Chapter 106: Chapter 98: Incompleteness Tower Shelters Incomplete People

Dusk fell.

The Imperial City’s lanterns were just being lit, bright as day.

Every household had lit a pair of red lanterns before their doors and pasted up red couplets, creating a festive, joyous atmosphere.

After Zheng Xiu’s grand display startled all the Ravens in the city, the three Princes returned to the palace, each with different thoughts. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

But when they returned to their respective bedchambers, they found a small letter tucked into the crack of their doors.

The stationery was red, like an invitation.

On the cover of each of the three Princes’ letters was the same line of text: "Invitation to the Zheng Clan Reunion Banquet."

Signed: Marquis Zhonglie, Zheng Xiu.

...

The afterglow of sunset lingered at the horizon, leaving only a final trace of light.

In the blink of an eye, night fell.

The bright flames of decorative lanterns bathed the Imperial City in a golden glow. Viewed from above, it was a magnificent scene of peace and prosperity in a golden age.

A shabbily dressed Wandering Swordsman, leading a scrawny horse, approached the city gate from the south, following the main road. His bamboo hat was pulled low, and he used a walking stick that tapped against the ground. TAP, TAP, TAP.

The skinny horse carried two saddlebags and a Bird Cage. Nestled inside the cage was a bird with dull feathers, seemingly on the verge of death, lying motionless.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Colorful Fireworks shot into the sky, and the cheers of the common folk could be heard from within the city.

Every so often, someone couldn’t resist setting off fireworks, a prelude to the midnight "Fireworks display."

The CLANG of gongs and drums.

The decadent strains of music.

The BANG of fireworks, the HUSH of falling snow, the PITTER-PATTER of the crowd, the BABBLE of children, the WHOOSH of the wind—all these different sounds filled the city with a clamor, like a boisterous, joyful song.

"What a lively scene!"

The Wandering Swordsman steadied his bamboo hat, lifted his head, and "looked" toward the source of the bustling fireworks.

The bird in the cage weakly raised its head to look at the fireworks filling the sky, a faint light glimmering in its dull eyes.

"Such beautiful Fireworks."

It was as if the young man could see the fireworks blooming.

Before the north gate, the gate-guarding soldiers, clad in Armor, noticed this shabby wanderer leading a scrawny horse.

Two soldiers went to investigate. Just then, the young man lifted his head, revealing a face covered in burn scars.

The young man’s eyes were white, his pupils dim—he was clearly blind.

The scars on his face stretched from his forehead down across his face and neck, leaving little unblemished skin. But looking at his straight nose and lips, the two soldiers could vaguely tell that before his injuries, the blind young man must have been a handsome man with delicate features.

’Another poor soul.’

"What’s your business in the city?"

The bird in the cage once again appeared on the verge of death, its head lowered, its breathing faint.

The young man cupped his hands in a salute toward the guards, turning toward the sound of their voices. In a clear voice, he asked, "Are you two the Lord Officials of the city?"

"Divine Martial Soldier, Xiang Wanbing, on duty tonight."

The two waved their hands in front of the young man’s eyes. After confirming he was truly blind, one of the soldiers spoke in a deep voice.

"So you’re from the renowned Divine Martial Army! I come from the south. My surname is Chen, and my given name is a single character, Wei—Chen Wei. My family suffered a great misfortune; our home was consumed by fire. Now, I have no one to depend on. I have a small skill; I can tell a tale or two and know a little of the bone-reading Mystic Technique. I’m hoping to make a living here at the feet of the Emperor. I hope you two Lord Officials will be magnanimous and give me a chance to survive."

"Heh, what are you thinking? Did you really think we’d stop you? This is the capital, the prosperous Daqian, at the feet of the Emperor." The two soldiers were amused by the young man’s words. They gave his saddlebags a quick look, finding only some loose change and old clothes, nothing out of the ordinary, and so they let him into the city.

Only Merchants passing through were required to pay a tax on their goods; it wasn’t necessary for ordinary people.

"Thank you, Lord Official! Thank you, Lord Official!"

The young man bowed, thanking them obsequiously as he entered the city, leaning on his staff and leading his scrawny horse.

On the city walls, there were fewer Ravens than usual today; a batch had been frightened silly by the Zheng Family during the day. The two soldiers glanced up at the top of the wall. Seeing no unusual reaction from the Ravens, they nodded to themselves and returned to their posts.

The gate guards kindly informed the young man that if he slept on the streets on a winter night, he would never live to see the dawn. If he had no place to stay, he could seek lodging for the night at the Ministry of Justice, located three li outside the city.

"The Ministry of Justice was renovated with funds from the Zheng Family. If you’re hungry, there’s white rice congee to eat, and a heated kang to warm yourself by. You won’t starve or freeze to death. But you can’t stay for more than ten days, so that other homeless beggars can have a turn."

Speaking of the Zheng Family, the two gate-guarding soldiers couldn’t help but give a thumbs-up in their hearts to Tycoon Zheng. If not for the Zheng Clan’s charitable donations, who knows how many people would freeze to death on the streets every winter.

"The Zheng Family... Zheng."

The young man murmured in a low voice. What the two soldiers didn’t notice was that after the blind youth led his horse into the city, his downtrodden figure began to straighten, his back growing taller and straighter.

At the entrance of an unnoticed alley, the young man opened the Bird Cage. The bird inside, which should have been on the brink of death, suddenly beat its wings and soared high into the sky. In mid-air, its feathers gradually turned black, and in a flash, it became indistinguishable from the Ravens in the sky, blending in with them perfectly.

"Go on. Be careful."

The blind young man left his scrawny horse at the Post Station near the city gate. He waited in place for a while, and a seemingly ordinary carriage pulled up in front of him.

"The Incompleteness Tower shelters the incomplete."

The driver brought the carriage over to the blind young man, lowered his voice, and spoke in a tone that only the two of them could hear.

"Coughing blood and crying bitterly ’til dawn."

"Please, get in the carriage. My master has been waiting for a long time."

"Thank you."

"The city is full of eyes and ears. It’s not a good place to talk."

"I understand."

The blind wanderer smiled, boarded the carriage, and in a flash, the carriage was heading out of the city again, passing by the two on-duty soldiers and disappearing into the vast darkness of the night.

...

「Deep within the palace.」

「The Emperor’s Imperial Study.」

Venerable Wei Yang was hunched over, reviewing memorials.

The candlelight on the desk flickered, though there was no wind. Without lifting his head, Venerable Wei Yang said, "Enter."

A masked person in black robes pushed open the door to the Imperial Study and knelt before the Great Emperor.

Low-ranking officials only knew that the court of Daqian was divided into the Six Ministries, which were managed by the Left and Right Chancellors.

Those of a higher rank, at the level of Jiang Gaoyi, or those who were ’in the know’, were aware of the existence of Ye Weiyang.

But aside from the Six Ministries and Ye Weiyang, there was also a "Secret Ministry," known only to a select few, such as the Princes and the Chancellors.

The so-called Secret Ministry moved through the night, carrying out clandestine affairs.

The black-clothed person from the Secret Ministry knelt before the Great Emperor and gave a faithful report of the disturbance that had occurred during the day, as well as the three Princes’ excursion.

The Great Emperor’s brush paused for a moment, but he soon switched to another memorial.

"Reporting to the Holy Emperor, there is another matter."

The member of the Secret Ministry faithfully reported how the Zheng Family had sent someone to deliver invitations for the reunion banquet to the desks of the three Princes.

"Oh?"

Venerable Wei Yang, who had been engrossed in his memorials, finally stopped his work, his interest piqued.

"Was it the Zheng Family’s legendary ’Brotherhood’?"

"This subordinate has never personally seen the ’Brotherhood,’ but based on the Secret Ministry’s documents, it must have been ’them.’"

"You... you actually let them in?"

The black-clothed person shook his head. Behind the mask, the man’s expression was strange as he recounted what had happened.

"This subordinate was on duty outside Qianming Palace when someone..." A hint of indignation appeared in the Secret Ministry agent’s eyes. "Someone came up from behind this subordinate and tapped me on the shoulder."

Upon hearing this, Venerable Wei Yang’s brow furrowed, and he straightened his back.

"He said he was delivering a message to the three Princes on behalf of Marquis Zhonglie. He also said that their Master Zheng abides by the law and would never overstep his bounds. Those three invitations to the reunion banquet... this subordinate delivered them personally."

"Hahahaha—what a fine show of ’abiding by the law and never overstepping bounds’!"

Venerable Wei Yang’s furrowed brow suddenly smoothed out. He laughed heartily, slamming his hand on the desk, making it THUD loudly.

The black-clothed person remained kneeling, motionless.

After laughing for a while, Venerable Wei Yang nodded slightly, his smile fading. He asked, "In your opinion, what do you make of Marquis Zhonglie’s Brotherhood?"

The black-clothed person was silent for a moment, then said, "They appear and disappear like ghosts. They are everywhere."

"Heh. ’Appear and disappear like ghosts,’ indeed... You may leave."

"Yes."

’He didn’t know why Venerable Wei Yang was laughing, nor did he know Venerable Wei Yang’s true opinion of the Zheng Clan. But such was the work of the Secret Ministry—they were only responsible for working in the shadows and never asked unnecessary questions. Knowing too much brought no benefit.’

After the agent from the Secret Ministry left, the flickering candlelight grew calm again.

A lone trail of sandalwood incense smoke rose straight into the air.

Venerable Wei Yang faced the wall. On it hung a piece of calligraphy he had written himself, bearing four characters: "Ruling the World with Benevolence."