Discerning the Trail

Inside the manor's parlor, Luo Kaiyuan, Wei Dong, and Feng Xiaoqi waited outside for only a brief moment before being invited in. Upon seeing Chen Chuan, they moved to salute, but he waved a hand to tell them it was unnecessary and signaled for them to take a seat. He then poured each of them a cup of rich, fragrant brew and passed them over. "Try it. This is silver fruit tea, something Kawatua used to trade to Great Shun. Because of its scarce production and difficult preservation, only the imperial household used to enjoy it." Taking a sip, the three did not notice anything extraordinary at first; the flavor was light, almost like plain boiled water. But a moment later, a fresh, slightly bitter taste welled up, leaving their mouths filled with a delicate fragrance. A few moments more, and the mutated tissue throughout their bodies felt as though it were soaking in a warm spring—languid yet simultaneously surging with vigor. Even their minds grew notably clearer. Feng Xiaoqi could not help but praise, "Truly good stuff!" With that, he took another sip. Wei Dong nodded and tilted his head back, gulping it all down in one go. Luo Kaiyuan took a single sip and set it aside. Chen Chuan smiled faintly, leaning against the window sill with his tea in hand. "Was the journey smooth?" Luo Kaiyuan replied, "Aside from a few border inspections coming and going, there were virtually no complications." Feng Xiaoqi said, "Someone tailed us when we crossed the state border. Fortunately, Wei Dong spotted them in time. We didn't tangle with them and broke away quickly. I think they were likely from the Covert Operations Directorate." Chen Chuan gave a slight nod. As his personal guards traveling abroad on their own, they were bound to draw scrutiny. Still, they were only guards; had Wei Dong not reached the third limit and possessed considerable destructive potential, the Directorate probably wouldn't have bothered tracking them so intently. Luo Kaiyuan said, "Director, following your instructions, we located the contact point and linked up with their people." Feng Xiaoqi added, "They were very wary at first. Only after Kaiyuan gave his name and they cross-checked it did they agree to proceed. We waited two days before they handed over the detailed information." Luo Kaiyuan detached a storage sheath from his boundary credential, rose, walked over, and handed it to Chen Chuan. "All the intelligence they provided is in here. They mentioned that since this is our first cooperation, they could offer a discount, and they guarantee the authenticity of the information." Chen Chuan took it and pressed it against his boundary credential. The storage sheath snapped onto it instantly, and lines of text and images flashed across his vision. The contents were not extensive, but they clearly supplied the information he wanted regarding Gao Xinwen. His eyes stirred slightly. "Little Awakening Temple?" According to the files, Gao Xinwen had gone to Little Awakening Temple to cultivate at least as early as last month, and there was currently no sign of his return. While there was no detailed itinerary of specific dates, it described where Gao Xinwen was staying and who accompanied him in great detail. From the look of it, that intelligence organization very likely had an informant planted inside Little Awakening Temple. Luo Kaiyuan said, "I proposed a tracking period of over half a year, and they agreed. They said that if the target leaves Little Awakening Temple, they will find a way to notify us via telegraph signal. Furthermore, they claimed they could obtain more specific movements and details on the target, but on one condition." Chen Chuan asked, "What condition?" "They said one of their technicians has been detained by Progenitor Company. If we are willing to cooperate in a rescue, they can provide all the subsequent intelligence we need." Chen Chuan said, "Pay no heed to that. The matter ends here." He would never enter into additional transactions with a resistance organization, not to mention that this intelligence was already sufficient for his purposes. "Understood." Chen Chuan asked whether anyone had followed them on their return. Once the three finished their tea, he said, "You've worked hard on this trip. Go back and get some rest. Ah, right." He walked over to the side and took out three invitation cards. "Kawatua is hosting an internal fighting tournament soon. If you're interested, you can go take a look, or even participate using these." The three were visibly intrigued. Accepting the invitations, they offered a salute and took their leave. After they departed, Chen Chuan pulled up the records on Little Awakening Temple to review them. The temple's domain lay within Savila Island State in the southern Federation. Though part of federal territory, its lack of resources, remote location, and offshore isolation left it relatively autonomous. Little Awakening Temple possessed numerous martial artists. While perhaps not rivaling Tianji Sect, its influence was by no means weak, and there was a distinct possibility that higher-tier power resided within the monastery. Barging straight inside to hunt Gao Xinwen would be an ill-advised course of action. Judging by the timeframe of Gao Xinwen's departure, it coincided precisely with Chen Chuan's destruction of the Primitive Sect's rift. Reflecting on this, Chen Chuan gathered that Gao Xinwen likely understood the situation and had fled there out of fear of retaliation. If the man holed up inside indefinitely, it would indeed prove troublesome. As the head of Progenitor Company's overseas expansion, it was impossible for Gao Xinwen to completely ignore affairs outside, yet he could easily manage external business through his assistants and subordinates. Moreover, if he hid for half a year or more, Chen Chuan might well have already left the Federation by then. If that happened, his only recourse to reach the man would be to wait until he unraveled the Cave Mystery View and track him down directly. Even if Little Awakening Temple harbored upper-tier power, they would not lightly intercede for someone who was not one of their own monks. That meant he still needed to accelerate his cultivation. He did not know how long the current negotiations would last, but from the present state of things, the delegation would very likely return before the end of the year. To attain his breakthrough, he had to outpace that schedule. Time was of the essence. Having thought it through, he drained his cup, withdrew the feather slightly, and slit open a glowing fissure. Calling out softly, Chaoming and the civet resting on the ceiling beam poked their heads out and followed him into the radiant rift. *** Little Awakening Temple, Drum Core Island, Eight Emptiness Temple. As dusk fell, myriad lamp beads flickered to life. The cadence of meditative chanting drifted alongside the toll of bells and drums, echoing far and wide. On the island, the swaying bamboo groves murmured under the gentle mountain breeze, casting dappled shadows like an otherworldly Buddhist realm. Inside the hall, incense curled upward from the censers, filling the air with the scent of sandalwood. Gao Xinwen knelt before a statue of the Great Revered One, holding Chan rubbing beads in his hand. A handwritten scroll of scripture rested on the low lectern before him as he slowly recited the Heart-Cleansing Mantra. The statue looked down with benevolent eyes, as if quietly listening. He had sought asylum at Little Awakening Temple to evade impending retaliation. Yet the price was sitting here day after day until the date of deliverance from past grievances, as spoken by the Director of Monastic Affairs. However, while the director assured him deliverance was attainable, he never specified when it would come, leaving Gao Xinwen deeply restless. A sudden gust blew in from outside, making the flames flicker. His shadow below danced erratically, and several pages of the scripture turned in the draft. Disturbed, he set down the polished rubbing beads and strode out. Outside the hall stood his assistants and bodyguards. Seeing him emerge, they bowed respectfully, and a female assistant stepped forward to drape a coat over his shoulders. He raised a hand to wave her off, walking out to the terrace steps alone to draw a deep breath. Just then, something caught his eye. Looking closer, he spotted an airship approaching over the sea. Tapping his external observation implant to magnify his vision, he discovered it was an airship belonging to Tianji Sect. Surprise stirred within him. The Xuan Sect and the Chan Sect had never seen eye to eye; historically, they had been sworn adversaries. The eastward expansion of the Chan Sect had effectively been suppressed by the Xuan Sect. Did the two factions still maintain contact? Why had he never heard of this before? On second thought, though Tianji Sect was an offshoot of the Xuan Sect, it had long been shunned by the mainstream. Only when the old orthodox sects on the native continent waned and many Xuan practitioners joined its ranks did it gradually come to be seen as the new orthodoxy. Thinking carefully, had the ancestors of the Gao clan not migrated to the Ying Continent and instead stayed in Great Shun or the West Continent, they could never have built their current empire. Yet Gao Xinwen did not entirely agree with certain choices and methods his forebears had adopted. At these thoughts, his brows furrowed deeply. It took quite a while before he relaxed. By the time he settled his mind, the airship had already passed out of sight. Drawing a few more breaths, he turned back inside. *** On the main island, once the Xuan Sect airship docked securely at the mooring tower, three mystics emerged. The leader stood over three meters tall, yet possessed a face like flawless jade and an aura of effortless grace, resembling an immortal descending into the mortal dust. This was Real Man Gao Xu, one of the Four Real Men of Tianji Sect. Behind him followed the gold-hairpin mystic who had previously appeared at Chongming Zhi. High Chanist Guangdi and Director of Monastic Affairs Guangyin came forward to receive them and led the party inside. Yet barely two hours later, the three mystics departed on their airship once more. Standing before the mooring tower, Guangdi remarked, "I still recall when Ancestral Chanist Kongtong founded this monastery, Celestial Master Lu lent us his aid. The karmic debt we incurred back then went unpaid for so long. Several times we inquired, yet the other side only said the heavenly secret had not yet arrived. I originally thought it would be fulfilled during the Xuan Tribulation of Difficult Heavens, never imagining it would fall upon this very moment." Guangyin said, "Senior Brother, Tianji Sect does not speak of causes and cessation, only of cosmic secrets. What our generation perceives may not be what they value." Guangdi replied, "This is the fruit of our sect's founding; we have no choice but to repay it. Since Tianji Sect has come to collect, I shall grant them their recompense." "Yet Senior Brother, we gave our solemn word; we cannot simply cast him out." Guangdi pressed his palms together. "There is no need to drive him away. Let nature take its course." Guangyin understood at once. He pressed his palms together in turn, chanting the Great Revered One's holy name in his heart. *** Inside Eight Emptiness Temple, Gao Xinwen sat for several more days, his restlessness mounting with each passing hour. He had never been one for meditative serenity. How could he endure such an interminable, aimless vigil? Every single day was sheer torment. Whenever he sought out the Chan masters to ask, they invariably met him with platitudes about stilling the mind and abiding in tranquility, which only stoked his agitation. Reading his thoughts, his assistant suggested, "Mr. Gao, while the temple is undeniably serene, meditating day in and day out is bound to grow tedious. Why not step away for a time to refresh your spirits? For instance, touring our various overseas branches might prove even more beneficial to your cultivation." Hearing this, Gao Xinwen felt a glimmer of sense in the idea. He oversaw all overseas branch operations anyway; if he wished to avoid pursuit, there was no strict need to remain in the Federation. He asked offhandedly, "Where do you suggest?" "What about North Lailusi?" "North Lailusi—" Gao Xinwen's expression shifted, turning subtle and complex. After a moment of silence, he said, "Fine. We'll go there."