"Xiao Jin! See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil, do no evil!" Master Zeng Shiyan scolded, his face flushed with embarrassment.
Xiao Shaojin shrugged, unbothered. "Master Sun calls this 'All warfare is based on deception.' I saw activity in the kitchen after changing my clothes and found out you two were in the Library Pavilion. So, I brought some side dishes and yellow wine."
Two maids set up a small table filled with exquisite dishes and wine warmers.
Once the maids left, Xiao Shaojin bowed respectfully. "Student Xiao Shaojin greets Master Zeng. Disciple Xiao Shaojin greets Master Sun."
Sun Zhongxuan squirmed in his seat. "Look at what you've done to the kid, Zeng. Our Ghost Valley School doesn't need this hypocrisy. Who are you putting on a show for?"
"It is not hypocrisy!" Zeng retorted sharply. "The first duty of a gentleman is to cultivate himself through Rituals. Without Rituals, there is no Benevolence. Without Benevolence, the court collapses and the world falls into chaos!"
"You drink two ounces of horse piss and think you're the big brother?" Sun snapped. "Let me ask you: If someone bows to you but doesn't respect you in their heart, what's the point?"
"You are only months older than me," Zeng argued.
"According to your Confucian Rituals, age dictates order! I am months older, so I am your Elder Brother. How dare you speak to me like this? Call yourself the Fourth Sage?" Sun seized the chance to bully him.
"Sophistry! Age order applies to family clans; we are just classmates. And my title of Fourth Sage wasn't given; it was earned through ten years of Dao cultivation. If you disagree, debate me properly. Don't act like a street thug!"
Xiao Shaojin stepped in before a fight broke out. "Alright, alright. Both Masters are my teachers. If you fight, who should I help?"
He handed them each a pot of warm yellow wine. "Masters, the night is cold. Warm your stomachs."
Zeng glanced at the Go board. "You were checkmated before Xiao Jin arrived. Why are two white stones missing?"
"I don't know. Ask the stones," Sun played the rogue.
Xiao quickly changed the subject. "Master Zeng, were you really classmates with my Mother? I never heard you mention it."
Zeng smiled awkwardly. "It is true. I was classmates with Princess Consort Xiao at the Lunar Academy."
"It's normal for youths to admire beauty," Xiao waved his hand. "Why be so cautious, Master?"
"He's been cautious since he was a baby," Sun interjected.
"I know Master Zeng's character," Xiao said sincerely. "If there is one true gentleman left in the world, it is Master Zeng."
Xiao remembered seeing Master Zeng chat happily with an old beggar on the street. Even when the beggar cursed him for only giving a few coins, Zeng didn't get angry. Instead, he wrote a long poem about the suffering of the border people and sent it to the Emperor.
Emperor Yuwen had read it three times from dawn to dusk, moved to tears. He sent a reply via express courier that killed eight horses, praising the poem as a masterpiece and ordering it carved onto a fifty-foot stone stele at the Imperial Academy.
Zeng, however, was furious. "The Emperor wastes money and labor on a stone while the people suffer! He sees flattery, not tears!"
Xiao remembered seeing the golden stele in the Capital. He thought the poem was okay, but two lines stuck with him: 'Three thousand miles east of the Imperial Capital, what road is left for the white-haired old man? Cold sands eat bones under a sunless sky; who knows of Yao and Shun here?'
"Xiao Jin, why the long face?" Sun Zhongxuan interrupted his thoughts. "You are the 37th Successor of Ghost Valley. With such power, what is there to worry about?"
Xiao shook his head and teased Zeng. "I am just sad that Master Zeng treats me like an outsider, hiding his past with my mother."
"A gentleman does not speak nonsense!" Zeng huffed, drinking a cup. "I have taught you everything I know. You are my only true disciple!"
Xiao hopped over and started massaging Zeng's shoulders. "I'm just teasing. But Master, you rarely drink. Why so much tonight?"
"Having a disciple like you is a blessing," Zeng patted Xiao's hand. "But Xiao Jin... no banquet lasts forever. I cannot stay in your home forever."
Xiao's eyes reddened. "Master, who is chasing you away? I'll chop them!"
"No one," Zeng smiled gently. "I have an appointment to keep. A very important one."
"He's going to see your mother," Sun Zhongxuan slurred drunkenly. Then he turned to Zeng, his voice sharp. "Xiao Shaojin is our only disciple. The sooner he grows up, the better. Stop treating him like a child. Every day he remains a child is another day his life is in danger!"
The room fell silent. Zeng ate a piece of "Steam-Roasted Goose" silently.
Sun continued eating and listing dishes loudly. "Roasted Crane Breast... Steamed Bream... Oh? Lychee Kidneys. I love this. If Prince Xiao hadn't built the canal, we'd never eat Jiangnan food in Jicheng."
He raised his voice at "Prince Xiao."
"Tsk. I wonder if there's a wine called 'Eat the Lord's Salary, Share the Lord's Worries'?"
Noticing Zeng's darkening face, Xiao tugged at Sun's sleeve. "Master Sun, please eat. I'll pour the wine."
Finally, Master Zeng spoke slowly. "Zhongxuan, you are my friend. I never asked what happened to you during our years apart. My past is deeply connected to Xiao Jin, but he is only twelve. He shouldn't bear these burdens. You are pulling up the seedling to help it grow!"
Sun ignored him and turned to Xiao.
"You are the only Heir of the Dongqi Prince, correct?"
"Correct."
"Six years ago, the Barbarians invaded, separating your family and nearly destroying the Prince's Mansion, correct?"
"Correct."
"If I'm not wrong, you learned from the Grand Preceptor that there was a hidden cause behind the war, correct?"
Xiao nodded.
"You also know the truth isn't that simple, correct?"
Xiao remained silent.
Sun sighed, dropping his aggressive tone. "Your family is separated by thousands of miles. Before your parents married, they had a son who was taken by the Su Clan of Jiangnan. His name is Su Mubei. Do you know where your elder brother is now?"
A tear rolled down Xiao's cheek. Sun pulled the boy into a hug.
After crying for a moment, Xiao whispered, "Father said Brother realized the Dao of the Sub-Sage Vein. Shortly after, he was taken hostage by the Prime Minister of the Great Moon Kingdom. They say... he obtained one of the characters of the Noble Spirit in his Literary Heart."
"Correct," Master Zeng finally spoke up. "That is why the enemy targeted him. Your family has deep ties to the Nine Literary Veins. And your mother, Su Dai, is under house arrest in the Narcissus Pavilion of the Su Clan for the same reason."
The Legend of the Noble Spirit
Xiao Shaojin knew about the "Noble Spirit" (Haoran Qi).
In the primordial chaos, the Noble Spirit was vast and untamed, causing disasters. The First Sage prophesied: "If the Qi is chaotic, the mountains and rivers will shake."
The Nine Sages worked together to condense the chaotic energy into four characters: Hao (Vast), Ran (Correct), Zheng (Upright), Qi (Spirit).
These four characters consisted of thirty-seven strokes. The Nine Sages divided them, each keeping four strokes in their Literary Hearts. The extra stroke was kept by the First Sage.
However, conflict arose. In the Pre-Zhou Era, Sage Kong, the head disciple of the First Sage, forcibly reunited the scattered strokes. Through sheer will and conquest, he gathered the entire Noble Spirit into his own body.
Under the influence of this immense power, Sage Kong founded the Lunar Academy. At its peak, it had 300,000 disciples, and the Zhou Dynasty became the strongest empire on the Divine Land.
But the Noble Spirit was too powerful for one man. As Sage Kong lay dying, his life consumed by the Dao, he decided to return the four characters to the Nine Veins, hiding them within the 48,000 academies.
He said: "To obtain the Noble Spirit, one must read the Sages' books. The universe, the bell of the people, the thousands of Great Daos—all are in the books."
Since then, scholars who realized the Dao had a chance to obtain strokes of the Noble Spirit. The Lunar Academy declined, but it remained the premier institution of the Nine Veins.
Master Zeng sat up straight, looking solemnly at Xiao Shaojin.
"Xiao Jin, today I will tell you the past you never knew. I don't know if this is the right decision, but a gentleman does not stand under a crumbling wall. Tonight, I will point out the most dangerous wall you will face."
Xiao Shaojin sat up and bowed. "Student will remember Master's teachings for life!"
Sun Zhongxuan, having just finished a whole duck leg, wiped his mouth.
"Start from the year you met Princess Consort Xiao at the Lunar Academy. Oh right... back then, she was called Su Dai!"