Prohibition

Wei Yuan suddenly felt the entire world grow unfamiliar and bizarre. What on earth was going on? Did Maiden Yin-Yang possess true sentience at this moment, or was it like the Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World—a false sentience born merely from the aggregated calculations of countless minuscule nodes? Wei Yuan hesitated for a moment, then chose to reply: No. With all three questions cleared, Maiden Yin-Yang sent back a thought: *Matches deleted.* Then Maiden Yin-Yang quieted down, stirring no more. Wei Yuan withdrew his consciousness from his sea of consciousness. Seeing the officials before him looking as if a great weight had been lifted from their shoulders, he instantly realized something was amiss, only to find a faint smile gracing his own face. His expression promptly darkened, frightening the officials into stunned silence. "Lord Yuan, why are you still here?" Wei Yuan asked once more. Yuan Qingyan said, "The imperial court had originally issued a transfer order recalling this official to the capital to take up a post in the Ministry of Rites, but this official refused." "Oh?" Wei Yuan was genuinely surprised. With Ningxi incorporated into his own territory, usually any officials of consequence or with well-placed connections would be transferred away. As the governor of a commandery, Yuan Qingyan should have been relocated even if only to an idle sinecure. Why had he chosen to stay behind of his own accord? Wei Yuan glanced over the assembled officials once more. Most were minor functionaries of low rank—the ones who lacked all connections and had been outright abandoned by the court. Unable to scrape together the funds needed to buy a reassignment, they had no choice but to remain. Wei Yuan exchanged a few words with the officials. As he spoke, he found his own words hollow and devoid of substance. The officials responded with great enthusiasm, yet their words were just as empty, draining all interest from the exchange. Unwilling to waste any more time, Wei Yuan simply drove the gaggle of minor officials out. Evidently there was a reason these petty officials remained low in rank and influence—they couldn't even flatter someone on cue. By contrast, Niu Jinbao and his fellow magistrates operated on a vastly higher level. Every time they met, they allowed Wei Yuan to fully appreciate the joy of holding a meeting; by now, even Cui Yu and the others thoroughly enjoyed convening with them. Once only Yuan Qingyan remained, Wei Yuan said, "Speak. Why did you choose to stay?" Yuan Qingyan took on a solemn expression and said, "First, I heard that Qingming possesses methods to elevate one's Dao Foundation. On an impulse that day, I performed a divination and learned that my path in the Dao is tied to Qingming. Remaining here might allow me to take another step forward—perhaps even enter the Myriad Transformations Realm. "Second, I am a solitary minister in the imperial court, and I bungled my recent assignment here. Going back would mean being shelved in some idle post. This assignment to the Ministry of Rites would have had me guarding ceremonial vessels—to put it bluntly, a glorified warehouse watchman opening the doors three times a year. I cannot bear to let my entire life go to waste like that. By staying with your lordship, I at least have a chance to forge a future through my own abilities." "You truly know how to bend and unbend as circumstances require, Lord Yuan." Yuan Qingyan smiled wryly. "To tell Lord Wei the truth, I have simply run out of options. Surely I cannot resign to become a rogue cultivator, or become some wealthy squire waiting around to die?" "Could you not pull some strings in the capital to secure a post?" "I've long since offended everyone there—where would I find an actual opening? The only remaining path was to take to the battlefield. But compared to Lord Wei, this official's grasp of military strategy is hardly worth mentioning. On the battlefield, I am no match for enemy dharma idols either; without someone looking out for me, I would easily perish." Yuan Qingyan's words were true enough. Back when Wei Yuan was only at the Dao Foundation realm, Yuan Qingyan had already been no match for him. His ascent to the dharma idol realm had relied mostly on sheer luck; among cultivators of that rank, his combat strength was inferior even to Old Daoist Chuhe without his big brother. On a true battlefield, he could easily be slain in an instant by a formidable enemy dharma idol. Still, Yuan Qingyan was a dharma idol cultivator after all, and not without his uses. Qingming was expanding rapidly and needed manpower everywhere. After a moment of contemplation, Wei Yuan said, "In that case, focus on doing your duties with peace of mind, and I shall see how to arrange things for you going forward. Oh, right—before long, you should be able to reunite with your family." Seeing that Yuan Qingyan showed little joy at the prospect, Wei Yuan found it somewhat odd. Yuan Qingyan did not hide the truth either, saying, "Truth be told, this official has newly wed four concubines, all of whom are currently pregnant. Besides that, this official has five illegitimate sons living ordinary lives on the outside, unknown to anyone else. Those few back home possess mediocre talent anyway; whether they return or not hardly matters." Only after asking a few more questions did Wei Yuan realize Yuan Qingyan had long guarded against enemies targeting his kin, and had thus severed his emotional attachments, harboring little feeling toward them. Last time, the moment Wei Yuan sent men to seize his family, Yuan Qingyan immediately took two concubines, who were now nearing their delivery date. Such a response had completely blindsided Wei Yuan, turning what he had thought to be ruthless leverage into nothing, and giving him a whole new perspective on these imperial court officials. Having settled matters with Yuan Qingyan, Wei Yuan left the governor's manor and headed for the Xu family's mansion. It had been quite some time since he last visited, making this something of a return to familiar grounds. As noon approached, Xu Jingfeng hosted a banquet, joined by Sun Chao'en and Xu Xi. The guests had long since taken their seats, waiting solely for Wei Yuan. After taking his seat, Wei Yuan smiled and said, "Lord Xu, if you wished to see me, a simple summons would have sufficed. I visit Bianning Commandery frequently, so meeting would have been easy enough." Xu Xi hurriedly stood up and said, "What are you saying, Lord Wei? This official should have come to pay his respects long ago! In the past, this official was ignorant; only now do I realize that it was your lordship's gracious mercy that allowed me to pull myself out of the mire. I came this time specifically to express my gratitude—a humble gift, unworthy of your esteem." Right at the table, he pushed a gift box across. Wei Yuan was not one to stand on ceremony; taking it and glancing inside, he found ten thousand liang of immortal silver. With the gift accepted, the mood at the banquet grew considerably warmer, and the four chatted and laughed freely. After sitting for roughly the time it took to finish a cup of tea, Wei Yuan rose to take his leave, and Sun Chao'en followed him out. Xu Xi had come this time because his transfer had finally been approved, freeing him from wasting away in his post as governor of Bianning Commandery. Over this period, the family fortune he had amassed over many years had been nearly exhausted, to the point where he could barely afford a present for Wei Yuan. His primary reason for presenting the gift was the fear that some mishap might befall him on his journey away from his post. After all, the horse bandits of the Western Regions were terrifyingly formidable; this would not be the first time he had been mauled into severe injury. Once Xu Xi departed, Sun Chao'en would naturally be promoted to commandery governor. This time, he had come to discuss establishing relay stations within the commandery with Wei Yuan to accommodate merchant caravans and displaced refugees. Moreover, commandery governor was not Sun Chao'en's ultimate destination; he aimed to climb even higher, and now was the time to plan. For an official seeking promotion, the standard criteria were military merit, ensuring the populace lived and worked in peace, and increasing grain taxes. The other crucial element was having enough silver on hand to grease the right wheels. As for the plans for Bianning Commandery, Wei Yuan already had clear ideas. At present, many within the commandery wanted to abandon grain farming in favor of sericulture, something Wei Yuan strictly forbade. Thus, he agreed with Sun Chao'en that grain fields were not to be touched in the slightest. With grain, paying the court's taxes would pose no problem. All that remained was immortal silver. Sun Chao'en turned his sights toward military funding. Bianning Commandery was garrisoned as a frontier army, with a quota of twenty thousand troops for the commandery, though only seven thousand actually occupied the barracks at present. Sun Chao'en planned to use the entirety of the military funds to purchase armor and weapons from Wei Yuan, and then resell the surplus to other regions. A breastplate produced by Qingming cost only one liang of immortal silver to manufacture, yet could easily fetch twenty to thirty liang elsewhere. Allocating a portion of the goods to Sun Chao'en would allow him to amass a fortune in immortal silver while also bringing the troop numbers up to full strength. By the time Wei Yuan boarded his carriage, the two had settled all affairs regarding Bianning Commandery, and Wei Yuan set off back to Qingming. At this very moment, deep within the Wu domain, several Shamans stood atop an immense, colossal tree stump. One of them turned his back to the others, gazing up into the sky. Several Shamans conversed rapidly in clipped tones. One of them said, "The new weapons used by the humans are exceedingly formidable. Once they reach a certain number, they produce a dense hail of bullets that our warriors simply cannot charge through." "Their usage rate of armor and heavy shields is very high. Our crossbow bolts have little effect; they need to be redesigned." "The humans have also introduced a new weapon known as a cannon. However, its range is very short; our marksmen can pick off their gunners." "The blood curse remains effective, but a great deal of it is negated by the domain's power. We need to develop a new blood curse." The Shamans discussed incessantly, proposing one scheme after another, discarding some, accepting others, and swiftly refining them. At that moment, the Shaman who had remained silent all along suddenly spoke: "Do not forget his Dusk of the Immortal Path. Prepare the Heaven and Earth Prohibition. This time, proscribe: firearms!"