The Glory After Rebirth [ɇÇ”Ÿä¹‹Å°Šè£] Chapter 208- 210

Chapter 208: Were You the One Who Did This?

“At today’s morning court meeting?”

“Yeah. Just now I saw Jiang Yu make haste to go back home.”

“Tsk, tsk. It caused so many deaths and also a riot, yet his punishment was merely removal from office.”

“That’s how things work here. He’s a member of Jiang family, and also kin to the emperor.”

“Jiang Changfeng is unaffected?”

“Not to my knowledge. I think he’s fine. After all he’s His Majesty’s uncle.”

At midday break, news of this matter quickly spread across the college and there were people discussing it everywhere.

Ling Zhang shared a table with Yuwen Jin and the others at lunch time. Yuwen Jin was so excited to hear the news that he could barely keep from jumping up and setting off firecrackers to celebrate. “About time! People of Jiang family have always been so cocky. Now they got their just deserts.”

Ji Feng and the other four, who were not as ill-disposed to Jiang Yu as he was, didn’t react so dramatically, but this was big news after all, so they also couldn’t help but fall into discussion. “Jiang family must’ve been thrown into total confusion.”

“Jiang Changfeng’s still in office, so the situation in their family won’t be serious. Although Jiang Yu’s father was dismissed from his position, he was still His Majesty’s cousin. After some time, when the waters are calmed, maybe he’ll be reinstated in his post.”

“Even if he is reinstated, his standing won’t be restored to its original height, and there’ll be a long trying time ahead of him. Jiang Changfeng is getting old, and there’s no telling how much longer he could hang in there.”

“It’s hard to say. Actually Jiang Changfeng looks pretty robust.”

Yuwen Jin was unhappy to hear this. “He made such a serious mistake, and you think His Majesty will reinstate him some day?”

Having been socializing with Yuwen Jin during these days, Zhao Jiusi and the others had come to know the personal history between him and Jiang Yu, so they found his indignation understandable.

“It’s His Majesty’s call.”

“Yeah. There’s no need for you to be frustrated.”

Yuwen Jin was not frustrated but angry. Since his excited reaction just now had already been conspicuous enough, Ling Zhang had him by the shoulders in an effort to keep him from showing his anger in a noticeable way, lest there be any unfavorable rumors.

It had never crossed Ling Zhang’s mind that Jiang Yu’s father would be removed from office, but what had happened in the Xiang City was such a serious event. A riot was no joke, and citizens would never have done such a thing had life not been unbearable. It’d been Jiang family who’d recommended the prefectural governor of the Xiang City, and in the normal course of things, all members of Jiang family would have been punished. Like those students had commented, the emperor had shown mercy to Jiang family by merely dismissing Jiang Yu’s father from his position.

“Why did the prefectural governor of the Xiang City have those over ten commoners executed? Have any details been disclosed?” queried Ling Zhang.

“There hasn’t been any news about the specific reason for that. I’ll have to wait until school is over to ask my father about it and find out, but it’s always about those dirty, mean tricks.”

“Given that local yamen of Cangzhou had been keeping it secret for such a long time, the chief and many others were definitely involved. This’ll be another case of the whole leadership being thrown into prison.”

“Tell me about it. On top of that, Cangzhou is so close to the capital city. Think about it, had the riot escalated into something bigger, there might have been unimaginable consequences. Although His Majesty merely dismissed him from his position for the sake of Jiang family’s reputation, he actually… must be very angry,” Ji Feng remarked, lowering his voice.

Ling Zhang looked at him, a thoughtful expression on his face. ‘Ji Feng’s got a point. Cangzhou is so close to the capital city. Given the severity of this event, at least the emperor’s anger at Jiang family won’t subside any time soon.’

People in Cangzhou were shocked. Apart from officials in Cangzhou and Jiang Yu’s father, some courtiers would definitely be held responsible as well, for it undoubtedly had taken more than Jiang family to hush up an event like that.

“I think Jiang Yu won’t be coming to school for quite some time,” Ji Feng added.

Yuwen Jin replied, “It won’t really sadden me if he doesn’t. The very sight of him gives me an urge to kick his ass.”

Because of this matter, all their classmates were too occupied sharing news of Jiang family to pay any attention to their new professor.

In the afternoon, they had a music class. More than half of the students were absent-minded and didn’t hear a single word of what their professor had said.

In fact, they were not the only ones whose minds were wandering. Ling Zhang was also somewhat inattentive.

After school, he returned home in haste, found Yuwen Tong and asked him about what had happened at the morning court meeting.

Yuwen Tong, who was drawing a diagram of a martial formation with a calm look on his face, replied, “His Majesty removed Jiang Chengfeng from office and had him stay at home introspecting about his faults. He also dispatched some men to the Xiang City to arrest others involved. Some courtiers who’d helped hush things up for officials of the Xiang City were also sent packing. These people were not as lucky as Jiang Chengfeng. All of them are now in prison. After apprehension of those in the Xiang City, they’ll go on trial together and receive punishment. Almost all of them have complicated relations with Jiang family one way or another, so this’ll be a rather heavy blow to Jiang family.”

From his calm face, Ling Zhang came to realize something. “You went to the imperial palace earlier today?”

“No. This concerns only those courtiers. I’m still on vacation. The emperor won’t be missing me unless there’s a fight in the northwest,” replied Yuwen Tong.

“We once went past Cangzhou but didn’t notice anything unusual. It never crossed my mind that those officials would be so bold as to do this kind of thing. Do you know the root cause of it?” asked Ling Zhang.

Yuwen Tong answered, “It’s about fields. Brother-in-law of the prefectural governor of the Xiang City forcibly occupied some fertile paddy fields, exploited tenant farmers, forced a commoner’s daughter to be his concubine and also caused several deaths. People sued him in the prefecture yamen, but the prefectural governor, instead of dealing with it in a just fashion, had the accuser thrown into prison and beaten to death, which aroused public indignation. After angry citizens ringed the prefecture yamen, he had all of them arrested and imprisoned. In the prison, another couple of people were killed. During the whole process, nearly twenty people lost their lives. Eventually, a riot broke out. Many civilians participating the riot got killed during the suppression and a lot more were executed after the suppression. In total, there were almost a hundred casualties. Some people intended to come to the capital city to report this to the emperor but were intercepted by his men and then directly executed as well. People there were intimidated by his brutal means and nobody dared to come to the capital city to charge him any more. On top of that, those bureaucrats shielded one another and paid hush money to persons higher in the hierarchy. Those who were bribed hushed up the whole thing for him, making sure nobody else found out.”

The frown on Ling Zhang’s face deepened as he listened. ‘That was virtually atrocious and utterly inhumane. He killed so many people.’

“When did this happen? And how was it brought to light?”

Yuwen Tong put down his writing brush and looked at the diagram of the formation he’d just finished. Feeling fairly satisfied, he replied, “That was about half a year ago. As regards how it was brought to light… Someone had the commoners involved found, escorted to the capital city and then to the doorway of the public procurator. With so many people involved, there’s no way the public procurator could hush it up even if he wanted to, which was why it was brought to light.”

Ling Zhang got the key point. “Someone had the commoners involved found and escorted to the capital city? You mean somebody had this planned out?”

Yuwen Tong gave a bob of his head. “Yeah.”

Ling Zhang couldn’t help but persist, “Who?”

Yuwen Tong flicked a glance at him but made no reply.

At first Ling Zhang didn’t realize the truth, gazing at Yuwen Tong who was silent. After a while, he widened his eyes. “Were you… the one who did this, by any chance?”

Yuwen Tong responded, “It took some doing.”

‘It’s indeed Yuwen Tong who did that!’ Ling Zhang was astonished and some kind of inexplicable pride rose inside him, which was approximately the kind of feeling he’d have when finding that Yuwen Tong was indeed the kind of person he’d always known to be. But after cooling down, he asked in a worried voice, “When did you find out about this matter? You were making enemies of Jiang family and those officials by doing this. If by any chance they find out, wouldn’t they retaliate against you? Is there anybody else who knows you did this?”

Yuwen Tong answered these questions one by one. “Originally I just wanted to teach them a lesson for you. People of Jiang family definitely have done quite some sordid things to get to where they are today. It never crossed my mind that my men would find something so big. It was not long ago that they found out about this. Don’t worry. I did it in a very secret way. Nobody’s going to discover I was the one behind it.”

Ling Zhang was still concerned. “But what about those commoners? Wasn’t you who had them brought to the capital city? If by any chance they rat you out…”

Yuwen Tong said, “I never personally interfered. My men just covertly helped them escape from Cangzhou. Though the riot was suppressed, a lot of people remained unreconciled to the situation and wanted to come to the capital city to prosecute. I just bought them some time and paved the way for their arrival in the capital city.”

Ling Zhang was slightly relieved. At this moment, that remark of Yuwen Tong’s – “teach them a lesson for you” – involuntarily appeared in his mind. “Were you… referring to that matter of Professor Du?”

Yuwen Tong gave a nod. “Yeah. They dared to try to have you expelled from the Imperial College. How could I not return the favor?”

Ling Zhang opened his mouth and watched Yuwen Tong’s face, the expression on which seemed to be suggesting that what he’d done was a matter of course. He felt his heart pounding violently and his throat felt as if it were blocked by something. He wanted to speak but was afraid that something might be exposed if he did, so he just gazed at Yuwen Tong.

Yuwen Tong gave a light cough and then directly opened his arms at Ling Zhang.

Ling Zhang quietly walked up and hugged him.

Smiling, Yuwen Tong gave him a kiss. “Do you feel revenged?”

Ling Zhang inclined his head. After a few moments’ efforts, he cooled down and replied, “Yeah. I’m just worried that people might find out you were the one who did that. The timing was too perfect.”

Yuwen Tong coldly gave a snort. “People of Jiang family have a great number of political opponents. Even if they suspect me, they won’t be able to find any proof to confirm it. Even if they confirm that it was me who did it, what could they possibly do about it? I was indeed targeting Jiang family, and I did that to send them a word of warning. They’d better see sense, do the right thing and keep Jiang Yu on a leash, making sure he never bites anybody else.”

Ling Zhang tightened his arms around Yuwen Tong’s waist, rubbed his face against Yuwen Tong’s chest and asked, “What about His Majesty?”

“When there are too many debts, one stops worrying about them.”

“Ah?”

“The emperor has been wary and skeptical of me for quite a long time. He won’t be able to find anything, and even if he did, there won’t be anything I should be concerned about either.”

Ling Zhang knew that Yuwen Tong had always been so arrogant. Previously he hadn’t felt this, but recently he’d kept feeling that something was not quite right. Yuwen Tong’s attitudes towards the emperor seemed to have never changed. He was not afraid of the emperor – truly not afraid. It struck Ling Zhang that Yuwen Tong had strong backing, that he had something in hand that could effectively keep the emperor under control… Ling Zhang didn’t know whether this was merely his misconception or not.

“Did the old man who gave you the handbook on internal energy talk to you today?” Yuwen Tong inquired of him.

Ling Zhang shook his head. “No. In addition, Ji Feng and the others asked their elders after returning home last night but didn’t find anything out about the background of that old man. All of them speculate that the old man is from some provincial city. They want to ask the principal about it.”

Yuwen Tong gave a mysterious smile. “I got something.”

Ling Zhang raised his head from Yuwen Tong’s chest to look at him. “What did you find out?”

Chapter 209: I’m Your Maternal Grandfather

“Professor Gu recommended that old man, and the principal gave his consent,” replied Yuwen Tong.

‘Professor Gu? The old man who gave me and Yuwen Jin a test that day?’ Ling Zhang was amazed. “It surprises me that he knows someone from the Mille–”

Realizing what he was disclosing, Ling Zhang stopped in time and didn’t finish his sentence. He was really astonished. ‘Aren’t members of the Millennium Pavilion forbidden to go into the society? How come Professor Gu is acquainted with a member of the Millennium Pavilion? He even recommended him and helped him get into the Imperial College. Professor Gu would never have done this if he doesn’t know the old man well enough. Professor Gu has acquaintance with the Millennium Pavilion?’

Though Ling Zhang had broken off promptly, Yuwen Tong still heard the syllables “mille”. It was just that he was not sure whether it was “mille” or a homophone of it. Yuwen Tong came to realize that undoubtedly, Ling Zhang knew about the background of the old man. Back then when Ling Zhang’d shown him the handbook on internal energy, he’d expressly told him that there were still some secrets he couldn’t tell him about…

Moreover, Ling Zhang’s reaction at this moment seemed to be suggesting that Professor Gu was not supposed to know about the old man’s true identity. ‘It seems that this old man’s background is even more mysterious than I imagined,’ thought Yuwen Tong.

Yuwen Tong looked at him. “Do you feel that Professor Gu should have no acquaintance with the old man?”

Ling Zhang inclined his head. “To my knowledge, it should’ve been the case. They’re supposed to keep their identity secret from others, for severe penalties will be meted out to them if they don’t.”

Yuwen Tong contemplated for a few moments. ‘Severe penalties? What kind of organization has this kind of rules?’ he wondered.

In astonishment, Ling Zhang was unable to calm himself down for quite a while. He felt that there was one particular thing he needed to figure out first, which was whether Professor Gu knew about the old man’s background or not. If he knew, then it would be a proof that members of the Millennium Pavilion were not really secluded, that they were still in contact with some courtiers. If that was the case, Ling Zhang believed that it would be totally unnecessary for him to have so many misgivings, that he at least had to tell Yuwen Tong everything down to the smallest detail.

‘But how can I find that out?’

After giving it some careful thought, Ling Zhang decided to directly go to the old man and ask him about it. The old man had already shown himself on his own account, which he believed was an unmistakable implication that he was welcome to go and talk to him.

With this in mind, the next day, after arriving at the Imperial College, Ling Zhang made a few inquiries and found out where the old man was staying. At midday break, he went there.

Fortunately for him, when he found it, the old man happened to be in. The tricky part was that Professor Gu was also present.

Professor Gu, who was somewhat surprised to see Ling Zhang showing up, asked, “What business do you have here?”

Ling Zhang was not sure what kind of attitude the Millennium Pavilion had, and neither was he certain whether Professor Gu knew about the relationship between him and the Millennium Pavilion. Unwilling to let his relations with the Millennium Pavilion come to the knowledge of anybody else, he replied, “I’m sorry to have disturbed you, professor, but there’re some study questions I’d like to consult Professor Li about.”

After hearing this, Professor Gu looked at the old man and said, “This is surprising – you’ve given them only one lecture, but a student came here to ask you questions.”

The old man, whose smiling face gave little away, replied, “We may continue our game of chess tomorrow.”

Clearly he was showing Professor Gu the door, but Professor Gu didn’t take offence. He rose to his feet and said, “Then I’ll wait for you tomorrow.”

Professor Gu left and Ling Zhang felt a sense of relief. Originally, he had worried that he wouldn’t be able to ask about it in the presence of another professor. After the old man specially had Professor Gu leave, Ling Zhang wondered whether or not this was an indication that Professor Gu was unaware of his relations with this old man – or with the Millennium Pavilion; or that maybe Professor Gu simply didn’t know about this old man’s true identity yet.

“I thought that you’d come to me yesterday. Your restraint surprised me.” The old man looked at Ling Zhang, a smile on his face. “You’ve already reached the second layer of the mental cultivation method of internal energy. This is impressive. You showed great perception, and you’re more talented than all those in the organization, which is a proof that the Force of Blood you inherited from your mother is very strong. In so many years, this is the first time that I’ve seen a clansman with such strong Force of Blood.”

Ling Zhang looked deeply at the old man, his mouth a thin line. “May I ask why you gave me that handbook?”

He had many questions to ask, but eventually he asked this one first, because giving him a handbook on internal energy had been an overture to him, which he couldn’t quite understand.

“Given that you have the blood of Ji family coursing in you, and someone unblocked your meridians, wouldn’t it be a pity that you don’t cultivate?” replied the old man.

“Are you not afraid that I might disclose it to other people?” queried Ling Zhang.

“But you didn’t, did you?” said the old man. Ling Zhang was still gazing fixedly at him, a very confused look in his eyes, as if he had a lot to say. Seeing this, the old man couldn’t help but sigh, “I’ve been keeping watch on you. Of course I’ll stop you if you want to disclose the mental cultivation method to other people.”

Ling Zhang slightly moved his lips but refrained from telling him that he’d already let Yuwen Tong read the handbook, for he didn’t know whether or not the old man would do Yuwen Tong harm if it came to his knowledge.

“Yuwen Tong informed me that the best age to start practicing kung fu is seven or eight. If the reason was really the one you just told me, why didn’t you give me the handbook earlier?”

By asking this question, Ling Zhang was not complaining that people of the Millennium Pavilion should’ve given him the handbook earlier. He was just wondering why people of the Millennium Pavilion had suddenly shown up in these circumstances.

The old man, who seemed to have some time ago anticipated that Ling Zhang would ask about this, responded, “Because nobody else in the Millennium Pavilion knows about your existence.”

‘Nobody else knows about my existence?’ Ling Zhang furrowed his brow. “What do you mean? Don’t you–”

The old man raised his hand and interrupted Ling Zhang. With a serious face, he looked at Ling Zhang and said, “I gave you this handbook without other people’s knowledge. Nobody else in the Millennium Pavilion is aware of it.”

Ling Zhang widened his eyes and looked at the old man, both surprised and perplexed. “Why?”

“Like I said, you have blood of Ji family inside you, and you’re talented. It’d be a pity if you don’t cultivate,” replied the old man.

Ling Zhang lapsed into silence. ‘Merely because of this? If nobody else in the Millennium Pavilion knows about my existence, how did this old man come to know? Who is he?’

Seeing Ling Zhang was silent, the old man inquired, “You’re not surprised by the existence of the Millennium Pavilion. Did your mother tell you about it?”

Ling Zhang thought for a brief moment and inclined his head.

His uncle and grandfather were both common people. He was not sure whether people of the Millennium Pavilion would do anything to his uncle and grandfather if any member of it found out about their existence.

As a result, he added, “I read about it in a letter my mother left me. Others are still unaware.”

The old man seemed to have no intention to persist with his questioning. He merely gave a bob of his head and said, “I saw your security guards practicing the Trap-and-Kill Formation. Was it your mother who taught you that as well?”

Ling Zhang, somewhat surprised, answered, “My mother taught me that when she was still alive. At that time I was still young, and I just memorized it because she told me to. Originally, I’d almost forgotten all of it. Not long ago I was nearly poisoned. Afterwards I suffered from severe headaches and dreamt about my childhood. It was not until then that I gradually remembered many things that I’d forgotten.”

Ling Zhang, while saying this, was observing the changes of the old man’s facial expression but found that the old man was merely listening and didn’t give any particular reaction to his remarks, and neither did he ask whether there were any others aware of those martial formations, as if he didn’t care at all. Ling Zhang really could no longer refrain from wondering, ‘Uncle said that people of the Millennium Pavilion were forbidden to get involved in earthly affairs. Doesn’t it mean that they’re unwilling to let outsiders know about these unique skills? Why is this old man not angry about it?’

“You mother died an early death, which has always been a regret of mine. Had she agreed to go back to the Millennium Pavilion, she would’ve still been alive. Pity everybody has their respective fates, and it was understandable that she refused to return in those circumstances,” observed the old man.

Ling Zhang’s brow corrugated in a frown and his voice went cold. “Wasn’t it because you people wanted to punish my mother that she had to flee?”

“The punishment was not her death,” said the old man. “In order to get revenge, she exterminated her foe’s entire family, including innocent ones. Besides, her deeds attracted a lot of people’s attention. Once anybody found any traces, the existence of the Millennium Pavilion would be exposed. She was willful and without scruple. Shouldn’t she be punished?”

“But those people killed her younger brother,” remarked Ling Zhang.

For a moment the old man was silent, a flicker of grief crossing his eyes. Then he said, “But some of the victims were blameless.”

Ling Zhang was unwilling to lay comment on her mother’s deeds. Those things were in the long distant past after all. Since he hadn’t been there to see with his own eyes what the circumstances had been, he felt he was in no position to judge. Besides, as far as he could remember, his mother had always been a tender woman. He didn’t believe that his mother had been the kind of person who’d hurt innocent people…

Of course the old man understood his attitude. He said, “Your mother was a good person. It’s just that sometimes she was too strong-minded and also too obstinate, and her temper was too violent as well. Back in that year, your uncle died a somewhat miserable death, which was why she lost her sense of propriety and went too far.”

Ling Zhang’s lips clamped tightly together. “I didn’t see it with my own eyes, so I’m not going to lay any ungrounded comment on my mother’s deeds. She avenged my uncle’s death all by her own. How do you know some of the victims were blameless?”

The old man gave a faint smile. He was not angered by Ling Zhang’s confrontational tone. “You’re a good kid as well. Because of you, your mother’s journey in this world was worthwhile.”

Ling Zhang didn’t want to hear this kind of remarks. ‘Nobody wants their own mother dying an early death. Had I had the choice, I’d let my mother live a long happy life.’

“Who are you exactly? What’s your position in the Millennium Pavilion? What are your relations with my mother? Why do you know about my existence when nobody else in the Millennium Pavilion does?”

Finally, Ling Zhang failed to forbear and asked all the questions he wanted to ask.

Just now he’d noticed a subtle detail several times – the old man would always soften his tone considerably when talking about his mother, and he seemed to be well acquainted with his mother. Ling Zhang had a sneaking conjecture but was uncertain.

The old man showed much patience after hearing the string of questions of Ling Zhang. He even poured Ling Zhang a cup of tea. “I know you’re anxious. I’ll answer all your questions one by one.”

No matter what, this old man was an elder, who’d never done anything unfair to him. Ling Zhang, unable to treat the old man with impertinence, thanked the old man after he poured him a cup of tea.

However, what the old man told him next still dumbfounded him.

“I’m your mother’s father, your maternal grandfather.”

Ling Zhang raised his head to look at the old man in astonishment. Though he’d speculated that there was some kind of relationship by blood between this old man and his mother, it’d never crossed his mind that he was his mother’s father, his maternal grandfather…

“You…”

The old man raised his hand and rubbed his neck. Then he found something and ripped it off, his arm a rapid blur of movement. When Ling Zhang’s eye fell on the old man’s face again, he found himself looking at another person!

Chapter 210: An Unquiet Mind

The senile-looking old man with a seamed face had turned into someone a lot younger in a trice. There were wrinkles at the corners of his eyes but not on his face. He looked like a middle-aged man!

The old man… No, he didn’t look old at all.

Ling Zhang was sent open-mouthed. If it weren’t for this man’s clothes and gray hair, he would’ve appeared even younger. He didn’t look the age his grandfather should be of at all!

But an undeniable fact of great importance was that features of this man standing before him closely resembled his.

Even if this man was not his grandfather, there must be some kind of relationship by blood between the two of them.

“I’ve reached the tenth layer of the mental cultivation method. Thanks to my powerful internal energy, I don’t really look my age, but I’m indeed your grandfather.”

After saying this, he bowed his head. Before long, he raised his head and his face had returned to what it’d looked a few moments ago.

It took Ling Zhang quite a while to recover from shock. With a myriad of thoughts and ideas in his mind, he was suddenly at a loss how to face this old man. In that letter, his uncle had told him that his mother was daughter of an elder of the Millennium Pavilion. He had thought that his grandfather should be someone at his declining years. Besides, as an elder of the Millennium Pavilion, he should be the kind of person who strictly observed disciplines and would never leave the Millennium Pavilion, a stuffy, stern and heartless old man. The mental image of his grandfather he’d had was at any rate different than this old man standing before him, who’d shown him his true face.

“My surname is Ji, and my first name is Yin. I’m an elder of the Millennium Pavilion. Twenty years ago, after your mother’s younger brother archly sneaked out, she anxiously left with the intention to find him. Nobody could have foreseen what happened next. It was the clan leader who gave the order to have your mother taken back. In that year, outside the capital city, your mother killed those who tried to restrain her. The clan leader was infuriated, but your mother had hidden herself by that time. I implored the clan leader to stop hunting her and forgive her, promising him that she was no longer a member of the Millennium Pavilion and would never come back. The clan leader agreed and rescinded the order to hunt for her. From then on, nobody had ever heard any news of your mother ever again.

About ten years ago, an outsider made inquiries all around about the Millennium Pavilion, which attracted some people’s attention. The clan leader worried that if the man kept doing so, those in power would discover the existence of the Millennium Pavilion, which might reduce the Millennium Pavilion to a tool of those in power once again, so he sent some men to have that person seized and brought back. However, for some unknown reason, the man was seriously wounded and dying when they found him. Those having orders to escort him back intended to leave him be but heard him mumbling your mother’s name, so they took him back. With the help of my internal energy, he came around for a few moments. I was astounded to know that he was your mother’s husband. Pity he soon blacked out and was on the verge of death. I pleaded with the clan leader, who eventually went to his help personally and revived his cardiac meridian rescuing him from imminent death, but whether he would survive or not remained unknown.

Just like that, he remained unconscious for many years, neither dead nor alive. I wanted to inquire into what he had done and ascertain his identity, why he’d shown up alone, and how your mother was, but I encountered some obstacles – he’d used a pseudonym and concealed his family background. I went to a lot of trouble trying to find out but got nothing. Since he’d been in a coma for so many years, I was about to give up, but not long ago he suddenly revived – nobody knew the reason but he abruptly came around. It was just that he seemed to have suffered some kind of mental trauma and was delirious. It was from his disjointed ramblings that I came to know about your mother’s death, that they had a son – you. Then I left the mountain to look for you. When I found you, you’d left Tanyang planning to come to this city with Yuwen Tong. I discovered that your meridians had been unblocked, which was why I came up with the idea of imparting the mental cultivation method to you.”

The old man informed him of a lot of things, every one of which struck Ling Zhang as shocking. He’d been totally unaware of any of these antecedents.

‘That man… Father really found the Millennium Pavilion. The reason why he never came back home was because he suffered severe injuries and was in a coma all along…’

“How is he… my father?” Ling Zhang sounded somewhat rusty when he uttered that word. He couldn’t remember how many years it had been since the last time he’d said this word.

The old man, Ji Yin, replied, “He’s still in a state of delirium. To cure him thoroughly, I need to find a very rare crude drug, which even the Millennium Pavilion doesn’t have in hand for the moment.”

Ling Zhang’s throat felt rather sore and constricted. He was eager to say something but didn’t know what to say.

‘That man didn’t forsake us. He’d been in a coma and almost died. And even now he is still delirious…’

Ji Yin, noticing that something was not quite right with Ling Zhang’s mood, sighed, “I also had someone dig into his past. Don’t blame him.”

Ling Zhang made no response, having no idea whether he should blame him or not. Sometimes he felt that man was to blame, but he’d just been in a coma after being seriously wounded; sometimes he wanted to forgive him, but he’d indeed left home brushing aside his duties as a father. In his last incarnation, those things that had happened to Ling family were so horrible but his father was not there for his family and didn’t have the faintest idea of what they suffered.

There was an intense struggle ongoing in Ling Zhang’s mind, and he wasn’t in the mood for talking at all, but he had to say something.

“In a sense you’d already evicted my mother from the Millennium Pavilion, why are you still willing to help my father? And why are you still willing to help me?”

The Millennium Pavilion’s disownment of his mother, to some extent, might have been the cause of his mother’s death…

“My mother was ill. Had you not disowned her, she might have still been alive.”

‘And that man… wouldn’t have chosen to leave home because of that.’

Ji Yin remained silent for quite a while. A flicker of grief crossed his eyes as he remarked in a somewhat low and deep voice, “Had she not been disowned, the Millennium Pavilion would’ve kept sending more men to hunt her, and she would’ve still refused to go back. The conflict would’ve been irreconcilable, which eventually would still lead to a terrible final outcome. The rule of the Millennium Pavilion has been there for hundreds of years. This strict rule is the very reason why people of the Millennium Pavilion have managed to live a secluded life for centuries. We couldn’t abandon it on your mother’s account. Otherwise the consequence would probably have been the loss of our peaceful life. There’re so many people in the Millennium Pavilion. Aren’t they innocent? The clan leader has his responsibilities, and I have mine.”

However, Ling Zhang didn’t want to hear any of these. Maybe these remarks were right, but it was his mother that they were talking about. It’d been his mother who’d died, and he was unable to remain sensible without feeling he was heartless.

“I know you have a grudge against us, but we couldn’t change these things at will. The clan leader rescued your father when he was dying, and he didn’t stop me from leaving the mountain. He showed great tolerance for your mother’s deeds,” sighed Ji Yin.

Ling Zhang had been informed of so many things in such a short time, but he found it difficult to accept all of them.

“Good boy. I know you need more time to accept all this. Let’s call it a day. We may continue our talk after you’re more collected,” said Ji Yin.

Ling Zhang was indeed unable to calm himself down at this moment. He had mixed feelings and there was a multitude of thoughts in his mind. Right now the only thing he wanted to do was find a place to spend some time alone and then find someone to confide what was on his mind. He wanted to go back to Yuwen Tong.

He rose to his feet, took his leave and then walked out of the house with an unquiet mind.

Ji Yin was still sitting in his chair, following Ling Zhang with his eyes as he left. Eventually he heaved a sigh of disappointment. He had stated his identity but hadn’t heard Ling Zhang call him grandfather. ‘Maybe I really did the wrong thing in that year,’ he thought.

…

Ling Zhang didn’t go back to attend class. He asked for leave and returned to his residence.

Seeing the preoccupied look on his face, all guards worried that something had happened.

Ling Zhang asked, “Where’s Yuwen Tong?”

“The Marshal went back home to look into something,” replied Yao Yi.

Ling Zhang frowned, raised his hand to knead his temples and then said, “I’ll be in my study. If he returns, tell him that I’ve come back and would like to see him.”

Yao Yi and other bodyguards looked at each other in dismay, feeling that something was not quite right with Ling Zhang’s mood. “Childe Ling, is everything really okay? You don’t look very well. How about I go there and call the Marshal back right away?”

Ling Zhang shook his head. Since Yuwen Tong had gone back to look into something, it must be a matter of importance. “That won’t be necessary. I’ll wait for him to return.”

Yao Yi and the others were all in deep concern. Ling Zhang walked into the study, cutting a lonesome figure. Seeing this, they all went somewhat anxious.

“Did anything happen in the Imperial College?” Yao Yi and the others immediately inquired Miao Shiba.

Miao Shiba shook his head, “Nothing happened in the Imperial College. Everything was normal. It was after paying a visit to the new professor that Childe Ling had a sullen face and came back on leave.”

“The new professor? Isn’t he the one that the Marshal instructed us to investigate? Damn it. That professor seems to have come out of thin air, and it’s rather inconvenient to start from Gu family. We cannot find anything about him in a short time.”

…

At the time when all guards in the Ling Mansion were deeply worried, Yuwen Tong was rooting around in the book chamber left by his grandfather. This book chamber was of a special design, impervious to moisture and proof against worms. It had been specially built to preserve precious books. The key to the door of it was in his hand, and even Yuwen Zhi couldn’t get in, but since he hadn’t come back very often – once every few years – nobody had entered this book chamber for a very long time. Not only was there a strange odor in it, many books needed to be taken outside, exposed to sunshine and rebound.

However, Yuwen Tong came here to look into something on this day, so he didn’t have the time to take care of those books.

He’d spent the whole morning in this place. After browsing through quite a few books, he’d finally found a clue.

It was about martial formations. Though there was no diagram of them, there were some descriptions. The manuscript said that a long time ago, there was an extraordinarily talented man who was good at martial formations. The formations he designed were very ingenious and held enormous anti-personnel force. The then emperor, after hearing it, forced him into serving him. Thus, all martial formations designed by that man fell into the hands of the then emperor and nobody could get any information about them. The book also mentioned that those things were preserved in the Foreseers Agency, which was a department very much in the then emperor’s confidence.

‘The Foreseers Agency?’ Yuwen Tong’s brow corrugated in a slight frown. The Foreseers Agency had been consigned to oblivion a long time ago. The incumbent emperor of the Great Yue was not a believer in this kind of things and forbade them, which was why this name “the Foreseers Agency” sounded somewhat strange to Yuwen Tong, but clearly at that time this department had had very high standing and had been trusted very much by the then emperor. It could be said that in terms of status, those foreseers had literally been second to only the then emperor!