Chapter 57

The moon was high in the sky.

The gates of Divine Capital City were tightly closed.

The sound of horse hooves approaching from afar, kicking up a trail of dust, awoke the drowsy soldiers.

“Who goes there? Stop! Stop… Loose arrows!”

The gate official shouted several commands, ordering the archers to attack, as countless feathered arrows shot towards the approaching figure.

Swish, swish, swish!

In an instant, the horse was turned into a porcupine, charging a few yards forward before collapsing to the ground, motionless. The rider’s silhouette leaped up from the horseback, soaring five or six zhang into the air.

Seeing this, the gate official’s face relaxed, for the walls of Divine Capital City were nine zhang high.

Just as he was about to order another volley, he vaguely saw an additional shadow in the air, the figure stepping on it to gain further leverage.

Soaring over ten zhang, he landed with a thunderous crash on the city wall, scattering debris all around.

“Don’t come any closer…”

The gate official turned pale with fright, involuntarily stepping back. Even the renowned cultivators of the martial world, who have mastered the art of bodily purification, were not as terrifying as this.

The shadow was none other than Zhou Yi, who glanced at the gate official and agilely dashed towards Yongchang Place.

Earlier that month.

The Jinyiwei had reported a bizarre tomb that seemed to trap those who neared it in an endless loop, a phenomenon causing the locals to shun the place.

After consulting local records, it was discovered that the tomb’s owner was a hermit Taoist who had lived for a staggering one hundred and forty years. As the grave’s occupant was likely a cultivator, Zhou Yi left the Divine Capital to investigate and spent silver to hire hundreds of men to flatten the small hill.

Zhou Yi watched from a distance, not daring to get too close.

Not until the grave goods were emptied out and each item examined with mana did he indeed find something worthwhile.

On the return journey.

Zhou Yi leisurely absorbed the contents of the scrolls he had acquired, the scenery of Jiangnan along the way starkly contrasting with that of the Northern Border.

Not until three days earlier had Zhou Yi overheard a few jianghu itinerants chatting. A once-famed tomb raider, known across the lands and now on his deathbed, stirred a mix of nostalgia for the passing of an older generation and envy for his quiet end.

After confirming multiple times that the tomb raider was indeed Lao Bai, Zhou Yi immediately hurried back to Divine Capital.

Enhanced by Qinggong and a Featherweight Talisman, he moved even faster than a galloping horse. Once his mana was exhausted, he ran to death four or five more horses, but he ultimately covered three thousand li day and night to return to Divine Capital.

Yongchang Place.

Bai Residence.

Zhou Yi saw that there were no white lanterns hanging at the entrance nor any ashes on the ground, which slightly eased his mind.

“Good, I’m not too late!”

Lao Bai could be considered his only true friend. If he were not able to be there at his friend’s life’s end, it would remain a regret for the long years to come.

He leapt into the courtyard and made his way to the back house where Lao Bai resided which still had lights burning despite it being past midnight.

Voices were coming from inside the residence, both male and female, seemingly arguing about something.

Zhou Yi pushed open the door and saw several of Lao Bai’s children gathered around the bed, talking.

Someone heard the door open and turned to see a figure in blue robes enter.

Zhou Yi’s gaze swept past the few people, looking towards the bed where the old man lay: “Lao Bai, not dead yet, are you?”

Upon hearing the voice, Lao Bai slowly opened his clouded eyes, turning his neck with difficulty.

“Cough, cough, cough! Couldn’t die without seeing you,” he gasped.

His breath was faint, clearly near death.

The men and women in the room exchanged glances and stepped back a few paces, knowing of their father’s exploits in the jianghu and his significant reputation—it must be an old acquaintance from the jianghu come to visit.

Zhou Yi stood by the bed, looking at Lao Bai’s wrinkled face, a sharp contrast to his former handsomeness.

“Lao Bai, I’ve finally beaten you in one regard—I can still go to Spring Breeze Building.”

Unwilling to show weakness, Lao Bai retorted, “I’ve been handsome all my life; with your looks, you won’t understand it, not in a hundred years,”

The two men locked eyes and suddenly burst into hearty laughter.

Old Bai, weakened and frail, convulsed a few times amidst laughter, almost unable to catch his breath.

The eldest son at his side spoke with concern, “Father, the imperial physicians have warned that you must not succumb to sorrow or joy!”

“You all go out, I want to have a talk with my old friend.”

Old Bai waved his children away and then sighed, “You’ve seen the sorry spectacle, these kids are disappointing.”

The commotion in the room a moment ago was about dividing the family estate.

In Old Bai’s presence, the two sons of Commandery Princess Rongchang expressed contempt for their other siblings, suggesting that they should go back to mixing with the Jianghu.

“What does it matter?”

Zhou Yi shrugged and said, “At least they didn’t fight to the death. Last year, the Retired Emperor passed away, supposedly dying of ‘excessive indulgence’ after visiting nine women in one night, not even bothering to find a decent reason.”

Old Bai asked, “What exactly happened?”

The Retired Emperor Jinglong died in the early part of the second year of the Orthodox reign at Shangyang Palace, posthumously honored with the temple name ‘Si’.

“The Retired Emperor, unwilling to be confined in Shangyang Palace, somehow made contact with the Marquis of Chen and even poisoned the food in the Imperial Kitchen, attempting to kill the Empress Dowager and His Majesty to seize back the throne.”

Zhou Yi said, “Unfortunately, things didn’t go as he wished, and only a few eunuchs who sneaked tastes of the food died. Afterward, His Majesty entered Shangyang Palace with a sword in hand, and the Retired Emperor met his end!”

Emperor Jinglong failed once again in his palace coup and was killed by his own son, having, strictly speaking, some connection with Zhou Yi.

In the first year of the Orthodox reign, during the selection of consorts, Chen Qing successfully entered the palace as a concubine, greatly favored by His Majesty, and for a time, the Chen family’s influence was unmatched. Yet, the Inner Palace was Empress Dowager Zhang’s domain, and even the Orthodox Emperor was not free to act as he wished, let alone a mere concubine.

Chen Qing was arrogant and overbearing in her conduct, repeatedly violating palace regulations and often punished by Empress Dowager Zhang.

Jealousy, foolishness, hatred…

Chen Qing’s temperament could not endure such treatment, and with the powerless Orthodox Emperor unwilling to act, she ended up colluding with the Retired Emperor in Shangyang Palace.

The Retired Emperor informed the Marquis of Chen of this affair, and facing such a scandal in the Royal Family, the Marquis had no choice but to get involved, and as a result, he was stripped of his title, his property confiscated, and he was sent into exile for his suspected treasonous plotting.

Yuan Shun seized this opportunity to be promoted to the co-commander of the Jinyiwei.

In the past two years, the chess pieces arranged by Zhou Yi, backed by Yuan Shun’s power, mostly advanced successfully.

The chess pieces gained both a Cultivation Technique and a backing, Yuan Shun received an elite support force, and Zhou Yi obtained many secret reports related to the path of immortality.

These three parties supported each other, sharing a common interest, and what was once a loose association became increasingly solid!

Upon hearing the secrets of a father poisoning his son and a son murdering his father, Old Bai’s expression turned strange as he said, “By that account, my children are merely mischievous.”

With decades of experience in Jianghu, Old Bai vaguely felt that Zhou Yi was somehow involved, but friends naturally have their secrets, which need not be probed too deeply.

Zhou Yi nodded slightly, “Children and grandchildren have their own fortunes, let them be. You should just focus on taking care of your health, maybe you can live a few more years.”

“Ever since the three of them passed away one after another, I’ve been as good as dead. I only hope to go to the underworld soon to continue being husband and wife with them there.”

Old Bai murmured, “Old Zhou, I’ve held on until now just to wait for you to come, hoping to ask you for a favor!”

Zhou Yi recalled briefly, “In our forty years of acquaintance, it seems this is the first time you’ve said such a thing.”

“If I ask you for a favor, owing you a debt of gratitude, would we still be able to be friends?”

Old Bai rested for a moment, then continued, “Now that I don’t have many days left, our friendship will come to an end, so I can shamelessly ask you for this favor.”

“Out with it, what is it?”

Zhou Yi had a suspicion, most likely a request to protect and provide for his descendants. Old Bai was not the first, nor would he be the last, to make such a request.

After all, living long enough, one inevitably sees one friend after another depart this world!

“As for my children, the eldest appears to be honest but is actually mean-spirited, and he wrongly believes he acts convincingly. The second son is a haughty wastrel, surely not someone you would approve of. The third child, like her mother, is cruel and ruthless but lacks discretion and will surely invite disaster.”

“Only the youngest son is clever and adaptable, with the potential to achieve something in the future.”

“Now, with the outsiders holding power, the National Dynasty is unstable; there will inevitably be turmoil ahead.”

Old Bai implored, “My father-in-law is part of the Empress Dowager’s faction, and now my elder brother-in-law is as well. The Bai house might be implicated in the future. If something unbearable were to happen, Old Zhou, I ask you to help protect my youngest child and his lineage so they can safely leave Divine Capital.”

Zhou Yi wondered, “Old Bai, are you so certain that the Empress Dowager’s line will be purged in the future?”

Old Bai nodded firmly and affirmed.

“The dominance of outsiders is never long-lasting; even if His Majesty cannot rebel now, his children will seek revenge in the future. The longer they control the court, the deeper the resentment of the Imperial Clan, and the backlash will be the eradication of their family lines!”