Chapter 196 — The Solitude of the Invincible

A silence fell over the temple.

"Imperial Teacher Jingping comes bearing his might; of the eight Pillars of State he has brought four, and there are the two Grand Generals, Champion and Huaihua, and the Duke of Wei besides, with several first-rank ministers very likely among them as well. His momentum is fierce. To meet him head-on is certain to fail. " Ma Lianshan, Minister of the Grand Administrative Office, said, "Forgive my bluntness, all of you, but in a clash of the jianghu, the sects always win, while in war upon the battlefield, the state of Jingping holds the advantage.

That being so, why should we take our weakness and strike at their strength? Why not take our strength and strike at their weakness? " Everyone nodded. The Palace Master of Liqing spoke up suddenly. "This puts me in mind of that battle more than two hundred years ago.

In those days the masters of the Combat-Arts school were still many, a hundred flowers blooming in rivalry, strong enough to contend with the Sword-Flying school and the Spellcraft school.

Back then the Combat-Arts school and the Sword-Flying school fought one another to the death day after day, and fought the Spellcraft school to the death as well — arrogant beyond all words. But now look at the Combat-Arts school: what masters remain? Where have they gone? " Silence fell over the assembly. Most of the Combat-Arts school's masters had died in a single great disputation — a disputation with Imperial Teacher Jingping. From that day the Combat-Arts school never recovered; in recent years it had begun to merge with the other schools, and few cultivated pure combat arts any longer. In that disputation, the Combat-Arts school had been crippled by Imperial Teacher Jingping alone.

The Palace Master of Liqing said calmly, "How like that time is the present.

Back then the Combat-Arts school thought itself the first under heaven, thought it would crush the Sword-Flying school utterly in that disputation, and many of its masters went to the capital to challenge Imperial Teacher Jingping. And then?

" She swept her gaze around the room. "What if we play by the jianghu's rules with Imperial Teacher Jingping this time, and meet the very same end?

" The man in the bronze mask was silent a moment, then said, "Palace Master Qiu, what do you propose?

" The Palace Master of Liqing raised her hand. "Imperial Teacher Jingping expects us to play by the jianghu's rules with him. So we shall not play by the jianghu's rules at all. We fix the place first, and when he arrives, we fall on him in a pack and beat him to death on the spot!

" Her hand chopped down, and she said coldly, "Jingping has gone from a tiny state to what it is today, and more than half the credit rests on Imperial Teacher Jingping. He is already a myth, revered by the civil and military ministers of the court.

If he wished to rebel, one wave of his arm and the emperor would have to abdicate!

And if the emperor did not abdicate, it would mean death for him and the extermination of his clan! If Imperial Teacher Jingping dies, the dragons have no head, and the state of Jingping is no longer so hard to deal with. Therefore we must stop at nothing — we cannot play by the jianghu's rules. " "That.

. . Palace Master Qiu speaks truly. " The sect masters in Luoguang Temple voiced their agreement one after another. Only a few felt that this violated the jianghu's rules and were somewhat uneasy at heart, yet none spoke out against it. Laying siege to Imperial Teacher Jingping — and last time, the Three Elders ambushing him. When the Three Elders ambushed Imperial Teacher Jingping, he had stood amid ten thousand soldiers with countless masters at his side, and so that stroke of the Three Elders' had not truly broken the jianghu's rules. This time, however, the rules of the jianghu were being torn to shreds in earnest and trampled underfoot.

"Once this deed is done, the rules are broken, and the harm will pass down ten thousand years.

" Daoist Daoquan shook his head secretly. "They have brought the court's way of fighting — one that owes nothing to rules — into the jianghu. That old jianghu, I fear, can never be regained.

" In Yuncheng, Shen Mu did the same trick again, "curing" a bout of illness for Imperial Teacher Jingping, and at Shancheng, another "cure. " The armies advanced abreast, already before Daxiang, taking cities and seizing land the whole way, sweeping all before them. The south had many mountains and many rivers, but with the Yong River, that natural barrier, gone, it was hard to hold back Jingping's great army. Shen Mu had summoned the Demon King Dutian and broken Tianbo City, that key military stronghold built upon the natural barrier — a great help to the state of Jingping indeed.

Only a pity the credit could not be claimed.

On the fifth day, Shen Mu and his companions came to Yuecheng, and Yuecheng too had already fallen.

They had just entered the city when an old beggar in tattered, patch-covered clothes, holding a cracked bowl and leaning on a staff, came up before them. Monk Yunque hastily searched his person to see whether he still had any loose change; Xue Hu'er produced a Great Feng coin and handed it to Yunque, who thanked her and dropped it into the old beggar's bowl. The old beggar shook the cracked bowl, which clattered loudly, and grinned.

"You are all great benefactors — may you have many sons and grandsons, much fortune and much honor. Imperial Teacher Jingping, pray come to Daxiang for a meeting. In Daxiang City, on the second street, the heroes of all under heaven will gather to await Imperial Teacher Jingping. We respectfully welcome your honored arrival!

" Imperial Teacher Jingping glanced at him and said mildly, "Why not wait a few more days? A few more days, and my great army can be at the walls of Dali, and I can meet these so-called heroes of all under heaven at Dali, and throw the heroes' corpses into the South Sea to feed the fish — sparing us the trouble of burying them.

Would that not be a delight? " The old beggar laughed heartily. From within his body came the sound of gates opening — seven times in succession, no less.

His aura surged, his cultivation vast and profound beyond measure, his bearing that of a god enthroned on high, looking down upon all living things — as though he were not one who needed alms to live, but a god who granted alms to all beings and received their worship.

"Imperial Teacher Jingping's high spirit is as ever. At Daxiang City, we await your honored arrival! " He was about to leave when a voice was suddenly heard: "Wait. " The old beggar halted and turned his head, looking back at Shen Mu with suspicion. Shen Mu's face was as calm as an ancient well.

He said softly, "Ling'er, take the money back. This fellow is far richer than we are. " Xue Hu'er hurried forward and fished the Great Feng coin out of the cracked bowl. The old beggar said angrily, "Money given in alms to a beggar, and you have the face to take it back? Unfit to be a reng son!

Unfit to be a reng son! " "Stinking beggar, and cursing people besides! " Xue Hu'er turned her head and said, "Young Master, what does 'unfit to be a reng son' mean? " Shen Mu said, "Reng is a descendant of the eighth generation.

To say you are unfit to be a reng son is to say you are not even worthy to be his descendant of the eighth generation. " "So he truly is cursing me! " Xue Hu'er flew into a rage and spat a mouthful of saliva full in the old beggar's face. The old beggar did not dodge, only laughed and said, "Little fox, you have provoked a beggar — you are doomed. " That said, he stamped his foot and shot away through the air.

Xue Hu'er spat again.

"Cheating this old lady out of her money, and cursing me and hexing me besides — unfit to be a reng son!

" Imperial Teacher Jingping said, "You had best be careful.

That was Qi Dayou, master of the Beggars' Sect. The Beggars' Sect has always been petty and skilled in vile arts.