Liu Yanchang flushed scarlet at the rebuke, trembling all over.
As he shook, his mind twisted through a thousand turns, trying to find a flaw in Chen Wei's words.
He found none.
The Immortal Official from the Bright Hall had laid out his reasoning with seams so tight that not a drop could leak through.
Once a pedantic mortal scholar lost the upper hand in an argument, he would habitually reach for another fig leaf.
"You insolent wretch!" Liu Yanchang raised his voice to disguise his lack of confidence. "You have not a shred of refinement! We scholars take poetry and song as our bones, and splendid prose as our souls! You know nothing of letters. You are crude beyond measure, a disgrace to cultured men!"
Chen Wei nearly laughed aloud.
He had entered the Dao through writing and ascended to immortality in broad daylight.
At the Bright Hall in the Heavenly Court, he filed jade slips and copied Immortal Law statutes every day. This man wanted to compete in letters with an Immortal Official who was practically the written word made flesh?
A mere insect-carving trick.
Brandishing an axe at the master carpenter's gate.
Chen Wei folded his fan and tapped it against his left palm, looking straight at the clay-and-wood statue on the raised dais ahead.
"Letters?"
"Listen well!"
"Mount Hua towers, holding firm the heavens nine; an immortal, cold and pure, descends through clouded depths."
"The Treasure Lotus glimmers, cleansing mortal grime; no worldly dust, no wisp of smoke, can stain her."
Chen Wei had not weighed his words or polished his lines. He simply opened his mouth, and they came.
Without ornamentation, he clearly sketched the Third Holy Mother's sacred domain, her magical treasure, and her cool, ethereal grace beyond the mortal world.
The hall fell utterly silent. Most of the worshippers were unlettered folk, but even they could hear the rhyme and sense the lofty imagery.
Liu Yanchang stood rooted to the spot, his mouth slightly open.
Chen Wei tilted his head, his tone still calm. "Writing prose requires depth of learning. Composing poetry depends on the hills and valleys within your breast. The literary prowess you take such pride in amounts to a child's scribbles in my eyes."
"A few casual words from me reach heights you could never attain in your entire life."
Not merely killing the man, but destroying his heart.
Liu Yanchang looked as though lightning had struck him. His knees buckled, and he nearly collapsed to the floor. The last shred of his scholarly pride had been torn to pieces.
Seeing that he could not win the argument, he shoved through the crowd and staggered toward the temple doors.
He did not even dare look back, vanishing like a wisp of smoke around a bend in the mountain path.
The farce was over.
Ma Muzhi gave him a thumbs-up. "Brother Qingquan, that was satisfying!"
Off to one side,
the handsome young scholar stepped forward and cupped her fists. "Brother, your talent for poetry is excellent, and your insight is even more admirable."
"Only a few shallow observations. I hope you will forgive the poor display." Chen Wei turned and returned the salute, perfectly composed.
Yang Chan's gaze lingered on Chen Wei's face, searching. "I am Yang Niansan. May I ask your honored name?"
"I am Chen Wei, courtesy name Qingquan. Beside me is my fellow townsman, Ma Muzhi."
As soon as Chen Wei finished the introductions, Ma Muzhi cupped his hands in greeting to Yang Chan.
"Qingquan. A fine name." Yang Chan savored it once, then chuckled. "A clear spring washes away filthy dust. You just drove off a filthy man. How fitting."
Chen Wei betrayed nothing.
Yang Chan changed tack, probing. "Brother Chen, that poem came so naturally. Was it inspired by genuine feeling, or merely an impromptu recitation?"
"Genuine feeling, of course."
With a solemn expression, Chen Wei nodded earnestly. "The Holy Mother is merciful and protects this region. Seeing that greedy fellow make such a racket angered me. The poem merely expressed my heartfelt reverence for Her Holiness."
A perfectly watertight set of official platitudes.
Every sentence spoke of reverence; every word proclaimed loyalty.
Yang Chan gave Chen Wei a long look, curiosity flickering in her eyes.
"You are an intriguing man, Brother Chen."
"The mountains are high and the rivers long. May we meet again."
"Until we meet again."
Chen Wei cupped his hands in farewell, then turned and crossed the threshold alongside Ma Muzhi.
Above Mount Hua's Cloud Sea.
Two white clouds rose leisurely, drifting toward the Southern Heavenly Gate.
Sitting cross-legged on his cloud, Ma Muzhi nudged Chen Wei in the waist with an elbow. "Brother Qingquan! That High Immortal actually took the initiative to make our acquaintance!"
"You noticed?" Facing the Astral Wind, Chen Wei straightened his robe.
"Of course!"
Ma Muzhi slapped his thigh and chuckled. "How many years did I spend looking after immortal mounts at the Imperial Stables? One sniff tells me what rank an immortal is! Yang Niansan had not a trace of demonic aura, and her immortal power was utterly pure. She was definitely a High Immortal hiding her true abilities!"
"But just who could she be?"
Chen Wei considered for a moment, then said slowly, "She strolled through the Third Holy Mother Temple as though it were her own courtyard, commenting on the worshippers' conduct, and used the alias Yang Niansan. She also carried fluctuations of high-level immortal power that she could not quite conceal."
"Most likely..."
"she is one of the divine guardian generals serving the Third Holy Mother!"
Understanding dawned on Ma Muzhi, and he exclaimed admiringly, "No wonder you rebuked that insolent fellow with such righteous conviction in the hall, then composed a poem praising the Holy Mother on the spot. Brother, you really do think ahead."
"We have neither roots nor backing in the Heavenly Court."
Chen Wei's expression remained unchanged, his voice calm. "When we encounter a High Immortal, naturally we must show the proper awareness and allegiance. A poem and a few lofty principles cost no spirit stones and sacrifice no cultivation. If they please a divine guardian general, and she casually mentions to the Holy Mother one day that the Bright Hall has an Immortal Official who knows the rules, then we have earned a little goodwill."
"Why not take a deal that lets us push the boat along with the current?"
Ma Muzhi nodded repeatedly, thoroughly impressed. "Brilliant! Brother Qingquan, absolutely brilliant! With your methods, sooner or later you will take your place among the ranked immortals and become a true great immortal!"
Chen Wei said nothing. He had understood this the day he entered the Heavenly Court.
As an immortal, he had only himself to rely on.
Even Ma Muzhi, who kept offering flattering words beside him, was no simple fellow.
Ever since they left the Heavenly Court, the man had followed every conversational lead with praise, choosing his words with impeccable care. Without showing mountain or water, he supplied reassurance from every angle.
How could anyone whose name was registered at the Heavenly Court's Bright Hall be ordinary?
He seemed to lack ambition and seek only stability, but his feigned foolishness and constant jokes were all part of a survival philosophy honed through the struggles of a low-ranking Loose Immortal.
Having served at the Imperial Stables, Ma Muzhi knew better than anyone how to stroke fur in the right direction.
Anyone who truly took him for a mediocrity merely eating his fill and waiting to die would be blind indeed.
Each harbored his own thoughts, and neither exposed the other.
Ahead, the Cloud Sea churned, and the towering outline of the Southern Heavenly Gate appeared and disappeared.
Just as they were about to lower their clouds and return to the Bright Hall to report completion of their assignment, Ma Muzhi suddenly slowed his cloud and drew a dingy cloth pouch from his sleeve.
He untied the cord. Inside lay dirt and loose dust from the mortal mountain paths.
Ma Muzhi scooped up a handful of dust and deftly smeared it over his cloud-treading shoes. "Brother Qingquan, here, take some. We went down to gather dust spirit grass and easily collected everything, but we cannot return to report without a speck of dust on us, looking fresh and rested, can we? We need to smear some dust on our shoes and look travel-worn."
"We have to let Lord Hou see it with his own eyes."
"To carry out his assignment, we braved the Astral Wind, crossed mountains and rivers, and endured every hardship."
At those words, everything clicked into place for Chen Wei.
The Heavenly Court's rules were often hidden in the smallest details.
Did the process of carrying out an assignment matter?
No.
Whether they had spent their time below sightseeing or eating in the wind and sleeping beneath the dew, Hou Zong would not care at all.
What mattered was letting the High Immortal see their attitude. Doing the job efficiently never beat looking like they had worked hard.
"An excellent insight, Brother Ma!"
"Oh, not at all. Let's hurry and smear this on!"
Before you continue