Chapter 1612: Master of Censorship

Zhang Xi looked up in confusion. The sky was clear and cloudless; it was clearly a beautiful day.

After a moment, the old monk finally lowered his head and said to the young novice monk beside him, "Jie Se, give the item to this benefactor."

"Yes!" The chubby young novice monk then handed over a jade plaque. "We were invited by the Imperial Preceptor to attend the ceremony."

Zhang Xi thought to himself, 'This young monk's smile was quite kind, but why was he given such a monastic name?'

He took the jade plaque, immediately felt a sense of awe, and bowed respectfully to the old monk: "So it is Master Jianhuang from Wuyou Temple. My apologies for the offense."

The old monk pressed his palms together: "Form is emptiness, and emptiness is form. Young benefactor, you do not know me, and this old monk is not a great figure. What offense could there be?"

"Master, you are too humble," Zhang Xi said, bowing respectfully. Wuyou Temple was an exceptionally detached sect in the martial arts world. In terms of heritage, Wuyou Temple surpassed Zhengyang Sect.

Wuyou Temple was the orthodox Buddhist sect, but in the past century, Zhengyang Sect had become the state religion, causing Buddhist influence to decline and their fame to wane.

However, as the chief disciple of Guanxin Peak, Zhang Xi had received personal guidance from his Peak Master, and thus knew more secrets of the world than ordinary people.

This Master Jianhuang was the abbot of Wuyou Temple, with unfathomable cultivation. At its peak, Wuyou Temple had four divine monks—Zhenru, Yuanqi, and two others—as well as countless other disciples of the "Jian" generation. However, in recent centuries, the imperial court had grown strong, and a major upheaval had occurred within the Buddhist community. So many years had passed, and it was unknown how many people remained.

It seemed that Wuyou Temple was indeed experiencing a decline in talent, as their abbot had only brought a single young novice monk with him this time.

Zhang Xi then sent people to escort them up the mountain, but they politely declined, stating that "Buddhists keep things simple."

The master and disciple thus walked up the mountain. Along the way, the young novice monk couldn't help but grumble, "Master, the monastic name you gave me is really bad. Those Zhengyang Sect disciples who were assigned to greet guests at the entrance were clearly well-trained and usually wouldn't laugh unless they couldn't help it. Yet, when they heard my name just now, they all laughed."

The old monk sternly replied, "Jie Se, you are too attached to appearances. In Buddhism, 'form' (色) refers to all matter that has an image and occupies space, not the female allure, lust, or desires that common people think of. The Buddhist saying 'form is emptiness, emptiness is form' exists because your master gave you this name to constantly remind you to see through illusion."

The chubby young novice monk looked at him skeptically: "Then why are you laughing right now?"

"You're mistaken, I'm not laughing," the old monk said, touching his face and smoothing out the curved wrinkles on it.

"But you clearly are laughing," the young novice monk retorted, a little annoyed. "I know it's because our grand-master named you Jianhuang, which led to you being ridiculed for many years. You've held onto that grudge, so you're passing it down, making us suffer too."

"Nonsense, I'm not, I didn't," the old monk instinctively blurted out. Then, he immediately pressed his palms together, "Amitabha, this old monk is too attached to appearances."

***

Meanwhile, Zu An and his party were led to a separate courtyard. Although not large, the pavilions and towers within were exquisitely antique. In the center was a pond filled with various exotic flowers and plants, surrounded by lush green rockeries and trees. In terms of elegance and tranquility, it was no less impressive than the imperial garden in the palace.

After the Zhengyang Sect disciples left, Xie Daoyun couldn't help but pat her chest and say, "I was nearly scared to death just now in the Reception Hall. Luckily, the Imperial Preceptor's attention was on you all; it would have been awkward if he had discovered me."

Zu An smiled, "Speaking of which, it's thanks to Master Yan's powerful talismans that your presence was concealed and not detected by the Imperial Preceptor."

Zhang Zijiang was somewhat puzzled: "Why is Miss Xie unwilling to be discovered by the Imperial Preceptor? Could it be that Dean Ji or Master Yan have some grievances with him?"

"Of course not..." Xie Daoyun was momentarily speechless, unsure how to explain.

"Miss Xie must have her reasons for this, General Zhang, you don't need to ask further," Zu An interjected, helping her out of the predicament.

Zhang Zijiang chuckled, "My apologies for being presumptuous. I'll go arrange the accommodations now."

With that, he gave Zu An a knowing look and then eagerly ran off.

Zu An was bewildered, wondering what the man was so happy about.

Xie Daoyun sighed with emotion, "The Imperial Preceptor is truly an exceptional individual, a dragon among men. His demeanor is captivating; it's hard to imagine such a person having any issues."

"Are good-looking people necessarily good people?" Zu An chuckled. "However, the Imperial Preceptor certainly has a strong appeal to women. I just heard many women outside the plaza infatuated with him. I didn't expect even Sister Ling'er to like this type."

"I don't like his type at all!" Xie Daoyun retorted, flustered. "I was just giving a purely objective evaluation. Besides, he's not even the most handsome man I've ever seen."

"Oh?" Zu An's interest was piqued. "May I ask, Sister Ling'er, who is the most handsome man you've ever seen?"

Xie Daoyun's face flushed. "I won't tell you."

Zu An chuckled indifferently. What was bothering him now was the death of Gold Medalist Number Seven, and whether the Taoist Grand Competition here on Mount Zi had any connection to the Emperor's Fengshan sacrifice. Unfortunately, after pondering for a long time, he lacked enough information to make progress on either matter.

By then, rooms had been arranged for everyone who came up the mountain. As the highest-ranking official, Zu An was naturally assigned the largest room in the center. Zhang Zijiang and the other personal guards were stationed around him. A spot was also specifically reserved for Wang Bolin, as a matter of courtesy.

Of course, Zhang Zijiang had also used a bit of cunning, deliberately arranging Wang Bolin's room further away from Zu An's.

Only Xie Daoyun was left feeling awkward. After waiting for a long time and realizing no room had been assigned to her, she had to ask, "General Zhang, what about me?"

Zhang Zijiang pointed to Zu An's room. "Of course, you'll be staying with Lord Zu."

"Huh?" Xie Daoyun's face instantly turned completely red.

Even Zu An, who was writing a letter at a desk in the distance, couldn't help but look up and gaze over in confusion.

Zhang Zijiang then explained in all seriousness, "Mainly, your current identity is Lord Zu's personal guard, so naturally, you need to stay close to him to attend to his daily needs and be available to follow his orders immediately at night for errands and messages. If you were to stay separately and Zhengyang Sect members saw you, they would certainly suspect your identity. Furthermore, your skin is so fair that if they looked at you with suspicion, they would easily discover you are a woman. You've also appeared at the Yan Prince's manor before, so it wouldn't be difficult for the Imperial Preceptor to figure out it's you."

Xie Daoyun felt a little flustered and uneasy. "But... but..."

She had never considered this angle before; otherwise, she would never have suggested disguising herself as Zu An's personal guard.

Zhang Zijiang chuckled, "Don't worry, Miss Xie, you'll be staying in the outer room, separated by a partition. You'll only need to go to him when the general needs you for orders. I don't imagine Lord Zu would trouble you in the middle of the night."

He then secretly winked at Zu An.

At the same time, he deeply admired himself: 'I'm truly too clever; this flattery was perfectly executed.'

'When a lone man and woman are in the same room, like dry tinder and a fierce flame, won't sparks fly instantly?'

'What good would a partition in between do?'

'Lord Zu will surely know what to do.'

'He must be praising my resourcefulness right now.'

'Hmph, that Wang fellow just does things foolishly. How can you compare to me?'

Seeing Zhang Zijiang's proud expression, Zu An was speechless. So, all that winking earlier was for this move.

Just as he was about to say something, he saw Xie Daoyun nod. "General Zhang has a point. I'll stay here."

'Anyway, there's a partition between the rooms, much like how maids live in a manor. Besides, Brother Zu is a true gentleman; I don't imagine he'd do anything improper in the middle of the night.'

Although she kept telling herself this, her face was as red as the evening glow in the sky.

Sensing her awkwardness, Zu An walked over and suggested, "The scenery outside seems quite nice. Perhaps we could go for a walk together and see if there are any unusual spots around Mount Zi."

"Okay~" Xie Daoyun let out a sigh of relief, thinking, 'Brother Zu is so considerate; he specifically helped me out of that situation.'

Zhang Zijiang smiled. "I still have some arrangements to make here, so I won't join you."

'Are you kidding? If I went and interrupted the leaders' private time, all my previous flattery would have been in vain.'

Zu An and Xie Daoyun left the courtyard. Along the way, figures moved about, clearly disciples from various sects. It was a rare opportunity; people were either curiously exploring the scenery of Mount Zi, exchanging insights on cultivation, or, for many who were already friends, reuniting and catching up.

There were also some hot-blooded male disciples hovering around female disciples from other sects, drawing angry glares from the male disciples of those sects.

The overall atmosphere was, of course, quite friendly. For now, no one dared to cause trouble in this place; firstly, it would disgrace their sect, and secondly, it could easily lead to disqualification from the upcoming Sect Grand Competition.

At this moment, two women were walking towards them from a distance, conversing in a voice only they could hear:

"What's so special about Mount Zi? Back in the day, I fought my way in and out seven times here..."

"Alright, alright, I know you're amazing, Master, but you've boasted about this eight hundred times already."

"Have I said it that many times?" The older woman paused slightly, surprised.

"Of course," the younger woman was about to say something more when her eyes suddenly lit up. "Master, look quickly, it's Ah Zu!"

The older woman instantly trembled, feeling an immediate urge to turn around and flee.