Chapter 2

Hearing the white-robed man’s answer, Madam lifted the hem of her dress and knelt on the ground. "My husband and I have been married for years, and we have never lacked anything, yet we have never been blessed with a child. "My husband is unwilling to take another wife. He is the sole heir of his family. He has spent his entire life serving as a soldier, and if anything were to happen to him on the battlefield, the He family’s bloodline would end with him. "Even if I were to be torn to pieces, I could never bear such a grave responsibility! "Your Excellency, I humbly beg you to grant me a remedy so that I may continue my family’s bloodline." With that, Madam bowed deeply until her forehead touched the ground. The white-robed man raised his eyes and signaled to the maid beside her to help Madam up. He then turned and walked back toward the stone table beneath the ancient tea tree. He picked up the cup of tea into which he had placed the pill earlier and slowly returned to Madam. "Please rise, Madam." "I have long heard that Lord Qianhu is an honest and loyal man. However, regardless of the reason, the killing he has committed is too great. With so much blood on his hands, he will eventually have to repay that debt. "You possess a compassionate heart. I hope that from now on, you will do more good deeds to offset the sins your husband has accumulated through killing. Only then, when you are blessed with a child, can his life be kept safe." With that, the white-robed man handed the teacup to Madam. Madam accepted it and looked at the dark-colored tea suspended inside the cup. After hesitating for a moment, she raised the cup and drank it all in one go. The white-robed man then reached into his sleeve and took out a silk brocade pouch, handing it to her. "This will protect you from harm. When you give birth to your son, make sure he carries it with him at all times. Never let him be without it." Madam accepted the pouch. Her fingers felt a faint chill through the silk, and from the hard object inside, she could vaguely tell that it was probably a piece of jade. Thinking that it would be rude to open it in front of him, she carefully placed the pouch inside her robe. "Thank you very much, Your Excellency!" As soon as Madam finished speaking, mist suddenly began to rise around the mountain. Knowing that the weather in the deep mountains could change without warning and that another rainstorm was likely approaching, Madam prepared to pay her respects and take her leave. But when she turned around, the white-robed man had already disappeared. All that remained was the quiet courtyard of the Taoist temple and the lush ancient tea tree, its roots wrapped in moss. "Madam, we'd better leave quickly." The little maid was clearly frightened. She hurriedly tugged at Madam’s sleeve, urging her to leave. Madam touched the brocade pouch against her chest, then respectfully cupped her hands and bowed toward the ancient tea tree. Only then did she turn around and walk out through the temple gates. As the visitors gradually disappeared into the distance, a gentle breeze swept through the courtyard, dispersing the mist. Beneath the tea tree, the white-robed man reappeared. He picked up a chess piece from the game and held it between two fingers, pondering for a moment before placing it on the corner of the board. With that move, he narrowly won the game. The corners of the white-robed man’s lips curled upward. At some point, the blue-robed man had appeared opposite him. The tiny vermilion mole between his brows trembled slightly as he frowned. "Hmph. This round doesn't count." "Are you trying to cheat again?" The white-robed man tapped his fingers lightly against the table and raised an eyebrow. The blue-robed man swept his sleeve, accidentally knocking over the teacup beside him. The cup struck the ground and shattered into two pieces. "You must have figured out how to break the deadlock while that Madam was talking!" "It doesn't count! This round doesn't count!" "Ah, I really shouldn't have let you take the finest one from that batch. What a waste." The white-robed man stood up. As he moved, his foot accidentally touched one of the broken pieces on the ground, and the sharp edge cut his fingertip. Seeing this, the blue-robed man immediately floated over. He carefully took the white-robed man’s hand and let the single drop of blood running down his fingertip fall onto the roots of the tea tree. The drop was instantly absorbed into the roots. The branches of the tea tree swayed gently, as though the ancient tree itself had stirred. "Don't waste it." The white-robed man smiled faintly. He turned around, picked up the broken pieces of the teacup from the ground, and squeezed them tightly in his palm. Blood immediately trickled between his fingers, drop by drop, all of it falling onto the roots of the tea tree. "Ah! I already told you that one or two drops a day is enough. You're practically draining yourself like this. What if I nourish it too much? There could be side effects." The blue-robed man hurriedly pulled out a handkerchief and covered the white-robed man’s hand. The white-robed man took the handkerchief and turned around before sitting down on the stone bench. "I've helped raise him for so many years, and I have nothing to repay you with. Consider this the interest." Hearing this, the blue-robed man raised his right index finger and tapped his chin. "I only helped you because it was convenient. It's nothing." "But you should know that he is incomplete, and he does not belong to this world. Even if he grows up here under another identity, he may still meet an untimely end. "His life may be cut short because there was never a place for him in this world." The white-robed man removed an ancient, yellowed flute from his waist and gently stroked it. "He is born, I search for him. He dies, I wait for him. It's nothing more than an endless cycle, repeating over and over." He spoke each word as calmly as though he were discussing something insignificant. Yet upon hearing this, the blue-robed man’s brows drew together slightly. "Good grief, you old ghost. Throughout history, countless people have sought immortality but could never obtain it. Yet you treat this one thing as though you can squander it without restraint." The blue-robed man shook his head as he spoke, tapping his chin. The white-robed man merely smiled. "By your logic, being born means suffering. If a person has no attachment in their heart, how could they endure such an endless existence?" "Ah, to escape suffering, one must first break free of worldly attachments. To live endlessly without knowing why, to wait endlessly without knowing the outcome..." "Such a cycle of torment. You truly are torturing yourself." "Forget it. I'm only wasting my breath." After saying this, the blue-robed man transformed into a wisp of blue smoke and drifted into the tea tree. On the summit of Kunlu Mountain, the sound of a bone flute slowly rose into the air. The melody was light and graceful. When the notes rose, they were gentle and pleasing to the ear; when they suddenly descended, they became deep and sorrowful, like clouds sinking from the heavens. The song continued for a long time, as though telling a story that had been buried deep within the flute player's heart for countless years. Seventeen years passed in the blink of an eye. The Wuliang Mountains remained as lush as ever, their stillness resembling a landscape painted on a scroll. But in Yunnan Prefecture, the tides had already risen and fallen, and another storm of political change was brewing. The Mu clan of the Great Ming traced its distinguished lineage to its ancestor Mu Ying, who had rendered great service in pacifying the western regions and was granted the title of Prince of Qianning. His descendants inherited the position from generation to generation, carrying out imperial orders and guarding the southwestern frontier of the Great Ming. By the Jiajing era, the Mu family had guarded Yunnan for more than a hundred years. The founding emperor of the Great Ming, Zhu Yuanzhang, had once entrusted the Mu family with the responsibility of guarding the southwestern frontier, allowing the foundation established by Mu Ying to take firm root in Yunnan. During Mu Ying’s tenure as guardian of Yunnan, he suppressed local rebellions, repelled foreign invaders, won the trust of the people, and restored order whenever crises arose. He also improved the waterways, established farmland and grain reserves, and greatly expanded official schools. Under his administration, what had once been a remote frontier territory in the southwestern corner of the Great Ming gradually became orderly and prosperous. That was how Kunming eventually came to flourish into the beautiful city it was today, with scenery reminiscent of Jiangnan.