"Senior Sister Jing Yun Zi, could you tell me—did you first join the Human Sect and then enter Lord Changping's service, or was it the other way around?"
In the open space before the Human Sect's Scripture Pavilion, Li Haimo sat on a large rock. Beside him, Jing Yun Zi was still sorting through the ancient texts. At his words, her hand trembled. Seeing no one else around but Li Haimo, she instinctively reached for her sword—then withdrew it, resuming her task with the volumes.
"I entered the Human Sect at ten years old. Before that, I was the daughter of a longtime laborer in Lord Changping's household, named Cai Wei. Later, my father told me the Daoist sects were accepting disciples, so he sent me to the Human Sect. Back then, I had no idea that stepping through the gates of Taiyi Mountain meant abandoning every trace of one's worldly identity. There were over thirty of us that day, but in the end, only I caught our master's eye—Grandmaster Cangqiong Zi—and was taken as his disciple."
Jing Yun Zi—or rather, Cai Wei—spoke with quiet calm.
"Master treated me better than my own father ever did. He had few disciples, and I was his only girl among them, so whether it was Master or my senior brothers, they all doted on me. I forgot who I used to be. And they never reached out to me. I nearly forgot my old self too. That is, until the year you came to the mountain—when Master ascended to the Western Paradise. I succeeded him as one of the Human Sect's five great elders, and that's when they found me." Cai Wei went on, a smile flickering across her face before it twisted into bitterness.
"They were discreet about it. They had an old woman from a shop at the foot of the mountain deliver the Cai Wei Sword to me—nothing more, no words attached. But I knew it wasn't simple." Cai Wei added.
"At first, they just wanted me to pass along intelligence from the mountain—whether from the Heavenly Sect or the Human Sect, secret or mundane. I only fed them the most harmless scraps. Then they showed me a hand—one that belonged to my little brother. I'd never even met him, but I knew it was real. So I told them about your studies in the Daoist Scripture." Her voice cracked with pain as she confessed.
"But that wasn't enough for them. So they sent my mother's head. They demanded I steal the Human Sect's mountain-gate swordsmanship for them. I had no choice but to comply. In return, they passed along the cultivation method for the Cai Wei Sword from the Classic of Poetry. A kind of consolation, I suppose. Once I'd mastered it without issue, I copied a version and slipped it into the Scripture Pavilion." Cai Wei's words dripped with regret.
"Later, they wanted the Human Sect's Xue Nu Chu Qing heart method too—the one only successive sect leaders can learn, which I couldn't even access. They settled for less: the Meng Die Zhi Dun and the Qian Li Chuan Yin. I still refused. I couldn't bring myself to do it. Then they sent my father's head. If I didn't obey, they'd send my brother's next." At last, Cai Wei broke, her composure shattering.
"So that's why you handed over the Meng Die Zhi Dun and Qian Li Chuan Yin heart methods to them," Li Haimo said evenly. He could fathom the agony tearing at Cai Wei's heart, but as a disciple of the Human Sect, understanding didn't equate to forgiveness.
"No," she replied. "Because you and Uncle-Master Beiming Zi clashed, the entire sect was under watch—every move scrutinized. We were all wounded besides, with no chance to pass anything along. Later, when Brother Mu Xu Zi confronted the sect leader, every Human Sect disciple returned to the mountain. Lord Changping's people thought the plot exposed and cut off contact. And after you took over as Human Sect leader, you sealed the gates—no one leaves except Outer Affairs Pavilion disciples. So they've had no way to reach me since." Cai Wei explained.
"I hope that's the truth. Otherwise, not a soul in Lord Changping's entire household will be spared—not even the dogs!" Li Haimo declared.
Never underestimate the Daoists. Once their core scriptures are stolen—and they know the target—from Uncle-Master Beiming Zi down to the outer disciples, every Daoist will heed the sect leader's command and descend the mountain. They would dare assassinate an emperor of a realm, let alone the mere household of a Lord Changping. In this world, no one could evade a joint strike from Beiming Zi, the leaders of the Heavenly and Human Sects, and over a dozen elders.
Even Wu An Lord Bai Qi, Qin State's paramount general, enfeoffed for his military triumphs, had fallen to the Farmers' hand. And the Daoists, whose might surpassed even the Farmers—when they moved, no one escaped.
"Issue the Heavenly Mandate of Heaven and Man. Keep Lord Changping's household under the closest watch. Should anyone there be found employing Daoist martial arts, wipe out the entire Changping household—down to the last chicken and dog!" Li Haimo summoned Beiming Zi and all the elders of the Heavenly and Human Sects, issuing the Daoists' supreme decree: the Extermination Order.
In an instant, swarms of disciples poured down the mountain, heading straight for Xianyang. At the base, the guests who'd come for the wedding ceremony fell deathly silent. On the eve of the two sect leaders' grand union, the Heavenly Sect disciples—who never ventured forth—were marching en masse alongside the Human Sect. It drew the gaze of the Hundred Schools of Thought.
"What are the Daoists up to?" a voice from a minor sect whispered.
"Quiet! Don't invite disaster. That's the Daoists' highest edict—the Heavenly Mandate of Heaven and Man. Every Daoist disciple and follower must obey without question. From kings and emperors down to the feudal lords—no one may stand in their way," an elder well-versed in lore warned.
Since the Daoists founded their sect on Taiyi Mountain, the Heavenly Mandate had been invoked but thrice. The first: to slay the inaugural Yin-Yang Clan leader, Donghuang Taiyi. He perished, but the Daoists suffered grievous losses and sealed their mountain thereafter. The second: when the Daoists split asunder, the Heavenly and Human Sects parting ways. From then on, the Mandate required joint sanction by both sect leaders to invoke. The third was no Daoist decree at all, but one issued by King Xiaowen of Qin—to shield and bolster Lord Shang's reforms. Any who resisted: death. That token had been granted to Duke Mu of Qin when the Daoists established Taiyi, allowing any Ying scion to command one act from the Daoists, so long as it aligned with the heavenly and earthly Dao.
With the Mandate unleashed, even Lord Changping—still in Xianyang—could sit idle no longer. He knew this edict targeted him. His household harbored more than a few who'd pilfered Daoist arts. He must journey to Taiyi Mountain himself to explain, lest even King Zheng of Qin refuse to shield him—or dare to. He needed to grasp the Mandate's full scope firsthand.
"Have we learned why the Daoists' Heavenly Mandate targets Lord Changping?" In Xianyang Palace, within Xianyang City, Empress Dowager Xuan murmured.
"The Mandate was proclaimed across the Heavenly and Human Sects. The reason's unknown, save that it decrees: should any in Lord Changping's household be caught with stolen core Daoist scriptures, exterminate them all—down to the chickens and dogs."
A voice drifted from behind the screen.
"Ah, Lord Changping. Among the Hundred Schools, who isn't tempted to covet? Did you truly believe your schemes unseen—that Qi State's Tian clan supplanted the Jiang line so cleanly? You marveled at the Farmers' might, yet forgot the even greater power of the Hundred Schools looming above them." Empress Dowager Xuan sighed. She'd watched Changping's deeds unfold, etched them in memory. Born Chu, now Qin's Empress Dowager Xuan, she'd never expected the reclusive Daoists to unleash the Heavenly Mandate over it.
"Young Master Zheng, what do you make of this?" Lü Buwei eyed the youthful King of Qin.
"The Daoists are making an example—slaughtering the chicken to warn the monkeys. First, the Mohist Grandmaster storms the mountain with two Yin-Yang elders in tow. Now, Lord Changping's house pilfers Daoist texts. Without action, the Daoists would become a jest among the Hundred Schools, stripped of all dignity across the Seven States," Ying Zheng replied.
In his heart, he mused further: The Hundred Schools grow too potent. Even the reticent Daoists face threats to a realm's chief minister's household. Such forces ill serve the Empire's rise. Yet he still required the Daoists to counter the Yin-Yang Clan, the Guigu scholars, and the rest— for from their founding, the Daoists had woven unbreakable ties with Qin. Thus, as the Mandate stirred, they'd specially petitioned the King of Qin with explanations.
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