Li Qingxian laughed. "So the rumors are true. I heard he’s far too young—a Minister of the Ministry of Revenue and a Second-Grade Evil Cultivator in his early forties. A lot of people are unconvinced, which is why stories about him have spread far and wide."
Luo Jing said, "The part about Minister Jiu Huang is true. But for someone so young to reach Second Grade and hold such a high position, he must be extraordinary."
"You’re from the South Star Sect, not the Evil Illumination Sect, so what are you afraid of? I heard that after this Minister Jiu Huang came to power, eating yellow chives became all the rage in the Ministry of Revenue and the Evil Illumination Sect?" Li Qingxian was filled with curiosity about the Ministry of Revenue and the Evil Sects.
"It’s true," Luo Jing said, his face a mask of resignation.
"How much did you have to eat?"
Luo Jing was silent for a long moment before saying slowly, "When I first arrived, it was three meals a day."
"Haha..." Li Qingxian burst out laughing.
Seeing Luo Jing still silent, Li Qingxian had the decency to suppress his laughter. "It’s tough in the Evil Sects, too, huh."
"Is life easy anywhere? Alas..." Luo Jing heaved a long sigh.
"This Lord Xuee, is he from the South Xuee Family or the North Xuee Family?" Li Qingxian asked.
"He’s supposedly from a very distant branch of the South Xuee Family. He’s mainly backed by Sect Leader Lin; his ties to the North and South Xuee Families aren’t deep."
"I see. What was that you were saying earlier about an illegitimate Divine Son?" Li Qingxian asked.
"Don’t you Night Guards keep tabs on Evil Sect matters?"
"When I heard I had to come to Ministry of Revenue Street, my heart nearly leaped into my throat. Besides, I’m just a grunt. My father and I don’t talk much, so how would I know so much about the Evil Sects?" Li Qingxian said.
"Our Evil Sects have two great origins: the Other Shore Sect and the Snow People. Later, they merged to form a single, unified Evil Sect, which then branched out over time. This created the current situation, with the Five Great Evil Sects at the core and hundreds of smaller sects across the land supporting them. In our one and only divine scripture, every person who joins a sect is a son of the god."
"I know that much," Li Qingxian said.
"But later, for some reason, things slowly changed. I don’t know which generation it started, but the Sect Leaders of the Five Great Evil Sects all started calling themselves the ’Eldest Legitimate Son of the God.’ Following that, Upper Three Grades experts call themselves ’Legitimate Sons of the Main Branch,’ the Middle-Third Grade call themselves ’Eldest Sons of the Side Branches,’ and the Lower Fourth Grade—like me—are ’Illegitimate Sons of the Side Branches.’ As for the Ungraded disciples, they’re all uniformly considered the god’s illegitimate sons. People like you, who haven’t joined a sect but are held in high regard by someone who has, are considered the god’s illegitimate sons, lost to the outside world."
Li Qingxian felt like he’d been struck by lightning.
"And... your god isn’t throwing a fit over this?"
"Our god doesn’t generally concern himself with such trivialities. Besides, we are all Divine Sons, so it doesn’t matter what we call ourselves. But try to avoid mentioning our god if you can." Luo Jing gave Li Qingxian a long, meaningful look.
"Oh." ’The Evil Sects really are as strange as they say,’ Li Qingxian thought.
"You’re done questioning me, so now it’s my turn. What exactly is your relationship with Lord Zhou Chunfeng?" Luo Jing asked.
Li Qingxian sighed. "To think Uncle Zhou would mobilize the Ti Qi for my sake... It seems I can’t keep this a secret any longer. Alright, I’ll lay my cards on the table. Zhou Chunfeng and my father are close, though few people know it. But Uncle Zhou is a man of principle and won’t let me throw his name around, so he can only watch over me from the shadows. You know how these elders are. No matter how harsh they sound, when it really matters, they’ll spare no expense to help me."
"Really? Didn’t you first say your official document was from Lord Zhou? How did it end up being from Pang Mingjing?" Luo Jing asked with a sly grin.
"Let’s not discuss the authenticity of the document. The fact that Zhou Henn showed up explains everything," Li Qingxian said with a straight face. ’What really is the relationship between Li Gangfeng and Zhou Chunfeng?’ he wondered.
"We’ll see when we meet Lord Zhou. Then the truth will come out," Luo Jing said, rolling his eyes at Li Qingxian.
The two chatted idly until the carriage stopped and Duan Heng called from outside, "My lords, we’ve arrived at the Night Guard Office."
The two of them disembarked from the carriage to see Zhou Henn already waiting by a side entrance. Zheng Hui, Han Anbo, and Yur Ping were also there.
"Lord Zhou requests your presence in his study," Zhou Henn said.
Li Qingxian smiled at Zheng Hui and the others. "I’ve got to go in. We’ll catch up later."
Zheng Hui clicked his tongue. "This kid... I think he’s about to hit the big time."
Han Anbo nodded.
"Time to celebrate with some lamb soup," Yur Ping said, his eyes crinkling in a smile.
「The study in the rear hall of the Divine Capital Bureau.」
The faint fragrance of incense filled the room. A man dressed in green robes and a black cap sat with his side to them, quietly reading a book he held in both hands.
Zhou Henn and Luo Jing stood in respectful silence, while Li Qingxian secretly sized up the study.
Of the three walls, two were lined with bookshelves and one held a curio shelf. Scrolls were stacked high, and antiques were everywhere.
Beside the curio shelf stood three Cyan Porcelain Bottles, each half as tall as a man. Painted scrolls fanned out from their mouths like blooming flowers.
"Is it settled?"
Zhou Chunfeng lowered his book, turned to face them, and leaned back in his chair.
Li Qingxian’s eyes widened. The entire room seemed to brighten, as if Zhou Chunfeng’s presence alone could illuminate the whole Divine Capital Bureau.
His face was fair, his eyes bright, his lips red, and his teeth white. He was like a piece of jade, seated there. At first glance, he looked like a handsome boy of eighteen; only on closer inspection did one realize he was no longer young.
Li Qingxian couldn’t help but recall the many rumors about Zhou Chunfeng. The youth of Qii Country grew up hearing legends of the "Beautiful Scholar," Zhou Chunfeng.
He had always thought the legends were exaggerated, but seeing him today... even though he was clearly over fifty, his graceful bearing was undeniable. If he were thirty years younger, he could have effortlessly charmed every woman in the city.
"It’s settled," Zhou Henn said, recounting the entire sequence of events.
"You certainly have your father’s flair," Zhou Chunfeng remarked, his eyes fixed on Li Qingxian, sizing him up without a glance at Luo Jing.
As always, Zhou Chunfeng’s voice carried a faint rasp. He spoke slowly and methodically, his words tinged with the soft accent of Jiangnan, a stark contrast to the dialect of the Divine Capital.
Li Qingxian quickly replied, "I could not let the Divine Capital Bureau or you, Lord Zhou, be shamed."
"Li Gangfeng would never say something like that," Zhou Chunfeng said, his expression unchanged.
"My father also wouldn’t have been forced by the Night Guard to have his corpse displayed on Ministry of Revenue Street," Li Qingxian retorted.
"Still as audacious as ever," Zhou Chunfeng commented, then turned to Luo Jing. "Thank you for looking after someone from the Divine Capital Bureau, Lord Luo."
"Not at all, not at all. We both serve the Imperial Court. I am unworthy of your thanks, Lord Zhou." Luo Jing was both surprised and flattered, sneaking glances at Zhou Chunfeng.
"I, for one, am curious how this cunning brat managed to persuade a dignified Eighth-Grade master," Zhou Chunfeng said, his gaze fixed on Li Qingxian.
Luo Jing sighed. "Li Qingxian, why don’t you tell him yourself."
Li Qingxian’s expression was calm as he spoke. "Uncle Zhou, we’re all on the same side, so let’s not speak in riddles. I reported this to you before: I’ve discovered a new method for distilling strong spirits. It’s fast, suitable for mass production, and could be rolled out nationwide. You, like me, are loyal to the Emperor and devoted to our country. We agreed that with a business of this magnitude, we couldn’t just think of ourselves; we had to think of the Imperial Court and His Majesty the Emperor. So, after we discussed it, we decided to divide the future distillery into ten shares. The Emperor’s Inner Treasury, the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of Works, the Night Guard Department, and I will each hold two shares, and we will jointly operate the distillery to sell the spirits. You gave me full authority to handle this and sent me to the Ministry of Revenue for negotiations, but Pang Mingjing ambushed me on the way. Fortunately, I am resourceful and level-headed, and I successfully found Lord Luo of the Ministry of Revenue to resolve the matter."
Zhou Chunfeng stared at Li Qingxian, saying nothing for a long time.
Li Qingxian stared at the curio shelf, his mind a complete blank. ’When being a smooth talker fails, play dead.’
Luo Jing couldn’t hold it in any longer and lowered his head, chuckling.
Zhou Chunfeng snorted coldly and looked at Luo Jing. "He had neither my Seal nor any official document from me. And you believed him?"
Luo Jing replied helplessly, "Lord Zhou, you have no idea how persuasive this kid is. Even if it weren’t me, anyone else would have been taken in by his silver tongue. To be honest, I didn’t completely believe him, but I recognized his talent. If he were to join my Evil Sect, he would one day soar to the Cyan Cloud."