Four Domains of Suppression

Several hundred years ago, in the final days of a dynasty, the realm was plunged into chaos.

Buddhism and Daoism were flourishing besides, and countless common folk revered Buddha, honored the Dao, and believed in gods and spirits.

Even the great Aristocratic Clans had many who revered Buddha and believed in the Dao.

After all, to great clans, what mattered was that their household did not decline. As for which method of cultivation they practiced, that was secondary.

At the time, there was a scholar in the west of the passes, known as Hengqu. Witnessing the chaos of the age, he was heartsick beyond measure. He believed that the sickness of the realm did not lie in Buddhism and Daoism running rampant, but in the Confucian School shutting its doors and guarding itself.

At the time, all learning of the Confucian School was family learning. Fathers passed it to sons, sons passed it to grandsons. Even when outsiders were occasionally admitted into the fold, they were either outstanding talents far surpassing their peers or relatives and friends connected by marriage.

Master Hengqu loathed such conduct bitterly. Thus, he started the trend of private schools, teaching in his own home, and the fashion of lecturing gradually rose.

Thus came the teachings of the Four Sayings of Hengqu, exhorting people of the Confucian School to establish a heart for Heaven and Earth and shatter the emptiness of Buddhism and Daoism; to establish a destiny for the living people, practicing benevolence and righteousness to save the masses; to carry on the lost teachings of the sages of old, not begrudging sectarian prejudice, broadly citing sources in study and teaching without distinction; and to open an age of great peace for all generations, spreading the Confucian School lineage and saving the realm to bring about peace.

The great academies sprang up one after another. Within them, all kinds of inheritances of the Confucian School were widely established. Famous teachers did not hoard their secrets, each taking disciples. Students, meanwhile, were not divided into ranks high and low. So long as one was willing to come and could afford that tiny bit of tuition, a road ahead awaited them.

The martial Confucian lineage gradually flourished.

Among the Four Great Academies, White Deer Grotto Academy claimed to inherit Master Hengqu's orthodox lineage and held the Four Sayings of Hengqu in the highest reverence.

Upon hearing Su Che recite the Four Sayings of Hengqu, the bookboy laughed until tears came out.

"Young master, sorry, but hearing the four sayings of the ancient sage from your mouth really is rather funny."

The little bookboy shook his head, then continued, "When did you begin suspecting me?"

"To be honest, I no longer remember the details of that incident three months ago."

Su Che was telling the truth. The moment he had taken over this mess, he had found himself in the carriage of that Ministry of War vice minister's wife, clutching a purple silk sash in his hand and cackling darkly.

After that, he had been beaten black and blue.

There truly was a lack of details regarding how the whole affair had unfolded.

"But the first thing that later struck me as wrong was that when I proposed taking up an official post elsewhere, my family was actually pleased to see it happen."

The previous generation of the Duling Su Clan had followed Great Liang on its northern expedition, and nearly the entire household had perished. Of that generation, only the one in the palace remained; among the next generation, only Su Che and his two brothers were left.

Under such circumstances, even if Su Che had become useless, the Duling Su Clan could never have allowed him to leave.

Keeping him at home to breed and father children—wouldn't that have been wonderful?

"So I made a deduction then. Perhaps the repercussions of my previous misdeeds had yet to fade. At the very least, in the eyes of my family elders, my remaining in Jiankang was less safe than leaving."

"To read the wind from this, young master, you are rather sly."

That uncle of his held a position in the palace; his information network had to be exceptionally sharp.

Since he had made such a judgment, what had happened to Su Che back then could not possibly have been as simple as a group of young wandering heroes happening to pass by and acting chivalrously.

"The second matter that deepened my suspicions was the rewards I received when I left Jiankang. Were they truly useful to a cripple burdened with severe wounds?"

After the incident, he had received quite a few things: spiritual pills from the palace, the Sealing Spirit Rope sent by the Yellow Heaven Sect, an ancient sword stored within the Sword Case, and so on.

"The air of compensation about these things was far too obvious."

Given his condition, the best thing the Su Clan could have done was lavish life-saving, wound-healing spiritual medicine on him, then choose an outstanding teacher to help him resume his cultivation.

That would have settled it. What did younger descendants want? Nothing more than ability and a future. As for external things such as ancient swords, spiritual pills, ropes, and manuals—

Were they important to someone severely injured and almost unable to cultivate?

In a sense, they were utterly useless.

"Moreover, these things shared an interesting trait. Against demons and monsters, they could be called great killing weapons. But against experts of the Confucian School deeply versed in martial cultivation—or even a few bandits from the wilderness—they would be of no use at all."

The ancient sword within the case was a relic of a swordsman from the previous generation. When it encountered demons, it could fly out and slay them on its own. Yet divine relics concealed their brilliance, and Su Che was not yet qualified to wield it.

The Yellow Heaven Sect's Supreme Sealing Spirit Relic could bully demon ghosts formed from divided Yin spirits, like the little fox. But if it truly encountered mountain bandits, it probably would not be much more useful than a hemp rope.

"Isn't that rather deliberate? And frankly, the realm is in chaos now, yet on this journey from Jiankang to Shanyin, aside from a few demons and ghosts, I have not even seen a single bandit. Great Liang's lands truly are as clear as rivers and calm as seas."

"All these things led me to a conclusion. My earlier misfortune may have been the result of some faction pulling the strings. That faction had an exceedingly ambiguous relationship with the Duling Su Clan, so they targeted only my personal future. They did not intend to take my life, and after everything happened, they even meant to console me."

"So I believed that everything before had been a scheme of the court. But later, it was you who traveled with me. That gave me a new deduction."

The bookboy listened quietly. At this point, he laughed again.

"Is there something wrong with me?"

"A dragon among men and a phoenix among birds—how could such a person submit to serving beneath a wastrel?" Su Che looked at him. "Don't you think you are far too removed from being a bookboy?"

"Hahahaha, indeed, indeed." The bookboy curled a finger around his topknot. "I truly did look down on you somewhat. But my origins in White Deer Grotto Academy—someone else must have told you that as well, yes?"

"When I proposed taking an official post outside the capital, the Ministry of Personnel offered me seven counties to choose from. I imagine all seven counties already had your side's hidden operatives, so whichever county I chose made little difference. And so long as you remained by my side to watch me, there should have been no problem."

"The spiritual aura on this one exceeds her Yin aura. She is likely no Yin creature, but a manifested demon spirit. Young Master Su, sparing your life was in consideration of the Su Clan's loyalty in serving the court. Yet you have colluded with a demon. Ah, what are we to do about that?"

The bookboy slowly pressed his right hand to the Tianzhu acupoint at the back of his neck. With a burst of true qi, he forced out a fine needle as thin as an ox hair and about an inch long.

The instant the golden needle left, the bookboy's appearance changed at once. His entire body grew taller section by section, his joints thickened, and his features transformed as well.

Most importantly, his bearing changed. The little bookboy now possessed a tragic grandeur that would press onward even against ten million men.

"The Golden Needle Body-Transformation Method?"

The little fox beside Su Che muttered softly.

"Hey, hey, hey, you have run into a tough one this time."

"This is only to be expected."

Everything was merely within his expectations.

"Young Master Su, your thoughts are meticulous indeed. I am Gu Yin of White Deer Grotto Academy. We may consider this our formal meeting."

Gu Yin's hair spilled over his shoulders. The little bookboy's clothing had already been stretched apart by his body. Standing six chi tall with a face like polished jade, if he changed into a different outfit, he could be called a refined young gentleman in this muddy world.

"Brother Gu carries himself grandly. You can stand shoulder to shoulder with me."

Though they stood on opposing sides, Su Che still offered him a heartfelt compliment.

"Young master is too courteous. Were our identities not different, you and I might have become friends. You guessed correctly: what happened before was indeed a trap we laid. As for me, I accompanied you to your post. You may understand it as surveillance, but also as a layer of protection for you."

When he left Jiankang, it was only natural for someone to be sent along to monitor him.

It was simply that this world had too many ways to watch a person, and he had never expected White Deer Grotto Academy to use the most primitive method of all.

Personal surveillance.

For such a massive faction, was it really so difficult to devise some means of seeing the earth and hearing the heavens?

"When I received this mission before the academy head and Junior Minister of Rites, I was rather puzzled. For someone like you, killing you with a single sword stroke would have been enough. Why spend so much effort? At the beginning of our journey, I only thought of finding some remote place to kill you and be done with it."

Were academy disciples all possessed of the same style as those escort constables from The Water Margin?

"Later, seeing how you conducted yourself, you did not seem to be someone beyond redemption, so I did not strike. But looking at today—young master, you have colluded with demons. You truly are adept at disguising yourself; even I was deceived by you."

Gu Yin's aura surged higher and higher.

"But arriving early is not as good as arriving at the right time. If I kill you here today, then when I meet the academy head and Junior Minister of Rites later, I will not fear lacking an explanation."

Before his words had even fallen, Gu Yin had already leapt forward like a hawk seizing a rabbit.

The martial Confucian lineage began with nurturing qi. At the outset, its disciples differed little from ordinary martial artists of the jianghu. But after reaching the seventh rank, the stages of cultivation changed, and all manner of transformations were born from their original cultivation arts.

Gu Yin came from White Deer Grotto Academy and was proficient in the martial arts of the Confucian school. His cultivation had already reached the seventh-rank Innate Realm, and every movement carried the power to stir wind and thunder.

His palms swung wide as he unleashed the Four-Domain Suppression Palm. Its first stance, Ancient Emperor's Mandate, was majestic and upright, its overlapping palm shadows rolling like waves and billows.

Su Che retreated on both feet, employing techniques from the Mirage Shadow Primordial Sword. He slid step after step, ghostlike in form, evading layer upon layer of palm shadows.

"Young master, your progress is swift indeed. In merely a few days, it seems you have reached the edge of the ninth rank of Sword Cultivation. What a pity, what a pity."

Gu Yin pressed forward relentlessly. "A pity that you have turned sword techniques into movement techniques, lacking the sharp spirit of Sword Cultivation that acknowledges only himself as invincible. You will not escape this calamity."

The little fox let out a long howl. Her white form became a whirlwind, sweeping Su Che farther back.

When they looked again, there were unexpectedly two Su Ches in the alley.

"An illusion?"

The outstanding disciple of White Deer Grotto Academy gave a low chuckle and circulated his palms once more.

The palm shadows split apart, layer upon layer of qi force rising like tides in a jade sea, ceaseless and unbroken.

Su Che and Qingqiu could only dodge again and again.

"Interesting. Now this is more like it. Since you have colluded with demons, you ought to look like someone who has colluded with demons."

Gu Yin smiled softly. "This palm art of mine embodies the true intent of the ancient sages suppressing demons in all four directions. Using it on the two of you could not be more timely—could not be more timely indeed."

The head of White Deer Grotto Academy was its academy head. This term was also one of the common forms of address for academy heads in general. The term itself originated from White Deer Grotto Academy. This book uses a patchwork historical setting, so Master Hengqu has been moved to the previous generation.

Thank you, everyone.