Arrival

As evening approached, the setting sun cast its light through the window lattice into the study, staining the rows of scroll-laden bookshelves in deep crimson. A middle-aged man in a black robe leaned over the desk, the wolf-hair brush between his fingers swiftly reviewing and annotating memorial after memorial. To be Chancellor of Great Yan was power, but it was also responsibility. In these tumultuous times, matters reaching the Imperial ears were as countless as hairs on an ox. A vast number required his personal perusal, and eight or nine out of ten were related to the concluding campaign on the Northern Border. The War of the Northern Border was drawing to a close. A Northern Border ravaged by the flames of war left countless matters demanding attention, and memorials of every kind flew in like snowflakes: pensions for fallen soldiers, honors and rewards for meritorious commanders, personnel transfers of all descriptions, punishments for wartime corruption, and even resettlement plans for tens of millions of civilians. Looking at each name appearing upon the memorials, Xu Yinhe could conjure a matching portrait in his mind. This was the accumulation of decades. Without such understanding, how could one speak of knowing men and utilizing their talents? When his eyes fell upon the volume in his hands titled *Annals of Guimao*, the tip of Xu Yinhe's brush paused slightly. The Barbarians had invaded southward in great force during the Year of Guimao, hence the name; it chronicled in annalistic fashion the major and minor battles fought across these eleven years. Seeing this record meant the War of the Northern Border was truly over at last. Once he reviewed and annotated it, it would be compiled into the official annals of Great Yan. It was finished after all, concluding with the very outcome they had sought back then... Staring at the volume for several breaths, Xu Yinhe turned to the first page. Yet in his eyes, there was no joy of long-laid schemes coming to fruition; on the contrary, they held a faint, lingering trace of exhaustion. And when he turned to the end of the annals, to that period composed by his own progeny, his tireless brush paused once more. Lost in thought for a long while, he finally lowered his brush and slowly wrote his annotation: *[Relying on superior instruments and weapons, wielding the momentum of a clandestine intelligence network, complemented by grand visions to entice the Barbarians—achieving victory through unorthodox stratagems is ingenious as a divine stroke. Yet such a stratagem is irregular. The Barbarians have suffered a thousand years of accumulated weakness, their soldiers in decline and weapons blunt, so their king acted in accordance with your design. If ever the harmony of the people is not with you, what then?]* As the brush set down, a cool breeze drifted past, and a white-robed figure had already appeared in the quiet room. Standing within the study, the faint scent of ink drifted gently. Feng Jiuxuan stared at Xu Yinhe, whose aura felt somewhat peculiar, and remained silent for several breaths before slowly uttering two words: "What is it?" Xu Yinhe raised his eyes. The light falling through the window lattice patterned the side of his face—half in shadow, half in sunset. His tone was sincere: "I need you to make a trip to Zhenxi Manor, Elder Brother." Feng Jiuxuan frowned. "Zhenxi Manor? For what?" "The sects have moved against Zhenxi Manor." "Yet as I recall, you had already abandoned that place." "Yes. But Changtian is there." "..." Feng Jiuxuan glared at Xu Yinhe, a flicker of murderous intent instantly surfacing in his gaze. Xu Yinhe's eyes remained calm, without the slightest ripple. After a moment of locked gazes, Feng Jiuxuan said nothing more. Clenching his fist slightly, he turned away in silence. Just then, Xu Yinhe's words abruptly interrupted him: "If you agree, Elder Brother, then use this." With that, Xu Yinhe drew a black ring from inside his robes, placed it upon the desk, and said: "This is a levitation ring refined from the Emperor of Sien." "Teleportation?" Feng Jiuxuan dispersed his qi, glancing back coldly. "The other one is with Changtian?" "I have already arranged for someone to deliver it." "Hmph." With a cold snort, Feng Jiuxuan beckoned with a hand, drawing the ring into his palm. Staring down at the middle-aged man, he said in an icy voice, "Xu Yinhe, my tolerance for you is nearing its limit. After all the times Changtian has brushed with death, is it still not enough?" "..." Xu Yinhe shifted his gaze slightly, looking through the window toward the vast city of Di'an, bathed in sunset red. His tone was low and detached: "Changtian needs these opportunities." Feng Jiuxuan took a step forward, his voice chillingly still: "The events at Mount Sheng, the War of the Northern Border, the night in Sien—Changtian has already done more than well enough." "It is not enough." Xu Yinhe did not turn his head, his tone flat and quiet. "If he is to hold sway over the entire Prime Minister's Manor, this is far from enough." Hearing this, the look in Feng Jiuxuan's eyes shifted slightly, laced with suspicion: "That should still be a long time away. Yet you seem to be in quite a hurry." "..." Xu Yinhe did not answer this question, only stating: "Regarding Changtian's situation, I have already met with Li Yaoxuan. He will remain neutral for now. But the sects have schemed against the Western Border for decades; three feet of ice does not form from a single day's cold. Changtian might disrupt part of their plans with unorthodox moves, but to turn the raging tide back from collapse, he still lacks the harmony of the people. If it cannot be done, then when the time comes, I ask that you bring Changtian back, Elder Brother." "..." Feng Jiuxuan. "..." "..." "..." When Feng Jiuxuan opened his eyes again, what met his sight was the devastated Zhenxi Prefectural City. High in the heavens, the city defense canopy rippled as a countless swarm of insects blotted out the light, snarling ferociously as they poured toward the several breaches. Beneath the sky, black smoke rose all across the darkened prefectural city, burning blocks lighting up the canopy, with distant battle cries echoing from every quarter. Yet none of that mattered. What mattered were the gazes falling upon him. The instant he sensed the Saint auras within the city, Feng Jiuxuan's otherwise placid brows furrowed slightly. As his eyes swept across the traces of battle within the city, bits of information swiftly assembled in his mind. That Saintess of the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion had a rather peculiar aura, but seeing her facing off against Tianyuan, she seemed to have already turned traitor to her side. The white wolf playing dead below still carried traces of the White Emperor's qi. It was likely on their side, though it looked quite foolish. At the bottom of the crater below, the mangled, dismembered insect-man appeared heavily wounded, but its saint origin was immense; given a bit of time to mend, it could fully recover. Still, this insect-man was weak—appallingly so. Beneath the city wall, the woman emanating a strange aura was presumably a yin ghost. Having never clashed with a yin ghost that had attained sainthood, Feng Jiuxuan could not gauge her depth, but she seemed severely injured as well. Beside Tianyuan, the Saint in the guise of a youth had an aura far too bizarre for Feng Jiuxuan to fathom, yet having been battered to such a state by Changtian using merely the city's existing defensive installations, his strength likely was not too formidable either. So, what remained were the three Saints above? The Sword Saint's gaze swept over the other three, and ripples of solemn gravity stirred in Feng Jiuxuan's otherwise serene, lucid state of mind. These three were all familiar faces. Calming his mind, Feng Jiuxuan glanced sideways at his nephew, only to find Xu Yuan looking right back at him. He didn't speak, but his eyes were wide and expectant, as if asking: *Uncle, do you think we can win this?* The air fell silent for a moment. Feng Jiuxuan said nothing, lost in contemplation. Seeing this, Xu Yuan hastily darted a glance at the White Emperor and the others. Normally speaking, now that his maternal uncle had appeared, if the enemy had already been prepared, they would never wait around for the two of them to confer. Yet the fact was that the entire Zhenxi Prefectural City had quieted down with Feng Jiuxuan's arrival. Xu Yuan's mind raced through various possibilities, but in the end, his gaze suddenly settled on the black mirror surface behind his uncle. After Feng Jiuxuan had teleported over, the formation had not dissipated. The black mirror, wrapped in brilliant white light, still undulated with ripples. Were the White Emperor and the others refraining from striking immediately because they feared his old man might teleport over as well? As the thought flashed through his mind, a gleam showed in Xu Yuan's eyes, and a faint glimmer of anticipation welled up. Yet that anticipation lasted for only an instant before Xu Yuan chuckled softly and shook his head, thinking his speculation was far too much of a gamble. Now that his maternal uncle was here, if his Chancellor old man personally descended upon Zhenxi Prefectural City as well, the sects would no longer be considering whether they could breach the city, but how they could retreat. The problem was that there were too many variables. The sects might still have trump cards hidden up their sleeves. Never mind that an accident befalling his Chancellor father here in Zhenxi Prefectural City would turn decades of intricate planning to ashes; if something merely went wrong with the levitation ring, it would already be enough to deal the Prime Minister's Manor a severe blow. As a colossal behemoth, the Chancellor's Manor's internal organizational structure was already exceptionally mature, and the Prime Minister's residence in Di'an served as the command hub for the entire apparatus, where every order was passed down layer by layer. If his old man's absence allowed the Emperor to decapitate this hub in one fell swoop, the Chancellor's Manor would plunge into chaos in the short term. And in such tumultuous times, that would undoubtedly be fatal. Cautious as his old man was, he could not possibly take such a risk. Amidst the silence, the gaze Feng Jiuxuan cast upon the young man beside him grew somewhat complicated. Had the situation been worse, he could have forcibly broken out carrying the kid. Had the situation been better, with even one fewer among those three familiar faces, he could have forced them to retreat without shedding a drop of blood. Now, the situation on the field teetered right on the knife's edge between manageable and complete collapse, leaving him, the uncle who had come to save the day, in a rather awkward spot. Changtian needed this merit, so retreating directly would be a great pity; yet fighting a pitched battle against these familiar faces carried risks that were simply too immense. His encounter with Tianyuan in the Qionghua Secret Realm had failed to gauge the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion Master's true depth. That unnamed sect old man had long been on the blacklist compiled by Lou Ji. They had met once; he was powerful, but having never clashed, his true capability remained unknown. As for the White Emperor... Feng Jiuxuan's gaze shifted toward the phantom dragons spanning the horizon, and his eyes narrowed imperceptibly. In his youth, when he had traveled to Guyuan for tempering alongside Xu Yinhe and the others, he had witnessed the majesty of this Lord of Guyuan. A Saint powerful to the absolute extreme. Yet backed by the city defense formation and the majestic power of the military array, battling these three Saints was not out of the question. Amidst the silence, Feng Jiuxuan drew a nameless longsword from his Sumeru ring, his voice transmitting slowly into Xu Yuan's ears: "Changtian, if you wish to see this through, give me the levitation ring." "..." It seemed impossible for his old man to come after all. Hearing this, a faint trace of disappointment flickered in Xu Yuan's heart, but he obediently handed the levitation ring to the uncle beside him. Taking the levitation ring, Feng Jiuxuan slipped it lightly onto his index finger, looked back with a gentle smile, and said: "Changtian, you've done well. Head back to the prefectural office. Leave things here to your uncle for now." With those words, *Hum—!* A resonant sword chime rang across Zhenxi Prefectural City. The bare, chilling blade slashed three ink-splashed sword marks through the air, cleaving simultaneously toward the three heavily injured foreign Saints. Feng Jiuxuan—he intended to clear the field. To Saints, those three were weak, but to the rest of the city's defensive installations, they were still lethal enough. The ink-splashed sword marks tore through the void, yet no sound of slicing into flesh was heard; instead, three deafening explosions rang out. *Boom! Boom! Boom!* The slashes were completely intercepted by the two sect Saints and the White Emperor. Watching the White Emperor vanish abruptly from midair only to reappear at the bottom of the crater, Feng Jiuxuan frowned imperceptibly. *What terrifying speed...* Yet having his probing attacks intercepted was within Feng Jiuxuan's expectations; the other three Saints would not permit him to slay the three foreign Saints so easily. The only thing outside his calculations was that Saintess of the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion. Feng Jiuxuan's gaze fell upon Tianye. Although there had been three slashes just now, the one he had truly targeted for a killing blow was only that youth of ominous aura, as he had judged the Saintess would intercept the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion Master—yet she had chosen to stand idly by. Sensing his gaze, Tianye shrugged with a beaming smile and explained: "Don't look at me like that. Normally, I'm neutral; I only watch the show." Feng Jiuxuan frowned, his eyes carrying a trace of inquiry: "Neutral and watching the show?" Tianye folded her arms over her chest, tilted her head to tap her cheek, and smiled with narrowed eyes: "Yep. But you'd best rein in that killing intent of yours right now. If I get in a bad mood, I might switch sides at any moment, Xu Yuan's dear uncle~"