Chapter Forty-Five: Cousin Dingxi

When Xu Boqing returned, he passed by the Upper Prison, paused to consider, and then decided to take a brief walk inside. There, he saw Gu Xiang, sitting in his cell in utter despair, his head wrapped in bandages.

Yet Xu Boqing had no wish to reminisce; after a single glance, he turned and left.

He still held profound respect for such upright officials who cared for the state and its people, but that was all.

The dignified Left Minister had been dismissed from office and thrown into prison at the emperor’s whim. Worldly power had reached its zenith, and yet the wretched emperor was not satisfied; he sought immortality, wishing to consult sages and pursue longevity.

However...

A grand Water and Land Dharma Assembly was to be held, inviting all talented and extraordinary people from across the realm to the capital. The emperor would select a “true immortal” or “true Buddha” to confer the title of “National Preceptor,” allowing them to share in the nation’s fortune and receive royal worship.

This wretched emperor was truly audacious!

Xu Boqing knew that in this world, such “spirits and ghosts” and “national fortune” truly existed.

As emperor of the Liang Dynasty, the monarch was the very linchpin of the nation’s destiny; the act of conferring such a title was momentous, and perhaps it might indeed lure some cultivators out of hiding.

But the fear remained: what if the ones who emerged were monsters or demons?

He had read many strange tales and folk stories, including accounts of fox spirits seeking official recognition.

If even minor spirits could find someone to grant them a title, what would happen now, when the emperor himself, empowered by the nation’s fortune, offered to bestow the title of “National Preceptor”?

Xu Boqing could not fathom how this affair would ultimately unfold, for he was inexperienced—he had only ever encountered a single serpent demon.

Still, an uneasy premonition lingered in his heart: three years from now, the capital’s Water and Land Dharma Assembly would surely be a spectacle unlike any other!

Upon returning to Cining Palace, he had not yet had time to report to Chief Steward Huang when the gatekeeper, an elderly eunuch, greeted him with a sycophantic smile.

“Chief Steward Xu, the Huang Palace delivered a letter for you today. You weren’t in the palace, so I took it on your behalf.”

“My letter?” Xu Boqing asked in surprise. He had been here half a year, and this was the first time he had received any correspondence. When he saw the envelope marked, “To Nephew Xu Boqing, personally,” he realized it was from his second uncle, Xu He.

He opened the letter and read it; its contents were simple.

His cousin Xu Da would be married on the sixth day of the third month—just two days from now. The bride’s family also lived in the southern part of the city, and they sold tofu. The bride herself was strikingly attractive and considered a local beauty.

The letter stated that if Xu Boqing had time, he was welcome to attend the wedding banquet; if not, then so be it.

Da was getting married?

Xu Boqing raised his brows, genuinely surprised.

Upon reflection, it made sense: Xu Da had always looked mature and was long past the age for marriage. That he was marrying now was only reasonable.

He thanked the gatekeeper eunuch and put the letter away. Approaching Chief Steward Huang’s study, he knocked, and upon hearing the aged voice within, he entered.

Chief Steward Huang, as always, had snow-white hair and brows. Unlike before, his complexion had lost its healthy glow, and his face was now marked by deep wrinkles and speckled with age spots.

He exuded the scent of decay and old age.

When Chief Steward Huang saw him enter, he covered his mouth and coughed, trying to rise. Xu Boqing hurried forward to offer support.

“Chief Steward, is your lung trouble acting up again?”

“Yes, it’s the same old complaint.”

“Have you taken your medicine?”

“It’s useless...” Chief Steward Huang waved his hand and sighed, “Don’t trouble yourself over fetching medicine. The imperial physicians say it’s simply my time; those tonics do little for me.”

“If they say it does little, that still means it does something,” Xu Boqing replied with a smile. “You’re a martial artist of the innate realm, robust and strong. Once this lung complaint is cured, I’m still waiting to attend your centennial birthday and share in your good fortune.”

Chief Steward Huang merely chuckled and shook his head.

His cultivation in nourishing qi was excellent, so he showed little sign of age. But during the “Thousand-Faced Saint Thief” Cui Fengye’s incursion into Cining Palace, though he killed Cui Feng, he was struck by a vicious palm attack.

He suffered greatly from the poisonous energy within, and although he eventually expelled it with his internal strength, it ruined decades of his qi cultivation, leaving a chronic lung ailment.

Since then, old age had slowly crept upon him.

“You needn’t comfort me, boy,” Chief Steward Huang laughed, then sighed. “I’m eighty-five now, outliving most people; I am content. The only thing I can’t let go of is Cining Palace. When I am gone, I wonder if you can shoulder this responsibility.”

“Well, I have some good news for you,” Xu Boqing said, raising his brows and smiling. “With your guidance, I’ve now sensed internal energy within myself and entered the acquired realm.”

Whenever he was with Chief Steward Huang, he used the concealment techniques from the Bone-Strengthening Art to hide his true cultivation, never admitting that he had reached the innate realm long ago.

It wasn’t that he doubted Chief Steward Huang’s character, but there were many things he could not explain if he revealed the truth.

Now, after half a year of training, it was not unreasonable for his martial arts to “break through” to the acquired realm, even if it was a little fast.

It would at least ease the elder’s mind.

Chief Steward Huang raised his brows at the news, placed a hand on Xu Boqing’s wrist, and used his internal energy to probe. Sensing the internal energy within him, he burst into hearty laughter.

“Excellent, excellent! Very good!”

“It’s all thanks to your guidance, Chief Steward. Without your tutelage as an innate martial artist, I would still be lifting stone locks in the garden.”

“Now I am at ease, truly at ease.”

Xu Boqing sensed Chief Steward Huang had something on his mind, wanting to say something but hesitant, so he asked, “Is there anything you wish to entrust to me, Chief Steward?”

“It’s nothing of great importance,” Chief Steward Huang mused for a moment. “In the coming days, I may be assigned to guard Qianqing Palace, away from Cining Palace. Since you’ve established your foundation in martial arts and reached the acquired realm, I can rest easy.”

“Qianqing Palace?” Xu Boqing frowned. “Isn’t that... the emperor’s residence? Why would you, the chief steward of Cining Palace, be sent to guard there?”

“It’s a long story,” Chief Steward Huang sighed. “Recently, the emperor proposed a decision in court—a decision that defies ancestral custom. Somehow, word leaked out, and some ruffians from the martial world threatened to overturn heaven and earth.

News of this reached the emperor.

You know, last year the emperor was attacked in the palace; the assassin escaped and still hasn’t been caught, so he is quite wary.

Thus, he called for innate realm experts from the palace to guard Qianqing Palace. Though I am old, I am still of the innate realm and included in the roster.”

“I see...” Xu Boqing was momentarily speechless, inwardly lamenting the emperor’s penchant for stirring up trouble. Tonight, he thought, he ought to seek comfort in Yongning Palace with Noble Consort Liu.

Chief Steward Huang saw his indignation and reassured him, “You needn’t worry. Besides all the experts in the imperial household, there is more than just myself guarding Qianqing Palace.

Also assigned are Commander Song from the Embroidered Uniform Guard and Supervisor Liu from the Eastern Bureau. Both are in their prime and skilled in martial arts.

Those ruffians from the martial world love to talk big; it’s best if they don’t come. But if they do, the three of us together can defeat any innate realm opponent!”

Three innate realm experts guarding...

Xu Boqing knew this was not his decision to make, so he sighed, “Please, Chief Steward, take care. You are the pillar holding Cining Palace steady...”