Nothing to do with the Emperor?

Prince Li and the others disdained to explain to a little girl what it meant to bear the responsibilities of rulership.

Emperor Yongxing thought his sister was speaking up for him, but the current situation couldn’t allow her impulsiveness. He said sternly:

“Lin’an, do not be discourteous.”

“I am still discussing matters with our uncles. You may withdraw first.”

A prince shook his head slightly:

“When the former emperor was in power, he was obsessed with cultivation and neglected the princesses’ marriages. Your Majesty, it’s time to consider Lin’an’s marriage. She’s not young anymore and should be married off.”

“This would prevent such rash and discourteous behavior, as she shows no signs of maturity.”

For both men and women, marriage was the best catalyst for forcing maturity and growth.

Lin’an maintained a stern expression, showing no courtesy to her uncles as she performed a graceful curtsy and said:

“Imperial Brother, I know the reason for the disturbance at the Yongzhen Mountain River Temple. The ancestors are not angry—there is another cause.”

Emperor Yongxing was first surprised, completely unprepared for such words from her mouth, then rose excitedly from his desk, asking:

“Not the ancestors’ anger, but another reason? Lin’an, explain properly what exactly happened.”

The princes all turned to look at her with bewildered expressions.

“The Imperial Sword is now in Xu Qi’an’s hands. He fought against the Buddhist sect, Witch God Cult, and the Yunzhou faction at Dog Rong Mountain in Sword Prefecture. He protected the dragon qi and Dog Rong Mountain.”

“The disturbance at the Yongzhen Mountain River Temple is related to this.”

Lin’an repeated exactly what she had heard from Huaiqing.

She didn’t explain the significance of the Dog Rong Mountain battle, nor clarify the deep connection between the temple’s disturbance and that fight.

But this was enough—for the royal family present, this information was sufficient for them to piece together and analyze the truth.

The Imperial Sword is in Xu Qi’an’s hands, he fought multiple forces at Dog Rong Mountain and protected the dragon qi… Emperor Yongxing’s pupils dilated, his emotions incredibly complex.

After understanding the truth, what welled up in his heart was an intense sense of security.

Xu Qi’an was like a great general from the history books, guarding the frontier, allowing him as ruler to rest easy.

“So it’s in Xu Qi’an’s hands…”

The white-haired Prince Yu pondered: “It seems the Imperial Observer took the Imperial Sword to give to Xu Qi’an. Who would have thought the Buddhist sect, Witch God Cult, and Yunzhou rebels would all gather at Dog Rong Mountain?”

A prince frowned deeply: “But what connection does this have to the ancestor tablets falling and the Founding Emperor’s statue being damaged?”

The elderly Prince Li stood up with his cane, saying solemnly:

“Regardless, protecting the dragon qi is what matters. Immediately have the Sword Prefecture’s governor investigate this matter—how many experts the Buddhist sect, Witch God Cult, and Yunzhou remnants deployed, the course of the battle, and so on. Every detail must be investigated thoroughly.”

“Once we understand the situation, we may comprehend why the Founding Emperor’s statue was damaged.”

“Something that forced the Imperial Observer to send the Imperial Sword away from the capital is no ordinary matter. We must investigate it thoroughly.”

After speaking, he looked at Lin’an, his gaze much softer:

“Girl, how did you know about this?”

Lin’an lifted her chin, “I naturally have ways to contact Xu Qi’an.”

Prince Li frowned, looking questioningly at Emperor Yongxing.

The latter sat high at his desk, smiling:

“Uncle rarely leaves home for self-cultivation, so you wouldn’t know. Before Xu Qi’an’s rise, Lin’an looked after him in many ways. Their friendship runs deep.”

“My influence as emperor carries not even one-tenth the weight of Xu Qi’an compared to Lin’an’s.”

“It’s not surprising they have private means of communication.”

Deep friendship… Prince Li glanced at Lin’an, his eyes flashing.

Emperor Yongxing paused briefly, leaned forward slightly to look at Prince Li, then surveyed the assembled princes and noble princes, saying:

“In that case, do I still need to issue an edict of self-blame?”

Prince Li waved his hand.

Prince Yu said:

“What we need to do now is investigate this matter quickly. The greater Xu Yinluo’s merit, the more beneficial it is for Your Majesty. If anyone tries to use the ancestral temple’s disturbance to attack Your Majesty, you can take the opportunity to reveal the truth.”

“Not only will it not damage Your Majesty’s prestige, it will be advantageous.”

Emperor Yongxing’s smile widened as he cast a light glance at the Fourth Prince.

The latter kept his head lowered, showing no expression.

…

After the meeting concluded.

Huaiqing walked gracefully with her palace maids, her skirts flowing, returning to Dexin Garden.

“Huaiqing.”

The Fourth Prince, heading in the same direction, saw his sister ahead and quickened his pace to catch up.

Huaiqing slowed her steps to wait for him while glancing at her two palace maids, dismissing them.

The Fourth Prince caught up and walked beside her, saying through gritted teeth:

“How infuriating! This was originally a heaven-sent opportunity, but now his reputation has been preserved and his prestige remains intact.”

“You didn’t see how smug his face was when he spoke of Xu Qi’an and Lin’an’s deep friendship. He was clearly saying it for our benefit.”

“After hearing it, Prince Li’s attitude toward Lin’an immediately changed…”

Speaking to this point, the Fourth Prince looked his sister up and down, saying:

“I remember that Xu Qi’an was originally your man. You even brought him to attend the palace banquet that day, where he composed ‘Drunk, knowing not if heaven lies in the water, a boat full of clear dreams pressing down on the starry river.'”

“Now it seems Lin’an has stolen a march on you.”

Huaiqing’s previously expressionless face darkened, seeming somewhat angry as she turned to look at her brother, saying coldly:

“Does Royal Brother think that in the current situation, you would do better than Yongxing if you sat on the dragon throne?”

“I… would naturally handle it more elegantly.”

The Fourth Prince frowned.

“It’s just the difference between fifty steps and a hundred steps. Great Tang’s current situation cannot be reversed by one person’s power. Whoever sits in that position, the difference won’t be great. Since that’s the case, why is Royal Brother in such a hurry?”

Huaiqing said indifferently.

The Fourth Prince looked at her: “You mean…”

Huaiqing turned to leave: “How long has it been since Fourth Brother read history? ‘Zhou Chronicles’ Volume Two, Chapter Thirteen is very interesting. Brother might want to read it in his spare time.”

…

Sword Prefecture.

Xu Qi’an piloted the Pagoda Treasure to bring Mu Nanzhi, Little Mare, Bai Ji, and Chai Xinger back to Dog Rong Mountain from Sword Prefecture City.

During her stay in Sword Prefecture, Chai Xinger’s cultivation had been sealed. Of course, even so, she wasn’t someone that a powerless reincarnated Flower God could handle.

Well, whether she was truly powerless remained to be confirmed, as Xu Qi’an hadn’t given her the chance.

Fortunately, there was Bai Ji. Although this fox demon cub was also quite weak in battle, thanks to the contrast with her companion, she had become a pillar of support.

Dealing with a physically weak Chai Xinger whose cultivation was sealed posed no problem.

To ensure absolute safety, Xu Qi’an had also fed Chai Xinger muscle-weakening powder.

“Is the fight over? Did you win or lose? How much did the Buddhist sect lose?”

Bai Ji chirped around him, trying to learn about the situation at Dog Rong Mountain.

This wasn’t like her usual style, so Xu Qi’an asked:

“Are you going to report this to the Nine-Tailed Fox?”

Bai Ji’s black button-like eyes suddenly went blank. She froze for several seconds, then quickly shook her head:

“No, I won’t report anything.”

Your expression says it all. Well, at least she’s much smarter than Ling Yin. If it were the little bean, she’d be running away in fear now, dreading how terrifying Big Brother is… Xu Qi’an said:

“Of course, I won, otherwise how could I be standing here?”

“After the battle at Dog Rong Mountain, Dunan and Dufan died. The Buddhist sect has completely lost its Dharma-Protecting Vajras.”

The Buddhist sect has no more Dharma-Protecting Vajras… Bai Ji’s black eyes went blank again.

If you add the Arhat Duqing who fell outside Yongzhou City, the Buddhist sect had lost one Second-rank Arhat and two Third-rank Vajras in just one short month.

This was something that the Queen and their kind hadn’t achieved in several hundred years.

Although the Queen had long ordered the Ten Thousand Demon Nation’s demons to lie low and withdraw from the Nine Provinces’ grand stage.

I must tell this good news to the Queen, to make her happy… Happiness flickered in Bai Ji’s eyes, but suddenly noticing Xu Qi’an watching her, she quickly blinked her clear black eyes, putting on an innocent expression.

Piloting the Pagoda Treasure back to Dog Rong Mountain, they saw the old fellow standing at the broken cliff edge, hands behind his back, looking down at the vast land.

He wore plain clothes, his unruly silver hair floating in the wind.

Though his eyes held a warrior’s sharpness, they showed even more of the vicissitudes of worldly experience.

Xu Qi’an landed the Pagoda Treasure beside the old fellow and stepped out alone.

“Senior!”

He cupped his hands in greeting.

…

Dog Rong Mountain’s main peak had collapsed by half and was no longer habitable. The mountain’s internal structure was damaged, and for a long time to come, it would collapse intermittently until finally stabilizing.

Fortunately, the Dog Rong mountain range stretched for hundreds of miles; it wasn’t an isolated peak.

The Martial Arts Alliance members, only needed to choose another mountain and rebuild their headquarters.

At the military garrison’s meeting hall.

Cao Qingyang sat in the head seat, listening to Vice Leader Wen Chengbi report the casualties.

Three hundred and twenty disciples died in the main peak’s collapse, unable to escape in time. These people, for various reasons, hadn’t managed to leave and were permanently buried by the mountain’s collapse.

At the military garrison, though quite far from the battlefield, the battle’s aftershocks had caused buildings to collapse, resulting in preliminary counts of 134 deaths and over 500 injured.

“The casualties are still bearable, fortunately, the Alliance Leader had transferred the elderly, weak, women, and children beforehand. Those who died in the garrison from the impact were mostly women, children, and the elderly. Most of the infantry and able-bodied men were outside at the time.”

Wen Chengbi continued:

“The headquarters needs to be rebuilt, which is a huge expense, and the Alliance’s treasury wasn’t transferred in time—it’s now buried at the mountain’s base. We don’t have that much manpower or financial resources.”

Xiao Yuenu, Fu Jingmen, Yang Cuixue, and others frowned with worry.

After this battle, the Martial Arts Alliance suffered heavy losses. Although the casualties weren’t severe and remained within acceptable limits.

But their headquarters, built up over hundreds of years, was destroyed in one night, and the financial losses made their hearts ache like blood.

Cao Qingyang said:

“Recovering the silver isn’t a problem. At worst, we can ask the Ancestor to help dig open the mountain and move the rocks. All cultivators of Fifth-rank and above can help.”

The head of Sword Prefecture’s Merchants’ Association, Elder Qiao, added:

“If we have no choice, we can only ask everyone to contribute generously.”

These sect leaders and chiefs were all local powers, with considerable wealth in their sects.

Fu Jingmen frowned repeatedly, speaking frankly:

“But we can only give limited silver, as we still need to comfort our local disaster victims. Everyone knows that the government’s grain alone can’t fill the victims’ stomachs.”

Yang Cuixue picked up the thread:

“Rebuilding headquarters in the mountains will cost enormously. Why not compromise and expand the headquarters around the military garrison as the core?”

Vice Leader Wen Chengbi shook his head repeatedly:

“This violates our ancestral system. The headquarters was built in the mountains precisely to remind us never to forget the Martial Arts Alliance’s founding purpose. We are not merely a jianghua organization.”

“We are righteous armies, righteous armies that can storm cities and capture strongholds in times of chaos.”

The Martial Arts Alliance headquarters was equivalent to a fortress occupying a natural stronghold.

Cao Qingyang knocked on the table, interrupting everyone’s arguments:

“Chengbi, go ask the Ancestor.”

…

“I just took a turn around Sword Prefecture, and for a moment, it felt like being back in the late Great Zhou.”

The old fellow kept his hands behind his back, his face full of emotion:

“If the disaster isn’t controlled, within two years, the Central Plains will see a dynasty change.”

Xu Qi’an remained silent.

The old fellow turned around, his smile meaningful:

“Do you know why those two dragon qi chose the Martial Arts Alliance?”

“The Martial Arts Alliance has operated in Sword Prefecture for hundreds of years, maintaining order and prosperity, with people well-fed and clothed. Now that the Great Tang Dynasty’s destiny is waning, the dragon qi choosing its master naturally considers the Martial Arts Alliance capable of replacing the Great Tang Dynasty.”

Xu Qi’an said frankly.

The old fellow nodded, saying:

“Throughout history, no dynasty has lasted forever. When I handed the army to him and returned to Sword Prefecture that year, we agreed. If Great Tang were to follow Great Zhou’s path, I would end it with my own hands.”

Before Xu Qi’an could respond, he gave a bitter laugh:

“But neither of us expected that woman would later create the artificer system.”

“The birth of artificers made it increasingly difficult for common folk to rebel. To this day, without external help, it’s very difficult for the Central Plains’ people alone to change dynasties.”

Xu Qi’an pondered for a moment, probing: “Woman?”

“The first Imperial Observer!” the old fellow laughed:

“More beautiful than a woman, always following your Great Tang’s Founding Emperor. If I didn’t know that shameless fellow liked women, I would have thought they were…”

Sworn brothers… Xu Qi’an finished in his heart.

“Senior, do you and the Imperial Observer—I mean, the current Imperial Observer—have any agreement?”

“Yes.” The old fellow nodded.

So the Martial Arts Alliance has always been the Imperial Observer’s hidden piece… Xu Qi’an quickly asked:

“What agreement? When was it made?”

(End of Volume 3)