At the entrance of the small courtyard on the mountain peak, Wang Ping’s expression was grim. He stared blankly at the yard full of Spirit Wood. Yu Lian, perched on his shoulder, nudged her head against his cheek, rousing him from his deep thoughts.

"Go get Liu Shuang and bring her up here!"

"Okay!"

Hearing the command, Yu Lian took to the air at top speed.

Wang Ping walked over to the viewing pavilion at the edge of the Mountain Peak Dojo, stopping to gaze down the mountain.

The front hall was clearly visible from Wang Ping’s perspective, as were the steps leading to the peak and the people on them. He watched Yang Hou hurry down the mountain for a moment before turning his gaze to the outer disciples practicing the Chang Chun Technique in the front hall’s training grounds.

’I don’t know when it started, but I’ve come to accept that these people are fated to be my pawns.’

"What are you brooding about now?" Yu Lian returned quickly. She landed on Wang Ping and settled back onto his shoulder, following his gaze downward.

"From our perspective, Xiao Shan Lord is like the greatest villain from a folktale. For the sake of his own advancement, he completely disregards the lives of others. In the Yongming Port incident alone, over a million people died for unknown reasons."

Wang Ping spoke quickly in a low voice. "Look..." He pointed to the busy disciples below. "In their eyes, I might just be another version of Xiao Shan Lord."

"So?"

"There is no ’so.’ I’ve just come to understand myself better, and to see the essence of certain things more clearly. But I won’t stop walking the path I’m on."

Wang Ping reached out and tapped his finger lightly. The surrounding Spiritual Qi rippled out from the point of his touch. In the next instant, the Wood Spirit Qi in the air surged, and the surrounding vegetation, withered and yellow from winter, was instantly revitalized with new life.

"Now that’s more like it." Yu Lian flew up from Wang Ping’s shoulder and zipped back and forth among the revitalized plants, looking utterly delighted. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

Wang Ping, meanwhile, turned his gaze to the steps at the foot of the mountain. Liu Shuang was ascending at an incredible speed. A black sheepdog followed closely behind her swift figure. As it ran, it seemed to have wind beneath its paws, its body appearing exceptionally light.

In just over a dozen breaths, Liu Shuang and her spirit pet appeared before the dojo’s main gate. Wang Ping directly sent a voice transmission, telling the gatekeeping acolyte to let them in.

...

「Three days later.」

Deep in the dungeons of the Jinhuai Prefecture Governor’s Office, the cells on both sides were filled with prisoners, yet it was terrifyingly quiet. The only sound was the CRACKLE of charcoal burning in a brazier.

A middle-aged man wearing the standard leather armor of a Captain strode down the corridor between the cells, drawing the gazes of the prisoners on both sides. Behind the Captain, Liu Shuang’s expression was cold. A large black dog followed closely by her side, its eyes sweeping over the inmates with an even colder indifference.

"This is the one..."

The Captain leading the way stopped abruptly. His voice was jarring in the silence. After speaking, he skillfully unlocked the cell door. A foul stench, unique to prison cells, immediately washed over them. It was even darker inside. The Captain took a bottle of tung oil from his breast pocket, poured it into a wall lamp, and then used a flint to light it.

Throughout this process, Liu Shuang’s gaze remained fixed on a pair of vacant eyes within. The tung oil lamp quickly caught fire, and as the light spread, it illuminated the owner of those vacant eyes.

It was Yang Zhiping. He was a pathetic sight, dressed in a thin prison uniform with disheveled hair and a beard matted with filth. He wasn’t particularly surprised to see Liu Shuang. After the Captain withdrew and Liu Shuang stepped inside, he gave a bitter smile and called out, "Senior Sister!"

Liu Shuang’s gaze was sharp as she looked Yang Zhiping up and down. "You really don’t have a single scratch on you," she said. "I’ve read your case file. Your subordinates all say you surrendered without even putting up a fight?"

"It was an Entering Cultivator. If I had resisted, I’d probably be a corpse right now!" Yang Zhiping replied in a low voice.

"So you were banking on Master to come and save you?"

Yang Zhiping could only meet her question with silence.

Liu Shuang frowned slightly at the silent Yang Zhiping. Then, in a cold tone, she said, "Master will not save you. But he will protect your family. That is the reason I came to see you."

Yang Zhiping looked up, staring at Liu Shuang in disbelief.

"Master owes you nothing!" With that, Liu Shuang turned and left the cell without a backward glance.

The Captain waiting outside forced a smile for the departing Liu Shuang, then immediately slammed the cell door shut. Only then did Yang Zhiping react. He threw himself against the bars, shouting, "Senior Sister! Senior Sister..."

But Liu Shuang had no intention of paying him any mind. She and her Spiritual Dog walked straight out of the dungeon. Outside, two disciples from Qianmu Temple stationed in Jinhuai Prefecture immediately came forward to greet her.

"Can he be saved in this situation?" Liu Shuang asked.

"It’s possible. The Court can’t control us here anymore, but this case is a bit troublesome," a senior disciple replied.

"How is it troublesome?"

"This case was specifically flagged by the Inspectorate, and the one who flagged it isn’t part of our network. If he insists on pursuing it, we might have a complete falling out. At that point, there’s bound to be bloodshed."

Liu Shuang fell into thought after hearing this.

’Just now, I said I wouldn’t save Yang Zhiping simply because I was annoyed. Of course, he has to be saved. Besides, this rescue mission is about more than just one person.’

"Let’s go to Martial Uncle Su’s mansion."

「Su Mansion.」

Su Dun made a point of receiving Liu Shuang with great fanfare.

Then, upon entering the main hall, Liu Shuang learned that Yang Zhiping’s incident had also implicated Su Dun. As a result, his military command had been revoked, leaving him idle at home with only his rank as a Fourth-Grade Military Officer.

"This whole affair is strange," Liu Shuang commented after listening.

"It’s not just strange, it’s quite deliberate... The one who seized the military provisions was an Entering Cultivator. Two hundred soldiers can testify to that, so it’s most likely true. But tell me, why would an Entering Cultivator possibly need to steal military rations?"

Su Dun did not seem dispirited by the loss of his command. He picked up his teacup and analyzed with great interest, "No matter who investigates this, they’ll come up with nothing. First, the incident itself is illogical. Second, there were no traces left at the scene."

"Martial Uncle, please speak plainly," Liu Shuang said with a cupped-fist salute.

"This incident clearly wasn’t about the rations, but was targeted at an individual. Zhiping is just a Captain; he’s not important enough to be the target. That leaves only my Senior Brother. And when you factor in the recent conflicts between the various sects on Nanlin Road, the perpetrator becomes obvious..."

Su Dun set down his teacup and met Liu Shuang’s gaze. "According to my investigation, the Governor of the Inspectorate is from Mozhou Road and has intricate connections to Daoist Wenhai’s secular family."

"This..." Liu Shuang looked at the two disciples who had accompanied her, but they just stared back blankly.

"It wasn’t hard to find. You were just looking in the wrong direction. It was obvious from the start that the Inspectorate was involved in this matter, so I immediately sent people to investigate the backgrounds of their top officials."

「One day later.」

The news was delivered into Wang Ping’s hands.

After reading it, he let out a light laugh for some reason. It was a relaxed laugh, because he suddenly found this kind of affair quite interesting. It was a colorful ripple in the monotony of his ascetic cultivation.

"These people are quite the schemers, to have plotted this far ahead. This means the Daoist Scripture Hall’s mediation is coming soon, doesn’t it?" Wang Ping looked at Yu Lian, his tone as if he were talking to himself, yet also asking a question.

"You’ve become more philosophical," Yu Lian remarked.

"Have I."

"Yes!"

"It’s because I have more important things to do."

"Like what?"

"Like ascending to the Second Realm..."

Wang Ping looked up into the air. At the center of the Spirit Gathering Array, the locust tree had now manifested a divine soul. It was curiously observing the world around it.

’Just as I deduced, the success rate of fusing with the Locust Tree Divine Soul to ascend to the Second Realm also changes with the mood of the tree’s consciousness. With the help of my strategy panel, this ascension is only a matter of time for me!’

「Five days later.」

Wang Ping did not receive the expected mediation from the Daoist Scripture Hall. Instead, a letter arrived from Xia Yao. In it, she mentioned that a junior of the Lishui Prefecture’s Dragon Monarch had arrived in the Sanhe Prefecture region. The junior was preparing to ride the floods during next year’s rainy season and she hoped Wang Ping could look after them.

Coincidentally, at that very moment, the Water Control Magical Treasure that Yu Lian had requested to purchase was delivered to Qianmu Temple.