Chapter 210: Meng Shanming

Feng Ruonan returned. She returned with a bellyful of resentment. It could also be said that her maternal family had persuaded her to come back. Circumstances were stronger than people. Control of both commanderies was now in Shang Chaozong’s hands.

Just as Peng Youzai had said, for the Feng family’s own good, they had no choice but to persuade their daughter to return. Persuading her back was not enough. They also had to make her soften her attitude. The reason was simple.

No one knew how Shang Chaozong intended to redistribute authority over the two commanderies, or whether he might push the Feng family out entirely. By rights, Shang Chaozong had to give Peng Youzai some face and would not dare go too far.

But if the Feng family behaved too outrageously and truly angered Shang Chaozong, there were some matters in which Tianyu Sect would find it difficult to interfere too deeply. Most of Tianyu Sect consisted of cultivators. Their focus lay elsewhere. Like Niu Youdao, they did not understand much about military affairs, government, and administration. Since they had handed supreme authority to Shang Chaozong, they could not then interfere recklessly with everything he did.

If Shang Chaozong found a legitimate reason to stamp on the Feng family, even Peng Youzai might find himself in a difficult position. Qingshan Commandery’s capital was almost in sight when even Heaven chose not to cooperate. Rain suddenly began to fall. Feng Ruonan, riding on horseback, was drenched like a drowned chicken, worsening her already foul mood.

Her mood improved slightly when she reached the city gates and saw Shang Chaozong standing beneath them with a group of people, apparently waiting to welcome someone. But she soon realized Shang Chaozong did not seem to be waiting for her. Even while exchanging a few simple pleasantries with her, his gaze repeatedly turned toward the misty road ahead. After waiting a little, Lan Ruoting said, “Your Highness, they’re here!”

Shang Shuqing shook out a cloak and draped it over her sister-in-law’s shoulders against the rain. At those words, she and Feng Ruonan both turned to look. A group gradually emerged through the curtain of rain. Several dozen men escorted a carriage toward the city.

Shang Shuqing released her sister-in-law and was about to follow Shang Chaozong and Lan Ruoting out into the rain to welcome the arrivals when a rider came galloping over. The man jumped down wearing a conical rain hat and said to Shang Chaozong, “Sir says there is no need to make a display. Your Highness should return first. Meeting at the residence will be soon enough.”

Once the message was delivered, Shang Chaozong’s side quickly withdrew. Feng Ruonan, leaving with them, was curious. Who was arriving that could provoke such a reaction from this group? Bai Yao, accompanying them as a guard, was equally curious.

Who was it?

Several dozen men in conical rain hats escorted the carriage into the city. Someone guided them onto the sealed road behind the Commandery Governor’s Residence. The carriage stopped at the rear gate. A wheelchair was brought out from behind it. Then someone emerged from inside the carriage. He had to be carried out. Waiting respectfully in the rain at the gate, Lan Ruoting bent at the waist and cupped his hands.

“Marshal Meng!”

The visitor was none other than Meng Shanming. This side needed him now, so they had invited him out of the mountains.

“Little Lan. It has been a long time.”

Silver-haired Meng Shanming smiled and nodded to Lan Ruoting.

“Uncle Meng!”

The Shang siblings saluted together. Though they themselves stood in the rain, brother and sister personally held umbrellas to either side, shielding him.

“I would not dare trouble Your Highness and the Commandery Princess like this.”

Meng Shanming quickly waved for the people behind him to step forward and take their places, refusing to let the siblings continue holding the umbrellas. Only then did he cup his hands in return.

“This crippled body cannot perform the full courtesies. Your Highness, Commandery Princess, please forgive me.”

“Uncle Meng, let us go inside and get out of the rain first.”

Shang Chaozong extended a hand in invitation. Several people lifted Meng Shanming into the wheelchair, then carried both man and chair directly into the residence. Bai Yao stood beneath the eaves with his sword in his arms, watching the group come in. Feng Ruonan had not even changed out of her wet clothes. She too lingered under the eaves.

Both wanted to know who this visitor was, someone worthy of the Shang siblings personally standing in the rain to receive him. Luo An, wearing a conical rain hat, pushed the wheelchair. When they reached the steps of the main hall, man and chair were lifted together and carried directly inside. Bai Yao and Feng Ruonan followed to see what was happening.

Inside the hall, Shang Shuqing personally took a towel from a servant and brushed away the raindrops that had blown onto Meng Shanming. After looking around, Meng Shanming asked, “Why do I not see Mister Dong Guo’s distinguished disciple?”

Shang Chaozong replied, “Master Dao is cultivating in the mountains outside the city. He does not yet know you have arrived.”

Meng Shanming nodded. His gaze then fell upon Feng Ruonan. His eyes flickered as he asked, “Could this be the Princess Consort?”

Feng Ruonan had been staring at this silver-haired, thin-faced, refined-looking man all along. At the question, she answered directly, “I am. Who are you?”

Meng Shanming’s gaze was mild but powerful. He cupped his hands.

“Meng Shanming greets the Princess Consort. This crippled body cannot perform the full courtesy. Princess Consort, please forgive me.”

Meng Shanming?

Feng Ruonan was stunned.

This man was Meng Shanming?

She herself came from a military background. Even if there were others in the State of Yan she had never heard of, how could she possibly not know Meng Shanming? He had been the foremost general under Prince Ning Shang Jianbo, accomplished in both civil and military arts. It was said the Yingyang and Wulie Guards beneath Prince Ning had been built by this man’s own hands. Across his entire life he had won every battle and conquered every objective, never suffering defeat.

To soldiers of the State of Yan, Meng Shanming was practically a god of war, an idol worshiped by commanders great and small. Feng Ruonan was no exception. She might not take Shang Chaozong very seriously, but toward a figure like Meng Shanming she held absolute respect. Whether in prestige, seniority, or military record, he utterly overshadowed her. She, a junior, had no standing to behave presumptuously in front of him. She was only puzzled. Had this man not supposedly died in battle?

How was he still alive?

Still, now she finally understood. So it was him. No wonder Shang Chaozong and the others had been so respectful. She hurriedly cupped her hands in return.

“Feng Ruonan greets Marshal Meng!”

Meng Shanming waved.

“I would not dare, I would not dare. A cripple like me is not worthy of such a grand courtesy from the Princess Consort.”

His gaze swept over Feng Ruonan. Inwardly, he sighed. Her coarse, rugged appearance left him somewhat rueful on Shang Chaozong’s behalf. It was not that he judged people solely by their looks.

Rather, he understood very clearly that had Shang Chaozong not fallen into desperate circumstances, he could never have married a woman of such appearance. There was simply no beauty to speak of. Bai Yao, standing to one side, was secretly startled as well. Naturally he had heard of a figure like Meng Shanming. He had not expected Shang Chaozong to bring this man out. Bai Yao normally did not involve himself in military affairs, but he could vaguely guess the purpose.

If Shang Chaozong had invited Meng Shanming out of retirement, it was probably to rebuild the Yingyang and Wulie Guards! This was no small matter. Bai Yao planned to report it to Tianyu Sect immediately afterward. Feng Ruonan, who had stepped aside, felt a faint lament rise in her heart.

If Tianyu Sect learned Shang Chaozong had invited this man out, the sect would probably support Shang Chaozong even more strongly. No wonder Tianyu Sect had made the Feng family lower its head. A centipede dies but does not fall apart. The Shang family’s foundations were still there. Who knew what other cards they had yet to reveal? There were too many unrelated people present, so naturally some things could not be discussed openly. Before long, Meng Shanming was pushed into Shang Chaozong’s study. He looked over the furnishings.

They were very simple. Meng Shanming sighed.

“Your Highness opened up the situation so quickly. If the late prince’s spirit is aware, he must be deeply gratified.”

Shang Chaozong smiled bitterly.

“Truthfully, it is all thanks to Master Dao.”

“Without him, today would have been difficult to reach.”

“He has been laying the road ahead for me all along. Only because of that have I been able to walk so smoothly.”

Meng Shanming nodded slightly. He had already learned some of these matters from secret correspondence and understood the general situation. He chuckled.

“It seems Mister Dong Guo made arrangements of his own somewhere beyond our knowing.”

“I never expected that after leaving the secret place that time, his disciple would stir up one affair after another.”

“I should pay him a visit later.”

Lan Ruoting glanced at Shang Chaozong and said, “Since Marshal Meng has already been invited out of retirement, there is no longer any need to hide certain matters.”

“The first reason we invited Marshal Meng out is naturally to rebuild the Yingyang and Wulie Guards.”

“The second is that we hope to borrow Marshal Meng’s prestige to contact Your Highness’s former subordinates.”

“Under the imperial court’s purges, some men were forced into maintaining armies of their own simply because they had no other choice.”

“Quite a few of them once served under Marshal Meng.”

“If Marshal Meng sends them a letter, those generals will certainly be moved.”

Meng Shanming fell silent briefly, then slowly shook his head.

“They may give me some face, but times are different now.”

“A melon twisted forcibly from the vine is not sweet.”

“The larger momentum is not on Your Highness’s side.”

“Your Highness is still too weak at present.”

“We cannot act too hastily.”

“First strengthen ourselves.”

“When sufficient momentum has gathered, matters will naturally fall into place of their own accord.”

“Otherwise, forcing others into a difficult position serves no purpose.”

“Handle it poorly and old comrades may instead turn into enemies.”

“Better to leave some room and wait for the future...”

In the wind and rain atop a mountain summit, Niu Youdao sat cross-legged alone with his eyes closed. He allowed the wind and rain to beat against him. His entire body was soaked. Water gathered at his chin and dripped steadily downward. He was cultivating the Qiankun Shift movement art from the Qiankun Art. Sitting motionless in a storm while practicing a movement art seemed strange. Naturally, that strangeness was inseparable from the nature of the cultivation method itself.

The special quality of this movement art lay between movement and stillness. Within that interval existed a world of its own.

How broad that world became, whether one moved or did not move, whether one succeeded or failed—all depended upon one’s own comprehension. A hair’s breadth of difference could lead a thousand li astray. To cultivate Qiankun Shift, one first cultivated Qiankun true qi and learned the transformations of yin and yang. Only after understanding their balance could one master Qiankun Dissolving Force.

Only after being able to dissolve the forces of Qian and Kun could one comprehend shifting within the space of an inch. Qian was Heaven. Kun was Earth. Between movement and stillness lay a realm of Qiankun. Only once that realm was mastered did it become Qiankun Shift. In other words, Qiankun Shift was not some movement art of grand leaps and sweeping bounds. It was a method of control that complemented Qiankun Dissolving Force. The Qiankun Shift movement art contained a saying:

When a man meets water, it obstructs him;
When a fish meets water, it moves freely. How could resistance be transformed into freedom? That was where the profundity of Qiankun Shift lay. Why was the Qiankun Shift movement art said to complement the method of Qiankun Dissolving Force? The battle outside Star-Plucking City was an example.

When his cultivation was not too far below his opponent’s, Niu Youdao could still receive a palm strike head-on and forcibly dissolve the attacking force. But what if the opponent’s cultivation far surpassed his own?

What if both the power and speed of the attack left him no time to react, much less slowly dissolve the force? Qiankun Shift offered an answer. It was still the same line: Between movement and stillness lay a world of its own. That was what Niu Youdao was comprehending now.

He let the wind and rain strike him while sensing every current of air that swept across his body and every fine raindrop that collided with him, observing the great through the minute. Only by understanding the subtle could one gradually learn to face the surging and overwhelming. The principle was abstruse beyond words, wondrous beyond explanation. The formulas themselves could not describe it clearly. They could only guide the practitioner toward comprehension. This was also the kind of cultivation Yuan Gang hated most...

Outside Beizhou Prefectural Capital, within a quiet mountain forest, two figures came to a stop. Lu Shengzhong, who had escorted Wu Sanliang this far, cupped his hands.

“I will see you no farther. Until we meet again.”

“Give Master Dao my regards.”

He had come here specifically to replace Wu Sanliang. Wu Sanliang had already handed over every detail he had uncovered and was now returning to Qingshan Commandery. Wu Sanliang cupped his hands.

“Farewell. Take care.”

Lu Shengzhong watched him disappear into the distance. Then he stood with his hands clasped behind his back and gave a quiet sigh. He did not know much about Shao Pingbo.

All he knew was that Niu Youdao had repeatedly warned him that Shao Pingbo was extremely dangerous and that he must be careful. Niu Youdao had not placed any strict restrictions on how he should act. He had given Lu Shengzhong considerable freedom. In the end, the objective was simple: Kill Shao Pingbo if possible. If killing him proved impossible, then make his life miserable. Do not let Shao Pingbo live in peace.

[End of Chapter 210]