Plan

The Provincial Examination results were posted, and every passerby could see them.

The closer one got to the place where the list was posted, the louder the hubbub of discussion became.

"Qi Yu took first place? Who is this Qi Yu?"

"He's the Qi Family's third young master."

"The Qi Family's third young master? He actually beat so many geniuses? Is he really that capable?"

"The Qi Family's fortunes are finally turning around."

"Who says otherwise? The Qi Family was already a major clan. Now that they've produced such a fine talent, they'll probably rise another level."

This time, Madam Liu no longer needed to spend money greasing palms. The entire city was filled with talk of him.

However, the discussions did not focus solely on him. More often, they treated him as an opportunity—and a symbol—of the Qi Family's rise.

As the saying went, when one man attained enlightenment, even his chickens and dogs ascended to Heaven.

Any family that wished to grow naturally valued the talents within its clan, seeking ways to support and elevate them rather than waste their strength suppressing one another.

At the annual gathering, Second Uncle and his cousin had been so arrogant. This time, though, Father and First Uncle had forcibly snatched the Herb Gathering Pavilion from their hands. Who knew whether that would spark an even greater conflict, or... force them to make peace for the time being?

Or perhaps it would evolve into an even more complicated situation.

Qi Yu gently shook his head, casting those thoughts of deceit and strife behind him.

A person's energy was limited. What one's heart yearned for and one's actions pursued determined what kind of person one became.

It was enough for him to understand these matters. What truly mattered was becoming stronger.

The turning of the wheels gradually slowed...

The area before the list in the distance was still teeming with people. Some were discussing the results animatedly, while others were racing off to deliver the good news.

Qi Yu lifted the carriage curtain and gazed at the posted list.

He could not make out the tiny flyspeck characters in the rows of five behind them, but the top three were crystal clear.

First: Qi Yu.

Second: Han Yan.

Third: Lin Wuming.

There was no name of Zhen Tianshuang?

After a moment's thought, he said, "Uncle Ding, go see whether Chu Xiao's name is on it."

Ding Yi answered, "Yes," then got out to check. A short while later, he returned and reported, "Young Master, it isn't there."

Qi Yu immediately understood.

The authorities must have confirmed that both Zhen Tianshuang and Chu Xiao had become cripples, and so they had not even been granted academic honors...

The victor became king and the loser a bandit; the winner enjoyed everything, while the loser ended up with nothing. The harsh reality of the world could be summed up no better than that.

"Let's return home."

"Yes, Young Master."

Master Chen had already left the study some time ago.

After returning home, Qi Yu had followed a servant's guidance straight here and sat upright opposite his father...

As far as he remembered, he had almost never sat in this spot.

Qi Changshun looked at him, his eyes gleaming with gratification. A thousand words became a single word of encouragement: "Keep it up!"

Then he showed hesitation. His lips opened and closed several times, as though he were weighing how to broach what came next.

After pondering for a moment, he finally asked tentatively, "Do you still remember Sikong Rong?"

Qi Yu searched his memories.

She seemed to be the name of the Umbrella Sect female disciple he had once been infatuated with.

He nodded.

Qi Changshun smiled. "You... if you could surpass her, would you be happy?"

Qi Yu instantly understood what his father was driving at. His father was trying to hint that the family had already joined the Umbrella Sect, then persuade him to join her as well.

He simply said, "You want to discuss my joining the Umbrella Sect, don't you?"

Qi Changshun said, "Then... what do you think?"

Qi Yu answered crisply, "I'll join."

"But after joining, you must obey the sect's rules. I'm afraid there will be some restraints..."

Qi Changshun's tone grew increasingly tense.

He could not help being tense. His son had always hated restrictions and longed for so-called "freedom." He remembered one time when, after returning from a brothel, Madam Liu had scolded him. He had actually retorted, "If the family didn't bind me at every turn, why would I go out? If you want someone to blame, blame this family!"

"Restrictions are no problem." Qi Yu remained calm.

Qi Changshun had never imagined it would go so smoothly—so smoothly that he had not even recovered his senses. He instinctively asked, "Why?"

Qi Yu said, "My cousin said that our family is like a sword. It needs both a blade and an edge. As the edge, I should naturally devote myself to becoming stronger, but I also cannot do without the support of the blade and hilt. We are one whole, one family. How could the edge abandon the blade and hilt?"

Qi Changshun fell silent for a long while. An expression of utter satisfaction gradually appeared on his face. He raised his head and let out a long breath, his gaze toward Qi Yu filled with comfort. "Son... I can finally rest easy. You've truly grown up."

Qi Yu smiled faintly.

Qi Changshun's tone relaxed. "It's nearly noon. Let's have a few drinks, father and son, and chat while we're at it."

"Good."

Soon, beneath the peach tree outside the study, a table of exquisite dishes had been laid out. A jar of the Qi Family's specialty, twenty-year-aged Hundred Flowers Brew, sat beside it.

Qi Changshun dismissed the servants.

Qi Yu understood and knocked off the sealing clay, using the wine ladle to fill both their bowls.

Qi Changshun raised his bowl. "Yu'er, last winter, you said you seemed to have been followed by something. Later, your mother told you it was a sacrifice... Today, I'll tell you the whole story behind it."

Qi Yu raised his bowl in salute.

Father and son lightly clinked their bowls. Qi Yu tipped his head back and drained his drink in one go. Qi Changshun drew a deep breath and finished his as well.

"Father, drink more slowly." Qi Yu looked at him with concern.

Qi Changshun coughed several times, then waved his hand and laughed. "When the heart is unburdened, one should drain a great cup."

Then he fixed his gaze on the eyes of the young man across from him and slowly began, "You know something of the family's situation. Your grandfather favored the second branch, allowing them to grow increasingly arrogant. They stopped caring about brotherly ties long ago and sought only to make their branch supreme."

"Your uncle and I feared the family would fall into decline, so we had no choice but... seek another path."

"Last autumn, we made contact with the Umbrella Sect."

"Our contact was Master Chen..."

"Before meeting Master Chen, your uncle and I never believed there was any true divine power in this world."

"When I roamed the martial world back then, those so-called heretical sects were nothing more than covers used by sinister martial artists to swindle people. They were truly contemptible."

"But Master Chen displayed a power beyond imagination to us. And you've already witnessed that power in Zhen Tianshuang."

Qi Changshun enunciated each word. "The membrane."

He paused briefly, and Qi Yu timely refilled both their wine bowls.

Qi Changshun took a sip and continued, "Yu'er, can you imagine someone with extremely weak martial arts, someone who ranked at the bottom even among ninth-grade warriors, being impervious to blades and spears?"

"Master Chen was precisely such a person. He did not circulate his internal force or wear armor, only a single robe. Your uncle held a fine-steel saber and hacked at him with all his might. The force shook his tiger's mouth numb, yet the other man did not suffer the slightest injury."

"It wasn't that his body blocked the blow. The saber simply could not break through his membrane."

Qi Yu understood.

His fight with Zhen Tianshuang had been the same.

Zhen Tianshuang had not stored up force or exerted himself fully. He had waved his hands about wildly like a street thug, yet every blow had somehow unleashed tremendous power.

Qi Changshun said, "Thus, your uncle and I joined the Umbrella Sect. However, we are only ordinary disciples, also known as 'Rain Avoiders'—we either attend gatherings to spread the doctrine, pay offerings, or cooperate with the sect's missions."

"Your cousin Qi Zhao, on the other hand, has become an Internal Affairs Envoy, also known as an 'Umbrella Holder,' responsible for managing the sect's property and farmland."

"Unfortunately, her seniority is still shallow and her position low. Not only is it difficult for her to use the sect's resources, she must instead constantly offer the Qi Family's holdings to the Umbrella Sect. Aside from money and goods, she must also present sacrifices at regular intervals to maintain her position."

"What use is Cousin's position as Internal Affairs Envoy, then?" Qi Yu asked curiously...

To put it bluntly, this Internal Affairs Envoy position was one the Qi Family had bought for his cousin, no different from the Poison Water Army Commandant position.

Truly, money could make the ghosts turn the millstone.

Qi Changshun said, "She can learn information from within the sect, organize disciples to a certain extent, issue missions, and use the Black Umbrella... However, her position is lowly, so using the Black Umbrella requires her to pay an additional price."

"As for the sacrifices you've always wanted to know about... they are actually demons."

"Demons truly exist in this world."

After saying this...

Qi Changshun stared tensely at Qi Yu.

However, he saw not the slightest trace of fear in his son's eyes.

Thus, he continued, "These demons hide among the masses and live like ordinary people. Under normal circumstances, they cannot be detected at all. Only by using a specific method can they be drawn out."

"Different demons possess different traits. Earlier, when we worked with Master Chen, he killed the Black Tiger Gang's leader to help the Umbrella Sect enter East City, then piled him up into a snowman... simply because he knew that the demon hiding there loved making bizarre imitations."

"So, the second time, after Wolf Bro was killed, that demon appeared and piled him into a man of earth and stone. We followed that clue and went hunting. We lost quite a few brothers before finally finding and killing the demon, thereby obtaining the sacrifice."

Qi Yu asked, "Then what should your son do now?"

Qi Changshun said, "Continue cultivating. I'll do my utmost to find you a good partner."

"A partner?"

"The Umbrella Sect's core strength is primarily female, but women's constitutions are yin and supple, so they need male partners."

"The more abundant a man's yang energy, the more divine power a woman can bear."

"In return... the man can obtain the membrane."

"How much he receives depends on the female partner; how much he can endure depends on his own aptitude."

"This time, you performed exceptionally well. There should be quite a few female disciples fighting over you..."

"Father, then... I have one request."

"What request?"

"Choose from among the candidates you approve of, and then in the end... let me pick for myself."

He had to choose someone as weak as he was—someone he could control.

"Then, as soon as possible. I want to undergo the Cipher Text Baptism as soon as possible..."

"First join the sect and have your aptitude tested."

"As for the Cipher Text Baptism, it requires a sacrifice. I've already had people search for abnormalities in the surrounding area. There'll be news soon. When the time comes, your uncle and I will send quite a few people to hunt alongside you."

"Still, it's the same old advice: focus on practicing martial arts... When you have some free time, take a jug of Hundred Flowers Brew and go visit that teacher of yours as well."