Chapter 262: Chapter 252: Capital City Old Friends (3)

Prefecture Government, inside a study.

The Prefect Yang Yuzhi was playing chess with someone. Now, more than half of Yang Yuzhi’s hair had turned white, and he had grown ever thinner—within just a single year, he seemed to have aged twenty, his skin darkened, his posture bent and frail.

Sitting across from him was another old man with a full head of white hair, but compared to Yang Yuzhi’s haggard appearance, the white-haired elder was still vigorous and radiant, as though a crane among mortals—a ruddy-faced sage. This man was Yang Yuzhi’s master, Qin You, Director of the Imperial Observatory in Yunzhou.

"Yuzhi, sometimes, you have to learn to let yourself go."

Qin You looked at his proudest disciple before him, sighing softly.

He was a grandmaster among heaven’s elite, in his lifetime he had taken on many disciples—some with extraordinary martial arts talent, some merely average; some with rebellious natures, some as refined gentlemen. Some entered the court as officials, rising smoothly in power; some wandered the Martial World as carefree drifters; some wrote books and contributed works; some withdrew from the world and embraced an ordinary life.

But, if asked who satisfied him most, it was still Yang Yuzhi, the one now sitting before him, looking even older than himself.

All his other disciples had come seeking him of their own accord; only Yang Yuzhi was the one he fought to claim.

Back then, Yang Yuzhi was about to enter Jixia Academy, yet by chance he met Qin You, who was traveling incognito; the two conversed at length and found great rapport. In the end, Qin You took matters into his own hands and snatched Yang Yuzhi away from the Academy, inducting him as a disciple.

It was not in vain that Qin You spent such effort,

For after several years of study under him, Yang Yuzhi entered government service.

But at that time, Yang Yuzhi was full of youthful fire—he once berated the Emperor for incompetence at court, even publicly beat a Royal Noble who abused his status on the streets, and finally, in a fit of righteous anger, hurled his official’s hat before the Emperor right in the audience hall.

If not for Qin You’s protection, he would have died countless times over by now.

But in the end he still could not escape being demoted and exiled.

Yet with Qin You sheltering him, though sent away, he was brought by Qin You to Yunzhou’s Imperial Observatory.

From then on, Yang Yuzhi’s true talents unfolded—within a few short years, he drew most of the remaining power of the Embroidered Uniform Guard into the Observatory’s hands, elevating it in one leap to become Yunzhou’s dominant official force.

He then journeyed west to Yunxi and established the Cyan Gorge Covenant,

That plan—only Qin You alone supported it,

At that time, everyone in Government Office condemned Yang Yuzhi: to think he let the Court ennoble those unruly Martial World People! For a while, he was condemned by all, becoming the shame of the Imperial Observatory.

Pressed by public opinion, Yang Yuzhi left the Imperial Observatory and took up post as Prefect in Linjiang City.

Over recent years, as the Court decayed ever deeper, the truth of the Cyan Gorge Covenant gradually emerged, yet Yang Yuzhi bore thirty years of infamy—without anyone to clear his name.

In such circumstances,

Yang Yuzhi devised yet another death-defying plan. Though trouble struck later, it still forced the White Lotus Sect, lurking in the shadows, into the open.

The Observatory’s takeover of Yunzhou, the Cyan Gorge Covenant, the death-defying plan—

Any one of these affairs would be enough for a place in history,

Yet Yang Yuzhi gained only thirty years of slander, the destruction of his family, and after exhausting body and soul, a lifetime of unshakable guilt.

Qin You gazed at his most outstanding disciple, his heart aching. He said, "Yuzhi, as your master, I will see your name restored."

Yang Yuzhi sighed, shaking his head, "Teacher, there’s no need. I never sought achievement or reputation—what I sought was peace under heaven. I failed in that. I believe I’ve done right by the common people, but I let down my family. Just for that, I have no right to remove the stain from my name!"

Qin You sighed as well. "Yuzhi, how can one in this world ever have the best of both? In life, it is always so—when you make a choice, you must face its consequences. Why imprison yourself within boundaries of your own drawing?"

Yang Yuzhi shook his head, "In the past I thought myself in the right, convinced I would never regret it, but now I am lost. Everything unfolded as I had imagined, yet the result did not improve. Teacher, I think perhaps I was wrong from the start."

Qin You was taken aback. "You’ve lost faith in the Court?"

Yang Yuzhi shook his head, then nodded, saying, "I thought I could save a great edifice from collapse, but the truth proved, all my schemes succeeded, and yet things only grew worse. Teacher, sometimes I wonder—was I wrong from the very beginning?"

Qin You said quietly, "But you are both official and subject."

Yang Yuzhi fell silent.

After a long while, Qin You spoke: "Yuzhi, I came hoping you would return to the Imperial Observatory."

"No," Yang Yuzhi shook his head. "Teacher, I am already exhausted and old, I do not wish to struggle again. Let the death-defying plan serve as my final act in this world. Teacher, I truly am tired."

Qin You let out a long sigh,

So many words stuck in his throat, impossible to speak. Looking at Yang Yuzhi, seemingly at death’s door, he knew this disciple—brilliant for decades—was now trapped in a prison of his own making, his light gone, unless he could break free himself.

After a long silence,

Qin You said, "Yuzhi, the death-defying plan isn’t over yet."

"I know." Yang Yuzhi replied, "But I no longer have the strength to continue. Teacher, I set things in motion—please, let it be you who brings them to an end!"

"I am just one step short," said Qin You. "Yunxi, the Cyan Gorge Covenant—it’s now at the final deadline. Yunxi’s side has already begun to push back; the orthodox-versus-demonic battle is about to break out."

Yang Yuzhi’s voice was faint: "As expected. Just go with their plan; if they want autonomy, give it to them so they may find peace. That was part of my plan from the start. Teacher, don’t forget—the Cyan Gorge Covenant was meant to serve the death-defying plan!"