Chapter 53: The Society, Imperial Court, or The World—None of My Business
Along the side of Beiluo Lake, there was a road paved with black stone bricks.
A donkey cart wobbled as it moved along the road. The carriage was old and shabby and was made of dry, rotten wood. In the cart, a young man wearing a dark blue gown sat cross-legged. He held a stick that had a carrot attached to it by a string, and dangled it in front of the donkey’s face.
The donkey huffed out warm air through its nostrils as it tried to reach the carrot.
The young man sat leisurely, enjoying the lake and the beautiful scenery around it.
“Such a nice place. Perfect to spend my old age in.”
“I heard that the girls at Drunk Dust City are exceptional, with great talent and skills. But I don’t know if that’s true.”
The young man used one hand to prop up his chin, while one of his legs started shaking restlessly.
He had a dreamy look on his face.
“It’s a shame… when Drunk Dust City was taken over by the irrational Young Master Lu, Great Zhou lost another paradise on earth.”
The young man shook his head sorrowfully.
He then adjusted the carrot’s position to make the donkey head in a different direction.
“To be honest, I didn’t at all want to come to Beiluo City. This place… something’s not right about it,” the young man said to himself.
He looked a little frustrated.
“But it’s so rare for the Imperial Advisor to leave the capital city. It’s an opportunity of a lifetime…”
“But why am I always the one picked for this kind of mission? Deadpan face is obviously a better choice… He’s the No. 1 assassin in the world, while I’m only a donkey cart driver.” The young man seemed to have a lot to complain about over this mission.
But since he was already here, he chose to carry out his assignment.
He gave the donkey a good kick on the butt, and the donkey immediately sped up.
The shabby donkey cart continued to lurch forward along the paved road beside Beiluo Lake. It looked as if it would break into pieces at any moment.
The donkey’s heavy breathing was very loud.
…
Lv Mudui almost flew out of the city.
The carriage sped through the plains outside Beiluo City.
In the cart, Lv Mudui, who was wearing a white gown, touched the copper coins hanging around his neck, his eyes deep and contemplative.
“What Young Master Lu said… is it true? ‘Heaven Qi Plaques and Earth Qi Plaques’ can really open the relic of Immortal encounter? The mentor sent me to Beiluo City. Did he know there’s Immortal encounter here?”
Lv Mudui leaned against the inside of the cart. He looked frail, yet his eyes were unusually bright.
“If there really is Immortal encounter, why does Young Master Lu trust me? Isn’t he afraid I’ll gather Hundred Schools of Philosophy and take this Immortal encounter Secret Realm?”
Lv Mudui squinted his eyes. But after thinking about it, he let out a sigh.
He didn’t have what it took to gather Hundred Schools of Philosophy and team up with them.
Even though he had the information Lu Fan gave him, he still didn’t have enough to make a deal with Hundred Schools of Philosophy.
With Heaven Qi Plaques and Earth Qi Plaques popping up, people would notice sooner or later. Not to mention that Young Master Lu might not be the only one enlightened by the Immortal.
Lv Mudui had nothing to bargain with. His best option was to work with Lu Fan and possibly get his share in the end. Otherwise… he might completely miss his chance.
Besides, he had seen the Confucianism Philosopher before he left. Maybe Young Master Lu planned to work with Confucianism. If that was the case, and Lu Fan had such a powerful ally, it would be stupid for Lv Mudui to go and team up with others of Hundred Schools of Philosophy.
The cart was very quiet. Only the sound of the wooden wheels quickly rolling on the road could be heard.
After a long while, Lv Mudui lightly tapped the inside wall of the cart and said to the coachman, “Let’s not go back to ‘Caved Dragon Temple’ just yet. Let’s go to Hidden Dragon Ridge first.”
“Okay.”
Outside the cart, the coachman smiled, raised his arm, and whipped the horses.
The carriage immediately sped up.
…
On Beiluo Lake Island…
The atmosphere was a little intense.
The Imperial Advisor summoned Righteousness Qi with one laugh, and Lu Fan released Spirit Pressure by placing a chess piece down.
The collision between the two was a Philosopher-level confrontation.
The Imperial Advisor was originally the Philosopher of Confucianism. He once visited all Hundred Schools of Philosophy and kept them in line. No one dared to act up with him around.
His Righteousness Qi could suppress even the greatest Grandmasters from the martial arts world.
Even though he had never practiced martial arts, the power of his pressure was incredibly strong.
However, Lu Fan, who was faced with the Imperial Advisor’s Righteousness Qi,was relaxed, which was what shocked the others on the island the most.
Lu Changkong looked at Lu Fan, a complicated expression on his face. There was a hint of pride in his eyes.
He hadn’t expected Lu Fan to have grown so fast. Now Lu Fan even had the power to contend with the Confucianism Philosopher.
Feeling the flowing Spirit Qi in his body, Lu Changkong took a deep breath.
Nie Changqing and Ning Zhao both had excited looks on their faces.
They had never been sure about Lu Fan’s level.
But now…
They finally knew how powerful their Young Master really was.
Philosopher level…
Being able to contend with the Confucianism Philosopher, Lu Fan’s power was at top level, even among the Philosophers.
Lu Fan once said that he would make “White Jade City” a power above Hundred Schools of Philosophy. Now it seemed that hadn’t just been empty talk.
The wind disappeared.
And the sense of pressure in the air also vanished.
The Righteousness Qi faded away, along with Lu Fan’s Spirit Pressure.
“Hahaha, what a promising young man,” the Imperial Advisor laughed. “Changkong, this son of yours is really something.”
Lu Changkong was standing to the side. He smiled at the Imperial Advisor’s comment, and the cheerful look in his eyes was unmistakable.
“Imperial Advisor, please, this way,” Lu Fan said.
“Ping’an heard that the Imperial Advisor has good taste in drink. I had them boil plum wine for you,” Lu Fan continued.
The Imperial Advisor flicked his sleeves and strode forward.
“White Jade City…”
The Imperial Advisor’s eyes landed on the horizontal inscribed board above the door of the building. He lowered his voice and thoughtfully read the name of the building. “Such a good name,” he said with a smile.
The Imperial Advisor sighed to himself. The Immortal encounter Lu Fan had gotten was apparently far more than what Yuwen Xiu had obtained.
If it could be said that Yuwen Xiu was a toddler Blessed compared to Lu Fan…
The gap between those two… was wide.
The Imperial Advisor walked up the black brick stairs.
Lu Changkong and Luo Yue followed him.
Suddenly…
The Imperial Advisor staggered and paused. His eyes focused on the two vertical inscribed boards.
Everyone who tried to enter White Jade City would be attracted by the couplets on the two vertical inscribed boards, so Lu Fan wasn’t surprised by this.
Gazing at the couplets, the Imperial Advisor’s smile gave way to a solemn look.
He studied them for a long time, almost as long as it takes to burn half a scent.
Eventually, the Imperial Advisor came back to his senses, his cloudy eyes flashing briefly with astonishment.
“These couplets… Did Ping’an write them?” the Imperial Advisor asked calmly.
He withdrew his gaze from the couplets.
Unlike Nie Changqing and Lv Mudui, the Imperial Advisor was relaxed and calm when he saw the couplets.
“No. My mentor did,” Lu Fan said. The wheelchair turned around on its own, taking Lu Fan into the building of White Jade City.
He figured that the Imperial Advisor probably had picked up on something from interpreting the words of the couplets. But since the Imperial Advisor didn’t let let on, Lu Fan chose not to ask.
The Imperial Advisor froze for a brief moment when he heard Lu Fan’s answer, but he quickly regained his calm.
Luo Yue and Lu Changkong, on the other hand, didn’t react to the couplets so well.
Lu Changkong’s reaction wasn’t too bad. After all, he had Spirit Qi in him. After backing up a couple of steps, he regained his balance.
Luo Yue wasn’t so lucky, as he was only a First Tier martial arts practitioner. He read the couplets to himself in a low voice and was suddenly thrown back in the air, landing on one knee. He even coughed blood.
There was a look of fear and disbelief on his face.
Lu Changkong didn’t enter White Jade City.
He knew that the Imperial Advisor had something to discuss with Lu Fan, so he turned around and took a stroll around the island.
He was quite interested in the ten chrysanthemum blooms facing the sun.
The Confucianism Philosopher reached the second floor of the building.
On the patio, Yi Yue had just finished boiling the wine. She stood up.
Ni Yu and Nie Shuang stared at Lu Fan and the Confucianism Philosopher with wide eyes.
The chessboard was set up. Two boxes of chess pieces, one with white pieces and the other with black ones, were placed across the chessboard.
Sitting in a chair, the Imperial Advisor sat on the chair and stroked his beard as he studied the chessboard.
Lu Fan remained in his wheelchair. The two were now sitting face-to-face on either side of the chessboard.
Yi Yue poured some wine for the Imperial Advisor and Lu Fan. The boiled wine, hot with steam, had a hint of tartness from the green plums
“Philosopher, how about we play a game?” Lu Fan asked with a smile.
The Philosopher stroked his beard, squinted his eyes, and took a sip of the wine. He looked pleased.
Tasting wine and playing a game of chess…
The Philosopher could get used to a life like this.
As they played their game and placed chess pieces on the chessboard, the sound of the pieces landing on the board continued for some time.
The two of them chatted as they played chess and drank wine.
Light smoke from the lit sandalwood scent curled upward, filling the room with a soothing aroma.
The game ended.
The chessboard was filled with black and white chess pieces. Lu Fan picked up the black pieces and tossed them back in the box, a hint of disappointment on his face.
“The Philosopher’s chess skills are superb. As your student, I concede defeat,” Lu Fan said.
He gave a bitter smile.
Although he had gotten Heavenly Go Manual, the time he could put into practicing was still too limited for him to stand a chance against the Confucianism Philosopher, a national-champion level player.
Standing to the side, Ni Yu’s eyes bulged in surprise.
This couldn’t be right!
Since when did the Young Master… become so skilled at playing chess?
The Imperial Advisor held his cup as he coughed slightly. He appeared so frail, like a candle guttering in the wind.
“There are only two or three people in the world who can even stand a chance playing chess with me. Ping’an, today I have to say that you really impressed me. It won’t be long before your chess skills become stronger. Then, the situation will be reversed, and I probably won’t be able to beat you anymore,” the Imperial Advisor said.
Lu Fan smiled.
The wine in the Imperial Advisor’s cup became cold. Yi Yue was about to refill it with hot wine, but the Imperial Advisor declined, waving his hand.
He put down his cup and withdrew his hands inside his wide sleeves. He gazed at Lu Fan with his deep, yet cloudy eyes. “Ping’an, I have a couple of questions for you. If I don’t ask now, I’m afraid I won’t have the chance to ask you again…” he said.
His voice carried a hint of sadness. His hair was completely white, and the liver spots on his face were even more conspicuous.
Lu Fan’s eyebrow twitched. He lowered his hands to straighten the thin woolen blanket covering his legs.
“What questions do you have for me, Imperial Advisor?” Lu Fan asked.
The Imperial Advisor smiled, then cast a profound glance at the island through the window.
Suddenly, he could almost see the three extraordinary Qi flows flying around the island.
“You built your own power base, took out aristocratic families, and killed people from Hundred Schools of Philosophy… What’s your reason for all this? Now the Great Zhou is on the verge of destruction, like a boat in a terrible storm. All sorts of strong forces have shown themselves, from both the martial arts world and the Imperial Court.”
The Imperial Advisor hunched forward in his chair and coughed. “Ping’an, what do you think about the world?”
The question was straightforward. The Imperial Advisor didn’t attempt to hide his intentions.
What he wanted to know about was Lu Fan’s ambition. The ambition of a mature Blessed.
Nie Changqing, Ning Zhao, and Yi Yue, among others, all held their breath.
Lu Fan slowly looked up at the Imperial Advisor.
They silently gazed into each other’s eyes.
The sandalwood scent continued to release light smoke, which swirled up into the air.
Lu Fan’s voice was soft and graceful, and it echoed throughout the building’s patio.
“I built the power base to spend the rest of my life on. I took out the aristocratic families and killed the disciples from Hundred Schools of Philosophy because they provoked me.”
“If no one provokes me…”
“Whatever happens in society, the Imperial Court, or the world, has nothing to do with me.”
“After all, I, Lu Ping’an, am very good-tempered.”