Chapter 50: A Faction with a Millennia-Old Layout!

"My lord... until we meet again!"

"My lord? Lord Zhang?"

Amidst the howling wind and swirling snow, Zhang Rui snapped back to reality. Lin豹 and the others looked at him with profound respect, speaking cautiously, "This is Lord Deng, the Provincial Director of Education. Lord Deng has some matters he wishes to consult you about."

"Zhang Rui, a junior, pays his respects to Lord Deng," Zhang Rui hurriedly saluted.

Having previously crammed his knowledge of this world's officialdom, he knew the Provincial Director of Education here was vastly different from what he had previously understood. Though still holding the rank of a senior third-grade official, his actual functions and authority surpassed those of a provincial governor. Not only was he responsible for local supernatural occurrences and had the authority to mobilize military troops, but he also oversaw local imperial examinations and the recommendation of local practitioners. He was a true regional commander. While a non-practitioner civil official could at best become a provincial governor, the actual scope of a governor's duties was worlds apart from that of an Education Director.

"Lord Zhang, please rise." Deng Lingfeng quickly returned the salute, smiling warmly. "I have long heard of Lord Zhang's renown, and today I finally have the honor of meeting you in person."

"This junior is flattered..." Zhang Rui gave a wry smile and returned the salute once more. In truth, he really did not wish to be famous, but misfortune always seemed to find him.

Deng Lingfeng looked at the modest young man, nodding with a smile while secretly sizing him up in his heart.

According to intelligence reports, this young man's background was shrouded in mystery; even the Great Jin's Divine Machine Pavilion had temporarily failed to trace his origins. Tian Ye was a master approaching the quasi-first rank, yet he had died at the hands of such a young junior. Among the aristocratic scions of the capital, probably none could compare to him.

Moreover, his reputation was surely well-deserved.

In his daily duties, he spent most of his time stationed in Yunzhou City, and he had cooperated with rough, veteran soldiers like Lin豹 on more than one occasion. These old veterans were extremely slippery; outwardly respectful, they inwardly looked down upon most practitioner officials. Yet at this moment, they were holding this Lord Zhang in absolute reverence—truly a rare sight.

Throughout all of Yunzhou, the only person capable of drawing such an attitude from Lin豹 and his men was the Martial Shepherd, Qin Xiang.

"My lord, have some ginger tea to warm yourself up." Lin豹 and the others stepped forward with eager attentiveness. Such proactive behavior caused Qin Xiang, standing not far away, to curl her lip slightly. These old fellows had never been half as enthusiastic toward her on ordinary days.

"Sorry to trouble you..." Zhang Rui accepted the ginger tea, took a sip, and then looked toward his mother and the others not far away. Lin豹 had long since instructed his men to send ginger tea over to them. Seeing that they were gradually recovering from their fright, Zhang Rui said sincerely, "Thanks to General Lin's care all along the way."

"You are too kind, my lord!" Lin豹 hurriedly waved his hand. "Had it not been for you, our lives would have been forfeit. We should be the ones thanking you, my lord!"

Lin豹 was a purely martial man; if you were strong, he would submit to you. His eagerness toward Zhang Rui stemmed not only from the fact that the latter had saved their lives, but more importantly, because he felt that Lord Zhang's display of power was extraordinary.

How terrifying was that black-robed woman outside the temple? A single glance from her was enough to make his hands too weak to even hold his saber. To him at the time, she seemed like a demon god. Yet against such a figure, Lord Zhang had remained completely unfazed. Although the lord had not released any terrifying aura at the time, judging by their conversation, the two should have been on equal footing.

And now, he had abruptly rescued them from the clutches of that terrifying woman. In his view, such capability surpassed even that of Yunzhou's Martial Shepherd, Lord Qin Xiang.

"Had you not been escorting this official, you would not have encountered this ordeal. It is only right that this official protects you." Zhang Rui smiled and returned the courtesy, then finished his ginger tea. Instantly, a surge of warmth spread throughout his body, giving him the sensation of coming back to life.

It truly had been perilous. He was merely heading to the capital to take examinations, yet he had encountered such a terrifying entity. He really was quite unlucky.

"Lord Zhang..." Deng Lingfeng began, "Earlier, your... niece, was it? She slew a supernatural entity whose body was as hard as iron. This old man wishes to take her back immediately so that the Secret Pavilion can analyze it."

"Please feel free, Lord Deng..." Zhang Rui smiled. "If there is anything this junior can do to help, please do not hesitate to command."

"It's just that, I heard Lord Zhang's niece mention earlier that this kind of... 'Furuncle Zombie' supernatural entity is quite common?"

"It can be considered common..." Zhang Rui was also slightly puzzled. "As long as a corpse is left long enough, there is a chance it can become a Furuncle Zombie. It can be said to be the most common type of supernatural entity."

"Where did Lord Zhang travel in his youth?" Deng Lingfeng asked skeptically. "This old man has traveled all over the Central Plains and has never encountered such a supernatural entity. Why does it seem so common in Lord Zhang's words?"

Zhang Rui frowned. "Lord Deng has never encountered one?"

Deng Lingfeng shook his head.

Zhang Rui drew a breath, a terrifying conjecture forming in his mind, but his expression remained unchanged as he smiled and said, "Perhaps it is because, in my early years, I traveled with my elders in the Southern Frontier region. Because I saw them so often, I assumed the Central Plains were the same. It seems that with different soils and waters, many things are different as well."

"The Southern Frontier? I see..." Deng Lingfeng smiled and nodded. This kid didn't bother to conceal his identity as the scion of a hermit clan, and even admitted to coming from the Southern Frontier. The Southern Frontier was a hotbed of supernatural entities; the hermit families lingering there who managed to survive were all ruthless individuals. To be able to capsize Tian Ye's boat, his methods were probably extraordinarily bizarre. He would have to be careful when dealing with him in the future.

Seeing that the other party did not press further, Zhang Rui inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. The memories he had obtained earlier when dissecting Chun with the Myriad Mechanism Box revealed that this fellow had escaped from the Southern Frontier. That place was a hotbed of supernatural forces, home not only to terrifying entities but also to deeply rooted former-dynasty hermit clans with bizarre ways of operating. Using the Southern Frontier as his background would inevitably save him a lot of trouble. Because in such a chaotic place, intelligence was naturally less accurate than in the Central Plains, and his origins could continue to bluff outsiders for a short while longer.

"Since the Furuncle Zombie is a creature of the Southern Frontier—and according to those scholars, there were thousands of such supernatural entities outside the temple—such a number is likely enough to cause local panic. I wonder if Lord Zhang knows the origin of those people?"

"About that, this junior is entirely unaware..." Zhang Rui shook his head, then turned his gaze toward Yang Jie, who had been brought out.

From the moment he was brought out, Yang Jie's complexion had turned greenish-black, and not long after, he died. Not a single word could be squeezed out of him, which clearly showed that someone had already placed some sort of safeguard on Yang Jie beforehand.

He harbored a conjecture in his heart.

In this world, supernatural entities were everywhere, and zombies—such common entities—should not be so rare. Was there a possibility that long, long ago, someone had secretly plotted, erasing all traces related to zombies while constantly collecting them?

Decades, centuries, or perhaps even longer; had they been collecting them for so long that people across the world no longer knew such supernatural entities existed?

This sounded utterly inconceivable. Although he didn't know how the perpetrator managed it, the force behind the scenes was undoubtedly massive, and their ultimate goal must be exceptionally grand. To have provoked such an entity even before reaching the capital meant he was truly plagued by bad luck.

"Is that so..." Deng Lingfeng pondered and said, "Regarding this matter of zombies, the Secret Pavilion may seek guidance from Lord Zhang in the future."

"This junior will certainly do his utmost to assist!"

"Thanks to Lord Zhang this time, otherwise not a single one of those imperial scholars would likely have survived. This old man still needs to investigate the aftermath. With the weather so freezing and Lord Zhang traveling with his family, you should set off early and head to the nearest post station."

"Thank you for your consideration, Lord Deng!" Hearing this, Zhang Rui also let out a sigh of relief; his greatest fear had been that the man would continue to entangle him. He quickly added, "If there is any need for this junior's assistance hereafter, Lord Deng need only send someone to give word."

"Then I shall have to trouble Lord Zhang when the time comes."

"What are you saying, Your Honor? To eat the ruler's stipend and share the court's burdens is an official's bounden duty."

"Haha, Lord Zhang speaks wisely."

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, the convoy was packed and ready. Lin豹 and his men continued to escort Zhang Rui's family and the scholars rushing to the capital to the next post station, while the Education Director Deng Lingfeng and Qin Xiang remained behind to see if they could uncover any traces.

Deng Lingfeng even dispatched a falcon carrying a message, wishing to have the capital dispatch a first-rank practitioner from the Secret Pavilion to reinforce them.

***

"Oh? That painting-spirit ink can be used in such a way?"

"I'm seeing it for the first time as well..."

At this moment, inside the divine temple, the black-robed woman had already entered. Opposite her sat a man whose face was obscured. Behind the man stood a hundred armored Furuncle Zombies. If Zhang Rui were present, he would certainly be startled: all hundred Furuncle Zombies were Purple Zombies, and if such a number were all unleashed, they could instantly desolate a thousand miles and bring about a natural disaster!

"Then this Lord Zhang is truly interesting," the mysterious man laughed. "I'm afraid even the master of the Painting Market might not be able to conceive of such a method of utilization. Tsk tsk, what a marvelous fellow."

"I have a feeling he is very familiar with us!" the black-robed woman said coldly. "I even suspect he has already guessed my identity!"

"Is that so?" the man said with slight hesitation. "There are very few in this world who can recognize your identity, even among those old monsters in the Southern Frontier... He is so young, which clan's scion is he precisely?"

"That is for you to investigate yourself."

"Upon returning to the capital, I will go test the waters," the man nodded and said.

"What about the plan?" the woman asked faintly. "Shall we continue?"

"Of course!" the man laughed heartily. "How could such a grand layout be halted just because of a chess piece of unknown origin?"

"Are you certain Master Yi will come to this Grand Competition?"

"Rest assured, the intelligence is infallible," the man nodded. "During this Grand Competition, all three Grand Masters will be present!"

"I heard that for this Spring Examination, that person also has intentions?"

"Master Tianji divined that with the phenomenon of twin moons in the sky, heavenly secrets are in chaos, and the four spirits are shrouded in dust—a once-in-a-millennium opportunity. Naturally, it is not just our faction that wishes to turn the tides."

"The court's people and those great aristocratic families also know of this celestial phenomenon. They will not sit idly by; they surely have numerous backup plans."

"That goes without saying..." the man smiled. "Those who can participate in this chess game are all factions with millennia-old layouts. In the end, who checks mates whom will depend entirely on each one's methods."

[Volume One Concluded!]