Xu Qi’an brought Heng Yuan back to the Xu mansion and instructed the servants to clean a guest room for the master to stay in.
Having Heng Yuan stay at the Xu mansion was undoubtedly a great protection for Xu Qi’an and the Xu family. With the Holy Maiden of the Celestial Sect, the little dark-skinned girl from the Southern Borders, and now a monk harboring a sarira, the Xu mansion’s defensive strength had become frighteningly high, far surpassing that of most noble families.
Heng Yuan put his palms together and said, “I’m sorry to impose.”
With that, he followed the servant to the outer courtyard.
Although he was a monk, he was still a man, and it wasn’t appropriate for him to stay in the inner courtyard where there were many women.
Led by the servant, Heng Yuan entered a quiet room on the edge of the compound.
He didn’t feel this was neglectful at all but rather appreciated Xu Qi’an’s thoughtfulness. Heng Yuan needed a quiet enough room for his morning and evening scripture recitations.
After the room was simply cleaned, Heng Yuan put his palms together and thanked the servant.
As the servant left, he was about to close the door to meditate when he suddenly saw a little head peeking in from the doorway, with innocent eyes looking at him curiously.
Heng Yuan smiled and said gently, “Little benefactor.”
He recognized this girl as Xu Qi’an’s younger sister, as he had visited the Xu mansion several times before.
“Are you going to live in our house too?” Xu Lingyin asked.
“I’m sorry to impose,” Heng Yuan replied apologetically.
Xu Lingyin stepped over the threshold, took out a slightly crumbled pastry from her pocket, and offered it with both hands, looking up, “This is for you to eat.”
What a considerate and kind child… Heng Yuan smiled touchingly, casually accepted the pastry, and put it in his mouth, feeling the taste was a bit strange.
Xu Lingyin ran out happily and soon came back holding a wilted orchid, its roots still covered in soil.
Heng Yuan looked at the little girl in confusion, thinking that after giving pastry, she was now giving flowers. Lord Xu’s younger sister was indeed too enthusiastic and considerate.
Xu Lingyin frowned, troubled, and said:
“I was playing outside just now and knocked over my mother’s favorite flower. I’m going to get spanked again. Uncle, can you say you knocked it over? You’re a guest, my mother won’t spank you.”
Heng Yuan said helplessly, “Monks don’t tell lies.”
Xu Lingyin looked up, not quite understanding, “What does that mean?”
Heng Yuan explained gently, “It means we can’t lie.”
Xu Lingyin was on the verge of tears and said, “Then give me back the pastry. I hid it in my shoe for three days, not even daring to eat it myself…”
…Heng Yuan was dumbfounded.
…
Back in the study, Huai Qing and Li Miaozhen were indeed still waiting. The two strikingly beautiful women sat quietly, the atmosphere not exactly heavy, but not relaxed either.
Seeing Xu Qi’an cross the threshold, Huai Qing’s reaction was even greater than Li Miaozhen’s. She quickly stood up, her skirt fluttering as she hurried to meet him.
She stopped abruptly in front of Xu Qi’an, her autumn-water-like eyes fixed on him. She tried to speak several times but held back, striving to keep her voice steady:
“Who… who is it?”
“It’s not him,” Xu Qi’an shook his head, paused for a few seconds, and added in a low voice, “It’s him.”
Two answers, two “hims”, corresponding to the two portraits.
Huai Qing’s face suddenly froze, her beautiful countenance turning uncontrollably pale, the color draining away. She seemed unable to accept this fact. A great dizziness came over her, and she swayed, about to fall.
Xu Qi’an wrapped his arm around her waist and sighed, “Your Highness, please accept my condolences…”
“I’m fine, I’m fine…” Huai Qing pushed weakly a few times, then leaned softly on his shoulder, her fragrant shoulders trembling.
Xu Qi’an wanted to hold the beauty in his arms tightly, but considering she wasn’t Lin’an, he only held her lightly, lending his solid chest and broad shoulders to the First Princess.
Li Miaozhen, the uninformed bystander, was stunned, thinking, “What, what, what are you doing… What are you planning to do in front of me?”
This process didn’t last long. After a brief cry, Huai Qing quickly suppressed her inner emotions, left Xu Qi’an’s embrace, and said softly, “This Princess lost composure.”
Li Miaozhen seized the opportunity to ask, “What’s going on exactly?”
Xu Qi’an glanced at Huai Qing, and seeing she didn’t object, explained to the Holy Maiden of the Celestial Sect, “The one beneath the dragon vein is not the Sect Leader of the Earth Sect, but the previous emperor.”
The previous emperor?!
Li Miaozhen’s face instantly froze. She slowly opened her mouth wide, her beautiful eyes widening, Xu Qi’an’s words echoing repeatedly in her mind. After a long while, she heard herself murmuring:
“How is that possible!”
“The one truly obsessed with immortality was the previous emperor. I find it hard to believe too, but this might be the truth,” Xu Qi’an sighed again.
The previous emperor’s physical condition wasn’t good. Although his death was faked, the diagnosis from the Imperial Astronomers Bureau’s physicians wouldn’t be wrong – the previous emperor had indulged excessively in women, depleting his body.
This point was recorded in historical books, with the brief phrase “Zhen De favored women” saying it all.
One knows one’s own body best, so the previous emperor must have developed a desire for Daoist cultivation and immortality. But because of the rule that those blessed with the nation’s fortune cannot attain immortality, he could only keep this desire buried in his heart.
Until the Sect Leader of the Earth Sect came to the capital. After that, certain secrets unknown to outsiders must have occurred, changing the previous emperor’s understanding and showing him the possibility of immortality.
It took Li Miaozhen a long time to digest this news. She repeatedly refuted:
“Impossible. The previous emperor wasn’t a Daoist disciple. He wasn’t even a martial artist. Yet the being you saw in the dragon vein underground was so powerful it made you tremble.”
Huai Qing’s eyes were slightly red. She took a deep breath:
“There’s no causal relationship between the two. The previous emperor was an ordinary person, but that doesn’t mean his talent was poor. Among the royal family members, any prince qualified to compete for the throne would take concubines early to produce offspring for the royal family. Having children or not is one of the important criteria for competing for the position of crown prince.
“If a prince is obsessed with martial arts, it would displease the emperor and ministers. How could one have the energy to handle state affairs if immersed in martial arts? Father… his twenty-year obsession with Daoist cultivation, causing widespread criticism from the court and public, is the best example.”
This meant that if one wanted to be emperor, one had to give up cultivation, after all, humans have their limits.
The previous emperor chose the throne, but that doesn’t mean his talent was poor.
In these twenty years, he was like a woodworm, clinging to Da Feng’s national fortune, sucking the marrow from its bones, and squeezing the fat from its people. Even if he were a pig, with so many resources poured in, he would have become a celestial general.
Moreover, from the current situation, the previous emperor’s talent wasn’t weak at all.
Li Miaozhen was momentarily speechless. She seemed to think of something and exclaimed in shock, “Where is the King of Beiming’s body?!”
Xu Qi’an and Huai Qing exchanged glances, not understanding why she was so agitated, “What’s wrong?”
The King of Beiming’s body was torn to pieces, as dead as could be. In the Chu State case, no one had paid attention to how a prince’s body was handled.
The Holy Maiden of the Celestial Sect slowly stood up, scanning the two with an extremely horrified gaze, and said:
“One Qi Transforms into Three Clarities, one as three, three as one. As long as the three avatars aren’t completely killed, they won’t die. What died was only the qi and blood accumulated over many years, only one-third of the primordial spirit.”
Xu Qi’an and Huai Qing’s faces changed dramatically.
…
Sang Po, the rebuilt Yong Zhen Shan He Temple.
Wearing a black robe embroidered with gold threads, Yuan Jing stood with his hands behind his back in front of the statue of the founding emperor, squinting as he gazed at it.
He was already in his fifties, but his ruddy complexion, black hair, and upright posture made him look no more than forty.
“Great Ancestor, you established the Da Feng Dynasty, consolidated the fortune of the Central Plains, and advanced to the first grade. At your peak, even the Witchcraft Religion had to swallow their pride and accept defeat.”
“Martial Ancestor, you overthrew the corrupt direct line, gained the approval of the Confucians, ascended the throne, and advanced to the first grade. Then Confucianism flourished, and even Buddhism had to retreat to the Western Regions.”
“In the 600 years since Da Feng’s founding, besides you two, there have been no other first-grade martial artists. No matter how powerful you were in life, dominating the four seas, after a hundred years, you still ended up as a handful of yellow earth,” Emperor Yuan Jing said calmly, his tone certain:
“But I will become the first immortal emperor of Da Feng. It’s coming soon, very soon…”
…
Fu Long Mountain Range, in the capital’s territory.
From a bird’s eye view, the Fu Long Mountain Range resembled a giant dragon lying flat on the ground. This mountain was rich in spiritual energy, concentrating the power of the earth’s veins, making it the most auspicious feng shui location in the capital’s territory.
About 300 years ago, the emperor of that generation built a mausoleum here. In the following 300 years, six emperors were successively buried in the Fu Long Mountain Range. Therefore, the imperial tombs here were also known as the “Six Tombs of Feng”.
The previous emperor was also buried here.
A group of four secretly infiltrated the imperial tombs, using the magic of the Imperial Astronomers Bureau and Confucianism to bypass the “defenses” of the crude martial artists. They passed through the outer buildings of the imperial tombs, entered the mountain, and stopped outside the previous emperor’s tomb.
They came here to make a final verification.
As the ruler of a country, faking death wasn’t so simple. The entire court of officials, imperial physicians, and the Imperial Astronomers Bureau would all confirm it. Since the previous emperor was put into a coffin at that time, he must have indeed been dead then.
To figure out what exactly happened, they had to explore the tomb.
Outside the tomb, Xu Qi’an tore off a page of Confucian magic and said to the three beauties, “Hold onto me.”
Zhong Li obediently hugged him from behind, while Huai Qing and Li Miaozhen glanced at him sideways and put their hands on his shoulders.
Sister Zhong Li is still the most obedient, Huai Qing and Miaozhen are too strong-willed… Xu Qi’an mused internally, but without hesitation, he burned the paper with his qi and chanted:
“We are not outside the tomb, but inside the main door of the tomb.”
As the paper burned to ashes, a faint clear light enveloped the four and they disappeared.
Zhong Li brought out a magical tool made of night pearls, letting it emit a clear and bright light, illuminating the dark interior of the tomb.
Li Miaozhen looked back and found that the four of them had only passed through the main door of the tomb, not deep into it. She couldn’t help but frown and ask, “Why didn’t you just say we’re in the main tomb?”
Was it too wasteful to use Confucian magic just to pass through one door?
Although they couldn’t openly open the door, nor could they spend time digging a tunnel, Xu Qi’an could have directly teleported them to the main tomb.
Xu Qi’an said resentfully, “You don’t care about me at all.”
Li Miaozhen: “???”
She quickly realized that Confucian magic would have a backlash effect. Passing through just one door would result in a very light magical backlash.
If they had teleported directly to the main tomb, passing through various traps along the way, the difficulty of the journey would be reflected on the caster through the backlash.
Zhong Li took the lead, saying, “The previous emperor’s tomb has a total of 12 major traps, 72 minor traps, and 9 formations… Everyone follows behind me, don’t wander off.”
She introduced them as if reciting from memory.
The Imperial Astronomers Bureau was the planner and supervisor of the imperial tombs. As the Supervisor’s disciple, Zhong Li had access to the construction blueprints of the previous emperor’s tomb.
“Wouldn’t it be more dangerous following her…” Li Miaozhen questioned in a low voice.
Xu Qi’an waved his hand, “It’s fine, just follow her. There won’t be any accidents.”
He had put the jade pendant given by the Supervisor into the Book of Earth fragment. Now, Xu Qi’an’s “protagonist of the plane” buff was fully activated, enough to counteract the misfortune brought by the prophet.
The journey was thrilling but without incident. Under Zhong Li’s guidance, they successfully avoided traps and broke through formations. Finally, the four reached the main tomb.
The entrance to the main tomb was a pair of tall stone doors, tightly closed. Xu Qi’an stopped, his mouth twitching slightly.
“What’s wrong?” Li Miaozhen looked back at him.
It’s nothing, just feels like I’ve developed ancient tomb stress disorder… Xu Qi’an used sarcasm to alleviate his inner emotions. The previous emperor’s true body couldn’t possibly have returned to the ancient tomb, right?
I hope I don’t have the misfortune halo of “open coffin, raise corpse”…
He took a deep breath and pressed both palms against the stone doors, his muscles bulging as he pushed them open with force.
The martial artist’s danger instinct didn’t warn him! Xu Qi’an breathed a sigh of relief and took the lead in entering the main tomb.
Zhong Li held the night pearl in her palm, its clear and bright light illuminating the main tomb, revealing pillars, clay figurines, vessels, and other burial objects.
Xu Qi’an looked towards the center of the main tomb, where a huge coffin made of sandalwood with white jade edges sat on a base of black jade.
Placing both hands on the outer coffin, he waited for a moment. Confirming that his powerful intuition didn’t warn him, Xu Qi’an breathed a sigh of relief and slowly pushed open the outer coffin.
Inside was a normal-sized sandalwood coffin.
Opening the coffin lid, as Zhong Li drew closer, the scene inside the coffin came into Xu Qi’an’s view. Lying on yellow silk inside the coffin was a skeleton.
Li Miaozhen walked to the edge of the coffin, examining the skeleton. Recalling the information about the previous emperor they had gathered before coming, she said, “The height matches.”
Looking at the pubic bone, she added, “It’s a man.”
This… there are remains in the coffin, does this mean the previous emperor really did enter the coffin back then, and it wasn’t a fake death? Li Miaozhen frowned.
The scene before them was different from what they had expected. In their speculation, the previous emperor had faked his death for burial, then quietly risen from the coffin later.
“Give me the night pearl.”
Huai Qing reached out and took the illuminating tool from Zhong Li’s palm. She bent over slightly, disregarding the highly toxic smell in the coffin, carefully examining the previous emperor’s skeleton. After a long while, she showed a look of realization:
“This isn’t the previous emperor.”
Xu Qi’an stroked his chin, “What’s your basis for saying that?”
According to the collected information, the previous emperor was a person with all four limbs intact, with no defects in his bones. This skeleton was also complete.
In this world lacking advanced equipment and unable to test DNA, Xu Qi’an thought it was almost impossible to identify someone just by looking.
Huai Qing held the night pearl, her expression complex as she explained:
“His hand and foot bones are longer, a bit longer than normal. He was a eunuch… Eunuchs are castrated at a young age, and when they grow up, their bodies differ from normal men. They become taller, but the proportions of their hands and feet become slightly deformed, longer than those of normal men.”
Xu Qi’an looked closely and indeed found that the arm bones of this skeleton were unusually long.
What’s the principle behind this? Ah, as expected of Da Feng’s top female scholar… Although I have quite a bit of autopsy knowledge, there were no eunuchs in my era…
Xu Qi’an said in a low voice, “So, now there’s nothing left to doubt.”
An emperor has the nation’s fortune blessing him and can’t be possessed by outsiders unless the possessor is also an emperor. In other words, the being under the dragon vein couldn’t possibly be the Sect Leader of the Earth Sect wearing the previous emperor’s appearance.
Now, having proved that the previous emperor’s remains were fake, it was certain that the previous emperor was the mastermind behind everything.
Huai Qing didn’t answer, saying somewhat dejectedly, “Let’s go.”
Xu Qi’an sighed. Yuan Jing had long ceased to be Yuan Jing. Perhaps something had gone wrong during the autumn hunt in the Southern Garden back then, or maybe he had been replaced when he suddenly started practicing Dao twenty years ago.
They still didn’t know the specific method of operation, but the conclusion was right before their eyes.
…
Outside Yan Du.
The ground was pocked with smoking shell craters, and soldiers’ corpses lay strewn about, their blood seeping into the black soil.
Nan Gong Qian Rou bent down and grabbed a handful of hot soil, dark red blood oozing between her fingers.
Her armor was no longer shiny, her face fair and delicate, covered in sword and knife wounds.
In her mind flashed Wei Yuan’s words before he left: If you don’t want to retreat within three days, then the final deadline is six days. On the sixth day, no matter what, you must leave.
Today was the sixth day.