Chapter 125: Everything Is Ready |
The Summoning Chapter was a spell technique used to forcibly summon immortals and gods.
There was no negotiation, nor was negotiation allowed.
Unless the summoned immortal or god possessed greater cultivation than the caster, it would be difficult for them to break free.
A yellow-brown spiritual light suddenly lit up within the mountain forest. A blurry figure seemed to be lifted by an invisible giant hand.
Once the figure stabilized itself and trembled slightly, it spoke in a somewhat fearful voice:
“This minor god has answered the immortal’s summons. What instructions does the immortal have?”
Xiao Shuying looked carefully and saw that the so-called mountain god was also a barbarian man dressed in animal hide, his skin carrying a bronze tint.
He held a thumb-thick wooden staff engraved with various bird and beast patterns.
Aside from his face being somewhat blurry, he looked no different from an ordinary person.
At that moment, the resentful spirits had already surged forward.
Zhang Jingheng waved his hand. Under the illumination of merit golden light, the resentful souls melted away like ice and snow under spring sunlight.
Even fierce ghosts could not endure for more than a second.
Only the fierce fiends and eerie abominations managed to resist slightly longer.
Chu Xun ignored the resentful spirits entirely. The reason he had brought Zhang Jingheng along was precisely to reduce this sort of trouble.
With Zhang Jingheng present, no matter how numerous the resentful spirits were, it was useless.
Chu Xun asked, “There are so many resentful souls here. As the mountain god, why have you done nothing?”
The forcibly summoned mountain god said bitterly, “Immortal, you do not know the situation. The barbarian incense offerings here have long been cut off. This minor god’s divine power has weakened day by day, and I am no longer able to contend against that eerie abomination.
Now that these mountains have been incorporated into Jing Kingdom’s territory, the orthodox god appointed here is the City God.
Logically speaking, if anyone should manage this place, it should be the City God.”
From the mountain god’s perspective, every word he said made sense.
The land no longer belonged to the barbarians. He had neither obligation nor ability to interfere.
But in Chu Xun’s eyes, it was complete nonsense.
You accepted the barbarian tribe’s canonized divine office, yet now you claim you no longer care?
You enjoyed all the benefits, and only when it’s time to fulfill your duties do you start talking about obligations?
Although Chu Xun already knew that these so-called orthodox gods always minded only their own affairs.
Knowing and accepting were two different things.
So many resentful souls were feeding on the yin qi from the flood dragon bones.
If left unchecked, sooner or later they would become a massive disaster.
At that point, the common people would suffer, and Jing Kingdom itself might even collapse beneath the chaos caused by ghosts and monsters.
Perhaps this mountain god even hoped Jing Kingdom would be overthrown so that a new dynasty might arise, giving him a chance to be canonized once more.
Otherwise, without incense worship, he would disappear sooner or later.
Until one day, someone’s merit body was stolen, impersonated, and revived once again.
Such an incense god system was destined to never truly protect the human world.
A Heavenly One Divine Water Pearl silently appeared above the mountain god’s head, pouring down like a basin of icy water.
Green smoke immediately rose from his entire body as the mountain god screamed:
“Immortal, what are you doing? This minor god already answered the summon…”
“If you occupy a position yet neglect your duties, you deserve death.”
Chu Xun did not waste words with him. The Heavenly One Divine Water Pearl directly obliterated the mountain god.
Xiao Shuying stared in stunned disbelief.
Slaying evil ghosts and monsters was understandable.
But killing a mountain god was simply too shocking.
Although she could understand why Chu Xun had done it.
If an official occupied his post while accomplishing nothing, the Ministry of Personnel would dismiss him.
As for corrupt officials who trampled human lives, execution and confiscation of family property were nothing unusual.
But this was a mountain god!
Perhaps because she had seen too many immortals, gods, and ghosts in one day, Xiao Shuying’s eyes could no longer bear it. A piercing pain struck her.
She immediately covered her eyes and shut them tightly. Chu Xun retrieved the spiritual light and said calmly, “No matter how they are called immortals or gods, the word ‘human’ still comes first.
If they receive incense from the human world, then they should deal with the injustices of the human world. Otherwise, what use are they?”
Xiao Shuying’s heart churned violently.
Everyone in the world revered immortals and gods, even members of the imperial family.
Yet now she had heard someone say that immortals and gods, after receiving human incense, should place humanity first.
Without question, those words completely overturned her understanding of the world.
No one had ever taught her such things before.
Could humans truly be more important than immortals and gods?
The strongest eerie abomination had already been destroyed by Zhang Jingheng.
The resentful spirits finally knew fear, and those on the outer edges had already begun fleeing.
Unfortunately, realizing they should run only now was already too late.
The merit golden light swept outward directly. Wherever it passed, ghosts and monsters were eradicated completely.
Chu Xun followed behind as the dense yin qi parted automatically before him.
Soon, he saw a flood dragon skeleton, most of it still intact, half-buried beneath the earth.
Several broken bones were scorched black, clearly injuries left behind by heavenly tribulation lightning.
The earth shifted and lifted the flood dragon bones upward.
Several massive trees hundreds of zhang away were severed as though by invisible blades. They assembled themselves in midair into a wooden chest, wrapping around the flood dragon bones.
Chu Xun raised his hand and caught the wooden chest. The surrounding yin qi was completely absorbed away, leaving behind a huge area of corrupted land spanning two to three hundred zhang.
Zhang Jingheng glanced around and said, “Although the yin qi here has been dispersed, it will still take a hundred years before vegetation can grow again.”
“It won’t need a hundred years,” Chu Xun replied.
He lightly stomped the ground, creating a small pit.
A trickle of clear spring water then emerged. Starting from a tiny stream, it gradually became a deep pool.
The water spread outward in every direction, slowly erasing the traces left behind by the yin qi corrosion.
Zhang Jingheng sighed in admiration.
“So this is Five Elements Dao magic? Truly mysterious beyond compare.”
The merit golden body was indestructible, but precisely because of that, it was inherently limited.
Chu Xun’s current cultivation was not especially high, but he excelled in Dao arts.
The countless wondrous transformations of Dao techniques were far beyond what a merit golden body could achieve.
Moreover, cultivation could continue improving.
Unlike a merit golden body, which became permanently fixed the moment it appeared.
That was also why the ancient incense gods did not attempt possession.
It was not because they did not want to.
It was because they could not.
The backing behind the Heavenly Order only allowed them to impersonate others and enjoy incense offerings stolen from others.
It could not change what they inherently were.
With the clear spring here, the area would soon fully recover its vitality.
Chu Xun and the others then departed.
Not long afterward, several filthy figures appeared by the pool.
There were both men and women, mostly youths. They wore simple animal hides and leaves to cover their bodies.
Their faces carried wariness and unease. They were the barbarian survivors who had escaped the mountain fire.
Having hidden in the mountains for a long time, they knew Dragon Pool was dangerous.
Precisely because it was dangerous, no one came to hunt them here, making it the safest place for them instead.
Now, Dragon Pool had been completely cleansed, and the harmful things were gone.
These barbarian youths had not seen the resentful souls being destroyed, but they had seen the clear spring appear from nowhere and the tall figure carrying away the wooden chest.
Several barbarian youths approached the pool and looked down at the crystal-clear water.
Living in the mountains year-round, they were extremely sensitive to vitality.
They exchanged glances and muttered barbarian words none could understand.
Then they moved over a large stone from nearby and took out a dull iron tool. With great effort, they began carving into the stone.
Their craftsmanship was poor, but as the lines gradually took shape, one could vaguely make out the image of a tall figure carrying something.
After finishing the stone carving, the barbarians knelt before it, kowtowing while muttering incomprehensible barbarian prayers.
Whether it was remembrance or worship.
To them, anything capable of protecting the mountains was a mountain god.
Whether they recognized them or not did not matter.
By the time they returned near Pinecone Village, Xiao Shuying’s eyes had improved considerably.
She had already seen what needed seeing and asked what needed asking.
She did not remain any longer.
Princess Yunshu, who wished to live as a martial wanderer, once again returned to the jianghu.
Watching her departing figure, Zhang Jingheng sighed, “If only she had been born male.”
Chu Xun understood what he meant.
Every ambitious minister wished for their nation to become stronger and more prosperous.
Expanding territory was an indispensable part of that.
But the current Emperor Yongxiang lacked such ambition.
“A woman may not necessarily be incapable of becoming emperor,” Chu Xun said.
Zhang Jingheng laughed.
“How could a woman become emperor?”
At least within Jing Kingdom, and even several dynasties before it, there had never been such a precedent.
Chu Xun did not explain further.
The matter of destiny was mysterious beyond words.
Sometimes what you saw would not necessarily continue forever.
A single sentence or minor event could completely alter everything.
The best approach was simply to watch and let things unfold naturally.
Carrying the wooden chest, Chu Xun went directly to Songliu River.
Night had already fallen, and there were no commoners lingering nearby.
Under the Water Warden’s guidance, the three giant pythons had long since arrived and were waiting.
This was not Zhang Jingheng’s first time seeing them, but every time he did, he found them astonishing.
Especially the green-and-white python. Thanks to Chu Xun refining Ren Water Essence faster and faster, it had grown at incredible speed and was now nearly eighty zhang long.
To personally witness a python transforming into a flood dragon.
Even with a merit golden body, Zhang Jingheng found it eye-opening.
The green-and-white python extended its head and affectionately flicked its tongue toward Chu Xun.
Its snake head was far larger than before, almost like a small house.
Once it opened its mouth, even if someone stood on tiptoe and stretched out their arms, they still could not reach between the upper and lower jaws.
An eighty-zhang-long body was simply too shocking.
Even the slightest movement created enormous waves in this relatively narrow river branch.
Fortunately, after receiving authority from the Water Warden’s divine office, their movements no longer disturbed fish schools during normal travel.
Instead, whenever they wished to eat fish, a single thought was enough for fish to gather voluntarily.
Such power over life and death was astonishing.
As a result, fishermen both upstream and downstream now lived much easier lives.
Chu Xun patted the green-and-white python’s nose and placed down the wooden chest.
“This time I’m not feeding you Ren Water Essence. I brought you something even better.”
The wooden chest had been sealed using Water Warden divine arts.
Yet the green-and-white python still sensed something and leaned closer, flicking its tongue at the chest.
The green python and white python also slithered over.
Chu Xun wasted no time. He allowed the green-and-white python to clamp the chest in its jaws and crush it in one bite.
Wood splinters flew everywhere as the flood dragon bones were swallowed whole.
The flood dragon yin qi hidden within seemed to sense the aura of the same origin.
Or perhaps the green-and-white python’s instincts simply knew what to do.
The yin qi erupted violently, carrying a mountain-toppling, sea-overturning force.
Far more violent than the passive leakage they had seen back at Dragon Pool.
The massive body of the green-and-white python suddenly arched upward.
Its tail, as thick as ancient tree trunks, slammed violently against the river surface, raising waves dozens of zhang high.
Its once-gentle lowered head suddenly rose.
Its icy vertical pupils contracted sharply, and golden cracks exploded deep within its eyes.
The flood dragon bloodline sleeping within the bones, along with a thousand years of water-element foundation, had now been completely awakened.
Like the collapse of the Heavenly River, it surged wildly through every meridian in its body.
A strand of water-patterns twisted around Chu Xun’s fingertips and transformed into a translucent curtain of water surrounding the area.
Neither waves nor aura could pass beyond the barrier.
Otherwise, the disturbance would be too great and alarm everyone nearby.
The scales covering the green-and-white python’s body all stood upright.
Golden-red blood seeped from between the scales before instantly evaporating.
Every single scale underwent rapid transformation beneath the tempering of the flood dragon yin qi, gradually forming deep black patterns.
Those patterns twisted like rivers, lakes, and seas.
They were the innate water-element true markings of the flood dragon race, symbols of water control.
The python’s bones had originally been soft and flexible, but now they were tempered and compressed repeatedly.
Then slowly stretched longer and longer.
From eighty zhang…
To eighty-two.
Eighty-five.
Ninety-five.
Ninety-nine…
This was pain like having its bones dismantled and skin peeled apart, causing the python to howl violently.
The green python and white python anxiously lashed their tails nearby, wanting to approach yet unable to help.
Instead, they were repeatedly battered backward by waves infused with traces of flood dragon might.
Only after its body length exceeded one hundred zhang did the green-and-white python’s screams gradually lose their snake-like hiss and gain a draconic roar capable of splitting clouds and shattering stone.
The fangs inside its mouth melted like snow.
This was the process of shedding poison and reforging bone.
What regrew afterward would be true dragon fangs.
The green scales became darker and deeper, while the white scales became even more striking.
Though it still lacked the slender neck of a true dragon and remained somewhat bloated and thick-bodied, its head still broad and flat.
Two short whiskers had now emerged beside its mouth.
Scaled claws also grew beneath its body.
Although they were merely the three-clawed limbs of a flood dragon, it still proved that it had fundamentally changed from what it once was.
The river water around them began surging uncontrollably.
Countless whirlpools appeared across the river surface as endless water vapor transformed into Ren Water Essence and frantically gathered toward the green-and-white python.
Its water-element talent, which previously advanced only through Chu Xun’s feeding, had now been completely awakened by the lingering power within the flood dragon bones.
It was rapidly evolving toward genuine flood dragon water arts.
Chu Xun did not help refine Ren Water Essence for the python.
This process was best handled naturally so it could better adapt and master its new power.
Blindly forcing growth would only harm it.
The raised head of the green-and-white python slowly lowered.
Its dragon-like roars became long, calm breaths.
Its enormous body gradually stretched out before slowly sinking beneath the river waters while wrapped in vast quantities of Ren Water Essence.
The flood dragon bones had brought enormous benefits, allowing it to safely complete the process of shedding poison and reforging bone.
Ordinary pythons would never have such an easy time during this stage.
One mistake and they would die, their centuries of cultivation destroyed in an instant.
The main reason was because Chu Xun had long fed the green-and-white python vast amounts of Ren Water Essence, making its foundation incomparably more stable than others of its kind.
Had another python directly swallowed so many flood dragon bones, the yin qi would have dissolved its flesh and bones immediately, leaving it dead beyond recovery.
For a python to become a dragon, every step was unimaginably difficult, far harder than human cultivation.
This was the innate limitation of beasts and birds.
Without immense opportunities, they could never change.
Chu Xun was the green-and-white python’s great opportunity.
But conversely…
The green-and-white python was also Chu Xun’s opportunity.
Only after completing the flood dragon transformation and becoming his protector could Chu Xun advance from Foundation Establishment to the Golden Core stage.
The old turtle surfaced from the water carrying the golden toad on its back.
It shook its head while croaking sounds echoed out.
Chu Xun flicked out several Heavenly One Divine Water Pearls and said, “It has only completed the shedding poison and reforging bone stage. It still needs to sleep and digest everything in order to grow its natal reverse scale. You all stay here and guard it. Do not panic.”
The green python and white python were now around twenty zhang long themselves.
The old turtle was equally enormous, with dirt piled on its shell more than a chi thick.
The millstone-sized golden toad crouched nearby. Even when brushing against the turtle’s body, it could not shake it in the slightest.
Understanding Chu Xun’s words, they opened their mouths and swallowed the Heavenly One Divine Water Pearls.
The Ren Water Essence exploded within their bodies, gradually calming the two giant pythons.
To produce a natal reverse scale would take at least several years.
At that time, they would have to face the three tribulations of lightning, wind, and water, as well as interference from orthodox gods at the end.
Current Chu Xun already had eighty percent confidence in helping the green-and-white python overcome those calamities.
The remaining twenty percent uncertainty came from two factors.
First, he did not yet know how powerful the lightning tribulation would be, nor whether the lightning-avoidance talismans he possessed would suffice.
Second, he did not know whether the orthodox gods sent to obstruct them would be City Gods or even stronger deities.
But in Chu Xun’s view, even if a deity on the level of the capital City God intervened, Zhang Jingheng was still there.
He refused to believe that a python becoming a flood dragon could attract an orthodox god stronger than the capital City God.
This mission was basically certain of success.
The river surface gradually calmed down, and Chu Xun removed the water curtain.
Zhang Jingheng sighed emotionally.
“I never thought I would one day witness a complete flood dragon transformation. Even if I die now, I would have no regrets.”
Chu Xun smiled.
“The scenery you’ll witness in the future will be even greater. It’s still too early to start sighing now.”
Zhang Jingheng burst into laughter.
“Indeed, indeed.”
After returning home, Chu Xun remained busy.
The extraterrestrial meteorite iron still needed several more rounds of tempering to reach the target of one hundred refinements.
Time was tight, and not a moment could be wasted.
Day after day, the sounds of hammering rang throughout the courtyard.
Aside from forging iron, he spent the remaining time refining Ren Water Essence, drawing lightning-avoidance talismans, and building the Pillars of Heaven and Earth with metal essence qi.
Ren Water Essence truly possessed countless benefits.
Especially against underworld immortals and gods, where it had tremendous restraining effects.
Although Zhang Jingheng could handle the capital City God, the City God still had many underworld immortals and gods under his command.
No matter how strong Zhang Jingheng was, two fists could not defeat four hands.
Civil Judges, Martial Judges, Black and White Impermanence, Shackled Generals, the departments rewarding good and punishing evil.
All of them would require Chu Xun to personally deal with.
Being fully prepared was never excessive.
As for the lightning-avoidance talismans, the difficulty remained too high and could not be rushed.
According to Chu Xun’s estimates, by the time the green-and-white python transformed into a flood dragon, he would probably have accumulated around twelve imitation lightning-avoidance talismans.
Combined with the “genuine version” left behind by the old Daoist, even if they could not completely resist the heavenly lightning tribulation, the difference should not be too great.
Thus, the days passed one after another.
Liao Xingbang visited once.
Recently, he had gained new insights and wanted to challenge Xiao Shuying again.
After learning she had already left, he was not too disappointed.
Carrying the Dragon-Slaying Saber, he confidently declared that this time he would definitely win.
Chu Xun had observed his vitality flames before. They remained vigorous, and his luck was not bad either.
The constant pursuit from the jianghu had not caused Liao Xingbang too much trouble.
Instead, it had driven this man, whose talent was not especially high, to improve rapidly.
Under such pressure, perhaps one day he truly might become like Xie Ji and comprehend techniques entirely his own through his weapon.
Third Year of Yongxiang.
More and more people began arriving at Pinecone Village, all surnamed Zhang.
Before his death, Zhang Jingheng had instructed that once the border army soldiers were settled, the entire Zhang family should resign and return home.
At first, Zhang Shaoheng did not quite understand.
But after seeing many generals who had earned military merit being transferred by Emperor Yongxiang to local prefectures under the guise of “reward,” he finally woke up.
Immediately, as head of the family, he ordered all clan members to resign from office without hesitation.
Anyone unwilling would not be forced.
You can continue being an official.
But you will be removed from the Zhang family genealogy and have no further ties with the family.
This decision caused many younger family members to complain.
Although they could roughly guess why they were being told to resign and withdraw from public life, they still felt it was an overreaction.
The old Grand Chancellor had served through five reigns, and the Wei Duke’s foundation still remained. Emperor Yongxiang was also known for his benevolent temperament.
How could he possibly behave like a ruler who kills his hunting dogs once the birds are gone?
Yet several members of the Zhang family truly could not bear giving up their status and wealth.
Even after being expelled from the family genealogy, they still gritted their teeth and chose to remain officials.
They claimed it was all for the sake of benefiting the common people.
But only they themselves knew the real reason.
Zhang Shaoheng did not force them.
Instead, he submitted a memorial to Emperor Yongxiang explaining the entire situation.
Naturally, Emperor Yongxiang tried his best to persuade them to stay.
“The old Grand Chancellor is already gone. If all of you leave as well, won’t the world say I, the emperor, lack righteousness?”
After spending an entire year requesting resignation three separate times, Emperor Yongxiang finally approved their departure.
The Zhang family had too many members.
Their arrival left Pinecone Village without enough room for everyone to live.
Fortunately, the county office gave them considerable face and designated a section of land outside Pinecone Village for the Zhang family to settle themselves.
Although it technically violated regulations, everyone still had to give face to the old Grand Chancellor.
The matter was reported to both the Ministry of Revenue and Ministry of Rites, and no one said anything further.
Fourth Year of Yongxiang.
Zhang Shaoheng arrived at Chu Xun’s courtyard.
The moment he entered, he heard endless metallic clanging.
The extraterrestrial meteorite iron had already undergone its hundred refinements. Chu Xun was now shaping and smoothing the blade.
He handled this process with extreme care.
In the past, he could forge an entire metal essence sword in a single day.
But this sword.
The shaping process alone had already taken nearly three months.
He repeatedly altered it again and again, refusing to proceed further until every detail satisfied him completely.
There was another person in the courtyard as well.
Seated on a stool with a carving knife in hand, he was engraving wooden memorial tablets.
Zhang Shaoheng walked over and greeted him.
“Old Kui, carving spirit tablets again?”
Naturally, Old Kui was Huang Qi.
Huang Qi looked up at Zhang Shaoheng, nodded once, and counted that as his response.
After learning from Chu Xun how the common people had suffered terribly in the regions ravaged by the refugee army, Huang Qi had given his farmland away to others to cultivate.
Then he bought a huge amount of wooden planks and cut them into equal sizes.
Using a carving knife, he engraved names one by one onto them.
He had personally traveled to Tonghu City and Xiangnan Prefecture, asking local people and officials for those names.
Nearly ten thousand civilians had died during the war.
Adding in the casualties from the Fenggu City battle and various other incidents.
There were tens of thousands of names altogether.
He had never done this sort of work before.
To carve every single name would take an extremely long time.
Perhaps he would never finish before dying of old age.
Yet Huang Qi still patiently carved each stroke one by one.
Occasionally, when Chu Xun grew tired from blacksmithing, he would sit beside Huang Qi and carve as well.
But Chu Xun did not carve names.
He carved wooden sculptures instead.
People he knew, landscapes he had seen, even food he had eaten.
In truth, with Five Elements Dao arts, such things could be created effortlessly with a single thought.
But Chu Xun never took shortcuts.
Instead, he carved everything slowly with his own two hands.
Every time Zhang Shaoheng saw the two of them sitting there carving seriously, he could not help feeling somewhat envious.
After serving as an official his entire life, he simply could not stay idle.
Even after coming to Pinecone Village and leaving office behind, he still loved wandering around.
Looking here.
Asking there.
The original villagers of Pinecone Village were extremely familiar with him.
The former Minister had no airs after resigning.
Whenever villagers encountered difficulties, they could still ask him for help.
What commoner would dislike such a person?
The main reason Zhang Shaoheng liked visiting Chu Xun’s home was because every time he came, the place felt exceptionally warm.
Even when Chu Xun said nothing, merely sitting nearby made Zhang Shaoheng feel as though family members were accompanying him.
That feeling caused him to come sit here every morning after waking up.
As soon as he entered the courtyard, a weasel hurriedly pushed over a stool and looked at him expectantly.
Zhang Shaoheng laughed.
“Thank you.”
Only then did the weasel run back beside Huang Qi, where many books were piled up.
Several weasels surrounded Huang Qi while reading.
Whenever they encountered unfamiliar characters, they would raise their heads.
Huang Qi would glance over and tell them how to pronounce the words.
Sometimes he even used a carving knife to slowly engrave the characters onto wood stroke by stroke.
Teaching weasels how to read and write.
Whether hearing about it or witnessing it firsthand was astonishing.
Yet these weasels loved studying and learned very quickly.
After Huang Qi carved five hundred memorial tablets, they had already learned to write fifty characters.
As for recognizing characters, they knew even more, two to three hundred at least.
However, recognizing characters, writing characters, and truly understanding meanings were entirely different things.
The weasels possessed excellent imitation ability, but their comprehension was poor.
Perhaps because they were originally beasts, their way of thinking differed fundamentally from humans.
For example, they found it very difficult to understand why they were forbidden from eating other people’s chickens.
Why couldn’t they?
Weren’t chickens raised to be eaten?
If you weren’t allowed to eat them, then why raise chickens at all?
As for other people’s chickens?
Wild chickens in the mountains weren’t raised by them either, so why could those be eaten?
When they crookedly scratched these questions onto the ground, Huang Qi himself was left dumbfounded, completely unsure how to answer.
Originally, teaching the weasels to read had merely been an accidental whim.
But these questions gradually piqued his interest.
Even Wei Youyou sat upright on a chair nearby with a small desk in front of her.
She was a shape-shifted spirit, sitting properly and capable of using far more tools than the weasels.
Over the years, she had also learned many characters.
Now she sat like a student, lowering her head while practicing newly learned sentences.
Zhang Shaoheng walked over and read aloud:
“The bright moon startles magpies from the branches, the cool breeze sings with cicadas at midnight. Amid the fragrance of ripening rice, people speak of abundant harvests, while frogs croak all around.”
“Excellent, excellent. Whose poem is this?”
Without lifting her head, Wei Youyou replied:
“Xin Qiji.”
Zhang Shaoheng thought for a long time but still could not remember who Xin Qiji was.
Huang Qi said:
“Mr. Chu knows him. He is not from Jing Kingdom.”
Zhang Shaoheng nodded.
“So that’s how it is.”
He watched a little longer before bending down.
“The character for ‘thatch’ doesn’t look good written like this. It should be written this way…”
Wei Youyou watched very seriously while following along with her brush.
Zhang Shaoheng also taught with great seriousness.
The four weasels climbed onto Wei Youyou’s legs, peeking over curiously while waving their paws through the air.
The sight was irresistibly amusing.
Chu Xun glanced over and thought the scene looked wonderfully peaceful.
Beside him, Zhang Jingheng suddenly said:
“If he knew he was teaching a spirit to write, I wonder what he’d think.”
Chu Xun replied:
“Should we tell him and see?”
Elders always enjoyed frightening juniors for amusement.
A rather wicked hobby.
Zhang Jingheng laughed.
“Forget it. He’s already old. What if we frighten him into illness?”
Current Zhang Shaoheng was already nearing sixty years old, his hair completely white.
He truly was no longer young.
Although Zhang Jingheng himself was already technically dead and only continued existing through his merit golden body.
If his son could live a little longer, what was wrong with that?
Wei Youyou looked up and puffed her cheeks at Zhang Jingheng.
She disliked being called a spirit.
It always made her feel separated from her master.
Seeing her displeasure, Zhang Jingheng immediately turned his head toward the forge fire and pretended to evaluate it.
“If you’re practicing calligraphy, why are you looking around everywhere?” Zhang Shaoheng scolded.
Wei Youyou immediately turned back around and continued writing.
Over the past several years, her body had grown slightly larger. She now appeared to be around eight or nine years old.
This was purely to avoid alarming villagers who might otherwise wonder why the little girl never grew taller.
In truth, once the dead of night arrived, Wei Youyou would still return to her original tiny form.
She had grown accustomed to it and felt most comfortable that way.
After a while, Zhang Shaoheng finally grew tired from teaching and returned to sit down.
Looking toward Chu Xun, who was smoothing the sword blade with a small hammer, he said:
“I heard that those noble families and aristocratic clans in the capital are plotting trouble again. Several of my former colleagues have already been impeached and dismissed over trivial matters.”
He sighed heavily.
“Why can’t those people just behave themselves?”
With the old Grand Chancellor gone and the Zhang family withdrawn from court, the aristocratic clans that had once been suppressed had begun raising their heads again.
One proposal after another.
On the surface, each suggestion sounded reasonable.
But upon closer examination, every single one contained loopholes ripe for exploitation.
Unfortunately, Emperor Yongxiang possessed a soft temperament.
He listened to everyone.
If something sounded reasonable, he implemented it.
Some clear-sighted ministers naturally saw through the aristocratic clans’ intentions and strongly opposed them.
In the end, however, they were either framed or targeted.
The fortunate ones were demoted or dismissed.
The unfortunate ones even lost their heads.
Many letters had arrived urging Zhang Shaoheng to return to court and stabilize the situation.
But Zhang Shaoheng had already realized that with Emperor Yongxiang’s personality, even if he returned, nothing would change.
This emperor would never unconditionally trust and support him the way Emperor Changning had trusted the old Grand Chancellor.
He was not like Emperor Chongming either, who constantly suspected everyone and trusted only half of what he heard.
But when you listened to everyone equally, the result was ultimately no different.
After seeing through all this, Zhang Shaoheng lost interest in returning.
Such an officialdom truly held no meaning anymore.
Still, the endless letters annoyed him greatly, so he could only come speak with Chu Xun and vent his frustrations.
“The great trends of the world divide after long unity and unite after long division. Such truths have never changed throughout the ages,” Chu Xun said.
Zhang Shaoheng hurriedly waved his hands.
“You absolutely cannot say things like that!”
Such treasonous words, if reported to the throne, would lead to disaster.
Chu Xun naturally did not care.
What Zhang Shaoheng did not know, however, was that both Chu Xun and Zhang Jingheng understood very clearly.
Resigning from office and returning home to farm sounded easy.
Actually accomplishing it was extremely difficult.
Tang Shijun and Zhang Jingheng had harmed the interests of too many people.
An enormous number of people wished for the Zhang family to be exterminated.
Over the past several years, many unfamiliar faces had appeared around Pinecone Village.
Some had even sneaked in at night with malicious intentions.
The outcome was obvious.
Chu Xun buried them alive.
Otherwise, how could the Zhang family have lived so peacefully until now?
Even the Tang family’s current situation was terrible.
Excluded and suppressed by the aristocratic clans, they had already fallen to the bottom ranks.
The highest-ranking Tang official held only a third-rank position and had recently been transferred into an idle office.
Hearing his son speak like this, Zhang Jingheng sighed deeply.
He had long expected such developments, yet there was nothing he could do.
A merit golden body was terrifyingly powerful against underworld immortals and gods.
But it could not interfere with mortal affairs.
Chu Xun technically could.
But what exactly was he supposed to do?
If the emperor refused to listen, should he kill the emperor and replace him with another?
If ministers refused to obey, should he kill them and replace them too?
Wouldn’t that make him a demonic tyrant?
Not only was Chu Xun not that kind of person.
Even if he were, Zhang Jingheng still would not approve.
If an emperor governed poorly, ministers could remonstrate.
But they could not kill him.
Otherwise, where would morality and social order remain?
Huang Qi raised his eyes toward Zhang Shaoheng and said, “If you aren’t strong enough, naturally you’ll be bullied.”
Zhang Shaoheng glanced at him.
“You should just continue carving your memorial tablets. You don’t understand court politics.”
Huang Qi said nothing further.
There truly were many things he did not understand.
But he did understand one principle.
If your fists are hard enough, you do not need to waste so much effort talking reason.
[End of Chapter]