Chapter Thirty-One: Earthly Troubles Stirred by the Western Wind

"Gulp."

It was unclear who had swallowed nervously. Despite the biting cold of the deep winter, a suffocating silence had fallen over the banks of the Taiping River in Donghe Town, held under the pressure of a terrifying aura radiating from the water. Even the children were pressed down by their parents, their mouths tightly covered to prevent a single sound.

Zhang Qing’s pretty face was deathly pale with anxiety, yet she forced a composure as she spoke: "Everyone, I know you hold grievances against me. But now that the demon has emerged, it will surely not spare anyone here."

"I have already prepared a contingency. As long as you attack the demon, everyone shall receive a bottle of Qi Gathering Pills and thirty spirit stones afterward!"

Xu Xiao added, "I will provide an additional bottle of Yellow Sprout Pills for each of you. Just fight, and you may collect them from me when this is over."

"But if anyone dares to retreat..."

Xu Xiao did not finish his sentence, but all the rogue cultivators understood his meaning: to retreat was to die!

The vortex in the center of the river grew larger. A massive, hideous head, gilded in gold yet still grotesque, emerged from the churning waters. As it appeared, those golden eyes locked onto the rogue cultivators on the bank, a mouth full of sharp fangs splitting into a grin: "This god hears that you lot wish to slay demons and eliminate evil?"

At these words, Zhang Qing’s face turned ghastly white—something was wrong!

Not just Zhang Qing, but the rogue cultivators and the commoners also realized that something was amiss. Why did the River God show not the slightest sign of weakness?!

The cold wind howled, and the waters of the Taiping River began to surge. Rising atop a wave several zhang high stood the River God, with the head of a fish and the body of a man, holding a trident, his back adorned with fins. His golden, slit-like pupils were filled with cruelty: "A group of ants, daring to attempt to kill a god? Today, none of you shall escape. All of you, come and die for me!"

With a roar, the River God swung his trident. The Taiping River churned, and waves several zhang high crashed toward the shore like the heavens collapsing and the earth overturning. The people of Donghe Town watched in horror as the tide surged toward them—a wall of water taller than the city walls, carrying an oppressive aura that seemed capable of destroying everything.

After a moment of stupor, the people broke into terrified screams and began to scatter in a panicked flight!

The River God stood atop the waves, his mouth splitting wide: "What a beautiful sight."

Watching those rogue cultivators who were attempting to retreat, Xu Xiao raged, "Why are you still standing there? Attack!"

Wang Ping gripped his lowest-quality spirit weapon, his fear swelling within him like a black hole, threatening to swallow him whole. In the next moment, he lost his reason. Screaming, he charged toward the god-like, towering figure of the River God, desperately unleashing spell after spell.

The next instant, as the multi-story wave crashed down with the weight of a thousand jun of river water, Wang Ping was reduced to a puddle of blood.

Seeing this, the other rogue cultivators could no longer hold back and began to flee in terror. Even though they had consumed poison, the instinct for survival made them unwilling to die here.

Watching the dark mass of people scattering like ants, seeing how many fell, how many were trampled, and how many were separated from their families, the River God felt only pleasure and satisfaction: "You ants, do you finally know how to fear a god?"

Xu Xiao grabbed Zhang Qing, summoned a silken kerchief to carry them both, and flew directly into the sky to evade the floodwaters.

***

Looking down now, the turbid river water surged continuously from the Taiping River, wave after wave battering the shore, swallowing the land and the living.

The rogue cultivators were unreliable. Why hadn't Fellow Daoist Wen, Old Master Qiao, or Young Master Kongxu appeared yet? Xu Xiao felt an intense anxiety.

Meanwhile, on Mount Qingping, Jiang Sheng sat quietly on a stone slab at the summit.

The weather today was poor; dark clouds obscured the sky, and the cold wind howled. From the Taoist temple halfway up the mountain, not a trace of the sun could be seen. Tian Ming'an stood quietly behind Jiang Sheng. His martial arts training had progressed well these days, and he was no longer as fearful of the mountain's cold winds as he had been before.

Looking out from the summit toward the Taiping River, one could clearly see the water gradually swallowing the land. There were several towns along the Taiping River in Qingshan County, with tens of thousands of people living along the banks, and Donghe Town alone held over ten thousand.

Tian Ming'an knew that today was the day set by the County Magistrate to slay the demon, but looking at the situation by the river, it was clear that the people of Donghe Town had already met with disaster.

"Master..." Tian Ming'an could not help but speak, but once he opened his mouth, he did not know how to continue, so he fell silent again.

"You wish to ask why, on the day set for slaying demons, your master does not intervene? Or perhaps you wish to ask why, even though I have finished my seclusion, I sit here and watch the people of Donghe Town suffer?" Jiang Sheng’s voice was gentle, making one’s restlessness vanish and bringing a sense of calm.

Jiang Sheng stood up and looked at the bewildered Tian Ming'an, his expression remaining indifferent: "Do not be impatient. It is not yet time for me to act."

"Do you know that when a hunter tracks a large beast, they must continuously exhaust its strength, bleeding it slowly? Only when the beast is utterly exhausted does the hunter move in, and even then, they must be extremely careful. Otherwise, a single lapse in judgment could lead to being devoured by the beast in return."

"The River God of the Taiping River is a genuine Violet Palace Realm entity. Dealing with him is not as easy as dealing with the Eight Wolves of Dong County."

Tian Ming'an looked up abruptly, his eyes filled with disbelief: "So, Master, was Magistrate Zhang's plan to abandon Donghe Town from the very start?!"

Jiang Sheng shook his head: "Not just that."

"Donghe, West River, Stone Mountain, Big Willow, and Taiping—all of these towns are to be abandoned! Even Qingping Town, at the foot of this mountain, may be abandoned."

"Only when the demon has flooded the six towns and driven the waters into the heart of Qingshan County will I strike."

A chill ran down Tian Ming'an's spine. Six towns—that meant the lives of tens of thousands of people! Magistrate Zhang wanted to trade the lives of the people in the six river towns for a chance to kill the demon. But wasn't he the one who wanted to slay the demon for the sake of the people? Was he not a man who loved his people like his own children?

Seeing Tian Ming'an's shock, Jiang Sheng snorted: "Those who achieve great things do not dwell on trifles, let alone such plans."

Tian Ming'an felt as if something inside him had shattered: "But, but why?"

Jiang Sheng frowned slightly: "Why so many whys?"

"There is a Violet Palace demon in the Taiping River; I cannot find peace here on Mount Qingping while it exists."

"Furthermore, Magistrate Zhang is constrained by the local gentry. If the people worship the River God, who will listen to him as a magistrate? Besides, slaying a demon and clearing out illicit cults is a major political achievement. You tell me, why would Magistrate Zhang do this?"

Tian Ming'an was utterly stunned. He suddenly felt that the world was both so real and yet so strange.

***

Jiang Sheng continued: "Do you understand now why I am too lazy to leave the mountain?"

"Outside the mountain is Magistrate Zhang's territory; inside the mountain is my dojo. This is what I agreed upon with him from the beginning, and it is the reason I am unwilling to leave."

Tian Ming'an looked despondent: "I have always believed that Magistrate Zhang was a good man."

Jiang Sheng chuckled: "A good man? Even I would not dare call myself a good man. How could a man who has served as a magistrate in his prime be some naive soft-hearted fool?"

"And by your logic, since I am intentionally conserving my strength, using those rogue cultivators as cannon fodder, and allowing the demon to drown tens of thousands of people in six towns, does that not make me a heinous villain as well?"

Tian Ming'an quickly insisted that he dared not think so, but Jiang Sheng waved his hand dismissively: "When I came to this mountain and met your grandfather, I said I only wanted a quiet place to cultivate. Matters outside the mountain have nothing to do with me. Never mind Qingping Town—even if all of Qingshan County were wiped out, what would it have to do with me?"

"Your grandfather is a smart man. He foresaw this day, which is why he sent you up the mountain—to preserve the Tian family bloodline. Your grandfather is a man of substance; I am willing to be an acquaintance across generations with him, which is why you were allowed up. Do you really think that kneeling in the snow for seven or eight days was enough to move me?"

Looking at Tian Ming'an's stunned expression, Jiang Sheng couldn't help but laugh: "You are too naive. You could go to any Foundation Establishment or Violet Palace sect; forget seven or eight days, even if you knelt for seventy or eighty days, or seven or eight years, if they don't want you, they don't want you."

"I simply found an excuse to take you in."

These words caused Tian Ming'an's mind to reel. He had never imagined that such factors were involved; he had always believed that his own sincerity had moved Jiang Sheng.

Jiang Sheng’s starry eyes watched the petrified Tian Ming'an with a smile: "I presume during those days, your grandfather kept urging you to give up, to enjoy your wealth, or to go to some academy or Taoist palace in Dong County, right?"

Tian Ming'an nodded subconsciously. Jiang Sheng laughed: "Do you know what your grandfather was actually thinking at that time?"

Seeing Tian Ming'an shake his head, Jiang Sheng gently patted his shoulder: "Grandson, you must hold on. The future of the Tian family depends on you."

These words struck like a thunderclap in Tian Ming'an's mind, leaving him frozen in place.

For a long time, Tian Ming'an could not recover. He felt only bitterness in his mouth and chaos in his heart. He felt foolish, realizing that while he thought he was clever, he was actually as dull as a donkey.

He had been worrying unnecessarily, and the gentry and wealthy merchants of Qingshan County had gone to great lengths to stir up noise and incite the people, thinking their secret plots were well-laid—but all of it had been within someone else's plan from the beginning.

Whether it was the rampaging evil cultivators or the foolish mobs, the entire situation in Qingshan County, which looked chaotic and dangerous, was actually under the control of Jiang Sheng and Zhang Qingyun!

Jiang Sheng chuckled: "Do you know why your grandfather sent you up the mountain to cultivate?"

"Only through cultivation can one control their own destiny. Only by relying on a powerful protector will one not easily become a pawn."

"Who is a pawn? The wealthy merchants and gentry of Qingshan County, the evil cultivators, the rogue cultivators—they are all pawns. Your grandfather is also a pawn."

"The commoners go without saying; they are merely foolish people. They listen to whoever is loudest. They live mundane lives, like blades of grass."

Jiang Sheng sighed softly: "Ordinary mortals spend their whole lives mired in the affairs of the world, their lives and deaths beyond their own control."

"Mortal anxieties are, in the end, nothing but empty wind."