Rebellion in Mozhou Road

Huiping City border checkpoint.

Merchant caravans traveling north and south were undergoing clearance inspections. Wang Ping stood quietly in line, glancing at the two Daoist Scripture Hall Qi practitioners behind the border soldiers, who were coldly observing the surroundings.

The inspection for returning travelers was far stricter than when Wang Ping had left.

"Look up..." Yulian reminded Wang Ping.

Wang Ping raised his head as instructed, but saw nothing. He circulated spiritual power into his eyes, and the scene before him immediately changed. Along the long, narrow border line stood a faint, illusory barrier, seemingly meant to prevent something from leaving.

What a grand undertaking!

The two Daoist Scripture Hall Qi practitioners soon noticed Wang Ping. The older one stepped forward and cupped his hands. "Fellow Daoist, did you go to Xia Kingdom to visit relatives, or have you returned from traveling?"

"I've returned from traveling!" Wang Ping answered calmly.

"May I see your ID Badge?"

"Of course!"

Wang Ping handed over the ID Badge he carried with him and asked, "What happened within the country that requires such a grand display?"

The Cultivator did not answer immediately. Instead, he carefully examined the ID Badge with spiritual power. After confirming that it was genuine, he returned it to Wang Ping and said, "So you are a fellow Daoist from Thousand Wood Temple..."

As he spoke, he invited Wang Ping out of the line and led him before the other Qi practitioner. Only then did he explain, "Half a month ago, a Monster infiltrated the Provincial Governor's Yamen in Mozhou Road and assassinated an Imperial Court official. Later, two Mountain Gods invested by the Imperial Court rebelled, resulting in the destruction of most of Mozhou Road. In the end, it was an Immortal Master from the True Sun Sect who suppressed the Monster, but one of the rebellious Mountain Gods escaped Mozhou Road."

Wang Ping was somewhat shocked. After quickly digesting the news, he looked toward the crowded checkpoint and said, "With such a massive interception effort, can you really catch him?"

"That is for those above us to consider. We only need to carry out our orders." The older Cultivator smiled. "Fellow Daoist, Thousand Wood Temple is in Nanlin Road, correct? You should be extra careful on your way back, especially when passing through Mozhou Road."

He was driving him away!

"Thank you for the reminder, Fellow Daoist."

Wang Ping cupped his hands in thanks, then found an excuse to take his leave.

Huiping City was much the same as before. Only the merchant caravans passing through were either hurrying along, or directly renting a small courtyard in the city, intending to stay until the Imperial Court had completely crushed the Rebels before heading north.

Wang Ping could not help thinking of Wu Ping's caravan. Judging by the time, if they had disposed of their goods in Sea City and moved quickly enough to restock, they would have returned to Huiping City right when the Mozhou Road rebellion broke out. Given how fast news traveled, they would not learn of it until the caravan reached a city in the middle of Haizhou Road.

If they had not received the news and continued onward...

Yulian's head cautiously poked out from Wang Ping's collar, surveying the surroundings.

Wang Ping found an inn and filled his Water Canteen, bought some Dried Meat for Yulian and flatbreads for himself, then set off northward.

Six days later.

As Wang Ping passed a coastal Fishing Village, he happened to see county yamen runners patrolling the area. They removed the wanted notice from the Proclamation Board and disbanded the Militia Corps patrol.

That meant the last escaped Mountain God had also been caught.

Wang Ping always felt that the matter was strange. From the initial assassination attempt at the Provincial Governor's Yamen to the Mountain Gods who emerged afterward, it was as though they had all deliberately exposed themselves to die, merely to give certain people an explanation.

As his thoughts delved deeper, Yulian had to ask, "What's wrong?" before he could break free from worldly disturbances.

One month later.

Wang Ping finally saw the damage caused by the rebellion. A prosperous coastal Fishing Village that he had passed through two months earlier had now been reduced to nothing but overturned sand and earth. Fishermen relocated by the county yamen were rebuilding civilization atop the ruins.

What shocked Wang Ping even more was Yuanning City. The county town was now a field of ruins, and from far away he could smell a foul stench of decay. The moment Wang Ping entered the ruins, he was questioned by Qi practitioners from the Daoist Scripture Hall. Once the misunderstanding was cleared up, Wang Ping asked what had happened here.

As it turned out, the cause had something to do with Wang Ping. A few months ago, he, Feng Miao, and Cheng Ji had uncovered the county yamen's dirty dealings. Subsequent investigations revealed that Evil Cultivators of the Taiyin Sect had secretly established a corpse-refining site here. A great battle became unavoidable, and in the end, the county town was destroyed.

The Taiyin Sect sounded sinister, but it was actually as famous as the Yuqing Sect. They were called the two great Heaven Sects, and the depth of their inheritance stood shoulder to shoulder with the five great Mystic Sects. The sect itself was complex: there were ascetics who cultivated orthodox methods, as well as Evil Cultivators who pursued speed.

Xia Kingdom's second emperor had once issued an edict forbidding Taiyin Sect Evil Cultivators from spreading their teachings within Xia Kingdom, while welcoming the ascetic branch that cultivated orthodox methods. This created many lingering problems, because some ascetics, unable to endure such an austere life, secretly turned into Evil Cultivators.

After leaving the ruins of Yuanning City, Wang Ping still could not suppress his curiosity. He traveled to Changwen Prefecture, the capital of Mozhou Road, hoping to find Feng Miao or Cheng Ji and ask for more details. After all, he could be said to have been touched by a thread of karma in this matter.

Five days later.

Outside the Main Gate of the Daoist Scripture Hall in Changwen Prefecture, Wang Ping met Cheng Ji. Feng Miao had accepted a mission and was not in the city.

"Ah, when you think about it, this rebellion also has something to do with us exposing the county yamen's collusion with the Monster in Yuanning County!" Cheng Ji still felt lingering fear when speaking of it. They were currently in a private room at a restaurant in the prefectural city.

"Their karmic ties shouldn't be traced back to us, should they?" Wang Ping frowned as well.

"That's not what I mean. I mean that back in Yuanning County Town, there was at least one Cultivator who had cultivated a First Realm secret art. If he had wanted to get rid of us, it would have taken no more than the lift of a hand. The three of us surviving was truly heaven-blessed luck!"

Wang Ping understood as well, and a layer of cold sweat instantly seeped across his back.

That had been far too dangerous!

After hearing Cheng Ji's words, Wang Ping became even more certain of his earlier guess. The people who had emerged in this rebellion had truly been deliberately sent out as heads for the chopping block, all to shut certain people's mouths.

Wang Ping believed that the old foxes above had surely thought of far more than he had from such a simple truth. It left him feeling as though thorns were pressing against his back.

The outside world was truly too dangerous. Doing the slightest good deed could nearly trap him in a scheme someone else had laid.

Wang Ping talked with Cheng Ji until nightfall. The two ordered a pot of Yellow Wine and finished it. Cheng Ji returned to his Daoist Scripture Hall, while Wang Ping found an inn nearby to rest.

The next day.

After the rooster crowed, Wang Ping completed his daily Marrow Cleansing. As soon as dawn broke, he checked out and hurried toward Nanlin Road.

Half a month later...

That was, Year Baoyuan 9, the twenty-third day of the fifth month.

Wang Ping returned to Thousand Wood Temple after being away for more than four months. At the market at the Mountain Foot, an Outer Sect Disciple spotted Wang Ping and happily ran toward the Daoist temple on the mountain to report the news.

By the time Wang Ping reached the entrance of the Daoist temple, three senior brothers and several Inner Sect disciples had already been waiting for a long time.