Chapter 78: Great Liang Dragon Sparrow Beauty Drum

Beacon Fires for the Feudal Lords

Inside the private residence of Qingyang Palace, King Qingcheng and his son Wu Shizhen sat facing each other. Wu Lingsu, whose martial arts cultivation was unremarkable but whose immortal demeanor rivaled that of the Heavenly Master of Longhu Mountain, gently fanned the aroma of tea with two fingers pinching the lid of a celadon cup. Wu Shizhen, uninterested in the tea, had a face full of indignation.

Wu Lingsu took a sip of tea and smiled, "Do you resent that Crown Prince who is even more arrogant than you?"

Wu Shizhen gritted his teeth. "I only resent my own lack of power; I don't resent Xu Fengnian. On the contrary, I admire this son of the King of Northern Liang. He's not a dissolute scoundrel at all; he's clearly an expert at feigning weakness. Liang, Yong, and Quan — all three provinces have been deceived by his and the Butcher's act!"

Wu Lingsu nodded. "It's best if only you and I know about this; don't speak of it to others. Those who see it clearly have already done so and don't need our reminder. Those who haven't seen it are merely outsiders whose words hold no weight; if you speak of it, you'll only be laughed at. Since our father-son situation is inferior to others, we must have the patience to bow our heads. This isn't cowardice; it's understanding the times.

"Shizhen, I founded the Divine Firmament Sect, which was regarded as a huge joke by the major ancestral temples of Longhu and Wudang. But centuries from now, who will stand tall and who will bow? Heh, who dares to say they know? A rough study of the early historical anecdotes of Longhu and Wudang reveals that their patriarchs were a hundred times more humble than I, King Qingcheng. At least I was granted a kingship and exclusively possess Qingcheng's blessed land.

"But for this considerable family legacy to be passed down for ten generations, a hundred generations, and to compete with other Taoist ancestral temples, it depends on whether you can take on the heavy responsibility first. Originally, I drank tea with you because I feared you'd only focus on resenting Xu Fengnian, thus jeopardizing our Divine Firmament Sect's century-long plan. I wanted to advise you, and whether you'd listen depended on the fortune of my Qingyang Palace. Now, it seems I worried too much; my son is indeed capable of achieving great things. Shizhen, let me tell you frankly, if your aspirations are limited to just one mountain and one palace, I would have decided not to let you venture down the mountain. Going down, even to the capital, would be pointless."

Wu Shizhen smiled. "Father, I came this time precisely to ask you to allow Shizhen to go to the capital."

Wu Lingsu lowered his head to drink tea. "That's excellent."

Wu Shizhen asked, "Then how should we interact with Xu Fengnian? Should we never communicate again? If not, how do we manage the extent of our relationship?"

Wu Lingsu looked up at the strange sky outside the window, which hinted at a coming downpour, and said, "Never communicate? You are mistaken. If Qingyang Palace wishes to prosper, it cannot bypass the three hundred thousand Iron Cavalry of Northern Liang behind the Butcher. I'll give you a piece of advice: if Xu Fengnian miraculously survives and truly becomes the King of Liang, it wouldn't matter if you serve him like a dog. But if Xu Xiao meets an accident or dies of old age, and this Crown Prince doesn't have the destiny for it, and the Xu family eventually collapses, then you can certainly kick him when he's down.

"I've already selected a few valuable secret manuals; you'll deliver them tomorrow. Once in the capital, the more you recount the Crown Prince's arrogance and impropriety to the imperial relatives, the happier Xu Fengnian will be, and only then will the connection between our Qingyang Palace and the Northern Liang King's Residence truly solidify. Do you really believe that those scholars in the imperial court who fiercely curse the Grand Marshal are all incorruptible, loyal officials opposed to the King of Northern Liang? You're wrong. If you were to secretly trace it, it's highly likely they are former students or subordinates of the Grand Marshal.

"It's just that this kind of rotten situation, corrupt at its core, no one cares to investigate. Even Grand Chancellor Zhang Julu, who holds great power, cannot manage it. This is the ridiculous and tragic truth of the imperial court: how many loyal and how many treacherous officials there are in a peaceful era is impossible to distinguish. Only in times of chaos, like the defeated states of Western Chu and Eastern Yue, which lost their great Spring and Autumn endeavors, did the world truly see their real faces."

Wu Shizhen softly said, "Father, if you were to participate in politics, you would surely be able to turn the tides and not be inferior to Grand Chancellor Zhang."

Wu Lingsu reached out and tapped his son, smiling, "Have you forgotten who taught you this flattery? You don't need to use it on your father. Once in the capital, you'll have plenty of opportunities to show what you can do."

Wu Shizhen looked out the window and quietly said, "To be honest, I truly envy Xu Fengnian. The one hundred Northern Liang light cavalry he brought up the mountain are clearly far more valiant and skilled in battle than the Yongzhou armored soldiers. And that's just one hundred men. Northern Liang claims to have three hundred thousand Iron Cavalry. If they were to rebel..."

Wu Lingsu frowned and reprimanded, "Silence."

Wu Shizhen smiled, "Just idle talk. I know what's important."

The armored maid by the Northern Liang King's Consort's side, who unexpectedly became a female Taoist priestess after removing her helmet, not only completed the 'Zero Treasure Scripture' for King Qingcheng but also created the renowned Divine Firmament Sword Array. If a mere maid was like this, what kind of grace and demeanor did the Consort, who personally participated in the Spring and Autumn Wars, possess back then?

Zhao Yutai softly murmured, "Come, come, come, listen to who is beating the beauty drum; a daughter of the Wu family in plain white. Come, come, come, see who is the Butcher of the human world; the Xu royal banner is chasing deer... Crown Prince, these lyrics and melody are both excellent. I heard that the Second Princess once carved the words 'exiled three thousand li' on the statue of Emperor Zhenwu on Wudang Mountain. Only a woman like her could write such a soul-stirring Northern Liang song. But in this servant's opinion, the Second Princess is more like a great general, and Your Highness is more like a young lady. If you were to learn swordsmanship instead of blademanship, that would be even better. This servant has guarded the tomb on the mountain for more than ten years, just waiting for this day. This servant, guarding the Grand Liang Dragon Sparrow, has always been unwilling. Your Highness, tomorrow when you descend the mountain, please take the cherished sword that once made all heroes bow before the Young Mistress? Here, the Grand Liang Dragon Sparrow is buried! The Young Mistress told this servant that if Your Highness ever encounters a good woman who happens to practice swordsmanship, consider it a betrothal gift. It's a pity the Young Mistress cannot personally hand it over..."

Xu Fengnian softly said, "Alright. I will take the Grand Liang Dragon Sparrow. Aunt, but Fengnian cannot guarantee that I will meet a woman like my mother. I might not be able to give it away my entire life."

Zhao Yutai reached out and stroked the Crown Prince's chin. The little young master, once so delicate and sculpted like jade, now had stubble that pricked her hand. Her expression was genuinely kind, devoid of the slightest hint of the unruly roughness she displayed when facing King Qingcheng and Wu Shizhen. She gazed at Xu Fengnian, as if looking at a beloved junior, her eyes filled with the pride and comfort a senior feels when a child has finally grown up and achieved something.

Zhao Yutai slowly said, "Those who seem heartless are often the most deeply affectionate. Whichever woman Your Highness favors will be blessed beyond measure. In this regard, Your Highness is exactly like the Grand Marshal. This servant only hopes that Your Highness will meet her soon, settle down, and live together in harmony, rather than losing each other in the martial world or the imperial court. The Young Mistress said that ultimately, the martial way and the heavenly way are both about the word 'emotion.' If a person is emotionless, how can they speak of the Great Dao? They will be like trying to scoop the moon from water with a sieve. This is why Taoism has the saying that when one person achieves enlightenment, even their chickens and dogs ascend to heaven. And many Bodhisattvas in Buddhism make grand vows out of compassion for humanity. Your Highness, compared to your grand ambitions, this servant is even more delighted by your fondness for nobodies like Old Meng and Little Hawthorn."

Xu Fengnian sighed, "But these things won't win the hearts of Northern Liang's army."

Zhao Yutai, her pent-up frustration of over ten years swept away, playfully quipped, "Once Your Highness goes to the Northern Liang border and personally campaigns like the Grand Marshal, everything will naturally fall into place. I heard the Second Princess dislikes you practicing blademanship, but Your Highness must persevere and not change your original intention. A true man should personally lead troops and kill; anything less is unseemly. This servant's greatest hope in this life is to see Your Highness lead a million troops to Northern Mang and raze that dynasty to the ground."

Xu Fengnian made a face, looking troubled, "Aunt, flattening a dynasty is a highly technical job. Besides, even if we succeed, no one will be willing to give rewards. His Majesty the Emperor might even be more concerned about when our Xu family's lineage will end."

Unintentionally bringing this up, Zhao Yutai's face clouded with grim ferocity, yet her tone was calm, carrying a chilling sharpness that perfectly matched her swordsmanship. With red eyes, she said mournfully, "When the realm was first settled, the Young Mistress was only six months pregnant with Your Highness. As soon as the Old Emperor heard from the Bureau of Cartography's diviner that the Young Mistress might give birth to a son, he couldn't wait to dispose of her like an old mill donkey. In that battle, the Young Mistress, unbeknownst to the Grand Marshal, went to the imperial palace alone with her sword, facing three experts of the Finger-Mystical Realm and one of the Heavenly Phenomenon Realm. Although the Young Mistress retreated successfully, she contracted an incurable illness. She had only a few years of peace in Northern Liang before..."

Xu Fengnian stared blankly at the Listening Lantern Pavilion across from them. Without warning, a sudden downpour lashed the mountaintop. After the storm, clouds and mist swirled, and thousands upon thousands of lanterns lit up. Inside the pavilion, Xu Fengnian and Zhao Yutai, along with Qingniao, who always stood outside, seemed to be in a heavenly immortal realm.

From Qingcheng Mountain, a series of wild beast roars echoed, reverberating continuously.

Xu Fengnian asked in surprise, "Aunt, what is that?"

Zhao Yutai smiled, "Within Qingcheng Mountain lives a mythical beast that has existed for several centuries, called a Tiger-Kirin. In its youth, it has a single horn and four legs; as an adult, it grows two horns and six legs, with its entire body covered in black scales. When enraged, its whole body turns crimson. This adult female Tiger-Kirin originally hibernated only in the rarely visited deep mountains, but having conceived a young Kirin, its appetite has soared, and for the past two years, it has been staying quite close to Qingyang Peak. This servant once went with my sword to witness its true form. The Tiger-Kirin is ferociously powerful, and especially vicious and brutal while pregnant. It bit through this servant's Green Vajra Sword, and I couldn't subdue it, nor could it subdue me. Several clashes yielded no result. Afterwards, this servant simply allowed it to roam and forage near Qingyang Peak. According to ancient records, a Tiger-Kirin's gestation period is three years, and its delivery is likely due very soon."

Zhao Yutai listened to the continuous roars and exclaimed in surprise, then asked with doubt, "The Tiger-Kirin seems to have encountered a formidable opponent. Are there still people or beasts on Qingcheng Mountain capable of fighting it?"

Xu Fengnian was utterly bewildered.

That night, after Xu Fengnian returned to his room, he could still hear two distinctly different roaring sounds, which only faded late into the night.

The next day, Xu Fengnian descended the mountain, carrying a red lacquer sword box.

Inside the box was the Grand Liang Dragon Sparrow.

King Qingcheng, Wu Lingsu, personally saw him off to Zhuhu Pavilion, while Wu Shizhen respectfully presented three secret manuals with both hands.

Inside the Bell Tower stood the Qingcheng female Taoist priestess, Zhao Yutai.

This armored maid truly wanted to know who would one day come to wield the Grand Liang Dragon Sparrow sword and beat the beauty drum for the Young Mistress's most cherished Little Fengnian.