The Half-Year Emperor

The eighteenth year of Hongchang.

Also the first year of Yongxing.

Emperor Yongxing appointed treacherous ministers, who embezzled military pay and sparked a mutiny that besieged the imperial city.

Zhao Xian, the Deposed Crown Prince imprisoned in the Cold Palace, joined forces with patriots and entered Shangyang Palace to seek an audience.

Zhang Zhengyang spoke with heartfelt sincerity. "Your Majesty, for the stability of the dynasty, this old minister dares to beg Your Majesty to abdicate in favor of Emperor Zhongzong's eldest legitimate son!"

Emperor Yongxing was overcome by rage and died!

Since Emperor Yongxing had reigned for only half a year—ascending the throne in the fifth month and dying in the twelfth—the histories called him the "Half-Year Emperor."

Thus, the first half of that year was the eighteenth year of Hongchang, while the latter half was the first year of Yongxing.

After Zhao Xian ascended the throne, he proclaimed a pardon for the assassination and treason committed by the Third Prince's Residence. Yet the entire Third Prince's Residence had been wiped out, so he could only have someone from a collateral branch of the imperial clan adopted over to continue the family line.

The civil and military officials, imperial clansmen, and meritorious nobles all praised His Majesty's benevolence!

Three days after his ascension, it was New Year's Day.

Zhao Xian declared the new era name to be Jinglong, then led the civil and military officials to worship at the Imperial Ancestral Temple and announce it to the forebears.

At that moment.

The officials of the Imperial Ancestral Temple discovered that the Rivers and Mountains Cauldron had vanished without a trace.

The court and commonfolk were thrown into uproar.

Emperor Jinglong ordered the Brocade Guard to investigate thoroughly. Before long, they learned that on the night of the rebellion, many people had heard booming thunderclaps.

The soldiers on duty claimed that they had personally seen a great mass of purple qi fly straight toward the northern frontier that night!

Emperor Jinglong had been enthroned for only a few days and did not dare casually transfer away the Capital Garrison or Imperial Guards. In the end, the matter was left unresolved.

The Ministry of Works recast the ceremonial cauldron, making it more than ten times as heavy. They inscribed a map of the Fengyang Kingdom upon it with golden threads and silver wires, then inlaid it with emeralds and precious jade. Its extravagance and splendor surpassed the Rivers and Mountains Cauldron a hundredfold.

Emperor Jinglong was immensely pleased and named it the "Jinglong Cauldron."

With the Rivers and Mountains Cauldron lost, all manner of rumors spread among the people. Naturally, some said Emperor Yongxing had slain his own younger brother, and Jinglong had done the same, finally angering the ancestors of the Fengyang Kingdom.

Later, unofficial histories recorded: the cauldron fell in the northern frontier—this was the Mandate of Heaven!

The court shifted and changed; when one side finished singing, another took the stage.

None of it had anything to do with Zhou Yi.

The carriage traveled day and night without stopping, exhausting several horses to death along the way.

Three days later.

It was New Year's Day.

Zhou Yi had already left the capital region and arrived in the central part of Xuan Province.

Of the six northern provinces, only Xuan Province did not belong to the northern frontier. Its northern border was the natural barrier of Serpent Coil Mountain, and it had not seen warfare for over a century. The cities under its jurisdiction were quite prosperous.

Pengshan County.

A stretch of low hills lay west of the city, called Peng Mountain. The county took its name from them.

At this time.

A porridge shed had been erected outside the city gates. Great crowds of bedraggled refugees, carrying pots, bowls, ladles, and basins, stood in line to receive porridge.

Zhou Yi reined in his horse and asked, "Brother, where in Xuan Province has disaster struck?"

"We fled here from the northern frontier. There's war over there again."

The old man's face was blackened with grime, and his age could no longer be discerned. He held an infant in his arms, dipping his finger into the porridge broth to feed it.

Zhou Yi asked doubtfully, "Wasn't the court always negotiating peace?"

Taking advantage of the upheaval in Fengyang Kingdom's power, when the northern frontier army's morale was scattered, Great Yong had reclaimed its lost territories in one sweep. After Emperor Yongxing ascended the throne, he mobilized the armies of provincial prefectures everywhere and sent them north to face off against Great Yong's forces.

Emperor Yongxing had inherited the foundation his father had saved up. If they truly fought, he might not necessarily lose to Great Yong.

The Great Yong Emperor was not endlessly greedy either. He demanded that the Fengyang Kingdom cede territory and pay indemnities, as well as return from the Imperial Ancestral Temple the remains of princes and marshals from years past.

The envoys of both nations had haggled for a long time without settling any concrete terms. How had war broken out again?

The old man shook his head. "How would an old fellow like me know about matters of war?"

A younger refugee beside him said, "I heard it was one of our generals who refused to admit defeat. He launched a surprise attack on Great Yong's army, burned their camps linked for miles, and killed several tens of thousands!"

"They've killed to their hearts' content, but it's us who suffer."

"You can't say that. Winning is still a good thing. I'm just afraid we'll lose again!"

"Do you know who burned Great Yong's camp? Er Gouzi, who fled back, said it was a young general barely ten years old. Supposedly his surname was Zhou or Zou—he didn't hear clearly."

"That's impressive. He's no worse than the Duke Who Pacifies the Nation."

"If the Duke Who Pacifies the Nation were still alive, how would those Great Yong dog bastards dare wage war?"

"..."

Most of the news the refugees knew had passed through several or a dozen hands. Its truth was uncertain, but its general direction should not have been far off.

"Fengyang launched a war without declaration! When scholars turned ruthless, soldiers truly could not compare..."

Zhou Yi sighed. At such a crucial moment in the peace negotiations, who would dare ignite war without an edict from the central court?

To completely cut off Emperor Yongxing's road to survival, Chancellor Zhang had not hesitated to unleash a great war in the northern frontier, lest the prefectural armies be recalled to Shenjing to protect the emperor.

"With the arrangements in Shenjing, seizing the throne was already as certain as nails driven into a board. Why let so many more people die?"

Zhou Yi could not understand the thoughts of great figures. That was why he was ultimately not the sort made for great undertakings; he could only strive to live his own life well.

The soldiers inspected those entering the city, while refugees could only sleep outside its walls.

Zhou Yi slipped them two taels. The soldiers waved him through with beaming smiles. Sure enough, what could travel the world was not an imperial edict, but silver.

After replenishing his supplies with several bags of rice and flour in the city, he left and headed toward Peng Mountain.

Peng Mountain was obscure in the Fengyang Kingdom. It possessed neither treacherous natural passes nor beautiful scenery.

Hunters occasionally came and went in the mountains, but no one else disturbed them. That was just right for secluded cultivation.

Those who secluded themselves in famous mountains had shortcuts in their hearts!

On an unnamed mountain peak, he found a bear den. He stewed the Black Bear into meat porridge, then used mana to carve stone as though it were mud, creating a square and tidy stone chamber.

He blocked the entrance with a massive boulder. If anyone truly pried it open, he would know in advance.

"Cold, desolate, silent..."

Zhou Yi murmured, "Compared to hiding away amid the worldly dust, it has not a trace of mortal smoke and fire. Yet it carries a wholly different flavor."

The Rivers and Mountains Cauldron stood in the center of the stone chamber. Following the Blood Refinement of Spirit Weapons method, Zhou Yi forced drops of vital blood from his body and used mana to forcibly infuse them into the bronze.

"The first step is blood refinement. This Rivers and Mountains Cauldron... is rather large!"

Zhou Yi thought to himself that there was likely no second person in the world as wasteful of vital blood as he was.

The Blood Refinement of Spirit Weapons required vital blood to soak every part of a spiritual object. Given the Rivers and Mountains Cauldron's size and weight, it would directly drain the vital blood of several hundred people.

Vital blood was not ordinary blood. It came from the heart and was the essence of a person's qi and blood!

Each time Zhou Yi expended more than ten drops of vital blood to refine a treasure, he needed over ten days of cultivation to recover.

"No wonder Li Ye suggested refining the Imperial Jade Seal. Ordinary Innate Grandmasters would be unwilling to refine the Rivers and Mountains Cauldron. Even if they somehow succeeded, they would not have many years left to live!"

The spiritual qi in the mountains was thirty to fifty percent denser than in Shenjing.

While blood-refining the Rivers and Mountains Cauldron, Zhou Yi devoted himself to cultivating the Origin Returning Art. At last, in the third year, he made a breakthrough.

Mana emerged from his body and transformed into Sword Qi, several degrees more solid than before. Its range expanded from two or three zhang to five or six, and its killing power increased greatly.

"This is probably from the first level of Qi Refinement to the second?"

"It truly is rather slow... but for me, as long as it can keep growing, that is enough. Fast or slow does not matter. Safety comes first!"

Zhou Yi's breakthrough in mana brought no ripple to his heart. He continued blood-refining the Rivers and Mountains Cauldron.

The vital blood infusion was nearly complete. The next step was to communicate with the cauldron spirit, and after that, refine the cauldron spirit...

The sun rose and moon fell; time flew like a shuttle.

In the blink of an eye, ten years passed.

People were born, aged, fell ill, and died. Plants flourished, declined, withered, and prospered.

Only Zhou Yi, cultivating in seclusion, remained youthful in appearance. Time and years left no trace upon him.

On this day.

Zhou Yi formed a hand seal and gave a great shout.

"Go!"

The Rivers and Mountains Cauldron standing in the stone chamber rose into the air, spinning round and round as it rapidly shrank to the size of a grain of rice.

Zhou Yi opened his mouth and swallowed the tiny cauldron into his belly. He rubbed his stomach, a smile appearing on his face.

"Finally, it's refined!"