Man proposes, Heaven disposes (end of volume one)

Three days later.

Xia Yi sat leisurely in the courtyard, watching the gardener Wu Jing plant scallions.

Three days had passed since Feng Shuhu's death. It had caused quite a stir in Lieyang City, but barely any ripples for Xia Yi. It seemed the somewhat dirty fallback he had prepared would not be needed.

What concerned him more now was where the Player Shi Lai had gone. He had not appeared for three whole days.

Creak-

As the door opened, Chen Guang emerged from a side room. Most of his bandages were gone, and he walked smoothly. He appeared largely recovered, but his spirits were low.

That was normal. With his great vengeance fulfilled, his heart felt empty, and he had somewhat lost his direction.

"Well? Have you figured out how you want to spend your days from now on?" Xia Yi asked him.

Chen Guang shook his head. "If you don't mind, Master, I'll sponge off you for a while and pick up the cultivation I've nearly forgotten."

"I do mind." Xia Yi smiled. "I didn't imprint the Yi Yin Tangye Saint Soul on you for nothing. Once you're healed, I'll dismiss the cook."

Chen Guang paused, then smiled. "Understood."

Master and disciple fell silent. Chen Guang sat beside Xia Yi and watched Wu Jing plant scallions too.

Wu Jing grew increasingly uncomfortable. He hurriedly finished his work, offered his greetings, and slipped back to the servants' quarters.

Only then did Chen Guang speak. "Master, I've been thinking back over things these past three days. You didn't kill my second junior brother just for me, did you? You... had planned it beforehand?"

"Yes. I made use of you a little."

"You must be joking. If that counts as being used, countless people in this world would want to be used... Did you have a grudge against my second junior brother?"

Xia Yi shook his head. "No, but he had designs on Xiao Xian. There are things even she doesn't know. She is connected to the last inheritance of a thousand-year-old great clan. Her mother died because of it too... Keep that secret."

Chen Guang looked surprised. "Master, something like that... You didn't have to tell me."

"It's fine. We're master and disciple. We shouldn't leave any ill feelings between us, and I trust you." Xia Yi smiled. "Feng Shuhu wasn't the only one coveting Xiao Xian's inheritance. The Chancellor's faction behind him wanted it too. Presumably, since they got nothing from her mother back then, they adopted a gentler approach."

"Having Feng Mo marry Xiao Xian would achieve two things at once."

Chen Guang understood. "So that's how it was."

Xia Yi nodded. "So, once I confirmed Feng Shuhu was the man behind it, I began planning a pretext to kill him. Your situation happened to provide the opportunity. This way, even if word reaches the Chancellor, he won't know that I know about Xiao Xian's inheritance. He'll simply think it was because of the grudge between you and Feng Shuhu."

"The retaliation that follows will be relatively mild, making it easier for me to... uproot every branch of the Chancellor's power, bit by bit!"

"Master, you've planned far ahead." Chen Guang pondered for a moment and spoke admiringly, then asked, "But my second junior brother was Zhi Prefecture's Jiedushi, after all. What if the retaliation comes through official channels?"

"Then it'll depend on Ma Chen. The Jiedushi, Commander, and Deputy Commander all knew about it. I left him alive in particular for a reason." Xia Yi smiled. "Judging by the time and the speed of the Railway Carriage, the Chancellor should have received a response by now."

Nanji, the capital of Great Zheng.

In the main hall of the Chancellor's residence, a middle-aged man sat upright in the seat of honor. He had phoenix eyes, thick, curved brows, well-shaped lips, and a square mouth, and possessed considerable charm.

He was none other than Great Zheng's Chancellor, Han Chuanzhong!

He wore a casual robe for home, unadorned with pearls or jewels. But those who truly knew their worth understood that the demon-marten fur on it was among the rarest and most precious treasures of the day.

Looking at the weeping woman in palace dress beside him, he sighed softly. "Stop crying, Wan'er. Your father will avenge Shu Hu and Mo'er!"

"...Then hurry! Hurry and have someone bring those villains to the capital under guard! I want to watch them! Watch them be executed!"

Han Chuanzhong was silent for a moment. "Lieyang City's Commander, Ma Chen, sent three memorials in succession. The first accused Shu Hu of mobilizing the Cultivator Battalion without a royal command. The second accused him of persecuting a fellow disciple of the Holy Academy thirty-five years ago. The third accused him of embezzling military pay during his tenure..."

"Nonsense!" the woman in palace dress interrupted between sobs. "That bastard Ma Chen... He's spouting nonsense! Leaving aside the first two charges, I opened eleven restaurants and inns in Lieyang City. Why would Shu Hu embezzle military pay? He's spouting nonsense!"

"The memorial mentioned that too. Did you earn the money to open those restaurants bit by bit yourself?" Han Chuanzhong asked slowly.

"Didn't you give me..."

"And where did my money come from?"

The woman in palace dress was struck speechless.

Han Chuanzhong shook his head. "That charge alone wouldn't amount to much. But Xiyuan Marquis Song Qu corroborated the first two. The King... was furious!"

The woman in palace dress trembled and seized Han Chuanzhong's hand, crying. "Father, does that mean Shu Hu and Mo'er won't be avenged?"

"Of course they will! But bringing the villains to the capital under guard may prove difficult..." Han Chuanzhong replied. "There's no need, either. I'll send people directly to take their lives and console Shu Hu and Mo'er's spirits in heaven. Wan'er, stay at home for now and wait for the outcome."

"Chancellor Han, something isn't right." A sudden interjection made Han Chuanzhong look over.

In a lower seat, an exceptionally ugly middle-aged man with tiny eyes, protruding cheeks, and a hooked nose set down the papers in his hands.

"What insight can you offer, Mr. Duan?"

This man's name was Duan He, an adviser and strategist in the Chancellor's household. Pointing at the papers he had just put down, Duan He said, "Reading this intelligence, I vaguely sense something deliberate. Whether it was his initial Sowing of the Deception Scripture or the Four Little Talented Scholars' Divine Bestowal Ceremony afterward, that Six-Star Kaiyang cultivator seemed to be deliberately targeting General Feng Shuhu and your worthy grandson Feng Mo."

Han Chuanzhong's expression tightened as he recalled the details.

"Zhou Xiaoxian? The Xia Family?!"

"An astute observation, Chancellor Han!" Duan He's cheeks shifted slightly as he offered his slick praise.

"The Xia Family?" the woman in palace dress murmured, then asked, "The one... you wanted Mo'er to marry a village girl for?"

"You don't understand," Han Chuanzhong said heavily.

"The Xia Family was a great clan of the Human Race eight hundred years ago. Three Kings arose from their clan in succession, and all were extraordinary. Not only that, when Great Wei Taizu was young, he accidentally entered an underground mausoleum, laying the foundation for his rise to King. To this day, Great Wei remains the Human Race's most powerful nation! According to common accounts, that was the resting place of a powerful member of the Xia Family!"

Han Chuanzhong drew a deep breath. "Was it for the Xia Family's inheritance? If so... Mr. Duan, please invite Mr. Yue here for a talk."

Countless people bore the surname Yue, but only Yue Ming, one of the Human Race's thirty-six Tiangang Stars, warranted such a formal invitation from Han Chuanzhong! Great Zheng, a nation of modest strength, had only three Tiangang Stars, the strongest beneath Kings!

In Xia Yi's courtyard, he thought for a moment, then tapped the ground with his index finger. "Things may not all go as I envision. We can't underestimate any enemy."

"Perhaps they'll see through my arrangements, and the people sent to kill us will give even me a little trouble... Well, we'll handle each move as it comes."

"Of course, that's very unlikely. Even if they see through it, another possible branch of events may arise." Xia Yi tapped the ground lightly. "As far as I know, Great Zheng's King Zheng is universally recognized as a tyrant. He drinks and makes merry every day, surrounding himself with the beauties of his harem and neglecting affairs of state. That's allowed Chancellor Han Chuanzhong to wield power over half the nation... but only half."

"If he were merely a tyrant, he should have been reduced to a figurehead long ago. That tyrant was also responsible for Xiao Xian's mother's death. I don't believe he knows nothing about Han Chuanzhong's actions."

A secluded alley in Nanji, the capital.

Duan He looked ahead and behind him. Finding swordsmen in gleaming armor blocking both ends, he shook his head helplessly. "Brightlight armor. Two Five-Star Jade Balance imperial guard commanders personally dispatched to deal with an ordinary man like me. Is the King finally moving against Chancellor Han, with me as his first target?"

"You misunderstand, Mr. Duan. We're only here to invite you to the palace. We won't kill you."

"The palace? Once I go in, getting out won't be so easy." Duan He sighed, narrowing his tiny eyes.

In Xia Yi's courtyard, his tapping finger paused briefly. He looked at Chen Guang. "For some reason, I suddenly have an ominous feeling."

Chen Guang paused. "Master, your foresight has earned my deepest admiration. With your planning, there should most likely be no further trouble."

"Not necessarily. Human ability has its limits..."

In Nanji, the capital, two Five-Star Jade Balance Rank imperial guard commanders collapsed soundlessly in a corner, terror covering their faces as they clutched the bloody holes in their necks.

"I can't stay in Nanji anymore." Standing to one side, Duan He murmured, "Just as well. I've had enough of being this damned Chancellor's adviser. That report Feng Shuhu sent about the frenzied villagers, the one they ignored, really interests me."

He slowly retracted two sharp, slender, bloodstained front teeth into his mouth and licked them.

Together with his exceptionally ugly appearance,

he looked just like a humanoid rat!

(End of volume one)