Translator: TransN Editor: TransN
“In a world filled with holy lights from Haotian, the demons’ dance should not have appeared. Faced with West-Hill Tao Sect, especially the pressure of that temple, who can protect you? His Majesty, Headmaster of Academy, the abbey dean or that person?”
“The former Emperor was the emperor of Tang, who could order hundreds of thousands of cavalries of the empire to sweep the world, smashing all Taoism temples into pieces while shouting, with merely several words. And as he had the Academy behind him, he could ignore holy lights from Haotian. However, why did he turn against the West-Hill Divine Kingdom for a saintess of Diabolism?
“That person is practicing Twenty-Three-year Cicada Cultivation. Then who else can protect you for fear that he has long forgotten his female disciple, you, during degeneration. Me? I am just a general with brute force, not the headmaster of Academy nor the temple dean. I don’t have that kind of power… So I have to protect myself with your death since I need to stay alive for protecting more important people in my life.”
Many years later, the great general, whose hair on the temples had turned white, was silently recalling the demon’s dance that had confused the Three Realms of that year, without any emotions on his face, in the military barracks at the border between the Tang Empire and the Yan Kingdom.
What happened in that year originated from a letter from the hierarch of Haotian Taoism in West-Hill Divine Kingdom to the capital Chang’an. In that letter, the hierarch of Haotian Taoism changed his consistent gentle attitude towards royals of the Tang Empire for peaceful co-existence and conflicts avoidance. Instead, he expressed extreme anger to royals of Tang on behalf of hundreds of millions of believers in Haotian Taoism with a harsh accusation of the collusion between a great general of Tang with the remnant of the Devil’s Doctrine, and asked for an explanation.
At the same time as the letter was issued, three lofty Great Divine Priests, who seldom left the West-Hill Divine Kingdom, led countless powerful strongholds of Taoism to cross the border and reached the vast Min Mountain, not far from where Tang’s frontier military force located. This represented a strong warning: If Tang did not give a response to believers all over the world; Haotian Taoism would take the risk to turn hostile towards the Tang Empire by killing the remnant of the Devil’s.
Few people knew that crisis, which ended while Tang just began to turn angry and was about to react with the cruel boiling kill of the beautiful woman by General Xia Hou. While the Haotian Taoism was satisfied with the response, Tang avoided a war against the whole world again because of the woman’s death.
People in Tang definitely would not be afraid of a war. However, none would be willing to sacrifice for a saintess of Diabolism. Therefore, few people knew the whole story and there had been rumors since then. People guessed his Majesty treated General Xia Hou with mercy all these years to comfort his grief of killing someone who he loved at that time.
It might not be the truth. Nevertheless, the truth of history was always hidden in the ditch in front of the door. None would like to dig out the truth as you had to endure too much sludge and stench.
Many years had passed in the blink of an eye. It came at the fall of the 13th year of Tianqi era of Tang, while the former saintess of Diabolism called Murong Linshuang had turned into a poor and unknown concubine in memory. However, another letter written by the hierarchy of Haotian was sent to capital Chang’an from West-Hill Divine Kingdom again in this autumn.
“I did not read the former letter, but I heard that my father was very angry at that time, tearing that letter into pieces and spreading them all over the palace. While he sent Eunuch Cui to ask Xia Hou about the truth in Yan territory, he ordered the Defender-general of the State Xu Shi to secretly mobilize troops and prepared to attack West-Hill Divine Kingdom once they turned hostile.
The prince of Tang looked at the letter in his hand and shook his head with a wry smile. His wrinkles in his eyes were now hidden, and he said annoyedly, “What exactly do those old priests want to do?” “Now I was asked to give the letter to my emperor brother. Although the tone of the letter is fairly gentle, after all, the death of Yan Suqing is an internal affair. They don’t have the right to inquire even if Yan used to be a disciple of West-Hill. How could my emperor brother not be pissed off?”
A steward of the imperial mansion stood behind him politely and said with a smile, “Everyone knows that his Majesty does not like those priests from West-Hill. As the hierarchy of Haotian has a high profile, he probably does not want to directly send this letter to his Majesty and be rejected directly. That was the reason why he asked you to deliver.”
Then he continued respectfully, ” Anyway, you are the only one who is qualified to deliver messages between his Majesty and the hierarch of Haotian.”
“Well, do I want to be a go-between?” Li Peiyan sneered and said, “In the first year of Tianqi era, my emperor brother just took the position and visited Daze in the South. He asked me to stay in the capital Chang’an to supervise the country. However, I was young and impulsive at that time, believing the words of these guys from West-Hill. My emperor brother was very angry with me. It took many years for me to fix our relationship.”
It was well known that the Tang royals and the West-Hill Divine Palace belonged to the secular and religious worlds respectively. They did not like each other. However, his Prince Highness was regarded as an outlier, who was not only in a good relationship with Haotian in Tang, but also occasionally connected with the West-Hill Divine Palace. Such communications originated from a corporation in the first year of Tianqi era.
The steward looked at his Royal Highness, who slightly raised his eyebrows. Although he had served his Highness for so many years, he still couldn’t see why his Royal Highness took the risk to make friends with West-Hill. He never dared to ask, but at this time seeing his Highness in a trance with the letter, he finally made up his mind. He looked out of the window, and then whispered, “Your Highness, you have strong external assistance force to keep you safe inside… ”
Li Peiyan hesitated for a moment after hearing this. He sized up the steward, who had been serving him since he was a child, with a faint smile. Then he suddenly patted his shoulder and quietly said, “You really understand me as you have lived here for such a long time.”
The smile on Li Peiyan’s face immediately disappeared after the steward left. He slightly knocked the bells beside the desk, sending for a bodyguard. He thought for a while and said in a cold voice, “There is something wrong with the steward. Ask secret guards in the mansion to keep an eye on him.”
“No. Kill him directly!” Li said seriously, “As he dares to sow dissension between me and my emperor brother, he must die. Then ask the Military Ministry to check how did the steward enter the Imperial Mansion when I left the Imperial Palace, especially his connections with West-Hill.”
After arranging these things, his Royal Highness spent a long time alone in his study, sitting at his desk and recalling what happened that year. While he was thinking, his straight and sword-like brow eased up slowly. He did not think he was wrong in dealing with Xuanwei General and killing all villagers in Yan territory as he did these things for Tang.
Tang now had countless cavalries and great soldiers. And there were the Academy and the Headmaster of Academy. Even the West-Hill Divine Kingdom did not dare to show any hostility. However, as Tang would go on forever, how about the later generations became weaker? The Headmaster of Academy would one day die, then how? How about the enlightenment of the seven volumes of euphemism in the temple came true? In order to keep a good relationship with Haotian Taoism, whose believers were all over the world, the death of these unimportant men did not matter.
As long as the fundamental interests of Tang were not affected, he didn’t care about those who died innocently.
Neither did his emperor brother, he believed.
