Above the pavilion behind the central square of Yingtian Prefecture Academy, a white-robed old man with a head full of messy hair was watching the commotion below with great interest.
“Your Majesty, what do you think your imperial brother-in-law will carve onto the stele?”
Yun Zhao, resting his chin on his hand as he browsed scrolls and was nearly nodding off, jolted awake at the words “imperial brother-in-law” from the white-robed old man.
“Sir, please do not speak nonsense. My imperial sister has not been married yet.”
Imperial Tutor Sage Su turned around and sat across from Yun Zhao, smiling kindly.
“The marriage pact is already set. How could that be a joke?”
Yun Zhao was not in the mood to talk. He had no fondness for the man who was trying to take his imperial sister, but he also could not contradict his teacher.
When Yun Zhao enrolled at Yingtian Prefecture Academy, he had nearly failed the inscription test. In the end, only because of Yun Shuyu’s favor and his status as ruler of the realm, and because Sage Su also saw that his character was upright, was he reluctantly admitted.
Not to mention Sage Su’s care for him, just by virtue of Sage Su’s status and cultivation, Yun Zhao naturally had to treat him with great respect.
Yun Zhao stood up and glanced at Du Heng below.
“My imperial sister once showed me a poem he wrote. His learning is passable, so I imagine he should be able to safely meet Sir.”
“Oh? May I see it?”
Yun Zhao’s expression stiffened. “I have already forgotten it. I’ll show it to Sir another time, or perhaps have him recite it to you himself later.”
After saying that, Yun Zhao took his leave and went to the room next door to read, saying he wanted to study the art of governing the realm in peace.
Sage Su could see his unease and did not stop him.
In the square, Du Heng held a wolf-hair brush in his hand and quickly made up his mind.
He raised the brush and wrote directly on the inscription.
『For years, false fame is dust and dirt; can it match a thousand miles of clouds and moon?』
『All surrendered to wild abandon; the patient one writes half a lifetime of hopes with a brush.』
『After the song ends, a light sword leans on a long song and gazes at the moon; the evening wind becomes wine, and I sleep drunk among flowers.』
『I do not seek false fame; the reckless one roams freely through frost, snow, and rain.』
『Ask not; in dreams, a free traveler comes and goes, spring flowers and autumn moon, a moment of indulgence.』
As those lines landed on the inscription, waves of white light flickered.
Du Heng took two steps back and stared at the inscription. Suddenly, he froze in place without moving, as if he had entered a trance or died on the spot. Mingzhu hurried forward to steady him.
The young masters behind them, who had been watching the commotion, saw Du Heng in that state and assumed he had been punished by the backlash of the Heavenly Dao.
“See? I told you he was up to no good.”
“Exactly. Look at him. He’ll probably start bleeding from his seven orifices any moment now. I heard that people who suffer Heavenly Dao backlash bleed from all seven orifices, their meridians are severed, and in the end even their cultivation path is completely cut off.”
“Ah? Then isn’t Du Heng finished?”
“I think it’s not far off. He got what he deserved. That kind of unlearned and incompetent wastrel, blinded by lust, and he still dared come to Yingtian Prefecture Academy. Serves him right!”
Mingzhu turned and shouted, “All of you, shut up! My Senior Brother is not someone you can compare with, you bunch of trash.”
At that moment, the Du Heng who looked dazed to others was actually standing in his own sea of consciousness, looking up at the azure sky. A hoarse voice descended from clouds of unknown height, where a dazzling seven-colored radiance flickered.
“False fame and dust? Settling for the ordinary? Only drunk among flowers? A moment of indulgence?”
“A true man is born between heaven and earth, and this is your ambition?”
“Unambitious fool! How can you be worthy of the body your parents gave you? How can you be worthy of the cultivation and conduct your master taught you?”
“You reckless brat with no plan! If you kneel and admit your fault right now, I will spare your life!”
Du Heng lowered his head, smiled faintly, and replied, “No need.”
“My parents and esteemed master, the grace of giving me life and teaching me, I dare not forget. I will surely repay it.”
“But what does that have to do with how I live the rest of my life?”
“All people come into this world once; what each seeks is different. What does what you seek have to do with me?”
The old voice scolded again.
“Among the travelers of ancient and modern times, how could those with illustrious names and true integrity be so short-spirited and disheartened as you?”
Du Heng retorted, “Just because it has always been that way, does that make it right?”
“You should know that fine wine costs ten thousand a bushel; I would trade peach blossoms for wine money.”
“If I am willing to trade, then I trade.”
“Since it is my own heart, how can you interfere?”
After Du Heng’s rebuttal, the old voice fell silent. The dazzling light in the clouds vanished, as if nothing had happened. The words Du Heng had written on the inscription also withdrew their white glow, yet they still shone brilliantly, outshining the colors of the other words on the inscription.
“Hmm? What are you all standing there for?”
Du Heng came to his senses and saw everyone in the square, including Mingzhu, staring at him in stunned silence.
Mingzhu was the first to recover, since he had been the closest. He whispered in Du Heng’s ear, “Senior Brother, you were incredibly imposing just now. I don’t know who you were cursing, but that was the first time I’ve ever seen you shout at the sky like that.”
“Did someone send a voice transmission to provoke you?”
Just now, Mingzhu had turned back to curse those young masters, and then he heard Du Heng shouting curses toward the sky.
For a moment, neither Mingzhu nor those young masters dared say another word.
After all, Du Heng being able to shout that loudly at the sky meant he was fine, and none of them wanted their heads shaved by Du Heng’s sword intent.
Du Heng listened and shook his head.
“Did none of you hear the old man’s scolding voice from the clouds just now?”
“No,” Mingzhu said, puzzled.
The child Zhao Ming saw that Du Heng had returned to normal and came over. “Young Master Du may have encountered an immortal who served as the voice of the Heavenly Dao?”
“An immortal?”
When Du Heng heard those two words, he immediately thought of the true immortal from his immortal sect, the Lan Ke Mountain Range. That one had given him quite a hard time.
However, that person had only forced him to play chess and learn all kinds of random cultivation methods; he never interfered with how Du Heng would live his life in the future. So Du Heng had never argued with that true immortal master like this.
The child Zhao Ming nodded.
“I heard Grandpa Su say that when an immortal appears and converses in a person’s mind, it is either because the immortal greatly approves of that person, or because the immortal is very angry with that person.”
“But this is all part of the test. What the immortal says may not be true; it could also be a trap.”
“If you follow his thinking and change your credo or ambitions, you may suffer backlash.”
“Senior Brother Du’s firm replies just now were probably approved by the immortal?”
The child Zhao Ming turned to the old man beside the inscription and asked, “Grandpa Qi, am I right?”
The old man surnamed Qi looked up and gave a grunt.
Du Heng thanked the old man in that direction.
“Thank you, Senior, for clearing that up.”
The old man seemed not to hear him at all.
Du Heng did not mind and took out another round piece of sweet mochi and handed it to Zhao Ming.
“Thank you for the explanation, little brother Zhao.”
“Hehe, those are just things Grandpa Su usually says.”
Mingzhu, standing nearby, lit up upon hearing that. So Senior Brother was this impressive.
His reason for going down the mountain with Du Heng was to protect Du Heng, but after these past few days, where did Senior Brother Du even need his protection?
So many junior brothers at Ruo Xian Pavilion all said that Eldest Senior Brother Du slacked off all day and was good for nothing, but the truth seemed completely different.
His master really had not lied to him.
“Senior Brother, how did you do that?” Mingzhu looked at Du Heng with admiration.
Du Heng’s expression was calm, with no hint of pride. He shook his head and said, “If you are willing, you can go up and carve characters too. As long as you hold to your true heart, you can be fearless.”
Mingzhu still did not quite believe it. Could just anyone really retort against an immortal manifested by the Heavenly Dao?
The people in the square also recovered and looked at the words Du Heng had carved on the inscription, erupting into an uproar.
“The light his words gave off is way too bright!”
“Hiss… how can such dispirited lines pass the Stele of the Heart’s test?”
“Du Heng is really impressive… His learning is outstanding. He doesn’t look like the unlearned and incompetent sort rumored about at all.”
“Who says otherwise? Just from that sword intent alone, this Young Lord Du is not someone to offend.”
Everyone was praising him. Among them were plenty of people who changed sides faster than flipping a page, and quite a few who wanted to come forward and make Du Heng’s acquaintance.
Some of them did not have the courage to carve characters on the Stele of the Heart; some had carved but failed and were not noticed by the Heavenly Dao, yet still managed to keep their lives because even their words were not left behind; and some had wanted to carve characters but had not done so yet.
Mingzhu turned around and spat again.
“What the hell are you trying to disgust? You change faces faster than flipping a book!”
“Go back and look in the mirror and see whether you even recognize yourselves.”
Many of them had been hit where it hurt, but with no way to talk back, they flushed red and dared not say another word.