Daoist

Shen hour, at the River-Viewing Tower.

Chen Wu had two slender willow-leaf mustaches stuck to his upper lip and a goatee stuck to his chin. Dressed in a Daoist robe with a treasured sword on his back, he looked every inch the immortal-like Daoist.

"Reverend, would you like some tea?"

As soon as Chen Wu entered, a waiter hurried over to greet him.

"Take me to private room A," Chen Wu said.

The waiter understood at once. "The general is already waiting for you. Please, this way!"

With that, he led Chen Wu up to the second floor.

The private room was on the River-Viewing Tower's second floor, facing the stage where the performances were held. The table was set with four savory snacks, four sweets, and four kinds of nuts—twelve varieties of refreshments in all.

General Fubo Shui Ziyi was seated beside the table. When he saw the waiter leading a Daoist over, he stood up, gave the waiter a silver coin, and sent him away.

Chen Wu smiled and nodded to the general, while secretly sizing up the famous naval commander who had long been renowned throughout Jincheng Prefecture.

The general had thick eyebrows, large eyes, a high nose, and a broad face. He stood tall and straight. Though his hair was entirely white, his vigor had not diminished. His eyes gleamed like lightning as he looked straight at Chen Wu.

"Please have some tea, Daoist," General Shui said, inviting Chen Wu to sit.

As Chen Wu had made his way here, he had kept his Concentrated Spirit Realm senses in motion without pause. Having found no ambush, he knew the general meant him no harm this time and relaxed.

Chen Wu sat down, picked up the celadon lidded cup on the table, brushed the tea leaves aside twice with its lid, and took a small sip.

"Good tea."

Chen Wu couldn't really tell whether it was good or bad, but that was all he could say just then.

"Hahaha—" General Shui burst out laughing. "Jincheng Prefecture doesn't produce tea. It's hauled here from a thousand li away, and most of it is ordinary. They've merely added some dried fruit and rock sugar for flavor."

"I'd thought everyone in the Yongjiu School looked down on human relationships and propriety. I didn't expect even a master like you to make such polite small talk."

"That's just a rumor repeated until it becomes the truth." Thinking of Old Ma's worldliness and Old Jin's greed, Chen Wu smiled as he replied, "One grain of rice can nourish a hundred kinds of people. How could everyone in the Yongjiu School be cut from the same cloth?"

"Indeed. I was judging the whole by one part." General Shui nodded, then looked toward the stage below.

Five people sat on the stage. One sang while the other four provided accompaniment with wind and string instruments. They were singing in a lilting, nasal style. The words stretched and twisted through the melody, slow and flowing, and Chen Wu couldn't make out much. He could only vaguely catch a few words: "Zhuge" and "Zijing."

"This Guzi Tune is set to the Money Tune, and it's called 'Little Borrowing Arrows.' It tells of Zhuge Liang asking Lu Zijing for help arranging the borrowing of arrows from the straw boats," the general explained before Chen Wu could ask.

Chen Wu nodded. The general chuckled. "That could only happen in the Three Kingdoms era, when one could borrow arrows from Cao Cao's army. If it happened now, all you could borrow would be large-caliber shells. Chain shot, grapeshot, incendiary shells—under that kind of barrage, Zhuge Kongming would be blown to pieces!"

The joke was amusing, and Chen Wu laughed along. He thought the general was quite a character.

Still, Shui Ziyi seemed a little too relaxed.

"General Shui, my wanted notice is still in the papers. I'm hardly in the mood to listen to music," Chen Wu said.

"No matter, no matter. The Constabulary Office is just another government office. They're not all-powerful. You can spare the time it takes to listen to one song," General Shui said with a smile. "The Guzi Tunes of Jincheng Prefecture can't match the graceful subtlety of Jiangnan's Kunqu opera, but they have a flavor all their own."

The general wasn't in the least bit anxious. So why the hell should I be? Chen Wu grumbled inwardly.

Seeing that Chen Wu didn't answer and had merely picked up a pastry to sample, Shui Ziyi continued, "Yesterday I heard a Blind Strings ballad. It was quite novel."

"It told of pastries led by mooncakes establishing a court called the Crumbled-Bun Dynasty, only to be defeated by another group of dry rations, who chose an iron-topped roasted bun as their new emperor. Though the new dynasty rose through rebellion, it feared others would rebel too. It tied cold noodles and fried cakes up along the streets, then threw jujube cakes and zongzi into prison."

"Listening to it, I can't help thinking the song borders on slandering the court!"

Having graduated from a top university, Chen Wu was well versed in history. He immediately understood the song's allusions.

The Great Ming's founding emperor, Zhu Yuanzhang, had driven out the Mongol Yuan and restored Chinese rule. No dynasty had ever possessed a more legitimate claim to the throne. It had also passed down the realm for nearly three hundred years. Unlike Qin or Sui, it hadn't collapsed after just two generations; its roots ran deep.

The Great Shun had risen by rebelling against the Great Ming. Now that it had taken the throne, it demanded loyalty to the ruler and suppressed rebellions among the lower classes. It was exactly as the song described, so it was no wonder Shui Ziyi thought it slandered the court.

"'The emperor's throne takes turns; this year it comes to my house.' Nowadays, folk songs sing such things all the time. Do you mean to memorialize the court and start a literary inquisition to ban the song?" Chen Wu said, unfazed, immediately voicing a most treasonous remark.

"Hahaha, you certainly don't mince words. No wonder you're from the Yongjiu School!" Shui Ziyi laughed. "Just as you said, 'The emperor's throne takes turns.' It's written plainly in the Former Ming's Journey to the West: Exorcism Record. How could I ban that along with the Journey to the West: Exorcism Record?"

Oh, this world had Journey to the West too?

"What's more..." Shui Ziyi changed tack. "The Great Shun forbids literary inquisitions. That's one of the late Taizong of Shun's instructions."

There was Li Guo, Taizong of Shun, again. That transmigrator predecessor had quite a strong presence.

"Then why bring up this song?"

"I joined the Sea-Pacifying Palace and spent decades campaigning across the world. I fought Japan, struck at the Southern Ocean, attacked India, and conquered Gibraltar. I was first into battle every time." Shui Ziyi's expression suddenly turned solemn. "Those with qualifications on par with mine have at least been made viscounts. Do you know why I retired as General Fubo, without any title of nobility?"

"I don't," Chen Wu said, shaking his head.

Chen Wu had only been in Great Shun for a few days. How could he possibly know?

"It's because I've traveled the world and seen things clearly. A noble title is a good thing now, but that may not always be true. So I voluntarily gave mine up in exchange for a future for my son."

Chen Wu was astonished. "Why?"

"Alas, it's precisely because of that song," Shui Ziyi sighed. "Back in the Former Ming, the saying was already 'The emperor's throne takes turns.' Now even Blind Strings singers no longer claim that the emperor was born sacred, descended from the heavens in answer to the stars."

"The Academy of Sciences has gone further, building observatories, calculating the moon's orbit, and observing nebulae in deep space. Everyone knows about it now. There's not the slightest talk of heaven responding to man or a mandate from heaven."

"If even the emperor is like that, there's no need to mention the titles he bestows. If one day the Leaderless Dragons truly comes to pass, a noble title will be a death warrant. If I don't accept one, then with my family's service to the country in battle, we should at least be able to land safely."

Chen Wu was even more astonished. Before coming, he'd already held General Shui in high regard, yet he still hadn't given him nearly enough credit.

Shui Ziyi had actually begun to question the meaning of the emperor, and even seemed to suspect that the future might bring a great upheaval in which the crown fell.

The Great Shun court looked immensely powerful now. Even Chen Wu wouldn't dare say whether it would ever face a revolution that toppled imperial rule. Yet Shui Ziyi, a man of Great Shun, was even more radical than a transmigrator like him.

The conservative faction thinks the radical faction is too conservative, huh?

"If you say things like that, aren't you afraid someone will brand you a member of the Yongjiu School?"

"Hmph!" Shui Ziyi's words dripped with sarcasm. "Do you really think the Yongjiu School has survived to this day without anyone in court agreeing with it? They simply can't speak openly about it while serving in the government."

So that was how it was. He had underestimated the Yongjiu School's influence.

Though the Yongjiu School was nowhere near as powerful as the School of Heavenly Principle or the Investigation of Things School, and couldn't openly vie for influence in court, its ideas were widespread and far-reaching.

Wang Zhenyi had even said, "The idea of Leaderless Dragons is right; it's just the methods that are wrong."

"Bravo—"

"Little Borrowing Arrows" reached its finale onstage. The Guzi performers rose and bowed, and the audience burst into applause, interrupting Chen Wu's thoughts.

When the applause died down, they began another Guzi Tune. Its rhythm changed dramatically, forceful and full of anger, every word delivered like a scolding. The singer's neck cords bulged as he sang.

Unlike "Little Borrowing Arrows," with its drawn-out syllables, this song had crisp diction and a brisk rhythm. Chen Wu understood most of it.

"Brave hero, hear these words and seethe with rage,

I'd swallow him whole if I could,

The tavern keeper's cudgel strikes hard,

But the hero doesn't give a damn..."

After listening to a few lines, Chen Wu suddenly understood. This was "Wu Song Gets Drunk and Beats Jiang the Gatekeeper."

This world had Journey to the West, Romance of the Three Kingdoms, and even Water Margin?

"Is this singing about the drunken brawl at the Happy Forest?" Chen Wu asked tentatively.

General Shui was clearly more interested in this song. He swayed his head along to the tune and answered casually, "That's right! This is the final section of 'Happy Forest.' The tune is 'Hard Stacking,' and it's extremely difficult to sing."

"Wasn't it from a novel of the Former Ming about the one hundred and eight heroes who gathered at Liang Mountain? I seem to remember a novel like that."

"It's called the Tale of Loyalty and Righteousness: Water Margin. It tells of one hundred and eight martial heroes led by Song Jiang who gathered at Liang Mountain to uphold justice in heaven's name. The Wu Song in this song trained his body in a powerful external martial art. He was one of the most skilled fighters in the book."

Holy crap, so Water Margin had turned out like this in this world.

From the sound of it, the element of martial arts had changed many folk tales.

After the fast and furious "Happy Forest" ended, the performers onstage looked ready to leave. General Shui took out five silver coins and flicked his fingers lightly.

"Swish—"

The five silver coins flew like swallows, each landing in the robes of one of the five Guzi performers.

The five people onstage jumped in surprise. Two of them failed to catch their coins, which rolled from their robes onto the floor. They hurriedly bent down to pick them up.

The others came to their senses. Realizing that a master had tipped them, they quickly plastered on smiles and offered endless thanks to their unknown benefactor, wishing him long life and good fortune.

Damn, a Circulation Realm expert really was something else! Chen Wu thought as he looked at Shui Ziyi.

"This paltry trick of mine is nothing but showing off before an expert like you." When he saw Chen Wu looking his way, Shui Ziyi seemed a little embarrassed and explained, "I usually have a waiter handle my tips. It's just inconvenient to have an outsider here today, so I had to resort to this crude concealed-weapon technique."

"Ahem—" Chen Wu maintained his expert demeanor more firmly than ever. "Now that we've heard the music, it's time to discuss business, isn't it? What exactly does General Shui want to know?"

"Then I'll get straight to the point. Why did Qiao Weisheng die?"

"What kind of question is that? Qiao Weisheng was killed, so of course he died!"

"It really wasn't you, then." Shui Ziyi sounded utterly certain.