Volume 5, Chapter 11 – Calming the Heart

After cleaning up the traces Suo Nie had left behind, Qiao Wen arranged a special aircraft overnight, preparing to send Bai Xiang straight to Xiajing.

Qiao Wen had actually harbored some doubts. With the Imperial Venerable’s cultivation, she should have needed no vehicle at all to fly from Wangchuan Circuit to Xiajing.

But Bai Xiang had other considerations.

In her previous life, there had been examples like Duke Zhuang of Zheng Defeats Duan at Yan. Since Bai Zhuqing’s plans were built upon the posthumous title “High Emperor Ancestor Xia,” then at a time when big fish like Li Chengtang were taking the bait, it was not suitable for her side to make a grand, public return to Xiajing.

So why should she not cooperate?

A minor figure like Suo Nie could be killed without consequence. That was only because Wangchuan Circuit was far from the front line, and information could not easily be sent back at once, which gave her some room to delay matters.

But in terms of the larger direction, Bai Xiang had always been extremely cautious.

She would never wreck the spiderweb her younger sister might have spent years weaving merely for the sake of momentary gratification. She would rather make her return more slowly, arrive a little later, and take the opportunity to enjoy the scenery on the way and learn more about what changes this land beneath her feet, so familiar and yet so strange, had undergone over the past ten years.

Before departure, Qiao Wen expressed the wish to follow her all the way there.

She meant it sincerely.

To make Bai Xiang truly trust her, she had even offered up her true spirit.

“No need.” Bai Xiang accepted Qiao Wen’s true spirit, and the look she gave her became gentler still.

But she truly did not need Qiao Wen to accompany her. On the contrary, Wangchuan Circuit needed Qiao Wen right now. It needed her to help deceive the Starsea Federation, downplay the disappearance of Suo Nie and his group as much as possible, and buy time for Bai Xiang’s journey.

Wangchuan Circuit was not far from Xiajing. Under normal flight, the trip took only half a day.

If Qiao Wen could delay matters for a single day, that would be enough.

“Wang Shouchuan has already stated his position,” Qiao Wen said in her final report. “The Wang family of the northwest is willing to fully cooperate with the snake-luring plan.”

“Anyone with a functioning brain would not find such a choice unusual,” Bai Xiang said with a nod.

The cabin door shut, and the vessel rose into the air.

Bai Xiang took out the phone Qiao Wen had prepared for her, connected it directly to the network, and began surfing the internet in the new era.

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At the same time, in a patch of wild grass in the eastern outskirts of Wangchuan Circuit, Shen He slowly woke from her deep sleep.

In truth, she had been awakened by her phone vibrating.

Still groggy, she answered the call, and her mother Zhao Xiaorong’s delighted voice immediately rang out. “Shen He? Where are you right now?”

“Ah?” Shen He froze.

I…

Right, where am I exactly?

She stood up and kept looking around. From what she could tell, this should be somewhere near Qinglao Mountain, not too far from her home.

But… she had the nagging feeling she had forgotten something very important, and no matter how she wracked her brain, she could not remember it.

“Forget all that! Hurry back!”

Zhao Xiaorong’s delight was practically overflowing from her voice.

“Someone from the Roads Directorate came to visit your father!”

“They said your father rendered some kind of meritorious service back then… something that had never been verified before has now been verified! They are going to reassess our family’s merits and reward us accordingly!”

“The cash alone is a huge sum, and there are all sorts of material rewards too… I’ve already called your older brother. You hurry back as well!”

“What!?” Shen He was shocked, and a burst of wild joy spread across her face. “Really?”

“When have I ever lied to you about something like this?” Zhao Xiaorong exclaimed. “Your aunt’s family has come too. Ah, all the grudges and grievances over these past years… They also helped with the equipment when your father enlisted back then. I plan to have a proper talk with your aunt. What do you think?”

“That… that is naturally for you to decide, Mom!”

Shen He’s eyes grew moist, and she sprang up and sprinted full speed toward home.

“And there are also the details about the medicines being assigned to Dad… Mom, wait for me! I’ll be back very soon!”

She left in such a hurry that she only absentmindedly snatched up a Sword-Student Wooden Sword from beside her foot.

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She did not notice the afterimage that flashed when the wooden sword was lifted.

Nor the blades of grass that fell in its wake like a field of wheat laid flat.

…

The scene shifts to Xiajing.

The Xiajing of today had been built atop the old Yujing. Its population had not changed much and still stood at only around twenty million, but its urban redevelopment and industrial facilities had advanced enormously.

Industrial parks covered the outskirts, with steel mills and processing plants everywhere.

Along the northern outer perimeter there was even a ring of towering city walls more than sixty meters high, cast entirely from steel. Lifts could be seen constantly rising and falling, and many construction sites were still being opened up and built.

The urban core was more striking still. Tower after tower a hundred stories tall rose in the center, while countless miniaturized Silver-Shuttle Vessels, outwardly not unlike cars, wove between the buildings. From time to time, cultivators could be seen landing on terraces and pavilions atop the towers, chatting and laughing as they went inside.

From the rooftop of any building, if one looked toward the center, one could see a forest park laid out in the shape of an Eight Trigrams disc.

It was encircled at the heart of the steel forest, and above it hung a mist-shrouded barrier. Through it, one could only vaguely glimpse green mountains, clear waters, and that faintly visible palace of white jade.

At the center stood Zhengyuan Palace.

Following the jade-carved colonnade northward, crossing an arched bridge and walking along a cloud path, a maid hurried around the main hall and slipped through a side gate.

After passing along a twisting, winding path, the view suddenly opened up, revealing a camphor-and-bamboo grove within which stood an exquisite wooden cottage.

“Your Highness! Your Highness!”

The maid cried softly as she hurried into the cottage. At a glance, she saw her mistress standing before a desk, brush in hand, writing a qi talisman.

The path of qi talismans counted as the third major branch after the path of sword pellets and the path of qi arrays. By inscribing delicate qi talismans onto carriers of different materials, one could produce different effects. By now, this discipline had long since been included in many universities, and writing qi talismans had become almost like calligraphy, practically a symbol of ritual propriety.

A black-haired woman stood before the desk.

She was tall, with cold and handsome brows and eyes. Her long, ink-dark hair fell loose over her back, and she wore a phoenix robe of deep crimson patterned with gold and trimmed in white. The hand with which she held the brush was like one gripping a cold blade; every stroke and hook carried sword intent.

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When the maid drew near, she too was pressed by that atmosphere and stood there dumbly without saying a word, only coming back to herself after the woman finished writing a sheet.

“Your Highness!”

The maid hurriedly took a jade tablet from her sleeve. “Urgent report from Tianji! The voidfiend army is showing signs of pushing south!”

As she spoke, she glanced up at the map hanging on the wall.

Tianji lay in the northwest, where the northwestern front line was located.

If the voidfiend army advanced south along that route, the three federal towns would be utterly incapable of providing any meaningful resistance. In less than half a day, the tide would likely sweep through Tianji and set that border ablaze with war once more!

“The voidfiends absorbed the remnants of Blood Soul Heaven and have become somewhat civilized instead of remaining mindless beasts. Wasn’t this something we foresaw long ago?”

The woman in red turned her face, revealing a beautiful countenance that was both severe and alluring.

“Tell me something else.”

“Has anything changed in Zhennan?”

“Uh…” The maid was momentarily speechless. “Everything is well… but… but…”

“That is enough.” The woman in red cut her off again. “Remember this. Aside from Xiajing itself, everything concerning Zhennan takes highest priority.”

“Anything else?”

“Yes… yes!” The maid straightened at once. “Qiao Wen of Wangchuan Prefecture has sent a report saying, ‘The fish has taken the bait,’ and asks for follow-up deployment orders!”

“And also… also… Chancellor Zhang has proposed… proposed lifting the limits on transmission, saying that ‘in times of peril, one must not leave a heavy weapon bound away on a high shelf.’ This… this…”

“There are still fish left?”

The woman raised a brow and snorted as she flicked her sleeve.

“I already know.”

“You may withdraw.”

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“Your Highness.” The little maid blinked and looked at the woman with concern. “The old master said you should take care of your health… You can visit Zhennan more often in ordinary times…”

“Hm?”

The woman lifted her head, and her jet-black eyes turned on the maid with fierce sharpness.

Eek!

The little maid could not withstand it at all and fled the cottage as though escaping for her life.

“That little Tao… now she is policing me on Grandfather’s behalf.”

The woman in red sighed softly and turned to look at the huge map hanging behind her.

Beneath it stood an incense altar, upon which rested an ancient-style longsword.

Walking over to the altar, she took the sheathed sword into her hand.

The scabbard trembled and gave off a low hum.

“Little Qingwu, are you lonely too?” the woman gently stroked the rounded pommel.

“Before I knew it, ten years had passed…”

A look of melancholy and grief appeared on her face. She clamped the sword between her thighs and slowly undid the sash at her waist, letting the red robe slip down from her body.

“Elder Sister…”

“Ah…”

“Elder Sister… Elder Sister…”

White mist spread and quietly veiled the spring scene within the hall.

Orioles sang in winding notes, but the old sight that once shone upon her was nowhere to be seen.