Chen Xinghe

The basin was full of ashes.

But among the ashes were several gilded characters, written in the script of Wei.

[Ping'an County]

"So this is where the secret was hidden. It wasn't a codebook."

Xu Qingxiao was a little surprised, but he understood at once.

The booklet the fugitive from Southern Yu Prefecture had given him held a secret that could only be revealed by burning it.

Now Xu Qingxiao felt rather frustrated.

He had planned to copy it and give the copy to his contact, never imagining that the secret lay in the original itself.

If he handed over the copy, and the recipient burned it and discovered it was a fake, wouldn't he be in trouble?

And what secret was hidden in Ping'an County?

Questions arose one after another, leaving Xu Qingxiao at a loss.

He took the gilded characters out of the basin and crushed them hard into fine golden powder, then filled the basin with water and poured it into the weeds.

Whatever secret lay behind all this, he could only take one step at a time for now.

He fetched another basin of water and washed his face to clear his head.

It was already the hour of the dragon.

Xu Qingxiao went to his desk, took out a sheet of blank paper, and began writing.

This was a habit of his. Whenever matters grew numerous and complicated, he would list them clearly, then tackle them one by one, sticking strictly to his plan.

Unless something unexpected happened.

As Xu Qingxiao wrote, his mind worked at full speed.

First, improve his cultivation in the Martial Dao. With the Confucian Dao suppressing the adverse effects, he could continue practicing the unorthodox art. He had to seize every moment and break through to the ninth rank within three months. This was his most urgent task, his highest priority.

Second, leave Ping'an County and go to Southern Yu Prefecture to take the Prefectural Examination. Whether he passed or failed, he could no longer stay in Ping'an County. The place was too small; even gathering information was difficult.

Third, investigate the fugitive from Southern Yu Prefecture's true purpose and uncover the truth behind it all.

As Xu Qingxiao continued putting ink to paper, everything became perfectly clear.

He felt much better with things sorted out.

All three tasks were fairly urgent. Everything else could wait for now.

Once he had settled on his plan, Xu Qingxiao stood and casually set down his brush.

Then he began practicing in his room.

Perhaps because he was cultivating an unorthodox art and dared not expose himself, he stayed indoors.

He sat cross-legged on his bed.

Xu Qingxiao began his second session of cultivating the Golden Crow Body Tempering Art.

Perhaps it was because he had the Literary Palace to suppress it, and had already reached the Qi-Nourishing Realm.

Xu Qingxiao showed no fear and began cultivating directly.

He visualized the Golden Crow in his mind and transformed his body into the sun.

Strand after strand of utmost yang energy flowed into his body. Though it entered in thin strands, each one surpassed an entire stream from before.

Utmost yang tempered his golden body.

Xu Qingxiao felt the blood throughout his body begin to boil. The sensation was exhilarating.

His sinews, bones, skin, and flesh were all being tempered.

The cries of the Golden Crow also echoed through his mind.

An indescribable sensation arose, accompanied by a surge of savage fury.

But before that fury could spread, the Righteous Haoran Qi within him suppressed it directly, extinguishing it on the spot like cold water dousing a flame.

At that moment, Xu Qingxiao finally put his mind completely at ease.

A pale golden radiance covered his body, as though he were bathed in the morning sun. As his sinews, bones, and flesh were tempered, his physique grew stronger and stronger.

If cultivated to Mahayana, the Golden Crow Body Tempering Art could form the great sun sacred body.

It was an extraordinarily powerful physique. Every drop of its blood could suppress and slay demons.

If not for the side effects of unorthodox arts, something like this would surely have been incomparably precious.

But on second thought, if there were no side effects, and anyone could cultivate it and grow stronger, the people of this world would have marched into the cosmos long ago.

Xu Qingxiao cast the distracting thoughts out of his mind.

After two hours of cultivation, Xu Qingxiao felt thoroughly refreshed, and his strength had clearly improved. He was like a man who had gone hungry for days and finally eaten his fill.

Most importantly, just two hours of cultivation had condensed five streams of Golden Crow blood and qi within him.

Each stream surpassed ten of his previous streams.

In other words, a day's cultivation was worth more than fifty times what it had been before. Accounting for the difference in quality, even calling it a hundredfold increase would not have been an exaggeration.

At this rate, reaching the ninth rank within three months would not be difficult. He might not even need all three months.

Faced with this, Xu Qingxiao could not help marveling.

"Unorthodox arts, forever the GOAT."

After finishing his cultivation, Xu Qingxiao stood. He was going to see Zhou Ling.

As he got up to leave, Xu Qingxiao glanced at the sheet of white paper on his desk, densely covered in writing. Seeing that it was getting late, he left it on the desk rather than burning it.

Xu Qingxiao left home, though before departing, he spent a little extra time locking the door.

Fifteen minutes later.

A figure vaulted over the wall. It was a man of thirty.

He was exceptionally agile, his movements brisk and efficient. He went straight to the door. It was locked, but he opened it with nothing more than a piece of wire.

Once inside, the man's gaze went straight to the desk.

Ink covered the white paper.

He looked at it, and his brows immediately knitted.

He was one of Cheng Lidong's subordinates. Cheng Lidong had sent him here today to investigate Xu Qingxiao's background.

They had waited until today to avoid stirring the grass and startling the snake, hoping Xu Qingxiao would show his hand.

As it happened, Xu Qingxiao had spent so much time at his desk today that the man could no longer resist coming in to investigate.

But what made him frown was that he did not recognize a single character on the page.

"What kind of writing is this?"

He felt rather frustrated. The writing on the paper was not the script of Great Wei at all. He had never seen it before, though it looked quite simple.

Rather than taking the paper, he brought out a small brush and a blue booklet and copied down the writing.

When he finished, he slipped away without a sound, carefully leaving the doors and windows closed as before so Xu Qingxiao would not discover the intrusion.

The hour of the snake.

The golden sun shone overhead. Weather like this was quite pleasant for the third month.

Sunlight spilled through the woods as a figure dressed in blue-green slowly appeared.

It was a young-looking man, around twenty-four or twenty-five, with his hair bound beneath a scholar's cap. He was strikingly handsome, and every movement carried a scholarly elegance.

Chen Xinghe walked along the woodland path beneath the golden sun, yet there was no sweat on his forehead. He had attained a measure of qi-nurturing cultivation.

He had a fine bearing and handsome looks. His features were particularly refined, with a hint of cool severity that made him seem every inch a gentleman.

After a while.

Chen Xinghe paused briefly and took a gray waterskin from the book basket on his back. After a small, leisurely sip, he continued on his way.

"Teacher sent a letter overnight asking me to come to his home. What could this be about?"

As he walked on, Chen Xinghe grew curious.

He was Zhou Ling's student and a renowned young scholar in the neighboring county. His family had produced scholars for three generations and could be considered a scholarly household. He was twenty-four this year and preparing for the Prefectural Examination.

But just yesterday, his teacher had sent someone with a letter asking him to come at once, which had left Chen Xinghe rather curious.

Still, whatever the reason, he had to come. In the Great Wei Dynasty, the rites and traditions of the Confucian Dao honored Heaven, Earth, sovereign, parents, and teacher.

Teachers ranked fifth, just after parents. When a teacher needed something, a student could not refuse to come.

Chen Xinghe had no objection. He was simply very curious about why his teacher had summoned him in such a hurry.

Fortunately, Zhou Ling's home was less than an hour's walk away.

One final push, and he would be there.

Meanwhile.

At Zhou Ling's home.

Xu Qingxiao had arrived fifteen minutes earlier. Had he not bought quite a few things along the way, he would have arrived even sooner.

Seeing him bring gifts again, Wu reproached him repeatedly, and even Zhou Ling said a few words.

But Xu Qingxiao spoke plainly. Zhou Ling had guided him into the Confucian Dao, making him his teacher. It was only right for a student to give his teacher gifts; they could simply consider them his tuition offering.

Put that way, Zhou Ling accepted. This made them teacher and student in the truest sense. In the future, if anyone asked about Xu Qingxiao's scholarly lineage, he could say he had studied under Zhou Ling.

Strictly speaking, all that remained was a formal apprenticeship ceremony, but that hardly mattered. In a poor, remote place like this, there was no need for such elaborate formalities.

In the study, only Xu Qingxiao and Zhou Ling remained, while Wu, his teacher's wife, had gone to prepare a meal.

"Qingxiao, I prepared some relevant books for you yesterday. The Prefectural Examination is on the fifteenth of next month. There are one hundred and fifty-seven books here."

"You must read every one carefully and reflect deeply on it. Do not skip passages because they are obscure, and do not become restless or impatient. Reading requires patience. It is not like practicing martial arts. Do you understand?"

Zhou Ling spoke as he pointed to the books in the first bookcase.

Looking at the neatly arranged books, Xu Qingxiao felt deeply moved. Zhou Ling owned several thousand volumes. Picking out more than a hundred had likely taken him all night. A glance at Zhou Ling's slightly weary face made it clear that he had not slept.

How could Xu Qingxiao not be touched?

People in ancient times really were kindhearted. They taught their pupils without drawing lines between insiders and outsiders.

"Thank you, Teacher."

Xu Qingxiao cupped his hands and bowed, offering heartfelt thanks.

Zhou Ling nodded, then continued.

"Qingxiao, I still felt somewhat uneasy about sending you to take the Prefectural Examination this time, so I wrote a letter overnight and summoned one of my students, Chen Xinghe. Since you both study under me, you can call him senior brother when you meet him."

"He will also be taking the Prefectural Examination this year. Your senior brother comes from a better background than you, a scholarly household, and has some talent. Though he has yet to attain a rank, he is close. In that respect, he is doing a little better than I am."

"Apart from being a little aloof and somewhat proud, he is actually a very decent person with a good heart. If he offers you a few critical words, do not take them to heart."

Zhou Ling explained the matter.

"I understand. Please rest assured, Teacher. I have only just entered the Confucian Dao and still have much to learn. I will not bear any resentment or take offense."

Xu Qingxiao understood the reasoning. Some people were naturally proud, and scholars enjoyed a fairly high status in this world. In poor regions especially, they were held in even greater esteem.

A little pride was therefore understandable. Having lived two lives, he naturally understood that.

Just as Xu Qingxiao finished speaking.

A voice suddenly came from outside.

"Your student, Chen Xinghe, pays his respects, Teacher."

At the sound of his voice, Zhou Ling could not help smiling.

"Speak of him, and here he is. Come, Qingxiao. Let me introduce you to each other."

With that, he walked out of the study, and Xu Qingxiao followed behind him.