A sudden chill ran down the woman's spine.
"Does Master mean Qi Shiyun is intentionally letting you live?"
"If they brought me to justice so easily, how could the might of the Nine Heavens intimidate all of Jiangzhou? As long as I remain uncaptured, the Nine Heavens has an excuse to ride roughshod over Jiangzhou, sweeping through its officialdom and jianghu."
Knowing others was wisdom; knowing oneself was true enlightenment.
Clearly, Thousand Faces was a man of keen self-awareness.
The woman was reluctant to accept this. "Is the Nine Heavens not afraid of nursing a tiger that will turn on them?"
"The Nine Heavens is too powerful. Arrogance is an inevitable flaw, and it is also your master's only real chance to surpass Heavenly Sword."
Thousand Faces spoke quite placidly, without the slightest annoyance at being underestimated. "We should rejoice that the Nine Heavens is arrogant, internally divided, and deliberately making mistakes. Otherwise, we wouldn't have a single chance. The strongest fortresses are usually eaten away from within by termites. Disciple, the task I give you is to lie low in the academy and bide your time to join the Nine Heavens—ideally becoming Qi Shiyun's confidante. For now, do not approach Heavenly Sword. The gap between you is too vast, and I fear you will give yourself away."
"This disciple understands."
"Also, conduct a thorough investigation into the young man walking alongside Qi Shiyun," Thousand Faces instructed.
"Master, his name is Lianshan Xin, and he has a close relationship with Kong Ningyuan. Normally, he would have joined the academy through Kong Ningyuan's recommendation."
The woman surprisingly already knew about Lianshan Xin.
Hearing her words, Thousand Faces remembered as well. "It is him. I recall Ningyuan recommending him to me, and I agreed to it. But now that disaster has struck me, he shouldn't have had any chance left to enter the academy."
"Perhaps the Kong clan discovered Chairman Qu's suspicious dealings and tipped off Lianshan Xin, using his hands to clear their clan of any ties to our Sacred Cult," the woman surmised.
Thousand Faces pondered for a moment, then gave a slight nod.
He found this entirely reasonable.
"Master, Lianshan Xin's father is a physician of modest renown in Jiangzhou City. Would you like him to examine your injuries?" the woman suggested.
"No need. My injury can only be cured immediately by a Thousand-Year Snow Lotus. Otherwise, I can only rely on prolonged meditation in secluded cultivation and a great deal of time to recover. There are no good alternatives, and an ordinary miracle doctor is powerless to help."
Thousand Faces had no inkling that at this very moment, he was astonishingly close to a Thousand-Year Snow Lotus.
"If Lianshan Xin has gained Qi Shiyun's favor, you might be able to use him to get closer to her," Thousand Faces advised.
The woman nodded. "This disciple will exercise proper discretion."
"Then that will be all for today."
"Master, how should this disciple contact you?"
"Do not contact me unless necessary. If there is an important matter, I will reach out to you myself. If you find yourself with an unavoidable reason to contact me, go pray to the Buddha at Donglin Temple on Mount Kuang, and place the intelligence beneath the prayer mat."
The woman was both startled and delighted. "Master, the Sacred Cult still has ties to Mount Kuang? Could the reclusive expert who rescued you in the academy that day have come from Mount Kuang?"
The undisputed leader of Jiangzhou's jianghu was Bailudong Academy, but Jiangzhou boasted another sacred martial ground: Mount Kuang.
Mount Kuang harbored six religious traditions within a single mountain, a rarity under heaven.
Even more remarkable, one of the Nine Heavens—the contemporary Celestial Master—had emerged from Mount Kuang.
Rumors in the jianghu held that immortals resided on Mount Kuang. The Celestial Master was merely one of its masters, not the entirety of them, and perhaps not even the highest among them.
The woman knew even more inside information than outsiders. She knew that Thousand Faces had managed to escape from beneath Heavenly Sword's blade not only because of his own terrifying strength, but also due to the aid of a mysterious expert.
It was precisely that mysterious expert's sudden appearance—blocking Heavenly Sword's deadliest strike and snapping Heavenly Sword's divine blade—that had granted Thousand Faces the chance to flee with his life.
Heavenly Sword had not dared to pursue any further.
She simply did not know who that mysterious expert truly was.
Thousand Faces glanced at her and warned, "Do not ask about what does not concern you."
The woman immediately took heed and bowed her head in apology. "This disciple overstepped. Please punish me, Master."
Thousand Faces offered no punishment, nor was there any sound.
When the woman looked up, she found that Thousand Faces had long since vanished like a bird into the vast sky.
Staring at the empty seat across from her, her heart churned with intricate emotions.
"The situation in Jiangzhou is growing more and more chaotic."
Bailudong Academy, the Nine Heavens, Mount Kuang, the Demon Cult... She was ensnared in this tangled chessboard, with no idea how to break free.
"Things have come to this. A pawn across the river can only take it one step at a time."
***
Meanwhile, matters were far more delightful on Lianshan Xin's side.
"Young Master Xin, we've struck it rich! We've made a fortune this time!"
Du Jiu and Qi Wenbin could hardly keep their composure.
Those who had never experienced sudden wealth could scarcely understand how they felt.
Lianshan Xin could understand, because today, he was one of the newly rich himself.
Even so, he did his best to keep his greed in check.
"Split it half and half. Half to take, half to leave. Brother Jiu, Brother Qi, pick out whatever you need first, and then distribute the rest to the brothers."
"Young Master Xin, what about you?" Du Jiu asked.
Lianshan Xin spoke the plain truth: "I've already taken mine."
Qi Shiyun had personally handpicked them for him.
They were all fine items he would need over the long road ahead, along with gold, silver, and jewels that would always be useful.
And, of course, the priceless Thousand-Year Snow Lotus, which was useless to him directly.
Lianshan Xin had Qi Wenbin and Du Jiu take charge of distributing the money. He did not oversee it in person because he had a far more important matter:
Going home to visit his parents!
Half an hour later.
Lianshan Xin returned to his family's courtyard in the rear.
He made straight for his parents' room.
"Mother, how are you feeling? Are you any better?"
At that moment, Lianshan Jingcheng was spoon-feeding medicine to He Miaojun.
Seeing her son return, He Miaojun's eyes instantly brightened. "Did you fail to get into Bailudong Academy?"
Lianshan Xin grinned. "Mother, our family is rich now."
He Miaojun's eyes visibly dimmed.
Lianshan Jingcheng caught the real point. "You successfully entered Bailudong Academy?"
"Of course. I'm your son—how could I fail at such a small task?" Lianshan Xin said with confidence.
Lianshan Jingcheng said, "...It would be wonderful if you truly took after me. Sigh, who knows if this is a blessing or a curse."
"Definitely a curse."
"Definitely a blessing."
He Miaojun and Lianshan Xin spoke at the same instant.
Lianshan Xin pulled out an exquisitely wrapped gift box and said to He Miaojun with an air of mystery, "Mother, I brought you a gift. Guess what's inside?"
"What could it be? Don't tell me it's an admission letter from Bailudong Academy?"
Still recovering from her serious illness, He Miaojun had no interest in anything other than the prospect of Lianshan Xin not being admitted to Bailudong Academy.
Lianshan Jingcheng, however, sprang up from his stool.
He even knocked the medicine bowl to the floor, shattering it.
"Little Xin, this is..."
Lianshan Jingcheng's voice and gaze were brimful of disbelief.
Lianshan Xin was somewhat taken aback. "Father, your medical skill is even higher than I thought."
Qi Shiyun cultivated immortality, so her senses were extraordinarily acute, allowing her to recognize the Thousand-Year Snow Lotus right away; Lianshan Xin could understand that.
For Lianshan Jingcheng to guess that it was a Thousand-Year Snow Lotus right through the box genuinely impressed Lianshan Xin.
It seemed his father had not lacked effort, only the right direction. Truly, studying medicine cannot save the Great Yu.
Just as Lianshan Xin was musing on this, Lianshan Jingcheng cried out in joyful surprise, "It really is a hundred-year Tianshan snow lotus! Wife, your illness can be cured! For the coming year, you won't have to suffer any longer!"
Lianshan Xin: "...Father, I take back what I just thought."
Cultivating immortality was indeed the only path with a bright future.
Qi Shiyun had recognized the snow lotus's exact quality in an instant.
Lianshan Jingcheng's imagination simply wasn't bold enough.
Facing his own parents, Lianshan Xin dropped the suspense and opened the gift box directly.
"Mother, you gave birth to me and raised me for eighteen years through so much hardship. Now your son is grown, and this is the first great gift I repay you with."
Placing the Thousand-Year Snow Lotus into Lianshan Jingcheng's hands, Lianshan Xin beamed like a boy waiting for praise. "Father, tell Mother—just how many years has this snow lotus matured?"
Lianshan Jingcheng's eyes reddened in an instant.
A moment later, tears broke through like a burst dam.
"A th-thousand... a thousand years..."
"What?"
He Miaojun sat bolt upright in bed.
"Husband, say that again?"
Lianshan Jingcheng did not answer.
He hurried into the front hall, shut the main doors of Huichun Hall, and locked them.
Then he returned to the rear courtyard and locked the bedroom door securely.
Only then did he fix his eyes intently on the Thousand-Year Snow Lotus.
"White as snow, emitting a rare fragrance, and bearing twenty-nine petals. A Thousand-Year Snow Lotus—there is no mistake."
He Miaojun drew a deep breath.
"Little Xin, what is going on?"
Lianshan Xin did not wish to explain, nor did he answer her directly. Instead, he turned to Lianshan Jingcheng. "Father, you told me that as long as we had a Thousand-Year Snow Lotus, Mother's illness could be cured. Is that true?"
"It is true."
Lianshan Jingcheng's voice was low, but the excitement and conviction running through it were palpable to Lianshan Xin.
"Then that's all that matters. Father, I leave the rest to you."
"No, where did this Thousand-Year Snow Lotus come from? His Majesty has been searching the entire world for a Thousand-Year Snow Lotus to treat the Crown Prince! Little Xin, how did you get your hands on it? Does anyone else know? Concealing this is a capital crime worthy of exterminating our entire clan! No matter how wise His Majesty may be, he will never tolerate such a thing!"
He Miaojun's tone was stern.
Yet neither Lianshan Xin nor Lianshan Jingcheng was swayed.
Lianshan Xin asked with a smile, "Father, are you afraid of a capital crime that could exterminate our whole clan?"
Lianshan Jingcheng gritted his teeth. "What I fear most is your mother being beyond cure."
"Then that settles it. Even if our clan is exterminated, our whole family will be together, neat and intact. Mother, lie back down. Father is the head of this household—there's no need to put on airs here. In this matter, my father has the final say."
"That's right, I have the final say."
Lianshan Jingcheng swiftly formed a united front with Lianshan Xin.
"Little Xin, keep an eye on your mother. Don't let her do anything foolish. I'll go prepare the medicine right now."
Delays breed trouble.
A Thousand-Year Snow Lotus was simply too precious.
He did not want to wait a single moment longer.
Lianshan Xin naturally had no objections.
"Father, go tend to your work. Leave Mother to me. Even if the heavens fall, I won't allow her to leave this room."
Knowing how deeply He Miaojun loved him and how she had always feared trouble, Lianshan Xin was certain she would insist he return the Thousand-Year Snow Lotus wherever he had taken it from.
But that was impossible.
After Lianshan Jingcheng left the room, Lianshan Xin sat by the bed, took He Miaojun's hand, and said smugly, "Mother, doesn't your son seem pretty promising?"
He Miaojun's eyes reddened as well.
"Even an inner-courtyard woman like me, who rarely shows her face in public, knows the Crown Prince needs a Thousand-Year Snow Lotus. How could you not know?"
Lianshan Xin shrugged. "I don't know the Crown Prince. You are my mother."
"He is the Crown Prince."
"Even if it were His Majesty himself, he wouldn't be more important than my mother."
Lianshan Xin spoke with total conviction.
Having lived two lives and received an education from his former country and party, how could he ever place a feudal emperor above his own parents?
No matter how wise that emperor might be, it made no difference.
Yet in this era, such thinking was treasonous and shook the very foundation of their worldview.
"Little Xin, if you presented the Thousand-Year Snow Lotus to the court, you would enjoy glory and riches for a lifetime—not to mention the Qi Condensation Pill you've always wanted."
"I pursue glory and wealth for myself, and also so that you and Father won't be bullied by others in the future. Mother, your health comes before anything else. Besides, even without this Thousand-Year Snow Lotus, your son will still have plenty of opportunities."
"Just how did you get your hands on it?"
"The background is complicated, so don't ask. In short, I will do everything I can to handle it properly. If I can't, then our whole family will face the consequences together—just don't blame me when the time comes."
Lianshan Xin laid it bare without a shred of hesitation.
Exasperated, He Miaojun gave him a hard smack.
Then she suddenly threw her arms around him and held him tight.
"Little Xin, your mother hasn't doted on you in vain."
Lianshan Xin said softly, "Mother, you and Father still have to grow old together, and I have yet to take a wife and have children. You must get well. Our family's best days are still ahead."
"We must all be well."
"We will."
It was a promise neither of them had the certainty to guarantee.
Yet once an adult made a promise, they had to strive with all their might to fulfill it.
Chapter 17