Chapter 26 (1/2)

Virtues

Li Mubai waved his hand. The coachman was lifted by a magical wind and set down beside the road.

The established Confucian scholar took hold of the reins and uttered gently, “You are a horse bred for a thousand miles.”

An astonishing transformation was happening. The ordinary brown horse let out a long and loud whinny.

Beneath the brown coat, cords of muscles flexed and rippled. In a blink of an eye, the ordinary horse doubled its size and took off.

A trail of dust followed Li Mubai’s carriage.

Zhang Zhen grunted. “Get off.”

He set his coachman down by the road and took the reins. “You are a strong horse bred for a thousand miles, and you have six legs!”

A similar transformation happened—the black horse’s muscles bulged and stretched over its growing frame.

The main difference was this horse had its abdomen ripped open as bones, nerves, and muscles assembled into two additional legs.

The six-legged black horse kicked up a cloud of dust as it galloped away. Within moments, it caught up to Li Mubai’s carriage.

“Oh, you shameless man! Six-legged horses do not exist in nature!” Li Mubai shouted.

Zhang Zhen replied, “It does if I say so.”

“Fine! Then, my horse will have eight legs.”

“You’re so set on stealing my disciple, aren’t you? My carriage is light as a paper, the winds can pick it up!”

As Zhang Zhen’s words fell, a wind blew. His carriage floated along with the breeze and pulled ahead of Li Mubai’s carriage.

Unwilling to admit defeat, Li Mubai called out, “My carriage can ride the clouds.”

A white cloud manifested beneath the wheels of Li Mubai’s carriage and carried the vehicle into the air.

The scene made Xu Pingzhi’s jaw drop. When the two carriages faded into the distance, he wet his lips and said, “Scholars are truly big talkers.”

Xu Xinnian stared into the sky and muttered, “Those are not boasts. They’re demonstrating the fifth-ranked Confucianism, virtue.”

It was also known as literary chaos, dubbed by a drunk Principal Imperial Astronomer.

…

Xu Qian ended up in a cell with manacles around his wrists and ankles. He sat on a disintegrating straw mat and leaned back against the cold wall. He was being held captive in the Ministry of Justice.

The awful smell of humidity and rot brought back memories of his first days in this ancient world.

From the case collections, Xu Qian knew such harassment cases were not out of the ordinary. Such trivial matters would never reach the ears of the Emperor.

Only matters of great import would be brought up to the Emperor’s court.

‘Inspections are abound. Aren’t the Zhou family worried this would be used against them?’ Xu Qian exhaled.

“A quick death to me and a threat to my uncle and his family would clear this mess up. I admit I was wrong about the middle class. Although life is comfortable, an encounter with the upper echelon can easily change everything. To have a respectable life, one has to gain authority and power.”

Clank! The metal door opened and footsteps echoed in the corridor. A jailer appeared before Xu Qian’s cell with two armed and armored soldiers.

“It’s your last meal,” the jailer said with a mocking grin.

He opened the door to Xu Qian’s cell and stepped back. “Get out.”

The two soldiers had their hands firm on their weapons—their expressions suggested they would not hesitate to deliver violence.

Despite the special manacles around his wrists and ankles, Xu Qian’s captors were cautious. The man was a martial artist at maximum refinement. In desperation, he could lash out and seriously injure them.

“Please cooperate. You don’t want us to sever your tendons and drag you out.”

Xu Qian stewed for a moment before getting up on his feet.

…

In the Ministry of Justice, Minister Sun was at his desk sorting through the mountainous piles of scrolls and books.

Suddenly, he had the urge to look out the window.