Jiangche returned to Lang Jiuchuan’s study and rattled on at length about all she had witnessed and heard at the Qi Household, her tone carrying more than a little schadenfreude throughout.
“Those who commit too many wrongs will destroy themselves — you were absolutely right. That insolent, overbearing little shrew is done for.”
But Lang Jiuchuan was not in the least surprised. That so-called county princess carried no small amount of karmic poison on her person. Had it not been for that protective spiritual artifact, she would have long since begun to sicken and suffer misfortune.
Some people squander their own fortune with their own hands.
“However, the reason the Qi Family has maintained any status at all is because they have a daughter who married into the Rong Family, making them kin to one of the Xuan Clans by marriage — that’s the only reason they’ve been so arrogant. Now that it’s merely a matter of blood-karmic poison, they may very well go to the Rong Family, their kin by marriage, to sort it out.” Jiangche grew somewhat displeased at this thought.
Lang Jiuchuan said indifferently, “Of the Great Dao’s fifty paths, Heaven’s workings account for forty-nine, while humanity retains one — every matter holds a single thread of hope. It remains to be seen whether she has the fortune to seize it.”
Jiangche immediately widened his tiger-eyes and swished his tail: “You’d better say she doesn’t!”
The crow’s mouth — bad things must come true, good things must not!
Lang Jiuchuan looked up. “You seem to harbor a considerable grievance against this woman. There is no shortage of injustice in this world, and distinctions of rank and class are starkly clear — matters like today’s are commonplace. Would you intervene in all of them?”
Jiangche said, “I — well, I — this tiger has a clear sense of right and wrong. If I hadn’t seen it, so be it, but having seen it, I naturally feel indignant on behalf of the wronged.”
“Then you had best see clearly. Every matter has its causes and consequences. Don’t mistake the weaker party for the righteous one simply because they are weak. Be careful of the old cat singing its whiskers — missing what’s right before you.”
Jiangche pursed his lips. “Who’s as cold-blooded as you? Those people didn’t actually have to die.”
“Is that karmic debt of mine to bear? No — it is of their own making. I simply do not interfere in the fates of others.” Lang Jiuchuan said coldly, “I can barely keep myself afloat. What business is it of mine?”
Jiangche clicked his tongue. All that harsh talk, but when it came down to it, there were things even she handled with a soft heart beneath a sharp tongue.
Lang Jiuchuan said, “You mentioned the three great Xuan Clans primarily intermarry within each other’s families — so why would they take a common civilian woman as a wife?”
Jiangche flopped lazily onto the desk and said, “Nothing is absolute. Those with spiritual roots are strictly forbidden from marrying outside the clan, as are those of the main bloodline, but the collateral branches aren’t held to the same standard — after all, people need to reproduce, and to keep the population thriving, there simply aren’t enough options within, so compromises have to be made. Besides, humans have a contrary streak — the more something is forbidden, the more they want to do it.”
Just like a certain contrary young woman.
Jiangche continued, “Take this Rong Family that the Qi Family has married into, for instance. I’ve heard the Rong Family has one with a contrary streak of their own — one of the main bloodline, even, one with spiritual roots — who went and married a woman from outside.”
Lang Jiuchuan’s brow arched slightly. “And then?”
“And then nothing became of it. A person with a contrary streak either grows more powerful than their entire clan — becoming an irreversible force unto themselves, and only then do they have the right to speak — or they simply have that contrary streak of theirs broken.” Jiangche swished his tiger tail and said, “This one in the Rong Family was of the broken-streak variety. His wife left him, his family was scattered, and now he lives no better than a walking dead man.”
Lang Jiuchuan lowered her gaze, lightly tapping the desk surface, and said, “So the Rong Family currently has only one person with spiritual roots in this generation?”
“Correct. This generation, it’s a young female head.” Jiangche said, “So she is already the Rong Family’s sole precious treasure — after all, she is the only one born with spiritual potential. In all these years, they’ve been producing descendants unceasingly, regardless of whether they’re legitimate or concubine-born, and yet no new spiritual potential has emerged. If this lone precious treasure were to fall, the Rong Family would have no more spiritual heirs, and they would be removed from the honored ranks of the Xuan Clans.”
Lang Jiuchuan said, “In other words — if that county princess were to attach herself to me, and the Qi Family truly managed to call upon their kin by marriage, I might very well end up at odds with the Rong Family in the future?”
“If you truly did away with that Rong Family’s young miss — ha — they’d chase you to the ends of the earth.” Jiangche narrowed his eyes and said, “And there’s more — the Xuan Clans stand together as one. They are, after all, kin by marriage to one another. Slap the face of one family, and you’ve slapped the faces of all four.”
So this was why ordinary people dared not provoke those of the Xuan Clans. You think you’ve offended one family — but no, you’ve offended four.
And those noble, powerful households that sought to curry favor with the Xuan Clans would mostly return the gesture. Offend the Xuan Clans, and you either vanished without a trace or spent your days with your tail tucked between your legs.
Hearing all this, Lang Jiuchuan felt a fresh wave of disgust rise within her.
Was this not the same as saying this era was ruled by these four great Xuan Clans? Then the soldiers guarding the frontiers and defending the homeland, the civil officials strategizing for the nation and speaking on behalf of the people — what did their effort and diligence amount to?
Those who cultivate the Dao are supposed to cultivate the Dao itself — yet they use the Dao to oppress others. Can this even be called cultivating the Dao?
Was the Dao they cultivated nothing more than a tool for seizing power?
“The so-called Xuan Clans are nothing more than this.” Lang Jiuchuan let out a cold snort.
Jiangche said, “Mind you don’t let anyone hear those words — or you’ll truly be beaten to death.” He paused, then squinted at her sideways in a probing manner, adding, “And as for yourself — no one knows what your origins are. It’s not impossible that you yourself came from one of the Xuan Clans.”
Lang Jiuchuan frowned. “Why do you say that?”
“Because of that entire arsenal of abilities you possess. Your soul is incomplete, your physical body is damaged, and you can still subdue monsters and eliminate malevolent spirits — if you were whole, who could even imagine what your full power would be? The reason the Xuan Clans command such reverence isn’t just because the world heaps praise on them — it’s because their ancestors were genuine Zhenren whose legacies were passed down through the generations. They truly possess the authentic inherited arts of the five esoteric disciplines, not mere empty show. In this mortal world today, how many genuine Zhenren are there?”
Lang Jiuchuan was silent.
“There is no legend of you upon the path of cultivation, yet you possess abilities like these. So who taught you? And who could provide someone with resources of that caliber? Even if someone had taught you, you would still need spiritual roots and comprehension to put any of it to use.” Jiangche sighed and said, “They say Heaven rewards diligence, but without natural talent, all the diligence in the world comes to nothing.”
Where in this world does effort reliably yield results? In the face of talent, effort often ends up playing a supporting role.
Of course, having talent without diligence is simply a waste.
Someone like her — most likely a peak-caliber talent, and a diligent one at that — well, sometimes, a person like that, if they cannot be brought to heel and made useful, has only one fate: elimination.
Lang Jiuchuan did not argue. She smiled faintly and said, “I didn’t expect you to have this kind of analytical ability.”
Jiangche raised his head smugly. He was the White Tiger King after all — a descendant of a divine beast. How could he lack for a few tricks?
Lang Jiuchuan said, “What my origins are — once I find my remaining soul fragments, everything will become clear. If I am indeed of the Xuan Clans, given the disgust and contempt I’ve already developed for them, I’d likely fall into the same category as that contrary streak from the Rong Family.”
A person with a contrary streak either gets tamed, or has their contrary bone broken by overwhelming pressure. Which she would be — that remained to be seen.
“Regardless of everything — strength is the ultimate currency. In the face of true strength, no clan is an immovable force. Only by surpassing them all can I stand in a position where I cannot be defeated.” Lang Jiuchuan tapped the desk again, and said, “Until everything becomes clear, I must reinforce myself and advance my strength.”
“What are your plans?”
“Relying solely on others to refer cases to me earns merit far too slowly — to say nothing of rebuilding this physical body of mine. Old Madam has given me a shop. I intend to use it to open a Myriad Affairs House — resolving matters of the living by day, and the dead by night, handling all things.” Lang Jiuchuan gazed out the window at the sweeping expanse of white snow drifting down in great curtains, and said, “If no ladder to the heavens is provided for me to climb — then I shall simply grow my own wings.”