Jieyang Mountain, the Fetus-Dropping Spring.
Chen Wei rode a wisp of cool breeze up from outside the Western Liang Women's Kingdom's capital, flying at an unhurried pace.
When handling assignments in the mortal realm, especially when dealing with demon cultivators who ruled their own mountain strongholds, arriving empty-handed often left one like a scholar facing a soldier-reason counted for nothing.
Chen Wei understood this well, so he had to bring gifts.
What kind?
Immortal fruit!
These were not Heavenly Peaches bestowed by the Jade Pool. A minor figure like him in the Folk Customs Censorate was not entitled to such divine treasures. The basket held spirit pears and apricots from Flower-Fruit Mountain.
Their skins were mottled red and white, with a few wisps of immortal energy still clinging to them.
Chen Wei arranged the fruit neatly until the basket was packed full, then covered it with a red cloth.
Only after making a sufficient show of sincerity could the curtain rise on what followed.
The mountain slopes grew steeper.
Unlike Mount Hua, the Western Peak, Jieyang Mountain did not flourish with incense offerings. Few mortal travelers ever came here.
The Fetus-Dropping Spring's source was kept exceptionally clean, without even a single weed around it.
Chen Wei concealed himself, and his gaze was drawn to a large stone tablet beside the spring.
"No monkeys or monkey wretches allowed!"
The characters were carved deep, with scorched black marks still lingering along their edges-a clear sign of how fiercely the demon who carved them had ground his teeth.
Chen Wei circled halfway around the tablet, privately amused.
Judging by this, when the Great Sage Equal to Heaven had passed through on his westward pilgrimage for the scriptures, he had almost certainly struck some fierce sparks with True Immortal Ruyi, the spring's guardian.
Chen Wei cleared his throat and called loudly, "Is True Immortal Ruyi in his hermitage?"
His words had barely fallen.
A billowing plume of white smoke abruptly rose from the Fetus-Dropping Spring's source.
Amid the churning smoke, a bushy-bearded Daoist strode out, dressed in an apricot-yellow robe with a bone hairpin slanted atop his head. His face was crimson, and a gleaming Ruyi Golden Hook was tucked beneath his arm. The moment he appeared, he bellowed:
"Who goes there?!
"What blind little scrap of a god dares shout and holler in this blessed sanctuary of cultivation on Jieyang Mountain?! Do you know this place is..."
Before True Immortal Ruyi could finish his blustering threats, his bull-like eyes fixed on the white jade Command Token in Chen Wei's hand.
An official seal of the Heavenly Court's standard design, flowing with pure immortal energy.
Once he saw that credential clearly.
True Immortal Ruyi's face relaxed in an instant, anger turning to delight. "Oh my! An immortal official from the Heavenly Court above has graced us with his presence! This lowly immortal failed to come out and welcome you. A grave fault indeed! What brings Your Excellency down from the clouds today?"
As he spoke, he jogged forward.
Chen Wei wore the genial smile particular to immortals and casually handed over the basket brimming with immortal fruit.
"You're too kind, True Immortal."
"I was passing through today and heard that Jieyang Mountain boasts distinctive scenery, so I came to forge a friendly connection. Here is a basket of local specialties from an immortal orchard. Please don't disdain them, True Immortal."
True Immortal Ruyi accepted the basket steadily with both hands.
He lifted a corner of the red cloth and saw the red-and-white spirit apricots within, each radiating immortal energy. Their fragrance burrowed straight into the crown of his head, and he grinned so broadly that even his back teeth showed.
"Disdain them? Your Excellency, you shame this lowly immortal!" True Immortal Ruyi was all smiles. "Such auspicious fruit is found only in the immortal orchards above. Ordinarily, I couldn't obtain a single one even if I begged. Your Excellency's sincerity is truly overwhelming. I'm honored beyond measure!"
The gift had sounded out the way; the timing was ripe.
"True Immortal," Chen Wei said, clasping his hands behind his back and strolling halfway around the Fetus-Dropping Spring. Drawing his gaze from the water, he broached the subject leisurely. "On my way here from the Western Liang Women's Kingdom today, I saw that the Mother-Child River outside the capital had dried into cracked earth, with not a drop remaining."
He paused, his tone casual. "That river concerns the continuation of life in the mortal realm. Leaving it dry too long runs contrary to the workings of yin and yang. To tell you the truth, word of this has already surfaced in the Bright Hall these past two days."
Chen Wei looked at the old demon with a faint, ambiguous smile. "You've lived on Jieyang Mountain for many years, True Immortal. Do you know anything of the workings behind this?"
"Oh! Your Excellency!"
At the mention of the Mother-Child River, True Immortal Ruyi's eyelid twitched. He spread both hands and repeatedly protested his innocence. "You've asked the wrong person! This lowly immortal knows nothing!"
The old demon looked aggrieved. Pointing at the dilapidated thatched hall behind him, he poured out his woes. "I've always cultivated quietly in seclusion, deaf to everything beyond my window. Though I'm merely an unaffiliated demon, my heart has always belonged to the Heavenly Court!"
As though to prove that loyalty.
He actually puffed out his chest and proclaimed solemnly, "Every dawn and dusk, I burn incense and bow toward the Lingxiao Palace, hoping only to do my humble part for the living beings of the Three Realms! As for such deeds as cutting off water and ending bloodlines, I would never dare slacken... no, I would never dare have the slightest involvement! Please judge me fairly, Your Excellency!"
His declaration of loyalty sounded utterly heartfelt.
At its most impassioned point, even the two bull horns atop his head trembled twice.
Chen Wei rubbed the white jade seal with his fingertip, the smile on his lips unchanged.
After all his years navigating officialdom, what sort of slippery fellow had he not seen?
The evasions and excuses were all feints. His cries of love for the Heavenly Court in the latter half were the real point the old demon had been holding in his belly. Not only did he know exactly why the Mother-Child River had dried up, he had most likely done the dirty work himself.
Now that his cards were showing, it was naturally time to negotiate.
Immortals had their own way of negotiating.
"Since you know nothing whatsoever, True Immortal, I can only follow procedure and report the facts to the Bright Hall." Chen Wei's expression abruptly turned stern, his official tone impeccably steady. "Drying up the Mother-Child River and cutting off Western Liang's descendants is a grave crime. The evidence stands like a mountain!"
He clasped both hands behind his back, his tone growing weightier. "Once a decree has been obtained, we'll inevitably have to dispatch heavenly generals from the Thunder Department and star officials of the Twenty-Eight Lunar Mansions to investigate thoroughly."
With that, Chen Wei patted True Immortal Ruyi's stiff shoulder and left him a meaningful remark. "When they search the mountains and ridges, probing the earth veins and the Water Eye, if your quiet cultivation is disturbed, or some blind heavenly soldier damages the Fallen Embryo Spring Thatched Cottage, that will be outside the jurisdiction of my Folk Customs Censorate."
Having said this, he truly rose onto his toes, making as though to ride the breeze away.
Under that chain of blows, each parrying and striking at once, True Immortal Ruyi's heart turned cold.
He had sealed off the Mother-Child River merely to vent his resentment.
If he really provoked that pack of killing gods from the Thunder Department into descending, his status as the Bull Demon King's younger brother would count for nothing once they began searching the mountains and ridges.
Seeing that even a corner of Chen Wei's robe had begun to flutter upward, True Immortal Ruyi could no longer keep his composure.
"Oh! Your Excellency! Please wait!"
He lunged forward in a panic, spreading his arms to block the way. Smiling desperately, he pleaded again and again, "Just look at this memory of mine! I was so flustered earlier that I completely forgot the matter! I remember! This lowly immortal remembers that Mother-Child River now!"
Seeing Chen Wei halt.
The old demon rubbed his hands together and bent at the waist. "Only... please consider this fairly, Your Excellency. The Mother-Child River lies within Western Liang's territory, after all, and nominally falls under the Rivers and Streams Water Palace's jurisdiction. I'm merely a rustic from the mountains. Even if something has happened to the river, I have neither the proper standing nor authority. How could I overstep my bounds and intervene?"
"This lowly immortal also wishes to serve the Heavenly Court, and loves the bright and orderly world beneath its rule!
"But surely there must be a proper, legitimate reason?"
With things put so plainly, the card behind all his wrangling lay exposed.
Beyond venting an old grievance by sealing waterways and damming rivers.
In the end, he merely wanted to seize on a pretext to demand an official status that would entitle him to receive incense offerings.
[I toiled at this desk for half a day, pouring out my heart's blood to produce these ten thousand words. Though I know you may not take them to heart, if they could earn me a few warm words, or one of those free little trinkets you can give with a flick of the hand to cheer me up, then all this effort that wrung my heart dry wouldn't have been in vain~]
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