"Caw~~ Caw~~~"
At dusk, household lights came on throughout Yanjing's streets and alleys. A few crow calls drifted down from high above, casting a pall over the Imperial City in the far north of the city.
Atop a corner tower of the Imperial City, Zhongsun Jin, past seventy, stood facing the wind in a dark brown scholar's robe, gazing at the stars and moon.
Northern Liang's Thousand Mechanisms Sect was purely a martial-world sect. A hundred years ago, it had not even been considered respectable, making its living by researching hidden weapons and other unorthodox arts.
But Zhongsun Jin, one of the Four Sages, had received guidance from a Mohist master in childhood. After inheriting the Thousand Mechanisms Sect, he had begun implementing his own ideas and working closely with the Imperial Court. His influence lay behind Northern Liang's vigorous development of metallurgy, manufacturing, and other crafts, as well as national policies such as ending hostilities, practicing frugality, and opening trade.
For these reasons, although Zhongsun Jin was not Northern Liang's Imperial Preceptor, his standing was exceptionally lofty. Even the Liang Emperor addressed him as Mister Zhongsun, while people in the martial world simply called him "Zhong Sun Saint."
Indulging martial artists in their ingenious contraptions, and even granting them the same social standing as conventional warriors, had led Northern Liang away from its old moral standards. The martial world was full of scoundrels who disregarded martial honor, and the overall standard of its Martial Dao was declining. But the benefits were equally apparent.
Although only a few decades had passed, the Southern and Northern Dynasties were already far ahead in medicine, metallurgy, and other fields, which then benefited shipbuilding, weaponry, and other industries. Had there not been so many Southern Dynasty spies constantly infiltrating and copying their work, a