Chapter 10
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Chickens and Dogs Ascend to Heaven
(Thanks to Grand Alliance Leader Yuyuan Rimu!)
Zhou Yi’s voice wasn’t loud, but the newcomer’s hearing was far superior to that of ordinary people. His voice, too, was full of vital energy.
“Heavenly Master Zhou is an extraordinary person from Yongqiu. If I were to miss meeting you, it would be a wasted trip down Mount Hua. Forgive my presumption, but might I have the honor of ascending Qiongfeng to view the pavilions and mountain scenery?”
His voice was imbued with true qi, giving a sense of blurry distance and proximity. He introduced himself, but it also felt like a probe.
“Esteemed guest, please ascend Qiongfeng for a discussion.”
Zhou Yi had just been immersed in the mountain wind, raising his palms to practice the Crane technique; the artistic mood had not yet dissipated. Now, with true qi, his voice also drifted faintly through the mountains, like a crane descending, in no way inferior to the person below. Once this mood dissipated, his voice would have a different quality.
However, that one utterance was enough.
Mid-climb, Cao Chengyun and Senior Brother Yue exchanged a glance, startled. Both came from the Sanqin region, practicing martial arts on Mount Hua. Mount Hua was perilous, its sheer cliffs like carved walls. Along the cliffside plank roads, passing merchants and porters would sing mountain-opening tunes across the ravines, but their voices would be swallowed by the rustling pines before reaching the peak. They often traversed mountain cliffs, practicing in the sound of the pines, possessing specialized qi circulation methods. To use such a powerful surge of true qi on Fuzi Mountain was truly overkill.
Yue Sigui (Senior Brother Yue’s full name, revealed here) wasn’t trying to intimidate but rather to display his strengths, to draw the Taiping Dao’s attention and prevent the Mount Hua sect from being underestimated.
But… the response they had just heard was like a crane’s cry soaring into the sky, then fading into the clouds. The aura within that ethereal sound seemed to be precisely the blending of qi and spirit that his master had spoken of—a wondrous realm in martial arts!
The two exchanged glances, then suppressed their surprise and ascended the steps.
Upon reaching the summit, Zhou Yi invited them into the small pavilion at the peak, where they sat around a stone table. After introducing themselves, Cao Chengyun took the lead in the conversation. He first expressed the Cao family’s gratitude to Zhou Yi for the longevity ritual. As the most outstanding of the current third generation, Cao Chengyun’s personal visit showed how highly they regarded him. Of course, he also brought gifts, which had already been placed at the Daochang.
Zhou Yi exchanged pleasantries for a while. Cao Chengyun then informed him of the short, stout Daoist’s general whereabouts; he hadn’t come towards Fuzi Mountain.
Then, “This letter was entrusted to me by Grandfather to give to you.”
Zhou Yi took it. The wax seal on the letter was unbroken, so Cao Chengyun likely hadn’t read it. He grew somewhat curious.
Seeing Zhou Yi focused on the letter, Cao Chengyun and Yue Sigui exchanged a look, and Yue Sigui spoke. He shifted the conversation from the longevity ritual directly to the core issue.
“Heavenly Master Zhou, may I ask if your esteemed sect has been paying attention to Yuwen Chengdu’s movements?”
Zhou Yi’s mind churned with thoughts. He subtly nodded; there was no need to hide this. The other party had the confidence to ask, so they must know more than he did. So he probed: “Presumably, the Eagle Yang Guard is not far from Yongqiu.”
“Indeed.” Yue Sigui said crisply, “If they hadn’t been suppressing righteous armies all along, the city would already be chaotic with troops. Even so, they will definitely enter Yongqiu within half a month.”
“Most importantly, there’s a sixty to seventy percent chance that Yuwen Chengdu will come to visit the Taiping Sect.” He emphasized the word “visit,” watching Zhou Yi’s reaction. This young Heavenly Master possessed excellent composure; he showed no signs of surprise. This made them secretly nod, admiring him even more.
Zhou Yi didn’t believe they were speaking without reason, so he asked: “The Taiping Dao is a poor little Daoist temple in the mountains. We grant talismans and dispel calamities in Yongqiu, aligning with the Sui Dynasty and bringing peace to the region, without any acts of usurpation. Now that righteous armies are everywhere, and Yuwen Chengdu is following the imperial decree, why would he come all the way to this remote countryside?”
“Heavenly Master Zhou, you might not know…” Cao Chengyun stood up. “There’s a Liu’s Tofu Shop in Yanggu City that has been in business for generations, but recently, they suffered misfortune. Their entire family, old and young, were taken by imperial soldiers. Can you guess why?”
“Is it related to tofu?”
“Precisely! But not as the Heavenly Master might think.” Cao Chengyun stopped playing coy: “Legend has it that when Liu An, the King of Huainan, was refining elixirs, soybean milk accidentally mixed with the gypsum used for alchemy, and that’s how tofu came to be. That Liu’s Tofu Shop, for business, claimed to have inherited the King of Huainan’s legacy, and their tofu-making technique originated from the Western Han Dynasty. It was this rumor that left their entire family’s fate unknown.”
Liu An… Zhou Yi seemed to understand, looking at the Huainan Hong Lie beside him.
At this point, Yue Sigui said: “Some time ago, Yang Guang in Luoyang was deceived by a Daoist sorcerer’s trick. Later, opportunistic people spread rumors, claiming that truly profound Daoist arts existed in the world, capable of revealing the wonders of life and granting eternal youth. Yang Guang believed the slander and ordered people to gather Daoist arts. The Yuwen Clan received this order.”
“Liu An, the King of Huainan, was fond of the Huang-Lao school of thought. He once had a thousand guests and compiled the Huainan Hong Lie, with twenty-one chapters discussing the Dao, and another eight chapters totaling two hundred thousand words, all speaking of immortals and alchemy.”
Yue Sigui spoke slowly and fluently, without pausing. Both he and Cao Chengyun stared at the Huainan Hong Lie that Zhou Yi was holding. At this point, they didn’t need to explain further.
Zhou Yi said softly, “Legend has it that Liu An also obtained the Pillow Hidden Grand Treasure Garden Secret Book. After taking the elixir, he ascended to heaven in broad daylight. Before leaving, he placed the vessels containing the elixir in his courtyard, and his chickens and dogs, licking and pecking at them, all ascended to heaven as well.”
Silence fell in the pavilion for a few breaths.
Yue Sigui and Cao Chengyun chuckled, a mocking laugh: “Yang Guang actually believed such an absurd story. His subordinates ransacked Liu’s Tofu Shop, demanding the whereabouts of the Pillow Hidden Grand Treasure Garden Secret Book.”
Zhou Yi understood the implication. The Taiping Dao also adhered to the Huang-Lao school of thought, naturally making them a target for Yuwen Chengdu. This was what they wanted to tell him.
Zhou Yi didn’t fully believe them in his heart, but on the surface, he acted as if he had lost his composure, feigning worry: “Brother Yue, since it has come to this, what good plan do you have?”
Yue Sigui said: “It’s not actually difficult to protect oneself under the iron cavalry of the Eagle Yang Guard. The chaotic situation in the world is already set; the four seas are in turmoil, urgently needing to be set right. If you can find this hero of chaotic times, a person capable of stabilizing the world, you can not only protect your mountain sect but also have your chickens and dogs ascend to heaven, becoming a great sect.”
Zhou Yi paced back and forth in the pavilion, then abruptly stopped, as if having made up his mind: “Who is this hero? Please, both of you, enlighten me.”
“This person is none other than Duke Mi…”
A short while later, Yue Sigui and Cao Chengyun descended Fuzi Mountain together. Zhou Yi saw them off at the Daochang’s entrance. Watching their retreating figures, a cloud of doubt rose in his heart.
These two fellows were so mysterious. Was their visit today really just for this? To deliver me a job offer from Li Mi?
Old Master Cao should be a conservative person; otherwise, why didn’t he offend even the Hunyuan Sect at the longevity banquet? At present, Li Mi hadn’t even reached Wagang Fortress yet; he was still a remnant of Yang Xuan’gan’s forces. This identity was even more sensitive than his Taiping Dao’s. Cao Ruinian wouldn’t have dared. Upon closer thought, it was all contradictory.
Although Zhou Yi worried about Fuzi Mountain, he also knew he couldn’t panic.
That’s right, there’s also that letter!
He broke the lacquer seal and took out the letter to read. It began:
“Heavenly Master Zhou, if my son (Cao Chengyun) mentions a hero of chaotic times, it is absolutely not at the instruction of the Cao residence. Please convey this to the Old Heavenly Master.”
Goodness, so that’s how it is.
Old Master Cao saw things very clearly. A rebellious grandson, a grandfather fretting over him. Zhou Yi shook his head. Besides this crucial opening line, most of the letter was polite pleasantries, expressing thanks. At the end of the letter, however, there was another piece of information.
He couldn’t help but glance at it a few more times: “Hmm? This Duke Mi… is currently missing?”
– Mochinuna.
