"Actually, I had my reasons for coming here too..."
Daoist Chongling was about to explain when he suddenly felt it was inappropriate. Did he really need to explain all this to someone who had not even truly entered the Daoist fold? It would only waste his breath and needlessly disturb his state of mind.
On the road to the Great Dao, what room was there for pity?
He was a high-ranking Daoist who had reached the Bridge Linking stage, yet in this tiny Fufeng City, his state of mind had nearly been shaken time and again. First there had been Old Meng, facing death as though returning home, and now Hou Niao, upholding the law through bloodshed. This vast mortal world had no shortage of extraordinary people and strange affairs.
"You should know that Old Meng took poison and died after returning to prison. The two of you had no connection, yet your different paths led to the same end... Hmm, since he is already dead, you can say whatever you like."
Hou Niao bowed deeply. "Thank you for granting my wish, Daoist Master."
Old Meng had been an herb farmer for decades, so leaving himself a means of escape had been simple. Of everyone in the hall at the time, only Chongling had possessed the ability to stop him. Hou Niao's bow was to thank him for deliberately letting it happen, giving Old Meng the choice of a swift end. Otherwise, given what Old Meng had done, there was no telling how much he would have suffered in prison, unable even to die.
Chongling waved a hand. He had done it for his own peace of mind, too. This was the customary Daoist way, neither pity nor justice.
"You killed the Wang family's son to seek justice under the law, but I imagine you also hoped to use this to extricate yourself and head to the Youfu front, seeking an opportunity between life and death?"
Hou Niao's expression froze. The sordid private calculation he had thought hidden deep in his heart had been exposed by the Daoist Master in a single sentence, and shame filled him.
He knew his own circumstances best. Though he hated evil with a vengeance and disdained ignoble compromise, that did not mean he was a fool. Once Chongling had exposed his actions, few choices had remained to him.
He could bow his head and meekly beg for his life, but Fufeng City would certainly have no place for him. Having his cultivation stripped away, going elsewhere to scrape out a living, and spending his whole life hiding was not the life he wanted.
In the Anhe Kingdom, low-ranking cultivators like him who committed grave offenses were generally not beheaded in autumn like mortals. Instead, even waste was put to use: they were sent to the front lines where demons, monsters, ghosts, and fiends were encountered, to serve as Daoist cannon fodder. If they died, that settled everything. If they survived, an opportunity would naturally await them, however elusive such an opportunity might be.
For cultivators, nothing was more abhorrent than returning to an ordinary life. That truly was a fate worse than death. For him, making such a choice had not been difficult.
Seeing his silence, Daoist Chongling knew he had guessed what was on his mind. But there was still something he did not understand.
"Since you intended to stake everything on your Dao Path, why didn't you decide sooner? Why instead put yourself in this position, with your fate no longer in your own hands? If you truly go to the front lines to fight demonic beasts and mysterious entities, I can tell you with certainty that not one in ten thousand survives!"
Hou Niao smiled bitterly. "Daoist Master, you may not understand my circumstances. In the five years since I began cultivating, I have exhausted my family's wealth just to advance an inch along the path of cultivation. I tried every method I could think of, yet gained nothing.
"It wasn't a question of resources, but of aptitude!
"So I carried on my late father's ambition, intent on doing something for the peace of the area. Cultivation came second..."
Chongling gave a derisive smile. "You inherited your family's tradition of criminal law, but to my eyes, yours is also the way of a harsh official. A square that allows no roundness achieves nothing; an edge without softness snaps from its own rigidity. Even with a heart full of justice, how far could you go?
"Besides, in my eyes, your actions were neither noble nor impartially just. You merely revered the way of cause and effect-every sip and morsel repaid, gratitude and vengeance settled to your heart's content!
"Hou Niao, you took the wrong road. That is why you are here today!"
Right or wrong-who could give a universally accepted verdict?
Ever since seeing Meng Qiaolian's mutilated corpse halfway up Hebi Mountain two years ago, Hou Niao had never quelled the indignation in his heart. Yet the findings of his extensive investigations had been no better than wastepaper before the vast machinery of the powerful. That was why he had turned a blind eye to Old Meng's revenge.
He had his own calculations, but first and foremost, he would not disgrace the foundation on which his family stood!
He was a harsh official. Over the past few years, many of his methods had skirted the edges of the law, but he had no regrets. In this chaotic world, how could anything but stern enforcement prevent jackals and wolves from ruling the roads?
Daoist Chongling understood this petty criminal investigator's inward resistance perfectly well. There were far too many such people in this world, self-righteous, convinced they walked the most correct path, willing to spend their entire lives proving it. But harsh reality would show them that the cruelty of this world was far beyond what their present naïveté could handle.
With a Lineage or sect supporting them, such persistence might last a little longer. But for a boy like this, with nothing to his name, it was a road to death.
Besides, he might not even make it past the hurdle before him!
"What I need to tell you is that, after this inspection, unqualified cultivators who have committed grave offenses, like you, will not be sent to fight demonic beasts as they were in the past. You should know that the once-in-a-century Anhe Prayer is about to begin, and we happen to be short of sacrificial participants for the prayer."
Hearing this, Hou Niao stood as wooden as a carved chicken. Though his resolve was firmer than most, the news still struck him a heavy blow.
Ultimately, his level determined the limits of his knowledge. However he struggled, it meant nothing before the Daoist establishment.
Daoist Chongling felt quite satisfied. He had finally managed to crush this ant's spirit without resorting to overwhelming strength. Otherwise, after their contest, it would have seemed that he had fallen behind morally, something he could not tolerate.
Someone who had lucked into cultivation through a chance encounter, yet had never truly entered the Daoist establishment, deserved no sympathy. Besides, the Daoist fold had no need for someone so severe and ignorant of when to advance or retreat.
"I will remain here for several more days. You are no ordinary mortal, after all, so I permit you to return and settle your private affairs during that time. Don't entertain any other ideas. You know the consequences."
Hou Niao came out of his daze and bowed bitterly. "Thank you for granting my wish, Daoist Master."
He had nothing to complain about. This Daoist Chongling appeared just and unbendingly impartial, but had still given him an opportunity. That thunderbolt thrust in the prefectural hall, for instance-had Chongling intervened, he could not have succeeded!
This was how Daoists acted. They did not tell you directly what to do, but left room at every turn for you to make your own choices and then bear the responsibility yourself.
He had chosen this road and could blame no one else. His only mistake had been forgetting that the Anhe Kingdom also held the once-in-a-century Anhe Prayer!
He had stayed in a little place like Fufeng City for too long, so long that he had no view of the larger picture at all. A frog at the bottom of a well-he had brought this on himself.
He slowly withdrew from the prefectural office. The runners who had once fawned over him now all wore looks of gloating delight, standing at a distance and pointing...
He did not blame these people for their snobbery. This was the inevitable result of his harsh conduct over the past few years. Now that the wall had fallen, everyone lent a hand to push it down. What could he do?
Someone else might have begun reflecting on the mistakes of a lifetime at this point. Had he clung too tightly to his principles?
But he would not. To his mind, his failure had only two causes: first, he was not strong enough; second, he had not killed ruthlessly enough!
On the street outside the office, passersby were sparse. The sky was overcast, and fine rain drifted through the air, just like his mood.
Adrift, the Dao was lost; a place of rest was not a home. Night rain stirred the waterside leaves; autumn wind reached the knotweed flowers.
Gone cold...