Dragon Canon

Willow Ash Town.

By the time dawn had fully broken, Yuan Qingyan had already completed his morning practice and spent an hour attending to official business. Every day, he rose before daybreak, performed his ablutions, and meditated for two hours. Once his cultivation was complete and his mind was clear, he would attend to his official duties.

Since taking office, his routine had remained unchanged. In terms of diligence alone, few in the entire court could match him.

His attendants brought in a simple meal of clear porridge and vegetables—this was Yuan Qingyan’s breakfast. The only unusual aspect about it was that the rice was spirit rice, and the vegetables were spirit vegetables. These were provisions Western Jin specifically distributed to officials of certain rank. As a commandery administrator, he was allotted a fixed monthly ration of low-grade spirit food, which was a rank higher than ordinary Liang rice.

In the dim morning light, Yuan Qingyan ate his meal with complete concentration. He chewed each mouthful slowly and thoroughly seven times before swallowing with a devotion that bordered on affectation. His political rivals had even filed a complaint against him over this, accusing him of “putting on airs and seeking empty fame.”

It was during this most sacred, undisturbed moment that an attendant actually pushed open the study door and announced, “My lord, someone outside requests an audience with you.”

The attendant had entered without even bothering to knock—an offense normally punishable by death by flogging. But Yuan Qingyan did not lose his temper. Sure enough, a soft, alluring voice sounded from outside the door. “Do not blame him; he cannot control himself right now.”

A woman wrapped so tightly that only her eyes were visibly walked in. With a wave of her hand, the attendant withdrew on his own and closed the door behind him. He appeared even more devoted to her than he was to Yuan Qingyan.

The commandery administrator clutched a scroll and said slowly, “The path of a Great Warlock is no easy one. Do you have a death wish, daring to enter my study?”

The woman gave a soft, melodious laugh. “I’ve come to befriend Lord Yuan.”

“Friend?” Yuan Qingyan returned a self-derisive smile. “Everyone in the court knows that I am a loner with not a single friend. And now a Great Warlock wants to be my friend?”

“Two intelligent individuals can become friends—the kind based on limited cooperation.”

“How do you propose we cooperate?”

“For starters, I’ve brought news: the Shamans are about to launch a massive offensive against Qingming. The scale of this attack is unprecedented, nearly matching the military strength deployed in their last confrontation with General Yue Jinshan. Qingming will likely be unable to hold out.”

Yuan Qingyan remained impassive, “When the lips are gone, the teeth feel the cold—this official at least understands this much. What do you intend to exchange for such vital military intelligence, assuming it’s true?”

The woman replied, “Giving you this information alone is enough to secure what I desire. You clever humans enjoy saying one thing and meaning the opposite, don’t you?”

Yuan Qingyan replied calmly, “May I ask your name, Great Warlock?”

“I am Phantom. I come from a small tribe. Though I am a Great Warlock, I am ostracized at every turn, denied the cultivation resources I deserve, and have reached the end of my path.” The woman added after a brief pause, “Just like you.”

After the woman left, Yuan Qingyan sat motionless, deep in thought.

Just then, a cry of alarm rang out from outside the door. The housekeeper then came in to report. “M-my lord, your personal attendant has just thrown himself into the well!”

“I see. Find a place to bury him.”

Yuan Qingyan laid out his writing materials and picked up his brush to write a letter to Chen Dao. “Recently, the Shamans have shown signs of unrest. It appears they are preparing to march on Qingming. Their forces are formidable, and reinforcements seem to be on the way....”

Not a single word in the entire letter mentioned Yue Jinshan.

Outside the Xu Clan residence on the northern side of Willow Ash Town, a woman with only her eyes visible stood dozens of zhang away, gazing distantly at several grand estates from which music of stringed instruments came from. It was early in the morning, yet the feasting and dancing were already in full swing. It was unquestionably a display of extravagance and arrogance.

The woman stood there for a moment, but did not approach. Instead, she turned and vanished into thin air.

In the secluded courtyard, an aged face once again materialized on the ancient tree and said, “There are few places as abandoned and desolate as this one, yet the Shamans are still coming and going non-stop. What does she want?”

Still sitting by the window, the alluring woman-in-red replied without looking up, “She thinks that she understands the human race very well and wants to sow discord.”

The old tree chuckled. “Foolish Shaman. Human relationships are complex beyond imagination. How could she possibly hope to succeed?”

“Unless I’m gravely mistaken, she has already succeeded.”

The old man’s smile froze on his face. Fortunately, he was slow to begin with, so the stiffness wasn’t very noticeable.

Most of the smile faded from the old tree’s face as he asked, “Shall we lure her in and kill her? I’ve been feeling a bit malnourished as of late.”

The woman said nothing, so the old tree dropped the subject.

The woman turned a page in her novel and asked, seemingly offhandedly, “If you’ve already discovered me, then why didn’t you say anything those times when the people from the main branch came by?”

“I still want to live a couple more years[1].”

A smile returned to the old tree’s face. “Jingfeng is no slouch to begin with, and he’s only grown more capable after his trials. He’s certainly qualified for the seat. So long as he still bears the Xu surname, it doesn’t matter which side he sits on. I’m getting on in years; I prefer having a mix of black and white pieces[2].”

The woman didn’t respond. The old tree asked tentatively, “Why didn’t you intervene during those previous major battles?”

“Sitting here reading is more important.”

The old tree looked puzzled. “But there’s nothing here. The only secret vault in this place has already been taken by that kid from Qingming as well, so what’s the point of you sitting here? Don’t look at me like that, I’m old and terrified of dying. Everything is open to discussion.”

At this point, the old tree said self-deprecatingly, “Back when I was human, I was a pretty brave lad. I never imagined that now that I’ve turned into a tree, I’d be scared of death. Lass, if you tell me why you’re just sitting here and doing nothing, I’ll give you my treasured collection of novels—all rare editions.”

The woman-in-red replied coolly, “Considering the gap in our cultivation levels, is it really appropriate for you to call me lass?”

“Respecting one’s elders is a time-honored tradition, and you’re not that old. I could easily be your grandfather’s grandfather. Enough small talk. Do you want to read those novels or not?” For once, the old tree was taking a firm stance.

The woman-in-red said, “This is currently the single most crucial feng shui node of the whole place; capable of influencing the fortune of the entire region. By sitting here, I’m blocking others from noticing it.”

“Seriously? I’ve been standing here for over a century—how come I never noticed it?”

The woman-in-red was about to explain, but gave up the next second. “Feng shui and fortune are extremely complicated subjects, and you’re not very bright. You wouldn’t understand even if I explained it.”

............-

It was dusk. Standing atop the central peak and gazing toward the northwest, Wei Yuan felt a vague sense of unease. The green intent in the northwest had already surged up to the sky, radiating a murderous aura and poised to strike. The next major battle could break out this very night.

Wei Yuan returned to his room and readjusted his feng shui array once more, adding another drop of white-gold sap to the array disc. However, it still felt insufficient. Glancing at his densely packed, ever-growing hoard of blue fortune, he gritted his teeth and poured hundreds of wisps of blue qi into the array in one go.

A great battle was imminent. Wei Yuan intended to push his own fortune to the absolute limit and create a fortune-deficient zone around him[3]—only then would he have a chance to prevail against overwhelming odds.

As night fell, the mournful sound of horns echoed throughout heaven and earth. They originated from the Shaman city, but were clearly audible even at the center of the realm of Qingming, hundreds of li away. The heavy, resonant notes seemed to possess the power to snatch souls, causing many ordinary people to collapse in agony upon hearing them. They only slowly rose back to their feet once their bodies began shimmering with the light of Jia Wood Nurtures Life.

At the same time, bells rang out across the domain and startled countless people from their sleep. They immediately donned their armor as they had been trained to do, grabbed the weapons they had just been issued, and marched to their designated assembling points to await further orders.

The aroma of food wafted from multiple camps across the territory. Officers could be seen carrying baskets of steamed buns and distributing them to fully armed soldiers. The soldiers devoured them in just a few gulps and grew visibly stronger after the meal.

These steamed buns were made with the rice flour ground from Liang rice. They also contained a special concoction Sun Yu had prepared. Eating them not only replenished one’s vigor, but also induced a state of heightened alertness, allowing one to go without sleep or rest for days on end. Although the soldier would fall seriously ill after its effects had worn off, Sun Yu had also stated plainly that without this medicine, the soldier might die without even having the chance to fall ill.

The muffled sounds of war drums began to roll. Wang Yu had intended to act as the drummer, but Hsu Yi snatched the drumstick from him, flipped her long hair backward, and pounded the drum with all her might. From a distance, she looked like an immortal who had descended from the heavens to aid them in war. The blood of the entire army stirred just looking at her.

Internally, Wei Yuan praised her. She was far more effective a drummer than Wang Yu could ever hope to be.

In the distance, the Shaman city was ablaze with lights. Army aura soaring into the sky, the main gates swung open, and a tall platform was slowly rolled out. Then, squad after squad of soldiers surged out from every city gate and converged into a torrent that swept toward Qingming like a deluge.

Wei Yuan calculated the time and estimated that the Shaman’s army would reach the edge of the realm at midnight—the moment when their combat strength was at its peak.

Just then, Wei Yuan’s pupils contracted into pins. He saw numerous black shadows, each as large as a hill, emerging from the Shamans’ military formations.

Mad Beasts?

Wei Yuan immediately pointed a finger skyward and fired a crimson beam into the night sky, causing the entire realm to erupt into chaos. Originally, Wei Yuan’s orders exempted everyone without Body-tempering cultivation, as well as the elderly over fifty and children under ten, from assembling for battle. But the call to arms he issued this time was different. Everyone capable of movement—except for children under seven or eight—were to grab their weapons and march toward Xuanwei Six as soon as possible.

Wei Yuan’s expression turned grave as he gazed at those hill-like silhouettes in the distance. Mad Beasts were traditionally reserved for major campaigns only, and in recent years, they had been deployed almost exclusively on the northern front against the Liao. Suffice to say, he never expected to see one in Qingming, so much so that he wondered if he had perhaps channeled too much fortune into the fengshui array, causing it to backfire and turning his own territory into a fortune-deficient zone instead.

1. A reminder to all readers who think that certain characters are stupid: Even the likes of Wang Delu and Liao Jingwu are intelligent, what makes you think an Avatar who lived for centuries would be stupid lol? Better not make any premature remarks that will see ya clapped later. 👏 ☜

2. Meaning he likes playing for both sides. In Go it’s black versus white but he wants both. ☜

3. In fact this has been introduced multiple times in previous chapters, but I could never find a suitable translation for it and chose to fudge it instead. The concept is like this: imagine Wei Yuan pushing his fortune to 9999, so that everyone else has a lower fortune than him. Thus, he alone will be fortunate while everyone else isn’t. This will be the translation going forward. ☜

Wei Yuan’s First Official Art: