Unsheathed

At the moment, the Azure Phoenix Nation was thriving, and bright prospects were emerging everywhere, including in the officialdom, the cultivation world, the martial arts world, and the literati world. It seemed that the nation was going to be entering a golden age in all aspects.

For example, there was a child who was only six years of age, and in the short span of just a year, he became renowned across the entire imperial court as a brilliant child prodigy. The child had received a royal summons to the capital during this year’s Mid-Autumn Lantern Festival, and he was granted a personal audience with the emperor and the empress.

The empress immediately fell in love with the child and affectionately held her in her lap, while the emperor gave him a test, instructing him to make a poem on the spot according to a certain topic. The boy only had to think briefly before fulfilling the request, and the emperor was extremely pleased, so much so that he gave the boy an official title.

Granted, it was a title for a candidate official, so he was not yet a legitimate official in the imperial court, but it was still an official title, nonetheless. This meant that this boy was most likely the youngest administrative official in history, not just in the Azure Phoenix Nation, but on the entire Eastern Treasured Vial Continent!

At this point, winter was drawing close.

There was a horse-drawn carriage trundling along a small and peaceful path on the bank of a transportation water channel that was still yet to be fully established. Cui Dongshan sat on the roof of the carriage with his legs crossed, while the child was holding the string of a type of paper kite that was unique to the Azure Phoenix Nation.

As long as the string didn’t snap, all paper kites under the heavens would be able to fly high, but wouldn’t be able to escape.

Cui Dongshan laid down onto his back and began staring absentmindedly up at the paper kite in the sky.

How is my teacher doing right now? Is he well?

————

Reopening a transportation water channel was a very complex matter that involved many facets of the Azure Phoenix Nation officialdom, so the imperial court didn’t try to rush the project, and as a result, progress proved to be quite slow.

The officials tasked with overseeing this matter weren’t of a very high caliber. Two of them were palace ministers from the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Works, while the third one was the governor of a provincial city that was situated somewhere along the water channel. The imperial court didn’t make much of an effort to promote the project, so it wasn’t taken very seriously in the officialdom.

On the surface, it appeared that the two palace ministers from the capital would play only a superficial role, while the governor did all the work, but the reality ran completely contrary to that. Upon arriving at the temporary office constructed on the riverbank, the governor discovered that the two palace ministers had come fully prepared with a comprehensive plan of action so detailed that it was bordering on pedantic.

The governor was supposed to have been more well-versed with the local area, but the two palace ministers were so well-prepared that the governor could really only make himself useful by following their instructions.

Aside from the two palace ministers from the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Revenue, another official by the name of Liu Qingfeng had also been sent from the capital to assist him.

Governor Hong was extremely disdainful of Liu Qingfeng. He was already widely denounced for selling out his friends for glory, and it was even more deplorable that he had sold out his own father for progression in the officialdom. Governor Hong felt dirty just interacting with the treacherous piece of scum on a daily basis, so much so that he had to change into a new set of official robes every day.

Over the past year or so, Governor Hong had made no effort to hide his disdain for Liu Qingfeng, and the two palace ministers merely turned a blind eye to this, seemingly very understanding of his feelings toward Liu Qingfeng.

As for Liu Qingfeng himself, he was very uptight and cautious all the time, perhaps because he was the lowest-ranking official tasked with overseeing this project and perhaps also because he felt guilty and inferior due to his past actions. Whenever the four officials gathered together to discuss something, Liu Qingfeng would never speak unless he was spoken to.

On this day, there was a bamboo horse riding troupe passing through a village near the river channel.

A scholar who had already traveled the entire length of the channel back and forth twice was seated atop a short earthen wall with a young scholarly attendant by the name of Liu Suo, watching the bamboo horse riding performance from afar.

The horses were woven out of thin bamboo strips, with fabric of different colors tied all over their bodies, and each horse was divided into two segments, with one person controlling each segment from the inside to allow for greater maneuverability and freedom in movement. According to local customs and traditions, different demographics of people were supposed to ride horses of different colors, and each had their own unique meaning.

At this point, it was already impossible to tell from the young man’s appearance that he was actually a scholar with an official title. His skin was dark and tanned, and he was wearing some coarse linen garments. The only thing that he was wearing that would’ve appeared out of place on the average farmer was a pair of old yet extremely sturdy leather boots.

The bamboo horse riding troupe didn’t pass through every village. Instead, villages had to pay for their performances, and the duration and quality of the performances would be determined by how much the villages were willing to pay.

Clearly, this village had paid quite a bit, so the show was very spectacular.

There were many people from other villages gathered near the wall to watch the show, and one of them, a tall young man, was openly pointing at the young women from the wealthy village while loudly discussing the sizes of their breasts and whatever else came to his mind.

His flippant remarks were met with raucous laughter from the bystanders, and some people even began debating him about who they thought was the best looking girl in all of the nearby villages. Everyone seemed to have their own preferences, but in spite of that, the debate remained casual and lighthearted.

The scholar was also looking at the women that they pointed out before blatantly examining them without making any effort to conceal his intentions, much to the dismay and exasperation of the scholarly attendant.

The scholar smiled as he said, “The most important factor in determining a woman’s beauty is the fairness of their skin. In contrast, their figure doesn’t actually matter.”

“Whatever you say, Master,” the scholarly attendant said in a resigned manner.

“You’re still young, but you’ll come to understand in the future,” the scholar said. “A woman’s face isn’t the most important thing. Instead, a delightful figure is most exquisite.”

“How would that be of any use to me?” the scholarly attendant scoffed with a roll of his eyes. “I still haven’t even read that many books yet, and I have to take the imperial examination and become an official just like you, Master.”

“You’re a talented scholar, so I’m sure you’ll become an official in the future,” the scholar encouraged with a nod, and the scholarly attendant was ecstatic.

The crowd gathered near the performing bamboo horse riding troupe in the distance were cheering and applauding incessantly, but the people watching from afar near the wall were much more picky, with far more people scoffing at the performance in disdain than those offering any form of positive reaction.

“You’re such a smart man, so you must know what a good bamboo horse riding performance entails. Are they really doing as badly as everyone around us proclaims? I feel like they’re putting on a good performance,” the scholarly attendant said.

“Of course it’s a good performance, but why would we praise it if we didn’t pay for it?” Liu Qingfeng questioned in a low voice. “All good things in this world cost money.”

“What does that mean?” the scholarly attendant asked with a puzzled expression.

A faint smile appeared on Liu Qingfeng’s face as he patted the boy on the head and said, “Don’t think too much about these things. Right now, just focus on studying and reading more books.”

The scholarly attendant nodded in response, following which a thought occurred to him, and he asked in a curious manner, “Master, why is that you’ve recently only been looking at past files containing the taxation records of the Ministry of Revenue?”

Unbeknownst to the boy, these were not documents that an official of Liu Qingfeng’s rank should’ve been entitled to viewing, and there was even a designated person tasked with bringing these documents to him in secret.

“Historical records are often disingenuous because they’re all written by people under the instructions of past emperors, but records of monetary inflow and outflow never lie,” Liu Qingfeng explained. “Hence, if we want to look back in history, it’s important to examine the life stories of those in charge of looking after money from past empires and dynasties.

“Pay special attention to the economic policies that they’ve implemented, and view everything that they’ve done in conjunction with the profits or deficits made by their national treasury. That will give you a good idea of how a nation was faring at the time.”

The scholarly attendant scratched his head with a confused expression.

“Don’t worry, this is also something that you don’t have to understand now,” Liu Qingfeng said with a smile. “If you want to read books, come to me and I can give you books on any subject that you desire.”

The scholarly attendant was very happy to see that Liu Qingfeng was in a talkative mood on this day.

The two trips up and down the river channel for inspection purposes had been an extremely grueling undertaking, especially for a boy of such a tender age, and during those two trips, Liu Qingfeng had not been very talkative at all, mostly focusing on taking notes of his observations.

The boy was eager to take advantage of Liu Qingfeng’s talkative mood, and he asked, “Master, why is it that whenever you go somewhere, you make sure to take some time to speak with the teachers of that area?”

“How are bright young prospects nurtured?” Liu Qingfeng asked. “Their parents play the primary role, but after that comes the teachers, so is it not in my best interests to speak to these teachers? Scholars who excel in the imperial examination and go on to become important officials don’t just grow on trees, after all.”

“That makes a lot of sense,” the scholarly attendant said with a serious nod.

“This is something that you can think about now,” Liu Qingfeng said with a faint smile.

“I will!” the boy replied with a nod.

All of a sudden, a bunch of young men rushed onto the scene, and upon spotting the prime real estate atop the earthen wall occupied by Liu Qingfeng and the scholarly attendant, one of them immediately jumped up to stand beside them before demanding that they leave.

An enraged look appeared on the young boy’s face, but Liu Qinfeng had already stood up without a word before jumping down from the wall, so the boy could only follow suit. However, now that they had been evicted from their vantage point, they were no longer able to see the bamboo horse riding performance as clearly, and the boy felt very disgruntled by this.

Liu Qingfeng was standing elsewhere, craning his neck while standing on the tips of his toes as he continued watching the performance, while the boy continued to stew in dissatisfaction.

In his eyes, Liu Qingfeng was great in every way except he was too easygoing and too much of a pushover.

“Do not bicker about trouble with troublesome people as that will only bring trouble upon yourself,” Liu Qingfeng said with a smile. “Don’t contest phonies over matters of reputation, don’t contest snobs over matters of profit, don’t argue with the unreasonable, don’t challenge the foolish, don’t debate pedants, and don’t be kind to the ungrateful.”

These were all scenarios in which one shouldn’t fight. There were also situations where it was appropriate to fight, but Liu Qingfeng wanted to save that lesson for another time.

For a boy of this age, his main focus should be on reading and studying, not on contemplating grandiose principles. As long as he didn’t make any major mistakes, there was no need to instill too many principles into him.

After working up some courage, the boy decided to argue against Liu Qingfeng for the first time, countering, “But if we don’t ever fight or contest anyone, won’t we eventually lose everything? We can’t just let other people have everything all the time! I don’t think that’s a good way to live!”

“Think about it a little more,” Liu Qingfeng prompted with a smile.

“I have, and I still don’t understand,” Liu Suo replied with a shake of his head.

“How are you going to be my scholarly attendant when you’re so dense?” Liu Qingfeng jibed in an amused manner, and Liu Suo could only respond with a sheepish smile.

“Let’s go,” Liu Qingfeng suddenly said, and the two of them departed.

As Liu Qingfeng walked along, he was contemplating some matters that were both significant and insignificant.

Liu Suo still had some questions that he still wanted to ask, but he could tell from Liu Qingfeng’s demeanor that he was no longer in the mood to talk.

When it came to Li Baozhen’s current actions, Liu Qingfeng was happy to do nothing but watch.

Li Baozhen harbored some very lofty ambitions and aspirations.

As one of the leading figures of the Great Li Empire’s Green Ripple Pavilion in the south, he was running an experiment targeted at the grassroots level. From the moment that Li Baozhen entered the Azure Phoenix Nation, all bright scholarly prospects, heroes of the martial arts world, leaders of the literati world, and officials of the imperial court had become pawns of his.

This extended even to the six-year-old child prodigy who had recently been awarded an official title by the emperor of the nation.

It sounded like a malicious conspiracy, one that sought to bring the Azure Phoenix Nation to its knees, but that wasn’t necessarily the case.

Instead, it was more like Li Baozhen was constructing a house. His primary objective wasn’t to become the shadow emperor of the Azure Waist Mountain or anything like that. Instead, his goal was to make it so that even the fate of the immortal sects could be governed by the mortal empires.

If even the cultivation prodigies were sent into the cultivation world by Li Baozhen and the Great Li Empire, then once they became important figures in their respective sects, it would become much easier for the Great Li Empire to influence those sects.

During this time, Chief Military Governor Wei Liang of the Azure Phoenix Nation served as a passive observer, occasionally setting down a few rules that even Li Baozhen himself had to follow.

Li Baozhen’s plot, from his objectives to his methods, were all as clear as day in the eyes of Liu Qingfeng. In fact, it was no exaggeration to say that everything that Li Baozhen had accomplished up to this point had only come to pass because Liu Qingfeng had allowed it to be so.

For example, over the past year, several more renowned literati of the Azure Phoenix Nation had suffered catastrophic blows to their reputations.

How had that been accomplished? It was still through the tried-and-true three-step method taught to Li Baozhen by Liu Qingfeng. First, praise literatus in an exaggerated fashion by proclaiming that their poems and writings could compare with the works of the sages.

Some people would then emerge with a more measured viewpoint, stating that the literati in question were not actually as brilliant as what was claimed. This would stir up controversy, leading to previously neutral figures in the literati world developing a genuine distaste for the targeted victim, rightly disgruntled by the fact that they were being compared with sages who could do no wrong.

From there, it was a simple matter of slander. Given that public opinion toward the intended victim had already completely soured, any purported rumor of misconduct surrounding them would immediately be taken at face value as it would satisfy the preconceived biases people harbored toward them.

Once those slanderous rumors took shape, people like traveling storytellers and shopkeepers of private bookshops would be paid to spread those rumors far and wide, laying waste to the victim’s reputation. Of course, there would also be Li Baozhen’s private army of literati, which he had paid off and could weaponize against anyone that he wished to target.

In the end, the truth would be completely buried, and even the highest of targets would be sent tumbling down from grace. Did the general public care whether the slanderous rumors were truthful or substantiated? Not in the slightest! It had nothing to do with them anyway, and the scandalous fall of a previously respected figure was always a source of great joy for eager rumor-mongers.

“I’ve done well to set everything into motion,” Liu Qingfeng smiled to himself.

Li Baozhen was a very smart man and had learned to adapt the methods taught to him by Liu Qingfeng to great effect.

All of a sudden, Liu Qingfeng stopped in his tracks, then said, “Remember this, Liu Suo: if there comes a day when someone tries to convince you to plot against me, no matter who they are and what they ask you to do, whether it be staying by my side as a long-term spy or simply to stage an assassination on me, just agree to do it.

“No only do you have to agree, you have to do everything in your power to try and accomplish what has been asked of you. Do not hesitate or hold back at all.”

Liu Suo’s face turned deathly pale, while his mind went completely blank.

He couldn’t understand why Liu Qingfeng had given him such a harrowing instruction.

Liu Qingfeng’s expression remained unchanged as he said, “I’m telling you to do this because there’s no chance you’ll be able to succeed. I have already done you a massive disservice by keeping you by my side, so now, I must save you once so that you don’t die in vain for some esoteric moral objective.

“During this time, it’ll be up to you how much you can learn from me, how many connections you can forge, and how high you can climb. As for why I’m keeping you by my side, even though I know that you’ll inevitably be turned against me someday, that’s because I’m curious to see if you become a second Li Baozhen. Not only that, but I want to see if you can surpass him and truly do something to benefit this world.”

Tears began streaming down Liu Suo’s face, and he was terrified of the unfamiliar side of Liu Qingfeng that he had never seen before.

“Did you hear what I said?” Liu Qingfeng asked in a gentle voice.

Liu Suo nodded in response as he wiped the tears from his face.

“Good,” Liu Qingfeng said with a smile. “In that case, from now on, you must try to forget what you just heard from me. Otherwise, you won’t be able to fool Li Baozhen.”

What followed was a rare moment of surprise for Liu Qingfeng as he spotted a white-robed young boy walking toward him.

It was the personal servant that the Great Li Empire had assigned to him, and he hadn’t made an appearance this entire time.

Cui Dongshan was holding a paper kite, and there was a vibrant smile on his face as he said, “Liu Qingfeng, I’ve come to try and steal you from myself. You have no future following that old bastard, so why not follow me instead? Besides, what’s mine is mine, and what’s his is also mine, so you’re technically not even betraying him. I’m the top dog in the southern region of the East Mountain, and even that old bastard can’t do anything about me.”

“I’m afraid I must turn down your kind offer,” Liu Qingfeng said with a smile.

At the moment, Liu Qingfeng had access to all of the secret reports of the Green Ripple Pavilion, and through his readings, he had gained a rough idea of Cui Dongshan’s secret identity. Then again, even his purported identity was enough to give him the right to speak so disrespectfully of the imperial preceptor.

Cui Dongshan tossed the paper kite to Liu Qingfeng, and after catching it, a faint smile appeared on the latter’s face as he looked down to discover that there was no string attached to it.

Liu Qingfeng turned his gaze back to Cui Dongshan as he shook his head and said, “You should be aware that my aspirations do not lie here. Freedom and self-preservation have never been what us scholars pursue.”

“Alright, then give it back to me,” Cui Dongshan demanded as he extended a hand forward.

“Of course, if someone is willing to give those things to me, then I won’t refuse,” Liu Qingfeng said with a smile.

“I’m beginning to take more and more of a liking to you, Liu Qingfeng,” Cui Dongshan mused. “If you keep this up, I’ll have to take you as a disciple on behalf of my teacher!”

“May I ask who your teacher is? He must be a brilliant man,” Liu Qingfeng said with a faint smile.

Cui Dongshan gave a mischievous shrug as he chuckled, “You’ve already met him.”

Liu Qingfeng thought about it for a moment, then said, “I can’t think of who it could be.”

Cui Dongshan burst into laughter, then said, “As a show of my sincerity, I won’t try to build any more suspense. My master is the one who made you fall into the water from that ox-drawn carriage.”

It took Liu Qingfeng a moment to recall the incident that Cui Dongshan was referring to, at which point he asked, “You mean Chen Ping’an?”

Cui Dongshan instantly rushed over to Liu Qingfeng, then jumped up to give him a firm slap on the head, causing Liu Qingfeng to almost fall onto his backside.

“How dare a little runt like you refer to my teacher directly by name?!”