Unsheathed

Chapter 404 (1): Longing

Chapter 404 (1): Longing

Cui Dongshan casually set down the chopsticks in his hand, then lowered his head and placed the two chopsticks neatly side by side. After that, he raised his head again and smiled as he said, "It seems like you're convinced that I won't do any killing here."

He then clapped his hands together as he rose to his feet and continued, "You made the right gamble. I'm not going to just do whatever I please and go on a killing spree here. After all, I still have to return to Mountain Cliff Academy. So be it then. As your ancestor, this is the extent of what I can do for you, so all of you will have to fend for yourselves from now on."

Cai Jingshen raised a hand, indicating for Cui Dongshan to return to his seat, then asked, "How can you prove to me that you can call the shots in the imperial courts of both the Great Sui Nation and the Great Li Empire?"

Cui Dongshan leaned back against his chair in a lazy manner, playing with his own hair as he replied, "I have no way to prove that to you."

Cai Jingshen could only take a step back, asking, "In that case, how are you going to get Cai Feng out of this mess? I need you to do so while also eliminating all potential trouble that he could encounter and ensure that his future political career isn't negatively affected. I have to remind you that you can't allow Cai Feng to sell out his own allies for personal glory. If he does such a thing, then his path to becoming an official god will be impeded after he dies.

“Cai Feng is going to have a vital impact on the fortune of the Great Sui Nation for the foreseeable future, and if he does something so vile, then he's going to be rejected by the heritage of the Great Sui Nation following his death."

Cui Dongshan smiled as he replied, "I have my ways. Rest assured, I guarantee you that Cai Feng will become minister of one of the six ministries during his lifetime, with the exception of the Ministry of Rites, which is too important a position for him to fill. As for after his death, I can ensure that he becomes the city god of a large province within a hundred years, with the exception of the province of origin of the Gao Clan."

"What about the reputation of the Cai Clan and myself?" Cai Jingshen asked.

Cui Dongshan smiled as he replied, "I'll get you and the Cai Clan to put on a convincing act, and by the end, everyone will be full of praise for you, so you'll be sure to receive glowing praise in all of the history books."

Cai Jingshen wanted to say something, but seemed a little hesitant.

"Are you thinking about signing an official agreement with me?" Cui Dongshan scoffed. "I advise you not to think about such unnecessary things, Cai Jingshen."

The thought of that pair of vertical, golden pupils sprang into Cai Jingshen's mind, sending a jolt of fear running through his heart. At the moment, he and the Cai Clan were completely at Cui Dongshan's mercy, and that was naturally not a good feeling, but he would just have to bear it for now.

The alternative was for the entire clan to be dragged down a path of no return by Cai Feng, one that could affect even his own cultivation base, and compared with that catastrophic outcome, this was a small price to pay.

Seeing as they had become temporary allies, Cai Jingshen decided that it was best to display a little sincerity.

With that in mind, he said, "Some time ago, an assassination attempt was made on your life in the academy, but you were able to survive thanks to a substitution talisman. Would you like to know the mastermind behind that assassination attempt? Alternatively, are you of the opinion that it was a group of people?"

Cui Dongshan glared at Cai Jingshen out of the corner of his eye, and the latter was immediately struck by a sense of unease, but he didn't know what he had said that had raised Cui Dongshan's ire.

Cui Dongshan rose to his feet, then picked up the unopened flagon of wine on the table as he said, "Back then, I was so bored in the academy that I almost went to the mountain summit to hang myself! I was ecstatic to have finally had something so interesting happen to me. Didn't you see what I did after that assassination attempt?

“I waited for them to come after me again, but they didn't, so I made my way to the Green Cloud Ferry Station and stuck out my neck, begging for someone to try and kill me, but no one dared to even make an attempt. In the end, all I could do was haul several cartloads of bamboo from the Green Cloud Ferry Station back to the academy to use as flooring material, and I paid the full price in the form of lesser heat coins.

“Why did I do that? Because I was grateful to them for spicing up my life a little! I planned extensively in preparation for the second assassination attempt, and even though I didn't get a chance to put any of my plans into practice, the process of hatching those plans was certainly more entertaining than sitting around to twiddle my thumbs all day."

Cui Dongshan made his way around the table, then patted Cai Jingshen on the shoulder as he said, "You're still too young, Little Cai. You don't understand my personality. Over time, you'll come to realize that I'm a good ancestor.

“Any day now, the deceased ancestors of your Cai Clan are going to come to you in a dream and tell you about how grateful to me they are. Just tell them that they're welcome. Helping others has always been a source of immense joy for me."

Cai Jingshen remained silent with a stoic expression, pretending not to have heard anything.

Meanwhile, the yellow earth bull had already gone to rest in its "pen."

He then grabbed onto the armrests of his chair and began wiggling his own body from side to side, causing the chair to move in a rickety fashion. It was as if he were riding atop a horse, presenting a rather comical sight to behold.

However, Wei Xian had already grown accustomed to this from the time that he had spent with Cui Dongshan, acclimating himself to Cui Dongshan's bizarre mannerisms far faster than the likes of Yu Lu and Xie Xie.

It seemed that as a former emperor, he had a much keener eye for the bigger picture, thereby allowing him to overlook many trivial details.

"Right now, the Great Sui Nation and the Great Li Empire are competing against one another to see who has more firepower hidden up their sleeves. Regardless of what decisions are made by Cai Feng and Cai Jingshen, they won't have any substantial impact. The reason why I'm choosing to stay in the provincial city rather than the academy in the capital is not actually as complicated as you think it is.

“My teacher cherishes Little Baoping more than anyone else, and Mao Xiaodong is a huge blabbermouth, so he'll be sure to tell my teacher about this rather unglamorous plot hatched by the Great Sui Nation. If I were to go to the academy now, my teacher would definitely denounce me for getting involved in this mess," Cui Dongshan explained.

"If I were to talk to my teacher about the greater good and the bigger picture, that would only make him detest me even more, and I may not even be able to continue as his student. However, this is still something that I have to do. I can't just placate my teacher and tell him that Little Baoping, Li Huai, and the others will be fine.

“At this point, my teacher has already developed a relatively mature set of principles, laying out everything from the sequential order of one's original intentions to the good or bad nature of one's final objectives, and all of the choices that one can make in between. Compared with him, I have a much more cold-blooded and expedient way of doing things, and my philosophies will not be agreeable with him.

“Hence, it's much better for me to hide here for now and do some things to make up for my transgressions, and only after that will I return to the academy to accept my punishment. Hopefully, the worst outcome is that I receive a beating from my teacher. At the very least, that would be better than having my teacher completely lose hope in me.

“If that happens, then I'm screwed. If he deems me to be beyond redemption, then even the old scholar may not be able to convince him to keep me," Cui Dongshan continued.

Wei Xian thought about this for a moment, yet right as he was about to say something, he was cut off by Cui Dongshan.

At this point, Cui Dongshan had already shuffled all the way to the window on his chair, and he had his back facing Wei Xian as he waved a hand and said, "For now, you have no right to comment on the disputes between me and my teacher, so just keep your mouth shut."

He then heaved a faint sigh before continuing, "Wu Yuan of the Dragon Spring Prefecture, Wei Li of the Yellow Court Nation, Liu Qingfeng of the Azure Phoenix Nation, Chief Military Governor Wei Liang, and you are all bright future prospects in my eyes. Among those, you and Wei Liang are the ones with the highest starting points, but it's still yet to be seen what you'll be able to make of yourselves.

“There's no point in talking about Wei Liang. He's a complete nomad, so he doesn't really count as a pawn. However, Wu Yuan and Liu Qingfeng were carefully nurtured by him, while you and Wei Li were chosen by me, and the four of you are going to have to fight for us in the future."

Wei Xian didn't quite understand what he was being told, but he still committed it to memory, nonetheless.

All of a sudden, Cui Dongshan slapped a hand down onto the armrest of his chair as he yelled, "Even now, that idiot, Shi Rou, probably doesn't know that the message I left for her in that brocade pouch came straight from my heart!

“I poured my heart and soul into that message, hoping to provide her with the most valuable experience that I have to offer! If she hasn't made any progress the next time I see her at the academy, I'm going to make sure that she receives a good boot up the backside!"

Wei Xian took his leave before departing, and Cui Dongshan dispelled the barrier that he had conjured up with a sweep of his sleeve.

Wei Xian was filled with genuine admiration and veneration toward Cui Dongshan.

He admired Cui Dongshan for elevating the Great Li Empire to its current heights from what was nothing more than a tiny subsidiary nation of the Lu Empire no more than a hundred years ago.

However, that was not enough to evoke veneration in Wei Xian's heart. What truly impressed him the most about Cui Dongshan was that even while establishing this empire, he was already thinking painstakingly about how he was going to defend that eventual empire, something that very few people had the foresight to accomplish.

Following Wei Xian's departure, Cui Dongshan drew the wine flagon on the table into his grasp with a flick of his wrist, then began taking small sips of wine.

Throughout his life, he had experienced and witnessed far too many people and things. He had read countless books, and he had seen just as many pieces of stunning scenery.

During the riveting battle between third and fourth, a completely insignificant scholarly official had said something that had most likely gone largely ignored by everyone, but it had resonated with Cui Chan, and he remembered it clearly, even to this day.

"Heaven and earth have bestowed life upon us, and with life, there must be death, just as all plants must eventually wither after they flourish. That is the law of the heavens! All of you Qi refiners and self-proclaimed immortals have gone against the law of the heavens and regard mortals as mere ants! How are you any different from the barbaric demons that you look down on?!"