Mysterious Martial Arts: The Record of the Swordsman

Late at night, the halls of the Chong'an East Inspection Office were so crowded that there was hardly any room to turn around. Old wooden shelves filled with books leaned against the corners, and piles of old papers, half a person high, were crookedly crammed together. Traces of age covered the yellowed pages, and the smell of dust wafted into the nostrils.

The magistrate of Chong'an County, Guan Shengjun, stood there with a copy of the "Chong'an County Gazetteer" compiled by Qiu Yunxiao, a local notable during the Jiajing era, spread out in front of him. The tea in the rough pottery bowl beside him had gone cold. He stared blankly at the "Official Governance" volume of the gazetteer. The ink on his newly written annotations was dry, and now it was smudged halfway by his wrinkled fingertips.

That night, the outside was deafeningly noisy, with shouts of killing mixed with cries drifting in. Guan Shengjun, dressed in a square-patterned robe with sparse cloud and mandarin duck patterns, gripped the pen tightly with both hands until his knuckles turned white, as if waiting for something.

He put down his pen, got up, and took two steps toward the window, but dared not summon the yamen runners, fearing they might be colluding with the sorcerers of the Jingyan Sect. So he paced back to his desk, his fingertips repeatedly tracing the cover of the Jiajing County Annals. The wormholes at the bottom of the pages annoyed him. Just as he was about to brush the dust off the book, he heard a "bang," and Hong Wending pushed open the door and entered.

Guan Shengjun turned to look at the doorway. Above him was a plaque that read "Governing with Virtue." A crack a finger wide appeared in the window frame, and the wind, carrying sand and dust, slanted in. The candlelight illuminated the wisps of dust dancing in the air, and then he heard Hong Wending's voice.

"Your Excellency, I have stopped the Jingyan Sect, but I encountered hundreds of soldiers who sneaked in under cover of night outside the city. They were all carrying swords and firearms. I wonder if Your Excellency has informed them?"

Guan Shengjun’s gaze returned to Hong Wending’s face several times, and he suddenly chuckled as he spoke.

"No wonder the city was in an uproar all night, yet the outcome remained uncertain. Who exactly are you?"

The two stared at each other. Guan Shengjun first reached out and picked up the bowl of cold, coarse earthenware tea, took a sip, and put it down before slowly raising his eyes. There was not a trace of guilt in his eyes; instead, there was a kind of condescending "understanding."

Hong Wending no longer concealed himself and clasped his hands in greeting once more.

"My real name is Hong Wending."

Guan Shengjun initially showed no reaction upon hearing the name Hong Wending, but after pondering it for a while, a look of suspicion and surprise suddenly appeared in his eyes, which he suppressed after a long time.

"No wonder you turn a deaf ear to the martial arts examination. Tell me, what benefits and rewards do you want?"

Hong Wending shook his head. "I just want to bring peace back to the people of Chong'an County."

"Young Master Hong is still too young to understand the 'way of principle and power.' Principle means eliminating corruption and bringing peace to the people; power means creating chaos and seizing control."

Guan Shengjun smiled slightly and said, "Mencius said, 'Only a scholar can have a constant heart without constant property.' The people of Chong'an are short-sighted, believing in the sorcerer Jingyan and not obeying the law. How do they know that I am doing this for long-term stability? There are local gentry colluding to cause trouble internally, and corrupt officials abusing their power day and night externally. As the county magistrate, I have taken their leverage back. How can I 'fight for constant property' for the people?"

Hong Wending shook his head repeatedly.

"I'm not well-educated, but my father and master taught me that good and evil are always at odds. The way a chivalrous person does is to apply their own principles to the world and to stand up for what is injustice. If you don't practice martial arts and have to endure things, or if you practice martial arts and still have to endure things, then what's the point of practicing martial arts?"

Guan Shengjun looked Hong Wending over carefully, and seeing the certainty on his face, he gave a cold smile.

"Since you wish to interfere in the affairs of my Chong'an County, why bother with so many reasons and excuses? Martial arts practitioners vie for fame and fortune, seeking nothing more than mountain strongholds, land, disciples, tenants, and the establishment of martial arts schools, resorting to trickery and plunder. Don't think that just because you're so blatant, this county wouldn't see through your schemes?"

As Guan Shengjun spoke, he took out the document that Hong Wending had given him for registering and settling the Tanka people, and looked at Hong Wending coldly.

Hong Wending now understood why Guan Shengjun had entrusted him with such an important task after the introduction by Abbot Hengmin. In Guan Shengjun's view, Hong Wending was someone who was eager to use his power, and such a person was more reliable than those in Chong'an County who were only nominally loyal to the county magistrate.

"Your Excellency, the loss of power in Chong'an County began with the Jiajing Emperor's unjust case. 'Governing with virtue is like the North Star, which remains in its place while all the other stars revolve around it.' Only then did the Jingyan Cult, clad in black robes and blue boots, seize the opportunity to rise up. You must have reviewed the criminal case documents before you were even more determined to take this risk."

Guan Shengjun remained silent.

He had indeed reviewed the criminal case files of the Yang family during the Jiajing era, but only after seeing the original documents did he truly accept the outcome. This was because the case was completely unambiguous in terms of details and clues, a thoroughly wrongful conviction, yet there was nothing that could be done in terms of judgment and conviction; it was an incorrigible case.

Having served as the magistrate of Ren Guangshan County, he knew very well that this case was less a murder and more a provocation by the gentry and powerful families of Chong'an against the government. During the Jiajing era, donations were extremely high, and the consequences for the magistrate if he offended the gentry and powerful families were incalculable. Therefore, he could only compromise and back down, trying to pin the blame on the murdered "adulterous couple" themselves, using both moral and legal judgment to prove that the deceased were guilty and the murderers were forgivable, making the case seem irrefutable.

Following this incident, a sorcerer surnamed Zhang from the Jingyan sect set up an altar and performed rituals, causing vengeful spirits to weep blood and headless corpses to walk through the Chong'an government office in broad daylight.

It should be understood that in the hearts of ordinary people, what is more powerful than the authority and dignity of officials is the divine intervention and divine intervention. As the county magistrate, filled with fear, fled to the Eastern Inspection Office, the authority of the Chong'an government became a joke. The people would rather obey the orders of the Jingyan sect than follow the county government's orders. If the government wanted to collect donations and taxes, it could only rely on powerful local gentry.

What troubled Guan Shengjun even more was that his predecessor, Yin Yingyin, the magistrate of Chong'an County, had brought in monks from Songluo Temple in Anhui Province. Backed by Ruiyan Temple, they staged a grand "conversion of rice to tea" drama, cutting off the canal and piling up river fields in an attempt to turn all the paddy fields outside the city into tea plantations. As a result, the county suffered from severe drought for years. In the end, they could only blame it on a drought demon outside Chong'an County and left in a huff.

Now Guan Shengjun is faced with this mess, and the only solution he can think of is to break the deadlock by brute force.

He firmly believed that what he was doing was what Zhu Xi said: "Nothing in the world is more important than caring for the people, and the foundation of caring for the people lies in the ruler rectifying his mind and establishing the basic principles of governance."

However, in Hong Wending's view, his actions were aimed at rectifying the mind and establishing the order, and establishing the order was for the long-term benefit of the people. However, how much personal resentment and how many underhanded methods were involved was not something that outsiders could know.

Hong Wending sighed, his voice finally turning into a cold laugh.

“In the old government office, I saw a stone plaque that read ‘Shenzhang Ancestral Hall of the Peng Family of Zuoyi’. There was also the Qingxian Tower of Zhao Bian, the prime minister of the former Song Dynasty. Now Chong'an has been a city for nearly a thousand years, and the Qingxian River has been flowing for hundreds of years. As a result, the kindness of our predecessors has been trampled on in this way. It is laughable and lamentable.”

Hong Wending sighed inwardly. Even though he only had a superficial understanding of the origins of Chong'an County, he understood where these forces came from and how they had fallen to their current state.

During the Tang Dynasty, several prominent families in Chong'an County were clans of ancestors who followed General Peng Qian of the Left Thousand Ox Guard and Commander Peng Dang of the Military Palace in clearing weeds, digging lakes and building dikes in Wuyi Mountain. During the Southern Tang Dynasty, the people of Chong'an built the "Three-Zhang Ancestral Hall of the Peng Family of Zuoyi" next to the Yimen Gate of Yingling County Office to commemorate their achievements and express their gratitude for their contributions to the country and the people.

During the Five Dynasties period, Koubing Gufo settled in Ruiyan, Chong'an, and founded Ruiyan Temple. He was renowned for his virtue under the Min King during the Five Dynasties period, and repeatedly prevented Chong'an from falling into war. He also exorcised evil spirits and demons and defended against disasters and bandits in the local area. Therefore, after his death, the local people held annual commemorative ceremonies on his birthday, and every household lit two candles, which burned day and night to repay the gods' blessings. This custom is known as the "Candle Festival".

During the Southern Song Dynasty, Zhao Bian, who was posthumously honored as "Qingxian," was upright and loved the people. When he served in Chong'an, he saw that the local area was poor and weak, the people were suffering, and the farmland was difficult to irrigate. So he dug a ten-mile-long irrigation canal, which irrigated more than 10,000 mu of farmland. He also built the Lin'an Dam in the east of the city. To commemorate Zhao Bian's merits, the people successively built Qingxian Plum, Qingxian Pavilion, Qingxian Stele, Qingxian Dam, and Qingxian Bridge.

As a result, the more than fifty "wealthy families" in Chong'an, which were actually just a few surnames, had been exploiting the people for years with the harshest methods. The people in the smaller families were so destitute that they had to form societies. Ruiyan Temple, greedy for incense offerings, colluded with powerful people and seized farmland under the guise of tea cultivation, which led to the Jingyan Sect rising up in opposition to them. The government officials and magistrates competed with the people for benefits, and the clerks, relying on their official power, cheated and deceived the people. They colluded and allowed the Qingxian River to become blocked. Finally, after the strange case of Chong'an during the Jiajing era, they lost all their prestige.

The same applies to fellow villagers, gods and Buddhas, and the government. Ordinary people gradually lost their way to make a living and could only blindly reject outsiders and stick to the old ways. They didn't believe in anyone. This made Hong Wending understand a principle.

As the saying goes, "One generation plants the trees so that another can enjoy the shade, and one generation digs the pit so that another can suffer the consequences." This saying often shifts the blame to the past. Once the benefits left by our predecessors are exhausted, we start to lament the pits of the past, while neglecting the fact that the present is the core of the brewing trouble.

The shortcomings of the past were mostly due to the limitations of the time and circumstances, resulting in a lack of foresight; or the need to make a living, leading to a failure to recognize the hidden harm of the measures taken; or the limited understanding made it difficult to predict the chain reaction in the future, resulting in delays in action.

However, people today are different. People like Guan Shengjun are probably more aware of the problems. They are aware of the drawbacks of certain actions, but they are hindered by short-term gains and find it difficult to take corrective measures. Although they know the dangers of hidden risks, they still follow the old ways and have little courage to reform.

They claim that "petty benevolence and righteousness lead to great mistakes, while great benevolence and righteousness preserve the nation," which is clearly not a matter of ignorance, but rather an active "indulgence," and even a covert act of "continuing the pitfall." Guan Shengjun spouts "great benevolence and righteousness" and Confucian classics, but what he truly harbors is a scheming for power and a fixation on performance evaluation. The lives of the people under his rule are merely a facade for his pretense of a peaceful world.

At this moment, Fu Ningdie also poked her head out from outside the house, holding some snacks she had found somewhere.

"Do you think Master knew all along and deliberately sent you here?"

"How about we just chop this magistrate up with one stroke and head back to Dawang Peak?"

Hong Wending pushed Fu Ningdie's protruding head back, signaling her to be quiet.

As a member of the martial arts world and a wanted criminal of the imperial court who had followed Hong Xiguan in his youth, Hong Wending had witnessed countless corrupt officials killed by Hong Xiguan. Killing was naturally a way for him to vent his anger and revenge, and he was no stranger to this practice.

But Guan Shengjun's life or death is not important to him at the moment, but it is extremely important to the people of Chong'an County. Killing him will only make tonight's "rebellion of the people" an ironclad case. Given the Qing court's attitude, what awaits Chong'an is a bloody purge.

However, leaving Guan Shengjun unpunished is not an option either. He appears to be patient on the outside but is ruthless on the inside. He will stop at nothing to achieve his goals. Even when faced with a tangled mess of problems, he will still turn tonight's incident into an ironclad case, and all their efforts tonight will be reduced to ashes.

Even in the small county of Chong'an, he encountered a world of martial arts unlike any he had ever seen before. There were no swords clashing, no chivalrous vendettas, no martial arts battles; it was simply a world of ordinary people who knew nothing of martial arts. Who could deny that this was a true martial arts world?

In his spare time, Jiang Wen had told his disciples that the martial world wasn't just about fighting and killing, but about human relationships and social interactions. Clearly, Chong'an County was a place where one could never retreat, hide, or remain uninvolved in the martial world.

Hong Wending couldn't learn to lecture on grand principles, but he had already figured out his master's purpose in scheming for him to come here.

"Since the county magistrate is so stubborn, then don't blame me for being ruthless."

Hong Wending slowly stood up, but Guan Shengjun showed no fear. He even straightened his official robe with the mandarin duck pattern and smiled slightly as he tidied the hair at his temples. However, the sleeves of his robe were covered with dust from the table, making him look somewhat disheveled and old.

"I, Guan, have studied Confucian classics for thirty years, learning how to govern the people and serve the emperor. Now, thanks to the emperor's benevolence, I have been granted a county post. How dare I be mediocre? Although Wang Anshi's reforms had the drawbacks of the Green Sprouts Law, they were ultimately aimed at 'benefiting the people for their own good.' He was criticized at the time, but later generations understand his good intentions. How is my action today any different from that of the sages of the past?"

Guan Shengjun raised his hand and rubbed his temples, as if he was getting a little impatient while waiting. He got up and walked to the window. The wind, carrying sand and dust, ruffled his hair, but he didn't care. He just stared at the dark sky outside the window—in the distance, he could vaguely see the black smoke rising from the abandoned government office, like a black mark etched in the sky.

"Just kill me if you want, why all the talk!"

After getting up, Hong Wending showed no intention of drawing his sword. Instead, he bowed and walked out of the East Censorate's hall. However, compared to when he first entered the place, he seemed to have grown in some way, and his eyes were more resolute.

"Hey Master, really... why is this person so inflexible?"

"Junior sister, you mustn't speak ill of Master outside..."

A gentle, clear voice rang out from outside. A boy of about twelve or thirteen years old was dressed in a neatly tailored moon-white brocade robe. The collar and cuffs were trimmed with light silver thread, embroidered with a few sparse bamboo shadows. He possessed both the elegance of a wealthy merchant family and the vulgarity of a spoiled brat.

As he entered, he first raised his hand to smooth the hem of his outer robe, then bowed to Guan Shengjun with a light and gentle gesture.

"Greetings, County Magistrate."

Guan Shengjun shrugged slightly in response and asked.

"And who are you? Are you one of them?"

The young man nodded slightly as he entered the house and stood still, revealing a dark black short jacket underneath, a white jade belt with a double fish buckle around his waist, and a long, narrow sword hanging from it.

"Who I am is not important. I have come here only to ask the county magistrate one thing."

"What's the matter?"

"Why is the county magistrate plotting a rebellion?"

Guan Shengjun raised an eyebrow upon hearing this, and ran his finger across the cover of Mencius, his fingernail brushing against a trace of ink, leaving a faint mark.

The magistrate sneered with a resolute expression.

"Nonsense! This county has never plotted a rebellion."

This time, it was the boy who was surprised.

"Tonight, the magistrate tightly closed the city gates and blew up the water gates, blocking the imperial army's route to quell the rebellion, causing heavy casualties to the neighboring county's auxiliary defense corps; he also colluded with the city's Christian followers to secretly spread prophetic nursery rhymes about drought demons, attempting to seize the city and become king to resist the imperial army. These things are obvious, and their secret correspondence has been intercepted. Isn't all of this a plot to rebel?"

"Um?!"

Guan Shengjun turned around abruptly, his eyes flashing with a fierce light. "How dare you distort the truth like this! I am an official appointed by the imperial court, how could I do such an absurd thing! And where did this treasonous letter come from?"

"I drafted it."

The boy seemed a little embarrassed as he took a step forward. His soft-soled, cloud-patterned boots made no sound on the floor tiles, except for the ripples in the wind caused by the hem of his robe brushing against the ground.

"By the way, the lord also extorted 10,000 taels of silver from the city's merchants and travelers to use as military funds to support his own army."

Guan Shengjun angrily retorted, "This county is known for its integrity and honesty. When have I ever done such a thing? Tell me, where did this ten thousand taels of silver come from?"

"I gave it to you."

The boy answered with the same sincerity.

"I will spread rumors that the county magistrate is demanding 10,000 taels of silver from the Fuwei Escort Agency, and since the Fuwei Escort Agency is in the business of escorting goods, the silver should arrive in the next couple of days."

Guan Shengjun opened his mouth to speak, but found his throat was a little dry. He picked up the bowl of cold tea and drank it all in one gulp. The tea leaves got stuck in his throat, and he coughed twice before he felt better, his voice a little hoarse.

"Who exactly are you? Why are you framing this county?"

Lin Pingzhi held up a jade plaque with "Jingnan Prince's Mansion" engraved on the front and "Fuwei Escort Agency" written on the back. Under the candlelight, it shone with a cold light. The cloud patterns engraved around the jade plaque were all connected "Lin" characters.

"My father is Lin Zhennan of the Fuwei Escort Agency."

Guan Shengjun stared at the jade pendant, his face turning deathly pale. He reached out to take it, but the moment his fingertips touched the icy jade, he recoiled as if burned, clenching his fist so tightly his knuckles turned white.

"Very well! I will definitely report this matter to the imperial court. Your Fuwei Escort Agency is the mastermind behind the collusion with the Prince of Jingnan's Mansion. The imperial court has long intended to weaken the power of the princes. When the nest is overturned, no egg will remain intact, and your money will not be able to save you!"

Lin Pingzhi smiled slightly.

"Since the county magistrate saw through my father and the young prince's rebellious intentions at a glance, I, Lin, naturally had no choice. I had no choice but to send this ten thousand taels of silver to the magistrates of the neighboring counties of Jianyang, Pucheng, Zhenghe, and Songxi separately as bribes."

Guan Shengjun's face darkened completely.

Fuwei Escort Agency, backed by the Jingnan Prince's Mansion, is currently at the height of its power. However, with the banditry in Guangdong still unsettled and the imperial court currently waging war in the southeast to suppress the Zheng rebels, with large armies stationed in Zhangzhou and Quanzhou, surrounding Xiamen, it is impossible for them to throw their own boats and depose the Jingnan Prince's Mansion at this time. The reason they are delaying issuing an edict to Geng Jingzhong to inherit the title is simply to keep the other party under control. It will be at least a year or two before they can truly weaken the prince's power.

The shallow friendships he had with the magistrates of neighboring Jianyang, Pucheng, Zhenghe, and Songxi counties were no match for the gleaming silver. Guan Shengjun was quite certain that they would take the opportunity to kick him while he was down, revealing everything about the losses of his troops tonight, the chaos in Chong'an, and even his letter instructing them to "wait for the chaos to strike," and overwhelmingly siding with the Prince of Jingnan's mansion.

Guan Shengjun was not afraid of death, but he also had things he feared. As Bai Letian wrote, "If I had died then, who would know the truth of my life?" The other party's methods were indeed ruthless. Not only had he become a traitor, deserving of a hundred deaths, but the Guan family in Qingyuan County, Zhili Province, would likely perish because of him...

"What exactly do you want to do..."

Guan Shengjun slumped in his chair, staring blankly at the jade plaque on the table.

“The Prince of Jingnan felt the humiliation of being forced to shave his head and change his clothes, and the suffering from the oppressive government and heavy taxes, which tarnished the land and made the people miserable. Now, there is a prophecy that ‘the emperor has a fiery ear’, which is a divinely granted opportunity to restore the dynasty. Naturally, he has some plans.”

A cold wind blew in through the window cracks, causing Guan Shengjun's prematurely graying hair to flutter, mixing with the dust on the table, making him look particularly disheveled.

He didn't want to say a word to Lin Pingzhi right now. Who taught this guy to speak so frankly about framing, bribery, and even treason, all of which were shady and shameful, with such an open and honest tone? His arrogance was practically overflowing.

He didn't want to listen; he didn't want to hear a single word, because the other person spoke so frankly and sincerely that he didn't even have the slightest thought of doubt.

Lin Pingzhi sat down in front of Guan Shengjun, picked up the empty teacup, poured tea from the teapot, and with a slight tilt of his wrist, the cold tea was full without overflowing. Finally, he raised his hand and pushed the teacup half an inch towards the empty seat opposite him, as if to express his apology.

"Your Excellency, please do not take offense at my bluntness. The world is in chaos right now, and I am merely advising you to make plans as soon as possible."

"What's the plan?"

"Your Excellency, do you know that there is a remarkable man in my Chong'an County? This man is upright and honest, with unparalleled martial arts skills, yet he lives a carefree and detached life. He once helped the Fuwei Escort Agency out of danger without seeking any reward; he rescued the people of Fuzhou from a perilous situation, treating the surrounding enemies as nothing; his uprightness has earned him the respect of the martial arts world, and some of his peers have congratulated him with the title 'Gentleman Sword'!"

After speaking, Lin Pingzhi felt a bit thirsty and quickly poured himself a cup of cold tea to drink.

"He is now the leader of the martial arts world in the south, and the Prince of Jingnan privately respects him as his teacher. If we can get him to speak out and explain the truth, this matter will surely be easily resolved."

Guan Shengjun remained silent, speechless. The copy of Mencius on the table, still bearing the inscription "The people are the most important, the state is next, and the ruler is the least important," seemed to be a silent mockery of him in the slanting candlelight.

Today's events are too surreal. He was appointed as a county magistrate in the eleventh year of the Shunzhi reign as a selected scholar, and he always considered himself a disciple of the emperor. He disregarded life and death from south to north. Now, the young man in front of him is sincerely advising him to serve a prince who harbors rebellious intentions. This is almost like reserving his place as a rebel.

Ironically, if he didn't join the rebels, he would surely be branded a rebel and his entire family executed; but if he did join the rebels, he could continue to serve as a loyal subject of the Qing Dynasty with a clear conscience. How could such an absurd thing exist in the world!

Even more absurdly, after he learned of the unrest in Guangdong, all the civil officials in the court were trying to figure out the emperor's intentions and were submitting memorials every day accusing the Prince of Jingnan of plotting rebellion, hoping to become the first meritorious official in reducing the power of the princes. As a result, even if he reported today's events, it would only make him appear eager for advancement and clumsy in his methods.

Could it be that Prince Jingnan, Geng Jingzhong, intends to emulate Prince Pingxi, Wu Sangui, by "selecting and appointing civil and military officials under his jurisdiction at his own discretion," thus secretly seizing the power to appoint and dismiss officials at all levels?

"...Young Master Lin, where is this extraordinary person you spoke of now?"

Lin Pingzhi finally broke into a smile, and before anyone could react, he stood up, took Guan Shengjun's elbow, and said gently.

"I wonder if the county magistrate has ever heard of a place called Wuyi Mountain's Great King Peak?" (End of Chapter)