Wang Buku knew he couldn’t win a war of words with Li Qingxian. He said, "Don’t forget to go to Huahai Building tonight. Baige and Qiu Ye are both going. I also invited two other friends who are taking the Cyan Cloud Examination with us."
"Are they all from the Martial Cultivation Noble side of things?"
"They’re all from fallen families," Wang Buku said self-deprecatingly.
"Right, how are things with you?" Li Qingxian asked.
Han Anbo gave Yur Ping and Zheng Gaojue a meaningful look, and the three of them moved a short distance away.
Wang Buku let out a sigh of relief. "The older generation my family offended couldn’t be bothered with me at first. It was just their children and grandchildren who were after my family’s remaining wealth and wanted to teach me a lesson to vent their own frustrations. When a grandson asks his grandfather for my family’s assets, how could the grandfather not step in? Thankfully, Grandpa Wu has now become a figurehead for the Nobility and Martial Cultivators, so he has even more clout than before. He put in a word for me, and the matter was dropped. Barring any surprises, I should be safe from now on."
"They’re just letting it go like that?" Li Qingxian asked, surprised.
Wang Buku shook his head. "You’re not from the Nobility, so you don’t understand the inner workings. Let me put it this way: I only managed to protect what little my family has left because I had the support of elders like Grandpa Wu, and because I genuinely suffered through their torment. If it were an ordinary family, especially a newly rich merchant family, they would have no choice but to obediently hand over their fortune and flee. Why do you think so many of the nouveau riche run off to the small southern countries once they’ve made enough money? It’s not just to protect their wealth, but to protect their lives."
"I can understand their children and grandchildren making a move, but for the older generation to be so shameless?"
"It’s like I said. The grandson made a request of his grandfather. Of course the grandfather is going to dote on his own grandson. You don’t expect him to side with an outsider like me, do you?" Wang Buku said.
"That’s true. But to slander your name like that is truly despicable. I’m afraid your days in the Divine Capital will be difficult from now on," Li Qingxian said.
Wang Buku said helplessly, "It’s not just ’from now on.’ The first few days after I was released from prison, how many of the Nobility sneered at me? I’m used to it. Once the Cyan Cloud Examination is over, I’ll head north to guard the river and get away from this filthy place. People with clean hands like us aren’t fit to live in the Divine Capital."
Li Qingxian sighed. Wang Buku was an illegitimate son. He had received little favor from the Duke Rong Mansion, yet he bore the brunt of their cold shoulder.
"A dragon stranded in shallow waters gets bullied by shrimp. Once you leave the Divine Capital, you’ll be a trapped dragon returning to the sea. You’re bound for greatness," Li Qingxian said.
"I’ll take you up on those auspicious words. What are you off to do?"
"I’ll be leaving the capital soon, so I’m going to visit the families of our fallen brothers and leave them some money to tide them over. They’re all the brothers from the Deceit Village incident."
Wang Buku thought of Deceit Village and Ye Han. He glanced at Li Qingxian’s Qiankun Bracelet and sighed inwardly with a sense of helplessness. ’Ye Han’s greatest regret was that I couldn’t help him retrieve his Qiankun Ring. But I can barely protect myself, so what could I have done?’
The five of them walked out the main gate and went their separate ways.
Led by Han Anbo, Li Qingxian visited the families of the brothers who had died in Deceit Village one by one, leaving one hundred taels of silver at each home.
As evening approached, Li Qingxian walked toward the last family’s home. The CLANG, CLANG of hammering echoed from a blacksmith shop up ahead.
Beneath the night sky, the forge fire blazed.
Several bare-chested men, drenched in sweat, swung their hammers, striking the red-hot iron with a unique rhythm that sent sparks flying.
One of them, an old man, looked over. Seeing Han Anbo, he put down the object in his hand and walked over with a smile.
"Younger Brother Han."
Han Anbo said, "Old Chen, this is our Department Head, Lord Li Qingxian. He’s also one of the brothers who went into Deceit Village with us."
Blacksmith Chen looked at Li Qingxian and quickly said, "Greetings, Lord Li."
Li Qingxian said, "We’re all family here, no need to be so formal. I’ll be leaving the Divine Capital soon, so I’m visiting the families of my Night Guard brothers. I mainly want to ask if you’re in need of anything and see if there’s any way I can help."
Blacksmith Chen sighed. "It was a good thing that my Old Third was able to join the Night Guard. In this day and age, to live a clean life and die an honorable death fighting Deceit and enemies on the outside... that isn’t such a bad thing. It’s just..."
Seeing Blacksmith Chen hesitate, Li Qingxian said, "Uncle Chen, please, just say what’s on your mind. If there’s any way I can help, I will."
"It’s just that the boy was taken by Deceit. He can’t be brought home for burial, and we don’t dare go to that place. His mother wove a Peace Knot for Old Third and always wanted to burn it at his grave for him, but we can’t go. Whenever she thinks about it, she just weeps."
Li Qingxian sighed. Being taken by Deceit was a serious matter, different from being killed in ordinary combat. This was exactly why he had to visit these brothers’ families personally.
Han Anbo said, "Give the Peace Knot to me. When one of our brothers passes through Yanzhou Guangtong Prefecture, we’ll have them write his name on it and burn it from a distance. It’s not the same as burning it at his grave, but it’s a way to show we care."
Blacksmith Chen nodded. "Alright. At least it will give the boy’s mother some peace of mind. I’ll go get the Peace Knot."
Blacksmith Chen went to the back courtyard and returned a moment later carrying a large, deep-red sheet of woven Peace Knots.
The large Peace Knot was woven from dozens of smaller ones linked together, so dense and intricate it was larger than a shirt.
Li Qingxian sighed again. He stepped in front of Han Anbo, took the Peace Knot, and stored it in his Qiankun Bracelet. "I’ll burn it for Chen Sanwa when I pass by."
"Thank you, Lord Li," Blacksmith Chen said, immensely grateful.
They chatted a while longer. Li Qingxian tried to give him money, but Blacksmith Chen refused. So, he secretly left behind a one-hundred-tael silver note before leaving with Han Anbo and the other two men for Huahai Building.
When they arrived at the entrance to the Jade Pavilion Room, in the Earth-character wing, two Guards stopped them.
Li Qingxian stated his identity and purpose for being there. One Guard opened the door, while the other led Han Anbo and the two men with him to an open table in Huahai Building, seating them with the other guests’ attendants.
Li Qingxian entered the room and saw the people at the table ahead all rise to their feet.
A quick glance revealed Wang Buku, Songg Baige, and Qiu Ye were all there, along with two heroic-looking young men he didn’t recognize.
Wang Buku said, "Qingxian, you finally made it. Come, I won’t bother introducing you to Baige and Old Qiu, you already know them. Let me introduce you. This is Jin Yuan, young master of the Nanyang Marquis’s Mansion, and this is Luh Gaoming, young master of the Guangchang Bo Mansion. And this," he said, gesturing to Li Qingxian, "is Li Qingxian. Don’t be fooled by his boyish looks, his tongue is venomous. This little rascal is the one who gave me my nickname."
Everyone burst into laughter.
Qiu Ye said, "The nickname ’Wang Tiantian’ has already spread throughout the entire Divine Capital. Qingxian has a real talent for naming people."
Li Qingxian smiled, greeted everyone, and took a seat.
Food and wine were served, and the six of them ate and chatted.
At first, they just talked about matters in the Divine Capital. When the Demon Sect and the Ministry of Justice were occasionally brought up, everyone would make sarcastic remarks, and Luh Gaoming began cursing them outright.
After Luh Gaoming finished his tirade, Li Qingxian smiled and asked, "Brother Luh, why do you hold such a grudge against the Demon Sect?"
Luh Gaoming sighed. "My father was a Fourth Grade official when he was granted the title of Guangchang Bo for his military achievements. Blessed by the Imperial Court’s Qi Fortune, he had a chance to advance to the Third Grade. Even if he failed to break through on his own, he still had a chance to receive a Favorable Reward from the Emperor and be granted a Third Grade status through Qi Fortune. But who would have known? During a trip, he was somehow afflicted with Demon Poison. He was tormented for years, and his power not only failed to advance, it actually regressed. He dropped back to the Fifth Grade, with no hope of promotion for the rest of his life."
"Are you sure it was Demon Poison?"
"Yes. We even had an Upper-Grade Grand Scholar and a medical cultivator from the Daoist Sect look at him. It was definitely Demon Poison. We also went to the Ministry of Justice, hoping they would make an exception, but they claimed to know nothing about it. They said it was probably an accident and refused to look into it further. Later, someone in the know told us that this was just the Demon Sect deliberately testing a new poison. Apparently, this sort of thing is common, but since the victims have no evidence, they can only let it go."
"The Demon Sect is too arrogant!" Li Qingxian said.