Volume One: Youths Meeting in Their Humble Beginnings Chapter Fifty-Two: The Lord's Summons
When trouble broke out outside the city, things were hardly peaceful within its walls, either. It so happened that when the members of the Myriad Beasts Sect, residing within Tianmen Town, set out to fetch their kin from the sect, they unexpectedly crossed paths with a party of the demon clan. The Myriad Beasts Sect, usually a cautious and forbearing lot, now emboldened by newfound support, decided it was time to vent years of pent-up grievances. Rather than endure the demon clan’s usual cold mockery, they responded in kind. What began as a minor dispute quickly escalated, as longstanding animosities flared from verbal sparring into outright physical confrontation.
Upon hearing of the incident, the town lord immediately dispatched Tianmen Town’s troops to intervene. No sooner had he resolved the skirmish within the city than fresh reports arrived: the Myriad Beasts Sect was causing further trouble beyond the gates. At that, the town lord’s patience snapped. He ordered his soldiers to arrest every member of the sect and cast them into prison.
The sect members had considered resisting, but when the usually unassuming town lord himself appeared and, with effortless composure, struck their leading elder to the ground, any thought of defiance melted away. All present realized, to their astonishment, that Tianmen Town was indeed a place of hidden dragons and crouching tigers, and that even the town lord was a master of deep concealment. To bring down a sect’s leading elder so nonchalantly could only mean his own cultivation surpassed the Dao Fusion realm.
Yet the town lord did not rely on strength alone; he invoked the ancient decree established by the Five Sovereigns. At the decree’s emergence, the very heavens seemed to shift, and all within Tianmen Town felt the weight of the Great Dao pressing upon them.
When the Five Sovereigns had set their decree, it was clearly stated: no outsider was to fight within Tianmen Town, or the decree itself would descend to suppress them. In the beginning, people respected this command, but as the years passed, fewer and fewer took it to heart. The town lord himself had been uncertain how best to invoke the decree, but now, after these two altercations, he finally had just cause.
From that day forward, the decree hung suspended in the very void above Tianmen Town. All restless ambitions were stilled, and peace reigned once more. Only then did the townsfolk truly comprehend that the Sovereigns’ decree was no mere rule, but an utterance of the Great Dao itself, with the force of law that none could ignore.
When Li Yu returned from outside the city, he recounted the day’s events in broad strokes to the Daoist. The Daoist, at that moment, was feeding the two fish. Li Yu took the fish food from his master’s hands as the Daoist remarked, “He’ll thank you for this, you know. He’s likely been wanting to invoke the decree for quite some time, but lacked the proper occasion. All he needed was an opportunity, and you’ve given him one. Of course he’ll seize it to put things in order.”
Ever since the Daoist had brought those two fish back, he’d kept them in the courtyard pond. It had always been Li Yu’s task to feed the yin-yang fish upon his return from the sea, but today’s unexpected events had left the task unattended. The fish, not to be slighted in the least, would stir up wind and rain in the temple at the slightest displeasure. With things as they were, the Daoist could only take up the feeding himself.
The Daoist sent a stream of spiritual power into Li Yu’s body, smoothing the excess energy within him. Li Yu asked, “So what is the town lord’s real perspective on all this?”
“He’s in a difficult position,” the Daoist explained. “Tianmen Town harbors all manner of forces, both fish and dragon, and a single misstep could see him caught in their power struggles. He has no choice but to seize the initiative and make a decisive show of authority from the outset.”
Li Yu pressed, “But why is there a decree forbidding fighting in Tianmen Town?”
The Daoist chuckled. “Haven’t you noticed? There have never been cultivators causing trouble here.”
Li Yu countered, “But they challenged me today.”
The Daoist sighed, “Times change, and people with them. How many still treat the immortal sages’ decrees as unbreakable law?”
“But you still haven’t told me why Tianmen Town must forbid fighting.”
The Daoist shot him a look. “Does everything need a reason? It’s forbidden because it’s forbidden. For that matter, I’d quite like to know why this blasted Tianmen exists at all!” With that, he strode off toward his room, leaving Li Yu gazing after his master’s casual retreat. A brief flash of insight flickered through Li Yu’s mind, but before he could grasp it, a voice from outside the door interrupted him.
“Is Young Li at home?”
Li Yu set down the fish food and went out to see, discovering a messenger from the town lord’s residence. This man was something of an old acquaintance; in years past, when Li Yu had entered the lord’s mansion to copy books with the lord’s token, it was often this very attendant who led him in.
Li Yu greeted him with a smile. “Ah, Guard Jin—what brings you here today?”
Guard Jin was the lord’s personal bodyguard. Li Yu hadn’t known this at first, but as his visits increased, he’d learned that Jin’s position was anything but insignificant. Li Yu’s smooth passage through Tianmen Town owed not only to his own abilities, but also, in no small part, to the town lord’s protection. Ever since the lord had first assigned Guard Jin to escort Li Yu home, any who’d thought to probe or trouble him had been forced to think twice, not just because of the Daoist’s power, but due to the lord’s evident favor as well.
No one, however, could fathom why the town lord took such a liking to Li Yu.
Guard Jin said, “Young Li, the lord wishes to see you.”
Li Yu wondered inwardly, “Could my master have been right? Is he really going to thank me this soon?”
He thought for a moment, then asked, “Does he wish to see me alone, or is Brother Zhou Ce invited as well?”
“Zhou Ce has already gone on ahead,” replied Guard Jin. “I was sent to bring you.”
Li Yu was about to ask more, when the Daoist’s voice called from the inner hall, “If the lord wants you, then go. Stop dawdling—go early and return early.”
Guard Jin, hearing this, struggled to suppress a smile. Li Yu himself was unbothered; he shrugged, smiled wryly at Guard Jin, then turned to the Daoist within, “Master, I’ll be going. I’ll likely have lunch at the lord’s mansion, so you’ll need to see to your own meal.”
Without waiting for the Daoist’s grumbling response, he followed Guard Jin out to the carriage.
Both master and disciple were much alike—only they could keep each other in check.
Once within the lord’s residence, Li Yu was taken straight to the study—a place he’d visited many times. Inside, he found Zhou Ce already copying something at a desk beside the lord’s own. Li Yu was used to this by now.
At some point, Zhou Ce had begun frequenting the lord’s mansion more and more, but most of his time there was spent copying official notices in the study. Thus, though they were the only two in Tianmen Town permitted to read in the lord’s library, neither could be said to be truly close.
Li Yu had once considered bringing Shen Xun along to copy books, or even passing on the privilege of unrestricted access to the library. But Li Yu himself had little taste for the doctrines in those books; he only wished to memorize and master the 3,600 Daoist scriptures as his master commanded. When he made the request to the lord, the lord neither agreed nor refused outright, but simply told him to read the library’s books first. Upon doing so, Li Yu discovered that most of the collection consisted of Daoist scriptures, but with later generations’ various commentaries and interpretations. At that, he gave up the idea entirely—it was no wonder Zhou Ce, despite his close friendship with Shen Xun, had never brought him along; Shen Xun had little interest in Daoist texts.
They all knew Shen Xun was a scholar of the purest sort—drawn only to Confucian thought or the wonders of the world, but unmoved by the Dao.
The lord’s library, though filled with commentaries rather than the original scriptures, had nonetheless greatly broadened Li Yu’s understanding. As the saying goes, reading a book a hundred times brings understanding of its meaning; but after reading these annotations, Li Yu’s grasp of Daoist doctrine became even more profound, allowing him to draw analogies and see connections. In seven years, he had finished reading every Daoist scripture in the lord’s collection.
When the town lord saw him enter, he set down his brush and smiled. “You haven’t visited in quite some time.”
Li Yu stepped forward, bowed, and answered, “My master has assigned me tasks of late, and I dare not slack in my cultivation, so my visits have been few. May I ask what brings your lordship to summon me?”
The lord studied him, admiration in his eyes. “Excellent. So young, yet your cultivation is already so advanced. Perhaps in a few years you’ll step into the Dao.”
Li Yu knew the lord was not speaking of him, but of the dragon spirit within. Indeed, after seven years’ diligent effort, the dragon spirit’s pearl was nearly formed, and its true self was on the verge of stepping past the tenth realm, approaching the threshold of the Dao.
Like others, the town lord believed Li Yu half-dragon by birth. Over the years, he had occasionally offered advice on cultivation, for which Li Yu was grateful.
“Your lordship is too kind. I have never forgotten all you’ve done for me. Should you ever need my assistance, I will do all I can,” Li Yu replied modestly.
The lord stroked his beard. “You and your master are much alike—both slippery as eels. His slyness is in jest and mischief, yours in words that leave nothing exposed. I often wonder how you two get along.”
Li Yu could hardly be blamed. Every time he met the lord, he sensed an unfathomable depth, as though the lord always had a hidden agenda. When he mentioned this to his master, the Daoist simply told him to act as he saw fit and not to worry overly.
Thus, every time he faced the lord, Li Yu was ever on guard, careful not to let anything slip, his answers flawless and measured, never betraying a misstep. It became a silent contest of patience and subtlety, each probing the other to see who would yield first. Yet time and again, Li Yu revealed nothing—repeating only the same few phrases, his demeanor calm and unconcerned, sipping tea with perfect composure.
Zhou Ce, watching from the side, was half amused, half admiring—for he himself could never have matched such patience or secrecy.
At last, it was the lord who broke first, compelled by a desire to know the Daoist’s stance—or rather, to see if the Daoist had played any part in these recent events.