Shouchong

Inside the dim meditation chamber, the white-robed elder was exceptionally conspicuous. Though his temples were streaked with gray, his back remained rod-straight, and his eyes held a gentle, smiling warmth. It was none other than the Sect Master of the White Lotus Sect, Shouchong! *This old bastard...!* Wang Ping narrowed his eyes, on guard as if confronting a mortal foe, yet he maintained his composure. After all, he was no longer the pitiful county yamen undercover agent he had once been. *Did he lie in ambush here waiting for me from the very start?* *Could he have noticed my death two lifetimes ago, wanted to see how on earth I revive, and ambushed this place to catch me in the act?* At this thought, Wang Ping felt a sudden chill—thank goodness! Thank goodness he had not revived this time as the gold-bearing armed cavalryman; otherwise, wouldn't he have spawned right under the old bastard Shouchong's nose? If Shouchong had deciphered the secrets of the Classic of Great Peace because of that, it would have been game over. Not to mention that right after reviving was his most vulnerable moment. This old fossil Shouchong's cultivation was shrouded in mystery and impossible to gauge. Wang Ping had only just revived, meaning Fiend from Beyond was on cooldown. If he were ambushed now... *How utterly sinister! Who the hell camps a spawn point in a godforsaken place like this?!* At this thought, Wang Ping felt immensely fortunate. Beyond that fortune lay deep wariness toward the White Lotus Sect Master before him... Yet having weathered many storms, his expression remained impassive. *Fortunately, he misunderstood this time!* *He claimed I used the power of a divine weapon to revive, so he must have attributed it to the Six Desires Heavenly Demon Flag. What a wonderful misunderstanding.* Strictly speaking, that was not entirely wrong. Wang Ping had indeed initially intended to harness the power of the Six Desires Heavenly Demon Flag to refine his corpse from two lifetimes ago, allowing his true form, the Six Desires Heavenly Demon King, to inhabit and manipulate it, thereby achieving an alternative revival and borrowing its identity. Realizing this, Wang Ping grew even calmer. On the surface, he shifted slightly, his golden pupils resting on Shouchong. Pausing briefly, he took an intentional step back and bowed. "...Wang Ping of Qian Village greets Senior." At these words, Shouchong raised an eyebrow, scrutinizing Wang Ping with an assessing gaze. Deep within his dark pupils, white lotuses seemed to blossom. "Wang Ping of Qian Village?" Curiosity tinged his voice as he asked softly, "An artifact spirit of a divine weapon taking shelter in a mortal vessel, yet identifying more with the human form—truly one of the world's rare marvels." *Just as I thought!* *In the Immortal Sect, the Six Desires Heavenly Demon Flag is a high-grade dharma artifact, which corresponds to a divine artifact-tier weapon in Dashun. And as the Six Desires Heavenly Demon King, the flag's primary soul, I am essentially its artifact spirit. That's why the old bastard assumed I was an artifact spirit, inadvertently covering for me.* Wang Ping seized the opportunity without hesitation, sighing with emotion, "An artifact spirit of a divine weapon is merely an implement in another's hand, not my true self. A human body, by contrast—every smile, every frown, every movement is genuinely me." "A commendable mindset." Shouchong clapped his hands. "While artifact spirits of divine weapons are not rare, those who can inhabit a mortal shell like you, Fellow Daoist, to the point of being indistinguishable from a living being, are as rare as phoenix feathers and qilin horns." With that, he brought over a table and chairs from within the chamber, sat down first, and warmly waved his hand. "Sit, my good disciple." Seeing this, Wang Ping showed no hesitation. He glanced at his corpse from two lifetimes ago lying in the chamber, waved his sleeve, and rejoined the severed head with the neck. Grabbing hold of it, he refined it on the spot. Immediately, his figure turned ethereal before he strode directly into the corpse. Moments later, color returned to the pale, bloodless body. Wang Ping, the gold-bearing armed cavalryman, had revived! The entire process went as smooth as flowing water. Only after completing it did Wang Ping stride over to Shouchong and take a seat, discreetly studying his counterpart. *This old bastard is meticulous and shameless. Even though he called me an artifact spirit and acts like he believes it, he might not actually be convinced. He could just be bluffing me... Most importantly, why did he camp here waiting for me? There has to be another reason...* With this in mind, Wang Ping spoke first. "May I ask what brings Senior to look for me?" Shouchong did not answer immediately. He let out a soft chuckle, picked up a teacup, and lightly rubbed its rim, his thoughts turning as well: *This little fox is meticulous and utterly shameless. Heaven knows who taught him—to remain so composed even after having his cards exposed.* *Could I have been mistaken?* *He admitted to being an artifact spirit, but because I voiced my conviction first, he might have merely gone along with it to conceal his true origins.* For a moment, the atmosphere turned stagnant. Soon, however, Shouchong broke the silence. Lifting the teapot, he poured a full cup for Wang Ping and smiled warmly. "My good disciple, since you received the secret imperial edict, I trust there are many things I need not spell out for you?" This did not surprise Wang Ping. Since Shouchong had sneaked into the chamber, it was only natural that he had found the secret imperial edict on Wang Ping's earlier corpse. "I do know a thing or two." Wang Ping nodded and said softly, "The White Lotus Sect and the imperial court have long held a tacit understanding—or more precisely, with the emperor's faction within the court." "The royalists, to put it plainly," Shouchong chuckled. "If not for that, why would the Royal Enshrinement Hall and the emperor's armed cavalry have come? The civil officials of the Imperial Academy do not share the emperor's heart." Then, Shouchong shifted the conversation. "By the way, are you aware of the Imperial Academy's plan?" The question came abruptly, but Wang Ping caught on instantly. *He's probing my background! He wants to know who the master behind my divine weapon is!* After all, someone aware of the Imperial Academy's scheme had to be either an insider from the Imperial Academy itself, or one of the thaumaturges from the Immortal Sect backing them! Wang Ping already had a response prepared. "...I know." Wang Ping spoke softly, his gaze enigmatic. The two exchanged a glance and smiled simultaneously, each recognizing that the other had seen through their little maneuver. Seeing this, Shouchong stopped beating around the bush and said candidly, "My good disciple, just how strong is the thaumaturge behind you?" "Strong. Incredibly strong." Wang Ping did not conceal it. Recalling Daoist Nun You's display of power earlier, he said heavily, "Strong enough that she alone could obliterate Longxing County." "I see." Shouchong showed no sign of discouragement, merely nodding as though it were expected. "That is only natural. Otherwise, the Imperial Academy wouldn't obey so meekly." Next, he looked at Wang Ping, a chill surfacing in his eyes for the first time. "Since you know the Imperial Academy's plan, my good disciple, explaining things becomes much simpler. I will be blunt: do you know why the Imperial Academy chose Longxing County as the sacrificial site to repair the Longevity as Old as Heaven Gourd?" "Please enlighten me, Master." Wang Ping immediately bowed respectfully. Shouchong bared his teeth in a grimace. "Because the Longevity as Old as Heaven Gourd was not forged in this dynasty; it was crafted during the previous one. Therefore, to repair it, the lifespans of the myriad people are merely supplementary ingredients." "The true primary material is the previous dynasty's fortune!" "And Longxing County was where the founding emperor of the previous dynasty raised his army, hence its name. After the fall of that dynasty, this is the only place where its fortune still lingers." Wang Ping felt a faint chill inside. *The previous dynasty's fortune...* The keyword 'fortune' instantly reminded him of a reckless action County Magistrate Xu Bingzheng had taken earlier—one that seemed completely irrational upon closer inspection: "The Longxing County seal!" "As expected of my good disciple." Shouchong raised his cup with a grin. "Correct. To extract the previous dynasty's fortune, one must first find a way to remove the current dynasty's fortune pressing down upon it." "That's why Xu Bingzheng intentionally used Chen Haoyan to lose the Longxing County seal and never bothered tracking it down afterward. He even took the opportunity to ransack Youshen Temple to line his own pockets. He just never expected me to meddle, which allowed you, my good disciple, to snatch the prize in the middle." Every link connected! The fog in Wang Ping's mind cleared completely. Everything that had transpired in Longxing County up to this point finally connected into a single, cohesive thread. A second later, he looked up at Shouchong and asked in a low voice, "...Then what about Senior?" "The Imperial Academy wants to use the previous dynasty's fortune to repair the Longevity as Old as Heaven Gourd. What are the old emperor's thoughts on this, and what are yours, Senior?" "The Imperial Academy's plan is to borrow this land's former fortune and return it in full once the deed is done. The old emperor, on the other hand, wants to completely annihilate the previous dynasty's fortune here. After all, one mountain cannot hold two tigers, nor can one realm serve two masters. To the emperor, the previous dynasty's fortune is a fishbone stuck in his throat, a constant threat." "As for me..." Shouchong let out a low laugh. "I want it all." "I will destroy the previous dynasty's fortune here, and I will destroy the current dynasty's fortune here as well—leaving neither the Imperial Academy nor the old emperor with a single scrap of benefit!" Wang Ping frowned. "The Longxing County seal has already been destroyed." "Not enough!" Shouchong shook his head. "The people of Longxing County are still here. As long as the people remain, even if fortune dissipates, it can regather. What I want is to eradicate it all from the root!" Silence fell across the meditation chamber once again. The White Lotus Sect Master, who had rebelled for over a decade, set down his teacup, stood up, and spoke with ringing clarity: "The Imperial Academy plans to use the Tabai Battalion to slaughter the common folk outside the walls, harvesting their lifespans to the last drop, and then use fiends to consume the lifespans of the citizens within the walls without taking a single life. I will make them reap what they sow. I will turn every single slaughtered commoner outside the walls into a fiend and send them into the city on a massacre, leaving not a single soul alive!" As the words fell, Wang Ping fell silent. After a long pause, he said faintly, "So you've actually been aiding the authorities in slaughtering the common folk. The destruction of Qian Village... you probably foresaw that long ago, didn't you?" "Indeed." Shouchong turned back with a smile. "After all, the White Lotus Sect's followers are all drawn from the common folk. If I were to personally butcher them, the sect's hearts and minds would scatter." Wang Ping shook his head. "You are too extreme." He had thought the Imperial Academy's extermination of the common folk was already brutal, yet Shouchong went a step further. Did he think Dashun was still too urbanized? "You don't understand." Facing Wang Ping's objection, Shouchong shook his head calmly. "The common folk aren't human to begin with. Dying like this is a mercy for them." "Here we go again," Wang Ping sighed. "It seems you are birds of a feather with the imperial court, refusing to view the common folk as people..." "Hahaha!" Before Wang Ping could finish, Shouchong suddenly cut him off with boisterous laughter. "My good disciple, oh my good disciple! Do you think I was just expressing a personal opinion?" "I wasn't telling you that I don't consider the common folk human." "I am telling you that the common folk *are not* human." "This is not a personal view; it is an acknowledged fact—the common folk outside the city walls, without exception, are all lingering phantoms left behind after the fall of the previous dynasty." "Not treating the common folk as people is because they truly aren't human!"