Chapter 73: Chapter 62 Osmanthus
Lan Yuqing had co up the secluded and winding mountain road for the osmanthus forest, though she would not admit it.
Zhongnan Mountain was fertile and had a humid climate. The osmanthus trees blossod very early, and their fragrance was rich and deeply aromatic.
Each year during the rainy season in July, when rain fell in abundance and osmanthus blossod, the delicate ladies of Luojing would carry baskets to the suburbs to pick osmanthus flowers and make flower honey, their slender hands kneading the mixture into pastries.
Whose son of Zhongnan did not love these delicacies?
Lan Yuqing passed through the floral woods, bathing in the elegant fragrance, and continued up the mountain without glancing aside. Upon reaching the vermilion gate, she stopped, looked back at the dense green forest behind her, then took out a key and opened the side door she had not visited for a year.
Dressed in purple, Lan Yuqing confidently made her way directly to the mountaintop, passing by several palatial constructions carved with dragons and painted beams, deeming the blue-clothed Daoists, who stopped to bow respectfully, invisible.
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Halfway up, she paused at the Scripture Platform close to the summit.
This ancient platform, situated atop a rugged peak and surrounded by old pines and cypresses, with lush willows forming a barrier in front, would soon host a debate between Confucianism and Daoism. By that ti, the citizens gathered at the mountain’s base would hear the argunts from both sides on the platform, countless hermits and Cultivators of Zhongnan Country would co to witness the discussion, and many Cultivators from neighboring mountains would also be present to see the grand event.
Lan Yuqing paused for a mont, scoffed, and then continued up the steps, passed the corridors, and arrived at the summit.
The peak of Taibai Mountain had three temples in the shape of the character for “mountain,” with the middle Temple of the Daoist Ancestor featuring a giant black rock on its roof, oval-shaped, devoid of edges and corners, with pits and lt holes.
This was the “Star” that shone on Taibai Mountain’s peak at night, like a pearl left by an Immortal.
However, under the daylight, the “Star” was dull and unremarkable.
Lan Yuqing did not enter the central main hall but instead turned into the Ancestor Hall to the right.
There were Daoists guarding the hall doors, but she did not acknowledge or announce her presence and simply entered without being stopped.
The Ancestor Hall was empty, bearing three deities at the center, with a Daoist in yellow and purple sitting on a cushion before the statues.
Chongxu Temple was one of the primary veins of Xuanhuang Realm’s Daoism, left in Cang Province’s Zhongnan Mountain by the Chongxu Daoist sect. These three statues worshipped the sect’s three founding ancestors.
The figure in the central and highest position was Yin Zi, the founder of the Chongxu Daoist sect, who had once personally heard the Daoist Ancestor preach and transmit teachings.
The two on either side were the first Master and Vice Sect Leader of the sect, who truly established what is now one of the orthodox Daoist lineages of the Xuanhuang Cultivation World.
It’s important to note that Daoist schools and Daoism are different—the forr is a school of the Great Dao, while the latter is a religious sect.
Daoism branched from Daoist schools and was founded on the principles of the Great Dao propagated by these schools in the Xuanhuang Realm, gathering followers and cultivating eternal life.
Daoist schools, on the other hand, are more exalted, focusing on scholarly study and less on eternal life or cultivation, seeking only the Great Dao.
It is the sa with the various schools in the Xuanhuang Realm.
However, what is intriguing is that, although the scholars from these schools do not focus deliberately on cultivation, almost all of them have extrely high Cultivation levels, and the higher their scholarship, the stronger their Cultivation.
The statues worshipped by the powerful Daoist veins in the Xuanhuang Cultivation World are, besides the Daoist Ancestor, none other than the ancient Saints and scholars from Ancient Tis, who established the foundations of their scholarship in the Great Dao and created thods of cultivation in pursuit of eternal life.
Simply put, the scholars seek the Dao directly from the start, while the mountain Cultivators engage in step-by-step cultivation, gradually reaching for that elusive “Dao.”
Strictly speaking, there’s no simple distinction between the two in terms of difficulty or superiority.
Many scholars from the schools follow the old ways, keeping strictly to the paths of the ancients without any advancent in learning.
And how many mountain Cultivators find themselves stuck at the hurdle of innate talent, watching a rare few geniuses speed ahead while they can only progress slowly, ultimately becoming nourishnt for the vast Cultivation World, just another face in the crowd.
The Great Dao is rciless.
This was Lan Yuqing’s bitter experience, because of that man who had trampled her ragged for his Dao.
Lan Yuqing composed herself and walked towards the middle-aged Daoist in the center of the hall, who was ditating in yellow and purple attire, his face ruddy and bearing an elegant deanor, his eyes closed while holding a strand of Flowing Beads in one hand.
This strand of Flowing Beads was quite peculiar, with each bead of different color and material, and each bearing an engraving of the Tai Chi Bagua Map on its surface.
“It’s confird that Lin Wenruo has sought a powerful ally nad Zhao Ziyu. If the information is correct, he should be a student of the Mountain Master at Linlu Academy, just passing through Luojing. Lin Wenruo learned of this and summoned him to confront us,” said Lan Yuqing calmly and casually, showing no fear or reverence for the most powerful State Preceptor in Zhongnan Country.
Upon hearing this, Qingjing Zi gently nodded, especially after the ntion of the Mountain Master. He slowly opened his eyes and looked at the daughter, who seed like a different person since the upheaval on the day of the spring sacrifice.
“Tell in detail.”
“The person who inford on us is nad Li Shiqian. That day, he and a local scholar nad Mr. Qingxi were playing outside the city. At noon, they took shelter from the heat at the Zuiweng Pavilion, ten miles north of the city, and encountered Zhao Ziyu and two others resting inside the pavilion… Li Shiqian overheard their conversation… Eventually, the three of them slipped away when Lin Wenruo wasn’t paying attention.”
“Very strange,” Master Qingjing said expressionlessly, “Even if Lin Wenruo arrived late that day and didn’t know Li Shiqian had overheard Zhao Ziyu’s identity, so he later did not pursue them, this reason is plausible, but still not quite right.”
Lan Yuqing nodded, “I felt the sa way, so I went to verify a few things these past days.”
“Among the three people present at that ti, one of them was a peripheral Daoist of our temple, called Chen Hongyuan. His statent, apart from so slight differences in details, matched with Li Shiqian’s in all the crucial parts. I also checked Chen Hongyuan’s background. He is of clear origin, entered the temple to beco a Daoist very early, and it was perfectly normal for him to be passing by Zuiweng Pavilion that day, on his way back to the main temple for the monthly duty.”
“The only noteworthy point is about the other scholar, Mr. Qingxi, who died soon after returning from the Zuiweng Pavilion, at a refined gathering. The cause was excessive indulgence, physical overstrain, oh, I forgot to ntion, he had a predilection for the sa sex and died atop a male prostitute,” Lan Yuqing continued with a slight smirk.
After saying this, Lan Yuqing continued, “Because the timing of his death was unusual, I investigated carefully, but I found no trace of foul play in his death.”
Master Qingjing suddenly spoke up, “Is there not a trace of Linlu Lin’s influence in this whole affair?”
After thinking, Lan Yuqing truthfully replied, “None… Wait, if I must find a connection, there is one. The male prostitute who caused his sudden death had attended a literary eting hosted by the Linlu Lin family on East Mountain in the north of the city just a decade ago, but that aside, there’s no further connection.”
Upon hearing the earlier statent, Master Qingjing slightly frowned, but after hearing Lan Yuqing’s addendum, his brow smoothed.
If Mr. Qingxi’s death had no connection to the Linlu Lin family, if nothing could be linked, that would be really suspicious given the imnse influence of the Linlu Lin family and its deep entanglents with the scholarly circles of Luojing City.
Lan Yuqing then added, “My daughter feels that there should be no doubt about Zhao Ziyu’s identity.”
“Why so sure?” asked Master Qingjing.
“I still maintain so contact with Lin Qingxuan, the younger brother of Lin Wenruo. He knows this Zhao Ziyu and also has so disagreents with him… According to him, Zhou Ziyu once casually composed two excellent poems, one Falling Flower Grade, one Ascending Grade.”
“The location was at Longquan Crossing in the southern part of the Great Chu Dynasty in the Wangque Continent.”
“I later checked the travel records at the City Defense Office for that day’s records from the southern gate, and Zhou Ziyu indeed had a travel pass from the Great Chu Dynasty.”
Master Qingjing narrowed his eyes and nodded slightly, “Is there any way to act against him… hmm, just ensure it’s done with precision, just enough to stop him from participating in the Confucian-Daoist debate.”
Lan Yuqing shook her head, “It’s difficult. Ever since that incident, our people planted in the estate have been cleaned out, and besides, we still do not know exactly what Zhao Ziyu looks like. All I know is that he is thin-faced, bright-eyed, dressed like a scholar; otherwise, he is unremarkable, without distinct features, one could pass by him on the street… It’s difficult to pinpoint the target.”
Hearing this, Master Qingjing nodded, closed his eyes, and remained silent.
The Great Hall fell quiet for a ti, and neither spoke.
After an indeterminate period, Master Qingjing, with eyes still closed, gently spoke, “In that case, our previous plans might be a bit unstable.”
He then emphasized heavily, “I don’t need to reiterate the importance of the Confucian-Daoist debate. We must ensure it is foolproof!”
Lan Yuqing lowered her eyelids, “My daughter understands.”
And with that, she turned and left.
The woman retraced her steps, reaching again the seldom-used side gate, and then pushed it open to descend the mountain.
However, as she was passing the osmanthus forest again, she suddenly stopped, fell silent for a mont, then sidestepped into the forest.
Under the tree with a red ribbon tied to one of its branches, she stood still.
Her purple robes starkly contrasted with the pure white blossoms of the forest.
Lin Wenruo, I shall make you kneel at my feet.
I will personally ask you why, then send you down.
Rest assured.
I’ll catch up soon. Even as a ghost, I won’t spare you.
————
In the north of the city, in a flower forest of Lanxi.
A man in a flowing wide-sleeved robe walked up to an osmanthus tree, slowly crouched down, and dug up a pot of aged osmanthus brew, then turned and left.
Carrying the pot, whose origins were unknown, he departed, not knowing where he was going or whom he was seeking.
Behind him, a faded red ribbon, lonely and untied, hung from a branch, never to be undone.
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