Wang Chong realized at once. "The imperial succession is a monumental issue," he remarked.
Lu Yaoniang said, "The Heavenly Empress's only son was secretly raised outside the palace from childhood, and scarcely anyone has ever seen his face. How could he suddenly appear in the jianghu?"
Li Qingge said, "Regardless, I must report this without delay. A moment's hesitation could easily invite disaster."
Su Luo Yan sighed. "When Sister Li submits this report, she is bound to face endless interrogation. In the court and across the realm, who knows how many are praying that this son of the Heavenly Empress meets an early grave."
Wang Chong rubbed his chin, patted Sun Mingke on the shoulder, and said, "Little Brother Sun, you wouldn't happen to be the Empress's son, would you?"
Sun Mingke gaped in astonishment, while all three women gave bitter smiles. Lu Yaoniang said, "Young Master Wang Chong, pray do not utter such treasonous words. The Empress's son is several years older than my junior brother—he is far closer to your age, in fact."
Wang Chong's heart gave a sudden thump. He offered a strained laugh. "I certainly couldn't be the Empress's son. I'm already of age; how could I not know who my own parents were?"
None of them suspected his identity, but having spoken those words, Wang Chong could not help feeling a prickle of unease. He thought to himself, *Just who am I, anyway? I hope I'm not White Chrysanthemum, but I'd better not be any son of the Heavenly Empress either. Wouldn't that be having the fortune of a crown prince, but not the life for it?*
*One ming is destiny; the other is your neck!*
*If I really were her son, I'd petition immediately to be posted to some remote border commandery. Better yet, go overseas to be an offshore prince—the farther from the court, the better. I'd pour everything into amassing troops, building commerce, and swelling the population, getting ready to rebel.*
*Ah, no, that's not right. Carve out an independent warlord domain if there's no opening; rebel if the chance appears.*
Wang Chong pondered for a while, laughing silently to himself. *My luck couldn't possibly be rotten enough to drag me into such a messy storm.*
Though Li Qingge knew Su Luo Yan was right, she could sit still no longer and hurriedly took her leave.
Su Luo Yan inquired about the details of the Western Regions giant from that day. "His stature was so immense, he was thoroughly versed in the Diamond Prajna Palm, and he called himself Tiemole," she said. "He was most likely the second senior brother of the Qingshan Sect. That man ranked seventh among the Thirty-Six Divine Generals of the Western Regions, known as the Diamond Venerable—a fierce fighter expected to advance to the innate realm within a few years.
"The two of you did well not to covet the credit. Otherwise, when the Qingshan Sect came seeking revenge, it would have brought no end of trouble." She paused, then smiled. "Though neither of you would necessarily fear them, either."
Sun Mingke was a disciple of the Dragon-Crowning Daoist, and the name of Taiyi Dao shook the world, every one of his senior brothers formidable. Wang Chong's origins were somewhat elusive, but he undoubtedly hailed from Wudang. Wudang was the foremost sect under heaven, its sect master perched at the very pinnacle of the martial world, and the Empress herself had studied at Wudang. The Qingshan Sect would hardly dare provoke them. Su Luo Yan felt her warning had been rather redundant.
Wang Chong smiled. "Still, I must thank Sister Su for your care."
Su Luo Yan's thoughts turned, and she glanced at Lu Yaoniang before saying, "Little Brother Sun has his senior sister looking after him, so I had no choice but to strain myself to think a little extra on your behalf." There was a faint hint of flirtatious ambiguity in the remark. Wang Chong caught the drift at once and mused, *Turns out I'm quite the catch.*
As the four chatted, Jiang Zhu'er suddenly entered to announce that Lu Zongfeng had come to pay a call.
Su Luo Yan had no wish to meet outside men, and Lu Yaoniang withdrew to keep her company; given her standing, even though Lu Zongfeng was her cousin, it was not entirely proper to mingle freely. Wang Chong took Sun Mingke along to welcome Lu Zongfeng inside.
Lu Zongfeng was brimming with joy. The moment he laid eyes on Wang Chong, he winked and said, "Brother Wang Chong, do you know what fine treasure I found on Tiemole?"
Wang Chong chuckled. "A man from beyond the borders—what good thing could he possess that would catch Brother Lu's discerning eye?"
Lu Zongfeng glanced at Sun Mingke, decided there was no need to exclude this disciple of the Five Absolutes, and grinned. "This item—let alone myself, I doubt even you, Brother Wang, or Little Brother Sun could resist its allure."
Wang Chong and Sun Mingke were both intrigued. Wang Chong laughed. "Brother Lu, why have you suddenly become so coy? Just what is it?"
Lu Zongfeng produced a pair of leg bindings. Wang Chong recognized them as the ones originally wrapped around Tiemole's legs. He wondered, *What could leg bindings have? Could a martial arts manual be hidden inside?*
Lu Zongfeng spread the cloth flat and said, "Even I never expected that Tiemole had actually copied out a secret manual of the Diamond Prajna Palm from memory right onto these bindings."
Wang Chong was indeed astonished. "Why would he carry a martial arts manual on his person?"
Sun Yanqi had likely carried two scripture volumes on himself only because he had chanced upon some miraculous encounter and had nowhere else to store them. Tiemole was a disciple of the Qingshan Sect; carrying a manual on his person instead of keeping it in the sect made no sense.
Lu Zongfeng laughed. "The manual actually provides the reason. Take a look, Brother Wang Chong." He unrolled the bindings to the very end, revealing a line of small characters: *Zhu'er, my son: this is the secret heritage of the Western Regions' Qingshan Sect, named Diamond Prajna, unmatched in fierce, unyielding might beneath the heavens. Your father is not by your side; you must know to strive diligently and cultivate with fervor. When you come of age, your father will surely bring you back to the Qingshan Sect.*
The words were plain, yet they carried the deep, earnest yearning of an aging father. Judging by the tone, however, this son was almost certainly born out of wedlock rather than from a legitimate wife. As for the promise to bring him back in the future, it was likely an empty dream.
Even so, the manual was undeniably authentic. Wang Chong leafed through it, committing the text quietly to memory, and asked, "Brother Lu, have you transcribed a copy for yourself?"
Lu Zongfeng smiled. "Though I will not cultivate it myself, I have certainly made a copy. It can serve as a family heirloom down the line."
Wang Chong grinned. "In that case, I will gladly accept Brother Lu's kind intentions. Slaying White Chrysanthemum this time—a villain who turned out to be a spy from the Western Regions—makes your merit greater even than Brother Qin's, I suspect. Your future prospects are boundless; you must look after us younger brothers more often."
Lu Zongfeng was elated. "Naturally, naturally!"
He then added, "I discovered this while searching the corpse and haven't mentioned it to anyone else. You two may transcribe your own copies, but pray do not speak of it to others."
Wang Chong understood at once and replied, "Beyond the three of us, it shall never reach an eighth ear."
After lingering a brief moment, Lu Zongfeng took his leave in high spirits, his mood thoroughly radiant. Though he had already paid the silver and was preparing the deeds for the Chang'an property, witnessing Wang Chong's exceptional martial arts during the encirclement of Tiemole had made him resolve to invest even more heavily into winning him over. Finding the handwritten copy of the Diamond Prajna Palm on Tiemole's corpse and eagerly presenting it to Wang Chong was meant precisely to draw their bond closer.
As for befriending a young disciple from the Five Absolutes along the way, that was an unexpected bonus.
Wang Chong offered the bindings to Sun Mingke. "Little Brother Sun, you go ahead and transcribe it first."
Sun Mingke shook his head. "Brother Wang Chong, I already read through it just now and memorized the whole thing long ago. There is no need to make extra trouble by writing it down."
Wang Chong was struck speechless for a long beat. He could only pat Sun Mingke on the shoulder and say, "Let me test you."
He skipped around the text, reciting several lines and having Sun Mingke complete them. Sun Mingke matched the verses several times, only to realize that Wang Chong had not looked at the bindings even once. A flush of shame crept over the boy.
... Sun Mingke: *So Brother Wang Chong has a photographic memory too...*
... Wang Chong: *Pull off a little flex, and life feels twice as sweet...*
... Tiemole: *How could you go around handing out the study materials meant for my illegitimate son as gifts to everybody...*
Chapter 44