"Yes," Li Qingxian said. "Brother Han, go back and rest. I'll watch over things here, and you can come tonight. Don't refuse. In the days ahead, when I'm not around, I'll have to rely on you." Li Qingxian said.
Han Anbo hesitated for a moment, then said, "All right, I'm leaving. I'll come keep watch tonight."
After seeing Han Anbo off, Li Qingxian sat lost in thought for a long while before opening the <True Explanation of the Seven Stars Determining Fate>, reputedly the origin of Fate Arts, and reading it with utmost care.
The original Seven Stars Determining Fate was obscure and profound, its principles deep and abstruse. Many Fate Arts Masters dared not claim to have fully comprehended it even after a lifetime.
This <True Explanation of the Seven Stars Determining Fate> had been annotated by Xu Ziping, the famed founding prime minister. Its explanations were detailed and thorough. Li Qingxian carefully pondered every sentence, exhausting his mental energy without daring to be careless.
A quarter-hour later, Li Qingxian had finished two full pages. Satisfied, he set down the <True Explanation of the Seven Stars Determining Fate>, picked up the storybook novel Chronicles of the River-Guarding Hero, and began reading with relish.
Chronicles of the River-Guarding Hero told the story of how, after the Demon Clan's Entry through the Pass during the Taikang Era, the Worthy Crown Prince was captured, and extraordinary figures from the Confucian, Daoist, and righteous martial worlds joined forces to rescue him. It was said to be a true tale passed down by word of mouth among the River Guard Army, later polished and compiled into a book by literati.
An hour later, Li Qingxian stretched, looked at the <True Explanation of the Seven Stars Determining Fate>, then at Chronicles of the River-Guarding Hero, and fell into a dilemma.
"People live to be happy. Why make things hard for myself?" Having said that, Li Qingxian picked up Chronicles of the River-Guarding Hero again and continued his earnest reading with a clear conscience.
Once night fell, Han Anbo arrived, and Li Qingxian returned to the Jia-Nine Office quarters.
Jia-Nine Office was very quiet. There was no Zheng Hui's nagging, no Yu Ping's sneaky snacking, no Han Anbo playing the straight man—yet for some reason, sleep became even harder to find.
After a long while, Li Qingxian sighed, closed his eyes, and forced himself to sleep.
The next day, while the sky was still faintly bright, Li Qingxian met with Zhou Chunfeng. Then, after taking a look at Zhou Hen, he requisitioned a Night Guard carriage and headed for the Li Family Mausoleum outside the city.
Around breakfast time, led by a guard, Ye Han returned to the outside of Chunfeng Residence in confusion.
He had thought he would never come back.
Upon entering the study, he saw a graceful figure in white sitting to one side with a book in her hands. When he turned to look, his heart began to race.
Her bearing was elegant and serene, her features delicate and lovely. Even her profile as she read seemed like an immortal descending into the mortal world.
Ye Han froze for a moment. She overlapped with the veiled figure in his heart.
Enchanting City Fairy Jiang Youfei.
When she had entered the capital years ago, the streets had emptied as ten thousand people turned out. Ye Han had been one of the admirers watching from Black Tortoise Street.
At the time, Jiang Youfei had covered her face with a light veil, revealing only a pair of eyes that seemed to contain all the world's spiritual beauty.
Ye Han would never forget those eyes.
"Little Ye, have a seat." Zhou Chunfeng pointed to a chair far from Jiang Youfei.
"Yes, Lord Zhou." Ye Han sat down stiffly. Out of the corner of his eye, he could vaguely see that captivating figure, yet never clearly. His chest had become a mouse's nest, a hundred claws scratching at his heart.
"I knew you were going to pay respects to your late mother, yet I summoned you here. Do you know why?" Zhou Chunfeng asked.
"This lowly one does not know," Ye Han said.
"Your elder brothers have already stationed a heavy ambush outside your Ye Family clan cemetery." Zhou Chunfeng casually lowered his head and took a light sip of tea.
"What?" Ye Han went blank, then immediately came back to himself. "Thank you for the warning, Lord Zhou! This is extremely possible!"
"Don't thank me yet. If you want to thank someone, thank Qingxian."
"Why?"
"Qingxian planned to pay respects to Mr. Gangfeng today. While purchasing offerings, he heard someone mention you. To repay you for the Flood Dragon Transformation Pill, he did not hesitate to shorten his lifespan to perform Fate Reading, calculating that your brothers meant you harm. He knew his position was humble and his words carried little weight, and feared you would not believe him, so he asked me to help." Zhou Chunfeng said.
Ye Han was speechless. After a long while, he sighed. "No one is more guileless and pure-hearted than Qingxian! I, Ye Han, have wronged Li Qingxian!"
Zhou Chunfeng said, "I know you have always been cautious, and I do not necessarily fully believe in Fate Arts either. How about this? Write a letter, and I will send someone to deliver it to your trusted people outside, so they can investigate. If there truly is an ambush at the Ye Family cemetery, it will not be too late to thank Li Qingxian then."
"Sorry for the trouble, Lord Zhou. May I borrow paper and brush?"
"You may."
Ye Han took up the brush and began writing. From the corner of his eye, he saw Zhou Chunfeng nod gently, and joy welled up in his heart. He had won Zhou Chunfeng's favor in the first place through his fine handwriting, honed through years of hard practice.
He had heard that Li Qingxian was not a scholar and knew nothing of calligraphy. Perhaps he still had a chance to win Zhou Chunfeng's favor.
Ye Han wrote with even greater effort.
The corner of Zhou Chunfeng's mouth curled slightly, then quickly returned to normal.
After Ye Han finished writing, Zhou Chunfeng had someone send the letter away and said, "I worry your brothers may jump over the wall in desperation. Stay here for now. You may read any of the books on the shelves as you please."
"Thank you, Lord Zhou!" Ye Han's eyes grew hot, and his heart surged with emotion.
I had wronged Zhou Chunfeng! I had wronged Li Qingxian!
Yesterday, he had furiously overturned a table and sworn not to live under the same sky as Zhou Chunfeng and Li Qingxian. Only now did he understand that he had measured a gentleman's heart with a petty man's mind.
Zhou Chunfeng was a true gentleman, and Li Qingxian was one as well!
The Night Guard carriage sped all the way and arrived at the Li Family Mausoleum near noon.
Li Gangfeng's ancestral home was not in the capital, but he had many distant relatives among the prominent Li clans there. He had acknowledged the kinship early on and obtained a burial plot in the Li Family clan cemetery of the capital.
Li Qingxian stood outside the Li Family Mausoleum.
Green hills encircled it, and the mausoleum stood alone in splendor.
A white marble imperial path carved with a hundred birds and beasts ran down the middle of the road, with white marble steps on either side for people to walk upon.
From the mausoleum's main gate beneath his feet, there were twelve tiers of stairs, each with six steps, following the rule that residences of the living favored odd numbers while dwellings of the dead favored even numbers.
Along both sides of the road stood paired stone statues: civil officials, Stone Daredevils, ghost-catching strongmen, demon-subduing venerables, and more.
The tomb keeper came over to inquire. Learning that Li Qingxian was Mr. Gangfeng's son, he became exceedingly respectful, proactively took the offerings, followed behind him, and showed Li Qingxian the way.
Before long, Li Qingxian arrived outside a burial plot.
Two graves stood side by side: the graves of Li Gangfeng and his wife.
Li Qingxian gazed at the bluish-black granite tombstone for a long time. Looking down, he saw that the incense and candles before it were still fresh, while the fruits were bright and fresh.
Li Qingxian asked, "May I ask, Tomb Keeper, do people often come to pay respects to my late father?"
"Mr. Gangfeng's great name has spread far and wide. He was utterly sincere and loyal. Over the past half-year, worshippers have come in an endless stream. The Li Family has attended to the graves with all its heart and dared not be negligent," the tomb keeper said.
Li Qingxian nodded and said, "Thank you for your efforts, Tomb Keeper."
"I would not dare."
Li Qingxian laid out the offerings and performed the rites, then left.
Before departing, he took out a piece of broken silver to thank the tomb keeper. The man refused it no matter what and said, "I can take anyone else's silver, but I cannot take silver from Mr. Gangfeng's family. If I did, the master's household would have my legs broken and throw me out."
Li Qingxian put away the broken silver, thanked the tomb keeper, climbed into the carriage, and instructed the driver to head toward Falling Green Mountain.
At noon, Li Qingxian and the driver hastily ate the flatbread and pickled vegetables prepared that morning. They reached Falling Green Mountain in the afternoon.
Li Qingxian had the driver stop by the roadside, then stood on the carriage shaft and looked around.
Low hills rose and fell, greenery spread across the land, and the scenery was fine indeed.
To the south lay a cluster of graves, farther from the Divine Capital than the Li Family Mausoleum.
Nearby, Falling Green Mountain was lush and verdant, no more than two or three hundred meters high. Its slopes were gentle, its body broad, and it was utterly uninhabited.
Li Qingxian slowly surveyed Falling Green Mountain, searching for the spot where the purple crystal had landed in his memories. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of something, then turned and gazed into the distance.
Over a hundred li away, a range of peaks rose and fell in succession. From this angle, those peaks formed a straight line, resembling the undulating spine of a colossal dragon. The peak at the dragon's head faced the Divine Capital directly.
Li Qingxian stared at that mountain range and pondered for a moment.
"Interesting..."
Afterward, Li Qingxian had the driver take the carriage to different positions at the foot of Falling Green Mountain and observe from different angles. He soon confirmed the landing spot, had the driver stop, and called loudly, "Little Uncle Zhou, sorry for the trouble!"
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