This mortal world was too bitter, yet the calamitous turbidity was endless
Mo Li suddenly opened his eyes and awoke from his feigned sleep.
He slightly stretched his figure, and without any visible movement, he flipped lightly behind the pile of sundries.
This was an old house at the end of a secluded alley; the roof even had a big hole, and when the wind blew, the rickety doors and windows creaked in protest.
The rebel army’s fearsome reputation spread far and wide, and Hua County truly became an empty city, even the beggars fled for their lives.
The Tianshou King’s fifty thousand troops entered Hua County, seizing spacious and splendid houses one after another. They were too lazy to even glance at a place like this, let alone go inside.
Originally, the Tianshou King ought to have restrained the army, allowing only people of the Holy Lotus Sect to station themselves in Hua County. Unfortunately, morale was in decline and they urgently needed to rest, so once it was confirmed there were no traps in the city, they were no longer so cautious. The commotion of breaking down doors and entering houses went on for quite a while, even sparking fights, yet it soon settled.
The truly valuable items had to be offered to the Holy Lotus Sect, and everything else could be found in abundance within the city. If anything was missing, they would just rob the next household for it.
Night had grown late, and all was silent.
The Unsharpened Blade slipped from his sleeve into his hand, and Mo Li gazed impassively toward the doorway.
Before long, the person outside revealed his whereabouts of his own accord——
Su Li came in, his head hung low in dejection.
“How did you notice me?”
The swordsman couldn’t figure it out at all.
Once an assassin was discovered, he would be close to death. Mo Li had evidently been resting just now, and Su Li carried no killing intent. He even utilized his full stealth technique, since he wasn’t sure he could find Mo Li but was far more likely to encounter experts from the Holy Lotus Sect, so he had to be cautious.
Who would have thought that as soon as he realized it was Mo Li, he felt a surge of joy, but before he could conjure any other idea, the other party noticed him.
Su Li stood there dumbfounded.
Could it be that his past successful killings were simply because he had never encountered a truly top-tier master? Was he not actually a competent assassin at all? Why had he stumbled one time after another since venturing out this time?
Naturally, Mo Li wouldn’t explain that he had been stationed in a place that was not safe enough, taking every possible precaution. Though he appeared to be dozing, he stayed constantly alert to the subtle shifts of the surrounding aura. No matter how well Su Li hid, he couldn’t escape the probing of spiritual energy.
Mo Li was indeed surprised to see Su Li. How did they happen to meet here?
Then he realized: “You came to assassinate the Tianshou King?”
“I killed him, but it wasn’t the right one.”
Su Li picked up an intact stool in the room and sat down, his face as dark as charcoal.
Mo Li didn’t understand at first what “wasn’t the right one” meant, but then he suddenly remembered the rumors about the Tianshou King always wearing a mask so that mere mortals could not behold the true visage of the Ziwei Emperor.
“The Tianshou King has a stand-in?”
“…Rather than that, I’m more inclined to suspect that there’s no such person as the Tianshou King at all,” the swordsman said gloomily.
Mo Li was shocked and instinctively refuted, “That’s impossible.”
According to the intelligence gathered by the Fengxing Pavilion, as well as what he heard from Master Li in Zhushan County, this rebel army, which pulled off superstitious tricks to deceive the common folk, had long been developing deep roots in Yizhou. Though they only started using the title “Tianshou King” a few years ago, by then they were already fully fledged, eager to scheme for the vast lands of the Central Plain.
The Tianshou King was a banner, and the Ziwei Emperor was a layer of gilding forced upon him by the Holy Lotus Sect. Even before the Holy Lotus Sect and the Tianshou King colluded, this rebel force in Yizhou was already quite formidable. But the distance was great, and the imposing might of Xuanchuan Pass prevented the rebels from influencing other areas, so not many people knew of them.
The Holy Lotus Sect was the decorative embroidery on a brocade; the bucket of oil poured onto the fire, fueling the Tianshou King’s arrogance.
“Although I didn’t understand military strategy, I watched their formation from the city walls and saw that the central army advanced and retreated with order, as though they had already formed a strong force,” Mo Li said with a frown, recalling what he saw. “Even when they fell into brief chaos, they could soon steady themselves. The common soldiers might be lacking, but their generals are no fools. Most people in the martial world don’t possess such ability, and the higher one’s martial skill, the less likely one is to go study the art of commanding troops. The Holy Lotus Sect doesn’t seem to fully control the rebel army.”
The swordsman: “…”
Mo Li asked in confusion, “Why are you looking at me like that?”
That gaze defied description, as though he’d been stuffed with a mouthful of straw but couldn’t spit it out.
“I feel that you’re not Doctor Mo, but rather Master Meng,” Su Li said expressionlessly.
As for who Doctor Mo was, he was the miraculous physician who once chased him for hundreds of miles around the mountains to ask if he wanted treatment (a huge misunderstanding). It was said that when two people spent enough time together, they would grow more alike. Could that be the truth? Then if he stuck with his blade for a lifetime, would he be able to grasp the mysterious apex of martial arts?
“…”
Mo Li rubbed his forehead. He was never interested in military deployments, but after leaving Mount Qimao, he encountered one upheaval after another, and everything he saw and heard, combined with Meng Qi’s constant chatter in his ear, eventually seeped in. Was it so strange to be influenced by it?
Even the dragon veins were not unchanging.
Besides, his own knowledge was only half-filled, broadening his horizons but lacking any mastery of the Six Secret Teachings.
“We truly don’t know much about the Tianshou King. News from Yizhou has been cut off for a long time, so we can only grasp what’s on the surface. Even the fact that the Tianshou King often wears a gilded mask was something you once told us. In the past, the people of Xiliang also had dealings with the Tianshou King. Do you know any secret information?”
Faced with Mo Li’s probing, Su Li grimaced and said nothing.
——He was obsessed with the way of the blade. If it weren’t for accepting six hundred gold from King Wu, thinking he was about to go out on a job, who would bother what kind of figure the Tianshou King really was?
“The Holy Lotus Sect’s Leader Luo holds a lofty status within the rebel army. Should we kill him?”
Su Li ventured a suggestion, and Mo Li couldn’t help asking, “How skilled is this Leader Luo in martial arts?”
The swordsman blinked and remained silent.
His silence was the best answer, indicating uncertainty. That martial skill might be on par with Su Li’s.
This stirred Mo Li’s fighting spirit.
Su Li raised his eyes keenly: “You shouldn’t have left blade marks on the city walls.”
Mo Li knew nothing about Leader Luo, yet the other side could glean Mo Li’s martial arts through those blade marks.
“How about I go and open a path for you?” Su Li gripped his blade, as though he were just waiting for Mo Li to give the word.
Mo Li saw right through him and asked in confusion, “You suspect there’s another expert in the Holy Lotus Sect, and you want me to cover you?”
The swordsman froze, then suddenly realized: “No wonder I kept hesitating. It turned out it wasn’t just fear of Leader Luo’s danger—there was another reason.”
Mo Li: “……”
So this was supposed to be an assassin’s intuition?
“Actually, the Holy Lotus Sect had countless experts. That ‘Five Elders of the Blood Fiend’ today were also notorious figures in the martial world, but I didn’t take them seriously.” Su Li stroked his blade’s sheath and solemnly stated each word, “They were obstacles, yet they wouldn’t affect the outcome. I had never failed to kill those I set out to kill. It had to be my blade that possessed a spirit and sensed something.”
Mo Li involuntarily looked at Su Li’s blade, pressing his forehead, thinking this man truly believed his treasured blade had a spirit that guarded its master!
“I left those blade marks to prevent the Tianshou King’s army from advancing any further, to keep them stuck in Hua County, giving the citizens fleeing the city one more day and night to escape.”
Mo Li composed himself and spoke calmly, “Although letting people analyze my blade skills carried the risk of failure, if I was scared of failing, I should’ve left early and never jumped into these troubled waters. We who trained in the martial path did so to clarify our minds and fortify our resolve. The blade was my path—capable of saving the world or eradicating evil. Why would I fear being seen through? Being seen through only meant my martial arts had not yet reached the highest level, had not entered the realm of formlessness and unpredictability. Besides, I was not alone.”
Behind him, there was still Meng Qi.
What good would it do to study Mo Li’s blade skills? Could Meng Qi be so easy to handle?
At first, Su Li listened with deep respect and firmly agreed, only to be choked up by the final statement. He couldn’t help looking at Mo Li with a sorrowful gaze.
“In your view, Doctor Mo, how should we proceed?”
“Assassination comes later. First, we find out the details of the Tianshou King and the Holy Lotus Sect. Did you go to check the provisions and supplies?”
“That’s what I wanted to report. The place was tightly guarded, with quite a few consecrated members from the Holy Lotus Sect. Even the kitchen area had Protectors and Holy Maidens standing guard. Otherwise, I’d truly have liked to start a fire.” Su Li spoke sulkily. “Killing them wouldn’t be hard, but once they died, it would immediately alarm Leader Luo. The Holy Lotus Sect had a unique way of transmitting signals. Unless I did nothing else tonight but kill, targeting only those soldiers with no martial skills and ordinary disciples of the Holy Lotus Sect, making them die soundlessly, then going from tent to tent, maybe by daybreak I could kill a few thousand.”
Mo Li: “……”
Su Li had an idea and stared intently at Mo Li: “Doctor, do you know any potent medication? Poison would work too. If half of these tens of thousands of troops collapsed, that would be enough.”
“If you wanted to drug that many people, even if you scoured every pharmacy in Hua County, it still might not be enough.” Mo Li shook his head, suddenly feeling that the one who should have been here was Xue Lingjun. The infamous Poison Vulture of bygone days wasn’t just blowing smoke.
“Really not possible?” Su Li was reluctant to give up such a brilliant plan.
Mo Li pondered for a moment, then hesitated. “There was one drug that was very easy to find, originally from the south, and the common people often used it to kill large rats. Pharmacies worried about causing deadly incidents, so the powders they sold were usually mixed with other substances. It couldn’t kill people outright, but it was very toxic and could make people lose all resistance.”
“What was it?”
“Maqianzi.” Mo Li paused, then shook his head. “That wouldn’t work. The dosage was secondary; how would you make all those people ingest it? Maqianzi powder dissolved in water wasn’t colorless, and the steamed buns and dried rations were prepared long ago. Tonight, no one was lighting fires to cook. The people of Hua County fled in a rush, leaving behind many supplies, so I don’t think they’ll start any fires tomorrow either.”
Su Li reflected: “Regardless of the soldiers, could it deal with the rebel leaders and part of the Holy Lotus Sect’s top fighters?”
“Maqianzi is highly toxic. Taking too much would be fatal. There was a court-secret poison called Qianji, which was derived from it.” Mo Li felt troubled; Qianji was formidable, yet he didn’t know how to prepare poison. If it was regular medicinal material processed by the pharmacy, experts with internal energy could barely resist.
Mo Li had to quash Su Li’s idea directly: “There are all sorts of poisonous substances in this world, and many could kill, but first, we wouldn’t have enough, and second, there’s no way to administer it in such a short time. It would be too troublesome—killing them directly might be easier for you.”
The swordsman lowered his eyes. Sure enough, he could only rely on his blade.
He sighed, about to step outside when he noticed Mo Li’s expression shifting, as though in confusion.
“Doctor Mo?”
“It’s nothing… I was just wondering if Xuan Chuan Pass fell because of poison?”
Mo Li’s heart felt heavy. He never expected Meng Qi to be facing such a predicament.
Su Li paused for a moment, then asked blankly, “Didn’t you just say it was impossible to poison them?”
Mo Li mumbled in a daze, “That was if they had no time or opportunity. But if these Tianshou King types had all of that, plus an insider…?”
Su Li was stunned.
***
There were no lamps or candles, no offerings of incense or flowers.
Monks walked with bowed heads, laying dry wood and straw around Master Yuanzhi, and flames slowly rose.
It was a desolate wilderness of precipitous cliffs, the roars of wild beasts echoing in the distance.
Thick smoke drifted gently, merging with the faint morning light in the east and the autumn fog of the mountains and forests.
Even though they had recited the Rebirth Sutra ten times and chanted the Western Paradise scriptures a hundred times, in the end, they still couldn’t hold back their tears of sorrow.
——This mortal world was too bitter, and the calamitous turbidity was endless. How could one truly see through it?
Yan Cen knelt on the ground, his eyes hollow, and his spirit seemed to have vanished into nothingness alongside the flames.
Next to him stood the Ning family’s little girl, holding the old servant’s arm. She was about seven or eight years old, already capable of understanding. Fear gleamed on her face. She looked at the flames, then gazed toward Xuan Chuan Pass, and suddenly burst into tears.
That crying jolted Yan Cen back to his senses. He trembled and whispered, “It was all my fault. If I hadn’t taken the road outside, if only I’d brought Master Meng back sooner…”
Meng Qi pressed down on his shoulder, stopping him from continuing.
Master Yuanzhi had been deeply poisoned, beyond saving. Whether sooner or later, it made no difference.
“Who was the insider? How exactly was the poison administered?”
Meng Qi still had unresolved doubts. Qianji was extremely toxic but tasted bitter upon entry, making it hard to drink by mistake. Though it had been famous throughout dynasties as a palace poison, it was not meant for secret poisoning, but rather for imperial decrees of death.
Because it caused a horrible death, extremely painful at the end, it was not used lightly. Without great hatred, no monarch would resort to such a detested poison.
——If Emperor Chu Yuan had used this poison to kill meritorious subjects, Meng Qi would have cast aside all concerns and charged back to chop down Li Yuanze.
Qianji did not just bring death; it amounted to torture.
Especially for internal masters with prolonged breathing who would not die easily, once the poison took effect, it destroyed the meridians and brought unbearable pain—a prolonged torment akin to purgatory.
“Tell me.” Meng Qi’s face showed killing intent.
Yan Cen turned his head woodenly and gave a wry laugh: “They died. They all died that day as well. If stupidity was an evil of the human world, it could breed infinite karma that not even the Buddha’s mercy could wash away.”
Meng Qi felt a terrible foreboding.
Sure enough, the old servant holding the little girl cursed furiously, “They were a bunch of blind-hearted fools! They had no face to meet their dead brothers and children in the underworld. They doomed Old General Ning; they doomed everyone!”
The old servant’s voice was shrill, as if he was venting the pain in his heart.
The eyes of those present reddened. One among them suddenly knelt down with a thud, bawling, “I couldn’t bear it anymore. My uncle was also a blind fool, and I have no face to go on living.”
“Hu Lang, what are you talking about?”
“I… My uncle forbade me from answering the call to the pass and flew into a great rage. I didn’t listen… In the end, that day, he took advantage of my inattention, knocked me out, and hid me in the cellar. By the time I came out, it was all too late.”
The man’s eyes bulged with rage. He shouted at the others, “Kill me, just kill me!”
Meng Qi stepped in just in time, grabbed the frenzied man, struck his Baihui acupoint, and channeled gentle inner force like a basin of cold water poured over his head, forcing him to calm down instantly.
“Your uncle was the insider? Why would he betray the pass?”
“I don’t know… truly I don’t know. No, I do know.” The man mumbled incoherently, finally weeping, “They listened to the wicked preacher’s bewitchment!”
Meng Qi looked around at everyone. A monk from Baoxiang Temple pressed his palms together first and said, “After being poisoned, the senior uncles immediately sensed something amiss. The poison was in the food and pickled vegetables. Some of us fellow disciples were delayed by various matters and did not eat, and some were busy contemplating martial arts. As for this unworthy monk, I was ashamed, but I felt the pickled vegetables tasted too strong, so I did not eat them.”
For years, Xuan Chuan Pass had been short on food. After Emperor Yongchen ascended the throne, it got a bit better, but the steamed buns were still bitter, and the pickled vegetables still too salty. From soldiers to ascetic monks, nobody would complain.
“The rebel army used two poisons in total, though they seemed like two variations of the same type. The first was milder and was put in the water sources or the water vats in the kitchen, causing those stationed in the pass to suffer abdominal cramps and be too weak to stand.” The monk’s face was filled with sorrow. “The second was soaked into pickled vegetables, specially delivered to the Ning family and us monks. It was extremely toxic and acted swiftly. Of the entire Ning household, only that spoiled, picky-eating little girl escaped, and Old General Ning, together with his staff officers and deputy generals who were discussing military matters, almost all died of poison, with only a handful surviving. Once we realized it was poison, we tried using water mixed with lu beans to cure it, but we never expected that the water itself was poisoned, and many people died as a result…”
Lu beans were a type of grain legume, a common folk remedy for detoxification, pan-fried and boiled in water for drinking.
Meng Qi slowly closed his eyes, as if seeing the chaos of that day at Xuan Chuan Pass.
“Junior Brother Yan, always avoiding people and refusing to eat with them, only ate cold steamed buns, so the poison was not severe in his case. When it all happened, he acted decisively and punched himself in the abdomen, forcibly spitting blood to purge the poison. He rushed to the kitchen and seized the culprits for interrogation… Though they did not use the opportunity to open the city gates, the Tianshou King still blasted through the walls using gunpowder from Pili Hall.”
The monk could not continue, chanting a Buddhist mantra three times in vain.
They watched helplessly as Xuan Chuan Pass fell. Even if they were not poisoned, how many could they have killed?
Not to mention, they had people they wanted to save, and they also had to face the many top fighters of the Holy Lotus Sect.
“Several senior masters withdrew into the hidden tunnels to protect more people who had not been poisoned and died under a flurry of blades.” Yan Cen trembled all over, then stood abruptly, wrested the soldier called Hu Lang from Meng Qi’s grasp, and roared, “They weren’t from Xuan Chuan Pass. Weapons and war had nothing to do with the monks of Baoxiang Temple. Why were they the ones to die? Why did they have to pay for those fools’ ignorant notions?”
Hu Lang collapsed once more, mumbling for them to kill him.
Yan Cen threw him aside, fell to his knees, and wept uncontrollably: “They were trying to protect these people. They didn’t want Xuan Chuan Pass to fall. They didn’t want war to ravage the Central Plains and the south. So what did these people do?”
Meng Qi lowered his gaze. From their disjointed words, he slowly pieced together a tragic truth.
Those trusted implicitly by the thousands of soldiers of Xuan Chuan Pass—Hu Lang’s townsfolk, ordinary folk who usually worked in the army doing laundry and cooking—had betrayed them.
“Old General Ning pitied those commoners who were poor and helpless, worrying about their food and clothing, yet it bred so many thankless traitors!” Yan Cen struck the ground, leaving a deep imprint.
“Not all of them were insiders, Yan Cen. Calm yourself.” Sensing danger, the monk leading the group hurriedly spoke, “If you keep letting your anger run wild, you might stray from the righteous path. Will you betray Senior Uncle Yuanzhi’s final wish?”
Yan Cen drew a deep breath, slowly steadying his breathing. Expressionless, he said, “I went to the kitchen. They insisted the drug wouldn’t kill anyone, that they had no idea how lethal the pickled vegetables were. For years, Qi Dynasty left the Ning family’s fate in question. Xuan Chuan Pass was too hard to defend, and the fallen soldiers were never replaced. The imperial court pushed it onto the prefectures, and the prefectures passed it down to the county offices, which then fell to the poorest counties. Corvée labor turned into a levy of men. Though Old General Ning was skilled in leading troops to repel the enemy, with minimal recruitment, the pass’s main forces were still brought from the northern frontier, but not enough soldiers remained. Those who died were usually these conscripts. No matter how harshly they trained them, they couldn’t compare to the battle-hardened veterans from the north…”
Thus, the Tianshou King sent people to spread fear, reminding those commoners of how many had died at Xuan Chuan Pass during the Chen Dynasty’s war with the southwestern chieftains.
“If the Ning family defended it, the pass would keep conscripting soldiers, and their fathers, brothers, and sons would die! Now that the fortress fell, the Tianshou King would go burn and pillage the Central Plains, but what did that have to do with them? Their whole families and whole villages would set off firecrackers in celebration. Without that pass, they wouldn’t be sent by the government to die. Their thinking was that simple—how laughable! How pitiful!”
Yan Cen lost control. The unrefined internal force churned, his eyes reddened, veins popping.
Meng Qi struck his acupoints from a distance. Yan Cen collapsed, tears streaming down his face.
The Buddha spoke of calamity in the mortal world—was it the destiny of all, or was it the tribulation of human hearts?
Meng Qi looked at the fire that was gradually dying down and suppressed the inner force that was rising with his chaotic emotions, thinking he must not fall ill. Mo Li was not here now, nor was there any calming pill.
Author’s note:
This exploited a kind of cowardly mindset. The enemy was too terrifying, so they dared not resent the enemy. Deep down, they knew hatred would be useless, yet they were afraid, and the Tianshou King deliberately stirred up their fear.
Actually, if a different emperor took the throne, things like provisions and manpower might have been solved, and further recruitment would not need to come from nearby common folk… But most people did not know that.
