Nightwatcher-Chapter 445: The Earth Book has Received a New Feature
# 445. The Earth Book has Received a New Feature
After returning to Xu Manor, he spent the whole morning practising the One Blade from Heaven and Earth, blending its sabre intent with that of several major techniques.
After lunch, he lay on the rooftop, basking in the sun, drifting into a light sleep.
Last night, in order to subdue the Yao girl, he had used the “Great Mighty Heavenly Dragon Mantra,” pressing the fox-demon firmly beneath his Ruyi Jingu Bang[^1] and suppressing her for the entire night.
The yao girl had wailed and begged for mercy, crying out miserably, but in the end, it was Great Feng’s Silver Gong Xu who prevailed.
However, even that one battle had left Silver Gong Xu badly drained of energy, and so he needed a brief nap to recuperate.
There were thousands upon thousands of Yao women in the world. Exorcising demons and upholding the Dao was the duty of every man of justice.
Zhong Li sat beside him, hugging her knees. Senior Sister Zhong had a supple figure and well-rounded, plump hips, but her ever-present coarse hemp robe concealed all her natural gifts.
Only during moments like this, when her posture showed off her form, could one glimpse the charm of a mature woman, and even then, only for the briefest instant.
“Your ‘intent’ seems to have hit a bottleneck,” Zhong Li said softly.
“You really are a true Senior Sister. Even though you act all pitiful on the surface to win my sympathy and affection, in reality you’re a reliable elder, sharp-eyed and straight to the point.”
Xu Qi’an murmured this with his eyes closed, half-dozing.
“I don’t— I’m not doing that,” Zhong Li replied sulkily.
Xu Qi’an sat bolt upright in surprise and stared at her intensely. “Tell me, who was your first man?”
Zhong Li stared blankly at him. “Huh?”
She explained aggrievedly, “I wasn’t trying to win your sympathy or… affection.”
Xu Qi’an relaxed and lay back down. “Oh, that’s what you meant.”
*As long as you’re still that sharp-eyed, straight-to-the-point Senior Sister, then we’re still friends.*
Zhong Li tilted her head in confusion and thought about it for a moment, still failing to keep up with his train of thought, so she returned to the original topic:
“I may be an Arcanist, but I know a bit about martial artists. What they cultivate is intent, a process of insight and self-realisation. Just because someone uses a sabre for years doesn’t mean they’ll grasp sabre intent. Same goes for sword users. It’s not automatic.
“To comprehend intent, you first need to understand why you wield a sabre. How much do you love the sabre? Would you be willing to spend your whole life with it?”
Xu Qi’an shook his head. “Then I wouldn’t be willing. I’d rather spend my life with pretty women. If possible, I hope the number won’t be capped.”
Zhong Li ignored him and continued: “Your ‘intent’ is a fusion of multiple advanced techniques, that makes it the hardest kind of intent to cultivate. It’s rooted in One Blade from Heaven and Earth, but that technique isn’t its spiritual core. You need a guiding principle, a unifying spirit.”
*A unifying spirit? A spirit from the Goulan? Or the Soul of freeloading?*
Xu Qi’an asked, “How do I find that?”
Zhong Li shook her head. “I don’t know. I’m not a martial artist.”
*You’re not a martial artist? and yet you’ve waffled on so much…* Xu Qi’an, irritated, smacked her perky, soft, springy bottom.
He hadn’t used any force at all, yet Zhong Li reacted like someone had given her a violent shove. Her rear slipped, and she tumbled down the slanted roof, rolling a few times before landing hard on the ground.
“Senior Sister? Senior Sister... I didn’t mean to!!”
Xu Qi’an was horrified.
Zhong Li groaned as she climbed to her feet, wrapping her coarse robe tightly around herself. In this cold, heartless world, the robe was the only thing that offered a sliver of warmth.
…
After lunch, while playing Five-in-a-row with Xu Lingyin in the courtyard, Xu Qi’an felt a sudden lurch in his heart. Ignoring his idiotic little sister, he casually took out the fragment of the Earth Book without the slightest hesitation.
He checked the latest message.
【FOUR: There’s been a bit of a situation on my end. I likely won’t be able to keep assisting you all with investigating Hengyuan and Emperor Yuanjing.】
Xu Qi’an was struck by a thought and replied: 【You’re leaving the capital?】
A simple bit of reasoning, neither finding Hengyuan nor probing Emperor Yuanjing’s case was an urgent matter. There was plenty of time for other things first.
If Chu Yuanzhen had said this, then there could only be one explanation: he was planning to leave the capital and wouldn’t be back for a while.
【FOUR: Yes. Jiang Lyuzhong, the Gold Gong from the Nightwatchers, came to find me. He said Wei Yuan wants me to join the military expedition.】
If the Earth Book fragments could show punctuation, Xu Qi’an would’ve sent a dozen question marks right now!
Chu Yuanzhen had no military experience whatsoever, was Duke Wei out of his mind?
【TWO: Is Wei Yuan really a god of war? Sending you to the front lines, he might as well send me instead. At least I’ve commanded troops in Yunzhou and put down bandits.】
*Ah, so I’m not the only one thinking this…* Xu Qi’an was comforted by that.
【FOUR: Heh. I was a zhuangyuan in the imperial exams. Even if I didn’t specialise in military strategy, I’ve read plenty of military texts and studied many large-scale battles, like the Battle of Shanhai Pass. Whether I go or not depends only on whether I want to, not on whether I’m qualified. Even if I knew nothing about strategy, I can still fight on par with a fourth-rank expert.
【I’ve long withdrawn from court and wandered the jianghu, as a mere commoner, with no interest in returning to officialdom. Yet Wei Yuan still invited me to join the army. Is that not laughable?】
*Well… Duke Wei’s thinking is truly impossible to grasp…* Xu Qi’an asked: 【So did you agree?】
【FOUR: I did.】
ONE: “……”
TWO: “……”
THREE: “……”
FIVE: “……”
Chu Yuanzhen offered an explanation: 【I’m not doing this to return to officialdom. I just feel that roaming the jianghu, sword in hand, and cutting down villains, that only deals with petty evils. You’re alone, your power limited. How many evil men can you actually strike down?
【In the end, it’s still for the sake of Great Feng’s people. If I can help defeat the Church of the Warlock God on the battlefield, that would be a great merit.】
*I feel like you’re throwing shade at me…* Li Miaozhen muttered inwardly.
*So all that talk was just you dressing it up for your own pride?* Xu Qi’an silently mocked him.
When the others remained silent for a while, Chu Yuanzhen sent another message: 【What do you all think?】
Xu Qi’an thought for a moment, then half-heartedly replied: 【Sounds good.】
【TWO: Sounds good.】
【ONE: Sounds good.】
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【FIVE: Sounds good.】
*You three are even more half-hearted than me…* Xu Qi’an rolled his eyes.
Chu Yuanzhen silently sank into the background, not saying another word.
At that moment, Daoist Jinlian, who’d been quiet for some time, finally emerged and sent a message:
【I’ll be entering seclusion soon to refine the lotus seed and won’t be able to receive your transmissions for a while. To avoid disrupting your communication, this poor Daoist has decided to unlock part of the authority for you all.
【From now on, you can directly use your soul to select the recipient of your private messages by connecting to the Earth Book fragment, no need to call out to me anymore.】
With that, Daoist Jinlian also sank down again, saying no more.
*Daoist, have you finally grown weary of your tool-man role…?* Xu Qi’an perked up, mentally immersing himself in the Earth Book fragment.
Once more, he entered the hazy mirrored realm, where eight beams of light, each a different hue, were lined up before him. Red, black, green, white, yellow, and four indistinct, murky colours.
He didn’t need to examine them closely. As a bearer of the Earth Book, he instantly recognised that the first on the right belonged to Number One.
*Number One’s always been so mysterious. I might as well test them and find out who they really are…* Xu Qi’an focused his spirit and extended it towards the beam representing Number One.
*Smack!*
All of a sudden, Number One’s fragment released a surge of powerful spiritual force that shattered his wisp of soul.
*Hiss…* Xu Qi’an felt a sharp stab in his head. Nothing serious, just painful.
So this was the Earth Book’s version of: _The other party does not wish to speak with you and has given your soul a slap?_
“If you don’t want to reply, fine. But why slap me…”
Muttering curses, Xu Qi’an spread his soul force again. His spiritual energy, like tendrils, snaked into the Earth Book fragment and re-entered that hazy mirror-like realm. This time, he tried to reach out to Number Eight.
Number Eight did not reject him.
【THREE: I heard you’ve gone into closed-door cultivation? Are you male or female, and what’s your honoured name? I am a student of Cloud Deer Academy and Hanlin Academy bachelor, Xu Xinnian of Great Feng.】
Number Eight ignored him.
“Looks like Number Eight hasn’t broken through yet.”
Knowing better, Xu Qi’an gave up on chatting and extended his tendrils to Number Seven: 【I heard you’re being hunted down? Are you dead or alive?】
Number Seven ignored him too.
*Hope good people live long and prosper…* Xu Qi’an then sent a message to Li Miaozhen: 【Miaozhen, can you receive my messages?】
【TWO: Mm!】
Li Miaozhen had already chosen to accept when she felt the tendrils arrive.
【THREE: Let’s test how this thing works.】
【TWO: How?】
【THREE: Chu Yuanzhen is a sanctimonious hypocrite, ptooey! I’m ashamed to be associated with him. Lina, I’ve got something tasty here.】
A long silence.
【THREE: Looks like Daoist Jinlian wasn’t lying. Private messaging is going to be convenient.】
Li Miaozhen: “……”
【TWO: Oh right, something just came to mind.】
Xu Qi’an didn’t reply. A few seconds later, her second message arrived:
【I remembered—when it comes to knowledge about the direction of ley lines, aside from the Sitianjian, the most well-versed should be the Earth Sect. Among the three sects—Heaven, Earth, and Human—each has their strengths. The Human Sect, apart from swordsmanship, excels at alchemy. The Earth Sect focuses on virtue cultivation, and is well-versed in geomancy, feng-shui, and formations, all of which are closely related to ley lines. Our Heaven Sect is more adept at weather-controlling techniques.】
*So that’s why your understanding of ley lines is so shallow—almost nonexistent?* Xu Qi’an nodded slowly.
Not that strange, really. After all, everyone chose different electives.
【TWO: Of course, compared to Arcanists, the Earth Sect’s knowledge of formations and feng-shui is rather shallow. I remembered this just now when I entered the Earth Book fragment.
【The Earth Sect’s understanding of feng-shui and formations comes from their knowledge of ley lines. And their knowledge of ley lines, in turn, comes from the Earth Book.
【In ancient times, the Earth Book symbolised the mountains and rivers. There’s a record of this in the Heaven Sect’s archives, in a book called _The Chronicles of Divine Spirits of Jiuzhou_. It describes how the land of Jiuzhou in ancient times was filled with divine spirits—mountain gods, river gods, and the like. They condensed the power of the mountains and valleys into divine seals—the Mountain God Seal and the Water God Seal.
【Then, in one particular year, the Daoist Venerable eradicated all the divine spirits of Jiuzhou, and refined every Mountain and Water God Seal into a supreme treasure. That treasure was the Earth Book.】
*The Earth Book has such a grand origin? Back when I searched the archives at the Nightwatchers, all it said was that it was the Daoist Venerable’s magic artefact, and its origins couldn’t be verified… Those divine spirits—were they powerful figures that emerged after the fall of gods and demons and during the rise of the Human Emperor?*
Xu Qi’an’s mind wandered.
【THREE: But then why does the Earth Book feel like a glorified storage tool, or a Great Feng version of a QQ chat group?】
【TWO: Because it’s broken. Also… what’s a “00 chat group”?】
*It’s QQ, not 00…* Xu Qi’an patiently explained the difference to her, then suddenly felt a little lost. _Why am I messaging her through the fragments when we’re literally under the same roof?_
【THREE: I’ll just come over and talk to you in person.】
【TWO: No, isn’t this fun? As long as we hold our fragments, we can chat privately any time, anywhere.】
Li Miaozhen was now completely hooked on the novelty of online private messaging.
She hadn’t felt anything special when everyone was messaging together—back then it felt like a magical group conference. But the moment she realised she could privately message others at any time, the novelty hit her hard.
*This, this… it’s giving me serious déjà vu. Reminds me of the stupid things I used to do: sneaking out of school to use QQ; turning down a date from a junior schoolmate because my virtual pet had a birthday party…*[^2] Xu Qi’an silently covered his face.
Just then, a message from Lina arrived: 【FIVE: Xu Qi’an, Xu Qi’an, let’s go eat monkey brains at the restaurant tomorrow.】
【THREE: Monkeys are so cute. Why eat their brains? You’re literally five paces to my left, just shout if you want to talk.】
【FIVE: But this way is more fun. I get to chat with you one-on-one.】
Then, Chu Yuanzhen messaged him privately: 【FOUR: Cijiu, mind letting me take a look at that military manual? No such thing as too late to sharpen your spear before battle. Also, I find this private messaging thing quite delightful. No need to worry about others seeing it.】
【THREE: And how do you know others aren’t seeing it? Did you test it?】
【FOUR: I’ve been messaging Miaozhen and Lina in private this whole time.】
【THREE: Lina, have you been secretly messaging Miaozhen and Chu Yuanzhen?】
【FIVE: Eh? How did you know?】
*Enough, all of you!!!*
The corners of Xu Qi’an’s mouth twitched.
Just then, hurried footsteps sounded outside. It was Xu Cijiu, dressed in azure official robes.
Xu Erlang glanced around the room, seemingly looking for something. Spotting Xu Qi’an, he let out a sigh of relief. “Big Brother, Big Brother, urgent news…”
Xu Qi’an immediately stepped forward. For Xu Erlang to rush home on horseback during his lunch break—last time it happened, it was about Wang Simu.
“Big Brother, His Majesty wants me to join the military expedition,” Xu Cijiu said, face grave.
“!!!”
Xu Qi’an felt like he was struck by lightning.
He’d personally experienced a large-scale war. Back when he investigated in Chuzhou, Zhujiu led the Yao clans and Jili Zhigu led the Qingyan heavy Cavalry in a joint attack on the city.
The siege wasn’t long, but it was brutal enough. Under ballistae and cannons, whether human or barbarian, all were as fragile as grass.
*That damn emperor wants Xu Erlang to go to war? That’s a death sentence!*
“Fake illness?” Xu Qi’an probed.
“His Majesty approved the edict. As long as I’m breathing, they’ll carry me there if they have to! That’s why I came to discuss it with you,” Xu Cijiu said gloomily.
So there’s no way to refuse? Xu Qi’an frowned deeply. “What’s there to discuss? How to defy an imperial edict?”
Xu Cijiu choked a bit, then after a long silence, said, “I meant how to fight in the war. I… I actually want to go.”
Smack!
Xu Qi’an slapped his little brother to the ground. “Go to war? I should be slapping you more.”
Xu Erlang got up in a sorry state, cursing internally about his brutish brother. Outwardly, though, he stayed obedient, not daring to talk back, for fear of another slap.
Xu Qi’an stared at him for a while, then sighed. “Go tell Auntie yourself.”
Xu Erlang’s mouth twitched. After a moment, he nodded. “Alright.”
…
Moments later, wailing echoed from the inner hall. A beautiful woman burst out, eyes wide and tearful. Spotting Xu Qi’an, her gaze locked on him.
“Ningyan—!”
Auntie cried out, looking like she might burst into tears. She waved her little hand desperately. “Erlang’s going to war—you, you have to think of something!”
Now that Xu Qi’an was the only reliable pillar in the household, whenever Auntie came across something she couldn’t fix, her first instinct was always to go to her nephew.
---
[^1]: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruyi_Jingu_Bang](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruyi_Jingu_Bang)
[^2]: Cue my nostalgia for the virtual pet on QQ back in the early 2000s
