Ambition

Ambition

Niu Hang was going down the mountain, heading back to Qishan County.

Lu Zhaojin was traveling in the opposite direction.

Lu Zhaojin watched his receding figure. Only after a long while did he withdraw his gaze and prepare to find a secluded place to raise his cultivation, giving himself greater confidence in destroying the Zhang Family and Zhao Family, as well as finding his predecessor's father.

He had not expected Niu Hang to be from Luoshui Commandery.

Lu Zhaojin had thought Niu Hang came from somewhere outside Qishan County, yet still within Mount Qi's borders.

Mount Qi lay wedged between Luoshui Commandery and Yanling Commandery, stretching for hundreds of miles like an unremarkable dividing line.

Mount Qi had once been quite lively. Wandering heroes from both commanderies had surged upstream like rivers in search of precious herbs, their figures covering every mountain and plain.

That was also why the precious medicinal herbs on Mount Qi had been exhausted and no longer grew, leaving only those with short growth cycles and little value.

Later, seemingly over a single blood ginseng, martial artists from the two commanderies had fought fiercely for it. Countless were killed and wounded, like fire and water colliding, unwilling to rest until one side died.

Had the imperial dynasty not stepped in forcefully to stop them, Mount Qi might have been dyed into a mountain of blood, the slaughter horrific beyond measure.

In the end, Mount Qi became a buffer zone for the martial artists of the two commanderies. Though their grudges remained after many years, Mount Qi itself was forgotten and became a wilderness. Those who came from this place were called mountain savages and mocked by others.

The governors of the two commanderies had not stepped in to mediate, nor did they bother with Mount Qi. Thus, County Magistrate Zhao Huaishui was considered the highest-ranking official here.

The martial artists born in Mount Qi were deeply dissatisfied with the people of the two commanderies' attitude of eating their fill and then cursing the cook. They even harbored resentment toward the imperial dynasty.

Zhao Huaishui was an imperial official, so they had little fondness for him. If Zhao Huaishui had not been a Seventh-Rank Realm martial artist, then even with his status as county magistrate, he might not have found it easy to remain in Qishan County.

Zhao Huaishui also knew what they thought, so he found it difficult to interfere in many matters, afraid of laboring without reward and instead angering that band of martial artists.

They dared treat imperial law as if it were nothing, killing at the slightest disagreement. At worst, they could flee into the deep mountains and old forests. They appeared bold and carefree, but in truth they were fools who ignored all consequences. When true disaster came crashing down, they would howl to heaven and earth, more afraid of death than anyone.

Zhao Huaishui had found it difficult to govern them before, but now he had to. He had indeed heard a few whispers from above.

The imperial dynasty believed that the two governors had been unwilling to govern Mount Qi, and that their handling of that past incident had indeed been biased. Therefore, it intended to separate Mount Qi and establish Qishan Commandery.

It could also be considered a way to set right the status of Mount Qi's martial artists, so that when they left Mount Qi, they would no longer be cursed as mountain savages.

Yet reorganizing Mount Qi and establishing Qishan Commandery was not the imperial dynasty's true purpose. Its real aim was to restrain the Dingshan Sect.

Because of the matter between the two commanderies, the imperial dynasty had lost its credibility in Mount Qi, causing these martial artists to draw even closer to martial organizations.

As a local power of Mount Qi, the Dingshan Sect naturally gave Mount Qi's martial artists a stronger sense of belonging. This had led to a saying in Mount Qi: even an imperial edict might not work as well as an offhand remark from the Dingshan Sect.

This showed just how high the Dingshan Sect stood in Mount Qi.

The imperial dynasty would not permit such a thing, so it planned to reorganize Mount Qi.

Once Mount Qi became Qishan Commandery, the position of governor became Zhao Huaishui's pursuit. Yet according to the intentions from above, the commandery seat would unexpectedly be placed in Shiqiao Town rather than Qishan County.

Because Shiqiao Town stood beside the Qi River and already had a dock built there, all it needed was for the imperial dynasty's order to arrive. The town would become a city, and that dock would become an important hub for trade and transportation.

By contrast, Qishan County's location truly could not compare with Shiqiao Town's. Its future economic development was not as secure either, so it had no choice but to be passed over.

This filled Zhao Huaishui with resentment. He had struggled for Mount Qi for more than twenty years, and even in the hardest times, he had never considered giving up.

Yet with a single word from above, the position of commandery governor had been given to someone else. The Zhang Family's recent moves had also given him many suspicions. Could Xu Huan be the newly appointed governor of Qishan Commandery?

County Yamen, study.

Zhao Huaishui looked at the character "power" he had written several days ago, then thought of what Lu Zhaojin was about to do. His eyes brimmed with delight as he could not help murmuring, "Let's see how many more days he can keep jumping about..."

A knock sounded at the door. "Come in."

The steward brought in a person wrapped head to toe in a black robe.

The person removed his hood, revealing Captain Liu's face. He clasped his hands in salute. "County Magistrate."

Zhao Huaishui asked, "How did it go?"

Captain Liu said gravely, "Lu Zhaojin's cultivation has risen too quickly. I fear I am not certain I can kill him."

Captain Liu was at the middle stage of the Eighth Rank. Before, he had been absolutely certain he could take down Lu Zhaojin, but after that battle on Mount Qi, he had been thoroughly frightened and no longer dared provoke him.

He told Zhao Huaishui every detail of what had happened on Mount Qi, causing Zhao Huaishui's expression to turn grave as well. "You say he killed a disciple of the Dingshan Sect? And Zhang Jiao of the Zhang Family?"

Captain Liu nodded. "That's right."

Zhao Huaishui's eyes lit up. "Then this will be easy."

He said seriously, "This boy absolutely cannot be allowed to live, but he cannot die by my hand. He saved my daughter, after all. If I act against him, I would be repaying kindness with enmity. What would the martial world think of me then?"

Zhao Huaishui ordered Captain Liu to secretly deliver these two pieces of news to the Dingshan Sect and the Zhang Family of Shiqiao Town. "I simply never expected that my cousin's son had hidden himself so deeply. At such a young age, he already has late Eighth-Rank cultivation."

His eyes were full of jealousy. "Heaven truly favors Zhao Yuanshan!"

Captain Liu remained silent, standing quietly where he was.

Because of Zhao Jinzhi, Zhao Huaishui had long harbored resentment. He showed Captain Liu no kindness either. "What are you still standing here for? Hurry and do as I said."

Captain Liu clasped his hands and withdrew.

Zhao Huaishui did somewhat regret failing to win Lu Zhaojin over, but what was done was done. No amount of regret would help. Since he had taken the wrong path, he would correct it.

Zhao Huaishui would not spare his cousin's son either. Anyone who stood in the way of his ascent to the position of commandery governor deserved to die!

Zhao Nuanyu's voice came from outside the door. "Father, I just saw Uncle Liu leaving your study. Did something happen?"

Zhao Nuanyu entered the study, dressed in an apricot-colored gown embroidered with flowers. Without the heroic bearing of the fitted martial attire she had worn that day, she now looked like a gentle and elegant young lady.

But her injuries had not yet healed. Her lips were still somewhat pale, and white bandages wrapped her shoulder, stained with traces of blood.

Zhao Huaishui reined in his somewhat twisted expression and wore his usual spring-breeze smile. His gaze upon Zhao Nuanyu carried concern. "Nuanyu, your injuries have not healed yet. You should not be walking about. Avoid reopening the wound, or it may leave scars. That would look ugly."

Zhao Nuanyu did not care about such things. "We daughters of the martial world need not mind a few scars."

Zhao Huaishui did not actually wish for Zhao Nuanyu to enter the martial world. He knew its waters ran deep, no less treacherous than officialdom. "Nuanyu, tell me this: if one day I develop a grudge against Lu Zhaojin and must fight him, whom would you help?"

Zhao Nuanyu looked at him in surprise. "What are you saying, Father?"

She continued, "Lu Zhaojin and I only met by chance. I repaid his life-saving grace at the ruined temple with two cultivation techniques. There is no other bond between us. Why would I help him?"

Zhao Huaishui breathed a sigh of relief and said something Zhao Nuanyu did not understand. "That is good..."

He was afraid his daughter would lose her senses and act like the tales written by folk storytellers—repaying life-saving grace with her body, or developing tender feelings and the like.

Otherwise... no, he had already stood on the opposite side from Lu Zhaojin. With Zhao Nuanyu caught between them, she would suffer even more.

Zhao Nuanyu was his only daughter. He had cherished her since childhood and held great hopes for her future, hoping she could marry into the Central Capital and escape this poor, backwater place.

But plans could not keep pace with changes. If he could become governor of Qishan Commandery, then it would no longer be him reaching above his station.

The two chatted about household matters. In the end, Zhao Nuanyu said she needed to return to her room to rest because of her injuries, and the matter was left there.

As Zhao Nuanyu walked back toward her separate courtyard, Xiao Liu supported her at her side. Zhao Nuanyu suddenly asked, "Xiao Liu, what do you think of the master?"

Xiao Liu had not expected her mistress to ask such a question. "The master is certainly an excellent master. He treats servants like us very well and never beats or scolds us..."

Zhao Nuanyu interrupted her. "What if the master is pretending?"

Xiao Liu thought for a moment, then said earnestly, "Then Xiao Liu hopes he can keep pretending forever."

Zhao Nuanyu looked at her, not knowing what to do, and said no more. She merely left behind a sigh.