Thousand Autumns: Qian Qiu (Novel) Vol. 1

by Meng Xi Shi

I heard that after Perfected Master Tao completed the Zhuyang Strategy, he was filled with regret. He thought that if the book got out, it would lead to endless conflict and strife in the world, that many people would die as a result. I think perhaps Shizun felt the same way, to a certain degree.

These days, Shen Qiao wandered the outside world, and there he witnessed the impoverished livelihoods and the suffering of the common people, the powers of the world, and how they’d all been drawn into this game of chess. Seeing all this gradually changed Shen Qiao’s mindset. He’d realized that Xuandu Mountain also stood in the dust of the mortal realm, that it was impossible for them to peacefully detach themselves from worldly affairs.

Xuandu Mountain’s qinggong was unmatched. When he executed this set of steps, called “A Rainbow Stretches across the Heavens,” his figure was like a lotus above the water, seeking gently back and forth beneath the wind’s caress, or like a willow slowly unfurling its branches, the motion indescribably lovely.

Yan Wushi had once been a sword master, and he had a sword that never left his side. But when he lost his sword and couldn’t find a satisfactory replacement, he decided to use his finger as a substitute.

His sleeve raised, he too substituted his hand for a sword, forming a seal. This was the initiating gesture of the Azure Waves sword technique, “The Cool Breeze Gently Blows.”

There was a white slash like a sword glare: this was sword qi. As the sword qi sliced forward, Shen Qiao switched tactics, imitating “Three Parts in Musical Harmony,” from the Azure Waves sword technique. He sent out successive taps with his finger, and each one landed precisely on the nodes of the woven net Yan Wushi had formed with his true qi.

He’d been at peace before, as Xuandu Mountain’s sect leader, but that was the peace of someone who’d never suffered setbacks. The peace he felt now came after he was lashed by winds and rain, beset by defeat and hardships.

But if Qi Fengge were alive to see, he’d easily recognize that Shen Qiao’s moves were no longer constrained to the maneuvers themselves—that they’d diverged even from the ways of sword qi and reached the echelon of sword intent.

There were four echelons of the sword: sword qi, sword intent, sword heart, and sword spirit.

But where the sword intent lay, the principle of Dao also lay! One begets two, two begets three, and three begets all things.47

Yan Wushi bent down and grasped his chin. Shen Qiao’s face was like cold jade, horribly white and dull. Even his lips were bloodless, devoid of all color. It looked like he might stop breathing at any moment.

But within all this bloodless pallor, with his eyes tightly shut and his long eyelashes fanned like feathers, there lingered a trace of frail, ascetic beauty. And now that he was unconscious, it was even meeker and lovelier.

If others thought that softness was a weakness, then it was they who were truly blind.

Yan Wushi whispered right by Shen Qiao’s ear, coaxing him with his softest tone. “But there’s no need to live a life that tragic. As long as you enter the Noble Discipline with me and cultivate the Fenglin Scriptures, I will pass my volume of Zhuyang Strategy on to you.

Yan Wushi had even instilled his words with “Demonic Persuasion,” and repeated them in Shen Qiao’s ear again and again. They crept straight to his heart, pounding mercilessly at his Daoist Core.49

I don’t want to become that kind of person. Even if it must be done, I should be the one to do it. “Become what kind of person? What’s wrong with taking an eye for an eye? If you want to kill someone, then kill them. Besides, they betrayed you first—you don’t owe them anything.”

Some people were unaware of the evil in the world and gave their kindness indiscriminately. In the end, all it did was exhaust them and others both. But there were some people who did see through to the evil, and that insight was precisely why they refused to change—why they carried on being gentle and tenderhearted.

When had the Demon Lord—whose very name inspired dread, who was disagreeable and volatile, who reveled in mocking sarcasm—learned to use such a gentle tone, bone-deep with tenderness?

We’ve just entered Ying Province. I’ve found us an inn to stay at, come.” He bent at the waist, then picked Shen Qiao up in his arms like a princess. Shen Qiao was absolutely appalled.

All this time, Yan Wushi was carrying a grown man in his arms. And yet, he strolled through the courtyard, not flagging in the slightest. The concierge’s reverence grew greater all the while.

You’ve been unconscious for days, and I’ve taken care of you for the entire journey. But instead of thanking me, you’ve been acting all evasive. Was the sect leader of Xuandu Mountain brought up with such rude manners?” Shen Qiao thought to himself, My manner is evasive because yours is abnormal.

It was simply unbelievable that he’d gone to sleep and then woken up to Yan Wushi switching personalities entirely.

Yan Wushi found it extremely hard to understand such a defeated mentality, and he had no interest in trying. What interested him was Shen Qiao himself. Even someone from the jianghu who lost all their martial arts and went from a person who held life and death in their hands to a weakling who other people walked all over would be, at the very least, panicked, anxious, and depressed. That is, if they didn’t lose themselves to hysteria. So how did this person, who looked so gentle and soft, manage to keep his composure at a time like this? Just what was he made of?

“Everyone holds evil thoughts inside their hearts; the difference lies in whether or not they act on it. Why castigate them for being human?”

“A-Qiao, what are your evil thoughts? Let me hear.” Hearing Yan Wushi call him “A-Qiao” sent goosebumps rising all over his body, but before his astonishment could show on his face, Shen Qiao was already bewitched, falling into a trance brought on by that low voice. He opened his mouth to answer. “I…”

Yan Wushi took the bowl of medicine and said to Shen Qiao, “You need to recuperate from your injuries, and medicine will help that process. Here, I’ll feed you.” Shen Qiao and the concierge were both rendered speechless.

The concierge sighed in relief, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and then quickly slipped away. The moment he left, Yan Wushi shoved the bowl into Shen Qiao’s hands. “Drink it yourself.” Shen Qiao was speechless once again.

Shen Qiao was an upright gentleman. He’d always kept himself proper, his heart pure and free of desires. He’d never heard words like these, verging on the obscene. He immediately pressed his lips together and refused to speak, but against his will, a faint flush spread over his stark-white face. It wasn’t out of shyness. He was just a little frustrated. Yan Wushi had gotten his fill of messing around. When he saw Shen Qiao’s face change, he burst out laughing. It looked like he found Shen Qiao incredibly amusing.

After that, Yan Wushi seemed to develop some strange proclivities. It was almost like he’d gotten hooked on toying with Shen Qiao. He was always wanting to put on a show in public so that he could watch Shen Qiao’s various reactions.

The man said, “People will always pick the softest persimmon—they’ll target the weakest. Qi is much softer than Chen. And if not Qi, then it’s the Göktürks. In short, for the moment, the Lord of Zhou won’t rush to send his troops out against the Chen Dynasty.”

the Göktürk people are expanding in the north as well—they’ve even defeated the powerful Persian Empire.

He did also feel that Yan Wushi had done him a favor, for regardless of what the other man’s original intentions were, Shen Qiao had greatly benefited from being saved. So, as long as Yan Wushi didn’t do something horrifically immoral, Shen Qiao would let him do as he wished and not hold anything against him.

“Is this one your favorite?” he asked. “I’m willing to purchase him for twenty gold, if your distinguished self is willing to part with him.” Yan Wushi laughed sharply and turned to Shen Qiao. “Look, A-Qiao, you don’t need to toil in the jianghu—your face is enough to earn us money!

“This one is Shen Qiao.” “Qiao, as in ‘Tall trees rise in the south’?”54 “Qiao, as in ‘The hundred gods does he placate, the peaks and rivers all come partake.’”

By now, he’d regained almost half of what he had before his injury. The only trouble was that the Zhuyang Strategy was too profound. To this day, he wouldn’t dare claim he’d completely comprehended the volume Qi Fengge had passed on to him.

“Xie Xiang of Linchuan Academy greets Sect Leader Yan.” There was another person with him, a little older than Xie Xiang. “Zhan Ziqian of Linchuan Academy. I hope Sect Leader Yan is well.”

“So, you’re Ruyan Kehui’s favorite disciple?” “I dare not accept Sect Leader Yan’s praise,” said Xie Xiang, “But Academy Master Ruyan is indeed my master.” “What gave you the idea I was praising you?” Yan Wushi said curiously. “I had one more thing to say: you’re only mediocre.” The corner of Xie Xiang’s mouth twitched.

He was from Chen Commandery’s Xie family and was Linchuan Academy’s most outstanding disciple of his generation. It was rumored that Ruyan Kehui was grooming Xie Xiang to be his successor

“If Ruyan Kehui wishes to meet me, then he should come to me himself,” Yan Wushi sneered. “What nonsense is this?” He turned to leave, but Xie Xiang said severely, “May Xiang have the honor of asking for Sect Leader Yan’s martial guidance?” Yan Wushi smiled faintly. All of a sudden, he pointed at Shen Qiao. “Would you believe me if I said you couldn’t even defeat him?”

The martial arts of Linchuan Academy were simple and unembellished. They followed the principle that “true ingenuity was unassuming.” In fact, the only martial arts technique they had that relied on complexity and speed, and that was capable of dazzling and bewitching the eye, was what Xie Xiang used now: “Destroying Gold and Fracturing Jade.”

Xie Xiang was shocked. He thought he’d had an idea of Shen Qiao’s strength after watching him dodge his first two moves. He didn’t expect that reality would so far exceed his expectations. Shen Qiao didn’t try to see with his blurry eyesight. Instead, he simply closed his eyes and listened.

As he talked, he picked Shen Qiao up by the waist and walked towards the inn. Shen Qiao struggled and frowned. “Sect Leader Yan, I can walk by myself…” “Keep moving around,” said Yan Wushi, “and I’ll feed you via lip cup once we get back.” Shen Qiao kept his mouth shut.

But Yan Wushi seemed to find it amusing that Shen Qiao had prepared him an evening snack. He changed the topic and said, all smiles, “A-Qiao is so tender and attentive! If you ever find someone to love, I’m certain you’d be even more caring. Anyone lucky enough to be loved by you must have spent dozens of lifetimes cultivating their good fortune!”

“Please don’t joke around, Sect Leader Yan. The moment I became a Daoist, I resolved to stay unmarried for the rest of my life.”

Yan Wushi held no real position in the court, but he was a close confidant of the Emperor of Zhou, so he’d been given the title of Junior Preceptor of the Crown Prince.

Bian Yanmei entered the shop and asked for two cups of tea, then sat down with Ji Ying to wait. Ji Ying still looked perturbed. “Sir, could we have come too late? What if Master Yan is already inside the city?” “Unlikely,” said Bian Yanmei. “We arrived quite early. It should be fine to wait here a little longer.”

“Relax,” said Bian Yanmei. “If Shizun finds out that you’re not a member of Huanyue Sect, you’ll only be killed, not punished.” Ji Ying startled. “Sir, this lowly one doesn’t understand what you’re saying…” Bian Yanmei smiled thinly. “You’ve imitated Ji Ying’s words and mannerisms very well—you almost could have fooled me.

“Ji Ying respects and fears Shizun, but his fear is stronger. He would never take the initiative to come with me to greet him. You imitated everything else perfectly but missed this one thing.”

No one knew Huo Xijing’s actual age. Perhaps he was around thirty or forty, or perhaps fifty, even sixty. Every once in a while, he’d switch to a new face, and he specifically targeted the young and pretty.

Coldly, Bian Yanmei replied, “Ji Ying followed me for many years, and you skinned off his face and killed him without a second thought. If I don’t avenge him, I’d disgrace my family name!”