On the Path to the Great Dao

Chen Shi arrived at Red Mountain Hall by the time the moon had hidden itself and the sun emerged. The sky was dyed a fiery red.

Colorful clouds filled the air, a sure sign of impending rain.

The Red Mountain Hall guards spotted him approaching while cradling the lifeless Zhao Kaiyun. They rushed forward to meet him and asked what had happened. Exhausted in body and spirit, Chen Shi replied offhandedly,

"Brother Zhao was killed by people from the Granny Society. I uprooted their Child-Harvest Hall.

I'm worn out. I need to rest."

The guards were stunned and terrified upon hearing this. One hurriedly took Zhao Kaiyun's body, while another led Chen Shi to a guest room in the headquarters.

Chen Shi intended to wash the blood from his body, but his wounds were severe. On top of that, the Traveling Roc Demon-Subduing Great Method had drained his vital energy and blood. Too lazy to bother, he collapsed fully clothed onto the bedding. Whether he fell asleep or passed out, he was out cold all the same.

The guards examined him and saw blood everywhere, along with bite marks left by ghosts and monsters. They hurried off to summon a doctor, along with Branch Master Lu, Branch Master Xiao, and the others.

Branch Master Lu was still guarding Branch Master Xiao in the hall as he healed. Branch Master Xiao continued channeling the Nascent Soul Borrowing Mountain Oil Lamp for treatment.

One of the guards rushed up and hurriedly gave his report. Branch Master Lu was horrified. He shot to his feet and cried out,

"Brother Zhao is dead? Chen Shi uprooted a Granny Society branch hall?"

Branch Master Xiao was wholly focused on his healing. At those words, his heart jolted, nearly causing his injuries to flare up. He quickly steadied his core energy and dared not divide his attention.

Lowering his voice, Branch Master Lu asked,

"Which branch hall of the Granny Society did he uproot?"

"Child-Harvest Hall."

Branch Master Lu blurted out,

"Child-Harvest Hall? Child-Harvest Hall is full of experts—especially Yu Daozhi, a Nascent Soul Realm powerhouse! How many did he kill? Are his injuries severe? How did he escape unscathed from Yu Daozhi's clutches? Sigh! You're answering too slowly.

I'll go ask him myself!"

He hurried outside. Branch Master Xiao overheard and, heedless of his healing, scrambled up to give chase. But he tugged at his old wounds, staggered, caught his foot on the threshold, and thudded to the floor.

"With injuries that bad, what are you following me for?"

Branch Master Lu doubled back at once, helped him up, and grumbled.

Branch Master Xiao replied,

"With a crisis like this—and one of our brothers slain—how could I possibly rest easy and heal?"

Branch Master Lu didn't press him. The pair sped to the guest room, only to find Chen Shi still deep in slumber. They touched his body and found it burning hot.

"There are bite marks all over him. He's lost too much blood. Don't wake him."

Branch Master Lu said,

"Has the doctor arrived yet?"

It wasn't long before the doctor arrived. The two branch masters quickly had him begin treatment.

The doctor declared,

"He's lost a great deal of blood, but his life force remains extraordinarily vigorous. His qi and blood are still circulating, and his bone marrow is producing more. He won't die.

His vital energy is damaged, though. I'll prescribe some tonics to replenish it, along with medicines to regenerate flesh and close his wounds. He should recover without further trouble."

The two branch masters thanked him profusely and sent someone to fetch the medicine at once.

Branch Master Lu and Branch Master Xiao then approached Zhao Kaiyun's body. The gruesome sight filled them with seething rage. Clenching his teeth, Branch Master Xiao said,

"Child-Harvest Hall has committed untold evils. It should have been uprooted long ago! And now Brother Zhao pays the price! I don't know how many of those demon spawn Instructor Chen killed, but I'm going there to slaughter the lot!"

Branch Master Lu held him back.

"The Hall Master isn't here right now. Don't rush off.

You haven't even recovered from your injuries. Wait until the Hall Master returns! You there—go find out how many Instructor Chen killed at Child-Harvest Hall. And summon every instructor we have!"

He frowned faintly. With Jade Hall Master away and Branch Master Xiao wounded, he was the only one left in the hall with any real fighting strength.

After suffering such a massive loss, Yu Daozhi was sure to lead Han Mingyu and Hu Yiqi here to demand blood.

He soothed Branch Master Xiao while thinking to himself,

"I'm not afraid of Yu Daozhi and his ilk. What worries me is if he alerts the Granny Society's other heavyweights. If their Martial Hall Master and the other two branch masters show up too, Red Mountain Hall could be in real trouble."

Branch Master Lu paced restlessly. After a mere half hour, the scouting disciple from Red Mountain Hall returned to report.

"I ran into a patrol inspector from the prefectural yamen. They've sealed off the Granny Society's Child-Harvest Hall. Word is some evil spirit stirred up a fuss inside, and a bunch of people died.

I slipped some silver to a yamen runner for details. He said everyone in Child-Harvest Hall is dead. Not a single one left."

Branch Master Lu froze in shock.

"And Yu Daozhi? What about Han Mingyu and Hu Yiqi?"

"Dead as well."

The disciple continued,

"They say even the Granny Society's black statue was smashed, and the Granny Society avatar vanished without a trace.

The Granny Society is furious. Plenty of their branch masters and instructors are rushing to Child-Harvest Hall."

Branch Master Lu's scalp prickled. He turned to the guards and demanded,

"What exactly did Brother Chen say before passing out?"

The guard replied,

"He said Brother Zhao was dead and that he'd uprooted Child-Harvest Hall."

Branch Master Lu drew in a sharp breath and murmured,

"So when he said he 'uprooted the hall,' he meant it literally.

'Uproot the hall'—just three words, but brutally thorough.

Uprooting a hall is on par with felling a mountain or smashing a temple. It's deadly serious business. Back in the True King era, it required imperial approval from the Xijing Expedition Office, which would dispatch cultivators under strict protocols.

A hall is a den of the arcane and profane. It's not enough just to demolish the building.

True King protocol demanded a headcount by the mountain vow flames: every disciple who had knelt before the black statue and passed through the vow flames was to be treated as a heretical demon, slain outright. Extinguish the mountain oil lamp, raze the hall, and obliterate the black statue!

That's a proper uprooting of the hall.

After the True King era, though, 'uprooting a hall' became empty talk. It was rare to wipe everyone out and destroy the black statue too.

I never imagined Instructor Chen would do it by the book—the True King way. When he says 'uproot the hall,' he means tally heads by the vow flames and kill them clean."

"Instructor Chen did a magnificent job! But the Granny Society's revenge will be all the more terrifying!"

A pent-up rage welled up in Branch Master Lu's chest and finally burst free, leaving him greatly relieved. Yet with Jade Hall Master absent, how could they fend off the Granny Society's retaliation?

Just then, a joyful voice cried out,

"The Hall Master is back!"

Branch Master Lu's heart leaped with joy. The weight finally lifted from his shoulders as he rushed forward to greet her. He thought,

"With the Hall Master here, we can handle any revenge the Granny Society throws at us!"

Granny Society, Child-Harvest Hall.

Branch Masters Sun and Zhou of the Granny Society, along with Martial Hall Master, and a host of instructors stood with grim expressions, staring at the corpses strewn about.

The patrol inspector approached.

"We've cleared the bodies: three along the path, twenty-seven in the front courtyard, twenty-eight in the back.

A pause, then he added,

"Plus sixteen more on Changxing Street not far away.

Seventy-four dead in total.

As for all these jars and pots..."

He cast a meaningful glance at Martial Hall Master.

"I'll pretend I saw nothing, Martial Upright."

Martial Hall Master gave a slight bow.

"My thanks, Inspector.

A small token of appreciation."

With a light wave of his hand, a disciple presented a bag of silver.

The inspector hefted it, then turned and departed.

Martial Hall Master turned his head.

"How many people were in Child-Harvest Hall altogether?"

"In total, including Yu Daozhi and Branch Master Yu, seventy-four."

Martial Hall Master's eye twitched violently.

"Not one left!

Who did this?"

"No souls to summon. Not a single disciple's soul remains—not even Branch Master Yu's. The only way to learn the killer's identity now is to consult the Granny herself..."

Martial Hall Master snorted in fury and stormed off toward headquarters.

Soon after, Altar Lord Cao Yunsen of the Canal Veterans Society received word of the incident. Stunned beyond measure, he immediately dispatched men to learn the details.

"A night watchman said he saw from afar a blood-soaked man emerge hugging a corpse. A cart and a dog were parked at the door.

The man headed for Red Mountain Hall."

Cao Yunsen perked up with interest and chuckled,

"So Red Mountain Hall uprooted a Granny Society branch? This is blowing up big.

A bit thrilled, he added,

"I've been badly wounded by that boat lady from New Village, and Min River Granny's hurt too. I was fretting over other branches taking advantage, but they hit even harder. Perfect—we can sit back, watch the tigers fight, and enjoy the show.

Find out which Red Mountain Hall branch master did it."

By noon, a Canal Veterans Society disciple reported back,

"We've got the details. It wasn't a Red Mountain Hall branch master. It was an out-of-towner scholar named Chen Shi, here in Arch Province for the exams.

He only joined Red Mountain Hall yesterday. He's a brand-new instructor."

Cao Yunsen was floored.

"A scholar come to Arch Province for exams... uprooted a Granny Society branch hall?"

In Arch Province city, the Salt Veterans Society's altar lord received identical news and was equally dumbfounded.

Uprooting a hall was major news!

Chen Shi had stormed Child-Harvest Hall alone, uprooted it by the vow flame roster, slain every soul, and destroyed the Granny Society avatar. Shocking!

No fierce dragon crosses the river idly. This Chen Scholar from New Village had crossed Min River into Arch Province, and he was ferocious indeed.

Salt Veterans Society's Wind Altar Lord gloated and laughed,

"The provincial governor's probably tearing his hair out right now."

Arch Province Prefecture Yamen. Governor Fei Xingzheng summoned the province's governor, commanding general, regional inspector, commander-in-chief, provincial administration commissioner, surveillance commissioner, garrison eunuch, and other top officials. He bade them sit and said courteously,

"Gentlemen and brothers, you've all heard about the disturbance in Arch Province, I take it? How should we handle it? Any ideas?"

The assembled officials hailed from the Xia, Yan, Li, Zhang, Yang, Xu families—nearly all thirteen great houses were represented—along with the garrison eunuch from the palace eunuch faction. Power was evenly balanced.

With so many officials gathered, Commanding General Xia Chuli of the Xia family laughed,

"It's just some jianghu trifles. A few deaths—no need to make a federal case of it."

The others nodded in agreement.

"General Xia is right.

Arch Province has stayed peaceful all these years thanks to the Canal Veterans Society, Salt Veterans Society, Red Mountain Hall, and Granny Society keeping the jianghu in check. These are jianghu matters. No call for us to meddle."

"Commissioner Xu has the right of it! These jianghu groups just squabble a bit. How many could die? Red Mountain Hall clears out evils by the drove every year, and the Granny Society keeps the people's hearts at ease. They're indispensable.

A little scuffle among them merits a mild reprimand at most..."

Governor Fei Xingzheng smiled as he listened to the Arch Province officials' views, nodding along while chuckling inwardly.

These jianghu groups' squabbles were indeed minor. But every year, they offered heaps of silver in tribute. No one wanted to chop down those money trees.

Governor Fei Xingzheng knew it full well.

"And what of the man who started all this?"

Governor Fei smiled.

"We owe the Granny Society some explanation, no?"

General Xia replied,

"Bring the true culprit to justice, have Red Mountain Hall pay them some silver in compensation, hold a banquet in Jade Merchant City for Martial Upright to apologize—with us as witnesses—and call it done.

Do we know who the culprit is?"

"Chen Shi. A newly arrived scholar."

The group fell silent for a moment, racking their brains. The name did sound familiar.

But Arch Province wasn't New Village. Officials from New Duo Province had to know the name Chen Shi—after all, Chen Yindu resided on Qianyang Mountain in New Village County.

Arch Province was far from the capital, though. Its officials hadn't turned over in a decade or two. Even if they'd heard of Chen Shi, they wouldn't connect him to the child scholar from ten years back.

Governor Fei declared,

"Then have the education commissioner strip this Chen Scholar of his status first. Issue an arrest warrant and a kill-on-sight order. Execute him on the spot once captured."

The group nodded.

That afternoon, when the notices went up, Granny Sha elbowed into the crowd. She read the contents, then shoved her way back out.

The bearded giant Hu Xiaoliang and Qingyang hurried over. Puzzled, Granny Sha said,

"Don't Arch Province's bigwigs know who Little Ten is? And they still issued a kill order!"

Qingyang jumped in fright and blurted,

"They dare?"

Granny Sha replied,

"That's what baffles me. Why are they so bold?"

Hu Xiaoliang stroked his beard.

"What crime did Little Ten commit?"

Granny Sha answered,

"Uprooted a hall. Killed seventy-four."

Hu Xiaoliang and Qingyang both fell silent.

Granny Sha murmured,

"We were just one step late. Just one step."

Quanzhou, Li family.

Li Xingqing hunched over his desk, pen poised over paper as he wrote,

"Dear Chen Shi: Greetings upon reading this are as your face before me. How fares your health of late? Has your old ailment mended? This fool has returned home. Mother is well, and the clan treats fool and mother kindly. Worry not.

This fool studies diligently these days, honing his scholarship. Cultivation advances day by day.

This fool has heard tell of a matter: corpse clouds over Xijing, floating sixty li above ground. Suspected to be the work of Lesser Creation Five."

He chewed his pen tip, pondered, then continued,

"Soon this fool will depart for Arch Province to sit the exams alongside you for the autumn session, our names upon the golden list.

Yours, Xingqing."

Li Xingqing finished the letter, sealed the envelope, and prepared to send it off. He thought,

"Little Ten's scholarship and cultivation are no less than mine. He'll be a fierce rival for the provincial laurel. In this autumn contest, first place will be his or mine! Our names are sure to take first and second!"

Light gleamed in his eyes.

"Right now, he's surely studying hard too."

Red Mountain Hall, Arch Province. Chen Shi stirred awake in a haze, his guts rumbling with hunger, his head swimming from starvation.

He sat up. Every inch of him ached, and his mouth tasted of medicinal herbs.

He swung his legs off the bed and shuffled forward, wincing and sucking air through his teeth as he tugged at his wounds.

Bracing against the wall, he inched toward the door. When he pushed it open, a tall man standing guard outside turned at the sound. Smiling, he regarded Chen Shi.

"Instructor Chen, you're awake? Yu Xingcheng of Red Mountain Hall, at your service."