Whether ready or not, Yun Ye planned to return to the capital as soon as possible. The threat from Xi Tong made him realize his protection of his family was still insufficient. He needed to return to Chang’an quickly to make some arrangements to deal with the unexpected events that were coming. This was a bet Yun Ye couldn’t afford to lose. Tian Xiangzi and his group were all madmen. Sun Simiao had said Chao Yuanfang’s *Treatise on the Causes and Symptoms of Various Diseases* was just a medical text that only touched on some surgical procedures. These lunatics had caused three hundred people to die mysteriously over such a small thing—it left Yun Ye not knowing whether to laugh or cry, yet trembling with fear.
The large army couldn’t move quickly. He could only have Old Zhuang leave first, taking Yun Ye’s letters to the Cheng family, Niu family, and the Crown Prince, along with four guards departing day and night. Every moment they arrived early meant one more moment of preparation. This was a bet Yun Ye couldn’t afford to lose. Tian Xiangzi and his people were all madmen. Chao Yuanfang’s *Treatise on the Causes and Symptoms of Various Diseases*—according to Sun Simiao—was just a medical book that only involved some external surgery. These madmen had caused three hundred people to die mysteriously over such a trivial thing, leaving Yun Ye not knowing whether to laugh or cry, yet trembling with fear.
Li Jing telling him about these past events might not have been well-intentioned. He always felt Li Jing seemed very eager to see Yun Ye and Tian Xiangzi fight to the death while he himself sat on the shore watching the monkey show.
Now he’d walked into a dead end. It had long been said that once a person tells one lie, countless lies are needed to maintain the correctness of the first lie. Yun Ye pounded his head, full of regret. Could this be the so-called karmic retribution of the heavenly cycle?
Revealing the truth now would be foolish. Giving up resistance would be even more foolish. He had no way to retreat—he could only continue the lie. Actually, it wasn’t that big a deal. Did the legendary Cloud-Piercing Palace really exist? Had Laozi really achieved immortality riding a green ox out of Hangu Pass, rather than being robbed and murdered by bandits? Were there crystal dragon palaces in the sea? Why hadn’t submarines running all over the world in the future discovered them? White Jade Capital was nothing—there was no way to compare it with those exaggerated immortal realms. People often said that lies repeated a thousand times become truth. What if he repeated it two thousand times and made it fact? Looking at the red clouds filling the sky, Yun Ye’s heart filled with fighting spirit again.
If Tian Xiangzi couldn’t find White Jade Capital in the Arctic, no problem—he could still cross the Bering Strait to the Americas. If his will was strong enough, perhaps the glory of discovering the American continent wouldn’t fall to Columbus. Tian Xiangzi, if my family is harmed, I don’t mind accompanying you on a run around the entire globe.
Who knew whether Tian Xiangzi, thousands of li away, had gotten a chill? Na Rimu, who had just returned joyfully from herding sheep, looked at Yun Ye’s gloomy face and the strange laughter coming from his mouth. Frightened into trembling non-stop, she rushed off with a whoosh to find Huan Niang for comfort.
Gongshu Jia had been building carts this whole time. The four-wheeled cart that Yun Ye proposed had been built by him, but unfortunately it could only run on the grasslands. The mountain roads stretching for thousands of li couldn’t accommodate four-wheeled carts at all.
Li Jing didn’t care. He believed that since the large army could pass through, there was no reason a cart couldn’t. He was very fond of the four-wheeled cart and insisted Gongshu Jia build another one. This meant two four-wheeled carts had to depart with the troops. As for whether the carts could get through, that wasn’t something the Grand Commander should consider. The Grand Commander always only issued orders—completing them was what subordinates should do.
When the Grand Commander returned to the capital, naturally a thousand cavalry escorted him. When the Junior Supervisor of the Court of State Ceremonial returned to the capital, he needed two hundred infantry for escort. When the divine physician Daoist Sun returned to the capital, the army naturally had to escort him carefully—a hundred elite cavalry was necessary. As for Marquis Yun returning to the capital—there were still some old and weak auxiliary soldiers in the camp. Would Marquis Yun care to take them along?
Li Ji was very dissatisfied with Yun Ye. He had strong opinions about Li Jing transferring pastureland meant for other Turkic nobles to Na Rimu. He believed Na Rimu’s tribe was purely a child’s joke. A tribe of barely a hundred people—where would they need a hundred li of pastureland in all directions? This was a serious waste and should have been given to Zhishisili instead.
“Maogong, even if that pastureland were given to Zhishisili, could he hold it securely? In dividing up the grasslands, which of us hasn’t been extremely careful, fearing even the slightest taint? Once back in Chang’an, even a hundred mouths couldn’t explain clearly. Only he openly asked me for pastureland, and it’s for one of his women. Would you dare do such a thing of using public office for private gain? He did it without the slightest hesitation. Although there’s a laughable excuse, can you and I not see through his intentions?”
Li Jing stopped speaking at this point and looked at Li Ji, signaling him to continue.
“This boy is nothing more than establishing family property. Having a business here—if the interior should decline in the future, there’s still a place to settle. This is a common tactic of great families, nothing surprising. It’s just that his courage is too great. Isn’t he afraid His Majesty will be angry?”
“You still underestimate that boy. I dare bet you that His Majesty will definitely not ask about this matter and might even be very happy. None of the civil and military officials will impeach him either. You can tell from Tang Jian and Xu Jingzong’s attitudes—they’re happy to see it happen.”
Li Ji frowned, pondering the meaning deeply. He was indeed a famous general of the era—in moments he sorted out the threads and said in surprise to Li Jing: “This boy did it deliberately? He’s finally done something everyone else would do. Only this action of his conforms to everyone’s expectations, so everyone keeps quiet and is happy to see it happen. This includes His Majesty. When His Majesty learns this news, he’ll probably breathe a sigh of relief. No wonder you’ve been so active in this matter.”
“Help him take good care of his little lover. This boy has an extremely protective nature. If his little lover has problems, none of you on the grasslands can expect peace. If the Turks kill his little lover, that tribe can wait for extermination. You must explain the stakes clearly to Zhishisili. If he acts foolishly and does something excessive, you and I won’t be able to save him.”
“In terms of imperial favor, you and I together can’t match him even with flattery. Moreover, he has very genuine feelings with the Retired Emperor, the Empress, the Crown Prince, Prince Wei, and Prince Shu. These feelings have no utilitarian factors, making them especially rare. In all the realm, only he can achieve this.”
“Brother Yaoshi, how will you handle this Xi Tong? Even in captivity he remains arrogant and untamed. Better to kill him to eliminate future troubles.”
“This old man very much wants to see Yun Ye’s abilities. I’ve already told him his opponent is Tian Xiangzi. Let’s see how he responds.”
“If something goes wrong, he’ll definitely blame you, Brother Yaoshi. This tactic of diverting trouble—I don’t think it will necessarily be effective.”
“He’s sensed something wrong, but this boy is a guard dog. As long as it involves family, he’ll definitely rage and kill all opponents—nothing surprising about that.”
At this moment, Yun Ye was conversing with Xi Tong. Xi Tong’s two arms were crossed behind him, one from behind the head, one from the back, forming the posture of Su Qin carrying a sword. His two thumbs were still tightly bound by the leather cord. This posture was very uncomfortable, yet Xi Tong had maintained it unconcernedly for a full four hours.
“Xi Tong, your leader is called Tian Xiangzi? Very strange. This person died a full thousand years ago. Why do your new leaders still call themselves Tian Xiangzi?” Yun Ye put the mouth of his water skin into Xi Tong’s mouth to give him water. After Xi Tong’s breathing calmed, he began questioning.
“Marquis Yun, I, Xi Tong, am also a man. Don’t expect to learn details of the Hidden Gate from me. You’re also a wise person—don’t make me tell lies to deceive you.”
“How about this—let’s make a deal. You ask me one question, I’ll honestly answer you. Then I ask you one question, and you likewise honestly answer me. How about it?” This was a method Yun Ye had thought of for a long time. He was betting on just how passionate Xi Tong was about achieving immortality.
Xi Tong lowered his head, considered for a while, then raised his head and said to Yun Ye: “Fine. I, Xi Tong, swear that if I speak one false word, may I die struck by five thunderbolts.” After speaking, he stared wide-eyed at Yun Ye, afraid he would go back on his word.
“I, Yun Ye, swear that I will completely and accurately answer Xi Tong’s questions. If I speak one false word, may I die struck by five thunderbolts.” Seeing the oath completed, Xi Tong visibly relaxed. He didn’t care how many Hidden Gate secrets leaked out—he only cared how much information he obtained about White Jade Capital.
“Since that’s the case, I’ll ask first. Does your Hidden Gate have spies in my household?” This was what Yun Ye worried about most.
“No, absolutely not. There are some in the academy, but not in your home. Now it’s my turn to ask—how did you know about white bears and giant whales?” Xi Tong, afraid Yun Ye would renege, deliberately told him an extra sentence—there were traitors in the academy.
“All taught by my master. The old man once went to that far northern land.” Yun Ye looked outside the tent. The sky full of stars was twinkling—only then did he relax. No thunder clouds.
“You told me an extra sentence, so I’ll tell you an extra sentence too. The far northern land has half a year of night, half a year of daylight. March to August each year is the best season to go there. I need to ask again—why are you so obsessed with achieving immortality? You won’t give up even knowing that path is full of dangers.”
Hearing Yun Ye ask about this, Xi Tong visibly relaxed. He said: “Since Ancestor Tian Xiangzi encountered immortal destiny and abandoned the Mohists, our Hidden Gate has set achieving immortality as our goal for generations. Who knew the immortal way would be so difficult? Only our ancestor had the fortune to step into the heavenly realm. All subsequent generations of Tian Xiangzi died with regret. With difficulty reaching this generation, learning of White Jade Capital from your mouth—how could we let it pass? You must know that when the first ancestor ascended to heaven, he only left behind a jade stone with the characters ‘White Jade Capital’ on it. Moreover, Ye Tuo went to verify your origins and specifically went to the Heavenly Pool of the Queen Mother of the West that you mentioned. He encountered heavenly punishment—avalanches, earth fires, strange beasts all appeared. He escaped with his life with great effort. Yet unexpectedly, after seeing you, he died suddenly in less than forty days. If this isn’t heavenly punishment, what is?” Speaking of these things, Xi Tong’s face glowed. Spiritual comfort made him forget his physical pain.
“The immortal destiny your ancestor encountered—it wouldn’t have been a group of female immortals strolling through the clouds who happened to meet your ancestor and said he had immortal fate, right? And those celestial maidens were each extremely beautiful with tinkling jewelry?” Yun Ye suddenly remembered—hadn’t the famous mid-Tang general Guo Ziyi been said to have immortal fate? It was even described in vivid detail. Yun Ye recited this nonsense, wanting to mock Xi Tong.
Who knew ancient people simply didn’t have the nerve to distinguish jokes from reality?
Xi Tong’s eyes nearly split open wide. His mouth opened and closed, unable to speak.
“It can’t be—your ancestor encountered them too? The same group of beauties?”