Early the next morning, after washing up, Hou Niao found another small bundle beside his simple luggage. He opened it and found a bottle of pills, a set of talismans, and three Daoist books-not a single item missing.
This was the style of Jiangyou's four patrol masters. He was already used to it. He would neither decline nor offer thanks; respecting others meant respecting himself.
No one came out to see him off, either. Their friendship had not reached that point, and they were not the sort to fuss.
Scholar Luo had already prepared two horses. With Hou Niao holding him back, running there was no longer practical, so they could only ride instead.
Hou Niao walked up to him. "Third Master Luo, I'd be better off going alone. Sorry for the trouble, but there's no need to escort me."
Scholar Luo raised his eyebrows in surprise. "The road isn't entirely peaceful. You..."
Hou Niao smiled faintly. "If I need someone to escort me just to visit a city, there's no need to test my Sword Gall. I might as well turn straight around and go home."
Scholar Luo gave him a long look. "Good! Just return the horse to Jincheng Sword Manor. It belongs to Quanzhen."
Hou Niao did not stand on ceremony. He cupped his hands briefly and swung into the saddle. Since he was amid densely packed homes, he did not let the horse gallop, keeping it to a brisk trot instead. He slowly vanished into the faint light of the rising sun, leaving only a dim silhouette.
Three men slowly strolled out. They had another joint operation today. As the four watched the figure fading from sight, Second Master Lu shook his head.
"He came because he suffered humiliation in the Daoist Sect. I can't see much of a future for him. If he could endure that humiliation and lie low in Anhe, seeking to rise again like the mountain sun, I might think more highly of him. As it is, he still can't escape his narrow-minded nature.
"By refusing your escort, he's probably lost even that last sliver of a chance."
This was probably their collective view. Having clung to life through the Anhe Prayer, he had thought good fortune awaited him, only to remain beneath the Daoist Sect's notice. He had left in anger, thinking he could learn skills elsewhere, return to bring glory to his ancestors, and slap the Daoist Sect in the face. Such thinking really was childish.
Was the Daoist Sect's face so easy to slap?
One could not study the Dao for revenge; that was the wrong mindset. Even a so-called Demonic Sect like Quanzhen did not encourage such ideas. The sword was a vessel, a technique. At their roots, the Demonic Sect and the Daoist Sect had no fundamental difference. The realms and trials they had to pass through were the same. That was the Dao.
Fourth Liang spoke bluntly. "Though I know this fellow probably won't get into Quanzhen, and might not last long even if he does, I still wish him well. And no, that's not because I feel bad for beating him up. The people I've beaten are as plentiful as carp crossing a river."
Master Pang glanced at Third Luo, who was still deep in thought. "Junior Brother Luo seems to have a different opinion?"
Scholar Luo sighed. "I keep feeling there's something different about him. I can't quite put it into words. It's as though there's a layer of mist keeping me from seeing him clearly.
"But I think he'll get into Quanzhen without trouble, and do very well here."
The four set off together, with Second Lu still teasing him. "Who can you see clearly? Never mind anyone else-can you see all of us clearly? Even that bear Liang has his own secrets, doesn't he?"
Fourth Liang cursed angrily. "You damned beanpole! Are you asking for a beating?"
Hou Niao left Right River Town. With a main road to follow, he did not need to worry about the route; he only had to ride along it.
Jiangyou was three hundred li from Jincheng. With his current riding skills, on a broad road with a steady flow of carts and horses, he could arrive before dusk. This horse bred by the Quanzhen Sect was even sturdier than an ordinary fine steed.
Cultivators always spoke half their meaning and held back the rest, leaving you to puzzle it out yourself. Take the Jiangyou masters sending Third Luo to escort him: judging by the road conditions now, there was no apparent danger. How could monsters appear on a main road frequented by travelers and merchants?
Then the escort could have had only one purpose: taking him to meet a Profound Connection presiding master, for instance, and getting him looked upon favorably.
No faction could uphold its principles consistently from beginning to end, not even the iron-blooded Quanzhen Demonic Sect. It too had social obligations and people exploiting public office for private ends. That was the true human world of Xiuzhen.
Only immortals could be without selfish motives.
He was unwilling to accept this kindness because he regarded this place not merely as somewhere to work undercover, but also as somewhere to cultivate. Only by truly settling his heart here could he be an undercover agent without a single flaw.
Rather than spending all day darting furtive looks about and sniffing out rumors.
A light rider on a swift horse made good time, watching rivers and passing shadows beneath rosy clouds... Nothing happened along the way. One evening several days later, Jincheng's buildings came into view in the distance. Just like Jiangyou, it had no city walls!
Of course, to cultivators, especially high-level cultivators, city walls really meant little. As for mortal wars, well, there had scarcely been any in the past thousand years. Whatever the dispute, at worst it escalated to the Xiuzhen level, where Xiuzhen forces settled it among themselves.
He gradually slowed as the road grew crowded. Peddlers and porters carried loads on their shoulders and in their hands, and pedestrians flowed like woven threads. The buildings also grew increasingly dense, but unlike Right River Town, this place had streets, broad and straight, giving an impression of sweeping grandeur.
People and order formed a perfect blend here. There might still be filth and darkness, but even this outward prosperity was not easily achieved. Before coming to the Shan Kingdom, Hou Niao had imagined it as a hell on earth. Only after experiencing it himself did he realize how laughable those claims were.
He finally understood what a Daoist had written in his travelogue: in truth, the Dao and the demonic were not so different. If you held the Dao in your heart, you learned the Dao, even in the Demonic Sect; if you held demons in your heart, you learned the demonic, even within the Daoist Sect.
Riding was no longer suitable, so he led the horse instead. He soon drew the attention of someone observant, and a man in blue robes came up beside him.
"Greetings, fellow Daoist. May I ask what business brings you to Jincheng?"
Seeing the other man glance over the horse, Hou Niao naturally understood who he was.
"I am Hou Niao, from Sanjiang Prefecture in Anhe. I intend to take the Daoist master's assessment tomorrow."
The man smiled faintly. "Why tomorrow? Dusk approaches, but we're still in good spirits. I am Daoist Wang, and I would be happy to take you to see the presiding examiner now."
Hou Niao was somewhat surprised. "Wouldn't that be a little presumptuous? Would we be disturbing the Daoist master's rest?"
Daoist Wang chuckled. "Fellow Daoist Hou, the Anhe Daoist Sect has led you astray. In our Quanzhen Sect, official business never distinguishes between day and night. With this great recruitment, talented people are pouring in. Making visitors queue and wait would be discourteous, so we assess them as they arrive-as long as you have no objection?"
Hou Niao laughed inwardly. They're probably afraid I'll find an acquaintance to put in a word for me. Leading a Quanzhen Sect horse means I must have connections within the sect. It seems Quanzhen is taking this recruitment seriously, keeping personal favors out of it as much as possible.
He did not decline. The two threaded through the bustling streets. Half an hour later, the streets gradually grew quiet, while more and more sword-bearing people appeared and ordinary mortals dwindled, until everyone around them was a Daoist with a sword on his back.
They seemed to have entered the Sword Manor, yet he had never seen a boundary wall. He had already grown accustomed to this Quanzhen Sect style: beneath its apparent casualness lay glimpses of confidence so powerful it was suffocating.
After winding this way and that, they reached a small courtyard. Daoist Wang gestured toward it.
"Go on. I wonder which martial uncle is on duty today?"
Hou Niao bowed in thanks and stepped toward the courtyard. The gate stood ajar, but he still announced himself politely:
"Hou Niao of Sanjiang, Anhe. I have come to take the assessment and pass its trials!"
No one answered, but the half-closed gate opened a fraction farther. Understanding the meaning, he gently pushed it open, then closed it behind him. By then dusk had fallen. Red candles burned brightly inside, casting the shadow of a Daoist reading onto the paper window. All was peaceful.
As the verse went:
By candlelight he trod immortal earth, time and again disturbing fledgling swallows. Who was this Daoist, holding a scroll of sacred writings? The Sword Was Originally Demonic, by Duo Duo