“Gambling debts, brothel debts, drinking debts—I recognize none of them. Who doesn’t suffer through alternating joy and sorrow? Yesterday was wrong, today is right. This humble Daoist has his own carefree path. Transformation through military dissolution and rebirth is merely starting over again. Duke Chu need not be surprised.”

This single statement from Yuan Shoucheng made Yun Ye lose all desire to cause him trouble. These words were exactly what the old fellow had said to him when leaving the capital. By bringing up these words, this Yuan Shoucheng was begging him not to expose the truth, and also proving that the transformation through military dissolution and ascension to heaven was indeed Yuan Shoucheng’s own wish.

Yun Ye’s heart was filled with deep emotion. This old madman was essentially a willing martyr who believed in everything he professed, believing that spirits truly existed in the ethereal realm. Yun Ye didn’t know how to evaluate such behavior. According to Daoist views, he was a sage. Even Li Er remained silent about this, which showed just how worthwhile the old fellow’s death had been.

Using his own life to seal everyone’s mouths, falsehoods became truths. The Daoist sect, having tasted this sweet benefit, would likely carry on this tradition. Thinking that any person called Yuan Shoucheng would meet a bad end, Yun Ye felt chills throughout his body.

Accompanied by Yuan Shoucheng, the group walked toward the great hall. As soon as they passed through the bamboo forest, they discovered that the world beyond truly could be described as having another heaven within. Everyone was filled with an immortal air. For instance, Yuchi Gong was struggling with a crystal stone.

Yuan Shoucheng explained with a smile to Li Tai and Yun Ye: “The crystal stones are all cemented into the ground with concrete. Duke E trying to pull them out probably won’t work…”

Yun Ye patted the crystal stones scattered throughout the residence and sighed: “You initially wouldn’t let me touch the crystals in the crystal cave, saying you feared destroying the immortal’s dwelling. Yet when you yourselves got to work, you showed no mercy at all.”

“If you go look now, the crystal cave remains unchanged. Anyone who dares damage the cave dwelling will be killed without mercy. The crystals here were found in mineral veins, not from inside the cave. The quality of crystals from the mineral veins is even better than those exposed in the cave. Crystal is hard in texture and difficult to craft into objects. However, I heard that Duke Chu has a special fondness for colorless crystals, so the Daoist sect has prepared some small gifts. Please accept them, Duke Chu.”

Having received gifts from others, naturally it wasn’t good to say much more. But seeing some young wild people stooped over like monkeys weaving through the crowd, their long arms holding trays, busily serving wine to everyone, Yun Ye felt he still needed to say a few words.

“The wild people have also been trained by you to serve tea and pour water. Thinking back to how they used to leap across cliffs and precipices like the wind, so fierce and powerful, I can hardly believe these creatures who can’t even compare to monkeys are the kings of the snowy mountains!”

Yuan Shoucheng took several cups of wine from a tray held by a wild person wearing Daoist robes, stuffing one each into Li Tai and Yun Ye’s hands. Walking while talking, he said: “There’s no change. The fierce wild people you saw in your early years are still fierce today. These wild people are all children secretly taken from wild people’s nests by the sect’s experts. What you don’t know is that due to environmental and food reasons, those wild people will kill their own less robust children. What the Daoist sect does is actually saving lives.”

Yun Ye believed this point. Those wild people’s living environment was extremely harsh. Because of vision problems, they didn’t dare walk into sunlit areas, so their food supply certainly wouldn’t be abundant. Eliminating the weak to preserve the strong was itself a natural law. What Yuan Shoucheng said wouldn’t be false. Besides, this fellow wouldn’t tell such lies. Right now he needed countless truths to cover up the one biggest lie he had told.

Shaking the glass in his hand, the rose-red wine inside was almost as thick as blood. This was the character of aged wine. Drinking aged wine this way was too extravagant.

The food pairing wasn’t quite right either. Pairing aged red wine with barbecue—what kind of fool would do such a thing? Although in his previous life when Yun Ye drank red wine he always added Sprite to it, this didn’t prevent him from knowing some refined drinking methods.

Snow dragon meat was being roasted on a charcoal stove. Watching the chef skillfully brush oil on it, sprinkle seasonings, add cumin, and add fine salt, Yun Ye knew this chef must be from the Yun Family Restaurant. Because the Yun Family Restaurant was currently figuring out how to put all foods over fire for barbecue, and all of Chang’an was now especially fond of barbecue.

Now they had succeeded. Even snow dragon meat, this most premium ingredient, couldn’t escape the fate of being barbecued. Covered by heavy layers of chili pepper, spices, and cumin that masked all its wonderful flavors, any barbecued food ended up with only one taste: spicy!

Yun Ye’s face kept twitching. Several times he wanted to snatch the snow dragon meat from that fat chef’s hands, then give that fellow a few hard kicks in the behind. What reckless waste of fine things!

Though Yun Lei was small, he loved eating barbecue the most. He had long been drooling while waiting for the fat chef to give him the cooked meat. The fat chef actually recognized Yun Lei and specially cut the most tender part of the snow dragon, carefully roasting it for his young master. Only when both sides were golden brown did he sprinkle on the spices and cumin, arranging it on a plate to give to Yun Lei. He absolutely didn’t dare add chili pepper.

Li Tai had already started eating. The crispy bones on the snow dragon meat were very delicious. He sat there quite inelegantly, crunching away noisily. Gao Yang wasn’t much better off than him. The two siblings ate while praising the food endlessly.

Yun Ye looked around. The Daoist sect’s assembly couldn’t possibly be just a barbecue evening party, could it? There was still a large door ahead, closed very tightly. Needless to say, this was merely a place to gather guests. When the door opened, tonight’s assembly would truly begin. Hearing the familiar bird calls from inside, Yun Ye smiled and shook his head. To be able to borrow the phoenix from Zhangsun, who knew what price the Daoist sect had paid. As Empress Dowager, Zhangsun now had an even bigger temper than Li Er.

The Guanzhong area was rather peculiar. Legends always included dragons and phoenixes. But this was hardly surprising, as this place was originally the emperor’s homeland. So naturally everyone relished tales of hidden dragons ascending to heaven and phoenixes dancing across the nine heavens. The snow dragon’s appearance was too ugly and didn’t look like a dragon, so they could only imitate the phoenix singing at Mount Qi and create a phoenix singing at Laojun Temple.

Holding his wine glass, he constantly circulated through the courtyard. When passing by Li Jing, the birthday-elder-like Li Jing suddenly opened his eyes and asked Yun Ye: “Real? Or fake?”

“Grandson pretending to be grandfather!” Yun Ye answered quietly.

Li Jing seemed very disappointed. He sighed, drank all the wine before him in one gulp, then sighed again and continued lying on the soft couch with his eyes closed, resting. When people got old, they feared death. Not a trace of a senior’s dignity—Yun Ye grumbled inwardly as he left that old fellow who feared death. He now always claimed he had leg ailments and couldn’t walk properly, yet during festivals when Yun Ye went to his home to pay New Year respects, he still wielded his sword so impenetrably that water couldn’t splash through…

He wouldn’t go over to Cheng Yaojin’s area. He couldn’t stand the bully’s behavior of monopolizing a chef. Zhang Jian held an empty plate, looking at Old Cheng with slanted eyes, until Niu Jinda coaxed and tricked him away. If it had been any later, a brawl would definitely have erupted.

Meeting those foreign commanders, he felt this heroes’ gathering indeed had some flavor. These fellows who only knew how to eat sheep thought snow dragon meat was all bones, requiring them to chew through the bones to swallow, not as tender as mutton. So several people surrounded a roasted sheep, and under flashing knives, a sheep quickly became a complete skeleton.

Fang Xuanling was old and couldn’t bite through snow dragon meat. Du Ruhui didn’t eat at all. In the Western Regions, he had eaten snow dragon meat prepared by Yun Ye. The tender snow dragon meat arranged on plates was worlds apart from these charred, inferior barbecued snow dragon meat pieces before him.

Xu Jingzong was quite interested in the female Daoists here. Hiding behind the bamboo forest, he held a petite Yellow-Capped one, not knowing what he was saying to her. Occasionally he laughed loudly, appearing very bold—clearly a reliable man.

In such a noisy environment, someone was actually playing the zither. Yun Ye couldn’t understand what he was playing. He bumped Li Yifu’s shoulder, signaling him to explain.

Li Yifu, living up to his reputation as a talented scholar, tilted his ear to listen for a moment then said to Yun Ye: “The high notes are ethereal, with the meaning of a tune too refined for common appreciation. The low notes are deep with a sense of suffering. Without middle notes to harmonize, this shows this person is pouring out his heart’s grievances. Now with dignitaries gathered like clouds, he feels he’s like an orchid in an empty valley, wanting to transform into a white crane and fly high, yet blocked by towering mountains.”

“This is a new composition. You should just consider him as having delusions. This student also doesn’t know why the heroes’ gathering would have such a pedantic bore come out to annoy people. If he has talent, he should take the academy examination. If he thinks himself talented and learned, he can go to the bronze rail on Vermillion Bird Avenue to submit a self-recommendation letter. Playing the zither here is nothing more than wanting to find a kindred spirit.”

“Though this student is a kindred spirit, I won’t acknowledge him. At a time like this, without even the courage to self-recommend, he must certainly be one who chases after fat horses—despicable.”

Hearing the words “bronze rail,” Yun Ye asked curiously: “The bronze rail His Majesty set up back then is still in use?”

Li Yifu nodded: “It’s in use. Junior Minister of the Court of Agriculture Zhou Xing advised His Majesty that the bronze rail shouldn’t only accept opinions from common people and minor officials, but should also have the function of investigating treachery and correcting arrogance. This way, everyone in the realm becomes a censor, everyone can report to the court various illegal matters they discover among officials.”

“His Majesty considered it good and has already transferred Zhou Xing to the Personnel Evaluation Division of the Ministry of Personnel. This person is quite capable. Within three months of taking office, he uncovered three illegal cases—one for incest, one for corruption, and one for treason. From discovery to conclusion, it only took a mere ten days. The criminals all confessed without objection, and moreover, the evidence was solid!”

Yun Ye nodded: “Zhou Xing, ah! Cases he tries probably never lack solid evidence! Li Yifu, you have a rival.” After saying these words, Yun Ye patted Li Yifu’s shoulder and left, leaving a completely confused Li Yifu standing there in a daze.

Yun Ye drained his cup in one gulp. He discovered that events from history that should come would still stubbornly arrive. Hearing earlier about Suo Yuanli had already shocked him greatly. Now hearing news of Zhou Xing, he wondered where that famous Lai Junchen who devised “Please Enter the Urn” was currently…