Song of Adolescence

Side Story Arc: Follow the Dao, Chapter 2: Offer Sacrifices to the Son of Heaven

Heavenly Revelations Imperial Palace.

Fei Xuan and Li Fansong waited outside the gates, silently waiting for the summons from Tianzheng Emperor.

The new emperor had just ascended his throne, but the State Preceptor had passed away, the Court of Judicial Review had lost most of its manpower, out of the Five Grand Eunuchs, only one was left, and his master, the Wrath Sword Immortal, had reached the limit of his tolerance for this troublesome Heavenly Revelations City so he picked up his sword and left.

"This Emperor's throne has not been easy to sit on," Li Fansong murmured in a low voice.

Fei Xuan was badly shocked by the other's words and hurriedly interjected, "Little shishu, you can't say such things."

Li Fansong thought it was all meaningless but he shrugged and didn't say anything else.

Two people, one stood respectfully in place while the other was restless, his gaze wandering everywhere. Fei Xuan looked more like the martial uncle and Li Fansong was the little Daoist priest.

After a long time, the palace gates opened slowly. A little eunuch opened the door and said softly, "Please come in."

"Thank you, Gonggong." Fei Xuan bowed and walked in with Li Fansong.

Tianzheng Emperor was sitting on the couch, his body much thinner than before, and his complexion somewhat haggard-looking. When he saw the two of them, he smiled slightly. "We heard that the Directorate of Astronomy had a little celestial master from Qingcheng Mountain, but I didn't expect the little celestial master to be so little."

Fei Xuan pulled the reluctant Li Fansong to kneel and pay their respects. "Paying our respects to Your Majesty."

"This must be Mister Xie's dear disciple, Li Fansong. Back then, Mister Xie was the Chancellor of Heavenly Revelations City and all the princes studied under him before. We could be considered brothers of the same school. There's no need to stand on ceremony," Tianzheng Emperor said lightly.

Fei Xuan and Li Fansong stood up. Li Fansong was from the martial world and was a friend of Snow Moon City. Hence, he held no reverence for this Tianzheng Emperor and went straight to the point, "Your Majesty, we're not officials of the imperial court, nor are we law enforcement officers of the government. Why come to us?"

Tianzheng Emperor also went straight to the point. "I came to you because you're friends of that person."

Li Fansong was taken aback, and Fei Xuan was also surprised. This was exactly what Xie Xuan told them before they left, but he didn't expect Tianzheng Emperor would be so direct as soon as he spoke. Seeing their expressions, Tianzheng Emperor sighed lightly. "Because the two of you are friends of that person, when you investigate this matter, you won't arbitrarily place the blame and guilt on that person. The world is full of ignorant people and they always assume that other people are as uncouth as themselves. That friend of yours would never do something so meaningless. We truly believe this."

A sense of admiration filled Li Fansong's heart and he cupped his fists. "Fansong will help Your Majesty find the true culprit.

Fei Xuan raised his head, feeling a sudden jolt in his heart. He spun around and snapped, "Someone's there!"

Both Tianzheng Emperor and Li Fansong were martial experts but neither of them noticed anyone else outside the hall. Besides, there were many guards outside the hall, so who could have approached so easily? Fei Xuan brought out a paper butterfly from his robes and sent it flying with the wind. It fluttered out of the hall and a little eunuch outside watched it curiously. Sneakily, he tried to grab it with his hand but the paper butterfly suddenly accelerated and flew out at high speed.

But a hand reached out and trapped the paper butterfly firmly in his palm.

"The Great Dragon and Elephant Strength. Wonderful." The man laughed loudly and flicked his fingers, sending the paper butterfly back.

Fei Xuan walked out of the hall and reached for the paper butterfly before putting it back into his robes. He hurriedly bowed in salute and greeted, "Marquis."

Lanyue Marquis chuckled. "Why are you two here?"

Fei Xuan turned back and saw Li Fansong walking out. Tianzheng Emperor did not follow him but simply said, "Huang-shu, we were discussing with them the matter of visiting Qingcheng Mountain in the summer. You two may leave now. Huang-shu, please enter."

Lanyue Marquis nodded. "I have also always admired Qingcheng Mountain." After speaking, he stepped into the hall.

Li Fansong glanced at him and remarked softly, "Even Lanyue Marquis is not allowed to know about this?"

"I'm afraid that not only is he not allowed to know, he's the one person most not allowed to know." Fei Xuan exhaled a sigh.

"You're too young to be exposed to such sly and treacherous tactics. Let's settle this matter tonight!" Li Fansong said solemnly.

Outside the palace gates, inside the imperial city.

The swordsman in red was sitting in a wine shop, slowly enjoying his wine. He looked down from the window and saw a magnificent carriage under tight escort on the way out of the city, the formation rather extravagant. He grinned to himself. "He's leaving too?"

The waiter who was serving food showed his surprise. "Does the young master know him? He's the third son of the Mu family, the wealthiest family in Qingzhou. I heard he's going to be the heir of the Mu family too."

The swordsman in red shook his head. "How could I possibly know them? I've only heard about him."

"Oh." The waiter was about to leave but the swordsman in red raised a hand to stop him. He looked at the visitors in the corner who were dressed in Daoist robes and frowned. "Why are there so many Daoist priests in Heavenly Revelations City recently?"

The waiter glanced at the Daoist priests and whispered, "Sir, maybe you haven't heard. Very soon, it'll be the Heavenly Revelations City Daoism Congress that's held once every three years. Daoist priests from every corner under Heaven will come to participate. Those who display outstanding talent during the conference could be selected as celestial masters. But, things are different this year."

"How are things different?" The swordsman in red drank a cup of wine pointedly.

"This year, the State Preceptor is no longer with us. They say a lot of people are here not for the position of celestial master, but for the position of the State Preceptor," the waiter said.

"What, these guys?" The swordsman in red laughed loudly and deliberately emphasised his tone, "They think they can be the State Preceptor?"

The five Daoists priests in the corner were all dressed in purple. One was an old Daoist with white hair and a long beard, three of them were middle-aged and the last was a young Daoist with handsome features. Initially, they were drinking their tea and minding their own business but when they heard the red-clothed swordsman's provocative words, one of the middle-aged Daoists slammed down his teacup. "What did you say?"

The swordsman in red raised his eyebrows and glanced at them sideways, "Divine Heavenly Sect?"

The middle-aged Daoist scoffed coldly, "Your eyes are rather sharp, but since you know that we're from Divine Heavenly Sect, you should understand that what you said earlier was wrong.

"How was I wrong?" The red-clothed swordsman shrugged nonchalantly. "Do you dare claim to have the intent to serve as State Preceptor?"

"You talk too much." The middle-aged Daoist jumped into the air, swept his long sleeves, and knocked over the wine jug on the red-clothed swordsman's table. He did not want to cause injury. He was merely showing his strength. However, the red-clothed swordsman paid no heed and continued to hold his wine cup, took a sip, and placed it down.

As if nothing happened.

Except there was now a sword on the table.

The middle-aged Daoist retreated to his table. His long sleeve had been cut open with a wide slit.

"Send your most powerful guy." The swordsman in red laughed.

The old Daoist with white hair and a long beard sighed. "It looks like this young hero is picking on our Divine Heavenly Sect. This humble old Daoist has no intention of vying for the position of the State Preceptor. I've brought my Sect disciples here to Heavenly Revelations City merely to meet our fellow Daoist friends and gain new perspectives."

The swordsman in red pointed a finger and shook it lightly. "I'm not talking about you, but him."

His finger ended up pointing straight at the handsome young Daoist.