You and I Are Cut from the Same Cloth

Bailang Villa had only officially opened a few days ago, so hardly any outsiders knew of it. He Lingchuan naturally arranged the finest accommodations for Wang Xingyi, who had several hot spring pools all to himself. Men of stature disliked being seen unclothed by others, lest stripping down strip away a measure of their dignity. Wang Xingyi went off in high spirits to soak, parting ways with the two younger men for the time being. In He Lingchuan’s eyes, this was the elder man’s deliberate way of leaving time for him and Fang Canran to speak. He pointed toward a low rise within the estate. "There's a viewing platform up there." It could hardly be called a mountain; at most, it was a small hill crowned with a pavilion positioned perfectly to take in the panorama of the bay and the sea. Knowing Fang Canran had things to say, He Lingchuan walked up beside him. The area around the viewing platform was also protected by a windbreak barrier. An evening breeze brushed their faces, and lanterns among the trees swayed gently—a rare pocket of tranquility amid the looming gale. As they walked, He Lingchuan grumbled, "Brother Songyuan, bringing such a heavyweight along without giving me advance notice was a bit much, wasn't it?" "You wrong me! National Preceptor Wang forbade me from notifying you in advance. Could I really go against his wishes?" He Lingchuan shook his head. "My true state was laid bare." Wang Xingyi had simply wanted to see his territory as it truly was, unvarnished and uncurated. Fang Canran chuckled. "Seeing it in person, this archipelago is vast." The eastern archipelago where Platinum Island was situated encompassed more than three hundred islands. Fang Canran had assumed 'forty-two' was a modest figure and that He Lingchuan was merely dabbling in a small enterprise. Yet as their ship sailed through the Yangshan Archipelago, he realized these islands were far from small. What was more... "How could there be only forty-two?" He Lingchuan rubbed his nose. "There are also several hundred isolated reefs and barrier reefs." According to the reckoning of the ancient ancestors of Bailie, anything too small didn't count as an 'island,' which was why only forty-two were recorded. "Then the hydrological conditions here must be extremely complex?" "Indeed." He Lingchuan glanced left and right. The thickets rustled in the evening breeze as if someone might leap out at any moment. But surrounded by more than a hundred Mou Kingdom guards, he and Fang Canran were actually safer here than at the docks. "The outer waters of the Yangshan Archipelago are prone to storms and home to vicious sea beasts, so passing vessels usually hug the coast along established shipping lanes. Between the islands, the waters are riddled with submerged reefs and whirlpools. More than half the novice ships that sail into the depths of the archipelago and vanish aren't lost to yin hui or baleful energy, but ordinary shipwrecks from striking reefs. Furthermore, the currents shift directions with the seasons. It's difficult for any sailor who isn't a local to manage." "That makes it a natural maritime barrier. Securing a haven like this to serve as a stronghold is quite a coup." This fellow truly had an eye for location. "You claimed you bought the territory from the Lu family of Bailie and feared they might renege and come to reclaim it later. Is that true?" Fang Canran had known all along that something wasn't right. Would a man bold enough to raise hell in the Heavenly Palace at Lingxu City and offend celestial gods to the death truly fear harassment from a petty Bailie lord? Both knew the Yangshan Archipelago was only a front. He Lingchuan remarked leisurely, "Who's to say I don't genuinely wish to retire from the world and stir up less trouble?" Fang Canran started, then burst into hearty laughter. Was it really that funny? He Lingchuan rubbed his nose. Fang Canran was laughing so loudly that anyone nearby, wanted or unwanted, might be drawn by the sound. Fang Canran laughed for quite a while before finally reeling it in. Massaging his aching cheeks, he said, "You certainly know how to tell a joke! "Brother He, you and I are cut from the same cloth. Judging you by my own measure, I know your ambitions are vast. Retirement? Heh." He Lingchuan smiled. "Brother Fang sees through everything, yet you made the introduction for me nonetheless." "I owe you a favor, after all." Just looking at the frenzied construction on Suoding Island, would a man who wanted to retire rush progress every single day? Would he purchase thousands of weapons? Fang Canran felt like laughing all over again. He Lingchuan asked, "How close is National Preceptor Wang to Grand Guardian Xia?" Fang Canran lowered his voice to a whisper. "My martial uncle is a Law Arbiter of Lingshan, responsible for overseeing the enforcement of Lingshan's decrees." Wang Xingyi was not only of Lingshan, but also wielded immense authority! He Lingchuan was genuinely moved, only now grasping what kind of paramount figure Fang Canran had brought him. Fang Canran immediately followed with, "How much do you know about the royal court of Mou Kingdom?" "Great Mou has stood for over a hundred and fifty years, belonging to the Xin clan. Everything else I know is hearsay gathered from the road and marketplaces, hardly reliable." Back in the Panlong World, He Lingchuan had never even heard of Mou Kingdom. Only later did he learn that Mou hadn't existed back then; it had been merely an insignificant minor faction in eastern Beijia, unworthy of a second glance from the empire. "Mou Kingdom was founded with the backing of Lingshan. Without Lingshan's protection, it could never have grown alongside Beijia." With a single statement, Fang Canran established the relationship between the two. "Once Mou revealed its stance, Daoist orders flocked to it one after another. Today, Mou Kingdom and Lingshan are inextricably intertwined, each part of the other. The single most vital force in the Mou court is Lingshan." He Lingchuan nodded. That was only logical. "And standing opposed to them are the imperial kin, noble clans, Daoist disciples, and civilian-born civil and military officials who have little connection to Lingshan. They refer to themselves as the Pengmen, though ironically, outsiders secretly dub them the 'Emperor's Party.'" Pengmen, meaning 'thatched gates,' denoted ordinary, humble households. The rival faction's moniker carried deep implications, and He Lingchuan grasped it at once. "The lineage of the Mou Emperor doesn't belong to Lingshan?" Mou's royal family bore the surname Xin. "They once did. However..." Fang Canran paused. "Put it this way: look at the Demon Emperor of Beijia. He isn't the sort to bow subserviently to the Heavenly Palace either." A sovereign who held the power of life and death over an entire nation ought to be supreme. How could any ruler remain entirely submissive to another authority? "Because Lingshan holds immense sway in the Mou court, the Pengmen naturally rally around the Mou Emperor." Hence why they were called the Emperor's Party. "Of course, the factions in Mou's court are intricate. These are merely the two primary camps. As for the rest, hearing too much would only make your head spin. Furthermore, the Pengmen and Lingshan do not completely shun one another; they often have intersections. "For instance, noble clans frequently send their scions to cultivate within Daoist orders under Lingshan. Should such a person be counted as Lingshan or the Emperor's Party? Who can say for certain?" He Lingchuan remarked with feeling, "Birds of a feather." Wherever power resided, factions, rivalry, and conflict inevitably followed. "Over all these years, the court factions have generally maintained a balance, only flaring up during confrontations with Beijia." External pressure tended to sharpen internal strife. "So regarding your question about the relationship between Martial Uncle Wang and Grand Guardian Xia—" Fang Canran smiled. "Whether between the Taihang Sect and the Hong Sect, or between the two men themselves, their relations are quite good." Both were high-ranking ministers of the court, and both hailed from Lingshan. Disciples of Lingshan serving as officials in court naturally banded together. "Then what sort of temperament does National Preceptor Wang have?" He Lingchuan was not asking about Wang Xingyi's moral character, but his disposition. For a figure of that stature, simple labels of good or bad meant little. "To serve as a Law Arbiter of Lingshan, Martial Uncle Wang does not show favoritism or form cliques. That is precisely why Mou Kingdom invited him to serve as National Preceptor." He Lingchuan uttered an understanding sound. "Between brothers, let me ask one more presumptuous question: does Senior Wang prioritize Lingshan's interests, or does he place Mou Kingdom's interests first?" More often than not, one's stance dictated one's attitude. "Why ask such a thing?" Fang Canran looked at him with an odd glint in his eye. "Lingshan and Mou Kingdom are bound tightly together." Otherwise, after Lingshan struck Beijia's heartland, why would Beijia have retaliated with such fury against Mou Kingdom? He Lingchuan smiled. "Take the vassal demon kingdoms and Lingxu City, or Lingxu City and the Heavenly Palace—they maintain harmony while harboring differences." Outsiders viewed Beijia as a monolithic whole. Only someone like He Lingchuan, who had entangled himself deep in Beijia's internal fissures, knew just how convoluted its domestic relationships truly were. Likewise, if one took a magnifying glass to Lingshan and Mou Kingdom, might there not be similar surprises? Fang Canran nodded. "A fair point. Speaking of which, Martial Uncle Wang is a distant cousin of the current Mou Emperor. By birth, he ought to belong to the Emperor's Party. Yet at age five, he was sent to the Taihang Sect, where he cultivated in seclusion for thirty years before returning to Mou Kingdom. Five years after that, he rose to become a Law Arbiter of Lingshan." Even He Lingchuan had not anticipated this. "Uh... National Preceptor Wang's background is that intricate?" "Partly because Martial Uncle Wang possesses astonishing talent, and partly by Lingshan's design," Fang Canran said. "Lingshan needs figures like him who maintain close ties with every quarter." He Lingchuan nodded. "Figures like him cannot be many, can they?" Wang Xingyi himself served as the glue and lubricant between the two major factions of Mou Kingdom. Hailing from Lingshan, he was also the vital conduit between Lingshan and the Mou state. Men who stood at the intersection of all three major powers had to be rare, because they held sway and could even make decisions in every camp, giving them staggering influence. "Naturally," Fang Canran continued. "So when you ask me which side's interests Martial Uncle Wang would prioritize... well, all I can say is that being a Law Arbiter is no easy task." He Lingchuan cupped his hands to him. "My sincere thanks, Songyuan, for bringing such a formidable figure to me." He promptly shifted the subject. "I've heard that relations between Qing Kingdom and Mou Kingdom aren't particularly harmonious?" "Ever since Qing Kingdom crowned a new sovereign, it has become somewhat half-hearted," Fang Canran scoffed softly. "The two nations share no land border, and Qing Kingdom has enjoyed peace in recent years, making it rather flippant. Not long ago, it even permitted Beijia to borrow passage through Blade Harbor." He Lingchuan started slightly, his steps halting. "When was this?" "Last spring, Beijia dispatched envoys to celebrate the birthday of the ruler of Ya Kingdom. Rather than traveling by land, the diplomatic mission arrived by sea. Along the way, they borrowed passage through this very route and made a port call at Blade Harbor for resupply." Fang Canran shook his head. "After that, Mou Kingdom reprimanded Qing Kingdom, and it has behaved itself a bit better since." "Reprimanded it? I see." He Lingchuan steered the conversation back. "By the way, does National Preceptor Wang know of my past?" His past, naturally, meant raising hell in the Heavenly Palace. "Of course. How else would he have come to the Yangshan Archipelago? When I spoke of your grand exploits, Martial Uncle Wang was greatly astonished and wanted to meet this promising young talent himself." Fang Canran sighed softly. "He is a man of Mou Kingdom after all. If I had to guess, he wants to recruit you into government service." "Me?" He Lingchuan pointed to his own nose. "An official in Mou Kingdom?" "I asked you back in Lingxu City: where do your ambitions lie?" Fang Canran asked. "Now that you've come east, do you still have no desire to enter officialdom?" He Lingchuan glanced at him and countered, "Why haven't you taken up an official post in Mou Kingdom yourself?"