Birth mother

A clear spring breeze swept into the tea room, where two upright men sat facing each other, separated by a square tea table.

"Call"

Wei Yuan gently blew away the rising steam from the cup, took a sip of the clear tea, and looked completely absorbed.

"The aroma is rich and sweet, with a lingering fragrance. I never imagined I would be able to drink tea grown by the Flower Goddess in my lifetime. It's all worth it."

"You're worth way too little in this life," Xu Qi'an thought to himself, then laughed.

Knowing that Duke Wei loved tea, I specially brought an ounce as a token of my respect.

Actually, it's aged tea, left behind by Mu Nanzhi.

Wei Yuan nodded in satisfaction and sighed:

"The queen of flowers, a beauty of unparalleled grace, Mu Nanzhi is a unique and stunning beauty in the world. It's a disservice for her to follow you without any status or recognition."

"Luo Yuheng is now a celestial being on earth; does she agree to your marriage to Prince Lin'an?"

Xu Qi'an hadn't expected that the first thing he would ask about upon meeting him was his marriage.

He sighed:

"Neither of them are easy to deal with; just mentioning this gives me a headache. What advice does Duke Wei have?"

Wei Yuan put down his teacup and looked at him expressionlessly.

Ah, this... Xu Qi'an immediately realized his words were inappropriate, and was about to chuckle and change the subject when he heard Wei Yuan say calmly:

"Balance exists in all things."

Xu Qi'an seemed to be deep in thought.

Wei Yuan rested his hands on the edge of the table, a smile on his face:

"His Majesty has already explained to me in detail what happened after my death. You did very well."

Xu Qi'an was about to say a few words of modesty when Wei Yuan smiled and said:

"I never expected that when you were only at the fourth rank, you could single-handedly hold off the 200,000-strong army of the Witch God Sect. It's clear that your advancement to the first rank was not a fluke, but truly a display of Celestial Person talent."

"Are you getting revenge for what I said earlier? You're a virgin now, "Xu Qi'an muttered to himself, then said awkwardly.

"It's all just hearsay."

He stopped talking, picked up his teacup and took a sip, signaling Wei Yuan to let the matter drop.

"The officials in the court are debating how to deal with Yunzhou. What's your opinion?" Wei Yuan asked.

"I don't concern myself with political affairs," Xu Qi'an began, then continued:

"All armored soldiers were to be exiled to the army, and all officials, gentry, and prominent families in Yunzhou who supported the rebels were to have their property confiscated."

This is not his opinion, but a conjecture based on his understanding of Huaiqing.

Exile and military service were common practice and routine operations. As for officials and gentry, it was a good opportunity to use the pretext of cracking down on local tyrants to confiscate their money and land, which could then be used to appease the common people and alleviate the court's shortage of funds and grain.

After a few casual words, Wei Yuan said seriously:

Do you know where my soul goes after I die?

Xu Qi'an shook his head.

"When we set out on the expedition, Zhao Shou paid a heavy price to give me a chance to live. Originally, after my death, the carving knife and the scholar's cap would have brought back my soul, but they only brought back a wisp of my soul." Wei Yuan said helplessly, "It was the witch god who took away my two souls, heaven and earth, and sealed them in the stone statue. We still underestimated the superior grade, even if he could only let a trace of power seep out."

Xu Qi'an's heart sank.

Wei Yuan glanced at him and nodded:

"That's right. After my soul returned, the power of the Confucian Sage loosened again, and the Witch God began to challenge the seal once more."

"I reinforced the seal; it was a combination of my power and that of the Confucian Sage. So when the Witch God imprisoned my soul, he wanted to use me to create an opening for him."

Seeing Xu Qi'an's furrowed brows, he explained:

"In addition, His Majesty personally summoned my soul, causing the power of the Confucian Sage to weaken. Under heaven, besides you, only she can break the seal of the Confucian Sage."

Wizards can tell fortunes. Did the sorcerer god foresee that I would resurrect Wei Yuan? Xu Qi'an never expected that summoning Wei Yuan's soul would have such serious side effects.

The Witch God is one of the three supreme beings in this world, with cultivation reaching the heavens and the earth. If He were to break free from the seal, it would be no laughing matter.

Wait! A thought struck him, and he pondered:

"Since summoning the spirit of Duke Wei would loosen the seal of the Witch God, how could the Supervisor agree to this?"

"Don't ask me everything, use your own brain." Wei Yuan glanced at him. "You are now the true guardian of Great Feng. In terms of combat power and prestige, you surpass both me and the Supervisor."

"But I'm just a crude and uncouth warrior." Xu Qi'an reflected on himself. When Wei Yuan was around, he was always too lazy to use his brain and would ask questions if he didn't understand something.

Wei Yuan Yuandao:

Do you remember the "last letter" I left you? I once told you about it.

"So you've been thinking about the Empress Dowager since you were a teenager?" Xu Qi'an asked calmly.

"Is Kyushu far more cruel than I imagined?"

Wei Yuan put down his teacup, his expression serious:

"Last summer, the Witch God Cult attempted to encroach on the northern territory, using it as a base to move south and annex the Great Feng."

"Zhao Shou found me at that time and said that before the Confucian sage died peacefully, he left a handwritten letter saying that he was born in response to the times and was to eliminate a disaster for the world."

"It was only then that I learned that the Confucian sage had sealed away the Gu God, the Witch God, and the Buddha more than 1,200 years ago."

"Now I finally understand why the Witch God Cult is encroaching on the territory of the demons and barbarians. They want to expand their territory, gather their fortune, and help the Witch God break free from the seal of the Confucian Sage. Once the Witch God is unsealed, the Central Plains will be the Witch God Cult's possession."

Xu Qi'an nodded slowly:

"Yes, the Gu God is still sealed in the Southern Frontier. The Buddha's situation is the most complicated, but he is also unable to escape. At that time, if the Witch God Cult successfully conquers the Northern Frontier, the Witch God is the most likely to be the first to break free of the seal."

As he came into contact with more and more High Antiquity secrets, he now understood why Wei Yuan was willing to die to seal the Witch God.

Without the battle of Jingshan City after the autumn harvest, perhaps the Witch God would be about to escape now, or even already escaped.

"Does Duke Wei know the reason why the Confucian Sage was sealed beyond the rank?" Xu Qi'an asked.

Wei Yuan nodded:

"His Majesty has already told me the reason for the end of the Gods and Devils, as well as the conversation between the White Emperor and the God of Gu in the Southern Frontier. As expected, the calamity that the Confucian Sage pointed out should be related to the fall of the Gods and Devils back then."

Xu Qi'an stroked his chin:

"Gods and Devils died by killing each other. Apart from the Gu God, a being of a super-grade level, which survived, Gods and Devils have basically perished in ancient times."

Even the Gu God only survived by sheer luck.

Because there were still gods and Gods and Devils comparable to the Gu God at that time, the difference in their fates compared to the Gu God was perhaps just that the Gu God was lucky.

No, it wasn't that the Gu God was lucky, but rather that He had the ability to glimpse a corner of the future. Xu Qi'an grasped the key to the Gu God's survival.

Wei Yuan said:

"So, you should now understand why the Supervisor not only didn't stop you from resurrecting me, but actually participated in it."

"Balance exists between all things," Xu Qi'an replied, quoting Wei Yuan.

The supervisor's idea was to use the witch god to counterbalance the Buddha and the Gu god. The basis for this conjecture was that the Gods and Devils perished because they killed each other.

Wei Yuan sighed:

"Therefore, I guessed long ago that the actions of the Witch God Sect would provoke Buddhist School, forcing Buddhist School to form an alliance with Yunzhou, while the Witch God Sect would most likely sit on the sidelines and watch the tigers fight, wishing that all three sides would fight to the death."

In the brocade pouch he left for Nangong Qianrou, he clearly wrote about the Yunzhou army and the Western Region monks.

What are Duke Wei's speculations about the truth behind the ancient Gods and Devils ' infighting?

This question had troubled Xu Qi'an for a long time.

"The Confucian sage's handwritten notes did not mention this matter, so it is most likely related to heavenly secrets and therefore cannot be revealed. Those who know the secrets of this matter today are few and far between." Wei Yuan shook his head.

"And where is the gatekeeper?"

Xu Qi'an spoke in a probing tone.

Wei Yuan glanced at the empty teacup, and Xu Qi'an tactfully refilled it. Only then did he nod in satisfaction and say:

"Since they're called gatekeepers, regardless of what the 'gate' refers to, it must mean they don't let people in or out. Considering the secrets of the High Antiquity Gods and Devils killing each other, which possibility do you think is more likely?"

"Don't let me out." Xu Qi'an seemed lost in thought.

"The rebellion in Yunzhou has ended, and the people can recuperate, but peace is short-lived; a true calamity is about to arrive." Wei Yuan sighed.

"Fortune is something that the super-grade beings are vying for. The Western Regions have the Buddha, the Northeast has the Witch God, and the Gu God is in the Southern Frontier. Only the Northern Border and the Central Plains have no super-grade beings. If they all break free from their seals, the first to contend for and deal with them will definitely be the Central Plains."

"Pick the softest persimmon; even a child understands this principle. Only after the Central Plains are divided up will the true competition among the superior products begin."

"You're now a first-grade martial artist, but there's still a huge gap between you and a super-grade. Have you thought about how to deal with that?"

Xu Qi'an had already considered this:

"Let's start with flower arrangement. First, let's consider how to advance to the half-step Martial God level, just like Shen Shu. Martial Gods have never existed before, and I can't pin my hopes on becoming a Martial God, so I need to form an alliance with Shen Shu."

"Two half-step Martial Gods should be able to barely contend with a Super Grade one, right? That would at least give them some ability to protect themselves. It's a pity I couldn't rescue the Supervisor."

Although the Fate Master's combat strength is average, the Supervisor's greatest strength lies in his strategic planning ability. If the Supervisor were still alive, Xu Qi'an would be willing to be his henchman.

Wei Yuan nodded and said:

That's all for today. Oh, by the way, Qianrou brought a woman back from Yunzhou. Go and take a look.

Xu Qi'an's expression instantly turned strange. After a moment of silence, he said:

"Good!"

He left Haoqi Tower and went to the residential area of the rear government office.

The Nightwatchers's office was divided into two parts: the front yard was the office and the back yard was the rest area. Single people like Yang Yan and Nangong Qianrou lived in the office year-round.

He walked through the garden and courtyard, and following the address given by Wei Yuan, he arrived at a small courtyard on the very edge of the eastern district.

Looking at the courtyard gate, with the moment upon him, Xu Qi'an hesitated for a moment, unsure of how he should feel or what attitude he should have when meeting the woman inside.