Promoted by Half a Rank

The former Military Commissioner of Dingxi of Western Jin, an official of the regular second rank, current Military Commissioner of Qingyang of Great Tang, and Participant in the Hall of Political Affairs of Western Jin, Wei Yuan, was promoted by half a rank. He was now an official of the junior first rank in Western Jin, concurrently holding the regular third rank of Great Tang. Yet before the imperial decree of investiture could even be mounted and delivered, Wei Yuan had already left the posthouse and hurriedly fled Yingdu. In just a few days in Yingdu, Wei Yuan received over seventeen hundred calling cards from all sorts of people. There were even several local gang bosses who wanted to swear allegiance to him as their big boss. Naturally, one couldn't acknowledge a big boss empty-handed—they had all prepared "elder sisters-in-law" for him. Over those few days, Wei Yuan had to attend ten-odd banquets a night, changing venues every hour, eating from dusk till the early morning. Some meals simply couldn't be skipped—such as those hosted by the Left and Right Prime Ministers, the Ministers of the Six Ministries, the Grand Academicians, Lü Zhongzhi, and various Grand Secretaries. Princes and princesses had to wait in line behind them. Some meals he hadn't wanted to attend at first, but ended up having to eat anyway. For instance, Wei Yuan had eight dinners with princesses alone, gaining a whole jin in the process. And that was just dining with those aged seventeen and above; had time permitted, he likely would have had to eat with the princesses aged fourteen and above as well. Under Tang rites, men and women were eligible to marry at twelve. In truth, dining with the princesses had little practical significance, so Wei Yuan stayed for only thirty minutes each. It was mostly to show respect to the royal house of Great Jin, certainly not because each princess was uniquely beautiful in her own way. Besides, no matter how lovely Western Jin's princesses were, none could compare to Princess Ningguo of Great Zhao. As for the princes, Wei Yuan refused to see a single one. His stance was crystal clear: he would not involve himself in the succession struggle. However, when he reached the sixth of the eight princesses, Consort Yuan sent someone to summon him to Chunhua Hall. Wei Yuan promptly declined on the pretext of having his hands full. At this moment, Chunhua Hall was a place one dare not enter—there were at least seven or eight Dharma Idol cultivators from the Palace of Grand Beginning permanently stationed inside, plus Zhu Yuanjin. If Wei Yuan didn't go, Chunhua Hall was a battlefield of smoke and friction. After contending with the Palace of Grand Beginning cultivators for several days, Consort Yuan had surprisingly drawn Ji Liuli, Feng Tingyu, and Sun Yu to her side. Bao Yun was gradually falling into the disadvantage, frequently lashing out at the traitors for having no loyalty to fellow disciples. If Wei Yuan did go, they would immediately unite to gang up on him; even those who didn't join in would watch with grinning amusement. Patriarch Yuanjin would just sit by, watching the real-life drama unfold and sipping a cup or two of wine. Turning the matter over in his mind, Wei Yuan felt he truly could not stay any longer. Western Jin's national defenses were empty right now. Two million troops were on the northern border, nine hundred thousand were in the south holding off the state of Zhao, the royal capital's hundred thousand Imperial Guards were royal relatives and nobility, and most of the two hundred thousand city defense troops existed only on paper, mere decorations when real fighting began. With Wei Yuan's army of more than two hundred thousand having one foot inside the city and one foot outside, "cleansing the court of corrupt officials" was something he could do on a whim. Consequently, the officials were on pins and needles, acting around Wei Yuan as if seeing their own fathers. After all, if they handled things poorly, they might end up diving headfirst into a cesspool. Wei Yuan had enough of this life after just a few days and began to miss the carefree ease of gathering chaotic qi in the void. Thus, unable to wait for the imperial edict, he led his army out of the capital and headed back toward Qingming. The return route was far more direct and vastly faster. After all, the commanderies along the way had already been stripped almost bare; there was virtually no grease left on the ground, and the gavels in the magistrate yamens were all brand-new. Wei Yuan did not idle on the journey back. Every so often, he left behind several thousand armed laborers, scattering them across various places to round up displaced refugees and lead them slowly toward Qingming. With the Crown Prince destroyed, the merchant firms and guilds of Ningxi's eight commanderies were terrified into silence. None dared utter a word about seeking vengeance against Wei Yuan; even if their own fathers had been killed, they acted as though nothing had happened. These merchants had finally realized that they possessed nothing more than fleeting wealth. The few so-called high cultivators they hired were utterly useless in true large-scale clashes—they couldn't even defeat horse bandits. Back when the horse bandits raided the auction assembly, they had slaughtered over a hundred Dao Foundation bodyguards in one breath and captured two Dharma Idols alive. The remaining four hundred Dao Foundation bodyguards surrendered on the spot, while the horse bandits suffered only a dozen or so casualties. The bodyguards were a loose sheet of sand; how could they possibly rival an army acting in formation? Before Wei Yuan even reached Hanyang Pass, news came that several missing merchant caravans had all been found by kindhearted souls and delivered to Qingming. These good Samaritans displayed exemplary nobility and refused any reward. The army wound its way westward, arriving at Hanyang Pass before long. As was his custom, Wei Yuan bypassed the city. Just then, a messenger flew over to report that an old acquaintance was waiting on the gate tower of Hanyang Pass's west gate, inviting Wei Yuan over for a talk. Wei Yuan promptly took to the air, flying alone toward Hanyang Pass. Watching Wei Yuan's departing figure, the army below felt deep admiration and pride. They believed their Realm Lord was peerlessly valiant, always going alone into the fray and never knowing the meaning of fear. The red sun tilted westward. Bathed in the sunset, the majestic pass tower of Hanyang Pass held a distinct bleakness. Upon the ancient city tower, not even the passage of time could conceal the scars left by war. There were no defending soldiers on the tower, only a table of wine with two people seated beside it. Wei Yuan flew over and took a seat, discovering they truly were old acquaintances: one was Xu Lanshan, the other Prince Ying. Wei Yuan bowed to Prince Ying and said, "I did not know Your Highness was here as well. Forgive my breach of etiquette. How is the military situation in the north?" After not seeing him for many days, Prince Ying's face bore far more weathered wear, his brows furrowed involuntarily. Though his aura remained majestic, it was clear his heart was weighed down by heavy worries. Prince Ying said, "I came to seek aid from the Xu family, and happened to hear you would be passing by, so I came to meet you. Heh, after seeing your army's martial qi, though I have led troops for many years, I find myself outmatched. The Crown Prince did not lose unjustly." Xu Lanshan showed a rare smile. Having not smiled for so long, it was somewhat unnatural as she said, "There are eighty thousand displaced refugees in the city. You may take them." Wei Yuan was somewhat surprised. That hadn't been the Xu family's attitude in the past. Xu Lanshan said, "By ruining the Lu clan's schemes and throwing Lu Changhe into flustered disarray, you made the Immortal Ancestor very pleased. He plans to push north with full force and has instructed that here in the west, we can cooperate more." Wei Yuan was stunned. "Was it really that serious?" He knew that both the Crown Prince and the Prince of Wei had the Lu clan behind them, but he hadn't anticipated that making a single move to bring down the Crown Prince would actually leave Lu Changhe flustered and overwhelmed. Wei Yuan had harbored no intention of targeting the Lu clan, much less gratuitously offending an immortal. In his original plans, he had wanted to ally with the Lu clan to balance against the Xu family, while relying on the Ji, Zhao, and Cui families to balance against the state of Zhao, quietly developing in the cracks and waiting for the Palace of Grand Beginning's northern mountain gate to break the deadlock. Yet now the situation seemed completely reversed: it had turned into allying with the Xu family to strike at the Lu clan together. Beyond his surprise, Wei Yuan could only sigh at how mysteriously inscrutable the moves of immortals were. Until one reached that realm, it was ultimately impossible to comprehend the true relations between them. Still unwilling to let it rest, Wei Yuan confirmed once more, "A mere Crown Prince had that much value?" Xu Lanshan took out an immortal sword, laid it on the table, and drew it three inches from its scabbard. Instantly, the space within three zhang blurred between illusion and reality, sealed off from this realm. As the blade was unsheathed, a tiny white flood dragon leaped out, circled in the air once, and scrutinized Wei Yuan like a living creature. This sword was a genuine immortal artifact. Having likely accompanied an immortal for years, it had gained sentience and had been tempered sharp. Wei Yuan's Scarlet Night Immortal-Slaying Sword, on the other hand, could still only be described as a sword embryo. The foundation was ample, but it still lacked polishing, and it required an opportune moment to birth a true sword spirit—much like the demonic blade Qiyue—before it could truly be called an immortal weapon. "Now that this sword is unsheathed, certain things can be spoken," Xu Lanshan said, turning her gaze toward Prince Ying. Prince Ying gave a sigh. "It is rather disgraceful to speak of this matter, but given its gravity, it is best that Young Friend Wei knows." Seeing Prince Ying so solemn, a strong sense of foreboding rose in Wei Yuan's heart.