On this day, before the red sun had climbed halfway into the sky, the weather was bright and clear. Inside the study, Wei Yuan and Zhang Sheng had already spent two hours on their lessons. The desk before Wei Yuan had long been changed from the initial low table to one fit for an adult. The bookshelves flanking the walls, once completely bare, were now lined with bound volumes. Every book upon those shelves had been written by the master and disciple themselves—one rack belonged to Zhang Sheng, the other to Wei Yuan.
When Zhang Sheng was first rescued, he had possessed nothing to his name beyond the clothes on his back, and the Wei Manor had virtually no books, save for a few almanacs and ledgers. Thus, the texts used for Wei Yuan's initial schooling had all been written out by Zhang Sheng himself. Most of the volumes on Wei Yuan's own shelves were transcriptions of his master's works, done partly to memorize the classics and partly to practice calligraphy; yet among them were a few containing his own genuine thoughts and reflections. At present, however, those few volumes were not on the shelf, but spread out before Zhang Sheng.
Zhang Sheng was leafing through Wei Yuan's essays once more. The room was utterly still, broken only by the sunlight streaming in, which seemed to stir a faint, almost imperceptible hum.
Wei Yuan's prose was naturally unrefined, yet one could already tell the writer possessed ideas of his own, free of conventional molds. What was especially rare was his ability to make his arguments completely self-consistent. Even so, a sharp edge had begun to show through his words, and Zhang Sheng could not tell whether that boded well or ill.
While Zhang Sheng read, Wei Yuan sat upright without moving, still as a statue.
After a moment, Zhang Sheng collected his thoughts and carefully appraised the disciple who had accompanied him day and night for three years. "The three thousand affairs of the mortal world—I have taught them all to you. As for the matters of immortals, you will naturally learn them once you enter a sect to cultivate. Over the past three years, ten hours a day, come rain or shine, I have already imparted to you the core essentials of all I have learned in my life. What remains is nothing more than polishing minor details."
Zhang Sheng paused, then continued solemnly, "Yet you must remember one thing: in mortal affairs, right and wrong are seldom clear-cut. The way of choosing what to grasp and what to yield resides within your own heart. All I have taught you is how to view every angle thoroughly, how to weigh pros and cons, gains and losses. But the final decision must always be yours. This, I cannot teach you, nor can any sage."
Wei Yuan nodded.
Zhang Sheng looked at him, suddenly smiling. "Stand up and let your teacher have a look at you!"
Wei Yuan rose at the command, standing straight as a pine.
Wei Yuan had only just turned six, yet he was already taller than an ordinary farming family's ten-year-old child. His features had opened up, shedding much of their babyishness, gradually revealing the spirited poise of a youth. Yet since childhood, he had been quiet and taciturn, speaking copiously only when debating current affairs and principles with Zhang Sheng.
Zhang Sheng looked Wei Yuan up and down several times and sighed. "When I first met you, you didn't even reach my waist. Now you've already surpassed my shoulder. Time truly flies."
Wei Yuan suddenly bowed deeply. "Teacher's kindness, I shall forever engrave upon my heart!"
Zhang Sheng chuckled and reached out to pat Wei Yuan's head. Wei Yuan was reserved and quiet by nature; to speak so directly was rare indeed. Yet it was precisely for that reason that his words clearly came from the depths of his heart, where silence would no longer suffice.
Still, Wei Yuan was quite tall by now, making the gesture slightly awkward to reach.
Zhang Sheng sighed. "You are a boy cold on the outside but warm within, blessed with fine looks, and fiercely independent of mind. As your teacher, I fear nothing else, only that you might suffer when it comes to matters of the heart. Ah, why am I telling you this? If I didn't stop to think, I would almost forget you are only six.
"That was our final lesson. These three years between master and disciple can be considered complete. Next month is the Immortal Sect Unified Examination. It is held once every five years and must not be missed. When the time comes, I will accompany you to the commandery seat to sit for it. Over the next two days, I need to pack up my writings and reflections from the past three years. You should take a couple of days to play and relax!"
Wei Yuan finally spoke: "...I'll help you pack."
Zhang Sheng smiled. "Very well."
Outside the window, Wei Youcai breathed a long sigh of relief, stooping low as he quietly slipped away with Bald Lao Liu and the steward.
Once they were a few paces away, Wei Youcai patted his thighs, let out a deep breath, and said, "At last, no more squatting by the foot of the wall! Three years! The flesh on this master's legs has turned into iron rods from all that crouching. You two squatted for three years—did you learn anything at all?"
Lao Liu rubbed his bald head. "After hearing about so many mortal affairs, I finally realized that what I thought all along was right. What righteousness is there in this world? It all boils down to one word: fight! Win, and you become emperors, kings, generals, and ministers; lose, and you're just bandits and bleached bones. Simple as that!"
Wei Youcai sighed, then turned to the steward. "And you?"
The steward said with utter composure, "I have gained fresh insights into the immortal art of war I studied in my youth. The military has no constant formation, just as water has no constant shape! If we ever run into those refugees again, why would we even need to defend the manor? Sixth Brother and I could lead a dozen men to shadow their main force, lighting smoke by day and setting fires by night, loosing arrows whenever we feel like it. If they dare chase us, we'd draw them out and hack them down. Who cares if there are thousands of them? In just a few days, they'd be exhausted and scatter on their own."
The bald man snorted in disbelief. "You really studied the immortal art of war? Then how come you hardly recognize a few characters?"
The steward flushed red, arguing back, "My master taught entirely by word of mouth! The Dharma is never passed to a third pair of ears—out of his mouth and into my ears! There was no need to read!"
The bald man sneered. "That cheap teacher of yours probably couldn't read either."
The two bickered for a moment before realizing Wei Youcai had been silent for quite a while. When they looked over, they saw him staring up at the sky, lost in thought.
The steward and the bald man exchanged a glance. "Big Brother, something on your mind?"
Wei Youcai did not lower his head. He merely blinked hard and said, "Nothing. I was just thinking... once Yuan'er enters an immortal sect, who knows when we'll ever see him again."
The steward and the bald man looked at each other, their smiles gone.
The steward tried to comfort him. "I've heard that after cultivating, one's lifespan increases by a great deal. As the saying goes, a day in heaven is a year in the mortal..."
The steward had spoken too quickly; by the time he realized his blunder, the words were already halfway out.
"It's fine. I'm just a bit tired and want to rest in my room. Go about your business." Wei Youcai waved his hand and walked back to his bedchamber alone.
Three days later, just as the sky began to pale, Zhang Sheng and Wei Yuan set out on the road to the commandery seat. Aside from their mounts, there were two ding mules carrying their luggage.
Wei Youcai accompanied them for thirty li before finally agreeing to turn back. Along the way, he had merely walked beside them in silence, speaking very little. When the time came to part, he only waved a hand and turned away.
Come afternoon, Wei Yuan and Zhang Sheng finally left the rugged mountain trails behind and joined the thoroughfare leading to the commandery seat.
This so-called thoroughfare was in truth nothing more than rammed earth, wide enough for only two mule carts abreast. The surface was pitted and bumpy, scarred down the center by four deep ruts that showed years of neglect. Even so, such a road was finer than anything Wei Yuan had ever seen. The mountain paths of Ye County were rugged and treacherous, impassable to carts, and could only be traversed on ding mules; only wealthy families kept donkeys, and even then, only a handful.
Ding mules were short and not particularly swift, moving at roughly the pace of an ordinary walking person. Their virtue lay in their great endurance, their capacity for heavy loads, and their ability to thrive on coarse fodder, which made them widespread throughout mountainous terrain.
Zhang Sheng intended for Wei Yuan to see more of the world beyond the mountains, so he was in no hurry.
Gazing down the road ahead, Zhang Sheng was suddenly moved to sigh. "Twenty years ago, I went to take the Immortal Sect Unified Examination just like you. Back then, your grandmaster picked me out from over twenty candidates at a single glance. And I did not disappoint him, overpowering all the rest—not only taking first place in our commandery, but having no rival across the entirety of Yunzhou. Later, once my cultivation bore fruit, I entered the mortal realm for experiential tempering, thinking I would accomplish great deeds like the seniors before me. Yet I never imagined I would suffer setback after setback, ending up with nothing to show for all these years."
At this point, Zhang Sheng glanced at Wei Yuan and smiled. "Yet now that I have you, these years cannot be considered wasted. Since you are my disciple, the Immortal Sect Unified Examination will be like taking something from your own pocket. If you don't leave second place a hundred thousand li behind, it would tarnish my name. Now, let me tell you of our lineage's Daoist heritage. Though speaking of it early bends the rules, it's no great matter."
He paused, an aura of pride welling up from within him. "Your teacher hails from the Sky Azure Hall of the Palace of Grand Beginning. Once you pass the unified examination, that will also be where you cultivate."
Composed as Wei Yuan usually was, he was startled. "The Palace of Grand Beginning? One of the Four Great Immortal Sects?"
"The foremost of the Four Great Immortal Sects," Zhang Sheng corrected.
Wei Yuan looked at Zhang Sheng with some suspicion. "You told me that in our remote commandery, apart from the Red Tide Sect, usually only one or two third-rank sects come to recruit disciples. The Palace of Grand Beginning sits high above all; why would they ever come here?"
Zhang Sheng had previously explained the basic facts of the Immortal Sect Unified Examination to Wei Yuan. The countless sects that took part in recruiting were divided into four ranks. Fourth-rank sects could only recruit within their own commandery, as was the case with the Red Tide Sect. Third-rank sects were known as blessed lands, permitted to recruit across an entire province; if they occasionally recruited in other provinces, their quotas were strictly limited. Second-rank sects were called grotto-heavens, permitted to recruit nationwide.
Highest of all were the Four Great Immortal Sects, who could recruit across the whole of Great Tang. Yet they stood so high and granted so few disciple spots per session that over the past fifty years, the Four Great Immortal Sects had visited Fengyuan Commandery only three times, offering a mere five spots in total.
Hence Wei Yuan's question.
Yet Zhang Sheng only smiled faintly and said unhurriedly, "Rest assured. While I cannot speak for the other immortal sects, the Palace of Grand Beginning will certainly come. But there is no need to dwell on appearances. You have already received my true teachings; even if someone else possesses superb talent and works exceedingly hard, they might reach at most seventy percent of your level."
After three years of diligent study under Zhang Sheng, Wei Yuan had learned at least one thing: never to trust blindly—and that included Zhang Sheng.
His doubts still unresolved, he pressed further, "Yet I still don't understand. Why would the Palace of Grand Beginning grant our commandery a spot?"
Having finally waited for him to ask, Zhang Sheng said breezily, "Your grandmaster bears the Daoist title Perfected Fenhai, one of the three Perfected of the Sky Azure Hall in the Palace of Grand Beginning. The Patriarch Founder, True Monarch Xuanyue, was the Master of the Sky Azure Hall two hundred years ago. The ancestors value lineage succession above all else; once you enter the Sky Azure Hall, there will certainly be no lack of benefits for you. However, the venerable elder cares greatly about saving face, so during this examination, you must display all you have learned and sweep aside all the rest, so as not to bring shame upon his name."
Wei Yuan listened with half-belief and half-doubt. Did his teacher truly possess such a grand background? Moreover, listening to what lay between Zhang Sheng's lines, it seemed the Palace of Grand Beginning was making an exception to grant a spot solely because he had taken a student in Fengyuan Commandery.
Though Wei Yuan did not know the inner workings of the Palace of Grand Beginning, he had a feeling that Zhang Sheng, as merely the grandson-disciple of a Hall Master, likely lacked the clout to pull off something so monumental.
Who knew how many disciples and grand-disciples True Monarch Xuanyue actually had? History books recorded that back before Northern Qi, there was a prince who loved gathering talent, taking in every sort of person down to thieves and dog-barking tricksters, ultimately amassing three thousand retainers. Cultivators lived long lives; if True Monarch Xuanyue also enjoyed having his disciples spread across the world, his grand-disciples might well exceed three thousand.
Zhang Sheng naturally had no idea Wei Yuan was secretly poking fun at him in his head. Gazing into the distance, his thoughts had already flown to the faraway commandery seat. Just as his spirit was soaring, a sudden flurry of rapid hoofbeats echoed from behind as several riders galloped up on their horses.
The riders were astride ten-foot-tall dark azure warhorses, their iron hooves striking the earth like thunder, exuding an overwhelming, ferocious aura. They seemed pressed by urgent business, galloping at full speed, surging past Zhang Sheng and Wei Yuan like a gale. Their hooves, each as large as the face of a drum, stomped and kicked into the thoroughfare, churning up a massive spray of sand, gravel, and dust that rained down mercilessly upon Zhang Sheng and Wei Yuan!
The road was narrow, and Zhang Sheng could not dodge in time. With his Daoist power sealed, he took the brunt of it square on. All his ethereal, immortal poise and effortless calm were plastered away completely beneath a heavy coat of dirt.
Looking at the crestfallen, dust-caked Zhang Sheng, Wei Yuan suddenly felt that even if the Palace of Grand Beginning truly had granted a spot to Fengyuan Commandery this time, it probably had nothing to do with Zhang Sheng.
Chapter 4