white-lotus-shaped jade pieces at the fastenings. His appearance was lean and ascetic, his white beard and white hair also pure in color, without a single strand of impurity. His hair was simply let down loose. He looked exactly like an immortal from a painting.

Wang Sen wore a gentle smile on his face. Looking at the two men kneeling below, he said softly, "Get up. My energy is failing now. When Wujia first came in, I had a momentary daze and thought it was Wusheng who had come. Both of you, get up. Wuzhen has grown up too. You have all matured. It is time for this old man to go."

"It is the Buddha who is coming to take Master to the True Void Homeland, the Paradise of Ultimate Bliss. This is to go enjoy blessings." As "Lin Wuzhen" spoke, tears streamed uncontrollably down his face, and he hurriedly wiped them with his hand. That "Lin Wujia" simply kept his head lowered there, exceedingly proper and cautious.

Seeing them like this, Wang Sen shook his head and said with a hint of affection, "So grown up, yet your actions are still so careless. Even in fabricating a false surname, you leave so many traces. The character 'Lin' is too close to 'Mu.' If someone with intent remembers something, they will certainly know you are from the Mu family."

Surnamed Mu, with the given names Wuzhen and Wujia—these were precisely Mu Shulan's uncle and her father's younger brother. And this Wang Sen was the founder of the Smelling Incense Sect, and also its first-generation hierarch.

Before Wang Sen, Mu Wuzhen and Mu Wujia no longer had the imposing air they possessed in Dongchang Prefecture. They were completely in the posture and manner of juniors and younger generations. Even someone as composed as Mu Wuzhen was visibly moved by genuine emotion here. Mu Wujia showed no particular feeling, yet dared not reveal it, and merely kept his head lowered in silence.

"You were taken in by me back then and always served at my side. Later, you became first-generation disciples. This old man remembers it very clearly. That you have now built up such a situation in Dongchang Prefecture also gladdens this old man's heart. This is all the protection and blessing of Maitreya Buddha and the Eternal Venerable Mother. It is only a pity about Wusheng. Among you brothers, he was the most talented. A pity he died!" Wang Sen said slowly.

"This old man's days are numbered. The reason I called you here is that I have some instructions to pass on. You pushed your own niece forward to be the Holy Maiden, opening halls and burning incense in Dongchang Prefecture and Jinan Prefecture, with influence even spreading into Northern Zhili. This is very remarkable. But with the two of you hiding behind the scenes and only a woman holding the front line, this is not a long-term strategy. Within our teaching, the position of Holy Maiden has always been a front."

Wang Sen's expression grew solemn. Mu Wuzhen and Mu Wujia, who were originally men of their own opinions, were completely unable to assert themselves in this situation. Mu Wuzhen actually knelt down again just like that, kowtowed respectfully, and said, "Your disciples are ignorant. Please, Master, show us the way through the fog."

"Marry your niece to my son, Haoxian!" Wang Sen said in a deep voice.

Mu Wuzhen was stunned. Mu Wujia looked up in shock. They certainly knew who "Haoxian" was. This was Wang Sen's second son, originally the current-generation hierarch of the Smelling Incense Sect—only, the position of hierarch had been yielded to Xu Hongru.

"How could we dare aspire so high..."

"It cannot really be called aspiring high. Both families stand to benefit. Haoxian is this old man's direct heir, and your Mu family now has such a situation. One could say you are well-matched in status. If she marries Haoxian, you two need not worry about your positions either, and can justifiably step to the forefront. Besides, that child Haoxian has a lax and carefree nature. Won't it still be you brothers managing affairs? After the marriage, you will also have to toil hard to manage the various places in Northern Zhili and Shanxi." Wang Sen's energy was failing; he spoke very slowly.

When they heard the words "forefront," then "managing affairs," and then "the various places in Northern Zhili and Shanxi," the Mu brothers' originally somewhat stiff faces began to loosen, and their eyes lit up. When Wang Sen above finished speaking, Mu Wuzhen knocked his head heavily on the ground and said in a muffled voice, "Since Master has spoken thus, this is Xiaolan's good fortune. Your disciple agrees."

Wang Sen revealed a faint smile and said slowly, "This old man cannot leave here, nor will I see it. I will let Haoxian know of this news. Wuzhen, you make the arrangements!"

After saying this, Wang Sen's expression grew considerably more somber. He said with deep feeling, "When the immortal fox sent the incense to this old man back then, how could this old man have imagined today? Seeing you like this, seeing that our cause now has such a situation—I am content, content."

His voice was clear and resonant, yet as he spoke these words, it carried an air of infinite desolation. Mu Wuzhen looked up, about to speak, but Wang Sen had already lain down. He said in a low voice there, "This old man is tired. Undercurrents are stirring in the capital now. You must leave early tomorrow morning and be careful in all things."

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