Say No More, Just Go On

Hearing these words filled with doubt and skepticism, Qiu Yan remained unmoved, not even glancing at the speaker, his eyes fixed solely on Chen Jing in front of him.

Chen Jing paused slightly upon hearing the man speak, but noticing Qiu Yan's expression, he turned and said, "Brother Tao, please calm down. I was just about to introduce you to this young master Qiu Yan, whom I mentioned before. His literary talent is no less than that of Zhao Yuan."

After saying this, he pointed to the three people beside him and said to Qiu Yan, "Brother Qiu, these are the friends I mentioned to you the other day who are preparing to go to Scholar Forest. This Brother Tao Ying comes from a scholarly family. He became a Jinshi Zhiyou the second year of the Zhiyou era and served as a Shujishi. Now he has been appointed as an official in Liang County."

Upon hearing the introduction, Qiu Yan looked up and saw the person who had just spoken and questioned him.

This man was about thirty years old, tall and slender, dressed in a dark robe, with fair skin. He looked like someone who had been pampered for a long time. He had an imposing aura that was different from the air of someone reading books or the heroic spirit of someone practicing martial arts. Instead, it was an aura that he had cultivated by commanding others and wielding power.

This is official arrogance.

"So it's Lord Tao, a pleasure to meet you." Qiu Yan bowed respectfully, but his tone was neither warm nor cold. Even if Qiu Yan didn't care about what had just been said, he couldn't possibly remain completely silent.

However, despite this apparent reason, Qiu Yan still found the person's identity somewhat strange.

The second year of Zhiyou was a reign title used by the late emperor, about five or six years ago. After the emperor of Great Rui ascended the throne, he did not only have one reign title; Zhiyou was just one of them.

This person was a Jinshi (进士) and had also served as a Shujishi (庶吉士), both of which were extraordinary political qualifications. Those who could pass the Great Rui Metropolitan Examination (大瑞会试) were Jinshi, which were divided into three grades. The first grade was Jinshi Jidi (进士及第), namely the top three: Zhuangyuan (状元), Bangyan (榜眼), and Tanhua (探花). They could be candidates for official positions, and could fill any vacancies, which was essentially equivalent to being directly granted an official position.

Those who passed the imperial examination were considered second-class officials. Such individuals were generally considered reserve officials for the court, and some of them could become probationary officials, a position equivalent to the emperor's secretary. Although their duties mainly involved lecturing on classics and issuing imperial edicts, their position was lowly but powerful. Building connections made it easier for them to be promoted in the future.

Qiu Yan was naturally puzzled by the presence of someone with such a political background, especially since this person held an official position as the magistrate of Liang County, yet had come to the Eastern Capital.

Liang County is located southeast of Eastern Capital and belongs to Ruzhou Ru Prefecture, which in turn is under the jurisdiction of Eastern Capital. From this, we can see that Tao Ying was actually sent down to the local area to Cultivating Prestige and achieve political success, which is a sign that he will soon rise in the officialdom.

Tao Ying didn't show much displeasure at being greeted so coldly; she simply returned the greeting with a cupped hand.

Chen Jing then pointed to another Human Path and said, "This is Master Lu Dao, a member of the Pure Peace Dao, and a highly accomplished Daoist master."

Qiu Yan followed Chen Jing's finger and saw a Daoist priest with an otherworldly air, about forty years old, with a long, flowing beard. He had Literary Qi about him, and if he hadn't been wearing a Daoist robe, he might have been mistaken for a learned man.

However, Qiu Yan's senses swept over the other party and he was able to detect the hidden fluctuations of Qi and Blood on the other party, knowing that the other party had cultivation.

The Lu Dao seemed to sense something, slightly raised his eyes, addressed Qiu Yan as "Daoist Ancestor," and bowed. He then stood up straight without saying anything more, focusing his attention on his nose, mouth, and heart.

Qiu Yan then withdrew his gaze and looked at the last person.

"This is Chen Yun, my cousin, a cultivator." Qiu Yan was taken aback by Chen Jing's words. He hadn't expected Chen Jing to so readily use the term "cultivator."

"Greetings, Brother Qiu." Chen Yun was quite polite and enthusiastic, unlike the previous two. After being introduced, he took the initiative to step forward.

"Nice to meet you." Qiu Yan returned the greeting, his gaze sweeping over the three of them while his mind raced with thoughts.

"What exactly are Chen Jing and the Chen Household behind him up to? Officials, Daoists, cultivators, and Chen Jing, a scholar who practices martial arts—it's not easy to see these four people standing together. Even if some officials, Aristocratic Clan, and hermits are colluding, or keeping martial artists under their control, they won't easily reveal it..."

In this Great Rui, Confucianism is a prominent school of thought, permeating Human Path. The Confucianism patriarch, the Supreme Sage Master, adopted the attitude of not speaking of or caring about the supernatural powers of ghosts and gods. Upholding this spirit, Confucianism advocates the power of human beings themselves, urging them to strive for self-improvement, and often criticizes those outside the Confucian school.

Officials, for the sake of their reputation, generally keep their distance from those outside the secular world, at least on the surface. People like the Chen Household, whose members are cultivators, may have some, but they would never easily announce it to outsiders.

Thinking of this, Qiu Yan recalled the feeling of breaking through the barrier when she walked over just now.

"This place is shrouded in some kind of restriction; we don't know which of the people present was responsible."

Just as Qiu Yan was deep in thought, Chen Jing said again, "We've already made it very clear beforehand that we invited everyone over, but as the saying goes, 'an army marches on its stomach,' so there are some things we need to clarify before we set off."

He stepped into the center of the group and said sincerely, "This matter, while not of paramount importance, has certainly had a significant impact. Therefore, everyone must understand clearly that the key to its success lies with Brother Qiu."

He looked up at Qiu Yan: "However, Brother Qiu, you've only come with us to investigate; you haven't made a decision yet. I hope you all understand that."

"Hmm? He hasn't made a decision yet?" Tao Ying frowned, as if she had just learned of this. "Then Chen Jing, what do you mean by calling us all over here? Although I'm not extremely busy in Liang County, I'm not so idle that I can travel back and forth all the time."

Chen Jing's expression remained unchanged, and he even smiled as he calmly said, "Brother Tao, don't be in a hurry. I called everyone here to explain this matter and to allow you all to meet and get to know each other better. Besides, if Brother Qiu agrees to cooperate after meeting the Sage Worthies Hall, then naturally we should try it out on the spot."

"Test it on the spot?" Tao Ying frowned even more. "You called us here because of this? If that's the case, it makes sense. However, Qiu Yan's literary talent is only based on your own opinion. To say that he's better than Bai Zhaoyuan is a bit of an exaggeration."

As he spoke, a look of reminiscence crossed his face.

"What kind of person is Bai Zhaoyuan? I've met him a few times and he left a deep impression on me. Just standing in front of him evokes a variety of feelings, like standing before a statue of Sage. And this Qiu Yan..."

Tao Ying was talking to Chen Jing, but at the end, she turned to look at Qiu Yan, her eyes darting around as she looked him up and down, then shook her head. "I didn't sense that feeling in this person."

Having served as an official for several years, he naturally exuded a different aura. His words flowed one after another, giving the impression of a raging storm. An ordinary person would immediately be intimidated by his official power, losing their composure and the initiative in the conversation.

"To be able to cultivate Tao Ying's Literary Heart is already difficult enough. My mind is impure, and I am obsessed with wealth and fame, so it is difficult for me to cultivate my Literary Heart. But Brother Qiu will also be participating in the Metropolitan Examination next year, so I'm afraid he won't have much time for scholarship. Even if he is exceptionally talented, he can still be distracted. The idea of Literary Path Creation's literary mind is a bit of an exaggeration. This matter was not explained clearly, and it is your fault, Chen Jing. You should know that when one's Literary Heart enters the forest, it can only carry two souls. If there is the slightest deviation, all efforts will be in vain!"

Tao Ying seemed to distrust Qiu Yan quite a bit.

Just then, the Daoist Lu had been silent spoke up, "If you want to argue, you'd better go somewhere else. This benefactor Qiu was being watched when he came here, and the person who was watching him has already gone into the Lin Zhong."

Upon hearing this, Tao Ying's face showed a hint of dissatisfaction. He turned to Qiu Yan and said, "Young Master Qiu, why are you so careless? Did Chen Jing not tell you to act discreetly?" He then looked at Chen Jing.

Chen Jing looked helpless and said, "This was my oversight, but Brother Qiu was a bit careless. However, since things have come to this, it's not the time to blame each other. Let's set off as soon as possible!"

His words undoubtedly helped Qiu Yan out of a difficult situation, but they also implied that Qiu Yan had made a mistake.

Immediately, everyone's eyes were focused on Qiu Yan.

"Haha." Qiu Yan suddenly laughed out loud. "Brother Chen, you don't need to keep acting. I did come here with the intention of cooperating, but I have no intention of vying for dominance. There's no need for you and Brother Tao to play along." He shook his head, his gaze sweeping across the faces of the group, noticing the slight change in Chen Jing and Tao Ying's eyes.

"From Brother Chen's words a few days ago, I can tell that you have been planning this for a long time. Even if I hadn't appeared, you would have used other methods to carry it out. In that case, how could you have failed to make things clear due to a moment of carelessness?"

Qiu Yan smiled and said, "Besides, Lord Tao is a local official, so he must not be a narrow-minded person. How could he be so angry over something I did? Are you trying to teach me a lesson?"

These words, spoken so casually by Qiu Yan, immediately caused Chen Jing's expression to change, and he quickly tried to explain himself.

But Qiu Yan waved his hand and said, "Stop talking, let's go. Since we're just doing this transaction, let's not get into any of these Mind Arts or power plays. There's no need to try to build a relationship. Let's get straight to the point. As for my talent, let's talk about it after we see the Sage Statue you mentioned. What good will it do to just talk now?" After saying that, Qiu Yan stopped talking and just looked at Chen Jing.

Chen Jing opened his mouth, but no words came out. He exchanged a glance with Tao Ying, whose face looked unwell, and said nothing more.

On the other side, Daoist Lu suddenly perked up, turned his gaze to Qiu Yan, and a strange light flashed in his eyes.

At this moment, Chen Yun spoke up, "Since Brother Qiu has made things clear, let's not delay any longer and set off." As he spoke, he raised his hand and made a hand seal, and the ground beneath the five people's feet immediately trembled, with light shining through it.

P. S.: Thanks to Heng Chuan and "Tenka no Michi" for the monthly tickets! Thanks to "Chongru Erciyuan" for the donation!

The second update will likely be after 10 PM.