Li Qingxian, a True Gentleman!

"Yes," Li Qingxian said. "Brother Han, go back and rest. I'll watch over things here, and you can come tonight. Don't refuse. When I'm away over the next few days, I'll be relying 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 lost himself in thought for a long while before opening <True Explanation of the Seven Stars Determining Fate>, reputed to be the origin of Fate Arts, and reading it with utmost seriousness.

The original Seven Stars Determining Fate was obscure and profound, its principles unfathomably deep. Many Destiny Arts Masters dared not claim to have fully grasped it even after a lifetime.

This <True Explanation of the Seven Stars Determining Fate> had been annotated by Xu Ziping, the famed founding chancellor. Its explanations were detailed, and Li Qingxian carefully pondered every sentence, exhausting his mind without daring to be careless.

A quarter of an hour later, Li Qingxian had finished exactly two pages. Satisfied, he set down <True Explanation of the Seven Stars Determining Fate>, picked up the storybook Chronicles of the River-Guarding Hero, and began reading with great relish.

Chronicles of the River-Guarding Hero told of how, after the Demon Clan's Entry through the Pass during the Taikang Era and the capture of the Worthy Crown Prince, 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 orally among the River Guard Army, later refined and compiled into a book by scholars.

An hour later, Li Qingxian stretched lazily. He looked at <True Explanation of the Seven Stars Determining Fate>, then at Chronicles of the River-Guarding Hero, and fell into a dilemma.

"People should live happily. Why make things difficult for myself?" Having said that, Li Qingxian picked up Chronicles of the River-Guarding Hero with a clear conscience and continued his arduous reading.

When night fell, Han Anbo arrived, and Li Qingxian returned to the Jia-Nine Office quarters.

The Jia-Nine Office was very quiet. Without Zheng Hui's nagging, Yu Ping's sneaky snacking, or Han Anbo's enthusiastic laugh lines, for some reason it became even harder to fall asleep.

After a long while, Li Qingxian sighed, closed his eyes, and forced himself to sleep.

The next day, when dawn was barely breaking, Li Qingxian met with Zhou Chunfeng. He then glanced at Zhou Hen, requisitioned a Night Guard carriage, and headed for the Li Family Mausoleum outside the city.

Around breakfast, led by a guard, Ye Han returned to the outside of Chunfeng Residence in confusion.

He had thought he would never come back again.

When he entered the study, a graceful figure in white sat to one side with a book in hand. He turned to look, and his heart began to race.

Her bearing was elegant, her features exquisite. Merely the silhouette of her reading was like an immortal descending into the mortal world.

Ye Han froze for a moment as her image overlapped with the gauze-veiled figure in his heart.

The Enchanting City Fairy, Jiang Youfei.

When she had entered the capital years ago, the streets had emptied as ten thousand people poured out to see her. Ye Han had been one of the admirers watching from Black Tortoise Street.

At the time, Jiang Youfei had covered her face with a thin veil, revealing only a pair of eyes that seemed to contain all the world's spiritual grace.

Ye Han would never forget those eyes.

"Little Ye, sit." 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 lovely figure, yet could not make her out clearly no matter what. His chest became a rat's nest, with a hundred claws scratching at his heart.

"I knew you were going to pay respects to your late mother, yet I called you here. Do you know why?" Zhou Chunfeng asked.

"This lowly one does not know," Ye Han said.

"Your elder brothers have already laid an ambush with heavy forces outside your Ye Family ancestral cemetery." Zhou Chunfeng lowered his head casually and took a light sip of tea.

"What?" Ye Han was stunned, then immediately came back to himself. "Thank you for the warning, Lord Zhou! This is highly possible!"

"Don't thank me in such a hurry. If you wish to thank someone, thank Qingxian."

"Why?"

"Qingxian planned to visit Mr. Gangfeng's grave today. While purchasing offerings, he heard someone mention you. To repay you for the Flood Dragon Transformation Pill you gave him, he did not hesitate to expend his lifespan on 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. "There is no one more pure and sincere than Qingxian! I, Ye Han, have wronged Li Qingxian!"

Zhou Chunfeng said, "I know you have always been cautious, and I do not necessarily place full faith in Fate Arts either. How about this? Write a letter, and I'll have someone deliver it to your trusted men 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."

"May I trouble Lord Zhou to lend me 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 slightly, and delight rose in his heart. He had won Zhou Chunfeng's favor precisely with the fine handwriting he had painstakingly practiced for many years.

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 lifted slightly before quickly returning to normal.

Once Ye Han finished writing, Zhou Chunfeng had someone deliver the letter away. "I fear your brothers may leap over the wall in desperation. Stay here for the time being. You may browse the books on the shelves as you please."

"Thank you, Lord Zhou!" Ye Han's eyes grew hot, and his heart surged with emotion.

He had wronged Zhou Chunfeng! He had wronged Li Qingxian!

Only yesterday, he had furiously overturned a table and sworn that he would not live beneath 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 long ago and obtained a burial plot in the Li Family ancestral cemetery in the capital.

Li Qingxian stood outside the Li Family Mausoleum.

Green mountains encircled it, while the mausoleum stood alone in distinction.

A white marble imperial path carved with a hundred birds and beasts ran down the center of the road, with white marble steps on either side for people to walk upon.

From the main gate of the mausoleum beneath his feet, there were twelve flights of stairs, each with six steps, following the rule that homes of the living used odd numbers while homes of the dead used even ones.

Along both sides of the path stood paired stone officials, Stone Guardians, ghost-catching warriors, demon-subduing venerables, and more.

The tomb keeper came over to inquire. Upon 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 blue-black granite gravestone for a long while. Looking down, he saw that the incense and candles before it were still fresh, and the fruits 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 spread far and wide. He was utterly sincere and utterly loyal. Over these past six months, those who came to pay respects have arrived in an endless stream. The Li Family has tended to the place with all their heart and has not dared to be negligent," the tomb keeper said.

Li Qingxian nodded. "Thank you for your trouble, Tomb Keeper."

"I wouldn't dare, I wouldn't dare."

Li Qingxian took 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 accept anyone else's silver, but I can't accept silver from Mr. Gangfeng's family. If I did, the master's family would break my legs and throw me out."

Li Qingxian put the broken silver away, thanked the tomb keeper, boarded the carriage, and told the driver to head for Falling Green Mountain.

At noon, Li Qingxian and the driver hastily ate the flatbread and pickled vegetables prepared that morning. They arrived at Falling Green Mountain in the afternoon.

Li Qingxian had the driver stop by the roadside, then stood on the carriage shaft and looked around in every direction.

Low hills rose and fell, green spreading everywhere, creating a scene of fine beauty.

To the south lay a stretch of graves, farther from the Divine Capital than the Li Family cemetery.

Nearby, Falling Green Mountain was lush and verdant. It rose no more than two or three hundred meters, its slopes gentle and its body broad, with not a soul in sight.

Li Qingxian slowly studied Falling Green Mountain, searching for the landing point of the purple crystal from his memories. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted something and turned to gaze into the distance.

More than a hundred li away, a range of peaks rose and fell in succession. From this angle, those peaks stood in a line, looking astonishingly like the undulating spine of a giant dragon, while the peak forming its head faced directly toward the Divine Capital.

Li Qingxian stared at that range of mountains 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 determined the landing point, had the driver stop, and shouted, "Uncle Zhou, I'll trouble you!"