In the battle to vanquish the demons and evil at Duoming Pass, the Xuan clan had lost twenty-six people in total. Beyond that, there were those whose spiritual souls had been damaged by the yin energy and corpse poison — a number that left every clan shaken to the core. Among them, the Gong Family had suffered the fewest casualties: only two had died. Every other clan’s dead, without exception, were those of weak and low cultivation.
Just as Lang Jiuchuan and Jiangche had said — those with low cultivation had been sent merely as numbers, as fodder for death.
With matters here concluded, Lang Jiuchuan bid farewell to Gong Tinglan and the others.
Gong Tinglan led her aside. He glanced at the other Xuan clan members not far away, then lowered his voice. “Ninth Miss, your cultivating nature is pure and upright. I sincerely hope you attain the Great Dao. The matter of vanquishing the demons shall be recorded in the Grand History of the Xuan Clan — and in this endeavor, you have contributed greatly. Would you like your name made known?”
Lang Jiuchuan was briefly taken aback, then replied evenly, “I am nothing more than a mortal of this world, only seeking to live. Whether or not my name is known matters little to me. If fame and wealth bring me nothing but endless trouble, I am better off without them.”
Gong Tinglan understood. “Then in this record, I will note only your name — Jiuchuan. Whether taken as a given name or a Daoist name, it suits you well. There is one more matter. Though this is our first meeting, I can already tell the young lady is not one who takes to constraint. Those of us who walk the same path should indeed be this way — yet the habits of the Xuan clan have become… You are a perceptive person; I won’t speak in circles. Your mother and the First Madam of my clan were old acquaintances. I will thus be so bold as to claim a distant connection between us.”
Lang Jiuchuan smiled. “Young Master is far too gracious. Who in this world would not wish to have connections with the Xuan clan? For you to say such a thing makes me feel ashamed — it is we who are reaching above our station.”
“Yet the disdain in your eyes says nothing of what your mouth has spoken.” Gong Tinglan smiled lightly. “Regardless, with that bond through our elders, in the eyes of outsiders, you already stand on the side of our Gong Family. If you are willing, I can give you an identity token belonging to a Gong Family disciple — this token would shield you from harassment by the Xuan clan. Of course, I would not ask you to serve as a Gong Family guardian — it would be a purely private connection.”
A stir passed through Lang Jiuchuan’s heart. She understood all the meanings behind the word “harassment,” and met his gaze. “I am nothing more than a common person with a few minor tricks. Why does the Young Master go to such lengths for me?”
Gong Tinglan looked over at the Xuan clan members who were talking with self-satisfied expressions, his hands clasped behind his back, a faint coolness in his eyes. “The truly great cultivators remain hidden and do not emerge. Those who have come out are either absorbed into the same mold or have been suppressed. If this continues, the mortal world will be in danger.”
He looked in the direction of where the malevolent ground had been, his voice low and heavy. “Take this mountain of corpses, for instance — so many bodies, cultivating into a place of extreme malevolence, existing for this long. Why did no one know? Why did no one speak out? They even spent a hundred years refining corpse fiends. This time, it was because of the young lady’s great virtue — you perceived the heavenly mystery and dared to act against it. If you, too, had fled like those cowardly cultivators, or turned a blind eye, perhaps that demon would have been born, and become a menace to a chaotic age.”
Lang Jiuchuan said, “Young Master has also accumulated great merit. Without your divination, Gong Qi and the others would never have come searching.”
Gong Tinglan shook his head. “Though I drew the omen of calamity, my path in cultivation is not deep enough — I could not discern what manner of evil it was, nor could I deduce the full scope of this situation. To claim credit for this would truly be undeserving.”
His Daoist name was Dingshen.
“Merit and fault are determined by Heaven. Young Master need not diminish yourself.”
Gong Tinglan smiled serenely. “The young lady is of great virtue — a seed of the Dao capable of attaining the Great Way. I only hope this world has more kindred spirits such as yourself, rather than seeing each one who emerges be suppressed, leaving no one of real ability when great calamity strikes — as with the casualties this time.”
If all the fellow cultivators had been of high cultivation, how could there have been such losses?
A shadow of gloom settled across his brow. He looked out at the canopy of trees. “I do not know if I am worrying needlessly, but I have a sense that a demon of this nature is not the only one.”
“You are overthinking it. The great cultivators are hidden from the world — if true signs of calamity emerge, I believe they will come out in full force. To hide away in a corner for the sake of self-preservation would be to go against the very Dao they have cultivated.”
Gong Tinglan was momentarily speechless, and bowed with a touch of chagrin. “I was too fixated on appearances. So your meaning is…?”
“Thank you for your high regard.” Lang Jiuchuan’s eyes glinted with a cunning light. “As for the identity token — there is no need. But if Young Master could give me something of yours as a keepsake, I imagine that alone would let me borrow your tiger’s prestige quite effectively?” She blinked at him, a sly curve to her lips.
If she accepted the identity token, would she be expected to respond as a “Gong Family disciple” when trouble arose? Some people were exceptionally good at moral coercion in the name of righteousness! She could not gain one thing and lose another — letting a token meant to protect her become a chain that bound her hands and cost her her freedom.
Gong Tinglan laughed in spite of himself. He unclipped a jade talisman from his waist. “This is a protective jade talisman I refined myself — I gift it to the young lady. May the boundless heavens bless you.”
“Many thanks.” Lang Jiuchuan accepted it without the slightest hesitation. She turned the warm, smooth jade talisman over in her fingers and said, “As the saying goes — nothing is established without first breaking what came before. Young Master holds lofty principles, but there is no need to force rotten mud to stick to a wall. Not only will it not hold — it will dirty your hands. Rotting flesh must be cut away before new life can grow. Even branches of the same tree must be examined — you have to ask whether the branch in question is a good one. Would you not agree?”
Gong Tinglan’s eyes shone. He pressed his palms together again in a Daoist salute. “I have learned from you today. I look forward to the day we may debate the Dao and spar once more.”
Lang Jiuchuan returned the salute. As he turned to leave, she suddenly remembered something, and produced the half-portrait she had kept on her person all this while. “Young Master, a moment — by chance, do you recognize this woman?”
Gong Tinglan took it and studied it carefully. “Though only half a face remains, this teardrop mole and the line of her brow and eyes seem to match the Fourth Madam of the Rong Family.”
A flicker of something unusual passed through Lang Jiuchuan’s eyes.
She had not let it show on her face, yet Gong Tinglan still perceived the subtle shift in her presence. He considered a moment, then said, “The Fourth Madam of the Rong Family is the mother of Rong Huanxuan, the current young mistress of the Rong household. Her maiden name is Xi Yun.”
Xi Yun.
Lang Jiuchuan silently repeated the name, then cupped her hands toward him. “I understand. Please go safely, Young Master.”
Gong Tinglan turned and departed, his thoughts turning over quietly. Old beyond her years. Difficult to say what manner of great spirit has come to inhabit that form.
And the portrait she had produced — what connection did Xi Yun have to her?
Recalling that the soul residing in Lang Jiuchuan’s body was a foreign one, Gong Tinglan could not help but speculate further. Could it be that Xi Yun had moved against the true Lang Jiuchuan? But why? A military general’s daughter — what could possibly have warranted such drastic action?
The Rong Family… did the Rong Family harbor some secret that could not see the light of day?
Gong Tinglan returned to the Xuan clan’s group with a mind full of unanswered questions. He bid farewell to the various clans and led the Gong Family away. As for the aftermath of this demon-vanquishing — once back at the clan, he would review it together with those in the other clans who had any say. After all, with casualties this heavy, it was only right to let them face the consequences. He had warned them long ago to send capable individuals, to avoid pointless sacrifice. They had not listened. Hmph.
But then again — as that young woman had said, if rotten mud won’t stick to the wall, why dirty your hands?
The members of the other clans also exchanged cupped-fist farewells. As they were leaving, someone thought of Lang Jiuchuan.
“What was the name of that young cultivator the Gong Family newly took in?”
“Jiuchuan, I think?”
“Strange — I can’t quite recall what she looks like.”
“Neither can I. Oh right, what did she do again?”
The group exchanged glances with one another, and soon let the matter pass on its own — perhaps in their hearts, they had already quietly written her off as someone seeking empty fame.