“Come! It is here… it is here… I bring you to the end of destiny, the edge of destruction. All living beings are as ants, the Way of Heaven turns like a wheel rim, and it is the gods of heaven that are yoked to the axle! Grind them to dust…”
A low, droning chant echoed from within the passageway.
Xuanzang and the others stood tensely in the Buddha hall, gazing toward the passage. The hall was dim and vast, the stars shining overhead, and gradually from the light of the passageway emerged a massive shadow. As it moved, its four paws struck the ground with a muffled sound of metal and wood colliding. Then a great grey wolf appeared at the mouth of the passageway, its body soaked in blood, an arrow shaft jutting from its back.
Kui Mulang seemed to have exhausted its vital energy. Its form stumbled, wrapped in faint wisps of black smoke. With a heavy thud, Kui Mulang collapsed to the ground, then struggled back up, its body seeming to undergo a change — growing more and more human in shape.
A human voice emerged from the wolf’s mouth, murmuring: “Come! What you must do is swim against the flood. The surging waters are everywhere dividing, the vast current embraces mountains and mounds, the endless torrent reaches to the heavens. It is here… it is here…”
“No — that is what you want to do! Not I!”
Then suddenly a different human voice burst from the wolf’s mouth — it was Lv Sheng’s voice, entirely distinct from Kui Mulang’s.
“Where was there ever enlightenment to be proven? Only today do I know that I am myself.”
Kui Mulang fell to the ground, murmuring, “In heaven and in the mortal world, having met at last — I am you, and you are I.”
Everyone stood dumbstruck as two voices issued from the great wolf’s mouth in fierce, bizarre argument. Suddenly the celestial wolf let out a long howl, and a mass of black mist exploded outward. When the black mist slowly dispersed, the form had transformed into that of Lv Sheng. He was covered in blood, his hair disheveled, the arrow still buried in his back.
Zhai Fa Rang and the others remained seated rigidly on their rope beds, silently watching Lv Sheng, making no move to evade.
Lv Sheng struggled to his feet, reached back to grip the arrow shaft, and with a savage yank — letting out a muffled groan of pain — wrenched it free. Gripping the shaft, he walked step by step toward Hu Gong, his eyes locked onto him with fierce intensity. He had only taken a few steps when he collided with Linghu Demeng’s rope bed, which tilted and nearly toppled over.
Linghu Demeng’s withered corpse happened to be positioned face to face with Lv Sheng.
Lv Sheng froze, studying Linghu Demeng’s corpse, then glancing at Hu Gong. Suddenly he seized Zhai Fa Rang and pressed the arrowhead against his throat, roaring, “Who is this man?”
“Linghu Demeng.”
Zhai Fa Rang replied calmly.
Lv Sheng pointed at Hu Gong: “And that man?”
“Linghu Demeng.”
Zhai Fa Rang answered.
Lv Sheng froze, then suddenly released him and began pounding his own head, murmuring, “Who is Linghu Demeng—”
Everyone was surprised, exchanging bewildered glances.
Zhai Fa Rang was far too aged and frail. He climbed to his feet from the ground, breathing heavily: “He is the person you hate most, and you are the person he hates most. You plotted with all your heart to kill him, day after day, year after year. So did he. He did not even dare to die — for if he died, there would be no one left to restrain you. You would overturn the world: a hundred rivers boiling, the mountain peaks crumbling and collapsing. High banks become valleys, deep valleys become hills.”
Xuanzang standing to one side felt a shock in his heart upon hearing this. This was the second time he had heard someone speak of the ambition Lv Sheng sought to fulfill. The first had been Suo Yi, who had said that Lv Sheng was swimming against the current — against the great tide of the age, a tide that even the Emperor of Great Tang was swept along in.
What Zhai Fa Rang said today was more specific. The lines he quoted were from the poem “The Tenth Month Solar Eclipse” in the “Minor Court Hymns” section of the Book of Songs: “The lightning blazes and flashes, without peace, without calm. A hundred rivers boil, the mountain peaks crumble and collapse. High banks become valleys, deep valleys become hills. Alas for the people of today — why is there no one to correct this?”
Zhang Hua of the Western Jin dynasty interpreted it thus: High banks become valleys, deep valleys become hills — petty men grip the reins of power, noble men decline, black and white are indistinguishable: these are the signs of great upheaval.
Zhai Fa Rang was pointing directly at Lv Sheng as the great catastrophe that would bring chaos to the realm. This catastrophe had frightened the Dunhuang gentry clans so greatly that they had not hesitated to risk the charge of treason and invite Turkic invaders to destroy him. They had not hesitated to endure every manner of indignity from Wang Junke, to coerce the Zhang family into giving a daughter in tribute. The Linghu clan had not even hesitated to drain the life from their own clan patriarch.
At this moment, Linghu Demao, Zhai Chang, and others came rushing up to the ninth level. Hu Gong quickly blocked them and hissed, “Bring your retinue up — the other soldiers stay on the eighth level!”
Linghu Demao came to his senses. The ceiling here was covered in constellations of the heavens — strictly forbidden by the imperial court. If outsiders caught sight of it, it would bring catastrophic ruin. He quickly ordered the soldiers below, and came up with only Zhai Chang, Zhang Bi, Yin Shixiong, Fan Renjie, and a few others.
Zhai Wen also followed Zhai Shu and the others up, and the moment she laid eyes on the great cosmic canopy of stars above, she was struck with astonishment. She had never imagined that her family had secretly constructed such a vast astronomical observatory within the western grotto.
“Who am I? Who in the world am I—”
Just then, Lv Sheng suddenly let out a frantic, furious howl. He seized Linghu Demeng’s corpse and hurled it savagely against a nearby Buddha statue, then lifted a rope bed and began smashing everything around him in what seemed like a fit of madness.
“Do not defile my elder brother’s remains!”
Linghu Demao roared.
Linghu Zhan and Zhai Shu drew their blades and rushed forward, but they saw Lv Sheng grinning savagely, seizing Zhai Fa Rang, and pressing the arrowhead against his skull.
Nearby, Zhai Chang was horrified and quickly pulled Zhai Wen back: “Wen’er — that is your great-great-uncle!”
Zhai Wen certainly recognized the famous monk who belonged to her clan, and said mournfully, “Are they the ones truly responsible for what happened to Fourth Brother?”
Zhai Chang had no time to argue with her: “Wen’er — Lv Sheng has gone mad. Quickly, save your great-great-uncle!”
“My great-great-uncle…”
Zhai Wen smiled faintly, “Am I still a daughter of the Zhai family?”
Zhai Chang said again and again: “Yes, yes! Wen’er — in your father’s heart, you will always be a daughter of the Zhai family!”
Zhai Wen said nothing. She walked directly to Lv Sheng’s side and gently wrapped her arms around him. Lv Sheng’s body stiffened, then slowly grew calm, though his eyes remained vacant.
“Who are you…”
Lv Sheng looked at her.
“I am your wife.”
“And who am I?”
“You are Lv Sheng. Peerless scholar of Great Tang. The foremost man of the Wude era.”
“Where is this place? The mortal world? The Celestial Court?”
“This is hell. All living beings are crushed underfoot, all things are ground to nothing, suffering to the very limit.”
“Hell… how long have I been sinking here? Can I escape?”
“Very soon we will be free. I am with you. We will cross through the gate of the six realms and forget everything, and begin again.”
Zhai Wen held Lv Sheng, and the two of them leaned together on the steps in conversation. As she spoke, she tore down a nearby curtain and wrapped it around his wounds. The two of them seemed still to be sitting in the small courtyard at Yumen Pass, speaking of ordinary daily things, oblivious to everyone around them.
Lv Sheng’s eyes slowly regained their clarity, and he awakened completely from the chaos of shifting between human and wolf. He gazed around in confusion at the great Buddha before him, the cosmic star canopy overhead, and the gathered crowd.
“Beneath the starry sky, all are but crawling insects.”
Lv Sheng murmured with feeling, then called out: “Master Xuanzang!”
Xuanzang walked quietly forward, pressing his palms together: “Congratulations, Brother Lv, on recovering your senses.”
Lv Sheng gave a bitter smile: “It can hardly be called recovery — Kui Mulang’s spiritual power has merely been temporarily exhausted.”
Xuanzang reflected: “And your memories of the past — have they returned?”
Lv Sheng shook his head: “My wife and I will certainly die today. What the truth may be no longer matters, nor does my past life. I still remember the glory of passing both examinations at the top. I still remember the ideals we debated at the Daxingshan Monastery. But a candle extinguishes when a man dies — is it not the common condition of the mortal world that ideals go unfulfilled? I have lost this life. The next life, I will try again. Thank you, Master, for all your wearisome efforts. Lv Sheng bids you farewell today.”
Lv Sheng, supported by Zhai Wen, struggled to his feet, clasped his hands toward Xuanzang in a bow of respect, his expression filled with unspeakable sorrow.
“Brother Lv!”
Xuanzang gazed at him, speaking each word deliberately: “This humble monk has not failed in his mission. I have witnessed your past!”
Lv Sheng froze instantly, staring at Xuanzang in astonishment.
“In the sixth year of Wude, after you passed the top of both the Xiucai examination and the Jinshi examination, the Grand Emperor selected you for the Hongwen Academy — called the Xiuwen Academy at the time — as a Erudite Scholar, ranked at the upper eighth grade. Though this was a modest rank, it was prestigious and important — you lectured sons of officials of the fifth rank and above on the classics and histories. When the Grand Emperor held court, he would often invite the Erudite Scholars into the hall to discourse on literature and scholarship. Among the rising talents of Chang’an, you stood foremost, and your contemporaries universally designated you as the candidate to enter the inner cabinet as Chief Minister within twenty years…”
Xuanzang spoke slowly, his voice echoing beneath the star-covered dome within the nine-tiered pagoda.
Lv Sheng and Zhai Wen leaned against each other on the steps, listening in a daze. Linghu Demao, Zhai Chang, Zhang Bi, Yin Shixiong, Fan Renjie, and the other clan patriarchs wore varied expressions, while Linghu Zhan and Zhai Shu led their clan retinues, standing guard all around with drawn blades and readied bows.
Only Zhai Fa Rang and the three other elders remained seated upright on their rope beds, as though all that surrounded them had nothing to do with them at all.
“In the eighth year of Wude, your elderly father fell ill. Feeling that his days were numbered, he wished to return to be buried in his ancestral home in Dunhuang. You had originally had three brothers, all of whom died in battle at the end of the Sui dynasty. Since childhood you and your father had depended on each other alone, and you could not bear to go against his wishes. So you submitted a memorial requesting a demotion. I was not in Chang’an at the time and did not know the full circumstances, but I imagine many would have lamented on your behalf — a man of ministerial promise in twenty years, stepping away from the center of power to become a Recording Secretary in the western prefecture of Shazhou.
“That was in the late spring of the eighth year of Wude. You rode on horseback, driving two ox-carts — one carrying your father, one loaded with books and writings — and set out along the Longyou road. When you passed through Liangzhou, you and your father visited Lv Shi Lao in Guzang County. Eighty years earlier, the Lv clan had fled Dunhuang and scattered like streaming stars. When you father and son went to call on him, you must have been inviting his branch of the family to return to Dunhuang as well — which is why Lv Shi Lao also made a trip to Dunhuang in the ninth year of Wude. But this humble monk has a question. The Lv and Linghu clans had a bitter, blood-deep feud. Your father and son were returning to settle permanently in Dunhuang and inviting clan members to come back — were you not afraid of reigniting that enmity with the Linghu clan? There is only one explanation: your father and son returned to Dunhuang precisely to seek reconciliation!”
Linghu Demao let out a cold grunt but said nothing.
Linghu Zhan sneered: “They came to seek reconciliation? The Lv clan has nursed the grudge of that extermination for eighty years — who could believe such a thing?”
Xuanzang replied mildly: “They truly came to seek reconciliation. The feud between you began at the end of the Northern Wei period, and continued through the Northern Zhou dynasty, the Sui dynasty, and into the Tang. Three dynasties rose and fell in an instant, countless families collapsed and scattered. You live in a remote corner of Dunhuang and may not have felt it, but my family is in the Central Plains — after one bout of warfare, nine out of every ten households in the prefectures and counties were gone. Having lived through the chaos of the age as a veteran soldier, Lv Teng would naturally have come to understand which is more precious: hatred or reconciliation.”
“I still do not believe it!”
Linghu Zhan said through gritted teeth.
“Then this humble monk will continue. Why did Lv Teng wish for reconciliation? Because in his son Lv Sheng he saw the hope of his clan’s revival. Lv Sheng had passed both examinations at the top. The Grand Emperor commended him as the foremost man of the Wude era. His contemporaries designated him a future candidate for the office of Chief Minister. So Lv Teng had to consider his son’s future and the Lv clan’s future — should he remain mired in an eighty-year-old grudge of extermination, unable to move forward? Or should he set aside the past and give his son, and the Lv clan, a glorious and brilliant future? He chose the latter. Speaking practically, he wished to live out his last years in Dunhuang and be buried in his ancestral graveyard. Speaking at greater distance, Linghu Dequan held an appointment at court as Vice Minister of Rites. Without reconciliation, Lv Sheng would have a mortal enemy at court. And so, after the Lv father and son returned to Dunhuang, the very first thing they wished to do was seek a marriage alliance with the Zhai family.”
Linghu Zhan glanced at Zhai Wen and flew into a sudden rage: “Nonsense! His approach to the Zhai family for a marriage was clearly intended to divide the gentry clans!”
“Not to divide — to reconcile.”
Xuanzang yielded not a step. “The world knows that since the Western Han dynasty, the Linghu and Zhai clans have been bound together. Zhai Yi and Linghu Mai joined forces to rebel against Wang Mang. After their defeat and death, their descendants fled together to Dunhuang, where they lived in friendship for more than six hundred years. Could Lv Teng have been so blind as to think that seeking a marriage alliance with the Zhai family would divide the two clans?”
Linghu Zhan had no answer.
“The reason Lv Teng sought a marriage alliance with the Zhai family was twofold. First, because his son Lv Sheng was Great Tang’s top double scholar, the Recording Secretary who held real power in the prefecture — a man of outstanding talent with unlimited prospects, worthy of a Zhai daughter. Second, because the Zhai and Linghu clans were on good terms. By forming a marriage alliance with the Zhai family, he was effectively extending an olive branch to the Linghu clan.”
Xuanzang said.
“Indeed!”
Li Chunfeng sighed. “Eighty years had passed since the clan extermination, after all. Even if the Lv clan wished to reconcile, they could not simply walk up to the Linghu door themselves. The marriage alliance with the Zhai family was essentially hoping the Zhai clan would serve as a bridge to gradually ease relations between the two sides.”
“If Linghu Gentleman does not believe it, he may ask Lord Hongye,”
Xuanzang turned to look at Zhai Chang with some feeling, “this humble monk has inquired around. Lv Teng personally accompanied the neighborhood elders and went to the Zhai residence to propose the match. Under ordinary circumstances, a marriage proposal requires only a matchmaker. If Lv Teng went in person, it must have been to convey to Lord Hongye the goodwill of the Lv clan.”
Zhai Shu glanced at his father, but Zhai Chang’s face was expressionless, with what appeared to be faint fear showing beneath the surface.
“Regrettably, the Zhai family not only failed to serve as that bridge but actually inflamed the conflict further, publicly humiliating Lv Teng. Unless this humble monk’s guess is wrong, Lv Teng must have suffered a fainting collapse at that moment and been carried back to Anhua Ward.”
Xuanzang said.
Seeing Xuanzang point directly at his own father, Zhai Shu also could not help but retort: “Master, please do not speak recklessly! How could my Zhai family do such a thing!”
“The events of that year were indeed tightly sealed. This humble monk has inquired around — no one in the entire city dared to speak of it. The elders who accompanied Lv Teng that day refused even to see me. The Zhai clan alone could not wield such power. It must have been the combined effort of all eight gentry clans.”
Xuanzang shook his head repeatedly. “However, this humble monk became acquainted with a patron at the Shengjiao Monastery — she is the proprietress of Dunhuang’s most renowned medical hall.”
Zhai Fa Rang could not contain his curiosity and finally opened his eyes: “Could that be Zhao Qi Niang of the Shen Family Medical Hall? What has become of her?”
Xuanzang reached into the leather pouch at his side and produced a brocade bag. Opening it, he drew out a sheaf of papers that had yellowed slightly — they were prescription records from the Shen Family Medical Hall. Xuanzang carefully unfolded the prescriptions one by one and arranged them on the writing table.
“Since Lv Teng was in poor health, he inevitably sought medical treatment and medicine. The proprietress of the Shen Family Medical Hall was head of the physicians’ and apothecaries’ guild. This humble monk asked Zhao Qi Niang to send over all the prescription records for medicines collected by Lv Teng. Conveniently enough, Lv Teng always received medical care exclusively at the Shen Family Medical Hall.”
Linghu Demao said coldly, “How dare this Zhao Qi Niang do such a thing!”
At these words, everyone let out a sigh — this was tantamount to an implicit admission that the gentry clans had conspired to suppress and isolate Lv Sheng.
“She would not dare speak of it openly. However, this humble monk was conversing with her on the Chan teachings in the Buddha hall of the Dacheng Monastery. Zhao Qi Niang may dare to deceive people, but she would not dare deceive the Buddha.”
Xuanzang said.
Linghu Demao and Zhai Chang exchanged glances and both let out bitter smiles. This monk was truly shameless — interrogating worshippers before the Buddha — it was even more effective than applying torture in a magistrate’s hall.
Xuanzang drew out one prescription from the stack, held it up for everyone to see, and said: “This humble monk has asked Suo Yi. The auspicious date Lv Teng had divined for the marriage proposal was the bingchen day of the seventh month in the eighth year of Wude. On the very evening of that day, Lv Sheng came to the medical hall to have medicine prepared. The prescription was different from what Lv Teng usually used — it treated a fainting collapse, and included safflower ointment and other medicines for injuries. This humble monk supposes that given the Zhai family’s reputation for proper conduct and ritual propriety, they would not have struck an elderly man who came to propose a marriage. So my guess is that verbal humiliation caused Lv Teng to faint and fall and be injured. Head of the Zhai Family — is this deduction correct?”
Lv Sheng listened in silence. He seemed to see through Xuanzang’s narration a vision of his own father — aged, powerfully built, willing to bow before an enemy for the sake of his son’s career. He vaguely remembered that his father had said something to him that day, something that seemed very important, but he could not recall it no matter how hard he tried.
Everyone looked to Zhai Chang. Zhai Chang was silent for a long while, then gave a labored nod.
“That day, my father said — the people he despised most were precisely those of your kind: common folk of humble birth who happened to produce a son with some small achievement and official title, and then fancied themselves equals of the great gentry families.”
Zhai Wen suddenly spoke. She did not look at Zhai Chang at all; her eyes rested gently on Lv Sheng alone, and she said in a mild tone: “Father said — people like your parents are the most hateful. They are themselves mediocre and incapable, and yet they pour all their hopes into their son. Once a child earns some title, they boast and congratulate themselves, thinking they have been transformed and elevated into the ranks of the great houses. Why does the court stipulate three generations of officialdom before a family can be assessed for gentry status? Precisely to guard against vermin such as you.”
“Younger sister!”
Zhai Shu snapped.
“Elder brother, am I wrong?”
Zhai Wen smiled faintly. “I was in the inner hall listening that day. I didn’t dare go in — the Linghu family uncle was seated behind the screen.”
“And what of it?”
Linghu Demao said coldly. “Before Lv Teng arrived, Lord Hongye had already informed me. Reconciliation? Perhaps Master Xuanzang’s guess is right — he wished to reconcile. But could he reconcile simply by wishing it? Master Xuanzang mentioned two reasons for reconciliation: first, to return to his roots; second, to smooth the path for Lv Sheng at court. These are all in the interests of the Lv clan. What benefit would it bring to our Linghu clan? Why should our Linghu clan reconcile with him? The illustrious deeds of our ancestor Lord Yanbao — who executed Lv Xing, drove out Zhang Bao, and protected Dunhuang — are still inscribed on our genealogy pillar to this day! To allow the Lv remnants to return to Dunhuang — does anyone dare say the Linghu clan has no men left?”
Xuanzang lamented: “No wonder the Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha has still not escaped from hell. The living beings of this world imprison themselves, and no one can break open these shackles. Brother Lv — that is how it was that day. Your father was carried home. This humble monk checked the records of leave applications at the prefectural yamen. You had applied for leave at the time, and invited the Shen physician to come and treat your father. The following day, you stormed into the Zhai residence to demand justice for your father. This humble monk investigated for many days but could find no one who knew what happened that day — only that the following morning, the Zhai residence was in mourning, as a clan elder had died suddenly.”
“That was the secular fourth younger brother of this old monk.”
Zhai Fa Rang said abruptly.
“This humble monk does not know why this clan elder died. I only know that afterward Lv Sheng fell under the suppression of the Dunhuang gentry clans, struggling at every step in Shazhou, subjected to the unified exclusion of both his superiors and subordinates. This humble monk checked the performance evaluation records of the prefectural yamen. Official evaluations covered four virtues and twenty-seven distinctions of merit — the former assessed moral conduct, the latter assessed ability and achievement. There was a minor assessment once a year. First, the officer being assessed would personally record his own merits and faults and deeds and abilities. Then the prefecture’s merit assessment bureau would write an evaluation report, determine the grade level, and submit it to the Board of Personnel’s merit assessment bureau for review. This is what this humble monk copied — Lv Sheng’s evaluation report for the eighth year of Wude—”
Xuanzang produced an evaluation report, laid it before everyone, and turned to the last page. Written there in plain sight was the grade: Lower Upper.
“Many of you have served as officials and will be familiar with this. The evaluation grades run nine levels: Upper Upper, Upper Middle, Upper Lower; Middle Upper, Middle Middle, Middle Lower; Lower Upper, Lower Middle, Lower Lower. An officer in post must pass four rounds of evaluation, and must score Middle Middle or above at each round to be transferred or promoted. Lv Sheng received Lower Upper. The Evaluation Statute states: ‘Acting on personal likes and dislikes, making judgments contrary to reason and principle — this is Lower Upper.’ Having received a lower assessment, Lv Sheng had essentially no hope of promotion, and could consider himself fortunate not to have been demoted outright. Stranger still, that same evaluation record noted that he had once been reported by an official for drinking while in office and had been stripped of rank while continuing to serve. There were also several other entries: for being implicated when the granary bureau officer committed an offense and had his salary docked; for errors in reconciling the grain and cloth levy figures and being flogged; for a military officer selection that turned fraudulent — where the offender claimed to have bribed Lv Sheng — and having his salary docked; for handling a land and irrigation dispute among the villages improperly and being rebuked by his superior; for mediating a dispute among foreign merchants in the border market that devolved into a brawl; for a bridge failing to match its blueprints at inspection…
“Why does this humble monk recount all this? Because this was the moment the gentry clans began working in concert against Lv Sheng, seeking to destroy any possibility of his advancement in his official career.”
Xuanzang carefully laid out the copied evaluation documents one by one.
“This is clearly Lv Sheng’s own lack of virtue, unworthy of his position — why implicate our gentry clans?”
Linghu Zhan retorted.
Xuanzang smiled: “The Director of Personnel in Shazhou was a Linghu. The Director of Granaries was from the Zhang family. The Director of Revenue was a Suo family member. The Director of Military Affairs was from the Yin family. The Director of Public Works was a Fan family member. The areas where Lv Sheng made errors happened to involve the granary, revenue, military, and works bureaus. The border market falls under the jurisdiction of the Dunhuang County Market Supervisor — who also happened to be a Zhang clan member. Each of you patriarchs may deny it, but remember: what you must answer is not this humble monk, but the divine powers behind us.”
Xuanzang pointed upward. Zhang Bi and the others looked back and caught sight of the enormous Buddha head beneath the cosmic star canopy, and could not suppress a shudder.
“And if this old man admits it — so what?”
Zhang Bi said coldly. “Lv Sheng is a rebel and a traitor. He is fit to be killed by anyone.”
“But at that time, Lv Sheng only had a feud with the Linghu clan and a grievance against the Zhai family. He had absolutely no enmity whatsoever with your Zhang, Fan, Suo, and Yin clans.”
Xuanzang asked. “Lord Zhang, Lord Yin, Lord Fan are all present — please answer this humble monk: why did you believe Lv Sheng was fit to be killed by anyone?”
The clan patriarchs exchanged glances. Even Zhang Bi, with his fiery temperament, refused to say another word.
“I believe the true reason must be that Lv Sheng said or did something at the Zhai residence that provoked all eight gentry clans to rise against him together. As this humble monk has no witnesses, we shall return to that matter shortly.”
Xuanzang produced three volumes from his leather pouch — Lv Sheng’s Three Discourses, consisting of A Discourse on Dwelling Texts, A Discourse on Fate and Fortune, and A Discourse on Burial Texts. “After Lv Sheng came under the joint suppression of all eight gentry clans, he revised his Three Discourses in a fury and circulated them widely throughout Shazhou.”
Li Chunfeng said: “This book is still found in Chang’an today — I have read it.”
“This manuscript was seized from the Yumen Pass wolf-soldiers by the twelfth daughter of the Prefect that day. Its contents differ considerably from what this humble monk saw in Chang’an at the time.”
Xuanzang smiled. “Li Scholar, you might take a look.”
Xuanzang handed the manuscript to him.
Li Chunfeng quickly took it and began leafing through it. Linghu Demao and the others knew this manuscript well and their expressions immediately became strained.
The so-called Dwelling Text, also known as the Yellow Emperor’s Dwelling Text, was a diviner’s manual used for geomantic site selection. Later generations falsely attributed it to Guo Pu of the Western Jin dynasty. Diviners used it to classify surnames into five categories corresponding to the pentatonic notes — gong, shang, jue, zhi, and yu — calling them the Five Surnames. The placement of residences for each surname had to follow the principles of the five elemental phases of mutual generation and mutual restraint, determining in which direction doors and windows must face to accord with the Five Surnames theory.
In his text, Lv Sheng used logical reasoning to demolish the Five Surnames theory so thoroughly that not a shred remained.
He examined the origins of surnames, noting that in the time of the Yellow Emperor there were only a handful of surnames — Ji, Jiang, and a few others. Over time surnames multiplied, and further branches formed through enfeoffment and official appointments. Eventually there were hundreds and thousands of surnames. And surnames continued to be created even after Guo Pu had completed his Dwelling Text — yet no one knew who had assigned these new surnames to their respective notes.
In A Discourse on Fate and Fortune, Lv Sheng examined the origins of the theory of fate and fortune, and argued that a person’s fortune or misfortune, noble or humble station, and length of life had no connection whatsoever to fate.
A Discourse on Burial Texts primarily refuted the principles of yin and yang burial advocated in the Burial Text, exposing the superstitions surrounding auspicious and inauspicious timing and prohibitions in funeral rites. But the final line bound the central thesis of all three texts together: “Auspicious and inauspicious in burial — all follows the Five Surnames’ convenience.” The concluding summary was what made it lethal. Lv Sheng traced the origins and evolution of surnames from the Xia and Shang dynasties all the way to the Sui and Tang, sketching out three thousand years of the rise and fall of the great surnames.
He argued that surnames bore no distinction of high or low, noble or base — they signified only the transfer of power from one set of established beneficiaries in a dynasty to the next.
For example: during the Shang and Zhou periods, the nobility inherited their status through generations. But after the Qin conquered the six kingdoms, it used mass relocations and the dismemberment of ruling houses to scatter and break apart the royal clans and noble lineages of the six kingdoms. After the Han unified the realm, there were no longer any heaven-born nobles at all. Anyone could rise from common cloth to seize the realm; anyone could earn a princedom through military achievement. The founding ministers of early Han — Xiao He had been a county clerk in Pei; Cao Can a prison warden; Ren Ao a prison officer; Fan Kuai a dog butcher; Zhou Bo a funeral musician; Lou Jing a cart-puller. These military achievement ministers numbered six hundred thousand in total, occupying positions of the Three Excellencies and Nine Ministers, royal advisers, and the officials of commanderies and counties. All held food stipends, and they used their power to seize the lands of commoners and expand their estates. Thus their descendants became the local powerful clans and great families.
Yet with the Emperor purging the kings of different surnames, Lv Zhi slaughtering the Liu kings, and a succession of brutal power struggles, within barely a hundred years: “All those enfeoffed were gone, some bloodlines severed, some without heirs. Bones rotted alone in tombs, descendants wandered the roads, the living reduced to wretched servants, the dead left as abandoned corpses.” When the meritorious ministers were gone, the recommendation system came into being. And yet another group of people filled the vacuum. These were once ordinary village folk — those who had mastered a single classical text could be nominated through local recommendation and enter officialdom on the basis of classical learning. For instance, Han dynasty chief ministers such as Zhai Fangjin and Zhang Yu both entered government service through classical recommendation. But through the hereditary privilege system — whereby officials of two thousand shi rank or above could nominate one son for office — those holding high positions were able to pass their status on from generation to generation.
As the Eastern Han government decayed, recommendations became corrupt. Officials mutually recommended their relatives and old acquaintances, controlling the power of the court, the prefectures, and even the local communities — and thus the great families of the prefectures and commanderies took shape.
The recommendation system, manipulated by these entrenched interests, became utterly unworkable.
During the Wei and Jin dynasties, the Nine-Rank Arbiter System emerged as a new method of selecting officials, classifying people into nine grades based on family background and conduct to assign them corresponding offices. The grade reflected a person’s lineage, while the conduct assessment reflected their moral character and ability.
The court’s original intention was for the court and the people together to select talent — “grades based on a person’s ability and merit, not on the elevation or baseness of the clan lineage.” But under the manipulation of high officials and eminent families, it became a system where merit was tied to family capital, meaning the grades of one’s fathers and grandfathers in office. The result was: “No humble birth in the upper ranks, no gentry in the lower ranks.”
The nine-tiered tower fell silent as the grave. Li Chunfeng leafed through the text, reading passages aloud. By now everyone understood why Lv Sheng had brought all eight gentry clans down on his head at once. These were plainly three manifestos calling for war against the gentry.
Everyone turned to look at Lv Sheng. He sat quietly, his face stained with blood, not speaking and not moving — as though this had nothing to do with him.
“The Dunhuang gentry clans exerted themselves to prohibit, confiscate, and destroy the new edition of the Three Discourses — not a single copy was permitted to leave Shazhou. So when this humble monk arrived in Dunhuang, he had no opportunity to see it. Lv Sheng, while at Yumen Pass, had to entrust the wolf-soldiers with his handwritten manuscript to have it re-carved on woodblocks.”
Xuanzang continued his narration unhurriedly. Linghu Demao had at first occasionally offered a rebuttal, but by now he simply fell silent, his face bearing a cold smile.
What followed was clear enough. Lv Sheng fell under the collective suppression of the Dunhuang gentry clans. Taverns refused him entry. Cart hire services refused to transport him. Even spice and oil merchants refused his business. Had it not been for the cloth and grain disbursed as part of his official salary, even sustaining daily life would have been nearly impossible.
More gravely, Lv Teng fell ill — yet not a single pharmacy or medical hall would dispense medicine to him or provide treatment. Although Lv Sheng was himself well versed in medicine, he could do nothing without medicines. Even the Shen Family Medical Hall, which had served him before, no longer dared to do business with him. Though Lv Sheng exhausted every possible means to care for his father, Lv Teng fell into dejection and despair, and his condition grew critical.
On a rainy night, Lv Teng suddenly took a grave turn. Lv Sheng immediately hitched a large cart and set out with his father toward the Shen Family Medical Hall, which was only two wards away. But it was the night curfew — the ward gates were closed, and the garrison watch refused to open them.
Under Tang law, for official business, weddings, or cases of illness or death, the garrison watch post within a ward could issue a document to open the ward gate. Yet the watch soldiers refused to open the gate, telling him to find the ward headman. By any reasonable standard, given Lv Sheng’s official rank and position in Shazhou, this was entirely abnormal. But Lv Sheng knew he was under suppression. With his elderly father gravely ill, he had no choice but to swallow his anger and go find the ward headman — only to be told the headman had gone to the countryside and was not receiving visitors behind closed doors.
On that torrential rainy night, Lv Sheng listened to his father cough, groan, and fall repeatedly into unconsciousness. He was the Recording Secretary of Shazhou — a man of standing — and yet he could not get the ward gate opened.
“This humble monk has no way of knowing what he did in that moment. He surely exhausted every argument and tried every stratagem available to him. Given his filial devotion to his father, he may have pleaded, begged, even cast aside his dignity to kneel in the rain-soaked mud. But the minutes passed, and the watch soldiers remained unmoved. Perhaps those soldiers of petty rank even took pleasure in watching the once-proud Recording Secretary in his wretched state — mocking him, laughing at him. In that moment, Lv Sheng must have been filled with bitter regret. Not regret for having written the Three Discourses and declared war on the Dunhuang gentry clans — but regret for having returned to Dunhuang at all, having dragged his elderly father into this. What good is it to have towering talent? What good is it to be the peerless scholar of Great Tang? In the end, he could not even protect his elderly, critically ill father. He may also have thought of his three elder brothers — they had followed their father into the army and died at Yangzhou, in Goguryeo, and at Yanmen. However meaningless their deaths, humble as dust — they had at least kept their father safe and seen him reach old age in peace. But Lv Sheng — the Great Tang double top scholar who had absorbed every resource his father could give — could not protect his father’s life, and ultimately let him die in despair…”
As Xuanzang murmured on, the long-silent Lv Sheng suddenly burst into tears, sobbing uncontrollably. Zhai Wen quickly wrapped an arm around his shoulders, offering quiet comfort.
“The foremost double scholar, the peerless man of Great Tang, the foremost of the Wude era — he was never defeated by the mighty gentry clans, yet he was destroyed by a few ward watchmen and gatekeepers! From that moment on, Lv Sheng resolved upon revenge, severing all ties with Dunhuang, with the court, with the world!”
“How vividly you describe it — as though you saw it with your own eyes!”
Linghu Demao said with a cold laugh.
“This humble monk naturally did not witness it firsthand. But why should such things need to be witnessed firsthand? Reason and deduction are enough to reveal the truth.”
Xuanzang said. “In the ninth year of Wude, Kui Mulang ambushed a bridal procession on Ganquan Street, killing people on the spot, and then the following day went to Chenghua Ward and killed the garrison watchmen and the ward headman. Beyond that — in the three years since — all the people whom the authorities claimed had been killed by Kui Mulang, this humble monk had already investigated: they were all cases of others using the opportunity to murder and silence witnesses. In other words, in these three years Kui Mulang never once sneaked into the city to kill anyone. When he intercepted the bridal procession, everyone knows why those deaths occurred. But when the authorities began hunting him the very next day, why did he go to Chenghua Ward specifically and kill the garrison watchmen and ward headman, and no one else?
“The date of Lv Teng’s death was not difficult to inquire about — it was the hai hour on the ninth day of the third month of the ninth year of Wude. This humble monk once asked Deputy Secretary Cao Cheng to retrieve the gate-opening documents from Chenghua Ward’s garrison post, yet found no record of the Lv household having left the ward that night. You may say that even as he watched his father near death, Lv Sheng did not go out to seek treatment. But how then to explain why, after Lv Sheng transformed into the wolf, he went and killed all the garrison watchmen and the ward headman?”
Xuanzang’s line of reasoning left Linghu Demao with nothing to say.
“After his father’s death, Lv Sheng buried him in the Lv clan’s ancestral graveyard and kept vigil at the tomb for seven days. He then applied to the yamen for bereavement leave, rested at home, and went everywhere seeking books to purchase. When this humble monk was investigating the Kui Mulang woodblocks, he visited over a dozen bookshops in Dunhuang and found a list of books that Lv Sheng had purchased at the time. Lv Sheng also borrowed large quantities of books from the prefectural school, the county school, and the prefectural yamen. This humble monk saw the books corresponding to these titles at the old Lv residence in Chenghua Ward, and has now copied out the list. Please take a look.”
Xuanzang drew another page from his leather pouch, covered densely with book titles. He handed it to Li Chunfeng, who looked it over and passed it along to Zhai Chang and the others.
The titles on the list were mostly historical works: Discourses of the States, Commentary of Zuo, Bamboo Annals, Book of Han, Book of Later Han, Book of Jin, Book of Wei, Book of Song, Book of Sui, Chronicles of the Sixteen Kingdoms. Beyond these were literary collections such as New Account of Tales of the World and Collected Works of Yu Liang. There were also genealogical texts: A Thousand Family Surnames, Records of Clan Origins, Compendium of Surnames, Textual Analysis of Surnames, and a Newly Compiled Genealogical Register of Surnames and Prefectural Glories from Across the Land. Even certain publicly circulated memorials — such as the Record of Gao Shilian and Others’ Memorial on the Classification and Review of Clan Ranks from the Sixth Year of Wude — were included.
Everyone passed this list around for examination. Even Zhai Fa Rang and the other four Dunhuang elders each looked it over, yet all were puzzled as to its significance, and in the end returned it to Xuanzang.
“When this humble monk first saw these volumes in the Lv clan’s old residence, I was equally baffled. Later I asked Prince Li Zhan to have people carry all the volumes back to the Dacheng Monastery, and I read through them one by one. Looking at the books alone, one would absolutely see nothing. The key to deciphering this mystery was not in the books themselves but on the walls of the main hall of the Lv clan’s old residence.”
Xuanzang said.
“On the walls?”
Linghu Demao suddenly spoke. “You mean those few characters written there — let me think—”
“The six characters: Dragon, Advance, Rise, Jade Ring, Righteousness, Tang.”
Zhai Fa Rang said mildly. “This old monk also took note of them at the time, yet could not figure out what secret those characters held.”
“These six characters were not only Lv Sheng’s declaration of war against the Dunhuang gentry clans — they are also the key to the secret of what happened that day when he went to the Zhai residence, and they are the reason for the sudden death of the Zhai clan elder!”
Xuanzang said.
Everyone was stunned. Zhai Chang’s expression changed drastically. He fixed his gaze on Xuanzang: “Speak!”
“It is simple. These characters have been scrambled. Advance is Zhai Fangjin. Righteousness is Zhai Yi. Jade Ring is Zhai Huan. Tang is Zhai Tang.”
Xuanzang said. “As for the characters Dragon and Rise, they must refer to the Longxing Monastery.”
Li Chunfeng and the younger generation including Linghu Zhan were entirely baffled.
“There is no Longxing Monastery in Shazhou — could it be the Longxing Monastery in Lanzhou?”
Linghu Zhan mused. “It was likely constructed during the Western Qin period, with Buddhist niches and statuary. What secret could this hold?”
“Correct — it was called Tangshu Grotto before the Tang dynasty.”
Xuanzang said. “This humble monk will speak more about the Longxing Monastery shortly. First let us address these four names.”
“Master — these four persons appear to be ancestors of the Zhai clan? What connection do they have to Lv Sheng?”
Li Chunfeng asked.
“They have nothing to do with Lv Sheng.”
Zhai Chang said coldly. “These four men are all ancestors of my Zhai clan!”
Zhai Fangjin was the founding ancestor of the Dunhuang Zhai clan — the Chief Minister of Emperor Cheng of Han in the Western Han dynasty. Having been slandered by the astrologer Li Xun, who exploited an omen of Mars in the Heart Lunar Mansion to entrap him, he ultimately took his own life.
Zhai Yi was the second son of Zhai Fangjin. He served as Governor of Dongjun Commandery. When Wang Mang usurped the Han and acted as regent, Zhai Yi raised troops against him, enthroning Liu Xin as emperor, styling himself Grand Marshal and Great General Who Supports the Heavens. His army was eventually defeated, he was killed, and three generations of his family were exterminated.
Zhai Huan was Chief Minister of the state of Wei during the Warring States period. He assisted Marquis Wen of Wei, helping him destroy the state of Zhongshan, and was ennobled as Senior Minister.
Zhai Tang, courtesy name Daoyuan, was a man of Chaisang in the Eastern Jin dynasty, a famous recluse of his time. For four generations his family lived in seclusion on Mount Lu, and he became known as the Zhai Family of Four Generations. Having once been summoned by Grand Counselor Wang Dao, he declined to serve. He was on close terms with the renowned scholar Gan Bao and the statesman Yu Liang.
For a moment, everyone found it strange. These four men were all Zhai clan ancestors, yet they had nothing whatsoever to do with one another. Why had Lv Sheng inscribed their names on a wall?
“After discovering that these four characters referred to Zhai clan ancestors, this humble monk went to the Grand Clan Archives to consult the genealogical records on file for the Zhai clan. The genealogy states that the Zhai clan descends from Dan Zhong, the second son of Emperor Yao: ‘The descendants of the Tao Tang clan enfeoffed the son Dan Zhong as Marquis of Zhai City, and from this took the clan name.'”
“That is only natural — my Zhai clan are descendants of Emperor Yao, as all the world knows!”
Zhai Shu said proudly.
“Silence!”
Zhai Chang roared, then turned to Xuanzang: “Master Xuanzang, do not go too far! Everyone — Xuanzang is Lv Sheng’s close friend. He is stalling for time to let Kui Mulang recover. We must seize him immediately!” He pointed at Lv Sheng: “Archers — shoot!”
The retinue surged forward, drawing bows and nocking arrows ready to fire, with no regard even for Zhai Wen standing close by.
Xuanzang suddenly stepped forward and placed himself between Lv Sheng, Zhai Wen, and the archers, simply watching Zhai Chang steadily.
Zhai Chang bit down and shouted: “Shoot—”
Everyone was alarmed. The Zhai family had venerated Buddhism for generations; to now kill a high-ranking monk would be a sin that could never be washed away. Moreover, this particular monk had deep and complex connections with the Emperor himself. To kill him in plain sight of so many witnesses would likely bring ruin on the entire Zhai clan. Yet looking at Zhai Chang’s ferocious expression, it seemed he was ready to die if it meant killing Xuanzang and Lv Sheng.
Suddenly a figure flashed — Lv Sheng erupted into action and pressed an arrowhead against Zhang Yan, who stood nearby.
He was shrewd enough not to take Zhai Fa Rang hostage, instead seizing Zhang Bi’s father.
Zhang Bi panicked at once: “Hongye — hold your hand! My father is in his hands!”
Zhai Chang froze. If it had been Zhai Fa Rang, he was family — shoot and be shot, and he could make amends with his own life afterward. But Zhang Yan was Zhang Bi’s father, the former patriarch of the Zhang clan. To shoot him would mean a fight to the death with the Zhang family.
“Let the Master finish speaking!”
Lv Sheng said each word with deliberate force.
Fan Renjie said grimly: “Lord Bi, Lord Hongye — if this matter is revealed to the world, it will not merely spell ruin for our Dunhuang gentry clans, but for gentry clans throughout the entire realm!”
“You come here as well!”
Lv Sheng seized Fan Zheng’s rope bed and pulled it close, holding him hostage under his right arm — one hostage on each side, two arrowheads pressed to the throats of two old men.
Fan Renjie was speechless at once: “Father—”
“Speak and have done with it — what is there to fear?”
Fan Zheng remained entirely unperturbed, calmly saying, “As long as no one here can leave alive, what does it matter? Can a few spoken words be engraved on heaven and earth for eternity?”
Everyone felt their hearts sink. This secret was so terrifying that the Dunhuang gentry clans were prepared to kill every single person present.
Zhai Chang closed his eyes and let out a long sigh, then drew back and stood to one side with a resigned air — as much as to say: I have no fear of death; go ahead and speak.
Xuanzang was silent for a long moment, looking at Lv Sheng.
Lv Sheng nodded gravely: “I beg the Master!”
Xuanzang let out a sigh and continued. He gave a brief account of the Zhai clan’s genealogical lineage — the genealogy was long, so he stated only the essentials: Huan served as Chief Minister of Wei and was ennobled as Senior Minister; his son Yan inherited and continued the line for five generations. Emperor Cheng elevated Fangjin to Han Chief Minister, ennobled as Marquis of Gaoling. Fangjin’s youngest son Yi served as Governor of Dongjun, circulated proclamations to the prefectures and commanderies, and rose against Wang Mang’s usurpation. Yi’s fourth-generation descendant Tang, during the reign of Emperor Kang, was summoned as a gentleman of the palace with advisory duties. He did not take the post.
Tang’s son Zhuang, Zhuang’s son Jiao, neither entered service. Jiao’s son Fa Ci was offered the advisory post of gentleman of the palace by Emperor Xiaowu, and likewise declined.
“The genealogical lineage touching on these four names is essentially what I have described. Let us now examine them in turn. The historical records contain no birth or death dates for Zhai Huan. According to Records of the Grand Historian, Discourses of the States, and other texts, Zhai Huan recommended Wu Qi to train the Wei army, recommended Ximen Bao to govern Ye, recommended Yue Yang to attack the state of Zhongshan, and recommended Li Kui to hold Zhongshan. Let us broadly estimate Zhai Huan’s birth and death. Wu Qi’s military campaigns against Qin occurred in the thirty-seventh year of Marquis Wen of Wei. Yue Yang’s campaign against Zhongshan was in the thirty-eighth year. According to historical records, a year after Zhongshan was destroyed, Zhai Huan led a combined force with Han and Zhao to attack Qi — this was in the thirty-ninth year of Marquis Wen of Wei, when Zhai Huan served as Chief Minister. And Li Kui’s service as Wei’s Chief Minister, overseeing the reforms, was in the forty-sixth year of Marquis Wen of Wei — meaning that by then, Zhai Huan had either died or retired from office.”
“Master — what is the significance of estimating his birth and death dates?”
Li Chunfeng asked in puzzlement.
“There is significance!”
Xuanzang said. “Zhai Fangjin was Chief Minister under Emperor Cheng of Han, and he died in the second year of Suihe. You may calculate — from the forty-sixth year of Marquis Wen of Wei to the second year of Suihe in the Western Han — how many years is that?”
Everyone was baffled. Successive eras used cyclical characters and reign-year dating, making such calculations extremely cumbersome. But since the historical records on dating were unbroken from the Spring and Autumn period through the Western Han, it was possible to add up the reign years of successive rulers. The people present had spent three years calculating the positions of constellations and were all skilled at arithmetic. They closed their eyes and began calculating mentally. Li Chunfeng was first to open his eyes: “Approximately four hundred and seven years!”
“Correct,”
Xuanzang nodded and sighed. “It must have been Lv Sheng who first discovered this secret — from Zhai Huan to Zhai Fangjin, across those long four hundred years, the lineage passed through only six generations!”
Everyone was stupefied. Zhai Chang’s face turned ashen. Beads of sweat poured down his forehead, yet he said not a word. Linghu Demao and others wished to refute this, but Xuanzang’s reasoning was meticulous and thorough, grounded entirely in historical records and genealogical documents — there was simply no refuting it.
“The genealogy then omits the lineage between Zhai Yi and Zhai Tang entirely, recording only that Zhai Tang was a fourth-generation descendant of Zhai Yi, with everything in between skipped. Let us continue. According to the Book of Han, Zhai Fangjin had two sons: the elder, Zhai Xuan, served as Governor of Nanjun Commandery; the younger, Zhai Yi, served as Governor of Dongjun Commandery. The Book of Han also records: ‘In the second year of Wang Mang’s regency, Zhai Yi and Liu Xin raised troops. Wang Mang crushed them in battle, exterminated three generations of their family, executed all their descendants, had them buried together in a pit, and buried them with thorn bushes soaked in five poisons…'”
Zhai Chang sneered: “No doubt the Master intends to question how any descendants survived if our ancestor’s three generations were exterminated.”
“Not at all,”
Xuanzang said. “Exterminating three generations does not necessarily mean no descendants survived at all. Zhai Yi himself was never captured by Wang Mang — he died by suicide while fleeing. The Book of Han records that Zhai Fangjin had a great-grandson in Langye. So your clan genealogy’s account that Zhai Yi’s descendants migrated west and fled to Dunhuang is not wrong. The problem lies with Zhai Tang. Let us examine the records concerning him. In the sixth month of the first year of Emperor Kang of Jin’s reign in the Jianyuan era, on the day renchen, Zhai Tang, the recluse of Xunyang, was again summoned with gifts of silk. His close friend Yu Liang included in his own collected writings a piece titled ‘Encomium for Gentleman Hermit Zhai’: ‘Jin’s summoned gentleman, the gentleman of Nanyang, Zhai…though given gifts of silk and induced to descend… died in the southern mountains of Xunyang.’ The gentleman hermit Zhai referred to here is naturally Zhai Tang. In New Account of Tales of the World it is written: ‘Originally, when Yu Liang took charge of Jiangzhou, he heard of Zhai Tang’s reputation, fastened his belt and put on his sandals to call on him personally. Yu Liang was very deferential in his courtesies. Zhai Tang said: You, Your Excellency, are simply paying respect to a rotten tree and decayed trunk. Yu Liang praised his eloquence and submitted a memorial recommending him. He was summoned as Erudite of the National Academy, but did not respond.’ This was during the Xiankang years. When Zhai Tang described himself as a rotten tree and decayed trunk, he was clearly already elderly. The Book of Jin explicitly states that Zhai Tang died at the age of seventy-three. And Yu Liang died in the first month of the sixth year of Xiankang. Since Yu Liang composed a memorial eulogy for Zhai Tang, Zhai Tang must have died before the sixth year of Xiankang. Now — from the second year of Wang Mang’s regency to the sixth year of Xiankang, how many years is that?”
This time everyone was cautious. Linghu Demao immediately called up a scribe from below. The scribe came and reported each reign title, while with counting rods and ceramic beads began calculating.
To everyone’s surprise, before they had even finished calculating through the Eastern Han, Li Chunfeng said: “Three hundred and thirty-three years!”
Xuanzang fixed his gaze on Zhai Chang and said slowly: “Three hundred and thirty-three years — and the Zhai lineage passed through only four generations?”
This time no one offered a rebuttal. Everyone looked to Lv Sheng. They could not suppress a shudder. How many books must this man have read — to have been able to pick through the historical records piece by piece and lay bare an entire gentry clan’s genealogy so completely? This was terrifying. By this method of dissection, there was likely not a single gentry clan’s lineage in the whole realm that could withstand such detailed scrutiny.
In that moment, every single person among the six gentry clans had only one thought: this man must not be allowed to live.
Note: Present-day scholarly works on Dunhuang surnames are mostly compiled during the Zhenguan era or later in the Tang dynasty. To avoid citing titles from later periods, the names of some works have been modified. For example, Yuan He Compendium of Surnames was compiled during the reign of Emperor Xianzong of Tang; Old and New Compendium of Surnames with Textual Analysis was compiled in the early Southern Song. As for the Dunhuang document Newly Compiled Genealogical Register of Surnames and Prefectural Glories from Across the Land, its exact date of compilation is difficult to verify and has therefore not been altered.