Cui Shi was once a drafter in the secretariat. He worked in the palace and was once an assistant minister in the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Personnel. Many years after the new emperor took the throne, he was impeached and returned to Fuchun River to become a fisherman due to some reasons.
From this simple introduction, this seemingly ordinary wealthy man was but just a senior official who had retired from the imperial court and was unimportant. However, Ning Que knew that Cui Shi had worked in the palace while Li Yu was learning to read and write. In other words, this man was the princess’ first teacher. Of course, what was most important was that this man was the clan leader of the Cui. He was a bigwig that was very important.
Ning Que viewed Cui Shi with great importance. Even though he did not stand up to welcome him, it was just a deliberate act. He did not understand Cui Shi’s words because he did not understand why a bigwig like him would want to welcome Ning Que and make him happy. He had even come to visit once a problem had occurred.
The Qinghe County’s Dominant Family had a history that was longer than the Academy. Even if they wanted to show their respect for the Academy, they had no reason to choose such a blunt and even stupid way.
Cui Shi did not resolve his doubts. In the following conversation, he calmly changed the subject and fully displayed the manners of a millennia-old dominant family. He did not talk about anything related to the House of Red Sleeves but only reminisced about what had happened in Chang’an in the past. Occasionally, he would ask questions about the princess, Li Yu, and the little prince.
Since they did not know each other well, they made shallow small talk. Cui Shi did not probe deeply. After asking Ning Que to send the Headmaster his regards, he took out a thick letter from his sleeves and placed it on the table. He glanced at Sangsang gently, bade his farewells, and left with the hunchbacked steward.
Ning Que looked at the silent streets outside the window and said, “He did not need to suck up for me, but he did. And he did it in such an understated and careless way, without hiding his pride at all.”
Sangsang did not understand. She thought the bigwig who had come personally to visit had acted humbly enough. Did he look proud?
“To those of the world, the most powerful man in Qinghe County did not have to welcome a disciple of the Academy. But he is intelligent and knows what the Academy means to the Tang Empire. Since he knows this, and that you are about to become the Great Divine Priest of West-Hill, it would be fine if he didn’t come. But if he did, would he come so simply?”
Ning Que turned to look at his untouched cup of tea. He said, “It is weird. I still feel like Cui Shi came by just to look at us. The crux of the matter is, what did he want to see? Also, I feel that he is very confident beneath that calm exterior.”
Sangsang said, “We have heard of the Dominant Families in the City of Wei. A bigwig like him would naturally be confident in speaking and doing things.”
Ning Que shook his head and said, “There aren’t any true old families. Those who could survive for a millennium are all powerful. The Dominant Families of Qinghe know this better than anyone else.”
“These Dominant Families have produced Great Divine Priests of West-Hill but not so recently. I also know that the Qinghe County had sponsored three Grand Cultivators in the Knowing Destiny State. However, one died in Chang’an for some reason or another. These families should know that no matter how strong Qinghe County is, and even if they can stand shoulder to shoulder with the Great River, Song and Wei, they cannot be confident before the imperial court and the Academy.”
Sangsang suddenly said, “That… old steward is suspicious.”
This time, she did not mean that the old steward was a bad person, but that he was truly suspicious. Ning Que knew what she was thinking, and was startled. His brows rose up slightly.
The hunchbacked steward was too ordinary. He was so ordinary that Ning Que did not even notice how he looked like. However, Sangsang said that the person was suspicious.
Ning Que was already at the peak of the Seethrough State. He could already see the threshold of the Knowing Destiny State. An old steward that he found unsuspicious… could only be a Grand Cultivator in the Knowing Destiny State!
“So, it is someone else who wanted to meet me.”
Ning Que said in surprise. There are only two Grand Cultivators in the Knowing Destiny State left in Qinghe County and one of them had come to check up on Ning Que. Why was Qinghe County so vigilant against him, the successor of the Academy?
If not for Sangsang’s sharp senses, he wouldn’t even have known that he had been checked up by a Grand Cultivator until a long time later!
If the old steward had suddenly attacked, Ning Que believed that he would have already died. Even though he knew that this would not happen, he suddenly grew more alert.
He had not understood Qinghe County’s confidence earlier. But now, he could not understand Qinghe County’s intent. However, his vigilant emotions grew. They grew like the willow branches by the lake and wrapped around his body. His breaths grew heavy and he found it difficult to breathe.
So, he wrote two letters, sending one to the Academy and the other to the Nation Master, Li Qingshan. He mentioned what he had seen and heard on his journey, plus his thoughts by the Qing Gorge as well as what he had seen in Qinghe County.
…
…
The solitary and shabby carriage drove out of Yangguan under the respectful and fanatical gazes of the Yangguan City’s residents. The old steward sat on the shaft, hunchbacked. His eyelids were hooded. It was if he could not feel the gazes on him that came from both sides of the streets and had already fallen asleep.
After some time, the horse carriage entered a manor near the Fuchun River. It drove deep into the manor where there was a small building. The walls made of rocks were not as high, but no one would dare to peep in. There were no other stewards or servants present.
Cui Shi jumped out of the carriage quickly and walked to the shaft. He helped the old steward off respectfully and said, “It’s been hard on you, Father.”
This hunchbacked steward was the true master of the Cui family. He was nearing a century of age and was the patriarch of Qinghe County.
Old Master Cui waved his hand and said, “It was no hardship going to visit a person.”
Cui Shi helped the old man into the building. There was a simply decorated study inside. The four windows on each side of the room were covered with thick blinds, stopping the lights outside from streaming in. The room was especially dark. There were six seats along the wall that could be vaguely seen and six old men were seated on them.
The six men stood up slowly and bowed when Old Master Cui entered. They moved slowly, not because they were unhappy to wait but because they were really old.
Old Master Cui sat in the chair right before them and accepted a hot towel that Cui Shi handed him. He placed it on his face and did not say anything while he waited for the heat from the towel to penetrate his tired pores.
The six old men slowly sat down and waited silently, their faces devoid of any dissatisfaction.
Old Master Cui began to wash his face after it was heated. He washed his wrinkled face meticulously with effort. The wrinkles on his face seemed to grow deeper as the hot towel scrubbed over them.
Then, he leaned against the back of his chair and his face was shrouded in darkness.
An old man said, “You went there personally. That’s giving the Academy sufficient ‘face’.”
Old Master Cui said, “We can afford to offend the Queen, but can we afford to offend the Academy? Furthermore, the core disciples of the Headmaster rarely visit the human realm. So we have to look at them carefully. It’s not convenient for us to visit Chang’an, and since he is here in Qinghe, why not go look at him personally?”
An old man asked puzzledly, “Why not simply send him a letter stating your intentions and directly visit him?”
“Sending a letter of intent doesn’t mean we can see him. And even if we do, we won’t be able to see his attitude.”
“What attitude?”
“The attitude of the Academy.”
“The Academy had always been neutral. But since Ning Que killed Xia Hou, they would have to lean towards Princess Li Yu. They can’t possibly support the Queen.”
Old Master Cui shook his head and said, “There are many kinds of attitudes. Who the throne will end up with is but just one of them.”
An old man asked worriedly, “The problem is whether Ning Que’s attitude matches with the Academy’s.”
The Old Master held his hands together and bowed to the skies in the north. He said, “Since the Headmaster allowed his youngest disciple to enter the human realm, it means that he has agreed.”
“What was Ning Que’s attitude?”
“He is a proud and cold young man.”
Old Master Cui suddenly thought of something. He descended into a long silence after saying that. When his aged voice rang in the dark study once more, it felt more tired than before, and was so cold that it made one shudder.
“What I meant by saying to look at his attitude was actually to look at the person. Many strange changes have happened in the last few years. With Haotian watching over us, I do not believe in the invasion of the Underworld. But I believe that a major problem will happen on earth. These changes might be an omen to Qinghe County and our families that the biggest opportunity in a thousand years would soon appear.”
A thousand years ago, Qinghe County became part of the Tang Empire.
What kind of opportunity would Qinghe County welcome a thousand years later?
It was dead silent in the study. The six old men and Cui Shi who was standing beside the seat were all surprised by the hidden meaning in Old Master Cui’s words.
Old Master Cui continued, “We are loyal to the imperial court, but we have to consider what we can do if the world descends into chaos. It is regretful that there was no Queen from Qinghe County in the last century. There are no Great Divine Priests from our Qinghe County in the West-Hill Divine Palace. We cannot do much but only prepare and wait in silence. We have to look at the West-Hill Divine Palace’s attitude towards us. I have to look at Ning Que for myself to ascertain the Academy’s attitude towards us.”
“What is the Academy’s attitude towards us?”
“I have said earlier that Ning Que is proud and cold… No. He is cold-blooded. Being cold-blooded might be part of his personality, but pride is something that has existed in the Academy since its beginnings and has not changed. The Academy is supported by the Tang Empire and does not need to concern itself with us Dominant Families. We do not have any bargaining chips in our hands and have no right to be proud. We cannot bargain with the Academy.”
Old Master Cui said indifferently, “Our third sponsee died of unknown causes in Chang’an. But the Academy did not care and neither did the imperial court say anything. That is because we, Qinghe, are not worthy of their respect.”
“We have to make the necessary preparations.”
Old Master Cui looked at one of the old men in the shadows and said, “Has the West-Hill replied?”
The old man said, “It came in the morning. The Tao Addict… The Divine Priest of Judgment expressed her gratitude in the letter.”
Old Master Cui nodded and said, “It is good that we can help Ye Hongyu secure her position as the Divine Priest of Judgment.”
The old man suddenly said, “Perhaps we can suppress this Mr. Thirteen as a show of our abilities, to gain more respect from the West-Hill Divine Palace.”
“That would be pointless. It would be pointless to do anything more. I don’t care what your descendants from the West-Hill Divine Palace had asked of you. I want to remind you, that Ning Que’s little handmaiden will one day become the Great Divine Priest of Light. And his relationship with the Divine Priest of Judgment is way more complicated than we can imagine.”
Old Master Cui leaned forward, making his wrinkled face visible. He looked at the old man and said assertively, “The key is that if the Academy has not changes, no power in the world will have the right to change. So people can do nothing but wait.”
Those in the building understood what he meant by the Academy. He was actually referring to the Headmaster. So, they remained silent and then, someone suddenly raised a question.
“I knew, when I was a child, that there was a large mountain in the Academy. I am now over eighty, and the large mountain is still standing in the south of Chang’an. How long do we have to wait?”
Old Master Cui raised his hand towards the north and bowed once more. He said, “The Headmaster is still in this world, so we can only continue waiting. If we can wait no longer, our sons and grandsons will see that day. Even the greatest person cannot defy the laws of time. He will one day return to the Haotian Divine Light.”
All was silent in the study. Suddenly, someone asked in a trembling voice. “What if… the Headmaster lives forever?”
Old Master Cui stiffened slightly.
In the dark shadows, one could vaguely see a self-mocking smile crossing his wrinkled face. Then, he sighed softly and said, “If this is the case, then we can only wait forever. We have to wait gently and respectfully. We have to pretend to be tamed dogs.”
The topic ended here.
There were plenty of conversations, plots and paths in this world. In the end, they will all end because there was a great mountain at the end. And that mountain was called the Headmaster.
The six old men left the building and returned to their manors. They continued to be the heads of their clans and down-trodden dogs who had a millennia-old dream.
Old Master Cui and Cui Shi did not leave.
“If that day really comes, my name would probably be carved on a pillar of shame in history.”
Old Master Cui said.
“But your name, might also be recorded at the very beginning of history books.”
Cui Shi said.