Young Master Bai — Chapter 24
Chapter 24: This Man Used a Dozen Name Change Cards…
The private rooms of the Heaven-Earth tavern never allowed outsiders to enter at will. At this moment the guards stopped the visitor, and the inn’s manager came into the private room to ask: “The Jiangdu prefect, Lord Tang, has a matter to discuss. May I ask whether you wish to meet him?”
“The Divine Wordless Book truly lives up to its reputation as an immortal treasure. We hadn’t even gone to seek information yet someone has already come knocking.”
Hearing the commotion, Li Wuming more or less discerned who it was. Even so, his attitude remained entirely calm, while Bai Chen regarded him thoughtfully and simply said, “So you really are of the Li clan of Chang’an.”
The Divine Wordless Book was a nation-stabilizing artifact bestowed by immortals upon the mortal emperor. Unfortunately, it was lost six hundred years ago when the previous dynasty fell. After the Li clan of Chang’an rose to power without this strength, they were always constrained by the Heaven’s Way Alliance. Now that the Hidden Wisdom Sect had found this artifact, they ought to return it to Chang’an. Yet now a court official suddenly came to see Li Wuming — there must have been another twist in the matter.
Li Wuming hadn’t expected that just as Bai Chen had finally quieted down, his own old affairs would surface again. Helpless, he could only say, “Looks like we can’t eat this meal in peace. Let him in.”
The visitor’s hair was graying, the corners of his eyes full of wrinkles. His withered body barely supported the dark green official robe — visibly more than a hundred years old, truly an old minister. The moment he saw Li Wuming, he dropped to his knees, head bowed in fervor. “This old servant Tang Huaiyu greets General Li!”
His voice was deeply moving. Yet Li Wuming did not even look at him, keeping his gaze fixed entirely on the table full of seafood, still unperturbed as he picked up a crab leg and placed it on Bai Chen’s plate. “This crab is well-steamed too. Try it.”
The scene was strikingly like that of a debauched emperor and his demon consort, abandoning their meal to obediently watch the ancestral master perform. Bai Chen poked the plump crab leg with his chopsticks, seriously pondering a weighty question — considering the atmosphere, should he now drape himself over Li Wuming’s chest like some fox yao, indulging in sensual pleasures?
Their reactions were wholly unexpected. Fortunately, Tang Huaiyu was a seasoned veteran of the court. Even though Li Wuming treated him as if invisible, he still earnestly spoke up himself. “Your old servant knows that General has withdrawn from the court and no longer concerns himself with worldly affairs. Were it not a matter of the Li clan’s survival, I would never dare disturb you. Now that the royal family declines, the court is wholly dependent on the Heaven’s Way Alliance and bends to their whims. The world only knows the Ten Seats of the Heaven’s Way, and knows nothing of the Li clan of Chang’an. If the Divine Wordless Book is also seized by the Unknown Truth Sect, then our dynasty will never rise again!”
At present the power to appoint officials was held by the Heaven’s Way Alliance. The current emperor’s only role was to stamp documents after the cabinet settled policy, or to don ceremonial robes and lead ministers in ritual offerings during festivals. Although he still lived in the palace, he held no real power at all.
No emperor would willingly become a mere ornament. That one strike of the Sword Immortal Bai did not merely awe the world — it also ignited in the emperor, descendant of the Li clan, the ambition to once again rule as sovereign.
If humanity fell into chaos, they would have no time to trouble the Great Snow Mountain. From Bai Chen’s perspective, the more fiercely the court and the Heaven’s Way Alliance clashed, the better. Yet — this man carried the same blood as Li Wuming. Bai Chen knew he should fan the flames to incite internal conflict, but when the words reached his lips, they became calm, without the slightest provocation. “No wonder the Hidden Wisdom Sect has remained in Jiangdu after obtaining the Divine Wordless Book, making no move to escort it. Turns out the Unknown Truth Sect wants this thing.”
Hearing this Tang Huaiyu grew even more agitated. “The Divine Wordless Book is a nation-stabilizing artifact gifted by an immortal of the Hidden Wisdom Sect to the court, and has always belonged solely to the reigning emperor. That Feng Shiqi [sect master of the Unknown Truth sect] dares to declare he will seize it — if that isn’t ambition, then your old servant would never believe it!”
When this man was mentioned, Li Wuming finally raised his eyes to the old official and simply asked, “What did he say?”
The Heaven’s Way Alliance governed all righteous sects in the land, its strongest ten sects forming the Ten Seats and jointly deciding major affairs by vote. This organization was established by the righteous Hidden Wisdom Sect, which had now fallen to the seventh seat, while the Unknown Truth Sect, founded only three hundred years ago, had risen to first place. Feng Shiqi was the sect master of the Unknown Truth Sect and also the current leader of the Heaven’s Way Alliance.
Nowadays, nearly all cultivation methods were passed down from the Dao Ancestor. The Hidden Wisdom Sect, being of direct descend from the Dao Ancestor, was regarded as the very founder of the cultivation world. Accordingly, its headmasters across all generations were solemn and dignified, embodying great bearing. The Unknown Truth Sect, however, was utterly different — acknowledging neither propriety nor rules, willing to challenge anything in pursuit of their research. When pestered by the Demon Sect, they fought back; when emperors became an obstacle, they simply rendered the imperial power void. No one could stop the Unknown Truth Sect from seeking the true meaning of the world.
And so it was again now. Upon hearing of the Divine Wordless Book’s appearance, Feng Shiqi had sent just one casual message: —
*This Divine Wordless Book is rather interesting. Have the big brother of the Hidden Wisdom Sect bring it over so I can study it.*
Just such a seemingly offhand remark, spoken as though munching melon seeds, was enough to make the reigning emperor smash vases in fury, to bring disciples of all the Heaven’s Way sects flocking to Jiangdu in heated debate, and to leave the Hidden Wisdom Sect caught in a dilemma.
“Presenting the Divine Wordless Book to the emperor is an ancestral decree given to the Hidden Wisdom Sect. Yet the Unknown Truth Sect leads the Heaven’s Way and has always been on good terms with the Hidden Wisdom Sect. The headmaster of the Hidden Wisdom Sect has really encountered a thorny problem this time.”
Bai Chen had already seen the center of the storm in Jiangdu. The court would not accept being subordinate to cultivators, and the Unknown Truth Sect would not allow the imperial power to revive. This prefect sought out Li Wuming purely to use the Sword Immortal’s strength to force the Heaven’s Way to yield. But what was Li Wuming’s own stance?
His probing gaze fell on the man’s face. Yet Li Wuming remained utterly nonchalant, calmly eating fish and shrimp as he replied in a level tone:
“Old fellow, you’ve got the wrong person. There’s only an aging man here who raises foxes — where is this supposed general?”
Clearly, he did not wish to involve himself in the court’s disputes. Tang Huaiyu, realizing that even his impassioned plea could not move this merciless sword immortal, could not help but raise his voice even more, “You are clearly the nation-stabilizing general Li Jiuzhou! Your old servant even has a portrait of you at home — I could never mistake you!”
“Jiuzhou — a name claiming all under Heaven. What a domineering name.”
Bai Chen finally learned this man’s true name, his gaze full of curiosity. Yet Li Wuming only smiled faintly, as if recalling bygone days. “When I was young I always liked giving myself grand-sounding titles. Unfortunately, Jiuzhou was a name only emperors were qualified to use. Later my elder brother forbade me to use it and gave me an unpleasant one instead. I didn’t like it, so I stopped using names at all.”
He always spoke this way. Bai Chen could only lower his eyes helplessly. “You’ve said you’ve had many names, yet you haven’t told me even one.”
“Li Jiuzhou [lit. Nine Provinces (of China), implying the entire land, All Under Heaven] arrogantly amassed troops and offended His Majesty. Out of brotherly feeling, the emperor merely revoked his Tiger Tally [a symbol of authority given to generals] and renamed him Li Shouzhong [lit. Loyal Defender] as a warning. Yet this man did not know how to repent. Within a few years he killed numerous court officials, a crime beyond pardon. His Majesty renamed him Li Zixing [lit. Self-reflection] and sentenced him to exile on the Great Snow Mountain, never to return to Chang’an… I’ve used too many names — so many that I no longer know who I am. Better to have no name at all [hence, Li Wuming, or Nameless Li].”
Perhaps it was the sight of the little fox’s faintly dejected look that overcame the Sword Immortal’s composure. Seeing his expression so downcast, Li Wuming finally spoke of the past long buried on the Great Snow Mountain. Beneath the light tone lay an emperor’s suspicion of his founding general, and the fracture between brothers who had once fought side by side.
Li Wuming’s life had been entangled with these emperors — his blood brother long dead, and the Dao companion he found himself, a troublesome little yao king. Now he could only sip his wine and smile casually. “I am merely a wandering cultivator named Li Wuming. If I truly have any special status, it is merely as a son-in-law of the Great Snow Mountain. You’ve got the wrong man.”
However, since Tang Huaiyu had come this far, how could he give up so easily? Seeing that words had no effect on the merciless sword immortal, he stood and added: “Your old servant does not believe it. If General has truly cast aside his past completely, then dare you come with me to one place?”
~ Chapter End ~
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