Mountain and River Prison

Chang'an, the capital of Great Qin. Beside the royal palace city stood another magnificent architectural complex. This complex seemed no different from palaces elsewhere, except for one thing: every hall and rooftop ridge was pitch-black! An absolute, utter black! Even the leaves of the trees within were a green so deep it bordered on black. Just seeing it from afar filled one's heart with an oppressive gloom. Even though other sounds existed in reality—even the all-day shouts echoing from the drill grounds—to an outsider's senses, it still felt like a boundless "silence." It was a strange sensation, yet palpably real. Several men in black dashed excitedly to the room at the highest vantage point. "Master! The calls from both the imperial court and the common folk are deafening right now—they all want you to come out of retirement, take command of the army, and swallow the realm whole! This is truly..." Behind a tall desk, a middle-aged man dressed in white slowly raised his head, frowning. "Rushing in with such clamor—where are your manners? Why didn't you knock?" Instantly, the men straightened up and obediently backed out the door, knocking gently. "Master, your disciples request an audience." "I will not see you." With a flick of the white-robed man's sleeve, the door snapped shut with a crack. Outside, the men stared at one another in silence. "..." Each of them bore seven golden threads and seven golden stars embroidered on their collars and cuffs, all holding positions of immense power and prestige. Yet now, they were all scratching their heads with wry smiles. "Doesn't look like there's any hope," one of them remarked. "If there were, Master wouldn't refuse to even discuss it." "It's probably just a smokescreen from the King," another refined-looking man said with a bitter smile. "Mountain and River Prison can't do without Master either. Compared to the wars among the Seven States, Mountain and River Prison's role is far more crucial. We should have realized that long ago, but we just couldn't resist checking." "Charging onto the battlefield really is glorious, though," another murmured, longing in his eyes. "Let's go, let's go." Their spirits dampened, one of the fellows shook his head and turned away. "If Old Ninth were here, he might still have some face before Master... But the rest of us have never been favored. Especially me, the sixth disciple. Heh, the old man's gone senile—I'm lucky I didn't catch a beating today..." The words had barely left his mouth when a giant hand pressed down out of thin air. *Smack!* As if crushed beneath a mountain, the speaker was slammed flat against the ground, prostrated fully, unable to move even a single finger. He howled for mercy: "Master! Master! I was just joking! I'm a big shot in the Martial Suppression Bureau, after all, please spare me some face... Senior Brothers, save me..." he shrieked. Yet with a *whoosh*, the others vanished without a trace, not even daring to look back as they bolted. *Master's in a bad mood right now, and this idiot actually dared to mouth off. We're not fools—why bring disaster upon ourselves?* The venerable Sixth Master lay sprawled miserably as an invisible whip lashed down repeatedly from midair, thrashing him heavily. He wanted to beg for mercy, only to find he couldn't make a sound... Rolling his eyes back, he took the beating in silence. Inside the room. This man in white was naturally the master of Great Qin's Mountain and River Prison—Lord Bai, Bai Wu'an, nicknamed Bai Qi. His features were lean and gaunt, completely devoid of any aura befitting a "God of Slaughter"; instead, he gave an impression of quiet refinement. What Lord Bai was doing now was the exact same thing the King of Qin had been doing: studying a map. His gaze rested on a map of the continent's Seven States. His eyes held a solemn, reminiscent depth. Soon, however, his focus shifted to another, far vaster map. It was a map of the world, though incomplete, with vast swathes of blank expanses. Across the two largest blank regions, one was labeled "Demon" and the other "Devil." Combined, they were many times larger than the continent where the Seven States vied for supremacy! And beyond them lay even larger uncharted lands. "We still have to cross the river by feeling the stones... I cannot return to the military, nor would anyone let me. Besides, having the chance to fight demons and devils to the very end means army campaigns can no longer hold my interest. "The grasslands have Li Mu of Zhao and Jing Yun of Yan watching over them... so nothing drastic should happen there." Just then, a white hawk circled outside, a tiny bamboo tube tied to its leg. It flew in through the window, landed on the desk, and affectionately pecked at his hand with its sharp beak. Lord Bai's expression instantly softened. He first retrieved two medicinal pills to feed the hawk, then stroked it gently several times, smoothing its feathers before detaching the letter from its leg. While the white hawk lazily preened its feathers beside him, Lord Bai unfurled the letter and scanned it. The letter concisely listed ten matters. The very last was a curious anecdote: *"A youth in the Mountain Guard possesses anomalous vision capable of seeing through demonic yin and devilish qi. By all appearances, he belongs to no known sect. His skeletal structure is extraordinarily poor; he is merely a mountain villager's son, verified to have no backing. Truly an oddity."* "Anomalous vision?" He pondered for a moment, then immediately set down his brush to write a reply. After briefly addressing the other matters, he added two lines regarding this incident: *"To test jade, one must burn it full three days; to tell fine timber, one must wait seven years."* He tucked the slip back into the bamboo tube, fastened it to the hawk's leg, and patted its wings. The white hawk flapped its wings once, standing proud and unmoving. He offered an extra pill; the hawk remained steadfast as a rock. Another pill; the hawk's eyes shifted slightly, hesitating, yet it still didn't budge! Only when three more pills were placed on the desk and then set onto the bookshelf behind him—signaling: *Go, and take three; return, and there will be three more*—did the hawk nod repeatedly with rapid pecks to swallow the two pills on the desk. Letting out a sharp cry, it shot through the window and soared into the sky. "It actually raised its price..." Lord Bai stared speechlessly at the three pills. He sighed deeply. "Back then, it would do the job for some millet and chicken guts. Now it's jacked up its price all the way to three pills... Spending too much time around Gu Jiu has truly corrupted it..." Feeling a faint touch of irritation, he clenched his fist and swung his hand downward. Outside, pinned immovably to the ground, the sixth disciple instantly felt his master's love intensify once more. Unable to cry out, he could only endure the thrashing, emitting muffled grunts from his throat: "Ah-oh! Ah-oh!" To anyone listening, it sounded almost joyful. And so, the cane struck even harder. When the King of Qin arrived, he happened to witness this very scene. Hands clasped behind his back, he stood to the side and watched with great amusement until the beating ended. He even asked with mock concern, "Lord Sixth, does it hurt?" "Thank you, Your Majesty, it doesn't hurt at all." Clutching his backside with a mournful grimace, the sixth disciple bowed in salute to the King of Qin, then sprinted off into the distance, one hand covering his rear and the other covering his face. *What utter humiliation today! To have His Majesty witness the brilliant, martial me getting caned on the backside...* Lord Bai stepped out the door and cupped his hands slightly. "Your Majesty." "No need for formalities." The King of Qin walked forward with a smile. "Bai Qi, what news is there from Wuqiu Palace lately? I cannot put my mind at ease; accompany me to take a look." "After you, Your Majesty." Speaking of "Wuqiu Palace," Lord Bai's interest was piqued as well. "This old subject was just wondering if there are any new developments." "How were the previous items?" "Superb! I have kept a close watch on them throughout. The craftsmen have all been settled in secret." "Good." From beginning to end, neither man uttered a single word about the war on the front lines. They were calm and unhurried, not minding it in the least. Instead, they were keenly interested in the internal spirit of the realm. "Your Majesty, over these years, the fierce pride of 'we may strike others, but none may strike us' among our fierce soldiers and valiant generals has been nurtured by you," Lord Bai remarked with a smile. "To subjugate the world requires the Hegemonic Way; to pacify the world requires the Kingly Way," the King of Qin replied calmly. "Without the Hegemonic Way, there can be no Kingly Way. "Great Qin must possess domineering might! "If the sovereign desires to swallow the world and sweep across the realm, the subjects must possess the conviction of 'if not me, then who.' When ruler and subject share one heart, and the nation stands as one, we shall crush all resistance like dry twigs and topple mountains like sweeping seas! "As of now, it is still not enough!" "Understood." ... Night fell. Because there were duties tomorrow, the entire unit assembled tonight. Xu Yao ran home to pass word to his family before hurrying back. Now, he had been pulled into Brigade Captain Chen Chong's room for a talk. "You have stepped into the Physical Cultivation Realm. You are currently at the Iron Skin stage." After inspecting Xu Yao's cultivation base, Chen Chong felt deeply gratified. His three brows twitched up and down. "Fast progress!" With that, he grabbed an angular stone and scraped it across Xu Yao's arm. Caught off guard, Xu Yao let out a sharp yelp. "Still needs work—it can actually still draw blood," Chen Chong remarked. Xu Yao was speechless. *With your strength, Captain, scraping like that, who wouldn't bleed?* "Regarding the saber technique you've been practicing, I see you've put in good effort. This was our army's saber technique back in the day, called the Eight Battle-Formation Sabers. Practice it well. Don't look down on it just because it's only eight wide-opening, sweeping moves; legend has it that Lord Bai himself created these eight strikes. The breathing method is simple too, matching the footwork you practice daily: inhale every three steps, exhale every five steps... The breathing, running, stance training, and daily posture in sitting, lying, and walking during our routine drills are all meant to serve these Eight Battle-Formation Sabers. "The fist technique in our daily training is called the Battle-Formation Elbow, and the kicking technique is called the Battle-Formation Foot. On the battlefield, it's life or death, so every single move and stance, though seemingly simple, is designed purely to maim and kill! "Legend has it that Master Bai personally taught all of these to the entire army back in his day." Chen Chong patted his shoulder and smiled. "If you don't climb high, none of this matters. But if you do rise, these things will prove useful. "Only after you officially join the Demon Suppression Bureau and become a warrior can you cultivate the Demon Suppression blade techniques. But even then, do not abandon these Eight Battle-Formation Sabers. They are genuinely useful, especially in chaotic melee on the battlefield!" Tonight, Chen Chong had heavy thoughts on his mind. After all, they had to attend the execution tomorrow to witness their fellow comrades being beheaded. Troubled by tangled emotions, he found it difficult to sleep. And so he had called Xu Yao over to talk at length. "The visit from those two esteemed figures, the Ning siblings, was merely a fleeting glimpse, not something that happens every day. People like us won't have many chances in a lifetime to cross paths with such prominent figures." Chen Chong's words carried deeper meaning. "A woman like Miss Ning is a phoenix in the heavens." Xu Yao caught his drift immediately. Taking a deep breath, he gave a solemn, earnest guarantee: "Uncle, rest assured, your nephew isn't foolish enough to overestimate himself. I know my own worth and limitations; I won't harbor any unrealistic thoughts about Miss Ning."