Weapon Liberation?

"After our escape, everyone was anxious and frustrated, but General Lu didn't take it seriously at all. A dozen or so men took advantage of him being drunk to mutiny and seize power, but they failed, and their end was gruesome." The captive swallowed hard. "General Lu was at the end of his rope. Some brothers might have backed him to the bitter end, but I... I didn't want to die." "Stray dog!" Zhao Qinghe kicked him. "Recount to my lord the entire route Lu Yao and the other rebels took after fleeing Woling Pass!" The captive touched his forehead to the ground. "I beg Lord He for mercy!" He obediently spilled all the intelligence. Only after listening did He Chunhua and his sons learn that after the Yuan royal court recaptured Woling Pass, the rebel army had lost its backbone. Seven or eight commanders each gathered their remnants and fled. Lu Yao's ability to assemble over a thousand men was already the result of having swallowed up another remnant band. Responding to Pei Xinyong's proposal to join forces at Xianling Village, he had naturally intended to seize the position of commander-in-chief, then take over a piece of territory near Shuitou to the west, gradually growing stronger and larger. He Lingchuan's doubts did not diminish. "Then how is that any different from Wu Shaoyi's original goal?" Lu Yao had mocked Wu Shaoyi for merely wanting to be a petty warlord, yet wasn't he also planning to set himself up as a king of the mountain? "It's different," the captive explained. "General Lu hoped to use Shuitou as a base and slowly swallow up the surrounding commanderies and prefectures. He believed the Yuan Kingdom was weak and exhausted, occupied with troubles in the north, so its control over the west was bound to slacken. We—no, he—would have a great chance. When the time came and his renown spread far and wide, the Yuan royal court would have no choice but to acknowledge him. They might even confer titles and fiefs upon him, begging us to dispatch troops. "Maybe... maybe he could even declare himself a prince or marquis and receive the Nine Bestowments." He added dryly, "General Lu said that in the past, many powerful warlords established their legacies this way." He Chunhua could not help sneering. "The Nine Bestowments? Is he even worthy?" Father and sons understood now. So Lu Yao's plan had been to carve out a regional stronghold and force concessions from the central court. In fact, Lu Yao saw things clearly: whenever a dynasty's fortunes waned, local warlords would rise, commanding troops and grain supplies as their power swelled, locked in a zero-sum contest with the royal court. Once the court lacked the strength to suppress them, it could only appease them with sweet words, granting either official titles or lavish rewards. Even then, such men were not always satisfied; given an itch, they would found their own state and declare themselves king. He Yue nodded. "People like Lu Yao, once they have tasted power, can never go back. They can only walk that dark path to the very end." He Lingchuan picked a large tree stump to sit on and said leisurely, "That scoundrel truly knew no bounds." He Chunhua glanced at him. Why did this brat's tone sound somewhat admiring? The captive spoke again: "In fact, after meeting Lord Prefect in Xianling Village, General Lu was overjoyed. He planned to seize your seal of office and State Token, and go to Xiazhou himself to serve as Chief Administrator." At these words, all three of them were taken aback. He Yue scoffed with contempt, "Delusional. Origin power is bestowed by the sovereign; how could he ever obtain its blessing?" The captive stammered, "General Lu said he had his own means to take Lord He's birth chart and identity, thereby assuming his official post to wield origin power." Seeing the dark expressions on their faces, he hastily continued, "As for how it was to be done, none of us know. General Lu refused to say." He Lingchuan slapped the wooden stump. "No wonder Lu Yao pursued us so relentlessly, as if we had burned down his family home. He was scheming to play dress-up in stolen robes!" So Lu Yao had targeted their father from the moment he entered Xianling Village. A wave of lingering fear gripped He Yue's heart. Beside them, Zhao Qinghe urged the captive, "What else? Recount to my lord once more what you said about the Holy Master!" The captive asked for a cup of water, moistened his parched lips, and said, "As for the Holy Master, we don't know the full truth either. But before Tianwangdui was breached, the Holy Master summoned General Lu for a private discussion." Tianwangdui was the rebel army's final stronghold at Woling Pass, impregnable and steadfast. He Chunhua had read the battle reports and knew the royal army had paid an immense price to conquer it. "The four or five men General Lu brought along, including myself, all waited about twenty feet outside the room. Whatever was said inside, we couldn't hear a single word. Outside, the battle grew increasingly dire. Tianwangdui was tottering, and urgent reports arrived from the front line four or five times, but by the Holy Master's order, no one could enter that door. "About two hours later, General Lu pushed the door open and stepped out. With reddened eyes, he announced that the Holy Master had passed away into nirvana. "Everyone was stunned. Several generals rushed over upon hearing the news, wanting to enter the room to see for themselves, but Lu Yao positioned all his men to guard the retreat, forbidding anyone from taking a single step inside. General Wu Shaoyi even came to blows with Lu Yao over it. Suddenly, the defenses fell, and the royal army breached Tianwangdui. Seeing that all was lost, the generals turned and fled." When an army reached a dead end, it desperately hoped its pillar of support would step forward to turn the tide. Who could have imagined the pillar would snap with a sudden crack? Far from holding up the sky, it collapsed and crushed them first. He Lingchuan could well understand the sheer dismay and fury of those rebels. He could not help asking, "From the sound of it, could Hong Xiangqian have survived and merely spread false news to the outside?" "He is dead. Lord Ke Jihai delivered Hong Xiangqian's severed head to the capital, where countless people inspected it, and all confirmed it was Hong Xiangqian himself." He Chunhua tapped his fingers against the woodpile several times. "Unless he had a body double who looked identical to him." He Lingchuan said offhandedly, "What's so strange about body doubles? I know plenty of people keep body doubles around to take their place at crucial moments." "Oh?" He Chunhua fixed a searching gaze on him. "Then tell me, who does?" "Uh..." He Lingchuan choked on his words and quickly turned back to the captive. "Everything you've said, I could find out from any other rebel. Do you have anything of real substance?" "I do, I do!" The captive swallowed hard. "When General Lu had the retreat surrounded, I went into the secret chamber with him, and I... I saw the Holy Master's remains lying on the floor, head and body severed!" He Chunhua found it hard to believe. "Lu Yao killed Hong Xiangqian?!" Hong Xiangqian held supreme status among the rebels. According to intelligence He Chunhua had gathered in the past, Lu Yao had originally been an unpolished ruffian in the markets. In his youth, he had violently slaughtered seven people in the streets and wounded nine others before being arrested. After trial, he was slated for execution after autumn, but Hong Xiangqian had favored his natural talents, personally rescued him, and taught him martial arts and tactics—a debt of rebirth, in essence. Why would Lu Yao suddenly betray him? "B-but there wasn't a single drop of blood on the ground, not a speck. It was completely clean. Even though the Holy Master only had a head left, his facial expression was remarkably peaceful, looking just as if he were asleep. The objects in the chamber weren't disturbed in the least, showing no trace of a struggle or a fight." The captive swallowed dryly. "General Lu only called us in to clear the room, so I don't believe he had cleaned it beforehand." He Chunhua listened intently. "And then?" "By then, Tianwangdui was breached and large numbers of government troops were pouring in. We had little time, so by General Lu's order, we wrapped the Holy Master's headless corpse tightly, weighted it with several large stones, and sank it into the Mingtai River. As for the Holy Master's head, I don't know how General Lu handled it." He Chunhua said slowly, "When Lords Wu Di and Ke Jihai found Hong Xiangqian's hiding place, it was unguarded by heavy troops. Instead, an ornate brocade box sat on the table. Upon opening it, Hong Xiangqian's severed head was inside. There was also a letter in his own hand, confessing that he was the chief culprit and offering his life to appease the world, begging the government troops not to harm the common folk of Woling Pass." Hearing this, He Lingchuan said immediately, "So they didn't sever the head with their own hands. In that case, its authenticity is questionable." He Yue shook his head. "Though the two lords were suspicious, they used numerous methods to verify it, and it truly was Hong Xiangqian's head, which was why it was presented to the capital. In truth, as long as it was proclaimed to the world that Hong Xiangqian had fallen in defeat, whether he was truly dead or alive made little difference. He and his rebel army could never become a threat again." With a solemn face, He Chunhua said slowly, "Hearing this man's words, I have a thought. Perhaps Chuan'er was not entirely wrong." He Lingchuan grew smug at once. "So I was right after all? Aha, though right is right and wrong is wrong—what do you mean by 'not entirely wrong'?" "Hong Xiangqian may not be dead, but he cannot be considered alive either." He Chunhua clearly hesitated before speaking with great deliberation. "I suspect he summoned Lu Yao into that secret chamber so that Lu could perform the rite of weapon liberation on him!" "Weapon liberation?" This was the second time He Lingchuan had heard the term, and it instantly brought the old tortoise monster to mind. Monsters could undergo corpse liberation; did the same apply to humans under a different name? "Deliverance through the blade, aiding the origin soul to leave the body," He Chunhua said word by word. "To put it simply, having someone decapitate you to liberate your origin soul!" He Lingchuan glanced at his younger brother, whose brows were tightly knitted. That meant this knowledge was likely so obscure that even the young scholar had never encountered it. "You mean Hong Xiangqian's origin soul escaped? This 'weapon liberation' can't just be an ordinary beheading, can it?" "Of course not. He had to concentrate all his essence, qi, spirit, and blood into his head. Only when Lu Yao brought the blade down would Hong Xiangqian have the chance to cast off the shackles of his mortal coil. Timing was everything; a moment too early or too late, and it would simply be murder," He Chunhua explained. "The process must have succeeded. The absence of blood on the ground indicates that all the vital essence and blood in his body had been refined and drawn into his head, leaving Hong Xiangqian unable to move. Only when Lu Yao struck could he use that moment to birth his origin and emerge. Most importantly, corpse liberation cannot be completed on one's own; it requires another person's hand." "In that case, Lu Yao was Hong Xiangqian's true confidant?" He Lingchuan asked curiously. "What can an origin soul do once it leaves the body?" What he was actually thinking was: if the old tortoise monster's corpse liberation was equally troublesome and impossible to complete alone, had it relied on the Crocodile God's power? Though the risk was immense, that old mortal frame had reached the ceiling of its cultivation anyway, hadn't it? If that was the case, it had been a brilliant scheme. "Body seizure," He Yue spoke up this time. "I have heard that an origin soul cannot remain exposed in the wild for long. It must quickly find a body to settle in, with an unborn fetus being the best vessel." He Lingchuan shrugged. "So that means Hong Xiangqian won't be able to cause trouble for at least ten years." "Not necessarily. Lord Ke once said Hong Xiangqian possessed uncanny abilities rivaling those of the National Preceptors. Perhaps he had already prepared a compatible vessel long beforehand to guard against contingencies." He Chunhua turned to the captive. "After Lu Yao left Woling Pass, did he ever come into contact with pregnant women, or children under the age of three? Those who were eaten do not count."