Volume One: The Chaos of Yanyun, Chapter 115: The Falling Beacon Smoke (Part II)

The winding path leads to a secluded spot.

The scenery within the Grand Marshal’s Manor is profound and deep. Green moss has crept over the courtyards and floorboards, and the only thing in the entire residence that could be called a landscape is a single, massive, bizarre-looking stone in the center of the courtyard. Feng Qi even wondered if this place was truly the Grand Marshal’s Manor at all.

Logic dictates that through the ages, every Grand Marshal has resided here; even if Feng Changkong were a man of austere integrity, his predecessors surely would not have wronged themselves so. Furthermore, given the sheer scale of the manor, Feng Qi could not believe that the previous Grand Marshals were men of such incorruptible poverty.

Perhaps sensing his confusion, Feng Changkong softly remarked, "It used to be adorned with all sorts of gaudy decorations. I wasn't accustomed to it, so I tore down what needed to be torn down and sold what could be sold. It actually fetched a decent amount of money."

Feng Changkong did not specify where that money went, but it could only have been to a few places. Feng Qi did not care. To him, at this moment, it was a trivial matter; even if he had been struck by the manor's destitution at first, he no longer gave it any thought.

There was only one thing he cared about: the God-Emperor’s Game.

In truth, he harbored a deep-seated prejudice against the God-Emperor. This bias had been sown when he first heard the words, "All flower-shifting returns to Bohai." At the time, he had not thought much of it, assuming the God-Emperor was merely letting Bohai run wild to weaken Yanbei, never imagining that Yanbei had been a fish on the chopping block from the very start. And those who had turned Yanbei into that fish—besides the God-Emperor and Dou Xiaotong—were none other than the old man standing before him.

Feng Changkong was already a centenarian. For many years, he had been unable to transcend into the Void Path, and combined with the lingering ailments from his youth spent on the battlefield, his health was far from robust. Having spent the day exhausted—not only commanding the garrison commanders of various gates to set up formations but even entering the fray himself—it was a miracle he was still standing. Now, upon reaching the manor, he could no longer hold back; the sternness and vigor on his face were instantly replaced by a fatigue that he could no longer hide.

Seeing this, Feng Qi’s mind wandered further. The Grand Marshal’s Manor oversaw the nation’s military; given Feng Changkong’s character, he would never have delegated such tasks to others. Under years of toil, his body must have been exhausted to the breaking point. The people of Yanbei all believed that after the Old Prince arrived in Wuyang City, he continued to live a life of high status and immense power. If they were to see him in such poverty, there was no telling what kind of chaos might ensue.

But there was no need to think about that now. Those who might have been willing to seek justice for this old man were essentially all dead—slain in the recent Battle of Yanbei, dead because of this old man's betrayal.

Thinking of this, Feng Qi said quietly, "The people of Yanbei all say that one day, Father will come to Wuyang to take your place, so that you can return to Yanbei to enjoy a few years of peace. They also want to hear the Old Prince’s teachings for two more years. Even if not for the teachings, just seeing you would be enough."

Feng Muyun would have come to take his place. But now, Feng Muyun was dead. Who else was there to take his place?

Feng Changkong thought to himself that it had been a long time since he last saw this boy, yet his edge had become so sharp.

"Yanbei... my homeland... I think of it every moment," Feng Changkong coughed twice. "But I can no longer go back."

Feng Qi replied, "What a coincidence. The people also say that if the Old Prince really cannot return to Yanbei, at the very least, the Yanbei Prince’s Manor could still hold a funeral for him. When the coffin travels north, Yanbei would surely welcome it for a hundred miles, and then send it off for another hundred."

Feng Changkong said helplessly, "Though I have not entered the Void Path, I am not far from it. When I die, I will surely dissipate into stardust. How could there be a coffin?"

Feng Qi shook his head. "That is not what I meant." He paused, then continued, "I mean, everyone says Father would have presided over your funeral. Now that Father has been buried in a death trap by your own hands, who will be left to preside over yours?"

Feng Changkong was slightly stunned, then fell silent. He had no room to argue this point. Regardless of the original intent or the process, the end result was the destruction of Yanbei and the death of the entire Yanbei Prince’s Manor.

Feng Qi continued, "So, may I know why?"

Feng Changkong sighed. "Your cultivation realm is insufficient; there are many things you cannot perceive."

At a low realm, one cannot perceive that the purity of the world’s primordial energy is terrifyingly lower than it used to be. At a low realm, one cannot perceive that the Asking-Dao Lake and Clear Bell Lake, which opened every year, have not summoned children of the appropriate age for Foundation Establishment in three or four years. At a low realm, one cannot perceive that the ink orchids of Youzhou have not bloomed for years, and the miasma in Guangnan grows heavier with each passing day.

These are the sequelae of a flourishing cultivation world. No matter how detestable Li Jinxing’s theory might be, his first sentence remains true: The heavens and earth have their limits.

"So why Yanbei?" Feng Qi asked earnestly. "To lure Bohai, there were many chips to play. Why choose Yanbei?"

Feng Changkong fell silent again. After a long while, he scratched his head. "Perhaps because when His Majesty summoned the Five Princes to the palace back then, I was the only one who came?"

Feng Qi said, "So His Majesty was still exploiting your loyalty and righteousness?"

Feng Changkong replied, "At this stage, I dare not claim the righteousness, though the loyalty was a matter of duty."

Feng Qi said, "Grandfather, do you know why 'loyalty' and 'righteousness' are often spoken of together?"

Feng Changkong gave a low hum.

Feng Qi looked into Feng Changkong’s eyes, his own gradually turning red. "Because they are inseparable. In this game, the righteousness you discarded is the greatest indictment of your loyalty. After all, you ultimately failed the Divine Dynasty, and you failed Yanbei."

Feng Changkong wanted to say something, but Feng Qi’s eyes became vacant, and he could not help but spit out a mouthful of blood. He collapsed, unconscious.

Feng Changkong caught him, sighing. He looked at the unconscious boy, his expression filled with apology. If there had truly been another choice, would he have ever been willing to hand over Yanbei? That was his home; those were the lands and people he had guarded his entire life. He had bled for Yanbei, sweated for it, and surrendered all his youth and prime to it. Thinking of what Dou Xiaotong had said back then, he sighed once more. He only hoped that Qi’er and Yang’er could live their lives smoothly, without so many twists and turns.

...

"It seems the Heir of Yanbei does not intend to enter the palace to pay his respects." Inside the Zixiao Palace, the God-Emperor gazed at the star-filled sky through the dome and spoke softly.

Beside him, Chief Eunuch Huan, who had once been to Yanbei, bowed and replied, "The sudden upheaval in Yanbei must have left the Heir with much fear. He likely hasn't realized he needs to pay his respects to Your Majesty."

Fear? The God-Emperor thought of Feng Qi’s demeanor along the way and laughed, "How could that little fellow be fearful?"

Chief Eunuch Huan’s figure trembled slightly. "It could not be resentment, surely? After all, he is still a subject."

The God-Emperor said, "Resentment is not the word either. That little fellow... I suspect he has trapped himself in a dead end of logic."

Chief Eunuch Huan breathed a sigh of relief and added with a flattering smile, "The Heir of Yanbei is wise beyond his years; one day he will understand the painstaking efforts of Your Majesty and the Grand Marshal."

Painstaking efforts? The God-Emperor raised an eyebrow. "Painstaking efforts, my foot. It is merely paying the bill for the pits dug by our predecessors." He paused, then added, "That isn't quite right either. After all, I have also reached this level, and my own plundering of these heavens and earth has not been insignificant."

Chief Eunuch Huan said earnestly, "Your Majesty governs diligently and loves the people, which is why you reached the Divine Concealment. How can that be called plundering?"

The God-Emperor shook his head. "If I took it, I took it. There is no need for so many excuses." He paused again. "The news from Yanbei—is it true?"

Chief Eunuch Huan wondered which of the three messages the Emperor meant. The first was that Yanbei had fallen, the garrison had fought to the last man, the Master of Heaven-Fragrance Valley was lightly wounded, the Feng God-Guard was severely wounded, and the Master of Divine Might Fort had died in battle. The barbarians had slaughtered the city, but fortunately, most of the Yanbei people had evacuated, so few fell into their hands.

The second was that the youngest son of Feng Xisha had led the Vast Sea Battalion out in full force, striking directly at the Daming Palace and successfully capturing it. Although the Daming Palace had been stripped of much of its power and the divine artifacts required for defense had been withdrawn, the city-guarding array still stood. That child had managed to take the Daming Palace with only two battalions; he possessed the mettle of a commander.

The third was regarding the second young master of the Feng family. The second son could not cultivate and had shown no particular brilliance in his early years. His news would not normally have qualified to be placed on the God-Emperor’s desk, but having been taken in as a disciple by the Master of the Dao-Clarification Temple—and given that Feng Changkong had to ensure the safety of his grandsons—it had caught the God-Emperor's attention.

Unexpectedly, the God-Emperor was most interested in the news of this second son.

Chief Eunuch Huan deliberated before speaking, "Although the second young master of Yanbei is missing, he is, after all, a disciple of that person. I imagine he will be fine."

The God-Emperor said, "Even I nearly met with disaster; how could he be any different?"

In terms of status, no other human could compare to the God-Emperor. If even he had nearly suffered a calamity, how could a disciple of the Master of the Dao-Clarification Temple be safe?

Chief Eunuch Huan did not know how to respond, so he could only try to comfort the God-Emperor by saying, "A lucky person has their own heaven-sent protection."

The God-Emperor narrowed his eyes upon hearing this. A lucky person has heaven-sent protection. To be taken in by the Master of the Dao-Clarification Temple, he was naturally a lucky person. But as for heaven-sent protection... if the heavens truly intended to show mercy, why would they inflict the fate of the Ten-Absolute Veins upon that child?

"By the way, is there any news regarding the powerhouse who appeared in Yanbei sixteen years ago?"

Chief Eunuch Huan shook his head. "I have already notified the Carefree Pavilion to keep an eye out, but they have yet to provide an answer. I suppose their capabilities are limited... after all, that person is a great entity of the Dao-Harmonization Realm; in the entire Carefree Pavilion, only the Storyteller can be compared to him."

The God-Emperor thought that if the words of the Master of Divine Might Fort were true, then Dou Xiaotong’s realm was not even as high as that person’s. But there was no need to voice this. He waved his hand, signaling for Chief Eunuch Huan to withdraw.

Chief Eunuch Huan received the order and vanished in an instant.

The God-Emperor looked up at the night sky and muttered, "The crisis of the heavens and earth has been resolved. What crisis follows? The Demons? The Underworld? Or perhaps..."

Thinking of this, he shook his head slightly, finding his own pettiness laughable. That was just a child who had barely turned sixteen. Why view him with the worst possible malice?