Chapter Twenty-Eight: The Return of the Cuckoo

(Page 1 of 3)

Fang Qingyan reached back and clasped her husband’s hand tightly. The two exchanged a glance and smiled knowingly. Looking at Zhu Ding, Yang Nan said, “The Daoist’s art is truly extraordinary. I, Yang Nan, have witnessed it for myself. Please accept these several thousand taels of silver as a token of my appreciation.”

Zhu Ding’s origins were strange indeed. Though his words had been insolent, Yang Nan knew that he was neither lying nor spreading rumors. How could he truly blame him?

“Our ancestral master established a rule: fortune-telling must never be done without payment. The silver is not much, but I shall accept it.” Zhu Ding did not refuse. He took the money, placed it in his cloth pouch, then picked up a vermilion brush and wrote several lines on three sheets of white paper. Handing them to Yang Nan, he said solemnly, “Daoist friend, remember this well: these three women are deeply bound to your destiny. Though you possess boundless fortune, that fortune shall be both the source of your success and the cause of your downfall. Only after three lifetimes of entanglement has this karma come to pass. One day, you will understand the reason for everything.”

Seeing how serious he was, Yang Nan reached out and accepted the three sheets. Written upon them were three destiny poems:

“Fang Qingyan: One backward glance, and a thousand years have passed;
Let the old face be exchanged for a new one.
A single cry of wonder, dust fading like a shadow;
Riding the rising wind, ascending to the heavens—Boundless and without end.

“Baiyi: A butterfly’s love for flowers through a thousand ages,
Every branch upon the tree bursting with buds.
Sweet dew surges into a clear spring,
Exchanging itself for snow upon the robes—When fate and chance converge.

“Dieyi: At ease, a fairy among flowers,
Longing only to enter the Ninth Heaven.
Born with a heart made for love,
Yet loving only the loveless—What a cruel heaven.”

“Hm... These destiny poems are truly strange!” Yang Nan frowned as he examined the three verses. They said nothing outright, yet each seemed to conceal an ominous meaning. He pondered them for a long while, but could not fathom their mystery.

From the meaning of these poems, it seems that Qingyan, Baiyi, and Dieyi all possess fateful destinies fraught with danger. Could it truly be because of me?

“Daoist Zhu?”

Yang Nan raised his head, only to find that Zhu Ding of Hollow Void Cave, who had been carrying a horizontal banner, had vanished without a trace.

“Where did Daoist Zhu go?”

Old Crab answered at once, “Young master, that fortune-telling priest took the money and fled long ago. How could he have dared remain?”

In his eyes, his young master had always been shrewd and formidable. Why, then, would he show such regard for a fortune-telling swindler who possessed not the slightest trace of magical power and survived solely by deceiving people with his tongue? It was truly astonishing.

“This Zhu Ding of Hollow Void Cave is indeed unfathomable...” Yang Nan shook his head. Suddenly, a flash of insight crossed his mind, and he understood.

“Ah! This Daoist is probably not Zhu Ding of Hollow Void Cave at all. He clearly came to sound me out! I was so concerned with Qingyan’s destiny that I completely overlooked it!”

Old Crab shouted angrily, “I knew that priest was no good! Men, search everywhere and seize that money-grubbing swindler!”

The personal guards had been waiting for an order. At once they scattered in every direction, eager to drag the priest back immediately.

Fang Qingyan asked in surprise, “Husband, are you saying that Daoist Zhu came with evil intentions?”

Yang Nan shook his head with a smile. “Not exactly. The art of divination practiced by Zhu Ding’s sect does possess a certain wondrous quality. However, by claiming that he came from Hollow Void Cave and was named Zhu Ding, he was plainly saying: ‘He is originally nothingness, came here to carry out some business, and if I learn the truth one day, I shall surely destroy him.’ His origins are unknown, and he seems afraid that I will eventually discover them. Is that not strange?”

What Yang Nan had not yet said was this: if Zhu Ding truly possessed no supernatural abilities, how could he have slipped away under the eyes of a grandmaster of the Dao?

(Page 2 of 3)

The spiritual perception of a grandmaster was no trifling matter. Zhu Ding had taken advantage of the moment when Yang Nan’s attention was elsewhere to escape, and such skill was far beyond that of any ordinary Daoist.

It was plain that Zhu Ding himself might never have existed at all, yet the three destinies he had revealed were undeniably real.

A chill of fear rose in Yang Nan’s heart. Where Zhu Ding had come from was secondary; the perilous future awaiting the three women beside him was the more urgent matter.

Yet no matter how worried he was, he would not truly speak of it. Seeing the gloom in her husband’s expression, Fang Qingyan assumed that the fortune-telling priest had toyed with him. Her anger was difficult to suppress, and she hurriedly said, “Husband, that Daoist Zhu merely gained some money. You need not take it to heart. Even if his prediction was wrong, there is no need to quarrel with him.”

Yang Nan looked at his kind-hearted young wife and sighed. Setting aside the unease in his heart, he smiled and said, “With such a compassionate heart, Qingyan, you possess the bearing of one who would save all living beings. You resemble a cultivator of the Dao more than I do.”

Seeing that he had finally smiled again, Fang Qingyan was delighted. “I possess only the kindness of a woman. You seek to save all living beings; that is true benevolence. How could I possibly compare with you?”

Even Yang Nan, detached as he was, could not help but feel pleased at such praise from his wife. He shook his head and smiled. “If I were not fulfilling my grandfather’s wish and my revered master’s great vow, why would I come into this mortal world and wade into such muddy waters?

“Heaven may indeed cherish life, but worldly affairs are best resolved by mortals themselves. When cultivators become entangled in them, they only make the world more chaotic.”

Fang Qingyan understood deeply the gulf between mortals and cultivators. Had the ancient War of Investiture not arisen because cultivators had interfered in the transfer of mortal power, thereby unleashing endless bloodshed and turmoil? Yang Nan’s actions were in accordance with the proper course of Heaven and Earth.

“Husband, you need not be modest. Though we have been married for only half a year, I know that your heart contains an entire world. You are determined to cleanse the filth from this realm. Though I am not talented, I am willing to devote all my strength to helping you.”

Moved by the sincerity in his beloved wife’s words, Yang Nan felt his heart stir. He valued this wife from the mortal world, this companion in the Dao, even more than before. Fang Qingyan had been clever from birth, and her extraordinary talent had been renowned throughout the land since childhood. She was hailed alongside Luoyang Qinyin as one of the two greatest female talents in the world. Even when Yang Nan had lived in seclusion within the Duke Protector’s estate as a child, he had heard the famed saying: “With miraculous hands and a merciful heart, the northern zither and the southern Fang.”

Her skill at the zither reached the highest heavens, while her compassionate heart brought salvation to the world and healed countless people.

Fang Qingyan excelled at the zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting. Moreover, she had studied under Huang Qi the Elder, the foremost physician of the age, and learned a wondrous art of healing. From childhood onward, she had sat in the medical hall of Nanzhou, treating the common people without charge. They called her the Young Mistress Who Sits in the Hall.

Yet even her medical skill was overshadowed by the goodness of her heart, which inspired the reverence of all beneath Heaven.

Even in the study of the Dao, she had achieved remarkable attainments in a very short time.

If one were truly comparing natural genius, Yang Nan was far inferior to this delicate young wife of his.

For such a peerless woman to become his wife was truly a blessing earned over three lifetimes.

Yang Nan tightened his grip on his beloved wife’s hand and said gently, “Qingyan, now that matters in Hot Spring Prefecture have been settled, why do we not return home together and pay a visit to your parents?”

(Page 3 of 3)

Seeing the tenderness and affection in her husband’s eyes, far greater than before, Fang Qingyan’s heart overflowed with joy. She obediently nodded.

After Yang Nan had swept through and pacified everything within a month, he left the Purple Jade Substitute upon the altar to cultivate the Supreme Golden Body Technique on its own, while he took Fang Qingyan on a leisurely journey through mountains and waters back to Wenyang Prefecture. Once they entered the mortal realm, it was improper to use supernatural powers, so they could only hire a carriage for transport.

Now, every local governor throughout the ten prefectures was bound by the Four-Slashes Edict. Old Crab and the other demon soldiers took turns inspecting the territories. Whenever they encountered some demon foolish enough to cause trouble again, they simply cut it down with a single stroke of the sword and replaced the local governor.

Under such ruthless enforcement, Nanzhou soon became peaceful. Gazing upon the calm and orderly land, Yang Nan smiled and said, “The Confucian school has never understood that benevolent rule requires the support of force. Without it, how could it ever be spread throughout the world?”

Chiyang chuckled. “A-Nan, your methods are ruthless and decisive, and you possess all the bearing of a conqueror. Why not go forth and subjugate the world? You might yet establish a great empire.”

Within that month, Yang Nan had displayed the same imposing authority he had once used to control Spirit Beast Mountain. His methods were severe and his actions swift, allowing him to flatten the temples throughout the various prefectures in a remarkably short time. Chiyang was therefore teasing him.

Yang Nan could only smile bitterly and shake his head. “Brother, there you go again. What conqueror’s bearing do I possess? If I had not acted this way, who could have driven out all those demons and spirits? This is merely a temporary measure. The Supreme Golden Body Technique has brought disaster to countless people. We must uncover the culprit behind it someday.”

After the Purple Jade Substitute began cultivating the Supreme Golden Body Technique, the golden radiance within it continued to accumulate. The people of a single prefecture, Hot Spring Prefecture, were enough to gather an immeasurable quantity of faith. Yang Nan’s Purple Jade Substitute was now faintly approaching the Pale Gold Realm, and the power of its wishes had already become comparable to that of a master at the commander level.

A substitute that had originally possessed no magical power at all had achieved such results in only one month. No wonder Yang Lan had managed to cultivate the Supreme Golden Body in just a few years.

Yang Nan had left the Purple Jade Substitute behind merely as an experiment. Once he understood the secret behind it, he would have a greater chance of victory when he faced Yang Lan in the future.

“Husband, you have restored peace to the people within a single month. I truly admire you.” Over that month, Fang Qingyan had witnessed her husband act with the force of thunder. His decisiveness and merciless efficiency had surpassed even those of battlefield generals. Though she possessed extraordinary learning and talent, she could not help but admire Yang Nan’s methods.

Yang Nan shook his head with a smile. “Who would dare resist absolute power? If another person more ruthless than I am were to appear, Nanzhou might change once again. There is no need to speak of it. Let us simply enjoy a few days of peace.”

That was simply the way of the world: people shrank before strength and bullied the weak. Without using authority to uphold benevolent rule, benevolent rule would remain no more than a reflection in the water.

Yang Nan had always acted with thunderous methods and a heart of iron and stone. Without such resolve, he could have spent a hundred years and still failed to pacify Nanzhou.

Yet he knew perfectly well that so long as demons existed, the world could never truly be peaceful. The disparity in strength between mortals and demons remained immense. Worse still, cultivators colluded with demons, and sorting everything out would be no easy matter. The Heavenly Demon Sect and the Heavenly Talisman Sect, driven from the region, would certainly return to cause trouble. They had lost so many disciples; how could they possibly let the matter rest?

Nanzhou still had a long way to go before it could truly become quiet.

“Oh dear! Yang One and Yang Two went to the Marquis’s residence a month ago to report our return. Hot Spring Prefecture is only a few hundred miles from Wenyang Prefecture, yet we have spent nearly a month on the road. Won’t my father-in-law be furious?”

Yang Nan suddenly remembered the important matter, and his face immediately twisted into a bitter smile. Now that he was living among mortals, he had to follow mortal customs. He was accompanying his wife back to her parents’ home, after all. What father-in-law would not be enraged when a journey of only a few hundred miles took an entire month? Surely the old man would come to hate him to the bone.

Seeing his troubled expression, Fang Qingyan covered her mouth and laughed softly. “Do not worry. I have already sent someone to report to Father again. You have been working for the people; Father will only be pleased. How could he blame you? He will be so delighted to see you that, for my sake alone, he will treat you as his own son.”

Seeing that his young wife had already made arrangements, Yang Nan gave an awkward smile and finally set his mind at ease.

When they entered Wenyang City, they found the atmosphere almost like that of a festive holiday. The city gates stood wide open, and a dense crowd of commoners had gathered nearby to welcome them. Several rows of sturdy soldiers stood shoulder to shoulder, clearing most of the road. At the very front stood a middle-aged man in iron armor, craning his neck expectantly at the city gate.

Yang One and Yang Two saw their young master’s carriage slowly approaching through the gates. They hurriedly said a few words to the middle-aged man, then rushed over to meet it.