“What do the affairs of the Confucian school have to do with me? I’m just a Watchman disguised in Confucian robes,” Xu Qi An mocked himself as he composed his face and stared at the surface of the jade stone mirror.
Shortly after, text appeared on the mirror’s surface. Number Four’s message came through [I once traveled through the Western Regions. The people there are generally illiterate, backward, and ignorant of the concept of “propriety”. However, the locals are quite hospitable. They warmly welcomed me when I appeared as a swordsman, but when I revealed my identity as a “scholar” to them, their attitude towards me changed dramatically.]
[I was cursed, threatened, and driven away, forcing me to leave the area. In my subsequent travels, I never again revealed my scholar identity.]
… Is this the so-called anger of poor students towards top students? Xu Qi An didn’t comment and continued to wait for the next message.
[Four: I thought the Western Regions simply disliked scholars, but later I realized they didn’t just dislike scholars, but rather the Confucian school, the orthodox Confucian school. This reminded me of a historical record I once read. Hmm, after that period of history 500 years ago, Buddhism once flourished in Da Feng, with missionaries spreading everywhere.]
[The good times didn’t last long. In less than a hundred years, the imperial court began to suppress Buddhism. The one who promoted the suppression was the Prime Minister at the time. He had another identity – the Chancellor of the Yunlu Academy.]
In the past, almost all scholars came from the Yunlu Academy. The split in orthodox Confucianism occurred 200 years ago… Xu Qi An typed a message: [Is that all?]
At that time, Da Feng was Confucian territory. It was completely understandable for the Confucian school to intervene when Buddhism tried to spread in the Central Plains. Similarly, it was reasonable for the Western Regions to despise scholars.
This piece of information wasn’t very interesting.
[Four: Hey, Number Three, you’ve been a bit lazy lately.]
Xu Qi An: “???”
Should I bite my fingers and perform a “brain trembling” act for you?
[Four: Or is it because you’re preparing for the spring imperial examination and have no time to read history? Well, what I want to say is that the Prime Minister of that year, when suppressing Buddhism, said a sentence: If Buddhism is not eliminated, the world will all be Buddhist; with my life, I’ll cut off Buddhism’s path.]
[To this day, I still don’t understand the true meaning of this sentence.]
If Buddhism is not eliminated, the world will all be Buddhist; with my life, I’ll cut off Buddhism’s path… What does this mean? Xu Qi An was puzzled.
[Five: Perhaps it was just a rousing declaration.]
Number Five asked well! Xu Qi An smiled.
[One: No, the Third Realm of the Confucian school is the Life-Establishing Realm. “With my life”… is not a jest. Number Four’s words reminded me of more details. That Prime Minister was called Du Zhongshu. After suppressing Buddhism, he entered the Third Realm Life-Establishing Realm. In other words, his “life establishment” was the suppression of Buddhism.]
After suppressing Buddhism, he entered the Third Realm Life-Establishing Realm. Xu Qi An recalled the information that Zhang Shen, the great Confucian scholar, had mentioned to him casually. The Life-Establishing Realm of the Confucian school was a process of “finding one’s life goal”, hence called life establishment.
“Life establishment” must be a positive, upward goal… Entering the Life-Establishing Realm after suppressing Buddhism was quite interesting… It indicated that suppressing Buddhism was indeed a positive, progressive goal.
Xu Qi An thought about this and sent a message: [The Life-Establishing Realm is similar to Buddhists making great vows. Entering the Life-Establishing Realm by suppressing Buddhism means that suppressing Buddhism is correct.]
With this Confucian student’s endorsement, everyone realized something was amiss. If Buddhism is not eliminated, the world will all be Buddhist… This might not be a jest.
It involved deeper insider information, not just a simple “territory dispute”.
No one spoke for a long time, seemingly pondering the truth hidden behind this matter. After about ten minutes, Number Two said:
[Number Three, how many experts are there in the Governor’s team heading to Yun Province this time?]
[Three: Openly, there’s only one Golden Gong, but it’s unknown how many are hidden.]
The word “only” was used well… Number Two grumbled inwardly.
Anyone familiar with the Watchmen’s Office knew that a Golden Gong was a Fourth-Rank martial artist. On the battlefield, Fourth-Rank martial artists were all top experts capable of fighting a thousand enemies alone.
In the mortal realm, Fourth-Rank warriors who had condensed their “intent” were the peak.
Above that was the Third Rank. Third-rank warriors could regenerate severed limbs and were no longer mortals.
… Even with my team, including myself, facing a Fourth-Rank Golden Gong, we might only end up in mutual destruction.
Number Two sighed.
After a long silence, confirming that the uncouth group members had gone offline, Xu Qi An put away the small mirror, left the room, and stood at the edge of the deck, facing the great river, relieving his bladder’s burden.
“Do you not see, the waters of the Yellow River come from heaven, Rushing down three thousand li… Ascending to heaven, shaking the nine heavens, Entering the water to calm the sea’s eye… Guanyin sits on a lotus, The Queen Mother’s waist submerged… Four hundred and eighty thousand years have passed, No communication with the Qin frontier, The great Xu has a bird’s path and can cross straight over the peak of Emei… Retract!”
He fastened his belt and returned to the room.
…
The next day, at dawn, Xu Qi An woke up and looked around to see his two colleagues moving qi and practicing breathing exercises.
Everyone is so hardworking, starting each day with such vigor… Xu Qi An sat up and stretched.
Spirit, qi, and essence are one. When qi fills the upper, middle, and lower dantians, spiritual power surges. At this time, it means one can visualize and prepare to break through to the Spirit Refining Realm.
Xu Qi An’s qi had long filled his dantians, almost overflowing. With daily unceasing visualization, his spiritual power increased day by day. He just needed a trigger to step into the Spirit Refining Realm.
Xu Qi An didn’t know how this trigger would come, and Wei Yuan hadn’t told him, because Papa Wei didn’t know that Xu Qi An’s cultivation had progressed so rapidly.
He still thought the little Bronze Gong he valued was still in the stage of moving qi.
Noticing that Xu Qi An had woken up, Zhu Guangxiao and Song Tingfeng stopped their breathing exercises. The former said:
“After we finish the Yun Province trip and the office pays out the reward silver, I’ll have enough money to marry a wife.”
Zhu Guangxiao had a childhood sweetheart, well, not a blood sister, but a neighbor girl. They had deep feelings for each other and were a perfect match.
But the girl’s father demanded that Zhu Guangxiao bring a bride price of 100 taels of silver, or he wouldn’t even consider it.
Zhu Guangxiao’s monthly salary was 5 taels, plus some gray income, he could earn about 80-odd taels a year. But he had to socialize, cover daily expenses, and go to brothels… He could only save about 30-odd taels each year.
This was already quite difficult, after all, spending at brothels was a necessity. Even ordinary people had such needs, let alone a martial artist in his prime.
Damn… Don’t raise flags like this. I’ve seen hundreds, if not thousands, like you on TV in my past life… Xu Qi An rolled his eyes.
“Congratulations, congratulations, may Guangxiao marry soon,” Song Tingfeng said, then noticed a beautiful purple sachet hanging at Xu Qi An’s waist, embroidered with white lotus flowers. He asked, “Ning Yan, is this from Fuxiang?”
“No!” Xu Qi An let him take the sachet.
“You little rascal, don’t tell me you have a fiancée too?” Song Tingfeng slightly widened his squinty eyes, sounding a bit sour.
“No,” Xu Qi An snatched back the sachet, lay down again, and held the purple sachet to his nose, humming a tune. “She’s just my sister. Sister said purple is very tasteful.”
“Why doesn’t Ning Yan take a wife?” Zhu Guangxiao expressed his confusion.
In his view, Xu Qi An was not only highly favored by Lord Wei but had also received a reward of a thousand taels of gold from His Majesty. His future and financial prospects were bright.
He was also at the age of marriage and starting a family.
“He’s like me, a playboy,” Song Tingfeng commented.
“Get lost, we’re not the same,” Xu Qi An lay on the bed, hands behind his head, and sighed, “I need more time to adapt.”
It had been barely three months since he came to Da Feng. He still couldn’t settle down and fully adapt. That’s why he lingered in the courtesans’ quarters, lingered in Fuxiang’s warm bosom, but wasn’t mentally prepared to start a family.
Zhu Guangxiao nodded slightly and suggested, “It depends on your requirements for a future wife.”
“Requirements, huh…” Xu Qi An pondered, “Big waves, long hair.”
“Your requirements are strange,” Song Tingfeng frowned.
Xu Qi An looked at him, “These are three requirements.”
After washing up, Xu Qi An ate breakfast and knocked on Jiang Luzhong’s door.
“What is it?” Jiang Luzhong sat at the table, looking at a map of Yun Province. His sharp, eagle-like eyes gave a great sense of pressure.
“I wanted to ask Golden Gong Jiang about cultivation matters,” Xu Qi An popped a piece of cake into his mouth. “How does one advance to the Spirit Refining Realm?”
On this point, Xu Qi An’s previous understanding was that it happened gradually and naturally.
When one accumulated to the corresponding level, they could naturally advance to the Spirit Refining Realm.
But from Chu Caiwei’s requirements for advancing to become an alchemist, he got an inspiration. Looking back at the martial arts system, he found that advancing from the Body Refining Realm to the Qi Practicing Realm also had a requirement: one must not lose their virginity!
Jiang Luzhong smiled and said, “It’s simple. When your spiritual power becomes strong enough, your brow will ache. That’s when you’re ready to advance to the Spirit Refining Realm. As for the method of advancement, well, don’t sleep for ten days.”
What? Not sleeping for ten days is serious? Won’t that cause sudden death?
Seeing Xu Qi An’s bewildered face, Jiang Luzhong explained, “You heard right. Don’t sleep for ten days. If you make it through, you can advance to the Spirit Refining Realm. If you can’t, you’ll fall into a coma at best, or die from spiritual exhaustion at worst. In the martial arts system, each rank is a life-and-death test.”
“…Why not sleep for ten days?” Xu Qi An asked, puzzled.
“When you were in the Body Refining Realm, you must have often experienced the limits of your physical body. Each time you broke through a limit, your physical strength would increase. Do you know the limit of your primordial spirit?”
Xu Qi An shook his head.
“The best way to break through the limit of your primordial spirit is to stay awake. Ten days is just a general standard; everyone’s limit is different. When you try to advance to the Spirit Refining Realm in the future, you’ll have a personal experience.”
“Won’t the body be unable to handle it?”
“That’s why Body Refining and Qi Practicing are also laying the foundation for Spirit Refining, including your daily visualization to condense the strength of your primordial spirit. It’s all about increasing the chances of advancing to Spirit Refining.” At this point, Jiang Luzhong smiled and said:
“You’re still far from it. On the path of martial arts, the most important thing is the will to overcome hardships. Don’t be too ambitious.”
“Golden Gong Jiang is right,” Xu Qi An nodded in agreement. “I’m already at the peak of Qi Practicing.”
Jiang Luzhong: “???”
He stared at Xu Qi An with an incredulous look for a few seconds, then said displeased, “Don’t joke around. I remember you were still in the Body Refining Realm when you joined the Watchmen. How could anyone reach the peak of Qi Practicing in less than three months… Could it be true?”
Xu Qi An shrugged, “If not, why would I ask you about this? Well, I’ll take my leave now.”
Xu Qi An left Jiang Luzhong’s room, leaving the Golden Gong sitting alone at the table, muttering, “This doesn’t make sense, this doesn’t make sense…”
“Lord Wei, does he know?”
…
Six days passed in a flash. Xu Qi An’s first experience of a long-distance boat trip in his life was: Damn!
On the deck, Song Tingfeng listlessly gazed at the river, watching the passing grain transport ships, and said, “We’ll reach Yu Province tomorrow. Golden Gong Jiang has promised us a day of rest. I’m about to vomit from eating fish.”
“Yu Province is famous for its iron mines and wealth, a place of talent and natural beauty. The beauties in the courtesans’ quarters must be delicate and charming,” a Bronze Gong chimed in.
Xu Qi An didn’t care whether the courtesans were delicate and charming or not. He just wanted to get off the boat as soon as possible and have a good meal.
In the depths of winter, vegetables, and fruits were already scarce, let alone on a boat. Eating fish every meal for this period had made him nauseous at the sight of fish, almost developing an eating disorder.
At this moment, Xu Qi An, leaning on the railing, happened to glance at an official ship coming towards them.
On the deck were several officials in black clothes who also noticed Xu Qi An’s official ship. Upon seeing the Bronze Gongs in Watchmen uniforms on the deck, the officials visibly panicked for a moment, instinctively stepping back.
Then they quickly steadied themselves, maintaining their original posture, but didn’t look this way again.
… Panicking instinctively after seeing us, that’s a sign of guilt… Although they tried to recover, appearing relatively calm, their deliberately avoiding eye contact highlighted their guilty conscience… Is it a natural fear of Watchmen?
Old detective Xu Qi An pondered suspiciously.
The reaction of the officials on the opposite ship was exactly the classic guilty response he had learned in psychology.
To be sure, he’d better confirm.
Xu Qi An reached into his bosom, lightly tapping the back of the small jade mirror, and took out the “magic book” from the Confucian Academy, tearing off a page recording the Aura Viewing technique.
Currently, the “magic book” contains mostly Aura Viewing techniques. That day, when escorting Zhou Chixiong, the Captain of Hundred of the Imperial Guards, back to the capital, Xu Qi An shamelessly asked Zhang Shen for spells to replenish his gradually depleting magic book.
Chu Caiwei was also present at the time… becoming a major skill supplier.
As for why they were all Aura Viewing techniques, it was because this technique was simple and easy to record.
“Ss…”
As the page burned, a clear light burst from Xu Qi An’s eyes as he gazed at the official ship ahead.
He saw a bright red, viscous blood aura.
In the definition of the Aura Viewing technique, after killing someone, the killer would be tainted with a blood aura for some time.