Storm Clouds Gathering

County yamen, inner courtyard hall.

Chen Haoyan sat upright in the grand chair. He had originally been resting with his eyes closed, but suddenly sensed something and looked up at the young constable who pushed open the doors and entered the hall.

"You... entered the gate?"

Surprise was hard to conceal in Chen Haoyan's eyes. Wang Ping was now fully armed, the Black Chi Bow on his back and an Ox-Tail Saber at his waist. With every breath, he resembled a blazing furnace.

As Wang Ping approached, Chen Haoyan could clearly feel a wave of heat rushing toward him. His expression changed slightly. "Blood Like Fire, and the highest grade of Supreme Yang Blood at that... Can the Cloud-Piercing Heaven-Shaking Bow cultivate such a thing? Or was he not only born with divine strength, but even his blood differed from that of ordinary men?"

If that were true, it would be extraordinary.

"In an ordinary county town, producing a martial artist like me, one possessed of a single marvel, is already something not seen in decades. Let alone someone with two marvels."

After all, how could shallow waters produce a flood dragon? At best, they could produce a turtle.

With Chen Haoyan's experience, martial prodigies possessed of two marvels could only be picked out from across the whole of Changle Commandery, and even then, they did not appear every year.

A mere little constable actually possessed such aptitude?

At that thought, he could not help feeling some appreciation for talent. He was somewhat reluctant to send such a heaven-blessed genius to carry out the coming task.

Yet he quickly calmed himself.

"Though recommending martial talents upward also earns rewards from the court, it is of no use to me. No matter how great his talent is, what use is it if he is not mine?"

To him, talented people meant nothing. What held value was human material.

In a blink, Chen Haoyan had recovered his calm and composure. "Not bad. True Dragon Sinew, Supreme Yang Blood. If you survive this time, I will recommend you to study at the Capital Divine Constables' Bureau. Once you return from your studies, you will at least begin as an Inner Force Martial Master, and there will be great hope for an Imperial Title as well."

Drawing me another big pie?

Wang Ping sneered inwardly, but respectfully nodded on the surface. His words rang like hammered iron. "This subordinate will surely brave boiling water and tread through fire, and never forget Your Excellency's grace in elevating me."

Wang Ping placed especially heavy emphasis on the words "never forget."

Although he had actually made a killing by accepting this task, Chen Haoyan's intentions had been malicious. He simply had not expected Wang Ping to have a cheat, allowing him to carry it out successfully.

So Wang Ping would still remember this grudge!

On the other side, Chen Haoyan paid no attention to the change in Wang Ping's tone. No matter how high one's talent was, it was not worth mentioning until it had been turned into strength.

What was more—in his eyes, Wang Ping would not have the chance to turn it into strength.

"Set off."

The next second, Chen Haoyan slapped the armrest of his chair. Several servants soon came over, jointly carrying a huge wooden chest before Wang Ping.

When the chest was opened, Wang Ping saw what lay inside: a saber rack with an exceptionally heavy base. Shouchong's Lotus Blade rested upon it, like a crescent moon. Sunlight fell upon the blade and immediately reflected moonlike saber radiance, emanating a chilling aura.

Wang Ping was about to step forward and take the saber.

Yet Chen Haoyan directly reached out and stopped him. Then he said in a deep voice, "Leave the saber on it. Escort it to Spirit Wandering Temple together with the saber rack."

"...Oh?"

The moment those words were spoken, Wang Ping immediately realized something was wrong. He lowered his head to look at the saber rack holding the Lotus Blade, and finally let his gaze settle on its base.

"If we're delivering a saber, then deliver the saber. What is the point of bringing along a saber rack?"

"Could there be something fishy?"

At that thought, Wang Ping looked up at Chen Haoyan again. Seeing that his expression remained unchanged, Wang Ping understood. So this is his backup plan.

"Could something be hidden inside the saber rack?"

"Unfortunately, this saber rack is made from quite good material. It feels terrifyingly hard, beyond my ability to break. And with ordinary mortal eyes, I can't see through walls..."

"Wait, I don't have ordinary mortal eyes."

"Then there's no problem!"

Wang Ping withdrew his gaze, putting on an air of having no interest in secrets. In reality, he had already activated his Spirit Sense and quietly looked toward the base of the saber rack.

"It really is hollow!"

The scene within entered Wang Ping's eyes the very next second.

Then he froze—because what he saw was unmistakably a copper seal, adorned with carved patterns and jade ornaments, bearing two ancient seal-script characters.

[Dragonrise]

"This is... the Dragonrise County Seal? The court's official seal in Longxing County, a symbol of authority. Every official document issued by the Longxing County yamen must bear this seal."

How had Chen Haoyan obtained it?

No matter how formidable Chen Haoyan was, as a chief constable, he was at most a blade. How could he have taken this county seal from the county magistrate?

And why hide this here?

As Wang Ping pondered inwardly, he hoisted the saber rack onto his shoulder and strode out of the inner yamen. Outside, a carriage had long been waiting.

County yamen constables stood around the carriage.

Wang Ping spotted Liu Ye among the crowd. His expression was complicated, as if he wanted to say something. Yet when Chen Haoyan emerged, he shut his mouth again.

Suddenly, Wang Ping lifted his head and felt his cheeks grow damp.

"...It's raining again?"

The weather had been fickle lately. Only a few days had passed since the last torrential downpour, yet Longxing County was now greeted by another hazy drizzle.

"This rain has come at just the right time."

Inside a small courtyard, Shouchong looked up at the sky with a smile at the corner of his lips. Behind him stood several dozen White Lotus Sect believers Wang Ping had once seen within the Daoist temple.

"I heard Xie Shi was killed by county yamen constables on a rainy night. Now that another heavy rain has come, I will go kill a few county yamen constables as revenge for him, while also fulfilling the sentiment between master and disciple. If he knows in the netherworld, he will surely feel relieved."

"Cult Master jests."

As they spoke, several White Lotus Sect members approached, laughing. "We all know that you, Cult Master, are the most heartless and faithless man beneath heaven."

Shouchong shook his head at those words.

"Your master is an upright and towering good man, always devoted to loyalty and righteousness. Do not believe the filth the authorities have flung at me. Those are all vicious slanders."

"As for Xie Shi's death, our White Lotus Sect is in the business of rebellion. How can rebellion happen without bloodshed? Sometimes, one ought to look for the reasons in oneself. After all these years, did his martial arts improve? Did he practice seriously? If that fellow could have taken another step and cultivated Inner Force, how could he have died?"

"..."

Several believers opened their mouths slightly, only to shut them again of their own accord. Shouchong, hearing no response, turned around and smiled at the believers behind him.

"What? Nothing to say?"

The believers lowered their heads. "We dare not speak."

Shouchong smiled. "Rest assured, your master has always rejoiced at hearing his faults."

"Then we'll say it." Only then did someone raise his head and softly say, "Senior Brother Xie Shi did not cultivate Inner Force because Master, you never taught him the true art, didn't you?"

Shouchong's expression instantly stiffened.

After a moment of silence, he said with a dark face and a sinister tone, "Rebellious disciple, daring to ruin my reputation... And the rest of you, do you all think so too?"

The other believers hurriedly shook their heads.

"Hmph. Foolish and dull-witted."

Shouchong shook his head. "The true art... Do you think I did not want to teach it? It was not that I would not teach it, but that I could not. Or rather, even if I taught it, you would not be able to learn it!"

The believers were somewhat unconvinced. "Master, if you don't teach us, how do you know we can't learn it?"

"Because I already taught it."

Shouchong let out a cold laugh. "Xie Shi, and all of you as well—everyone who has joined my White Lotus Sect, I taught the true art on the very first day they entered the sect."

"Yet you are the same as Xie Shi. Your words sound pleasant enough, saying you worship Liansheng Bodhisattva and rebel alongside me, but in truth, you do not believe in Liansheng Bodhisattva at all. Nor do you believe the teachings I have told you. That is why, no matter how you study, you cannot learn my White Lotus Sect's true art."

"The teachings...?"

The crowd exchanged looks. Liansheng Bodhisattva? That whole Empty Void Homeland business? Everyone had assumed it was merely to fool outsiders. Master, you were actually serious?

"Wasn't that just a name?"

The believers did not understand. Similar things could be found everywhere throughout Great Shun, but almost no one took them seriously. They were merely used as a reason and excuse for rebellion.

"That is why I said you do not understand."

Shouchong sighed, then abruptly changed the subject. "Enough of that. Let us speak of the matter at hand... Do you think this could be Chen Haoyan's trap?"

Shouchong's gaze passed through the curtain of rain and quickly landed on the carriage slowly leaving the county yamen. He could sense that his bound weapon, the Lotus Blade, was inside, yet he could not detect Chen Haoyan's aura. This strange scene left even him somewhat at a loss.

"Taking the initiative to send it out, yet not personally guarding it."

"What is he trying to do?"

Shouchong quickly learned the answer, because the carriage's destination was not concealed in the slightest. It was traveling down a main road that led directly toward Spirit Wandering Temple.

"So that is how it is..."

After noticing this change, Shouchong's expression immediately changed. "What price did he offer? The Transcendent of Spirit Wandering Temple is actually willing to act?"

"Master, this is the county yamen's open scheme!"

Someone beside him said softly, "If the Lotus Blade enters that Spirit Wandering Temple, it will never come out again. He is forcing Master to act."

"No."

Someone among the believers shook his head. "If that were truly the case, Chen Haoyan should be personally escorting it. Yet the person inside the carriage is not him."

"One must know that although the court's Transcendents and occult practitioners are formidable, they almost never leave their respective halls. As long as we intercept it midway, the Transcendent of Spirit Wandering Temple will most likely not act. Wouldn't that so-called open scheme become a joke, utterly meaningless?"

"I say this is a trick of stealing the beams and replacing the pillars!"

One believer slapped his hand and declared with complete certainty, "The Lotus Blade inside the carriage must be fake, a blindfold meant to conceal the true blade's destination."

"That makes sense..."

For a time, the courtyard erupted in discussion, with all manner of speculations raised. Only when Shouchong lifted his eyelids and said deeply, "Enough. Your master has his own plans," did the clamor subside.

Only then did the uproar return to calm.

Immediately afterward, Shouchong stared with blazing eyes at the carriage heading toward Spirit Wandering Temple. Then he turned back and looked toward the county yamen.

"Could it be... he and I thought of the same thing?"

Inside the carriage.

Wang Ping sat cross-legged within the carriage, the Black Chi Bow to his right and the Ox-Tail Saber to his left. The Lotus Blade and its hollow saber rack rested before him, while his eyes narrowed slightly.

"A life-and-death crisis..."

His brow twitched faintly. His powerful Spirit Sense was continuously warning him that within a hundred paces, there was at least one being capable of killing him instantly.

Shouchong? Chen Haoyan?

Forget it. Whoever it was did not matter. From the moment he stepped into this carriage, he had been no different from a dead man. The carriage itself was his coffin.

But that did not matter. Wang Ping had already prepared to start over. In fact, ever since obtaining the Cloud-Piercing Heaven-Shaking Bow, he could have killed himself. He did not necessarily have to wade into these muddy waters. The reason he still boarded the carriage in the end was mainly because he had discovered an opportunity.

At that thought, Wang Ping raised his eyes and looked straight ahead.

"The Lotus Blade, that old bastard Shouchong's weapon, really was made from the finest materials. The exotic iron Emperor Flowing Sap is of even better quality than Hundred-Forged Primordial Copper."

"This truly is wonderful!"

In Wang Ping's eyes, the so-called Lotus Blade was simply an excellent piece of high-grade exotic iron. Such precious material ought to be used to refine the Peace Scripture!

"Not to mention the unexpected bonus."

Although he did not know why Chen Haoyan had hidden a Dragonrise County Seal inside the hollow saber rack, since he was already here, he would gladly accept the buy-one-get-one-free offer.

There was also the Black Chi Bow and the Ox-Tail Saber. Since he could not take them away anyway, he might as well use them all to refine the Peace Scripture, leaving not a single bit for Chen Haoyan!

Wang Ping had no interest in fighting and killing.

But making another killing before he died? That was something he was more than willing to do!

That said, Wang Ping did not act immediately. Many people were surely watching him in the carriage at this moment, and acting carried considerable risk.

Moreover, unless absolutely necessary, Wang Ping did not want to reveal the wonders of the Peace Scripture in public.

After all, his rebirth did not mean starting over from the beginning. He could not turn back time. Once exposed, he would likely find every step difficult in this world in the future.

"From this angle, the Peace Scripture still isn't valuable enough!"

"Ah, if only my cheat could not only rewind time and let me start over, but also bring the items in my hands back with me."

Wang Ping sighed inwardly. Yet he was not anxious; instead, he grew ever more patient.

"An arrow is already on the string. They will fight sooner or later."

"That will be my chance."

Wang Ping considered matters with complete composure. Yet at that very moment, his Spirit Sense abruptly sounded a warning, making him instinctively turn his head toward a certain spot.

It was the side of the carriage.

At that moment, the carriage happened to pass an alley. Its doors and windows faced the alley entrance, and through the window, Wang Ping vaguely saw a figure amid the rain.

It was a man wearing a bamboo hat. He came through the downpour, moving slowly, yet traveling with astonishing speed. One second he was deep within the alley, and the next, he had reached its entrance. It was as though the ground beneath his feet were drawing itself in. Though he carried no umbrella, not a drop of rain touched him.

"I never expected that you were the one who killed Xie Shi."

The bamboo-hatted man's voice was not loud, yet it somehow drowned out the rain and rang clearly beside Wang Ping's ear. "Good disciple, you are actually still alive."

Rumble!

In the instant lightning flashed and thunder roared, the bamboo-hatted man raised his head as well.

With a single glance, Wang Ping recognized him. That crane-haired, youthful-faced figure with the air of an immortal was none other than the White Lotus Sect's cult master, Shouchong!