Chapter 1749: Official Duties

By the time Qi Xuansu had finished dealing with most of the affairs that had accumulated over the past few days, Yan Yongzhen and Long Xiaobai had also brought Little Yin back.

Although Yan Yongzhen was no match for Little Yin in a fight, Long Xiaobai was clearly stronger than her. After the two found Little Yin, Yan Yongzhen patiently persuaded her with kind words, appealing to both her emotions and reason. Meanwhile, Long Xiaobai remained silent, putting on the air of a formidable expert and providing the threat of force. Through this combination of gentle persuasion and intimidation, they finally managed to convince Little Yin to return.

Little Yin reluctantly entered Qi Xuansu’s office.

Seated behind his desk, Qi Xuansu did not even raise his head as he continued to review official documents and write his instructions with a vermilion brush.

Yan Yongzhen said softly, “Sage, we’re back.”

He then reached out and gently nudged Little Yin, signaling for her to go forward.

With her hands clasped behind her back, Little Yin walked up to a spot not far from the desk and flashed a cheerful smile. “I’m back!”

Only then did Qi Xuansu put down his brush and glance at her. “So you still know how to come back. Where have you been?”

Little Yin deliberately glossed over the details and replied, “I heard that the peonies in Longmen Prefecture were really beautiful, so I went to admire the flowers. I even brought you a bouquet of peonies!”

As she spoke, Little Yin produced a bouquet of peonies from behind her back and placed it on Qi Xuansu’s desk.

Qi Xuansu glanced at the flowers. His tone softened somewhat as he asked, “Do you know that students aren’t allowed to leave the Upper Palace during their advanced studies? Who gave you special permission?”

Little Yin began playing dumb. “Really? I didn’t know that.”

Qi Xuansu snorted. “Then do you know that Beimang Mountain is very close to Longmen Prefecture? It seems to me that you’re itching to return to the Ghost Kingdom.”

Little Yin immediately began pleading. “I know I was wrong. I won’t dare do it again!”

Qi Xuansu maintained a stern expression and asked, “Have you finished the Primordial Daoist Ancestor’s Five Thousand Word Classic that I told you to copy?”

Little Yin lowered her head and muttered, “I haven’t finished copying it yet.”

Qi Xuansu slammed his hand on the desk. “This is outrageous! Go stand by the wall!”

Little Yin pouted and walked over to the side, standing obediently against the wall.

Qi Xuansu could hardly blame Yan Yongzhen for not watching over this little imp. After all, Little Yin’s cultivation realm was simply too high. How could ordinary people possibly keep her under control? So he signaled that Yan Yongzhen and Long Xiaobai could leave.

Qi Xuansu glanced at Little Yin once more, adopting the imposing authority of a strict family patriarch. He barked, “Stand up straight!”

Little Yin knew she was in the wrong. More importantly, neither Madam Qi nor Madam Wu was around, leaving her without a powerful backer. No one here could possibly go against Qi Xuansu.

There was a saying that a wise person knew when to yield to circumstances. So Little Yin had no choice but to behave herself.

Qi Xuansu was genuinely angry this time. Although he and Zhang Yuelu usually played the roles of a loving father and a strict mother, Zhang Yuelu also had moments when she showed tender affection. Naturally, Qi Xuansu had moments when he needed to assert his authority. If he lacked even this degree of authority, how could he possibly command respect from his subordinates? He had simply been a little too indulgent toward Little Yin in the past.

This time, Qi Xuansu made Little Yin stand in his office for the entire night. In the meantime, he stayed in his office to review some documents while watching over her.

The physical punishment was actually secondary. The real punishment was boredom. Given Little Yin’s restless and lively personality, being forced to endure boredom was the greatest torture of all.

By the time the sky began to brighten, Little Yin was still standing against the wall, but she had already drifted off to sleep. A snot bubble had even formed at her nostril, expanding and shrinking rhythmically with each breath.

Qi Xuansu stood up and woke Little Yin. “Get ready for class. Remember to finish the homework you still owe me. If you dare fall asleep during class, I’ll double it!”

Little Yin rubbed her eyes and reluctantly muttered, “Okay.”

Finally, she was allowed to leave Qi Xuansu’s office.

Qi Xuansu walked over to the window and looked outside.

His office was located on the highest floor of the Ming Hall, so it had a commanding view of both the Upper Palace and the Lower Palace. He watched Little Yin as she emerged from the second floor of Ming Hall and headed toward Kan Garden.

Little Yin seemed to sense that Qi Xuansu was watching her. She turned around to glance back, her little face was scrunched up in a thoroughly displeased expression.

Qi Xuansu withdrew his gaze and took out a piece of Xuan Jade.

The greatest gain from his journey to the Cloud God pocket realm was Wang Jujun’s severed head. However, there had also been some secondary gains. When he entered the world inside the Extraterrestrial Heavenly Demon, he had lost the vast majority of his cultivation. But after escaping from the inverted tower, his lost cultivation had been restored. This dramatic loss and subsequent recovery had greatly accelerated his progress in absorbing the Xuan Jade.

Upon closer consideration, this was perfectly reasonable. Qi Xuansu’s cultivation was like a cup of water, while the unabsorbed portions of the Xuan Jade were like sediment settled at the bottom of the cup. Under normal circumstances, it was difficult to disturb this sediment, so absorption had to proceed gradually, step by step. However, during his time in the Cloud God pocket realm, Qi Xuansu had experienced a tremendous plunge and subsequent recovery of his cultivation. It was as though the cup of water had been turned completely upside down, stirring up the sediment that had settled at the bottom. This had greatly accelerated the rate at which he absorbed the Xuan Jade.

Qi Xuansu needed to speed up his absorption of the Xuan Jade.

The Pseudo-Immortal stage encompassed an enormous range of power, and advancing through it was not simply a matter of absorbing a few pieces of Xuan Jade. Thus, Qi Xuansu had no hope of becoming a true Immortal in the short term.

Qi Xuansu was currently only at the lowest level of the Pseudo-Immortal stage, so he was still inferior to many veteran Pseudo-Immortals.

During the incident in Nanyang, Pei Shenfu had become Qi Xuansu’s prisoner. Although Yao Yi had not personally intervened afterward, he had sent Yao Shu to present Qi Xuansu with two pieces of Xuan Jade under the guise of a wedding gift to close the case.

The piece of Xuan Jade Qi Xuansu had taken out was one of those given to him by the Yao family. It was densely filled with blood-red threads that had almost completely dyed the entire piece of jade crimson.

A short while later, Yan Yongzhen entered.

Qi Xuansu asked, “What’s on the schedule for today?”

Yan Yongzhen took out a notebook and flipped through its pages as he replied, “This morning’s schedule is to inspect the Lower Palace, have a discussion with its students, and deliver a speech. In the afternoon, we’ll head to the Jiangnan Branch Palace, which was the first branch palace established after the founding of the Wanxiang Daoist Palace, so it holds considerable historical significance. Every previous Palace Master and Great Sage has made the Jiangnan Branch Palace the first branch they inspect after assuming office. As for the itinerary there, the Jiangnan Branch Palace will make the specific arrangements. We’ll also be staying there overnight.”

Qi Xuansu asked again, “What about the next few days?”

Yan Yongzhen turned a page and continued, “On the second day, we’ll travel from the Jiangnan Branch Palace to the Liaodong Branch Palace, where we’ll also stay overnight.

“On the third day, we’ll travel from the Liaodong Branch Palace to the Jinzhou Branch Palace and spend the night there.

“On the fourth day, we’ll travel from the Jinzhou Branch Palace to the Zhongzhou Branch Palace, also known as the Beimang Mountain Branch Palace. Since it’s the closest branch to the Main Palace, there won’t be any need to stay overnight. We can return directly to the Main Palace afterward.

“On the fifth day, you have classes at the Upper Palace and a Daoist Palace Council Meeting.

“As for the accompanying personnel, apart from myself, the main members of the delegation will be Deputy Palace Masters Lu and Cheng. Deputy Palace Master Ning will also be joining because she has been responsible for the Daoist Palace’s daily operations. Regarding security, in addition to the necessary personnel assigned to the flying ship, a second-rank Spirit Guard has been arranged to accompany us.”

Qi Xuansu sighed. “Official business takes priority. In that case, let’s head to the Lower Palace first.”

The Lower Palace was only a stone’s throw away, so there was no need for any elaborate arrangements.

Returning once again to the place where he had lived all those years ago, Qi Xuansu could not help but feel somewhat sentimental. Back then, he could never have imagined that he would one day return to the Lower Palace as its Palace Master.

In a sense, this could be considered a triumphant homecoming.

This speech once again filled Yan Yongzhen with genuine admiration. He knew that his superior had only just returned and had spent the entirety of the previous day dealing with a backlog of official business.

Qi Xuansu had made absolutely no preparations for the speech because he had simply been thrown into the situation.

Yet Qi Xuansu still managed to deliver his entire speech without referring to a prepared script. His remarks were logical, measured, and substantial, with meaningful points to convey. He was nothing like other Sages who seemed to lose the ability to speak the moment they lost the scripts in their hands.

Everyone said that Sage Taiwei had risen to his position through martial prowess and was a martial-oriented Sage. However, in Yan Yongzhen’s opinion, it would be more accurate to describe Sage Qi as accomplished in both scholarly and martial pursuits. Sage Qi might not be particularly skilled in poetry, song, and literary composition, but he possessed considerable insight when it came to understanding the Daoist Order’s classical texts.

The topic Qi Xuansu discussed with the Lower Palace students this time was once again the issue of morality. This was an extension of his ongoing efforts to promote moral development.

“Living in this world, people cannot escape vanity entirely. Our perception of what is good or bad comes from comparison. Our current standard of living is already better than that enjoyed by many nobles in ancient times, yet countless people remain dissatisfied. That is because they compare themselves with others. They feel they are worse off than their neighbors, their colleagues, or other people living in the same era.

“Once people develop vanity, they naturally become fond of showing off. Such displays generally fall into two categories—material and intellectual. Material superiority is usually measured by wealth, while intellectual superiority is generally measured by knowledge and learning. However, whether one wishes to flaunt wealth or knowledge, only a small minority can genuinely afford to do so. If someone tries to put on a false front and pretend to be more impressive than they really are, their deception can easily be exposed. After all, money and knowledge are not things you can simply fake.

“So, is there a way to satisfy one’s vanity and establish a sense of superiority over others without being easily exposed? Indeed, there is. That is to seize the moral high ground and look down upon others while attacking their opinions and actions. By labeling others as disloyal, unfilial, unrighteous, or morally improper, one can conveniently elevate oneself above them.

“Consequently, in recent years, self-proclaimed moral purists have been on the rise. The moral high ground has become covered with delicate flowers that have never weathered a storm. Yet hidden among these flowers are individuals harboring ulterior motives, seeking to wield morality as a deadly weapon against others. All these problems have arisen because moral development has fallen behind. Moral standards remain poorly defined, and certain members of the upper leadership have actively encouraged and exacerbated these tendencies. Together, these factors have created the chaos we see today.

“In recent years, many people have advocated accelerating the development of the rule of law. This is correct. However, the foundation of law is morality, and the law represents the minimum standard of moral conduct. If morality itself collapses, then upon what foundation can the so-called rule of law stand? Can a great empire truly be sustained through harsh punishments and laws alone? When the Red Emperor conquered the realm, he established merely three simple laws in an agreement with the local elders. Those who committed murder would be executed, while those who inflicted injury or committed theft would receive punishments appropriate to their crimes. All the remaining laws of the First Emperor were abolished. In doing so, he won the hearts of the people throughout the realm. This historical lesson deserves careful consideration.

“This is both terrifying and deeply tragic. Morality has been weaponized and vulgarized. We cannot help but ask—what exactly is morality, and who has the authority to define it?

“I do not intend to discuss that question today, as it is too profound for our present purposes. Instead, I will conclude by quoting a saying from the Westerners. There are always certain people who understand nothing about nature, comprehend little of reason, know nothing about conducting business, and possess no particular skills or talents, yet somehow firmly believe that they excel at distinguishing right from wrong.

“Perhaps someone will object by saying that one could still evaluate an icebox even if one may not know how to manufacture a refrigeration system. However, one should at least understand why refrigeration works before one can make a reasonably informed assessment. If one insists that an icebox isn’t cold enough because the fire beneath it isn’t burning fiercely enough, then one will only become a laughingstock.”