Li Mubai suddenly waved his hand, and a gentle breeze lifted the carriage driver, setting him down lightly by the roadside.
The Grand Scholar Li took the reins himself and spoke slowly, “This is a fine steed that can travel a thousand li in a day.”
An astonishing scene unfolded. The ordinary brown horse pulling the carriage suddenly let out an excited neigh. Beneath its brown hide, muscles bulged and its body swelled, growing nearly twice the size of a normal horse in the blink of an eye.
Li Mubai’s carriage sped off, leaving a trail of dust.
Zhang Shen snorted coldly, “You get down too.”
He sent his driver to the roadside, took his place, and gripped the reins. In a deep voice, he said, “This horse is large and strong. Not only can it travel a thousand li, but it also has six legs.”
The same transformation occurred again. The black horse, like its counterpart, swelled in size with rippling muscles.
The difference was that its abdomen split open, bones grew, and nerves intertwined… forcibly growing two new horse legs.
The six-legged black horse flew like the wind, kicking up a cloud of dust. Though it started later, it caught up to Li Mubai’s carriage.
“You old scoundrel, you’re too shameless. There’s no such thing as a six-legged horse,” Li Mubai raged.
“If I say it exists, it exists.”
“Fine, then my horse has eight legs.”
“Hmph, you shameless old thief. Do you insist on competing for disciples with me? Well, my carriage is as light as paper and flies with the wind!”
A gust of wind blew, and Zhang Shen’s carriage became as light as paper, drifting away in the breeze.
Li Mubai, unwilling to be outdone, shouted, “My carriage can ride the clouds!”
A white cloud formed on the ground stuck to the wheels and lifted the carriage into the sky.
Xu Pingzhi stared at this scene in disbelief. After the two carriages disappeared into the horizon, he swallowed hard and said:
“Scholars know how to brag.”
Xu Xinnian gazed at the sky longingly and murmured, “This isn’t bragging. This is the Fifth Rank of Confucianism: Virtue!”
It had another name, coined by the Supervising Censor in a drunken mockery: Confucians Using Literature to Disrupt the Law!
…
In the Ministry of Justice prison.
Xu Qi An sat cross-legged on a tattered straw mat, his back against the cold wall, wearing shackles.
Smelling the damp, putrid air, he felt as if he was back in the yamen prison.
According to the records he had previously browsed in the archives, there were countless examples of bullying and oppression by the capital’s yamens. These misdeeds never reached the Emperor’s ears and were simply suppressed.
The phrase “reaching the Emperor’s ears” could be as heavy as a mountain, couldn’t it?
But this was during the Imperial Inspection period. Weren’t they afraid of political enemies attacking them? Xu Qi An scoffed, “Quickly getting rid of me and then using my whole family’s lives to force Second Uncle to endure humiliation, wouldn’t that settle everything?
“I was wrong. The middle class may live comfortably, but once you offend those big shots, you’re doomed.
“To live like a proper human being, I need to have power and strength.”
Clang… The iron door at the end of the corridor opened. Footsteps approached, and soon a jailer leading two sword-wielding guards arrived at the cell bars.
“Time for your last meal,” the jailer mocked with a grin.
He opened the door but didn’t enter. Instead, he stepped back and barked, “Get out here, dead man.”
The two guards placed their hands on their sword hilts, their eyes vigilant.
Although Xu Qi An wore special shackles and leg irons, he was still a martial artist at the peak of Qi Refinement. If he fought desperately like a cornered beast, they would be in danger.
“You’d better behave and cooperate. You don’t want us to shoot through your tendons and drag you out, do you?”
Xu Qi An remained silent for a moment, then stood up.
…
Minister Sun of the Ministry of Justice was bent over his desk, dealing with official business. Documents and memorials were piled up like mountains.
Suddenly, as if sensing something, he looked up towards the window.
Shortly after, two black shadows approached rapidly, their outlines gradually becoming clear. They were two carriages, one riding the wind, the other soaring on clouds.
The two carriages raced side by side, vying to be first, and landed simultaneously in the courtyard of the Ministry of Justice.
The moment the magnificent horses touched the ground, they finally collapsed from exhaustion. It seemed as if all their life force had been drained, and they died twitching.
The soldiers on duty at the Ministry of Justice immediately surrounded them.
Minister Sun, wearing a crimson robe, frowned as he came out to meet them. He had a square, righteous face that exuded seriousness when he furrowed his brow in concentration.
“Brother Chunjing, Brother Jianyan, what brings you two to my Ministry of Justice?”
Minister Sun’s attitude was still acceptable. Although the rivalry between the Imperial College and Yunlu Academy was long-standing, the arrival of two Grand Scholars together was enough to make him adopt a proper demeanor.
Zhang Shen cupped his hands and said in a deep voice, “The Ministry of Justice arrested one of my disciples today, named Xu Qi An. I trouble Minister Sun to release him.”
Arrested a student from Yunlu Academy?
These old fellows from Yunlu Academy are known for being overprotective… Minister Sun said, “The Ministry of Justice has the authority to manage criminal matters. We wouldn’t arrest someone without reason. Please explain the situation clearly.”
He didn’t agree immediately. Although the Imperial College had suppressed Yunlu Academy in official circles to the point where they couldn’t raise their heads, that was because the Imperial College was an official government institution.
Naturally, Yunlu Academy couldn’t compete with the Imperial College. If the government didn’t use your people, what could you do?
But this didn’t mean that Yunlu Academy was a soft persimmon that could be squeezed at will. Yunlu Academy controlled the Confucian cultivation system and was the holy land in the hearts of scholars across the land.
The academy’s teachers were famously protective of their students, so unless someone had truly committed a crime, officials from the Ministry of Justice wouldn’t deliberately cause trouble.
Before the two Grand Scholars could speak, several bailiffs ran over in a panic, shouting, “Minister, a group of white-robed individuals from the Astronomical Bureau has arrived outside. They’re forcing their way in, and we can’t stop them…”
Minister Sun and the present Ministry of Justice officials looked in the direction of the commotion. A group of white-robed disciples from the Astronomical Bureau came bursting into the Ministry of Justice.
Leading them was a man with an embroidered furnace on his chest, thick eyebrows, a high nose, and dark circles that seemed permanent under his eyes.
It was Song Qing, the fourth disciple of the Chief Astronomer of the Astronomical Bureau.
Their aggressive demeanor made Minister Sun frown deeply. He shouted, “You lot are trespassing in the Ministry of Justice. You’ve already violated the law. Withdraw immediately!”
Song Qing stopped, bowed, and said calmly, “Minister, we’ve come to the Ministry of Justice to retrieve a person.”
Hearing this, Minister Sun’s heart skipped a beat. He had a guess and asked in a deep voice, “Who?”
“Xu Qi An, who was unjustly arrested by the Ministry of Justice today.”
Again, it was Xu Qi An. Who exactly was this person to simultaneously draw the attention of Yunlu Academy’s Grand Scholars and the Astronomical Bureau’s white-robed disciples?
In Great Shang, no one wanted to offend the Chief Astronomer. Even Yunlu Academy, which prided itself on the orthodox Confucian school, had to swallow their pride when the wine-loving Chief Astronomer mocked them for “using literature to disrupt the law.” They didn’t dare try to reason with the Chief Astronomer.
“What’s going on? Who is Xu Qi An? I’ve never heard of him before.”
“You’re too ill-informed. You know about the silver tax case, right? Xu Qi An was the one who solved it.”
“But he’s just a martial artist. How did he get involved with both the Confucians and the Astronomical Bureau?”
“Strange, why did our Ministry of Justice arrest him?”
The gathered Ministry of Justice officials whispered among themselves.
Minister Sun beckoned to a Ministry official and asked, “Did the Ministry arrest a criminal named Xu Qi An today?”
The official whispered a reply, then hurried away. Shortly after, he returned with a stack of case files.
“Minister, there’s no mention of Xu Qi An in the arrest warrants.”
There isn’t? Minister Sun’s face darkened.
“Who made the arrest?”
“This official knows…” The official’s eyes darted toward a man in a blue robe in the crowd. “It was Lang Zhong Huang.”
Whoosh… All eyes turned in that direction.
Having just returned to the Ministry and only managing to take a sip of tea before he could report his success to the Vice Minister’s son, Lang Zhong Huang, in his blue robe, felt a chill run down his spine.