Chapter 159: (1): Conclusion of a Long Journey
After living in the Autumn Reed Inn for three days, it was ultimately Lin Shouyi who proposed that there was not much point in staying there any longer.
He wasn't able to absorb much spiritual energy anymore, and for some reason, whenever he meditated for too long in the pavilion, he would feel a sharp aura that felt as if it were emanating from some type of bladed weapon, and his body and soul were unable to handle it.
In a rare display of humor, Lin Shouyi joked that Chen Ping'an should go to the bottom of the well to check if there were any treasures there.
Chen Ping'an had a rough idea of why this was the case. It had to have been the case that during his clash against Cui Chan, the two wisps of sword qi that had left his acupoint had to have harmed the fortune of this former city god temple site.
Due to the fact that this was a matter that concerned the sword spirit, Chen Ping'an couldn't elaborate much on it, and he could only take a couple of extra glances at Cui Chan as they were leaving the inn.
Cui Chan had originally been in quite a good mood these past few days, but he was feeling a lot more apprehensive after receiving those glances from Chen Ping'an, and he immediately began to consider which evil deed that he had committed that was leading to this retribution.
As they were leaving the inn, there just so happened to be someone coming in to stay in the inn. Cui Chan paid no heed to this newcomer, but the three children were all surprised to find that it was the old former minister of Yellow Court Nation.
As it turned out, he and his family and servants had arrived in the prefectural city as part of a sightseeing trip, and there were three horse-drawn carriages parked in the alley outside the inn.
The old former minister was extremely happy to be seeing the three children again, and he was particularly glad to see that they were all wearing new clothes and new boots in the place of their straw sandals. In fact, he was so happy to see them that he insisted on accompanying them out of the city.
Among his family members, the most eye-catching ones were a graceful woman dressed in simple yet elegant attire, and a dignified and imposing azure-robed man. The old man introduced them to everyone as his eldest daughter and his youngest son.
He said that neither of them were cut out to become fine scholars, so depending on them to bring glory to the family was nothing more than an unrealistic dream. The azure-robed man remained completely expressionless even as his father was complaining about them to outsiders, while the woman was looking at the three children with a smile on her face.
In the end, her gaze settled on Yu Lu, and her smile widened even further, as if she had just spotted an exceptional delicacy. All of a sudden, she raised a sleeve and turned to the side while lowering her head, as if she had just been overcome by an urge to cough, but in reality, she was licking her lips in secret with her face concealed behind her sleeve.
Chen Ping'an's brows furrowed slightly upon seeing this, while Yu Lu wore his usual smile as he turned to Cui Chan and asked, "When should we set off, Young Master?"
"Right now," Cui Chan replied in an indifferent voice.
"I'm afraid my body's not what it used to be," the old man chuckled. "A while back, I came down with the flu, and I have to protect myself from the elements, so I'll take the same carriage as Young Master Cui.
“This will also be a good opportunity for me to enquire Young Master Cui about the cliff engravings. You two can follow along behind us. If you don't want to travel out of the city on foot, then it's up to you whether you want to take a horse-drawn carriage or not."
The two horse-drawn carriages made their way out of the Flowing Cloud Water Alley, and inside the front carriage, Cui Chan and the old man were seated across from one another with a rather heavy atmosphere in the air.
The old man cupped his fist in a salute as he said, "Please forgive me for my unannounced visit, esteemed Imperial Preceptor."
Cui Chan was stroking the jade belt around his waist as he glowered at the old man with a displeased expression, and he asked in a cold voice, "Did that little runt in your family coax you into coming here? Are you trying to test me to see if I have what it takes to kill you and your son?"
Despite Cui Chan's rude words and abrasive demeanor, the old man remained friendly and amicable as he replied, "That son of mine is not very competent in anything, but he's always trying to come up with crafty little ideas.
“He had no idea what to do on this occasion, and that's why he turned to me in the hope that I would be able to devise some course of action for him that would allow him to best assist yourself and the Great Li Empire. Surely this is anything but a challenge issued to you.
“If that's how you're interpreting the situation, then you've misunderstood my intentions, and you've also overestimated my son."
Cui Chan shook his head as he said, "I don't care what your intentions are, all I care about is what you do and the final outcomes achieved by your actions. Seeing as that little runt broke our agreement, I'll be sure to punish him, but that's something for me to worry about.
“As his father, if you're unwilling to settle for what you've been given, and you want to revoke our agreement and no longer wish to serve as mountain master of the new academy on Cloud Drape Mountain, then we'll settle this matter over time. If you think you can beat me in the end, then you're free to give it a try."
The old man's expression darkened slightly upon hearing this. "Why do you feel the need to be so overbearing, esteemed Imperial Preceptor? My son has indeed overstepped some boundaries by doing this, but as the imperial preceptor of the Great Li Empire, shouldn't you be prioritizing the big picture above all else?
“Am I not at least of sufficient importance in the plans of the Great Li Empire for you to be a little more tolerant of our actions?"
"For people like you, who are accustomed to treachery and deceit, perhaps you feel like testing me like this is a completely normal course of action. I used to be like this in the past as well, but the situation has changed since then," Cui Chan said as his eyes narrowed slightly. "My teacher has taught me that when it comes to some matters, not even the slightest transgression can be permitted without appropriate punishment."
Cui Chan leaned forward slightly as he looked straight into the old man's eyes, and he sneered, "Do you really think you have the right to be sitting in the same carriage as me? Are you not aware that your true body, that old and emaciated little flood dragon on that inkstone in the Lurking Dragon Temple, has already fallen into my hands?"
"Why are you doing this, esteemed Imperial Preceptor?" the old man asked with a wry smile. "We are allies. Even if some small conflicts were to arise between us, surely there's no need to threaten the foundations of one another's Great Dao."
The old man's wry smile then faded as a cold look appeared in his eyes. "This was meant to be something that would've benefitted both sides immensely. Are you not afraid that the final outcome will turn completely sour for everyone involved because of your actions?"
Cui Chan looked intently into the old man's eyes, and his words became even more scathing and overbearing, but the tone of his voice had become extremely placid. It was like the calm surface of a river concealing the violent undercurrents in the depths.
"You have no right to be threatening me. You have to be the one to figure out what I want, do you understand? After this, I'm going to strike that sleeping flood dragon in the inkstone using an ancient lightning ability until I've gotten rid of 300 years worth of your cultivation base. I don't even have to deal with that little runt in your family myself. In the end, you will be the one to turn on him to vent your fury."
A hint of killing intent surfaced in the old man's eyes as he let loose a low roar. "You're going too far, Cui Chan!"
"I'm going too far?" Cui Chan immediately burst into laughter. "Who do you think you are? Why do you think you and your family deserve any respect from me? Take a look at yourself, then look at that little runt you call your son. How are you supposed to make anything out of yourselves?
“In particular, look at the founding matriarch of the Purple Sun Residence outside. As soon as she saw the abundant dragon qi in Yu Lu, she began salivating like an idiot! Even if I elevate your incompetent family to a lofty position, do you think you'll be able to stay there?"
Cui Chan wagged a finger with a derisive sneer on his face as he answered his own question. "You don't have what it takes."
Before the old man had a chance to reply, Cui Chan pointed out the window as he said, "Leave. Looking at you is dirtying my eyes. If I don't receive a satisfactory answer within three days, then I won't be giving you any response. When that time comes, you can feel free to come after me and try to take my life."
The old man was silent for a long while before extending a deep bow and backing out of the carriage.
This entire time, Cui Chan's mental state had remained completely tranquil and placid, as if he had engaged in nothing more than a casual chat about the weather.
The carriage stopped momentarily before continuing onward, and Cui Chan closed his eyes as he began a count of three. "One..."
A gentle breeze blew through the carriage without any warning, causing Cui Chan's white robes to ripple slightly like the surface of a gentle flowing creek.
After exiting the carriage, the old man chatted amicably with the children for a brief moment, then remained by the side of the path on his own, watching as the group departed from the prefectural city.
The azure-robed man and the graceful woman emerged from the horse-drawn carriage behind him with perplexed looks on their faces.
Meanwhile, the old man continued to stare at the horse-drawn carriage that Cui Chan was in, and in the end, he withdrew his gaze with a defeated expression, having been unable to spot any signs of weakness.
The old man turned to his son and daughter with a smile as he said, "We're missing one, but this is still a family reunion of sorts, and for that, I'm very glad."
The woman who was the founding matriarch of the Purple Sun Residence clearly had sharper intuition than the azure-robed man. As a flood dragon, she possessed an innate ability to glean the mental state of others, and she had already realized that something wasn't quite right with the old flood dragon's mental state.
As soon as she made this realization, she immediately sprang up into the air without any hesitation, attempting to flee the prefectural city as a streak of light. However, she had forgotten that the gap between her and her father wasn't just one of seniority.
The old man was clearly already at the height of his fury, and he didn't care whether the prefectural city would suffer collateral damage at his hands. Besides, even the entire Yellow Court Nation wasn't enough to contain him, let alone a tiny, insignificant prefectural city.
Sure, there were some talented and powerful individuals here, but no one that came close to posing a threat to the old flood dragon. At this point, the Great Li Empire's southern expansion was something that was already set in stone, so he no longer needed to hide his true form.
However, this was something that could only be built on the premise that he could establish a stable alliance with the Great Li Empire.
This unnecessary visit of his had achieved the complete opposite of the intended objective and irked the Great Li Empire's imperial preceptor. Ultimately, the old man could only blame himself for being too spooked. As a result, his mental state had fluctuated far too much, leading to a loss of rationality.
On this occasion, he hadn't displayed any more competence than his son, the Cold Food Great River God. After all, he and Cui Minghuang of Lake View Academy had personally witnessed that "thunder pool" at the summit of the engraved cliff, as well as the old scholar who had brushed them out of the thunder pool with nothing more than a wave of his sleeve. Furthermore, a string of golden text had appeared on his palm after the event.
In the Great Water Palace secret letter sent out by the azure-robed man, he had told his father about the young imperial preceptor of the Great Li Empire. He had described in detail everything that Cui Chan had done thus far, and he had also stated that Cui Chan had been completely stripped of his cultivation base.
The letter hadn't actually harbored any sinister intentions at all. All the azure-robed man wanted was for his father to negotiate with Cui Chan to see if he could secure some more benefits for the Great Water Palace.
After all, the Great Water Palace didn't dare to contend against Cui Chan. Even if they could somehow kill Cui Chan, how would that benefit them in any way? If they were to do that, then the Great Water Palace would definitely be razed to the ground during the Great Li Empire's southern expansion.
"Why did you do that, Father? Did my sister do something wrong?" the azure-robed man asked in a trembling voice.
The old man had a wizened hand extended with its fingers curled up into claws, and he was dragging his hand downward slowly as he replied with a cold expression, "Your sister doesn't have much to do with this. The main culprit is you!
“Your unnecessary actions have cost me 300 years worth of cultivation base, and there are going to be even more troubles to come, so I'm not in a very good mood. Is that enough of a reason for you?!"
A series of crimson flowers appeared between the old man's fingers, and they appeared quite petite and adorable, but that was far from the reality.
High up in the sky, five massive blood gashes had been gouged into the woman's body, reducing her to an even more horrific state than a piece of pork on a chopping board, and all of the gashes ran so deep that bone was visible through them.
Not only that, but she was immediately dragged back to the prefectural city, having already fled to over 1,000 feet away in the blink of an eye.
However, due to the fact that all of this was unfolding high up in the sky, the residents of the prefectural city didn't notice for the most part. Aside from a few people who just so happened to have been looking up at the sky and were astonished by what they saw, the rest of the city remained completely oblivious.
Finally, the woman plummeted back down onto the ground with her entire body reduced to a mangled mass of flesh and blood. She was wearing a runed garment of a very high caliber, but it had been torn to shreds, and she was curled up into a ball on the ground, howling in pain as she desperately implored the old flood dragon to spare her.
She was the almighty head of the Purple Sun Residence, a godly figure to Yellow Court Nation that had hopes of reaching the 10th tier, yet at this moment, she was rolling around in agony like a wretched dog.
With a casual sweep of his sleeve, the woman was sent flying toward a shop on the side of the street, where she snapped a pillar in half before slumping to the foot of the pillar like a pile of mud.
The azure-robed man's face immediately paled as he asked, "Did the imperial preceptor get angry? I'll admit that I was wrong for doing something unnecessary like this, but does that really warrant such an over-the-top response from him? Is he not afraid that we'll side with Great Sui Nation?"
The old man looked at his panicked son for a moment, then heaved a forlorn sigh before departing without administering any physical punishment, seemingly too disappointed in him to even bother trying to admonish him.
The azure-robed man rushed over to pick up his sister, who was on the brink of death, then returned to the horse-drawn carriage. The coach driver was the river guardian under the Great Water Palace, and as the azure-robed man lifted the curtain of the carriage, his back was facing the river guardian as he said in a remorseful voice, "You were right, Sui Bin. I shouldn't have been so reckless."
The river guardian raised his whip and spurred the carriage back to the Autumn Reed Inn as he replied, "There's always a silver lining on every cloud, and this is no exception. Now that we know what the imperial preceptor is and isn’t willing to tolerate, it'll be easier to deal with him in the future. Accepting a slight loss now is much better than unwittingly overstepping boundaries at some later point and incurring much more severe consequences."
The azure-robed man set his sister down in the carriage, then sat down behind the river guardian as he grumbled, "A slight loss?! My father lost 300 years worth of cultivation base! Given his terrible temper, I'm going to have all hell to pay for this! Other people may be unaware of this, but you know exactly how all of my other siblings died!"
A faint smile appeared on the river guardian's face as he said, "It's good that they're dead, esteemed Great River God. Now that there are only three of you left alive, all of you are indispensable. In the past, I would've had to fetch your body. In fact, perhaps I would've even had to fetch pieces of your body from different places before assembling them together, and that would've been quite a pain."
If Sui Bin had been attempting to console him this entire time, the azure-robed man would've only felt more and more uneasy. He wouldn't have been able to stay in the prefectural city, and perhaps he would've even fled his Great Water Palace to hide somewhere far away until things blew over.
Hence, these scathing words from Sui Bin were actually making him feel a bit more reassured. He took a glance at the river guardian, and it was no wonder to him that he and Prefectural Overseer Wei Li were held in such high regard by Cui Chan.
"Please don't call me esteemed Great River God, I'm not used to hearing something like that from you. Over these past years, I've always treated you well, while you've never sucked up to me, and I think that's a good relationship to maintain. We've been through the hard times together, let's continue to stick together now that our fortune is turning for the better."
A frustrated look then appeared on the azure-robed man's face as he grumbled, "I'd say my father hasn't read any fewer books than the Confucian Sages, and his private book collection is the most impressive one in the entire Yellow Court Nation, so why is it that he still has such a foul temper?"
"Your father doesn't have a foul temper," Sui Bin countered with a smile. "Wasn't he really friendly toward those young little scholars?"
The azure-robed man had no response to this.
Sui Bin hesitated momentarily, then continued, "The reason why your father was so enraged most likely has something to do with his Dao attainment catalyst. Even though you intentionally kept this a secret, the imperial preceptor of the Great Li Empire surely knows that your father is aware of this. If he's able to see so far into the future, then it's certainly not out of the question that he could be doing this to get you and your father to turn on one another."
The azure-robed man shuddered slightly upon hearing this, and an elderly voice suddenly rang out within the carriage.
"Sui Bin, it's not necessarily a good thing that you're so smart."
/p>
"Don't forget that I was once also a scholar," Sui Bin chuckled. "Well, I suppose I still am, but I'm a scholarly ghost now. Death has already befallen me, so I have nothing to fear."
The old flood dragon that had suddenly appeared in the carriage smiled as he said, "I can rest assured with you providing counsel to this useless son of mine."
Meanwhile, the azure-robed man was feeling rather uneasy.
In the past, perhaps his father had looked down on the lowly river guardian that was Sui Bin, or perhaps he didn't need anyone else as he was keeping a low profile. However, now that he was about to begin carving out an empire for himself, he was going to require capable subordinates, and the azure-robed man couldn't help but be concerned that Sui Bin would defect to his father's side.
Sui Bin seemed to have gleaned his thoughts, and a faint smile appeared on his face as he said, "Rest assured, I won't betray you. Even though I've become a ghost, I've still retained some degree of integrity and resolve."
The old flood dragon took a cold glance at his daughter, who was curled up into a ball in a corner of the carriage, then turned to the curtain of the carriage as he put on an earnest and benevolent smile as he said, "I've heard about what's going on with your daughter. Would you like me to lend her a hand and help her become the mountain goddess of Horizontal Mountain?"
Sui Bin shook his head in response. "She's nothing more than a disgraceful creature that's even lowlier than a swine. Just leave her to her own devices."
The old flood dragon burst into laughter. "That sounds exactly like something I would say."
Meanwhile, the hearts of the azure-robed man and the severely wounded woman were filled with sorrow.
One was the Cold Food Great River God, while the other was the founder of the Purple Sun Residence, and both of them were only one step away from reaching the 10th tier. In their respective territories, they were worshiped as gods and revered even above mortal emperors, yet in the presence of their father, they were truly just disgraceful creatures even lowlier than swine.
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