Volume 4, Chapter 29 – Principles

When Xu Ling and Zhang Xianzhi entered the tower pavilion, Bai Xiang and Xiang Xian were already there.

Both sides valued efficiency. Since everyone was free, they might as well pick a place, talk things through, and be done with it so no one delayed anyone else. That was very much Bai Xiang’s style.

“Governor Zhang.” Bai Xiang rose and nodded to Zhang Xianzhi.

“Please, don’t.” The corner of his mouth twitched awkwardly. Half self-mocking, half earnest, he said, “I hardly deserve such courtesy from Dao Master Bai.”

After all, the two of them had once stood on opposite sides. He had very nearly been cut down by the sword of the woman standing before him.

Now, thinking back on that day, Zhang Xianzhi could not help a faint sense of ruefulness.

“Governor Zhang was only blinded by the fog before. Once he cleared his mind, there were no more doubts.” Xiang Xian took the thread of the conversation of her own accord, playing the go-between for both sides. “Now we’re gathering only for Maozhou’s prosperity. Let’s not talk about the past.”

In this regard, she was clearly much smoother than Bai Xiang. She knew that with Bai Xiang’s current cultivation and standing, there were some things that were no longer suitable for her to say herself, so she naturally took that task on, without the slightest resistance.

Even Bai Xiang gave Xiang Xian an extra look, but with an outsider present, she did not say anything more.

Precisely because Xiang Xian was linking the sides together, the atmosphere in the room stayed good. Only after everyone had finished half a cup of tea did Xu Ling take the initiative to raise the topic and reveal the purpose of this meeting.

“Master Ling once studied under Mr. Cijing. I resigned my post in Jiangnan especially on his advice and came to Maozhou to seek out a new enlightened lord.”

Xu Ling fixed his bright gaze on Bai Xiang and spoke bluntly. “I have also heard many things about Dao Master Bai from my junior brother Xianzhi, and I know Dao Master Bai is stunningly gifted, surpassing even Qingping Sword Master Chu Weiping.”

“So I dare to ask, Dao Master Bai, do you have the ambition to shoulder the burden of this realm on your own shoulders? And can you prove that you have that kind of resolve?”

That question…

The air in the room froze for a moment. Zhang Xianzhi hid his own awkward jolt behind a sip of tea, thinking that Xu Ling really was still the same as back in the day. He could “go with the flow,” but he could also “fight with words,” and the questions he raised were often sharp enough to leave even Liu Haoran pondering for a long time.

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Xiang Xian was surprised too. She hadn’t expected Xu Ling to be this direct. Was he really not going to circle around the issue even a little?

As for Xu Ling’s identity and his purpose in asking Zhang Xianzhi to arrange this meeting, Xiang Xian actually understood quite well.

It wasn’t hard to guess. It was most likely Liu Haoran’s entire faction—note, an entire faction—might be considering another path.

The reason behind that might be related to the Illusory Realm incursion, or to Liu Haoran’s own disappearance. But the specific reason didn’t really matter here. What mattered was that if they could take this whole group in, Maozhou would truly no longer lack for officials to fill any position.

They were, after all, Liu Haoran’s students. They were definitely not the sort to only bury their heads in books. Each of them had real ability and a burning desire to realize their ideals of good governance.

Xiang Xian felt this was something worth discussing, which was why she had brought it up with Bai Xiang.

But looking at it now… with Xu Ling being this straightforward, wasn’t he coming on a bit too strong?

She glanced at Bai Xiang, curious how she would answer.

“If that’s how you see it, then you don’t need to stay here.” Bai Xiang met Xu Ling’s eyes just as seriously, her expression giving nothing away. “Because I will never take in a group of officials who care so much about ‘status’ and let them settle themselves in Maozhou.”

Bai Xiang’s reply left everyone a little stunned. Had she really been provoked by that sharp question?

Even Zhang Xianzhi felt uneasy, while Xu Ling’s eyes only grew brighter. “May I take it, then, that Dao Master Bai intends to follow the Sacred Dynasty’s model?”

“No.” Bai Xiang refused without a moment’s hesitation. “I don’t.”

“In that case, I understand.” Xu Ling’s smile grew even more radiant as he rose and gave Bai Xiang a deep bow.

“In the past, I only heard of Dao Master Bai’s bearing and even suspected those tales of being exaggerated. Only today do I realize how vast the sky is and how deep the abyss.”

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“I will return now to burn incense and make preparations.”

“Dao Master Bai, I take my leave.”

???

This little performance left not only Xiang Xian utterly confused, even Zhang Xianzhi, who had come with Xu Ling, was completely baffled.

You “understand”?

What exactly do you understand? Say it, why don’t you?

“This Xu Ling…”

Watching the two of them going downstairs, Xiang Xian turned back to look at Bai Xiang, clearly wanting to say something but holding back. “What on earth did he mean…?”

“He was testing how I really see the matter of governing.” Bai Xiang picked up her tea bowl and took a sip.

“And then?”

“Then I showed him my attitude, and he felt it matched his expectations very well, so he decided to join us.”

At the same time, on the way back, Zhang Xianzhi was asking Xu Ling a similar question.

“Junior brother.” With a snap, Xu Ling flicked open his folding fan. “Let me ask you this. Dao Master Bai now sits in New Maozhou. Would you say what she’s doing counts as ‘governing’?”

Zhang Xianzhi thought it over. “It should count.”

Even though Bai Xiang had never really shown any desire for this, as long as she was there—as long as she sat there—everyone’s will in Maozhou, every living creature on this patch of land, would instinctively orbit around her.

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So whether she interfered with the State Chancery or not, whether she ordered him around as Governor or not, no longer mattered.

That was real power.

The concrete manifestation of actual authority.

“So, looking only from that angle, Maozhou is no different from the Jade Capital.” Xu Ling nodded. “Then where do you think she herself differs from that person?”

That question… And you still have the nerve to call me a traitor to the throne sometimes?

Zhang Xianzhi was truly speechless. Stiffly, he said, “Naturally… it’s that she said she wouldn’t give people like us that kind of status.”

Those were Bai Xiang’s own words just now.

From his standpoint, they were a little uncomfortable to hear. But after handling so many affairs in Maozhou, Zhang Xianzhi already didn’t care that much about surface-level things like that.

Besides, she might say there was no such thing as status, yet in practice Bai Xiang treated him with quite a bit of respect.

He didn’t fully understand it himself. What was the deeper meaning behind this seemingly contradictory stance?

“It’s very simple. It’s because she doesn’t trust us.”

Xu Ling gave the answer outright.

“She doesn’t trust us. She only trusts herself, her master, her senior and junior fellow disciples, her family, and the disciples of her own mountain gate under her banner.”

Hm?

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Zhang Xianzhi was even more lost.

That… sounded like a bad thing?

“That’s not a bad thing.” Xu Ling’s expression grew solemn.

“On the contrary, she’s the one who has seen through the essence of politics.”

“If you treat Maozhou as her own dynasty and suppose that one day this dynasty collapses, officials like you and me will not fight to the death for her. The positions we’re standing in right now are proof enough of that.”

Zhang Xianzhi nodded.

Of course.

A wise bird chooses a tall tree to roost in.

That was why they were here in Maozhou Prefecture in the first place.

“So she doesn’t put much weight on us.” A smile tugged at Xu Ling’s lips.

“She only values what she ought to value. That way, this dynasty of hers will never see another Minister Liu, or another Lord Lü Gongcha.”

“That is what I value in her.”

“I no longer have to worry about this place turning into another Jade Capital.”