Inside the cultivation chamber, Zhang Sheng and Su Xuejing discussed mysteries and debated the Dao. Both possessed exceptionally high realms and spoke with blistering speed, wasting not a single breath as they quickly dove into the topic of whether one should cultivate a single sword or ten thousand swords. Each held to her own view, neither able to convince the other.
Such situations were commonplace in doctrinal debates. Generally speaking, when neither could persuade the other, the next step was usually to trade moves—who was superior could be settled with a fight. At present, however, Zhang Sheng was rebuilding her cultivation and could not fight, leaving the two with no choice but to continue their battle of words.
Wei Yuan could see it clearly: the gentler sword cultivators appeared on the surface, the more stubborn they were to the marrow. Su Xuejing maintained a faint smile, yet she refused to yield an inch, meticulously arguing every single sentence with Zhang Sheng. As the debate dragged on, the two had already strayed ten thousand li off topic, yet like two stubborn mules, neither was willing to back down.
Listening from the side, Wei Yuan and Shangguan Qianmo grew drowsy. Wei Yuan produced a weiqi board, and Shangguan Qianmo immediately perked up. The two began playing beside the debaters.
Since Shangguan Qianmo was the guest, she took white and played first. But the instant her stone touched the board, Wei Yuan attached a stone directly against hers.
Shangguan Qianmo flew into a rage and struck back indignantly. The two became locked in tangled combat for some fifty moves before Shangguan Qianmo’s group was ruthlessly wiped out, resulting in her defeat in the opening phase.
Her temper flared instantly, hot blood rushing straight to the crown of her head. She barked, “I was careless just now! That doesn’t count—again!”
The two started another match. Wei Yuan attached a stone directly against hers once more. By the sixtieth move, Shangguan Qianmo lost again.
In the third game, Wei Yuan’s very first move was still an attachment...
In the fourth match, an attachment...
After an untold number of games, Shangguan Qianmo finally reached the end of her patience and shouted, “Stay away from me!”
Wei Yuan obediently shifted his body back, putting some distance between them.
Shangguan Qianmo was so furious she could hardly catch her breath, glaring daggers at Wei Yuan as if itching to pounce and bite him hard.
Fortunately, she at last recognized that the disparity in their weiqi skills was simply insurmountable, so she tossed aside her stones and conceded. Then she said, “Looking at your style of play, it carries the flavor of the Ten Doodle Matches. Did you study that manual?”
Wei Yuan had never expected a moment to show off would present itself like this. He hurried to sit up straight, affecting a bashful look, and said, “You mean that manual... Well, actually, I played those games.”
Shangguan Qianmo had originally intended to ask Wei Yuan for some pointers on the Ten Doodle Matches, but the moment she heard the games had actually been played by him, she suddenly found the Dao of weiqi utterly dull and tasteless. Sword cultivation was much better after all. At least when someone was an eyesore and dared press right up against you, you could cut them down with a single stroke.
Seeing that Zhang Sheng and Su Xuejing’s debate showed no sign of ending, Wei Yuan summoned Feng Tingyu to keep them company. He then departed the main peak, heading south in Qingming to receive the incoming refugees.
A Zhike Town had been specially constructed in southern Qingming, originally serving as a staging post for merchant caravans from the southern state of Zhao before they entered Qingming; only after being inspected would caravans be granted passage.
At present, the southern Zhike Town was bustling with noise and activity. Countless displaced persons had congregated there, and more kept arriving in a steady trickle.
The refugees lingering in the town already numbered over fifty thousand, all gathered in the open ground outside its perimeter.
Wei Yuan had set up ten congee sheds here in one go, providing each person with two meals a day, each consisting of a large bowl of thick congee and a steamed bun. This level of relief distribution was easily three to four times better than that of other provinces and commanderies, if not seven or eight times. Consequently, once the refugees arrived in Qingming, none wanted to leave.
Along the edge of the open ground stood seven or eight desks, each staffed by an educated scholar who registered the refugees on rosters one by one.
Several booming-voiced Dao Foundation cultivators channeled their Dao power, repeatedly shouting, “If you wish to join Qingming, the military is the fastest route! The Lord Military Commissioner has shown exceptional grace, promising that as long as you participate in a single battle, you will be granted soldier status and become Qingming people from then on! After three battles, you become commoners! For those with families, so long as a single Body Casting cultivator in your household enlists, your family will be granted one spot for Dao Foundation training!
People of Qingming receive daily rations!”
As these words were repeated over and over, countless refugees grew interested, crowding around the minor clerks with endless questions. Long queues formed before the registration desks. Seeing the lines stretch out of hand, several cultivators carried over new tables and chairs, preparing to add a dozen more stations.
Refugees registered for military service were gathered in a separate area, assembled and marched off as soon as a company of five hundred was formed. The muster grounds lay just over a dozen yards from the refugee camp, where several massive cauldrons bubbled, full of stewed meat.
Whenever someone was brought over, the cultivator standing by the cauldron would hand them a large steamed bun, break it open, and ladle a scoop of stewed meat inside.
Being close by, the refugees could see it plainly: the cultivator’s ladle held solid, hearty chunks of meat with scarcely any broth. Every fellow who enlisted ate until his mouth glistened with grease and his eyes shone bright.
When Wei Yuan arrived, he found Li Zhi personally overseeing the matter, directing the cultivators in receiving, settling, and diverting the refugees, all in meticulous order.
Wei Yuan walked up to Li Zhi’s side and asked, “Why are you here, Brother Li? Your troops suffered heavy casualties; don't you need to tend to morale?”
Li Zhi replied, “The core of those units consists of Southern Qi veterans. Comforting the men and distributing casualty compensation can be left to my subordinates. These refugees hail from Zhao, and many were relocated from my own domain, so my presence makes it less likely for unrest to break out.”
Sure enough, many refugees who had originally seemed inclined to stir up trouble settled down upon seeing Li Zhi. Many then eagerly enlisted, with only a small portion harboring doubts and remaining on the sidelines. But having come to Qingming, they would not be leaving.
Li Zhi said, “Eighty thousand refugees have now reached Qingming. Only thirty thousand came from Zhao, but more will follow.”
Most of the relocated mortals came from Li Zhi’s domain, as they were the fastest to organize. Masterless refugees, by comparison, moved at a far slower pace.
Apart from Zhao, the wagon convoy Wei Yuan had dispatched toward Jin had set out only recently, and post stations along the route had not yet been established. Bringing people back from Jin would take at least a month.
Yet this recent battle had wiped out two hundred thousand civilians; such a massive deficit had to be replenished as swiftly as possible.
Wei Yuan asked, “What is the stance of Yuyang’s Pacification Commissioner, Cui Shutong?”
Li Zhi replied, “I sent him some gifts, and he accepted them. He neither encourages nor hinders us, leaving us to recruit on our own. Word arrived from Zhao today that another ten thousand or so refugees have been recruited and are currently being sent our way.”
“Recruiting like this will likely be too slow. We must find another way.”
“What are your thoughts?”
Wei Yuan said, “Since you were able to deliver gifts into Cui Shutong’s hands, Brother Li, it means he approves of the matter. How about making another trip and telling him directly that I want to buy refugees?”
Li Zhi did not appear surprised, only asking, “How do you intend to buy them?”
“What price do you think he would accept, Brother Li?”
Li Zhi considered and replied, “Five liang of silver per person, restricted to young and able-bodied men and women—no elderly. Children at one liang each. We cover transportation, food, and lodging along the journey ourselves. In that case, five liang for the purchase price, plus travel expenses borne by us, will likely total around ten liang per person.”
“What if I offset part of it with armor?”
“That would be even better, and we could quote an even higher price.” Li Zhi understood the inner workings of Zhao’s military and civil governance intimately. The armor produced by Qingming was perpetually in short supply. Zhao was currently in an expansionist phase, expanding its army from top to bottom and preparing for a major war against the Mountain Folk; it could absorb as much armor as was available.
Moreover, for every Qingming breastplate Cui Shutong obtained, reselling it to the army would net him thirty liang of immortal silver. Even if he had to share a portion with others, he would still clear at least twenty liang. Thus, even if the valuation on the armor was high, every additional suit meant another tidy profit for him.
Wei Yuan said, “Very well. Let us reckon one breastplate for five hundred refugees.”
Li Zhi looked at the sky and said, “There is no time to lose. I shall set out for Zhao at once.”
Wei Yuan grabbed his arm, however, and said, “Brother Li, this matter will generate a great deal of karmic debt. Once you finish the negotiations and return, do not involve yourself further with the refugees.”
Li Zhi smiled faintly and replied, “My Dao of the Sovereign is best suited to handling karmic debt. Do not worry.”
With that, he ordered a flying boat brought around, boarded it alongside a dharma idol subordinate, and sped directly toward Zhao.
Watching the flying boat vanish beyond the horizon, Wei Yuan sighed inwardly. No matter how formidable Li Zhi’s Dao of the Sovereign might be, it was impossible to completely resolve all karmic debt. Karmic debt was the hardest thing of all to handle; throughout history, countless great figures had walked on eggshells before it, none daring to treat it lightly. Li Zhi’s words were merely meant to set his mind at ease.
Once Li Zhi brought these refugees to Qingming, they would soon be sent onto the battlefield, where many would not survive their very first engagement. The karmic debt generated would be extraordinarily dense.
Though Wei Yuan possessed the Red Lotus Universal Deliverance True Words, everything had its pros and cons. He had a faint premonition that each time he used the true words, he took another step closer to the Arhat, deepening his karmic ties to him and inexplicably spawning thoughts of universally delivering all living beings in his heart.
If he used those true words a few more times, to say nothing of whether those entities from beyond the heavens would track him down, Wei Yuan suspected he might simply take the tonsure and lead a life dedicated to universally delivering all sentient beings.
Chapter 498