The Glory After Rebirth [ɇÇ”Ÿä¹‹Å°Šè£] Chapter 205- 207

Chapter 205: A Gathering

This was Ling Zhang’s first vacation since he’d enrolled in the Imperial College. Under no circumstances would Yuwen Tong let this chance slip away. “Of course I am,” replied Yuwen Tong.

Ling Zhang was very happy. This kind of one-day vacation was not really a daily occurrence for students, so certainly he’d like to enjoy it with Yuwen Tong. It was just that he felt obliged to express his gratitude to his classmates for their help.

The next morning, the five classmates of his showed up at the agreed time.

When they arrived, everyone of them seemed rather formal and unrelaxed. Ling Zhang knew that it was not because this was the first time they came here but because of Yuwen Tong. In order to help them set their mind at ease, he friendlily greeted them first and then told them, “Today we’re going to a manor of Yuwen Tong’s in the suburbs. He’s otherwise engaged, so he won’t be with us. A friend of mine named Tao Yi will join us. He’ll be here in a short while. We’ll go there together.”

Yuwen Tong had left for the manor first in the knowledge that his presence would make these people feel uneasy. He could also help Ling Zhang make preparations for the feast in passing.

The five students, on hearing that Yuwen Tong was not in, felt a sense of relief but were also somewhat disappointed.

After a while, Tao Yi arrived. The moment he entered, he remarked, “Sorry I’m late. When I was leaving, my teacher summoned me and had a word with me.”

“I’d like to introduce these five classmates of mine to you: Zhao Jiusi, Zhao Turui, Xun Huo, Ji Feng, Xie Qing…”

“This is Tao Yi. He’s my friend and studies at the Oriental Rite Academy.”

Ling Zhang introduced them to each other. Tao Yi gave a hearty laugh, pointed at Zhao Jiusi and Zhao Turui and said, “I know these two. We met a couple of times.”

Zhao Jiusi was the one who was the first to stand up for Ling Zhang the day before, and who was also the most poised of these five people. He and Zhao Turui were cousins. Both of them were members of Zhao family. Many of their elders were courtiers, and the most powerful one of them was Zhao Zheng, their father’s eldest brother, who was the Minister of War.

Xun Huo’s father was Xun Yi, a ministry councillor of the Ministry of Penalties. His family members were also respected figures in the capital city.

Xie Qing’s father was Xie Dongsheng, the new Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Works. It was actually quite coincidental: Peng Fang’s attempt to have Ling Zhang poisoned had been the reason why Xie Dongsheng was promoted to the Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Works. The causality in this was very subtle.

The name of the last one was Ji Feng, who was of the highest standing among the five of them. His grandfather was the Zhongxin Marquess, whose legal wife was Ji Feng’s father’s birth mother. The Zhongxin Marquess’ way of doing things was relatively low-key compared with those of other marquesses living in the capital city, but unlike most of his counterparts who merely had a fancy title, the Zhongxin Marquess had some real powers, which was why members of the Zhongxin Marquess’ family were held in higher regard by citizens.

Tao Yi, who had lived in the capital city for many years, had heard of all these five people before, and he had met and talked with Zhao Jiusi and Zhao Turui on a few occasions.

Since two of the five of them were acquaintances of Tao Yi and Tao Yi was a great talker, their feelings of estrangement soon dissolved.

Before long, the seven of them, accompanied by twelve security guards of Ling family, departed for the manor in the suburbs of the capital city.

All seven of them went aboard Ling Zhang’s carriage, heedless of the fact that it might be a little crowded. Fortunately, the carriage was big enough. Though it was indeed a trifle crowded, they managed to fit in.

The weather this morning was pretty good, with a sunny sky and gentle breezes. It was at the end of spring and the beginning of summer. The temperature was neither cold nor hot, which was perfect for an outing.

“I’ve heard of this manor before. It’s been there since the time when Old General Yuwen was still alive. Rumor has it that there’s a huge drill ground in it, which even dwarfs the one in your residence. I don’t know whether we’ll be able to see it in a while,” said Tao Yi.

Ling Zhang had never heard Yuwen Tong mention the drill ground in the manor, but he was not surprised. He replied, “We may look for it and find out after we get there.”

Others also looked at Ling Zhang. Clearly they were all very curious about this.

The horse-drawn carriage wasn’t going very fast, so it took them almost two hours to get to the manor. At the gateway, a butler and some servants had been waiting for them for some time.

“My name is Zhao Shude. It’s a great honor to meet you, Childe Ling. Everything in the manor is in readiness. I’m sure you and your friends will enjoy your time here,” observed the butler.

The butler seemed to be in his early sixties. Though having gone gray, he looked quite robust. Standing bolt upright, he was emanating a special air, which bore some similarity to the air about Yuwen Tong and his personal bodyguards. Ling Zhang guessed that he probably used to serve in the army and had been in the battlefield.

“Thank you for your trouble,” said Ling Zhang.

“I merely did what I was supposed to do. Please come in, Childe Ling. And you, childes, this way, please.”

The manor was very large. It was more spacious than Ling Zhang had imagined. Maybe because Yuwen family was a family of military officers, this manor was bold and generous in overall style.

This was also Ling Zhang’s first time coming to this place. He slowly appraised everything in this manor, which was the same thing that Tao Yi and others were doing.

“It’s almost the same as I imagined it to be,” Ji Feng smiled to Ling Zhang and the others. “My family also owns a small manor in a nearby area, and occasionally I’d pass by this place. I’ve always been wondering what it’s like inside here. Thanks to you, Ling Zhang, today the agony came to an end.”

“This place is indeed rather far away from the capital city. I never thought that your family owned a manor in a nearby area,” said Zhao Turui.

“Haha. My grandfather, after seeing Yuwen family built a manor here, felt that he could use some company, that this area was not as crowded as downtown, so he petitioned His Majesty and then built a small manor nearby. And then some others followed suit, so gradually this area shed its uninhabited image,” explained Ji Feng.

“But nobody could have foreseen that after Old General Yuwen passed away, this manor would stand unoccupied with gates closed almost all the year around, and neither does anybody know why members of Yuwen family won’t come here,” added Ji Feng.

“Doesn’t that make us the first batch of outsiders visiting this place in so many years?” asked Zhao Turui in excitement.

Ji Feng was also very excited. “Exactly. This trip will be something I could boast about for a whole year, and those people will be so jealous.”

Ling Zhang, “…”

The seven of them were of similar age and they were all students, so they felt no generational divide during their conversation. Gradually, they became more and more relaxed. Even Zhao Jiusi, who appeared to be rather reticent, grew a lot more willing to talk.

They found the drill ground. It was indeed very large. The seven of them, all of whom had some fighting skills, took off their overgarments and started sparring. Ling Zhang, in order not to expose his internal energy, curbed his power and fought them with common technique, but even so, due to the training Yuwen Tong had given him during these days, his attacks were more effective than theirs, and many of his moves were beyond their defensive capabilities.

“Ling Zhang, your kung fu is so good. None of us is a match for you.”

“You’ve been hiding it so well.”

If their previous chat had merely served to narrow the distance between them, this close-quarters fight sparked a quick development of their acquaintance, and there was not a shred of punctiliousness in their words or bearing, especially after Ling Zhang defeated them. They were all utterly convinced by the great disparity in strength. Ling Zhang’s kung fu skills were very good, so they naturally held Ling Zhang in higher regard, for they were all men and had innate reverence for power.

“Just now that move of yours scared the life out of me. I thought you were going to break my neck.” Tao Yi sprawling in the chair on the side of the drill ground was too tired to move. Recalling the process of exchanging blows with Ling Zhang, he was still experiencing a carry-over of fear.

“I had the same feeling. Just now, when Ling Zhang made that move, I even felt emanation of intent to kill.”

“You’re being far too dramatic,” Ling Zhang commented. “That’s not emanation of intent to kill. It’s just a gust of wind generated by the punch.”

“Even I was unaware you’d learned such badass moves. You’d never shown any of them before,” said Tao Yi.

“Yuwen Tong taught me these,” remarked Ling Zhang. There was no need for him to keep this secret from them.

“No wonder I kept feeling that your moves were frighteningly aggressive. Anybody could tell at a glance that only an experienced fighter could throw punches that way,” observed Ji Feng.

All moves that Yuwen Tong had taught Ling Zhang were effective moves aiming to kill, each and every one of which was deadly. None of them served to bluff. Though Ling Zhang hadn’t used his internal energy, the changes that cultivation of internal energy had brought were not that easy to conceal, and they naturally made his moves appeared more powerful than those of common people.

Zhao Shude showed up and said, “Childe Ling, lunch is almost ready. You and your friends may go to the dining room to have your meals.”

Ling Zhang gave a nod. Noon had arrived without any of them noticing it, but at this moment, they were all soaking wet with sweat, and it was inappropriate for them to directly go to have lunch.

“Have you brought a change of clothes?” asked Ling Zhang.

“Yeah. In the carriage,” replied Ji Feng. Others also answered in the affirmative.

The five of them had been friends well acquainted with each other and all had some kung fu skills, and when the occasion arose, they would spar with each other in private or do some other things, so they always brought a change of clothes with them on an outing, just in case.

Their servants brought them their changes of clothes. Meanwhile, Zhao Shude had someone prepare hot water. The seven of them took a quick bath, changed into clean clothes and then went to the dining room and had lunch.

They spent the afternoon playing Go and chatting. Ji Feng led off and brought up some matters in the capital city.

First he talked about recent amusing anecdotes about officials in the capital city, and then, very naturally, the topic was shifted to the political situation, and the quarrel between courtiers about a couple of vacancies at the morning court meeting was mentioned.

A thought flashed across Ling Zhang’s mind. He remembered that Yuwen Tong had once told him about the couple of vacancies. Dismissed followers of the Sixth Prince removed from office had left a lot of vacancies; many of them had been filled, but some positions of responsibility were still vacant, causing relentless wrangling. The reason for this was very simple – all princes wanted their own followers to fill those vacancies, and none of them was willing to compromise, so there was a deadlock over this issue.

“At first my father earnestly submitted some proposals. Afterwards, quarrels between those people got too intense, and he decided to stay out of it. Every morning, he just goes to the imperial court and hears them quarrel from start to finish,” remarked Ji Feng.

On hearing Ji Feng’s words, Xie Qing, whose father, Xie Dongsheng, was the new Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Works and also attended morning court meetings, felt a deep empathy with him. Moreover, his father, unlike the Zhongxin Marquess, didn’t even dare to speak at morning court meetings unless spoken to, for he was terribly afraid that any of the factions might find his words offensive.

What was a trifle surprising in this situation was that Xie Dongsheng didn’t side with any princes. It’d been the emperor who’d promoted him.

Ling Zhang conjectured that Xie Dongsheng was probably standing in the middle among all sides, or on the emperor’s side, to put it in a more in-depth way.

“Jiang family is also involved in this. They recommended a close relative of theirs, but His Majesty didn’t say anything. As far as I could tell, Jiang family might not necessarily succeed,” observed Ji Feng.

Chapter 206: A Stroll After Lunch

As Ling Zhang heard these remarks of Ji Feng’s, a particular thought occurred to him and he inquired, “Is there a certain kind of relation between that Professor Du and Jiang family?”

After he asked this question, Ji Feng and all the others fell silent. After a few moments, Zhao Jiusi flicked a glance at him and replied, “It seems that you guessed it.”

Ling Zhang gave a smile and said, “Jiang Yu obviously loathes me, which makes it difficult for me not to connect the two of them.”

“I did hear that Professor Du had dealings with Jiang family. Many people know about this matter,” Ji Feng also said.

Tao Yi, who had just got acquainted with them earlier this day, didn’t know who Professor Du was, but he did know about Jiang Yu and Jiang family, so he queried, “What about Jiang Yu? Is there a problem with Professor Du?”

Ji Feng was well disposed towards Tao Yi, so after hearing this, he told him about what happened the day before.

Tao Yi went indignant. “This is sheer effrontery. They were so insidious. Brother Zhang would’ve fallen prey to their tricks had his impulse got the best of him.”

Ji Feng exchanged glances with the others and then informed Tao Yi, “Ling Zhang is more badass than we gave him credit for. Professor Du paid dearly for his deed.”

“Maybe you should transfer to the Oriental Rite Academy, which you originally planned to enroll in,” said Tao Yi.

After hearing this, Ji Feng and all the others looked at Ling Zhang.

Ling Zhang responded, “I have orders from His Majesty to study in the Imperial College. An imperial edict is not to be defied.”

Tao Yi furrowed his brows and asked, “Can’t you have the Marshal talk to His Majesty about it?”

Ling Zhang replied, “I’d be admitting defeat if I leave in these circumstances. Don’t worry. I’ll be cautious. Besides, this troublesome matter was the very reason why I got acquainted with Brother Zhao, Brother Ji, Brother Xie and Brother Xun, which could be deemed a blessing in disguise.”

Tao Yi looked at Ji Feng and the others. In the knowledge that some of his opinions shouldn’t be expressed in the presence of these students of the Imperial College, he observed, “That may be true, but there might be more trouble if you keep staying there.”

“I’ll figure something out and handle whatever it is that’s coming for me. Nothing scares me,” said Ling Zhang.

“That’s right. You’re just unacquainted with the Imperial College because you’re new. After you familiarize yourself with it and the situation in it, things will be a lot easier,” commented Ji Feng.

After hearing this, Tao Yi felt it inappropriate for him to make any further remarks. He just suggested Ling Zhang reconsider it with discretion.

…

After another few rounds, Ji Feng and the other four, along with Tao Yi, returned to the city first.

Ling Zhang didn’t go back with them. They all had a shrewd idea of the reason but willingly left without asking any questions.

After seeing them off, Ling Zhang inquired of Zhao Shude, “Where’s Yuwen Tong?”

“The Marshal is waiting for you in the Roosting Dragonfly Pavilion, Childe Ling,” answered Zhao Shude.

Ling Zhang gave a bob of his head and had a servant lead him to the Roosting Dragonfly Pavilion. On his arrival at the banks of a lake in the north part of this manor, he was greeted by a two-story pavilion by the lakeside.

He vaguely saw that, half a lake away, on a platform extending from the pavilion to the middle of the lake, Yuwen Tong was standing before a table drawing something, head down.

Ling Zhang hurried up, entered the waterside pavilion and walked to Yuwen Tong’s side. To his surprise, Yuwen Tong was drawing a picture. “You’re drawing a picture?” asked Ling Zhang.

“When I was young, my grandfather didn’t allow me to read only books on the art of war and ignore calligraphy and painting, so he specially hired someone to teach me. Afterwards, my grandfather and my parents died, but I don’t dare forget what they wanted me to learn, so I practice it whenever I have the time, which I take as something done in honor of them. As time passed, I developed enough proficiency to draw a presentable painting,” said Yuwen Tong.

Ling Zhang felt that this painting was not just presentable. It was indisputably a fine work, better than paintings of most of the literati. Moreover, it was of a heroic style and also exuded boldness and generosity, which works of many men of letters lacked.

It was a drawing of the lakeside scenery on the opposite side of the lake. In it, there were an old man and a child, who sat side by side fishing by the lake. Of course, at this moment there wasn’t an old man nor a child on the opposite side. Ling Zhang conjectured that they were Yuwen Tong and his grandfather.

Yuwen Tong confirmed Ling Zhang’s conjecture. “I used to live here when I was a boy. My grandfather would take me here to fish after I finished practicing kung fu. He’d tell me war stories. Sometimes we didn’t get any fish after fishing for half a day, probably because our voices scared the fish away.”

After a while, Yuwen Tong put away his writing brush and looked at Ling Zhang, “They all left?”

“Yeah.”

“How was it? Did you get along?”

“Not bad. They’re basically as I’d imagined.”

Yuwen Tong inclined his head. He was fully aware of what Ling Zhang and his friends had done during this day, and he had got a general idea of what kind of people they were. Apart from this, previously he had conducted an inquiry into the background of these people.

“What do you think of Tao Yi’s suggestion?”

At first Ling Zhang was confused, and then he realized what Yuwen Tong was referring to, and it was not a surprise to him that Yuwen Tong knew about this. He replied, “Now that I’ve already enrolled in the Imperial College, I will not shrink back.”

Yuwen Tong, who had anticipated Ling Zhang’s choice some time ago, was not surprised by this.

Since those causing disturbance had finally left, Yuwen Tong took Ling Zhang to the hill behind the manor for a walk and they picked a lot of seasonal fresh fruit. There was a large mulberry tree, which astonished Ling Zhang who had thought that this kind of trees were peculiar to the south. He couldn’t help but pluck a lot of mulberries and eventually his stomach was filled with them, his lips, tongue and hands dyed blackish purple. Amused, Yuwen Tong burst into laugh several times.

Ling Zhang silently gave him a dirty look, unable to understand what was so funny about this.

Seeing he was annoyed, Yuwen Tong walked up to him and kissed him, holding the back side of his head, the other arm around his slim waist…

It was not until after quite a while that their lips parted. The two of them hugged each other for quite a while and finally cooled down.

Yuwen Tong said, “Now my lips are dyed purple as well, so I’m in no position to laugh at you now.”

Ling Zhang, “…”

‘Purple my ass.’

At dusk, Yuwen Tong went fishing at the lakeside. Ling Zhang, for fear of scaring the fish away, quietly stared at the float all the time until his eyes went sore. He was just about to give up when Yuwen Tong got a bite and caught a big fat grass carp. Since hardly anybody had come to this lake to fish during these years and servants in this manor regularly threw fish food into the lake, fish in it were fat and in great numbers. With this one as the start, Yuwen Tong soon caught over twenty fish, which crowded two big barrels. The very sight of them made Ling Zhang’s mouth water.

Zhao Shude had a servant take the two barrels of fish to the kitchen. Yuwen Tong told them to reserve two servings of fish for him and Ling Zhang and share the rest among the others. Wang Dashan and other security guards were in for a real treat. Thus all people in the manor enjoyed fish on this night.

Chefs prepared these fresh fish in various ways, and the fish soup was very appetizing. Ling Zhang, who failed to refrain and overate once again, sprawled on his chair with a full stomach for quite a while before being drawn out of the dining room by Yuwen Tong to go for a walk.

It was pitch-dark everywhere in the manor, so they just walked around the courtyard house in which they were going to spend the night. Eventually they arrived at the side of the drill ground. Yuwen Tong reached out his hand to stroke Ling Zhang’s belly. Ling Zhang got an itch and kept feeling his flesh creep, so he slapped Yuwen Tong’s hand away.

“We spend the night here. Tomorrow morning we get up early and hurry back.”

Ling Zhang had guessed Yuwen Tong’s plan some time ago, for Yuwen Tong had never mentioned a word about going back. It seemed that in order not to be late for school, he would have to ride back to the city the next day, which would cut the time he’d have to spend on the road in half.

“Do you feel better?” Yuwen Tong asked him.

After the two of them circled the courtyard house for another couple of times, Ling Zhang stroked his belly and said, “I think I need to walk a while longer.”

On hearing this, Yuwen Tong failed to forbear from laughing again.

Ling Zhang, who had developed a thick skin, ignored his laugh and just kept strolling.

Seeing him stroking his belly, Yuwen Tong informed him, “In the past, there were several occasions when the North-western Army was in short of food during a war; my troops and I could hear our stomachs grumbling almost every time before a meal. Afterwards provisions were finally delivered to the encampment and I had cookhouse squads prepared food enough for all people to have their fill. At that time, everybody, just like you, didn’t stop eating until they overate. After that meal, the encampment was swarming with soldiers stroking their bellies strolling around to help digestion. Jiang Xi joked that they seemed like pregnant women going into labor, that if they really gave birth to children, the North-western Army wouldn’t be able to support so many babies.”

After hearing this, Ling Zhang tossed a quick glance at him but didn’t take his hand off his stomach. He kept kneading it leisurely and queried, “And then? Did you win the war?”

“Yeah. We recovered the last lost territory and chased armies of the Wan Kingdom away,” replied Yuwen Tong.

Ling Zhang thought that though Yuwen Tong was telling the story in a relaxed way at this moment, the actual situation at that time might be quite difficult.

“Why were you in a shortage of provisions that dire? Was it because the imperial court was unable to gather enough provisions for you?”

“Not because they were unable to gather enough provisions but because those glib-tongued civil officials in the capital city were being a drag on us, and the team delivering provisions were delayed for some time on the journey, which was why the whole army suffered from hunger. Fortunately my troops’ morale was not affected and the war was won. After winning the war, I returned to the capital city with a stomachful of anger and had the couple of black sheep removed from office with some finesse. From then on, delivery of provisions for the North-western Army has never again been delayed for that long.”

Ling Zhang slowly exhaled and said in a deep voice, “I’m sorry you have to been through that.”

Slowly walking around the courtyard hourse with him, Yuwen Tong gave a smile and said, “Although I was not a marshal at that time, I was the commander-in-chief of the whole army and the last person who would suffer from hunger. It was just that empty bellies of my troops meant lower hope of winning the war. Those people must be soft in the head to do such wicked things in a crucial moment.”

Afterwards, in order to prevent similar things from happening, Yuwen Tong had begun to set great store by the capital city which was the home front, making a lot of covert arrangements. After so many years, these arrangements had thrived like seedlings that had grown into towering trees. Nobody would dare to lay hands on the provisions for the North-western Army.

It would probably take more than three days and three nights to tell Ling Zhang all these matters, and Yuwen Tong didn’t want to upset Ling Zhang with these, so he steered the conversation away to another topic.

Ling Zhang had just had his fill and was not as sharp-minded as usual, so he failed to notice that Yuwen Tong was changing the topic, his attention soon distracted.

It was not until the two of them strolled for quite a while that Ling Zhang’s stomach no longer felt overfilled and they returned.

After taking a bath and changing clothes, Ling Zhang had a feeling that his body was lightened. He didn’t know whether Zhao Shude had received instructions from Yuwen Tong or not, but only one room was prepared for the two of them. On entering the room, Ling Zhang saw that Yuwen Tong had also bathed and changed into pajamas and was now sitting there reading a book. Seeing him walking in, Yuwen Tong tossed the book aside, walked up to him, took his hand and said, “It’s time to sleep.”

Ling Zhang, “…”

“This is such a huge manor yet they prepared only one room for us?”

“Given our relationship and the fact that we’ve slept together so many times, surely you don’t have the heart to have me sleep alone, do you?”

Chapter 207: A Second Meeting with the Old Man and the Impeachment of Jiang Family

After Zhao Jiusi and the other four classmates of Ling Zhang’s had an outing with him during the one-day vacation, their acquaintance with him had developed by leaps and bounds. They’d been keeping each other’s company all the time during the last few days. Ji Feng and Zhao Turui were relatively out-going, and Zhao Jiusi was poised, while Xie Qing and Xun Huo were somewhere in between. With their company and Yuwen Jin’s quips and jokes, Ling Zhang’s campus life in the Imperial College finally brightened up.

News of the matter of Professor Du had spread through the whole college and nobody dared to mess with Ling Zhang now. This allowed Ling Zhang some quiet days, which were not something he had enjoyed very often.

These days, he attended classes during daytime and cultivated internal energy at night. In the morning Yuwen Tong would instruct him in palm technique. Though his cultivation of the second layer of internal energy was progressing rather slow, his foundation was becoming increasingly solid. Yuwen Tong was the most experienced mentor and also a sparring partner whom he could attack with all his strength without any misgivings. On top of this, there were also a lot of guards he could spar with, so his foundation was inexorably getting firmer.

This afternoon the lesson was about the Six Arts (six subjects taught in an aristocratic school in feudal China: etiquette, music, archery, carriage-driving, reading and calculation). The professor giving this lesson was a new face. Ling Zhang didn’t pay any special attention to him until he found that this new professor was an acquaintance of his…

It was that mysterious old man who gave him the handbook on a mental cultivation method of internal energy of the Millennium Pavilion on that day.

Ling Zhang sat bolt upright and stared unblinkingly at the old man in astonishment.

The look in the old man’s eyes was calm and mild, which showed a contrast with Ling Zhang’s amazement. He gave a slight inclination of his head at Ling Zhang, as if having been aware of Ling Zhang’s presence in this place for quite some time.

After that brief meeting in the Wu City, Ling Zhang had tried to seek out the old man but failed. Afterwards, he’d started cultivating internal energy according to the handbook given to him by the old man, and Yuwen Tong had reminded him that the one who’d gifted him with the handbook was probably keeping a close watch on him covertly. Now he had mastered skills of the first layer and was temporarily stranded in the second layer. It didn’t really surprised Ling Zhang that the old man showed up again. What he did find surprising was that the old man’s new identity as a professor of the Imperial College. Not everybody could land a job as a professor of the Imperial College. The job required great learning and also fame, but Ling Zhang had never heard of this old man before.

Apart from Ling Zhang, other students also eyed their new professor in astonishment.

“My surname is Li. I’m a substitute teacher who’ll be taking your professor’s place teaching you the Six Arts. For the duration I’ll do my best to instruct you and answer your questions. If there’s anything you don’t quite understand or if you have any queries, feel free to ask me. I’ll do whatever I can to see your questions answered.”

‘His surname is Li?’ Ling Zhang remained skeptical. Since this old man had given him a handbook on internal energy of the Millennium Pavilion, he must be a member of the Millennium Pavilion, but in the letter his uncle had told him that members of the Millennium Pavilion were forbidden to get involved in earthly affairs. He didn’t know why this old man had come to the Imperial College and how he’d managed it, but since he was a member of the Millennium Pavilion, would he really expose his true surname so easily?

The old man’s voice was unhurried and composed, and it sounded neither light nor loud, but even those sitting in the last row could hear him distinctly. Students sitting in the rearmost row subconsciously sat bolt upright, amazement washing over their faces.

Retaining their curiosity about their new professor, students waited to see how this new professor was going to give a lesson.

At first, all students, including Ling Zhang, were just curious about how this old man was going to give a lesson, bur gradually they were absorbed by the content of the lesson. Every one of them was listening attentively.

Ling Zhang was slightly more astounded than his classmates were, for the old man was lecturing on this subject from a perspective different than that of the previous professor, which helped him come to a new perception of calculation. Most importantly, without him noticing it, diagrams of the martial formations he’d learned appeared in his mind, resonating with the content of the old man’s lecture in a subtle fashion, which enabled him to grasp those formations from a different, intriguing angle.

It was just that this intriguing inspiration vanished before he could form a perception, which brought a slight frown to his face. He felt that there was definitely more to this point that the old man was trying to impart, but the old man seemed to have no intention of explaining it in depth. Gradually, the lecture returned to the normal course.

Ling Zhang had very complicated thoughts in his mind. He didn’t know whether the old man was doing this intentionally or unintentionally, though he faintly felt there was a bigger chance that the former was the case.

However, because of what his uncle had told him about his mother in that letter, he’d been having feelings of hostility towards people of the Millennium Pavilion all along, and subconsciously, he was also very wary of them, which was why he still kept a vigilance over the old man, though he had gifted him with a handbook on internal energy.

After all, back in that year, his mother defied rules of the Millennium Pavilion and was hunted by the organization, which showed that his mother’s conduct was deemed intolerable. As her son, he wondered what people of the Millennium Pavilion thought of him. Giving him the handbook on internal energy had been a gesture of goodwill, and so had been the seemingly unintentional interpretation just now, but he didn’t know what the old man’s intention was.

Ling Zhang couldn’t help but give it a lot of thought. He conjectured what the old man would say to him after the lecture was over; he even worried that if the old man intended to do him harm, he wouldn’t be able to protect himself, given his current kung fu skills…

Finally, the lecture was over. Students respectfully stood up and followed the old professor with their eyes as he left the classroom. Ling Zhang, seeing the old man had given no particular signal from start to finish, couldn’t help but feel confused once again. ‘He has nothing to talk with me about? That was really just a coincidence?’

“Brother Zhang? Brother Zhang?” Yuwen Jin’s voice interrupted Ling Zhang’s train of thought. He asked Ling Zhang, “What are you thinking about? You’re not leaving?”

The lecture in the afternoon was over. All other students had left their classrooms, either going back to their dormitories or returning home. Yuwen Jin, Zhao Jiusi and the other four had put away their things and were waiting for him. Miao Shiba had also entered the classroom and cleared away his school supplies on the desk for him, standing by on the side.

“Professor Li is a total stranger to me. Do any of you know him?” Ling Zhang inquired of them.

Yuwen Jin shook his head. He barely knew any men of letters.

Zhao Jiusi and the other four also had a puzzled face. “None of us have ever seen this professor before. It seems that he’s really new. Ji Feng, you’re more informed than us. Do you know the background of Professor Li?”

Ji Feng contemplated for quite a while and then shook his head. “No. Just now I was also amazed when I found that this new professor was a complete stranger to me, that I hadn’t even heard of his name before. Maybe he came to the capital city not long ago.”

“He came to the capital city not long ago?” Xie Qing asked in confusion, “but the Imperial College would never hire anybody without fame, talent and learning. Is he by any chance a quite renowned scholar somewhere else?”

“If that’s the case, then all this would make sense. If he’s a local in this city, we’d probably have recognized him; if he’s from some provincial city, it’d be normal that we’ve never heard of him, but given that he’s landed a job in this college, he’s definitely achieved some academic success, which means he’s no doubt won fame. I’ll make a few inquiries,” said Ji Feng.

All others nodded. From the vantage point of the present, this seemed to be the only way.

Though the old man’s identity was still unknown, at least some things were now clear: first, the old man was a newcomer; second, the old man was not a local in the capital city, and neither was he widely known in this city, which was almost confirmation of Ling Zhang’s conjecture that the old man’s coming to the Imperial College had not been a coincidence.

‘This means that it’s very likely he’s really after me.’

Ling Zhang, retaining his vigilance, left the classroom with the others, but until he walked through the front gate of the Imperial College, there’d still been nobody showing up to stop him. He couldn’t help but get more confused and skeptical. Just like this, he returned to the Ling Mansion.

Yuwen Tong happened to have gone out in the afternoon and wasn’t back yet. Unable to consult with Yuwen Tong about all those matters that had been troubling his mind, Ling Zhang gave them a lot of thought and then started reading the handbook on mental cultivation method of internal energy.

Finally, at dusk, shortly before night fell, Yuwen Tong returned. Ling Zhang told him about the old man.

“He’s in the Imperial College?” Yuwen Tong had a thoughtful look. Because of his previous conjecture, he had checked all ancient books and notes left by his grandfather during the past few days but still hadn’t found any sentences similar to the one in the handbook on internal energy of Ling Zhang’s, and neither had he found any clues to the origin of the formations. He’d been meaning to open his grandfather’s book chamber and scour it, but now the old man had shown up, and he’d become a teacher in the Imperial College, which was something that couldn’t have been done without both connections and finesse.

“Almost all teachers of the Imperial College are distinguished scholars. This guy has never shown his face in this city, but the Imperial College still hired him to be a professor. There’s no way he could have done this without the principal’s assistance. I’ll do some digging into this,” said Yuwen Tong.

Ling Zhang inclined his head in the knowledge that this was the only thing they could do at the moment. He had no connection whatsoever in the capital city, so Yuwen Tong was the only one he could rely on to inquire into this matter, but currently, what confused him more was the old man’s intentions as well as whether there would be any serious disruptions if the old man was found to be a member of the Millennium Pavilion…

Ling Zhang was very hesitant about informing Yuwen Tong of the Millennium Pavilion. After giving it some thought, he decided to wait until Yuwen Tong finished the inquiry into the role of the principal in this matter.

Given that the old man had dared to show his face in the Imperial College, he clearly had taken precautions against investigation into his true identity, so Ling Zhang suspected that an inquiry into the principal’s role in this would eventually lead to nothing.

Besides, now that the old man had shown up, Ling Zhang believed he definitely would try to make contact with him again, either tonight or tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, and his intentions would surely be exposed.

On this very night, Yuwen Tong instructed Yao Yi to conduct an inquiry into the background of this new professor as well as the role of the principal in this matter.

The next morning, Ling Zhang arrived at the Imperial College at an early hour. The old man who gave them a lecture the day before was still nowhere to be seen, but Ling Zhang was a lot more undisturbed now.

He ran into Ji Feng and the other four who happened to have just arrived at the college as well, and they talked about what happened the day before.

“It’s so weird. Last night I made a few inquiries after returning home, but none of them had ever heard of that professor who gave us a lecture yesterday.”

“Me, too.”

All five of them had made a few inquiries after going back home but had found nothing.

“Do we have to ask the principal about it, by any chance?”

“It seems to be the only way.”

Ling Zhang quietly listened to them and thought, ‘Yesterday nobody knew about the background of the new professor. Today there’s got to be some news.’

At noon, there’d still been no hearsay about the background of the new professor surnamed Li, but news about something else came.

“Jiang Yu’s father was impeached because of his subordinate’s deeds. The prefectural governor of the Xiang City in Cangzhou, whom he once highly recommended, arbitrarily had over ten commoners executed without a fair trial, which resulted in a riot. It was brutally suppressed and a lot of people lost their lives. Originally this matter had been hushed up well, but somehow it was suddenly brought to light. Such was the severity of this incident that even Jiang Yu’s father was harshly rebuked by His Majesty. Now he’s already been removed from office and instructed to introspect about his faults at home.”

“You don’t say! When did that happen?”

“This morning, at the court meeting. News of it has spread through the whole city.”