The emperor smilingly explained the reasons for the dispute between the two kingdoms. With Li Qiang as his trump card, he felt considerably more assured.
The dispute between the Gusong Kingdom and the Litang Kingdom went back a long way. From the time of its founding, the Gusong Kingdom had nibbled away at Litang territory. Of the three kingdoms in the green basin, Gusong had been founded last and had also been the most ambitious at the time. Through the efforts of successive emperors, its territory had continued to expand. Although Gusong was not now the strongest kingdom, the borders of the three kingdoms had essentially stabilized, and their national strengths were much alike, forming a three-legged balance of power.
The Litang Kingdom had always harbored hatred toward the Gusong Kingdom. Its successive rulers had made recovering their lost lands their foremost priority, so disputes between the two kingdoms had never ceased. This time, the Litang Kingdom had again dispatched troops to the border, adopting a posture of preparing for war with the Gusong Kingdom. It had also allied with the Qingfeng Kingdom in the Red Rock Petrification Mountain Range to harass the Gusong Kingdom, while the Black Banner Army was a surprise force the Litang Kingdom had positioned behind the Gusong Kingdom.
Li Qiang's intervention had disrupted the Litang Kingdom's plans. The Black Banner Army had been forced to retreat, buying the Gusong Kingdom time to muster its troops swiftly. The two sides were now evenly matched.
With time short and preparations inadequate, the Gusong Kingdom did not want war. The Litang Kingdom used this to exert pressure and make territorial demands, dispatching one of its expert cultivators as an envoy in hopes of obtaining what it could not gain on the battlefield.
The imperial special envoy sent to the Gusong Kingdom this time was a Litang Kingdom cultivation expert named An Lang, a well-known figure in the cultivation world.
The emperor's tone shifted, becoming grave. "My dear Minister Li, these negotiations concern the safety and very survival of the Gusong Kingdom!"
Li Qiang thought, What does that have to do with me? I don't understand any of this. Huh, why is the emperor telling me about it? He was lost in a fog.
The emperor and Hou Pijing exchanged smiles. The emperor said, "My dear Minister Li, I appoint you the Gusong Kingdom's imperial envoy extraordinary and plenipotentiary, specifically responsible for negotiating with the envoy from the Litang Kingdom."
Good heavens! I was wondering why they were giving me both an official post and a residence. So they want me to negotiate! What a joke, putting a kingdom's fate in my hands. If the talks go badly and living beings are plunged into misery, won't it all be my fault? No, I can't do it!
At this thought, Li Qiang hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, my talents are meager and my learning shallow. I don't understand anything. Having me negotiate might..." He glanced at Hou Pijing, thinking, Say something! If you don't help me... I'll...
Hou Pijing turned his head away, pretending not to see. Li Qiang ground his teeth in fury.
The emperor smiled. "No need to decline, my dear minister. I trust you. That settles it. You have three days to prepare. Imperial Grandfather, I still have some official business to attend to. Would you..."
Hou Pijing said, "Oh, go get on with it. No need to keep us company. I'm taking my brother to look at the residence first."
Without giving Li Qiang a chance to speak again, the emperor coughed, swung his arm, and left.
Li Qiang stamped and hopped in agitation, yelling, "Big brother, why didn't you speak up and stop him? You... you... you've really done me in! I don't know anything! I don't understand the situation at all! How am I supposed to negotiate?"
Hou Pijing smiled. "Relax. Your big brother will make all the decisions. What are you afraid of?"
Li Qiang hurriedly said, "Good! You said it yourself. You make all the decisions." He thought, When the time comes, I'll spout nonsense and see what you do. If the negotiations go badly, it'll be the perfect excuse for the emperor to dismiss me. Heh heh.
The two went outside, where a row of guards stood waiting. One who looked like their leader stepped forward and knelt. "By imperial decree, I, fifth-rank sword-bearing guard Chen Fengning, lead sixteen guards in attendance upon the Sacred King."
The party left the palace and headed toward the residence. On the way, Li Qiang instructed one guard to fetch Zhao Hao and the others from the jewelry shop.
Arriving at the Sacred King's Residence truly opened Li Qiang's eyes.
The Sacred King's Residence occupied nearly a thousand mu, only a little smaller than the imperial palace. A symbolic landmark of the Gusong Kingdom, it had been converted from the imperial family's former rear gardens. Its enclosing walls stretched a full ten thousand meters. Inside were five building complexes, one each in the east, west, south, north, and center. Every few years, the imperial family allocated a huge sum for repairs. Over a thousand eunuchs, palace maids, maidservants, houseboys, and other servants worked there. The entire complex glittered with gold and jade, scarcely inferior to the imperial palace.
Li Qiang now understood why the emperor had been so astonished when Hou Pijing offered to give up the residence.
The Sacred King's return not only threw the residence into turmoil but also shook every official at court. The title of Sacred King carried truly astonishing weight. In the Gusong Kingdom, he had already come to be revered like a god.
Rumors spread swiftly among the imperial family, nobles, and officials. After all, the Sacred King had not returned for over forty years. A few of the older generation had seen him, but the younger generation had only heard his legends.
They heard that the Sacred King had brought a brother back with him this time, and the emperor had actually appointed him a first-rank Attendant and Tiger Might General, even granting him the residence. Another rumor said that the Sacred King's brother was a youth barely twenty, and that this youth had lifted the siege of Hanlin City. What shocked these officials most was that the youth was the younger brother of Fu Chongbi, the guardian deity of the Great Han Kingdom...
The emperor had deliberately ordered people to spread all this news, solely so that it would reach the Litang Kingdom's special envoy.
Soon, the once-deserted gates of the residence were crowded with the carriages, sedan chairs, and horses of visiting civil and military officials. After accepting their visiting cards, the guards at the gate turned every one of them away, saying only that the Sacred King was not receiving visitors. Unable to see him but unwilling to leave immediately, the officials gathered in twos and threes to discuss matters.
While the officials were chatting animatedly, a guard brought three people to the gate.
"Hey, isn't that the old proprietor of Zhao's Treasure Silver and Gold Jewelry Shop? What's he doing here?"
"Old Qian, are your eyes going bad? Was that old fellow ever this young?"
"Look at that big dark fellow. Good grief, isn't that axe he's carrying enormous?"
"Oh! What a pretty little girl."
The officials buzzed with discussion, watching helplessly as the three strode straight into the residence. They collectively chose one official to investigate. He approached a guard he knew and asked, "Greetings, Brother Xu. May I ask why those three were allowed inside?"
Guard Xu smiled. "Oh, Brother Qin, to tell you the truth-I don't know either."
The official almost choked on that answer. With a wry smile, he said, "In that case, thank you, Brother Xu."
After entering the residence, Hou Pijing gave the steward a few instructions, then vanished somewhere to reminisce. Surrounded by palace maids, eunuchs, maidservants, and houseboys, Li Qiang entered the inner hall.
Before he had even settled in, a group of palace maids and maidservants brought fresh clothes and asked Li Qiang to bathe and change.
In a small room beside the inner hall, four eunuchs carried in a large wooden tub rimmed with silver, filled it with water, and adjusted the temperature. A palace maid with an oval face, slender eyebrows, and large eyes said, "Please bathe, my lord." The eunuchs and houseboys backed out of the room.
Li Qiang said, "All right, I might as well have a bath. You may withdraw."
The eight palace maids who remained bowed. "We will attend to your bath, my lord."
"Good, ah..." Li Qiang jumped in alarm and hurriedly said, "Hey, no, no!"
Thud! The eight palace maids dropped to their knees, saying, "We deserve death."
Li Qiang scratched his head. "What on earth? Why would you deserve death? Get up, all of you. I'm just used to bathing by myself. I didn't mean anything else. Otherwise, I simply won't bathe."
The palace maids only kowtowed and refused to rise. At his wits' end, Li Qiang hardened his heart and gritted his teeth. "Fine, fine, fine. I'll bathe." He thought, The royalty and nobles here really fucking know how to enjoy themselves. They even have women attend them while they bathe. I'll throw caution to the winds. I'm not afraid of dying, so why should I fear a bath? A palace maid stepped forward to undo his clothes and belt. Li Qiang looked righteous and resolute, as though facing death without flinching.
The inner hall of the residence.
Li Qiang sat in a grand armchair, uncomfortable all over. The eight young, beautiful palace maids had scrubbed him so thoroughly that his Nascent Soul had almost flown out of his body. His heart was still pounding, his face and ears still burning, and he had yet to recover.
A eunuch announced that Zhao Hao and his two companions had arrived. Overjoyed, Li Qiang called, "Show them in, quickly!"
Zhao Hao, Mei Jingjing, and Zheng Peng entered the inner hall, looking all around. Impatient, Mei Jingjing rushed in first. She paused slightly at the sight of Li Qiang, then giggled. "Big brother, you look so strange in those official robes. Hey, how did you end up becoming an official?"
Seeing the three of them lifted Li Qiang's spirits. He smiled. "Niuniu, does your big brother look handsome?"
The three answered in unison, "No! Hahaha!"
Zhao Hao said, "Master, word of your appointment has spread everywhere outside. Where has Senior Uncle gone?" He gave Li Qiang a detailed account of the rumors outside.
Li Qiang pondered for a moment. "There's one other thing that hasn't spread outside. The emperor appointed me special imperial envoy, responsible for negotiating with the Litang Kingdom's envoy. Right, Niuniu, you're from the Litang Kingdom. I have a few things to ask you."
Mei Jingjing smiled. "Whatever Niuniu knows, she'll tell you."
Li Qiang said, "I want to know what sort of role An Lang plays in the Litang Kingdom."
Mei Jingjing's face changed drastically. "An Lang? An Lang of the Litang Kingdom's Attendant Hall?" She gritted her teeth. "He's an enemy of our Mei Household!"
Li Qiang instructed the steward, "Go fetch my big brother." Then he said, "Niuniu, tell me what happened." Li Qiang truly regarded Mei Jingjing as his own little sister. A big brother could not ignore his little sister's troubles.
Mei Jingjing's father, Mei Ao, was a third-rank Attendant of the Litang Kingdom's Attendant Hall. The Mei Household's cultivation method was extremely unusual: they cultivated by refining Herb Pills. This set them apart from the other cultivators in the Attendant Hall.
Mei Ao was especially renowned for his pill-making. The Mei Household's medicinal pills were spirit pills cultivators dreamed of obtaining. Five were most famous. First was the Primordial Yang Pill, which could greatly increase a cultivator's true essence. Taken when the Nascent Soul had just formed, it could rapidly accelerate its growth and avert the danger of Qi Deviation.
The second was the Origin-Nurturing Pill, a treasure for those beginning cultivation. Taking it allowed them to achieve Foundation Establishment quickly.
The third was the Rejoining Pill. If a cultivator lost a hand or foot in combat, this pill could reattach it without leaving a trace. Its efficacy was extraordinary.
The fourth, the Death-Averting Pill, was the best known. As long as a gravely injured cultivator had a breath remaining, taking it could save their life. Some therefore called it the Life-Snatching Pill, meaning that it could snatch back even a life.
The fifth was the Accumulation-Clearing Pill, specifically used to counter all manner of strange poisons and incantations.
It was precisely these spirit pills of Mei Ao's that had brought disaster. An Lang was a first-rank Attendant of the Attendant Hall, a first-class duke, and the Litang Kingdom emperor's imperial uncle. Wielding great power and influence, he had forcibly demanded Primordial Yang Pills and Origin-Nurturing Pills to cultivate several of his children and grandchildren. These two spirit pills were extremely difficult to refine, and Mei Ao had only a few left. Yet An Lang demanded six of each. Mei Ao could not produce so many, and thus enmity took root.
An Lang was sinister and vicious. When Mei Ao could not meet his demands, he bore a grudge and secretly plotted to frame him, forcing Mei Ao to flee with his wife and daughter. An Lang also arranged for men to pursue and kill them along the way. At the border between the Litang Kingdom and the Gusong Kingdom, the family of three fought a fierce battle against the pursuing assassins. In the melee, Mei Jingjing became separated from her parents and drifted to Seven Forks Ridge.
"Where are your parents now? Have you had no word?" Li Qiang asked with concern, thinking, No wonder she went to Seven Forks Ridge to become a bandit. This little girl really isn't ordinary.
Mei Jingjing said despondently, "No, but my parents very likely went to the Frozen Plain to seek help from their sect."
Zhao Hao asked in surprise, "You mean the Frozen Continent?"
Mei Jingjing said, "Yes, the Frozen Continent."
Zheng Peng shouted, "Let me split that old bastard with one stroke of my axe! Little sister, my axe doesn't live on vegetables!"
Li Qiang consoled her. "Don't be sad, Niuniu. You have all of us to help you. Once things are arranged, I'll accompany you to the Frozen Plain." He then asked Zhao Hao, "What sort of place is the Frozen Plain? Have you been there?"
"Who but a cultivator would dare go to the Frozen Continent? It's bitterly cold, with bizarre weather, and there's a monster called the Qiaqia Ice. Anyone who encounters one has no hope of surviving. I once passed along the edge of the Frozen Continent. If I hadn't learned martial arts, I'd have been finished long ago. Of the eleven people traveling together, only seven were lucky enough to survive," Zhao Hao said, still haunted by fear.
Li Qiang said, "We still have to go. I won't rest easy until we've found Niuniu's parents."
Mei Jingjing was so moved that her eyes reddened. "Big brother, you must be careful of An Lang. He's sinister and wicked. One careless moment, and you'll fall into his trap."
Originally, Li Qiang had planned to muddle through the negotiations casually, but now that Niuniu's enemy was involved, his thinking changed. No matter what, he had to make things difficult for this An Lang. His resolve firm, Li Qiang began considering how to proceed.
The steward reported that the Sacred King was in the retreat in the western compound, and they dared not disturb him.
Li Qiang smiled. "Let's go disturb him. He vanished without a trace as soon as he came home, without bothering about us. Let's find him."
Led by the steward, the four headed toward the western compound, followed by a large crowd of servants.
Entering the western complex, the steward pointed upward. The four looked up and could not help laughing. Hou Pijing was crouching all alone on a rooftop, lost in unknown thoughts.
Li Qiang walked slowly through the air onto the roof and smiled. "Big brother, how's the view?"
Hou Pijing sighed. "Do you know? Cultivators have no home. They're destined to endure every loneliness, watching their relatives and friends leave them one by one. Coming back to this residence is what I dread most now. Ah... my heart has grown old!" Li Qiang said nothing.
Hou Pijing glanced down below the roof. "Your young friends are all here. Let's go down." Then he smiled. "This residence is yours now. Why aren't you showing everyone around and playing the gracious host?"
Seeing him set aside his thoughts and joke, Li Qiang relaxed too. He smiled. "Big brother, you're kidding. This place is so huge I can't even tell east from west or north from south. Are you trying to get me lost?"
Hand in hand, the two floated down through the air. The servants knelt all around and chorused, "Greetings to the Sacred King!"
Li Qiang said, "Big brother, I don't know how you stand it, having people kneel and pay their respects every day."
Hou Pijing laughed heartily. "That's why I had the emperor grant you the residence, so my brother could have a taste too. Well? Does it feel good?"
Remembering his torment at the hands of the eight beautiful palace maids in the inner hall, Li Qiang said repeatedly, "It's awful. No fun at all." Of course it felt awful. Being washed and scrubbed by eight young, beautiful women while unwilling to fool around himself had left him as pent-up and miserable as could be.
Zhao Hao stepped forward and knelt, saying respectfully, "Your disciple did not know Senior Uncle was the Sacred King. Please forgive me, Sacred King." A surge of satisfaction rose in his heart. The Sacred King is my senior uncle. Won't power and wealth be mine for the taking?
Hou Pijing gave Zhao Hao a penetrating look. His smile vanished, and he said sternly, "Boy, I'll only say this once, so remember it well. If you truly want to enter the gates of cultivation, everything in the mortal world will become meaningless to you. You may play with it, and you may care about it, but you must never cling to it. If you can't pass this hurdle, you'll never reach a higher cultivation realm. Don't blame me then for not warning you."
These words struck Zhao Hao's heart like a giant hammer, rousing him like evening drums and morning bells. Sweat streamed down him as he kowtowed repeatedly. "Your disciple respectfully thanks Senior Uncle for showing me the way out of confusion. I understand."
Zhao Hao had lived in the mortal world for over seventy years, but had only truly begun cultivating after meeting Li Qiang. Before that, he had spent his life navigating the business world, so worldly thoughts were hardly surprising. Hou Pijing's admonition, however, would greatly benefit his future cultivation.
Hou Pijing added, "Learn from your master. His realm is far higher than yours."
The residence's study-or, more accurately, its library-was a three-story building.
Led by Hou Pijing, they entered the library. Li Qiang was filled with delight as soon as he stepped inside. From the first floor to the third, shelves were packed with ancient books. He thought, When I have time, I must read these properly.
After they sat down, Li Qiang told Hou Pijing about Mei Jingjing's family and asked, "What standing does An Lang have in the cultivation world? What's the background of his sect? Big brother, you know the situation. Tell us about it."
Hou Pijing first asked Mei Jingjing, "Niuniu, is there someone in your Mei Household named Mei Youbing?"
Mei Jingjing said in delighted surprise, "Yes! He's Niuniu's great-grandfather. Do you know him, senior?"
Hou Pijing nodded. "The Mei Household's sect must be in Rejuvenation Valley on the Frozen Plain. Is it called the Spirit Coil Sect?"
Mei Jingjing jumped up joyfully, grabbed Hou Pijing's arm, and shook it. "Wonderful! Niuniu can find her parents!"
Hou Pijing smiled. "Stop shaking me. These old bones are falling apart." He told Li Qiang, "An Lang has no real standing in the cultivation world. He's a petty man who clings to power and delights in intrigue. Judging from that, his cultivation can't be very high."
He glanced at Zhao Hao and continued, "Still, I've heard he has many strange Law Treasures, some exceptionally vicious. His sect is very mysterious. As far as I know, An Lang has ties to Old Man Baihuang of Qianjie Star."
Mei Jingjing asked in puzzlement, "What sort of place is Qianjie Star?"
Hou Pijing said, "It's a place where cultivators are exiled, a terrifying planet. If a cultivator there lacks strength, words can't describe how miserable their end will be." He added, "Old Man Baihuang heads an organization of bullies on Qianjie Star, with many powerful cultivators under him. Because Sealed Fate Planet keeps them suppressed, they still don't dare come out and commit evil."
Zheng Peng could not bear listening any longer. "Little brother, I can't understand what you're talking about. I'm bored to death!"
Li Qiang beckoned the steward over and quietly instructed him, "Take him to a guest room and get him plenty of meat and wine. Hurry."
After pondering briefly, Li Qiang said, "I don't know much about either the Litang Kingdom or the Gusong Kingdom. Big brother, ask the emperor to send someone over. I need an adviser and strategist. Hmm, get that Cheng Zizhong, and find someone who knows about all the kingdoms in the green basin."
Hou Pijing smiled. "No problem. Even if you wanted the head of the Privy Council or the ministers of the various ministries, I could arrange it."
Just then, a guard reported that the Great Han Kingdom's resident special envoy to the Gusong Kingdom requested an audience with the Tiger Might General.