Chapter 1086.1: Matters within White Deer - Part 1

Earlier, before Chen Chao had left Ying Prefecture for Yellow Dragon Prefecture.

When Chen Chao descended the mountain, Feng Liu had already entered seclusion. It was Vice Sect Master Xu Fuchen who saw him off.

As a itinerant cultivator powerhouse, Xu Fuchen was actually somewhat underestimated by the entire world. After all, when he had been an itinerant cultivator, Feng Liu’s brilliance had been more than enough to overshadow him. After the establishment of the Morning Dew Sect, Feng Liu was the Sect Master above him and still drew away all the attention. He was just like his own name suggested - a subject who assisted the ruler.

Yet whether it was Feng Liu or Chen Chao, both knew very clearly that if the Morning Dew Sect truly had to choose one person who could not be excluded, it could only be this Vice Sect Master.

Xu Fuchen’s importance to the Morning Dew Sect was irreplaceable.

As they approached the mountain gate, Xu Fuchen, who had said little along the way, suddenly spoke. “Lord Warden Commander, the Morning Dew Sect will leave behind one cultivator at the Nepenthe Realm who will not go to the Northern Frontier.”

The words were abrupt, yet also very candid.

Chen Chao turned to look at Xu Fuchen and smiled. “Sect Master Xu, are you very opposed to something like this?”

Xu Fuchen shook his head. “I have known Feng Liu for many years, so this Xu naturally knows what kind of person he is. And Feng Liu knows exactly what kind of person this Xu is. "Whether for the greater good or for conscience, Feng Liu is the kind of person who, once he has decided something, can entrust even his own life to it. It’s not that I cannot do the same, but I am still worried. I don’t care if I die, but if after I die, the Morning Dew Sect no longer exists, or becomes a third-rate sect, and our disciples still have to be bullied by others, then all our efforts will have been in vain. That is something I cannot accept. If all the disciples under our sect go to the Northern Frontier, that is an answer to the common people of the world. As for how many can return, that naturally remains uncertain." “As for leaving behind one cultivator at the Nepenthe Realm, that is so the Morning Dew Sect itself will have an answer. I imagine Lord Warden Commander will not refuse this request.”

Chen Chao smiled bitterly. “It was the Morning Dew Sect that extended us a helping hand in the first place. There is really no question of whether this official can refuse.”

Xu Fuchen said nothing, merely giving him a solemn bow.

Chen Chao asked curiously, “Sect Master Xu, you don’t trust the imperial court?”

Xu Fuchen thought for a moment before saying, “It is better to possess something oneself than to rely on others. Lord Warden Commander is someone worth trusting, but this Xu at most trust someone 90%. What’s more...”

Before he could finish, Chen Chao smiled and took over. “What’s more, after this great battle, it’s hard to say whether I, Chen Chao, will still be alive. Even if the imperial court happens to win by some stroke of luck, once I am no longer in the court, it is also hard to say whether anyone will remember the favor you have done.”

Xu Fuchen did not offer any empty words, but said candidly, “Precisely.”

Chen Chao said solemnly, “I don’t dare guarantee anything either. I can only say that we will do our best.”

Do our best to win the battle, and do our best to survive.

As for what would happen after he survived, the Morning Dew Sect would naturally receive preferential treatment.

Xu Fuchen suddenly laughed. “Lord Warden Commander didn’t say for certain that you would do it. Instead, that makes people feel much more at ease.”

Chen Chao said nothing. He merely took the initiative to bow once more to Xu Fuchen.

Xu Fuchen hurriedly bent at the waist in return.

After straightening up, Chen Chao said nothing more and turned to leave Suining Mountain.

......

......

After leaving Yellow Dragon Prefecture, Chen Chao made a trip to White Deer Prefecture.

Of course, this was not his first time in White Deer Prefecture, but the place he was going this time was somewhere he had truly never visited before.

The most famous place in the prefectural government of White Deer Prefecture was not some government office, but a private residence.

The river known as the Deer River flowed slowly through the land. Whenever it encountered a city, it passed straight through it. Thus, apart from entering through the city gates, outsiders had another way to enter the prefectural capital: they could simply take a boat downstream along the Deer River and enter the city that way.

The prefectural capital was built on both banks of the Deer River. Fortunately, this stretch of the river was not very wide; otherwise, it would have been somewhat troublesome.

A small boat slowly passed through the city and finally stopped at a spot along the bank. The young man who had taken the boat brought out several Great Liang general currency coins and went ashore amid the boatman's thanks. After walking only a few steps, he arrived at the entrance of that private residence.

The residence was not large, but it was filled with an air of antiquity and scholarly refinement.

In fact, there had always been a saying that if the world's literary fortune amounted to ten units, White Deer Prefecture alone possessed eight of them, and of those eight, nearly all were connected to this private residence.

This residence was the White Deer's Xie Clan.

It was truly the place with the deepest foundations in White Deer Prefecture and the one that had produced the greatest number of great scholars.

During the previous dynasty, at least thirty percent of the officials in the imperial court had come from the White Deer's Xie Clan. In the present dynasty, the Xie Clan split into the Divine Capital Xie Family and the White Deer's Xie Clan. Matters of officialdom were left to the Divine Capital Xie Family. As for how things were now, the Divine Capital Xie Family had long since become the greatest aristocratic clan in Great Liang, and its influence in the imperial court was considerable.

As for the White Deer's Xie Clan, after the founding of the present dynasty, they began calmly shutting their doors to devote themselves to reading and teaching. It could be said that of the scholars who had achieved high honors in White Deer Prefecture over the years, seventy or eighty percent had received instruction from the great scholars of the Xie Clan.

The saying in the imperial court before was that one Wei and one Xie Family were the two legs of Great Liang. But now, perhaps it took two Xie Clans to make up the entire Great Liang.

Because of all this, even in White Deer Prefecture, although not a single member of the Xie Clan held an official position, they occupied an extraordinary position, and even the provincial governor had to treat them with courtesy.

A young man dressed in a black robe arrived at the entrance of the private residence.

The gatekeeper had originally been dozing off. The weather was growing colder and colder, and he had just been thinking about how he had heard that the silver allocated by the accounting office for this year's winter would be reduced by thirty percent. This meant that this year he would certainly have to keep track of every penny he spent. But it was nothing much; he simply had to be a little more frugal, and he could get through it.

Just as he was thinking this, the gatekeeper heard footsteps and opened his eyes. Seeing a young man in a black robe standing outside the gate, he asked, “Which gentleman have you come to visit? Do you have an invitation card?”

Chen Chao took a calling card from his robes and handed it to the gatekeeper before him, smiling as he said, “I don't know which gentleman I'll be able to meet. How about you decide?”

The gatekeeper took the invitation card and was amused by Chen Chao's words. “You're quite something, letting me decide. You don't even know who you have connections with...”

He had only gotten halfway through his sentence when the gatekeeper froze, because in an instant, he saw the words on the calling card.

"Great Liang's Lord Warden Commander, Chen Chao...."

He abruptly raised his head and looked at the young man in black before him. His legs went weak, and he almost could not remain standing. "Lord Warden Commander?!"

Chen Chao smiled faintly and teased, “Who can I meet with this invitation card of mine?”

The gatekeeper gave an awkward laugh, then hurriedly turned his head and shouted, “Quickly, open the side... the main gate! Go in and report to Third Master that the Lord Warden Commander has arrived!”

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