Chapter 209: Wind, Forest, Fire, Mountain

The words “the matter has already been settled” left Peng Yulan slumped on the floor, her heart full of desolation.

She understood Feng Lingbo’s feelings completely. The same grief and indignation filled her own heart. Back when Guangyi Commandery had maintained its own army and stood on its own strength, who had risked his head to do it?

When the imperial court sent a great army to suppress them, whose sons and daughters had gone onto the battlefield, shedding blood and fighting desperately to hold the enemy back?

They had finally, with great difficulty, reached where they were today. Then Tianyu Sect said Feng Lingbo lacked Shang Chaozong’s ability to expand, and that was the end of it!

“Inviting the wolf into the house... raising a tiger only to invite calamity...”

Peng Yulan sat on the floor muttering to herself, not a trace of the dignified noblewoman left in her bearing. Peng Youzai could understand his daughter’s feelings. He sighed.

“Call it inviting the wolf into the house or raising a tiger to become a menace. Looked at from another angle, does that not merely prove Shang Chaozong’s ability?”

“How many people beneath Heaven possess that kind of capability?”

“Set him beside Lingbo and the contrast is plain. Lingbo has remained confined to Guangyi Commandery all these years. How long had Shang Chaozong been in Canglu County before he took all of Qingshan Commandery in one stroke?”

“His courage and breadth of vision do not disgrace the mighty reputation of his father, Prince Ning Shang Jianbo!”

Peng Yulan shook her head in grief and anger.

“Lingbo held what he had because he was accumulating strength. The foundation he spent so many years building was finally ready, yet before he could use it himself it became someone else’s wedding clothes. And in your eyes, that somehow proves Lingbo lacks ability!”

“Without all the painstaking effort Lingbo poured into Guangyi Commandery over these years, where would Shang Chaozong have found the wealth or troops to swallow Qingshan Commandery?”

“He planted the peach tree himself. When the fruit finally ripened, someone else came and picked it, and he was left carrying the reputation of incompetence. Is there any justice like that beneath Heaven?”

“Someone else?”

Peng Youzai bent down and personally helped his daughter to her feet with both hands, then wiped the tears from her face.

“There is no ‘someone else.’ Shang Chaozong is not an outsider. He is your son-in-law, half a son to you. You, he, and I are all one family.”

Peng Yulan said mournfully, “Father, if you say that, how are Ruoyi and Ruojie supposed to feel?”

“Is a man who schemes to seize his father-in-law’s family estate really one of the family?”

Her heart ached. Even within one family, closeness and distance still mattered. The estate the Feng family had painstakingly built was naturally supposed to pass to her own sons someday.

Now her sons had risked their lives to build that inheritance, only for it to be handed to someone else with both hands. Worse still, they would have to bow their heads and acknowledge that man as their lord.

Peng Youzai said, “By your reasoning, Shang Chaozong is a member of Great Yan’s imperial clan. Should he then claim that we are the ones who stole his Shang family’s State of Yan?”

“Can accounts like this ever truly be calculated cleanly?”

“Yulan, some things have no right or wrong. One has to look forward. The future will be better.”

“The future?”

Peng Yulan replied, “We cannot even protect what is before our eyes. Who can say clearly what will happen in the future?”

She understood too well. Once her sons fell one step behind now, however bright the future became, they would probably remain beneath Shang Chaozong from then on. That was something she found difficult to accept. Peng Youzai fell silent for a moment. He knew that no matter how much he explained right now, his daughter would find it difficult to let go. Anyone in her place would have difficulty accepting such a thing.

Then again, precisely because this was his own daughter and son-in-law, he had the patience to come personally and explain things little by little. Had it been someone else, there would probably have been no need. Since he could not talk her around, he stopped dwelling on the matter and instead reminded her, “Before I came, Lan Ruoting found me and spoke about Ruonan.”

“I hear Ruonan returned to her maternal family in a fit of anger and has refused to go back no matter how they persuade her. He hoped I could say something.”

“Yulan, under the present circumstances, control of both commanderies is going to Shang Chaozong. If you truly want what is best for Ruojie and Ruoyi, persuade Ruonan to return as soon as possible.”

“There are some things between men and women that cannot be explained clearly.”

“If some other woman takes advantage of the opening and supplants Ruonan, then you and Shang Chaozong truly will become outsiders to one another.”

“The more Shang Chaozong accomplishes, the greater his voice will become. Tianyu Sect will no longer be able to treat him like some insignificant figure.”

“If Ruonan, as his wife, refuses to live with him and Shang Chaozong decides to marry someone else, Tianyu Sect will have nothing to say.”

“No one has any reason to force another person to live as a grass widower.”

“Think this matter through carefully yourself...”

At almost the same time Tianyu Sect’s people arrived in Guangyi Commandery, several young men from Small Temple Village, led by Shang Chaozong’s personal guards, were galloping through Guangyi Commandery as well. After enduring wind, meals, and lodging on the road, the group finally reached the valley outside Qingshan Commandery’s capital. They jumped from their horses and waited where they were while someone went ahead to report their arrival. The several sturdy young men kept looking around curiously. Though travel-worn and dusty, their eyes were full of wonder.

Before long, Niu Youdao, Yuan Gang, and the others arrived. Had these been ordinary visitors, Niu Youdao might not have come personally to receive them. These men were even more ordinary than most. But there was no helping it. They were people from his own village. There were some airs one could not put on and some hearts one could not afford to hurt.

“Brother Gangzi! Brother Dao!”

The young men spotted the two and waved their arms, shouting excitedly. They forgot all about the guards around them and charged forward cheering. Niu Youdao waved, signaling the guards not to stop them. They still kept a little distance from Niu Youdao. With Yuan Gang, they showed no such restraint. They rushed over and lifted him bodily into the air. Even hugging him seemed insufficient to express their excitement. They hoisted him up and threw him skyward. Caught him. Threw him up again.

Black Peony and the others stared in surprise. They were surprised by the relationship between these men and Yuan Gang. They were even more surprised to see a faint smile appear on the face of that cold-faced door god.

After Yuan Gang was finally set down, he asked, “Why are there only four of you? Where are the other two?”

Big Bowl chuckled.

“Big Black just got married. It’s only been a few days, and he can’t bear to leave his wife behind.”

“Wood got married too. His parents keep pushing him every day to carry on the family line, so he couldn’t come either.”

Yuan Gang fell silent briefly. If they did not want to come, he could not force them. While things were still lively here, another group arrived. Shang Chaozong and Lan Ruoting had come.

After hearing the report that the people Yuan Gang had specifically named from Small Temple Village had arrived, Lan Ruoting—now brimming with curiosity about that village—could not resist coming to take a look. Shang Chaozong had much the same thought, so he came along.

“Your Highness. Mister Lan.”

Niu Youdao cupped his hands politely. The young men had all seen Shang Chaozong before. Now that a great personage had arrived, and knowing he was some kind of prince, they immediately quieted down. They did not understand proper formal etiquette and stood somewhat nervously beside Yuan Gang without daring to speak. Like Yuan Gang, they offered no salute.

“I heard Master Dao’s fellow villagers had arrived, so I came specially to take a look.”

Shang Chaozong spoke with a smile, his eyes already fixed on the young men.

“They are country villagers and do not understand etiquette. Your Highness, please do not take offense.”

Niu Youdao apologized for them first. Lan Ruoting had already begun studying the group closely. They looked vaguely familiar. They should have been among the young men he had seen outside the village back then. But compared with that time, all four had clearly changed. They had broad shoulders and narrow waists, physiques somewhat like Yuan Gang’s. Every one of them was powerfully built and brimming with vitality, plainly beyond ordinary soldiers. Lan Ruoting and Shang Chaozong instinctively exchanged a glance. Both were thinking the same thing.

Any one of these fellows looked capable of going onto a battlefield as a fierce warrior. That Small Temple Village truly was no simple place. It seemed to produce nothing but damned talent. Niu Youdao had noticed the changes in them as well. He gave Yuan Gang a glance carrying deeper meaning. Since the prince had come, Niu Youdao naturally remained to accompany him. Yuan Gang took the travel-worn young men away to wash and clean themselves up.

After seeing Shang Chaozong off, Niu Youdao climbed to the top of a cliff and stood alone at its edge, waiting. Before long, Yuan Gang arrived. Before he could speak, Niu Youdao, still facing away from him, asked, “You taught them the hard qigong you cultivate?”

Yuan Gang was silent for a moment. He understood Niu Youdao’s concern. Truthfully, back then he had never imagined there was anything especially unusual about the hard qigong he practiced. In his previous life, when he was with that group of people, everyone had trained in it together. Teaching it to people from the same village had not seemed improper at the time. His only purpose then had been to strengthen their bodies so they could better protect the village. He had thought of nothing else.

Now, naturally, he understood that it might bring trouble. Yuan Gang nodded.

“Yes.”

“But there is something strange.”

“After I recovered from my injuries, all of us began practicing at almost the same time. Their progress, however, has clearly been much slower than mine. The difference is large.”

Niu Youdao said, “Every cultivation method differs from person to person.”

“If anyone could practice any method equally well, the whole world would be full of cultivators.”

“Your hard qigong is probably subject to the same principle.”

“The principle may be sound, but it is still better not to spread it casually.”

“Keep a few cards in reserve.”

“Be careful of inviting backlash.”

“You should understand what I mean.”

Yuan Gang silently nodded. The more dangerous something was, the less casually it could be passed on. Just then, a burst of shouting came from halfway down the mountain.

“Brother Gangzi! Brother Dao!”

Freshly washed and changed, the young men came bounding up the mountain again, vigorous as dragons and tigers. They reached the summit still shouting noisily, open and unrestrained. Compared with the environment here, they plainly lacked rules. Niu Youdao turned toward them and smiled faintly. Yuan Gang, however, warned them in a deep voice, “This is not the village.”

“Don’t let people laugh at you.”

“From now on, call him Master Dao!”

“Ma... Master Dao?”

The words felt awkward in their mouths. They were obviously unaccustomed to it. One man scratched his head and chuckled. Yuan Gang then turned toward Niu Youdao.

“Master Dao, none of their names are proper names. Saying them aloud outside will only invite ridicule.”

“You understand this sort of thing better.”

“Give them names.”

What he said was true. Among the people of Small Temple Village, Yuan Gang’s own name was already considered a good one, and even that was only because a traveler passing through had helped name him. The others had names like Yuan Big Stick or Niu Second Dog. Such names were normal enough within the village. But once they went out into the wider world, they truly were easy for others to laugh at.

As for the name Niu Youdao, Yuan Gang guessed that the dao in it had probably never meant morality or righteousness.

It was more likely the dao of “road,” meaning something like Niu Has-a-Road.

Otherwise, why would ordinary people give such a strange name? It was only because of Master Dao’s present identity that the name now carried a little dignity. Put Niu Youdao back in the village farming the fields and that dignity would immediately collapse. Small Temple Village had few miscellaneous surnames anyway. Most people were either surnamed Niu or Yuan. Niu Youdao chuckled and did not refuse. His gaze swept across the faces of the four young men, then finally returned to Yuan Gang. He understood what Yuan Gang wanted.

So, one word at a time, he recited, “Swift as wind, measured as forest;
Ravaging as fire, immovable as mountain!
Wind... Forest... Fire... Mountain!”

The words struck directly at what Yuan Gang had in mind. Yuan Gang liked them. He nodded without objection, immediately turned toward the four, and pointed to them one by one.

“Big Stick, from now on your name is Yuan Feng.”

“Mengzi, from now on your name is Niu Lin.”

“Little Dog, from now on your name is Yuan Huo.”

“Big Bowl, from now on your name is Niu Shan!”

“I’m Yuan Feng, you’re Niu Lin...”

The four laughed and joked, pointing at one another as they committed the new names to memory. Just as Niu Youdao’s naming had struck Yuan Gang’s intentions exactly, Niu Youdao also knew what Yuan Gang intended to do next. Sure enough, Yuan Gang left the following day. He wanted to select several hundred men and personally train a force of his own. He did not want Shang Chaozong’s soldiers. He intended to travel around and choose suitable seedlings for himself.

Niu Youdao had the three sects assign several experts to accompany him as retainer cultivators, guarding against danger.

[End of Chapter 209]