Lu Da
There was a pause, and Duan Xu added, “And when I’m not by your side, I worry about you beyond measure.”
He Simu’s eyes flickered as she approached Duan Xu, looking into his eyes and saying slowly, “You know too well that this is beyond measure.”
Indeed, humans are fragile and transient, but she was only experiencing life momentarily. He had better understand that he was the fragile one living in reality.
She hadn’t forgotten the offense he had caused her.
From afar, Luda spoke, “Excuse me, could you come over for a moment to talk?”
He Simu turned and walked away, with Duan Xu following her to where Luda and Yilier were.
Luda’s gaze shifted to his father, who stood amidst the ashes of the garden, adorned in splendid attire but devoid of colour, as if something had collapsed with the shattering of the glass tower.
He took his father’s wrist calmly and asked, “Father, besides my elder brother and me, why couldn’t my other siblings grow to adulthood?”
Being too clever sometimes wasn’t a good thing.
Yilier cleared his throat nervously and said, “It’s just… they fell ill…”
At this point, he still tried to conceal those conflicts from his proud son.
Luda seemed no longer to seek answers from Yilier. He turned his gaze to He Simu and said, “Can you tell me?”
He Simu looked at the pitifully aging old master and said lightly, “To appease the demon spirits, one needs to regularly feed them with blood, maintaining the connection between oneself and the demon spirits.”
Luda fell silent for a moment, a rare expression of anger and pain appearing on his face. He turned to Yilier and said, “Did you sacrifice them all to the demon spirits in exchange for your, my elder brother’s, and my fame and fortune?”
Yilier stared with wide eyes, unable to speak. His beard trembled as if he wanted to speak but couldn’t.
“What about the sacred object you asked me for?”
Seeing Yilier still not responding, Luda looked at He Simu again.
He Simu said, “Given to the demon lord to help him evade my summoning.”
Luda lowered his gaze and then raised it again, staring into Yilier’s eyes. “Father, is this true?”
Yilier gritted his teeth and suddenly shook off Luda’s hand. His originally pale face flushed red with emotional excitement as he angrily pointed at Luda, saying, “I am your father! Who do you think I did all this for? We were looked down upon everywhere in the royal court, and we were driven to this small town with nothing! If it weren’t for my dealings with the demon spirits, how could our family have risen again? How could you and your brother have obtained official positions in the capital? Do you think you’re innocent? And now you come to question me?”
Luda looked at his father seriously, speaking slowly, “Father, your desire for a resurgence is not mine, nor is it theirs. Since you have betrayed the Azure God, I should resign from my official position and leave the royal court.”
Upon hearing this, Yilier became agitated, stepping forward to slap Luda. Luda didn’t evade it, and Yilier’s jewelled ring left a bloody wound on Luda’s face.
“What nonsense are you talking about… resigning? Do you want your siblings to have died in vain? Are you trying to infuriate me? As for the demon lord… you’re still helping them. If the demon lord turns against us, what will your elder brother do? What will I do?”
“I will protect you.”
The situation became tense for a moment. It was clear the father and son were not seeing eye to eye. When Yilier was speechless with anger, Duan Xu interjected.
Employing his unique skill of Tai Chi, he said, “My lord should be able to find the demon lord soon. His transformation is imminent, so Lord Yilier need not worry about him turning against you. You think Luda has achieved his current status solely because of your dealings with the demons, but I think not. Why was the demon lord able to choose you in the first place? It’s probably because he discovered your naturally special constitution, which might enable you to become a priest of the Danzhi Sect in the future.”
This move of Tai Chi compensated for both sides. To confirm it, Duan Xu turned to He Simu and said, “Your Highness, am I right?”
He Simu chuckled lightly, not even looking at Duan Xu, just asking Luda, “Any other questions? If not, I’ll rest. It’s quite late, and this whole scene has left me quite weary.”
With that, she turned her head without looking at Duan Xu and walked past him as if she hadn’t noticed him at all. Duan Xu remained silent and followed her cheerfully.
Luda watched them leave, then turned to his father, who looked startled and distressed, saying, “Father, we need to talk.”
Duan Xu glanced back at them. It seemed Luda wouldn’t get the regretful apology he desired, and Yilier wouldn’t get the gratitude he sought.
Between father and son, blood ties bind them, but there are cracks in their hearts, their desires differ. What is there to talk about?
The biggest event in Fujian City that year was the burning of the Yilier estate. Overnight, the entire garden, along with the renowned Glass Tower, was engulfed in flames and destroyed, and the sacred artefacts disappeared without a trace. For Yilier, who had always been remarkably lucky, this was probably the unluckiest event of his life.
People all over the city were discussing it, expressing both regret and schadenfreude. Those revelling in his misfortune mentioned his wife’s bad temper and the countless servants who had been beaten to death in his household, seeing this disaster as just retribution.
Yilier and Luda talked through the night, only ending their conversation by midday the next day. No one knew what they discussed, but Luda didn’t bring up resigning again, while Yilier proposed handing over the gold mine to the royal court and himself going to serve in the Azure God Temple in the capital.
Duan Xu and Luda stood in the courtyard, watching the servants busy cleaning up the yard. Duan Xu smiled and said, “Young Lord Priest, a fire in the backyard, this situation is exactly what the Grand Priest and my master used to worry about.”
Yilier, as a Huqi noble, had forsaken his own gods to worship the ghosts and monsters of the Han people, which was probably not an isolated case. For decades, Han people and Huqi people had lived together north of the Guan River, with the Han population outnumbering the Huqi by over three hundred times, resulting in significant cultural impact on the Huqi. In recent years, Huqi’s behaviour had become increasingly similar to that of the Han, even their faith was wavering.
He had heard his master and the Grand Priest discussing this matter, criticizing the Han influence in the royal court. They feared that the country would lose its identity, and the Huqi would cease to be Huqi. Therefore, they placed great importance on the Azure God and the Azure Word Classic, considering them the souls of the Huqi people that must be kept pure and unblemished by outsiders.
“What I think is different from what our two masters thought,” replied Luda. “Why should only Huqi people be able to believe in the Azure God? Why should only Huqi people be able to read the Azure Sacred Scriptures? Han people or people of other ethnicities should also be able to receive the protection of the Azure God. The Huqi people a hundred years ago were very different from those of a thousand years ago, and the Huqi people who lived mixed with Han people were also very different from those on the grasslands. Running water does not rot; changes must be made.”
Duan Xu was somewhat surprised by Luda’s words. Seeing his astonished expression, Luda seemed to anticipate it. He chuckled lightly, “Are you curious how I recognized you? Actually, I’ve seen you before, building a sandcastle by the Sea behind the Tianzhixiao Manor.”
He had spent some time as a guest of the Grand Priest at Tianzhixiao Manor, and at night, while sitting on the cliffs in meditation, he would often see a young man sneak out to the beach to build sandcastles. Although the sandcastle was washed away by the tide every day, the young man still came every night to rebuild it in the same spot.
Out of curiosity, he had secretly observed this young man nearby. The young man was often covered in injuries, sometimes even staggering, but he never stopped, always very focused.
He remembered this child from then on. When the leader of the Tianzhixiao introduced their new disciple, Number Seventeen, he recognized him at a glance. This was the child he had seen at the building sandcastles by the sea.
That young man was not meant to be a caged bird; he flew out and became an eagle.
Duan Xu was momentarily stunned, the distant memories fading but now vividly clear. He smiled brightly and said, “I inadvertently let you see.”
Inadvertently letting you see through the cracks of Number Seventeen.
However, he was not Number Seventeen. According to the rules, all the first-phase disciples had died, and only the last survivor was given a number. He had saved Han Lingqiu, and there were still two other disciples from that phase alive. So, there was no true Number Seventeen in the world.
This was one of the reasons why he had taken such a great risk to ensure Han Lingqiu’s survival.
Luda said, “Although the leader says you are devout, I have always felt that you do not believe in the Azure God, do you? What do we mean to you in your eyes?”
Duan Xu remained silent for a moment, then asked, “And in your eyes, what is the Azure God? Do you really believe in the so-called power of the Azure God?”
“The Azure God is actually a belief. Number Seventeen, you also have beliefs. You should know that this power is so great that it can rival all the divine weapons in the world. The power of the Azure God is the collective belief of millions. Whether the gods truly exist is not important; what matters is our covenant with the gods, a covenant that does not require a response from the gods. As long as those who believe in the Azure God still live in this world, the Azure God will not perish.”
This was the first time Duan Xu had heard the argument “whether the gods truly exist is not important” from a Huqi person’s mouth, and it was even from a young priest. If his master and the Grand Priest heard this, they would probably be furious.
Duan Xu chuckled softly, “The collective belief of millions… Haha, in the Cangyan Scripture, the greatest blessing of the Azure God is to let the descendants of the Huqi spread to every corner of the world. With this, you marched south to invade the territory of the Han people, slaughtering over a million people. Is this what you did for your beliefs?”
“War has never ceased since ancient times; how can we distinguish between good and evil? During the Han civil war, and the expansion of their territory, how many casualties were there?”
Luda fell silent for a moment, then turned to Duan Xu. “I know there is deep-seated hatred between our two tribes. The only things that can resolve hatred are time and fairness, which is why I want to reform.”
Duan Xu did not respond.
In the bustling courtyard where people were busy coming and going, there was silence between Duan Xu and Luda. Luda sighed and asked, “Number Seventeen, how did you die? Were you wronged?”
Upon hearing this, Duan Xu couldn’t help but chuckle. He had been silent, but now he laughed heartily and said, “What’s this? Do you want to clear my name for me even though I’ve been wronged? Then would you also want to vindicate the more than ninety classmates who died with me? What about the thousands of disciples and slaves who died at the Tianzhixiao? Wasn’t the Azure God supposed to protect them?”
In the Danzhi Empire, there was a hierarchy dividing people into three, six, and nine categories, and the Azure God did not evenly protect everyone. Luda had lofty aspirations, perhaps he was a kind person himself, but he lacked the ability to fulfil his aspirations.
His aspirations would only become the freshest means of enslavement.
“In the future, we’ll be enemies, fighting to the death,” Duan Xu declared.
Luda seemed puzzled. It seemed he thought the person opposite him was already dead, so why talk about fighting to the death? But he still smiled and said, “Before that, we can be friends, like strangers who meet by chance.”
After a moment of silence, Duan Xu smiled and patted Luda’s shoulder. “Lord Priest, I hope we don’t see each other again after this. Thank you for not exposing me back then. Farewell, and take care of yourself.”
Meanwhile, on the other side, He Simu was in her room enjoying the aroma of tea. The pearl placed on the table emitted a faint glow, and the familiar voice of a young man came from the pearl, sounding somewhat urgent.
“Elder Ancestor!”
He Simu responded lightly, “What’s the matter? Is your talisman reacting?”
“Yes, but…”
“Where did the demon lord hide?”
The man on the other end of the pearl sighed and said, “If my talisman isn’t wrong, that guy is currently in Nandu.”
“Nandu?”
“And he’s in… the palace.” He Simu’s hand paused as she was about to take a sip of tea. She set down the teacup and chuckled, “How interesting. Your role as the Imperial Tutor is quite negligent. You let the demon slip into the palace.”
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