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Buddhist Master Xueting, who’d intervened to stop Yan Wushi that night at Chuyun Temple, was once a supporter of Northern Zhou. However, he’d supported the old regent Yuwen Hu, not the current emperor, Yuwen Yong. Buddhist Master Xueting came from Tiantai Sect and was the martial brother of Fayi, Tiantai Sect’s current leader. But Tiantai Sect itself favored Southern Chen, so the whole matter was wrapped up in the sect’s internal feuds.
In Yuwen Yong’s eyes, the three schools of thought had their own ambitions. If he became involved with any one ideology, then his style of governance would inevitably be colored by them. As an emperor with a strong sense of autonomy, he rankled at the thought. In contrast, although Huanyue Sect also had their own goals, they were clearly more suited to cooperation than the other sects, and they wouldn’t ask Yuwen Yong to promote a certain doctrine or try to sway his thinking.
“A father didn’t even care whether his children lived or died, yet you stepped in and did his job for him. Sect Leader Shen really does possess a benevolent heart full of love,” Yan Wushi ridiculed him. “It’s just a pity that human greed knows no bounds and can’t fathom your good intentions. If you hadn’t been able to defend yourself today, you’d probably have ended up as stew by now.”
I am neither a saint nor an exception. But when someone is suffering right in front of me, I can’t bear to stand by and watch.”
He clung stubbornly to goodness, but Yan Wushi believed that it was human nature to do evil. On a fundamental level, they had no common ground. Yan Wushi could doubtlessly kill Shen Qiao with his martial arts, but even choking Shen Qiao wouldn’t get him to change his point of view.
The child ran to him and knelt down, then kowtowed to him three times with the utmost seriousness. “Thanks, sir, for giving us the bread. Father was rude to you, but I… All I can do’s kowtow to you and ask for your great forgiveness. Please don’t hold it against him!”
Shen Qiao had noticed how he made no mocking remarks this time and found it odd. “You’re not going to say anything?” “Some people just like doing stupid things,” Yan Wushi said coolly. “Even if you chide them, they won’t listen. Why should this venerable one waste his breath?”
He might have been quarrelsome, but the man he’d been matched with was so outstandingly good-natured, his temper so difficult to arouse, even picking a fight became rather difficult to do. So, their relationship became something not quite enemies but also not quite friends, and on the long journey together, they’d managed to achieve a delicate kind of balance.
Although his body was still somewhat sickly and weak, ever since Shen Qiao spat out the stagnant blood that had been in his chest, the bewilderment on his face had faded with each passing day. Recovering his memories had only been a matter of time.
“Why not wait until the Jade Terrace Discussion to reveal yourself and cross-examine Yu Ai in front everyone? Why not take back your rightful position as sect leader?” “If I do that, Xuandu Mountain’s reputation would suffer a great blow.” Shen Qiao shook his head. “I fear that there’s more to this matter than meets the eye. To get to the bottom of things, I must first ask Yu Ai.”
Shen Qiao had grown up here, and he’d long ago become accustomed to this kind of scenery. Seeing it again now, he couldn’t feel the slightest nostalgia, nor affection. Instead, it settled in his chest like a stone, and he ached to release it with a sigh.
From the time he was a child, Shen Qiao had grown up nestled in a peaceful, stable environment. His master was loving, both a teacher and a father to him. Shen Qiao’s sect siblings regarded each other with deep fraternal affection too.
Yu Ai ranked third and was even two years older than him, but because he’d entered the sect later, he had to address Shen Qiao as Shixiong.
He’d thought that perhaps Yu Ai would be astonished to see a dead man return alive—that he might even show some guilt or fear. Or maybe his face would betray his disgust. Maybe Yu Ai wouldn’t even want to see him. But he hadn’t expected anything like this joyful surprise.
“You barely have any internal energy. What happened, exactly?” Calmly, Shen Qiao said, “Isn’t this what you expected when you poisoned me?”
He was silent for a moment. “That day, during my duel with Kunye, I discovered that more than half of my internal energy was missing and that my true qi had gone stagnant, the flow congested. I strained myself to keep going, but in the end, it was for naught.
He’d trusted everyone on Xuandu Mountain. It wasn’t because Shen Qiao was foolish and ignorant, or naive and gullible, but because he’d believed in them. He’d believed that there would always be goodness in the world, believed in the people he’d known and experiences he’d had growing up, and believed that his martial siblings, inseparable as they were from himself, could never betray him.
The night before I fought Kunye, you came to me and asked if we could share a bed. There, we talked about all sorts of things, about the past.
You inherited Shizun’s mantle, and your martial arts were the best among us martial siblings. A normal poison would be ineffective against you, so I had to use that rare and mystical poison: ‘Joyful Reunion.’
With your martial arts, I thought that even if you fell off the cliff, it wouldn’t be enough to kill you. At most, I reckoned you’d only suffer some serious injuries, maybe you’d take a couple of months to recuperate.
But you chose solitude. You’d rather stay in obscurity, hidden away in these mountains. If we keep on like this, then no matter how deep Xuandu Mountain’s prestige runs, eventually we’ll be replaced!”
Shen Qiao asked again, “What exactly are you working on with the Göktürks?” “My apologies,” said Yu Ai. “I can’t tell you yet.” “And what if I oppose your plans?” Yu Ai said nothing. “If I oppose you, you’ll detain me, and from then on, I’ll be a sect leader in nothing but name, barred from seeing the light of day. That way, I won’t hinder your grand plan, is that right?”
“What difference does it make if you agree or not? Four of the seven Xuandu Mountain elders are already in favor of my plan. The other three are in secluded cultivation and unconcerned with mundane affairs. As for our martial siblings, Da-shixiong43 is too kindhearted to take a side, so it’s useless to talk to him. Si-shidi and Xiao-shimei44 will be very happy to see you again, but that doesn’t mean they’ll agree with you.
But at this moment, with the truth laid out before him, Shen Qiao felt a deep exhaustion rise up inside him all at once. It was as if there was a hand clutching at him, trying to drag him down into the freezing sea.
Shen Qiao had only recovered three-tenths of his strength and was no match for Yu Ai. But the two of them had known each other since their youth, so despite his blindness, Shen Qiao still knew every possible move Yu Ai might make, every trick he might employ, like the back of his own hand.
The true qi came right at his chest, and with a snap, his bamboo cane broke in two. Shen Qiao stumbled back several steps, staggered twice, and then fell to the ground.
Stepping lightly with his qinggong, he rushed onwards with Yu Ai in hot pursuit. Without looking back, Shen Qiao pinpointed Yu Ai by sound, then flung the broken piece of bamboo cane behind him.
Shen Qiao had no time to dodge—the blow hit him square in the back. Blood gushed from his mouth, and he fell face-first to the ground. After that, all he could do was curl up and gasp for breath.
“I used to think that Qi Fengge’s disciples had to be at least halfway decent, considering that he himself was the heavenly pride of his generation. But who would have guessed? Shen Qiao being nearly crippled is one thing, but to think that Yu Ai, the Acting Sect Leader, is only mediocre in martial arts.
“Xuandu Mountain without Qi Fengge is far too dull. I have no need to drink your tea, and in any case, you’re not qualified to drink tea with me.”
Yan Wushi frowned. “That title, Demon Lord…this venerable one quite dislikes it.”
“You’ve colluded with the Göktürks. So why shouldn’t I keep company with people from the demonic sects?”
This was one of the three swords Qi Fengge had passed down to his disciples. Shanhe Tongbei, he gave to Shen Qiao. His youngest female disciple, Gu Hengbo, received the sword Tianwei Sheichun.45 And the third sword, Junzi Buqi46—that was the one Yu Ai held now.
Only one who’d honed Xuandu Mountain’s Azure Waves sword technique to its ultimate level could create such a sword glare. Beam after beam came in great swells that built momentum relentlessly until they arrived like a tempest—powerful and wrathful enough to swallow heaven and earth.
kept one hand behind his back, and the other held out flat before him, palm first. With a furl and a flick of his sleeve, he first swept away most of the barrage of sword rain, then extended a single index finger. It was the same finger he’d used against Yu Shengyan beneath the cliff at Banbu Peak.
The Azure Waves sword technique was true to its name. Qi Fengge came up with this technique while overlooking the great sea to the east.
Such was the case with Yu Ai. He’d attained the level where “authentic understanding of the spirit surpasses rigid mimicry of the form,” and had integrated much of his own understanding of swordplay into the Azure Waves sword technique. He’d achieved true, perfect command of it—he and his sword were nearly one and the same. Yet his attack was thwarted by one single finger of Yan Wushi’s hand.
His finger darted as if it could see precisely where to go—it lightly grazed several spots, and each just happened to be the weakest points in Yu Ai’s barrier of true qi.
But for Yan Wushi, it was just a point of reference. Instead of emulating the Zhuyang Strategy, instead of recultivating his qi from scratch, he simply used it to patch up the deficiencies in his own martial abilities.
Yan Wushi’s martial arts included the infamous Spring Waters finger technique. After they fought, Qi Fengge used two lines of poetry to describe it: “The spring waters ripple, my reflection embraced; my wishful fancies crumble, only ash remains.”
It was Qi Fengge’s first disciple, Tan Yuanchun. He was the shixiong of Shen Qiao and Yu Ai. His abilities were only average and his temperament mild—a peacemaker when faced with conflict, a bleeding heart who couldn’t offend anyone.
Yan Wushi was in a good mood; he even took the initiative to greet Tan Yuanchun. “You’re Qi Fengge’s first disciple? Years ago, I fought your master and lost to him, but now his disciples are all completely useless. Would you like to have a try too?” Tan Yuanchun was speechless.
In fact, in his current condition, he’d only be placing himself at the mercy of others. Knowing this drew a silent sigh from him. All his hesitation was gone. “This Shen asks Sect Leader Yan to bring him away with you.”
Most people of high status and standing, for the sake of their own dignity, wouldn’t have it in them to use someone as a human shield. Only someone like Yan Wushi, who could destroy a Zhuyang Strategy scroll without a second thought, could pull off such a shameless move.
Of course, he knew that Xuandu Mountain had searched tirelessly for Shen Qiao after he fell from the cliff, and that they’d come up empty-handed because he himself had rescued Shen Qiao. But Yan Wushi had no reason to speak up on their behalf—he was more than happy to see Shen Qiao become despondent, to watch him go from a softhearted, downtrodden sect leader to a man who hated and resented all the world.
There had been frequent regime changes since the Jin Dynasty’s move south and the Uprising of the Five Barbarians. But even though the Zhou and the Qi carried strong northern influences, they’d still followed the Han way of doing things and so had gradually acculturated.
The image of the Göktürks as capricious, coarse, and thuggish was deeply entrenched in the hearts of the people of the Central Plains.
Yan Wushi replied, “Why else would I bring you with me? What’s it to me if you live or die? If I’d just wanted the Zhuyang Strategy scroll, I would have gone straight to Xuandu Mountain myself. Why bring along dead weight like you? But you have two Zhuyang Strategy volumes within you.
For a long time, I’ve wanted to study Tao Hongjing’s martial arts by using someone proficient with the Zhuyang Strategy. I can’t fight against myself, though, and I certainly can’t go hunt down that bald donkey Xueting to practice against. Doesn’t that make you the most suitable candidate?”
“I couldn’t sense any of the Zhuyang Strategy’s true qi within Yu Ai’s body when we fought, so I believe Qi Fengge only passed it down to you.” Shen Qiao nodded. “That’s right. I was alone the day Shizun conveyed to me the Volume of Lost Soul and ordered me to memorize it through recitation.
