Chapter 122: Undercurrents

The war between the Chen and Cai states had been raging for a month. Initially, everyone dismissed it as a minor border skirmish, but it had since spiraled into a protracted, full-scale conflict—a wild stallion that had broken free of its reins. Cai's preemptive strike and Chen's desperate counterattack had transformed the border into a chaotic front, with the Sha River becoming a line of fire where countless battles were fought over control of its banks.

Yet, in Sha County, the origin point of all these hostilities, a long-awaited tranquility had descended. The official governing the county was Yu Dingyuan, a Commander of the Valiant Virtue appointed by the Cai military, overseeing a garrison of three thousand men.

Yu Dingyuan’s rise had been meteoric. Once a mere captain, he had been promoted every three days since the war began, eventually landing the position of acting governor of Sha County. The Duke of Cai himself had promised him a fiefdom yielding three thousand shi of grain—meaning that when he retired, he would be a lord. It was the kind of success that left soldiers in stunned silence and his superiors weeping with envy at his incredible fortune.

Only Yu knew the truth behind his luck. The day before the war broke out, he had received an anonymous tip: Chen spies intended to scuttle the Cai flagship fleet that night, clearing the way for a Chen assault on Sha County. By dawn, the rumor had spread throughout the entire army, from the commander-in-chief down to the lowest sergeant, though the source of the report remained a mystery.

No one wanted to believe it, primarily because Cai had never planted any spies in Chen territory in the first place. When the Cai commander-in-chief heard the news, he laughed, dismissing it as an obvious ruse by the Chen to lure them into an attack.

Yu Dingyuan, however, was a cautious man. He reasoned that if the enemy were trying to lure them out, they wouldn't choose such a ridiculous pretext. That night, he ordered his men to prepare for battle. Even his own soldiers mocked him, laughing at the idea of taking such a absurd rumor seriously.

When the time predicted by the "tip" arrived, Yu ordered his ships to weigh anchor first. The weather was perfect, and to everyone's astonishment, the Chen flagship fleet on the opposite bank suddenly sank for no apparent reason.

With the Chen fleet destroyed, the remaining small vessels were no match for Yu’s warships. He wiped out the entire Chen naval force in Sha County without breaking a sweat. Although it was hard to believe one ship could single-handedly dismantle an entire fleet, the Duke of Cai was overjoyed to have a morale-boosting victory and promoted Yu three ranks. When the local commander struggled to explain how the enemy ships had sunk, he simply attributed the success to Yu, leading the Duke to grant him another promotion and his three-thousand-shi fief. Thus, a "Naval God" was born in Sha County.

With the river secured, the Cai army easily captured the county. The defending general took his own life, and the local officials surrendered. The Cai forces took thousands of prisoners and captured vast stores of grain and equipment.

As the Cai army pressed their advantage, Sha County transitioned from the front lines to the rear, leaving Yu Dingyuan with little to do.

One day, two uninvited guests arrived at the county office. A man and a woman, they walked with an air of authority that brooked no resistance.

It was high noon, and Yu was just waking up. He had spent the previous night with two newly acquired maids and was feeling drained, planning to order bird's nest soup to recover, when his subordinates reported that two "Immortals" had arrived.

Yu’s sleepiness vanished instantly. To a mortal, Immortals were beings to be worshipped, regardless of one's rank or status. For Yu, their arrival was both a golden opportunity and a potential disaster. If he pleased them, a single talisman might ensure his lifelong prosperity; if he offended them, his career would be ruined by their subtle interference.

"Is it a Taoist boy, a Taoist master, or..." Yu stammered.

"They refer to themselves as 'the Venerables,'" his servant replied urgently.

"Venerables... the Golden Core stage?" Yu collapsed to the floor. Foundation Establishment cultivators were already formidable enough to take on a thousand men; a Golden Core practitioner was someone to be served like an ancestor.

Without even putting on his shoes, Yu rushed out to welcome them. The two cultivators looked exhausted and spoke little, merely instructing him to prepare two clean rooms. Yu forced a smile, feeling as though they were treating his office like a common inn, yet he dared not utter a word of complaint.

The two cultivators were Ran Tinglan and Dan Tengzi, who had been traveling for days. Ever since they had arrived at the Immortal Alliance, they had been met with bureaucratic hurdles. Obtaining a brief recording from the "Shadow Spirit" device had required endless paperwork and running between their sect and the Alliance, only to yield a few hours of footage.

After studying the recording for days to no avail, they had brought it to their master. Exhausted, Ran Tinglan felt her cultivation base stagnating, but then Dan Tengzi voiced a sudden realization: "From the footage, we can see the Junior Brother was raiding a mother-scorpion's lair and encountered difficulties."

"It is laughable," Ran scoffed, "that a Foundation Establishment disciple of our sect would die to a mere mother-scorpion."

"No," Dan interrupted. "Think, Senior Sister: could a mere mother-scorpion truly kill a disciple of our caliber?"

"I suppose not," Ran conceded.

"I agree," their master added. "Therefore, there is something suspicious at work here."