Fang Yun had entered Confucius Mansion once before.
Not the largest residence of the Kong Family in Kong City, nor the Confucius Mansion in Qufu, but the place where Sage Kong had lived after receiving Saint Enfeoffment, now part of the Confucius Temple.
Confucius Mansion was often closed, opening only on especially important occasions.
Tonight, Fang Yun came visiting in the dead of night, clad in azure robes.
Confucius Mansion was a grand residence with nine successive courtyards. Above its main gate hung a plaque bearing the words "Sage Mansion," said to have been inscribed by Mencius himself after the mansion was completed.
Beyond it lay a second gate, screen gates... Fang Yun continued onward.
Until he reached the rear garden.
In the rear garden of Confucius Mansion stood a solitary pavilion. An old man sat alone within it, before him a table and a pot of tea.
Moonlight filled the night.
Fang Yun stepped forward, mounted the pavilion steps, and met the old man's gaze.
The old man's hair fell loose behind him, gathered midway by a hair tie. White, black, gray, and silver strands were mixed together. It was not dirty, merely somewhat worn and disheveled.
His face was covered in brown age spots, like the mottled leaves of a diseased vegetable.
The old man's eyes were incomparably murky, like amber submerged in filthy water. Yet the instant he saw Fang Yun, that murkiness vanished, replaced by a pair of eyes as clear in black and white as a child's.
"Greetings, Duke Yansheng." Fang Yun clasped his hands and bowed, just as he had during their previous meeting.
The old man smiled. Strangely, though his face was aged, his teeth were white as jade, and his lips and tongue seemed newly formed.
"Sit and talk." Duke Yansheng flicked