"Little brother, joining the academy right now really isn't a good choice for you. If you join now, you'll be facing a major decision. And since it's through my recommendation, your position is even more awkward. The Heavenly Sword will find it hard to trust you, and even if he does, every step you take will be difficult. Plenty of people can't touch the Heavenly Sword, but dealing with you is nothing to them."
Kong Ningyuan's warning this time was rather blunt.
But even without the warning, Lianshan Xin could see it for himself.
Clearly, Kong Ningyuan belonged to the camp of Jiangzhou's established clans and the old Bailudong Academy faction, standing at odds with the Nine Heavens.
And Lianshan Xin wanted the Heavenly Sword's favor, which plainly meant he wanted to join the Nine Heavens camp.
That put the two of them on opposite sides. Kong helping him would be like handing supplies to the enemy.
Lianshan Xin saw it differently. "Brother Kong, nothing in this world is wholly 'the other side,' and nothing is wholly 'this side.' I've been reading histories, and I've noticed that the clans which endure for a thousand years do so because they place their different bets on different factions. If I join the Nine Heavens, then you've formed a bond of goodwill with the Nine Heavens. If you've formed a bond of goodwill with the Nine Heavens, then the Kong clan has formed a bond of goodwill with the Nine Heavens. No matter who wins, in the end the Kong clan cannot lose."
Once again, Kong Ningyuan's eyes showed appreciation before he could stop them. "You have a real way with books, little brother. But the risks I mentioned didn't come out of thin air."
"I know. But glory and wealth that come without risking your life—how would those ever land on my head?"
Lianshan Xin smiled at himself, and the two of them dropped the subject.
Kong Ningyuan might be the son of an established clan, but he could still put himself in another's place. With Lianshan Xin's birth, there was no way he could have Kong's ease. Spotting an opportunity and staking everything on it was the only road open to him.
Kong Ningyuan only said, "I will do my best to keep you safe, little brother."
Lianshan Xin answered just as seriously: "I don't need to do a thing. As long as I join the Nine Heavens, everyone will know it was Brother Kong who recommended me."
The two exchanged a smile; everything was understood without a word.
Though both were still commoners without office, each saw promise in the other's future. This was an alliance made in advance, each serving as the other's political resource.
One who cannot plan for ten thousand ages cannot plan for a single hour.
"Brother Kong, what's the situation inside the academy now?" Lianshan Xin asked.
Kong Ningyuan sighed with feeling. "Hearts are restless. Some people are even fearing for themselves. Especially after the Heavenly Sword halted all recommendations for this year—it isn't just the academy. Every major clan in Jiangzhou has grown wary."
Lianshan Xin nodded.
He understood.
Students recommended into Bailudong Academy came in two kinds: those with backing, and those with exceptional backing.
Those without backing could only grind miserably through the examinations; the road of recommendation was never open to them at all.
Halting recommendations meant making enemies of all that backing.
But the Heavenly Sword had done it anyway.
Because the Nine Heavens was bigger backing still.
And the Nine Heavens was politically correct right now.
"Then it looks like the Nine Heavens really does mean to turn the blade inward this time—and it has both the ability and the resolve to turn that intent into action. Brother Kong, if I were you, I'd leave the academy as soon as possible and go take office in Shenjing."
"Don't think I don't want to, but I'm a suspect now too. A major suspect." Kong Ningyuan let out a long sigh. "If you really can win the Heavenly Sword's favor, little brother, I'm counting on you to clear my name."
"I'll do my best."
Lianshan Xin had never seen Kong Ningyuan's past dealings with the Demon Cult, but his innate ability was no full-map cheat; he didn't know everything. If even a merchant like Chairman Qu could be a member of the Demon Cult, then Kong Ningyuan, disciple of the Vice Headmaster, was certainly a major suspect.
But none of that mattered.
Lianshan Xin just needed an opportunity.
And as for Kong Ningyuan's innocence?
The right to decide who counted as a member of the Demon Cult lay with the Nine Heavens.
Having lived two lives, Lianshan Xin was already quite mature. He understood one thing: the truth wasn't all that important. What mattered most was how the people above saw it.
…
A short while later, the carriage stopped at the foot of Houping Mountain, at the southern base of Five Elders Peak.
Bailudong Academy was ringed by three mountains with a single stream running through, free of marketplace clamor and rich in springs and remarkable stones.
The scenery needed no describing, but neither Lianshan Xin nor Kong Ningyuan had the mind to admire it now.
"The Heavenly Sword should be in the Imperial Library Pavilion at this hour. Follow me."
Lianshan Xin walked at Kong Ningyuan's side without saying much, only watching him greet the other students they passed with easy familiarity and meet their scrutiny with perfect composure. Faint snatches of their talk reached his ears:
"Is this the one Brother Kong recommended?"
"I hear he's not from an established clan."
"Then why would Brother Kong recommend him? Is he really such a talent?"
"If he were such a talent, he could just sit the exam and get in. Why bother with a recommendation?"
"Brother Kong may well be in trouble himself this time. Why would he stick his neck out to recommend someone at a moment like this? Is the Kong clan openly setting itself against the Nine Heavens?"
Lianshan Xin's expression didn't change. He simply digested the jumble of information in silence.
Arriving before the Imperial Library Pavilion, he happened to see a young man push the door open and step out, his face ashen.
"Young Master Jiang? You—"
Kong Ningyuan recognized him.
Young Master Jiang recognized Kong Ningyuan as well, and his tone carried his displeasure. "Lord Heavenly Sword says I don't meet Bailudong Academy's standards for a student, and told me to come back next year."
Kong Ningyuan's expression shifted. "You too? The Heavenly Sword won't even give the Prefect's face?"
Lianshan Xin's expression changed as well.
The Prefect's son?
The son of Jiangzhou's highest official.
The Nine Heavens' way of doing things was even more forceful than he had imagined.
"Next."
There was still one person ahead of Lianshan Xin, also originally recommended.
After that man went in, Kong Ningyuan spoke gravely. "Little brother, since I agreed to recommend you, your business is my own. If Bailudong Academy doesn't work out, there are three other great academies. It's only that there's no time to arrange anything this year. Next year I will certainly make plans for you."
Next year was too late, and the opportunity was right in front of him. Lianshan Xin didn't want to wait any longer.
He gave Kong Ningyuan a small smile. "Don't worry, Brother Kong. Even if I don't take the recommendation route, I can get into the academy through the normal examination."
"Of course I believe you. But what I promised, I must do," Kong Ningyuan said, stern-faced.
He didn't mind losing face in front of Lianshan Xin, but he did mind failing to keep his word in front of him.
When a young man doesn't yet have many chips to his name, at the very least he must make people willing to believe in him.
Trust is the foundation for any further cooperation.
The Prefect's son being struck down by the Heavenly Sword shook Kong Ningyuan's confidence that Lianshan Xin would win the Heavenly Sword's favor.
He began considering how to make it up to him.
And especially when the pavilion door was soon pushed open again and the fellow who had gone in before quickly came back out, his face ashen, Kong Ningyuan's heart sank to the bottom.
He had hoped Lianshan Xin would succeed, gaining himself another political resource.
Now that hope looked very small.
"Little brother, do what you can. I'm right behind you." Kong Ningyuan gripped Lianshan Xin's hand, his voice heavy.
Lianshan Xin, by contrast, was completely at ease. He strode into the Imperial Library Pavilion.
The first thing that met his eyes was not the grandmaster and foremost master of the sword seated in the place of honor, but endless shelves of books and imperial edicts.
The Imperial Library Pavilion was also called the Pavilion of Sacred Texts and the Tower of Imperial Edicts.
This was where Jiangzhou kept the most books, and also the most imperial edicts.
The books displayed Bailudong Academy's thousand-year heritage; the edicts displayed how close the academy stood to the emperor's heart.
Together, all of it made up the thousand-year heritage of Bailudong Academy, and the academy's standing in the world today.
Lianshan Xin withdrew his gaze and performed the student's salute to the three great figures headed by the Heavenly Sword:
"Student Lianshan Xin greets the Heavenly Sword, and greets the two lords."
The Heavenly Sword was dressed all in white, his face so pale it had no color at all. Having studied medicine since childhood, Lianshan Xin could tell at a glance that the Heavenly Sword's qi and blood were depleted and that he was gravely wounded.
To the Heavenly Sword's left and right stood two guardians, conveniently one man and one woman, though Lianshan Xin knew neither of them.
Of course, he didn't actually know the Heavenly Sword either—but the center position could hardly belong to anyone else. People in show business, and people from Shandong, are especially sensitive about that sort of thing.
And the piercing sword qi coming off the Heavenly Sword stung his eyes.
Normally, someone at the Heavenly Sword's level would certainly be able to keep his sword qi contained. To show such sharpness now meant either that the Heavenly Sword was gravely wounded and couldn't stop the sword qi from leaking out—or that he was doing it on purpose.
Bared edge, intent to kill. The timid and cowardly, facing sword qi like that, would simply lose their nerve.
Lianshan Xin didn't lose his nerve. He was merely respectful, his expression composed.
But that alone did not move the Heavenly Sword.
Master Lin, beside him, spoke. "Lianshan Xin, recommended by Kong Ningyuan?"
"Yes."
"There doesn't seem to be a Lianshan clan among Jiangzhou's established clans?"
"No."
"You're of lesser-clan birth?" Master Lin showed some interest.
He himself was of lesser-clan birth.
Lianshan Xin said, "This student is of ordinary birth. I wouldn't presume to reach so high as the lesser clans."
Yes—for his family, a lesser clan would have been a reach upward.
Established clans and great houses needed no explaining, but many people assumed that a "lesser clan" meant ordinary folk. It didn't. A lesser clan was a tier below the established clans and great houses—a clan of lower standing and lesser power, also called commoner gentry.
In the court and the jianghu, plenty of people called themselves sons of lesser clans. They weren't being modest; they were showing off, letting others know they had backing too.
Lianshan Jingcheng hadn't worked hard enough, so Lianshan Xin couldn't show off like that.
"You're neither an established clan nor a lesser clan, and yet you obtained Kong Ningyuan's recommendation?" Master Lin said, puzzled. "On what grounds?"
Lianshan Xin explained, "Brother Kong and I took to each other at first sight. He judged me to have great talent, and so he recommended me."
He said nothing about the pear-yielding affair. He had given that idea to Kong Ningyuan, so it was Kong Ningyuan's. Kong Ningyuan had never done him wrong, and so he would not undercut him in front of others. That was Lianshan Xin's personal code.
Master Lin said mockingly, "So you've attached yourself to the Kong clan to be their running dog. So young, and already willing to degrade yourself—truly, the world declines by the day."
Master Lin's disdain and hostility were plain on his face.
Lianshan Xin met his eyes, and his eyelid gave a sudden twitch.
Today his innate ability had stirred far more often than usual.
Before, he had once gone a whole week without seeing anyone's secret. Today he had seen Chairman Qu's and Master Lin's in quick succession.
Could this ability be a big-game player? The more tense and thrilling the occasion, the more important the person, the greater the effect?
Lianshan Xin split his mind in two: one half pondering the pattern behind his ability, the other turning over Master Lin's secret.
Seems mindless villains have gone out of fashion these days. This fellow wants to step on me to make a showing before the Heavenly Sword, but he's got a trunkful of skeletons. Picking a fight with me means kicking an iron plate.
"May I ask who you are?" Lianshan Xin said.
Master Lin snorted. "'Purple Lightning Sword' Lin Xiangwen, Master of Martial Studies at Bailudong Academy."
The nickname and the name really didn't fit together.
Lianshan Xin complained inwardly, then carried on aloud: "Master Lin isn't one of the Nine Heavens, is he?"
Lin Xiangwen's face darkened at once.
Lianshan Xin ignored it and pressed harder. "The Heavenly Sword arrives, and Master Lin immediately wishes to join the Nine Heavens. Brother Kong and I took to each other at first sight, and that makes me a running dog of the Kong clan. Master Lin is an academy master, yet he goes straight to his knees before Lord Heavenly Sword. What would you call that? Leaving the dark for the light?"
"You—"
Lin Xiangwen wanted to rage, but Qi Shiyun at his side stopped him.
Qi Shiyun spoke up for him. "Master Lin is an old friend of mine. We met several times in the jianghu, long ago. His joining the Nine Heavens was my introduction—Master Lin did not come fawning on his own."
Lin Xiangwen looked at her with gratitude at once, and in his eyes there was adoration he made no effort to hide.
Lianshan Xin glanced at Qi Shiyun; this time his ability did not stir. But he heard it plainly enough: Qi Shiyun was one of the Nine Heavens, and in all likelihood the Heavenly Sword's right hand, of far higher standing than Lin Xiangwen.
So this was his political resource for the future.
Lianshan Xin cupped his hands. "Would Sister agree that Master Lin joined the Nine Heavens because he harbors admiration for you?"
Qi Shiyun didn't answer, but silence was the best answer.
An overconfident plain Jane—honestly, what a turnoff… Forget it. She can't even see her own toes when she looks down, so "plain" doesn't really apply.
"Sister is mistaken. I have no great talent in other respects, but I happen to be good at observing details. I have a pair of eyes that can find the truth. Sister, you believe Master Lin admires you, little knowing that what Master Lin truly likes isn't women. You are merely a shield the master uses to disguise himself and hide his true beloved."
"What?" Qi Shiyun went pale.
Lianshan Xin turned his gaze to the Heavenly Sword, who had been enjoying the show all along.
"Lord Heavenly Sword, your divine sword is peerless—men and women alike fall to it. This student is in awe."
Qi Shiyun's worldview shattered.
The smile the Heavenly Sword had been wearing froze on his face.
Lin Xiangwen looked ready to kill. "Boy, you're asking for death—you dare slander me!"
Lianshan Xin shrugged and spread his hands, his tone calm enough to drive a man mad. "He's rattled."
"I—"
"Get out first."
The Heavenly Sword spoke.
He was rattled too.
A troll only moves on. He never disappears.
Chapter 6