Volume 3, Chapter 3 – Zhen’nan

Bzzz—

Her phone vibrated.

Bai Xiang picked up. “Lord Fang.”

“Dao Master Bai, you’re too polite.” Fang Xiaochun’s warm voice came from the other end. “I wasn’t able to attend your investiture ceremony in time. I hope Dao Master Bai won’t hold it against me.”

“There’s no need to stand on ceremony, Lord Fang.” Bai Xiang’s eyes were fixed on the night sky, her gaze deep and calm as a still pond. “I know you’ve been running yourself ragged for Shenming Sword Dao as well.”

Fang Xiaochun really had been busy these days.

On one hand, Yujing was anxious to confirm whether Shenming Sword Dao truly had produced an unparalleled genius. The officials and envoys they sent were all received and handled by this Qizhou Governor.

On the other hand, practically the entire Great Yu—almost every sect among the Nine Provinces and Thirty-Six Circuits… Once they heard what had happened in the south, they all wanted to make contact with Bai Xiang—find some way to get a line to her and build ties.

Some of them were downright fanciful about it, figuring she was “about the right age” and wanting to “do the Bai clan a favor” by introducing marriage prospects to her.

Naturally, Bai Xiang ignored all of that. She pushed it all to Fang Xiaochun and her grandfather Bai Shengju, refusing to meet any miscellaneous connections.

What a joke… she’d trained the sword precisely to shake off those constraints. Now that her dao-age had risen this high, if she started compromising herself over mere relationships and face, what was the point of all her cultivation?

So she refused them, one and all.

Right now, only the name “Maozhou” and its territorial map had been fixed. The key classification edict still hadn’t been issued. That meant that in terms of legal principle, Bai Xiang—and by extension the entire Bai clan and Shenming Sword Dao as a whole—was still a local Qizhou force.

People of Qi fell under the authority of Qizhou’s Governor. That was perfectly reasonable.

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So she hadn’t grown distant from Fang Xiaochun just because her status had risen.

After all, her core goal was to spread the path of qi and topple the old system. She just thought studying the path of qi alone was too exhausting; she wanted to “draw all the heroes of the realm into her net,” not slaughter people wholesale for nothing.

So the beginning had to be taken slowly… and that would inevitably require Fang Xiaochun’s help. There was room to further deepen their ties with his side.

“Then I’ll be bold and call you Lady Xiang?” Fang Xiaochun had been a bit uneasy at first, but once he was sure of her attitude, he beamed. “Lady Xiang has saved Wenya’s life, too. If Lady Xiang doesn’t mind, I’ll take advantage of it a little: from now on, you needn’t call me ‘Lord Fang’ in these conversations. Just call me Uncle Fang!”

“All right.” Bai Xiang agreed on the spot and switched terms of address then and there. “Uncle Fang.”

“Ay!” Fang Xiaochun was practically grinning from ear to ear.

He really was happy.

The day Yao Qingyuan launched his rebellion, he had genuinely thought he’d reached the end of the road.

Not long after that phone call, a band of demon-cultivators had stormed the State Chancery residence. Nearly half the servants had died or been injured trying to stop them and still failed. If Bai Xiang and Xiang Xian hadn’t arrived in time, he’d never have escaped.

So his gratitude toward Bai Xiang was entirely sincere—she had saved Fang Wenya once before, and this time she’d saved father and daughter both.

And if you counted later, when Bai Xiang rescued Tao Shuohua from Luohou’s people after breaking out of prison… the ledger couldn’t even be worked out anymore. All he could do was make things as easy for her as possible in every respect to repay the debt.

“I’m calling this time to bring you good news as well.” Fang Xiaochun finally turned to business. “Yujing has sent a special commission team to Qi to conduct an assessment. As soon as they confirm your cultivation level is real, the classification edict can be released.”

“They still need to confirm it?” Bai Xiang frowned. “And they’re only coming to inspect now?”

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They didn’t completely trust the local rumors, yet they had still been trumpeting her as some revived ancient immortal who’d “entered the Dao in a single day.” They were using her rise as a fig leaf, trying to raise a banner of genius to shield imperial scandal.

After all, the Southern Prince’s rebellion had already become common knowledge. Anyone talking about it would inevitably dig into why he’d rebelled and sought revenge.

At that point, people would immediately recall the royal family’s old gossip, remembering that the current Imperial House had inherited the throne from his father—but that his father and the emperor two reigns ago had been brothers.

If the younger brother could take the elder brother’s throne, why shouldn’t others follow that precedent?

Anyone who knew the inside story could easily reach a simple conclusion: Yao Qingyuan refused to accept it.

He refused the way power had been divided inside the royal clan. He refused the previous generation’s favoritism toward the present Imperial House. So he rebelled. So he wanted revenge.

It was the textbook definition of a royal scandal. The root of a catastrophe that had left millions in misery traced back to the Qianyu Palace of years past. It was like hanging the royal clan’s face up in public and slapping it.

Bai Xiang had heard that when the Emperor learned of the Sea of Blood, he’d flown into such a rage that he coughed blood and passed out. She figured he knew perfectly well that his prestige would be in tatters.

The common folk of Great Yu didn’t dare talk about it openly—but they couldn’t control what people abroad said.

He was right to feel ashamed.

It really was a shameful matter.

“You know how it is…” Fang Xiaochun’s tone carried a hint of helplessness. “Yujing’s administration… its operating efficiency is a little lacking.”

“My guess is they’re just going through the motions—to shut certain people up.”

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He was already trying his best to make excuses for those “old friends.”

Bai Xiang understood what he meant.

Previously, when it came time to change the name of the Shinu Protectorate, even that little matter had been enough to spark endless bickering at court. By the time they’d argued their way to any concrete result, the Protectorate had already lost its wager. In the end, they’d still had to pinch their noses and accept the outcome.

All the “expected benefits” had gone up in smoke, perfectly illustrating how bloated this system was, and how many hidden dangers it carried.

“Now it’s been about three months. The blood mist and the Great Yunmeng Marsh have more or less stabilized,” Fang Xiaochun went on. “So some people are getting restless. There may be those who want to verify your qualifications.”

He paused, then explained in more detail. “In other words, they want to contest you for Maozhou’s slot.”

“Let them come.” The corner of Bai Xiang’s mouth curled up slightly.

She knew full well what kind of characters still couldn’t read the mood in Yujing at this point and were trying to tear down her “genius” banner.

Matters of the Emperor’s face meant that even if she weren’t a genius, she had to be one. The outcome had been fixed long ago.

They couldn’t even pique her interest.

Still, that was fine. Every Mountain-and-River–grade dojo had to spread its influence across an entire province. Free influence delivered to her doorstep would be foolish to waste. When the time came, she’d just send Zhuqing out to take care of them.

“The information I asked Aunt Tao to investigate—has Uncle Fang heard anything yet?”

Leaning against the railing, Bai Xiang casually shifted to the next topic.

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“There are some leads.” Fang Xiaochun frowned. “But the Prince’s Manor… you know how it is. The manor is under heavy guard right now, held by a direct imperial garrison from Yujing. I can’t get anyone in there for the moment.”

“I see.” Bai Xiang nodded. “Have they gotten inside?”

“As far as I know, no.” Fang Xiaochun’s tone was very firm.

“The blood mist coiling around the Prince’s Manor is different from the Great Yunmeng Marsh—its corrosiveness is stronger, and it shows traits similar to ‘Shenli.’”

“They’ve only managed to cordon off the manor. To this day, they still haven’t broken through and entered.”

Is that so.

Bai Xiang narrowed her eyes.

After ending the call with Fang Xiaochun, she let the night wind brush past her and continued checking her text messages.

One of them, sent in the name of the State Chancery, was an official document on “fixing the borders of Maozhou.”

Bai Xiang opened it and read it through, her gaze finally locking onto one particular line.

“From the Nanluo Mountain Range, westward into Maozhou.

With Zhen’nan as the capital, set to guard rivers and mountains.”