Sons of God

Li Qingxian smiled. "So the rumors were true. I heard he was far too young—a Ministry of Revenue Minister barely over forty, a Second Rank Heretical Cultivator. Many people refused to accept it, which was why stories about him spread across the land."

"The Chive Minister is real," Luo Jing said, "but to reach the Second Rank and hold such a high position at so young an age, he must have something extraordinary about him."

"You're from the Southern Star Sect, not the Evil Illumination Sect. What are you afraid of? I heard that after this Chive Minister took office, a craze for eating yellow chives swept through both the Ministry of Revenue and the Evil Illumination Sect?" Li Qingxian was full of curiosity about the Ministry of Revenue and the evil sects.

"It's true." Luo Jing wore a helpless expression.

"How much did you eat?"

Luo Jing fell silent for a long while before slowly saying, "When I first arrived, I ate it three meals a day."

"Haha..." Li Qingxian laughed.

Seeing that Luo Jing remained silent, Li Qingxian kindly reined in his laughter. "The evil sects have it hard too."

"Where under heaven is anything easy? Sigh..." Luo Jing let out a long sigh.

"Is this Lord Xue from the South Xue Family or the North Xue Family?" Li Qingxian asked.

"I heard he comes from a very distant branch of the South Xue Family. He mainly relies on School Leader Lin and has little connection with either the Southern or Northern Xue Families."

"So that's how it is. Earlier, what did you mean by an illegitimate son of God?" Li Qingxian asked.

"You Night Guards don't inquire about the evil sects?"

"When I heard we were coming to Ministry of Revenue Street, my heart nearly leaped up and lodged in my throat. Besides, I'm only a lowly soldier. My father doesn't often chat with me either, so where would I learn so much about the evil sects?" Li Qingxian said.

"Our evil sects have two great origins. One originated with the Other Shore Sect, and the other with the Snowfield People. Later, the two streams merged and formed the sole evil sect. Afterward, it constantly branched and spread its leaves, creating today's situation: five major sects as the main body, supplemented by hundreds of sects across the land. In our Sole Divine Scripture, everyone who enters a sect is a son of God."

"I know that much," Li Qingxian said.

"But later, for some unknown reason, things gradually changed. No one knows from which generation onward, but the leaders of the five great evil sects all began calling themselves 'God's eldest legitimate son.' Upper Three Ranks experts followed suit and called themselves 'eldest legitimate sons of the main branch.' Middle Three Ranks called themselves 'eldest sons of collateral branches.' Lower Four Ranks, such as myself, were 'illegitimate sons of collateral branches.' As for disciples below Entry Rank, they were uniformly deemed God's illegitimate sons. People like you, who haven't joined a sect but are valued by someone within one, are all considered God's illegitimate sons who have wandered outside."

Li Qingxian felt as though thunderbolts were rolling through his mind.

"Then... didn't your god get furious enough to suffer a fit?"

"Our god generally does not concern himself with such trivial matters. Besides, everyone is a son of God, so it makes no difference what we call ourselves. Still, try not to mention our god too much." Luo Jing gave Li Qingxian a deep look.

"Oh." Li Qingxian thought that evil sects truly were wickedly strange.

"You've finished asking me. Now it's my turn to ask you: what exactly is your relationship with Lord Zhou Chunfeng?" Luo Jing asked.

Li Qingxian sighed. "For my sake, Uncle Zhou actually deployed the Mounted Patrol. It seems this can no longer be concealed. I'll come clean: Zhou Chunfeng and my father were close associates, though outsiders never knew. But Uncle Zhou is an upright man and wouldn't let me swagger around under his banner, so he could only look after me in secret. You know how elders are—no matter how stern they sound, when the critical moment comes, they'll still help me at any cost."

"Really? Didn't you initially say your document came from Lord Zhou? How did it turn into Pang Mingjing's?" Luo Jing asked with a smile.

"Let's not discuss whether the document was real or fake for now. Once Zhou Hen arrives, everything will be explained." Li Qingxian spoke with a perfectly serious face, though inwardly he was also wondering what relationship Li Gangfeng and Zhou Chunfeng truly had.

"Once we meet Lord Zhou, all the truth will come to light." Luo Jing rolled his eyes at Li Qingxian.

The two chatted idly all the way until the carriage stopped. Duan Heng called from outside, "Sir, we've arrived at the Night Guard Yamen."

The two stepped down from the carriage and saw Zhou Hen already standing by the side gate. Zheng Hui, Han Anbo, and Yu Ping stood nearby as well.

"Lord Zhou invites the two of you into his study for a talk," Zhou Hen said.

Li Qingxian smiled at the three of them. "I'm going in for a moment. We'll chat later."

Zheng Hui clicked his tongue twice. "This kid is probably about to soar into the sky and rise to greatness."

Han Anbo nodded.

"We can eat lamb soup now." Yu Ping smiled with narrowed eyes.

The study in the rear hall of the Divine Capital Office.

A faint incense fragrance filled the room. A man in green robes and a black cap sat sideways before the three, holding a book in both hands and reading quietly.

Zhou Hen and Luo Jing were exceedingly respectful, while Li Qingxian secretly surveyed the study.

Of the three walls, two were lined with bookshelves and one with an antique display rack. Books were piled layer upon layer, and antiques filled the eye.

Beside the antique display rack stood three celadon vases half a man tall, their inserted scroll paintings blooming like flowers.

"Was it resolved?"

Zhou Chunfeng set down his book, turned to look over, and leaned back against his chair.

Li Qingxian's eyes lit up. The entire room seemed to shine. Zhou Chunfeng alone appeared capable of illuminating the whole Divine Capital Office.

His face was fair, his eyes bright, his lips red and teeth white. He sat there like jade. At first glance, he looked like a handsome youth of eighteen; only upon closer inspection could one tell that he was no longer young.

Li Qingxian could not help recalling all the rumors about Zhou Chunfeng. The young people of the Qi Kingdom had grown up listening to legends of the handsome Top Graduate Zhou Chunfeng.

He had originally thought those tales exaggerated, but seeing him today—though already past fifty, he remained graceful and elegant. Had he been thirty years younger, charming every woman in the city would have been effortless.

"It was resolved." Zhou Hen recounted the entire matter from beginning to end.

"You do have something of your father's bearing." Zhou Chunfeng did not look at Luo Jing, instead scrutinizing Li Qingxian from head to toe.

As always, Zhou Chunfeng's voice carried a fine rasp. He spoke unhurriedly, touched by the soft speech of Jiangnan and utterly different from the Divine Capital accent.

Li Qingxian hurriedly said, "This subordinate could not allow the Divine Capital Office and Lord Zhou to lose face."

"Li Gangfeng would never say such things." Zhou Chunfeng's expression remained unchanged.

"My father also would not have been forced by the Night Guard to leave his corpse exposed on Ministry of Revenue Street," Li Qingxian said.

"Still as bold as ever." Zhou Chunfeng turned to Luo Jing. "Thank you, Lord Luo, for looking after someone from the Divine Capital Office."

"Not at all, not at all. We are all working for the court; I do not deserve Lord Zhou's thanks." Luo Jing was flattered beyond measure as he secretly studied Zhou Chunfeng.

"I am rather curious how this crafty little fellow managed to persuade a dignified Eighth Rank." Zhou Chunfeng stared at Li Qingxian.

Luo Jing sighed. "Li Qingxian, you explain it yourself."

Li Qingxian looked entirely composed. "Uncle Zhou, there's no need for us insiders to speak in riddles. I reported earlier that I discovered a Spirits Distillation Method. It is fast, can be mass-produced, and has the potential to be promoted across the entire country. You and I are both loyal to the sovereign and devoted to the nation. For such a huge enterprise, we cannot always think only of ourselves; we must think more of the court and more of His Majesty. So, after the two of us discussed it, we decided to divide the future distillery into ten shares. His Majesty's Imperial Treasury, the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of Works, the Night Guard Department, and myself would each hold two shares. We would jointly operate the distillery and sell spirits. You sent me to take full charge of this matter and negotiate with the Ministry of Revenue, but Pang Mingjing harmed me along the way. Fortunately, I was resourceful and quick-witted, calm and steady, and successfully found Lord Luo of the Ministry of Revenue to resolve the matter."

Zhou Chunfeng stared at Li Qingxian without speaking for a long time.

Li Qingxian kept his eyes on the antique display rack and emptied his mind. If being a social butterfly doesn't work, then I'll play dead.

Luo Jing could not hold it in any longer and lowered his head with a laugh.

Zhou Chunfeng snorted coldly and looked toward Luo Jing. "He had neither my seal nor an official document from me, yet you believed him?"

Luo Jing said helplessly, "Lord Zhou, you do not know how skilled this boy is at bewitching people. Even if it had not been me, anyone else would have believed his glib tongue that could wear through three inches of iron. I did not truly believe him, but I felt he was a talent. If he joined our evil sect, one day he would surely stand high among the blue clouds."