Chapter Twelve: The Bloodline of the Li Family

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The Celestial Jade Capital Illustration

Mistlike spiritual energy rose from Kunlun Marsh.

It was precisely because of this mysterious energy that, when Chen Zhian raised his head, he could clearly see the armored divine general seated cross-legged upon the clouds, lowering his head as he inhaled the aura emanating from the ginkgo tree.

The ginkgo was thick and towering, and even in spring it radiated a breathtaking beauty.

Its luxuriant green leaves covered half the courtyard, filling the place with an air of mystery.

Chen Zhian was utterly shaken by the armored divine general, who stood a full thirty feet tall. But just then, the courtyard gate suddenly opened.

A dignified middle-aged man of about forty stood within the gate. He wore a long crane-feather robe and possessed handsome, refined features. He lifted his eyes and looked at Chen Zhian.

Chen Zhian no longer dared glance at the ginkgo tree, much less at the armored divine general in the sky. He took several steps forward and was just about to salute when the dignified man frowned slightly and asked, “Your father is leaving?”

Chen Zhian paused briefly before answering, “My father said he was going to seek out an old friend and would return within a month. He also ordered me to deliver a letter.”

As he spoke, he drew the letter from his sleeve and handed it to the middle-aged man.

The dignified man accepted the letter but did not open it. He merely looked at Chen Zhian. Then his expression shifted, his brows drawing together once more, and even his voice lost its former calm, revealing a trace of astonishment.

“When did you enter the Qi Transformation realm?”

Before Chen Zhian could answer, the middle-aged man stepped out of the gate and carefully examined him from head to toe.

Chen Zhian did not know what to say.

The man suddenly extended one hand and seized Chen Zhian’s arm with the speed of lightning.

Two of his fingers settled against Chen Zhian’s pulse. After three full breaths, delight appeared in the man’s eyes, and he nodded.

“I have seen you several times, but always from too far away. I suppose I never had a clear look at you. Your physique is robust, and your vital energy is impressive as well. No wonder Lord Chen Shui was not in a hurry.”

“My name is Chu Muye. Your father and I have a little history. You may call me Uncle Chu. You have arrived at just the right time. Several guests will be coming, so pour tea for them in my hall.”

Without waiting to see whether Chen Zhian agreed, Chu Muye turned and walked back into the courtyard, waving for him to follow.

Chen Zhian secretly raised his eyes toward the armored divine general in the sky. At some point, the figure had vanished, and even the aura above the ginkgo had become faint and indistinct.

“My father actually has a friend with cultivation this formidable.”

Curious, Chen Zhian pondered for a few breaths before following Chu Muye into the small courtyard.

After passing the stone screen blocking the entrance, Chen Zhian was still marveling at the phoenix carved upon it when he noticed that the courtyard floor was paved entirely with tiles as white as jade.

There was not a single plant or flower in sight. In the center of the courtyard stood only a stone table and several meditation cushions.

Even the table and cushions were pure white, without the slightest impurity. Under the light of several lanterns, the courtyard seemed utterly desolate.

The buildings surrounding it, however, were deep blue. Standing amid that field of pure white, they possessed a singular beauty.

“After the rain, gaze upon the river—
Deep blue spills among piled clouds.”

“These buildings are like a river glimpsed after rain.”

Chen Zhian was quietly astonished. He felt more and more that Chu Muye was no ordinary man.

By then, Chu Muye was already seated upon a cushion before the stone table. A charcoal brazier burned on the table, and tea was already boiling upon it, filling the air with fragrance.

In the vapor rising from the tea, Chen Zhian once again caught sight of wisps of crimson mist.

“A personage such as this drinks tea steeped with the same kind of treasure as the Scarlet Ginger grown in Kunlun Marsh…”

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As he pondered this, Chu Muye beckoned him over and pointed to the cushion on his right.

“Come and sit.”

Chen Zhian did not hesitate. He sat down upon the cushion.

Since he had already entered, there was no need to act coy or timid.

Night had fallen completely. Clouds and mist veiled the moon above, leaving only the few lanterns in the courtyard to cast their faint light.

Chu Muye suddenly pointed toward the sky. Chen Zhian looked up in confusion and saw a long sword suspended some eight or nine yards above them.

He had no idea when the sword had flown there. It hung high in the darkness.

“The owner of that sword is Wang Xixia. He comes from the Langya Wang clan and studied under the Azure Expanse Sword Pavilion. On the Mystic Gate Stele of the Nine Steles beneath the Dao, the Azure Expanse Sword Pavilion ranks sixty-first in the world and ninth among the Great Yu Mystic Sects.”

Chu Muye looked up with Chen Zhian, yet continued introducing the man in careful detail.

“Wang Xixia’s sword aura is like a rainbow, hanging perpetually among the clouds. Though he has never appeared on the Riding Whale Stele, he is still one of the few great experts in Great Yu.”

“The Azure Expanse Sword Pavilion, ninth among the Great Yu Mystic Sects…”

Chen Zhian silently committed the information to memory.

At that moment, the sword in the sky stirred.

The long sword trembled slightly. Then, from within the darkness, a hand suddenly reached out and seized it. The sword shifted lightly, transforming into a streak of radiance that flew into the courtyard.

Chen Zhian lowered his head in a daze. A man in splendid robes now stood in the courtyard, a sword scabbard hanging at his waist. The treasured sword that had been suspended in the sky was already in his hand.

In silence, the man sheathed the sword, offered a salute, and sat opposite Chu Muye and Chen Zhian without saying a word.

“Chen Zhian, pour the tea.”

Chu Muye’s eyes were bright as he smiled.

“A guest has come from afar. It may be my good fortune—or it may be yours.”

“My good fortune?” Chen Zhian asked, somewhat perplexed.

Even so, he rose, arranged the cups, lifted the teapot from the brazier, and poured two cups of hot tea.

Chu Muye glanced at the stone table and reminded him, “Pour one for yourself as well.”

So Chen Zhian poured himself a cup.

At last, Wang Xixia spoke.

“Master Chu, you have lived in seclusion for many years, yet your cultivation has not stagnated. If anything, the sword aura around you has grown even sharper. The Pavilion Master said that a sword worthy of your sword intent should be a truly fine one. Our Azure Expanse Sword Pavilion has forty-two treasured swords in its Sword Repository Mountain. You may choose any one of them. A treasured sword possesses a spirit of its own. To follow Master Chu would be the finest destination those swords could hope for.”

Chen Zhian listened in silence.

Chu Muye gestured for Wang Xixia to drink the tea, but did not lift his own cup. His voice was distant and unwelcoming.

“The forty-two treasured swords in Sword Repository Mountain are nothing more than swords forged a thousand or ten thousand times. They do not meet my eye.”

Wang Xixia frowned.

Chu Muye paid no attention and continued, “I hear that two legendary swords are enshrined upon the Azure Expanse Sword Terrace. One is called Dark Radiance, and the other Far Expanse. Which of those two famous swords, in your opinion, is better suited to me?”

Wang Xixia pressed his lips together and said nothing.

At that moment, the door knocker on the courtyard gate suddenly sounded.

Clang, clang, clang…

Another visitor had arrived.

Chen Zhian was about to open the gate when Chu Muye tapped the stone table. A black-clad man immediately emerged from the room and went to answer it.

The newcomer was a young man in a long robe and a tall crown, with the air of a refined scholar.

He entered the courtyard, saw Chu Muye, and stopped at a distance to offer him a formal salute.

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Chu Muye invited him to sit, then introduced him to Chen Zhian.

“This is Lord Zhao Qingzhang, a disciple of the Eastern Wall School. He holds the office of Palace Attendant and is ordinarily His Highness the Crown Prince’s right-hand man.”

Unlike Wang Xixia, Zhao Qingzhang was not a man of few words. He took his seat with a smile and said, “Master Chu is about to travel to the capital. I have come south on the Crown Prince’s orders to ask whether you have a place to stay after your arrival. His Highness has specially prepared a residence before Eastern Mirror Gate. If you do not find it beneath you, I will arrange servants and have everything ready for you to move in.”

“Beyond that, once you enter the capital, I do not know how many eyes will be watching Southern Su Prefecture and Clear River. I naturally know that your cultivation is extraordinary, but among those who harbor ill intentions, there is no shortage of profound experts either. His Highness has already made arrangements for that as well…”

Chen Zhian poured tea for Zhao Qingzhang, but the man did not drink. He merely continued speaking at length, his manner confident and his gaze composed.

Chu Muye conversed with Zhao Qingzhang as well, but he did not answer any of the points Zhao Qingzhang had just raised. Instead, he asked whether Zhao Qingzhang had made the journey safely and when he intended to return to the capital.

Chen Zhian listened quietly from the side. He increasingly felt that Chu Muye was some kind of rare prize. The ninth-ranked Mystic Sect of Great Yu had sent one of its favored disciples to deliver a sword, and even the Crown Prince in the capital had dispatched an official from his own household to offer concern and courtesy.

Yet Chu Muye was like a fish gliding freely through water, moving wherever it pleased without gathering a single speck of dust.

Zhao Qingzhang was remarkably patient, chatting with Chu Muye about trivial matters. Wang Xixia stroked the scabbard at his waist, apparently lost in thought.

Half an hour passed.

Chu Muye said to Chen Zhian, “Pour another cup. Another guest has arrived.”

Chen Zhian poured the tea. The black-clad man in the hall went to open the gate once more, and another person passed through the screen and entered the courtyard.

The newcomer was a young nobleman dressed in magnificent robes.

Chen Zhian’s expression changed the moment he saw him.

He had already seen this man several days earlier. He was none other than Si Hougui, the third young master of the Si clan of the capital.

Chen Zhian still remembered perfectly the arrogant, overbearing air Si Hougui had displayed in his courtyard that day.

Si Hougui saw Chen Zhian as well.

He was clearly surprised—perhaps at finding Chen Zhian in Chu Muye’s courtyard, and even more so at seeing him seated beside Chu Muye, serving tea.

But Si Hougui had no time to remain astonished or speculate. Since he had come to pay his respects to Chu Muye, he naturally dared not neglect proper etiquette.

“Master Chu,” Si Hougui said, “when I came to Southern Su Prefecture, my clan lord specifically instructed me to visit you without fail and convey the greetings of my elders.”

“From now on, Master Chu will be working alongside my clan lord. You may truly be regarded as an elder of mine.”

“Minister Si is far too courteous.”

Chu Muye’s expression remained unchanged, revealing neither pleasure nor displeasure.

“You are Si Hougui, the one listed on the Young Tiger Stele? The Si clan’s bloodline is indeed extraordinary. Talented young people emerge one after another.”

Si Hougui’s expression did not shift. With a hint of humility in his voice, he smiled.

“Master Chu praises me too highly. When it comes to bloodline and innate talent, several elder brothers and sisters of the Li clan who are close to me are the truly extraordinary ones.

“Among them is Li Fushu, son of General Dark Violet, who ranks three hundred and first on the Young Tiger Stele. There is also Li Qingran, daughter of the Li clan lord. Though she is still young and has yet to appear on the Young Tiger Stele, she has already entered the Moonlit Terrace, where she studies under the Immortal of the Sweet Osmanthus. She serves as the Immortal’s sword-bearer and carries the Musk Moon.”

At this point, Si Hougui’s voice took on a trace of emotion.

“And that is not even mentioning the Li clan’s Seventh Uncle, Li Zhou Bai. He studies at Dragon-Nurturing Abbey, the eighth-ranked Mystic Sect under Heaven. In time, he may nurture both a dragon and its destiny, and perhaps even comprehend the divine aspect of a True Dragon. Throughout the entirety of Great Yu, there are only a handful of geniuses who can stand beside him as equals.”

“The Li clan bloodline inspires my deepest admiration.”

Si Hougui spoke with apparent sincerity, and respect shone in his eyes.

Yet when he finished his final sentence, his gaze swept over Chen Zhian.

Chen Zhian immediately understood.

“He’s mocking me by implication.”