Great Zhou Wensheng

Chapter 52 Madam Qingyao, her eyes held the weight of history!
Niuzhu Demon Palace.

Deep within the hidden cavern shrouded in water, before the steps built of sunken ship keels, the water rippled slightly, exuding a sinister aura.

"Please, Madam, have mercy and save this lowly demon's life!"

The long-bearded fish monster knelt on the ground, its scales trembling, its gills opening and closing rapidly, and it cried out in a mournful voice.

"Oh, who's chasing you?"

In the hall, Lady Qingyao leaned against the coral throne.
She was slowly and deliberately playing with a water spirit bead that emitted a cold mist with her fingertips stained with red nail polish, and asked in a low voice.

"Listen to his accomplices, they call him 'Brother Jiang, Jiang Xingzhou.' This man is truly formidable, ruthless in his attacks. He killed my Black Fish brother with a single sword strike, leaving not even a demon corpse behind!"

The long-bearded fish monster's voice trembled.

"The Holy Judgment of the Child?"

Madam Qing's face turned cold, her jade palm suddenly tightened, and the spirit pearl instantly shattered into dust. She said angrily,

"fool!
Why did you provoke him?

I warned the aquatic people of Jiangyin long ago.
"Three resounding sounds from the Confucian Temple, and literature flows forth from the county. The sage judges even the youngest students, his eyes holding the wisdom of spring and autumn. The aquatic creatures must not provoke him!"

After the bell of the Confucian Temple in Jiangyin County rang three times, the sound reverberated, and all the aquatic creatures within a radius of hundreds of miles with any intelligence knew that this was the birth of a child chosen by the Confucian Temple!
The boats on the river carry the cultural fortune of the entire county and are now the precious treasure of Jiangyin County. From the county government officials to the county school administrators, everyone takes great care to protect them.

Who dares to provoke this powerful local demon in Jiangyin?
Unless they are ferocious demons from outside, they will plunder and flee, unafraid of being besieged by the human race.

Otherwise, who would be willing to antagonize the literary fortunes of a county?
At least the local powerful demons wouldn't dare to make that move.

"My lady, please see the truth! This little demon is innocent!"

The long-bearded fish monster immediately kowtowed repeatedly, complaining bitterly, "How dare this little demon provoke them? It's clearly a disaster that came out of nowhere! Their large group of young scholars came to our door, specifically looking for us demons to test our swords!"

"Ah!"

Lady Qing sighed softly, her willow-leaf eyebrows slowly relaxing. Her tone remained indifferent as she coldly looked down at the long-bearded fish monster, "You two demons are destined for this fate, accept it."

She already knew the answer.

These two fish demons were extremely unlucky to encounter the county school's assessment of demon-slaying, and became the whetstones for the students to test their skills.

In Jiangyin County, this happens every one or two years, and it's quite common.

What she was curious about was this legendary chaplain.

"Someone, prepare a banquet and invite Young Master Jiang to Niuzhu Palace!"

"Yes!"

Jiang Xingzhou treads on clouds, with wisps of mist swirling around his clothes.

He gazed at the rushing river at Niuzhuji.

Below, nine bronze pillars stand majestically, each topped with a carving of a dragon with nine sons. The water flows between the nine pillars, creating a calm body of water.

"They certainly know how to pick a location!"

The long-bearded fish monster hid in Niuzhu Palace and disappeared without a trace.

He didn't know how to get in.

Thinking that he had no choice but to give up, he was about to return to Jiangyin County.

But see,

In the deep-water reef surrounded by nine pillars, a rock suddenly moved aside, and a heavy stone door opened.

A demon general wearing a bronze Nuo mask, accompanied by four masked demon soldiers, clad in scale armor and wielding a twelve-foot-long blood coral halberd, emerged from the stone gate.

"Young master, please wait!"

The bronze-masked demon general emerged from the water and said very politely, "My master, Madam Qingyao, invites you."

My master said that no human has visited Niuzhu Palace for a long time, so he has prepared a royal banquet and invited you, sir, to taste it.

"I wonder if you would do me the honor of meeting my master, young master?"

"If I don't go, what else can I do?"

Jiang Xingzhou asked.

"Whether you stay or leave is entirely up to you!"

The demon general cupped his hands in greeting.

"lead the way!"

Jiang Xingzhou thought for a moment and said.

The bronze demon general lit a rhinoceros horn, which ignited into a raging flame, and then submerged into the river to lead the way.

The flames from the rhinoceros horn remained unextinguished even when exposed to water, illuminating a patch of water that made the river water as clear as a glass cup.

Jiang Xingzhou abruptly ended the [Avoid Water] incantation, and the ripples of spiritual energy generated by the incantation startled the fish.

He followed the demon general through the stone gate and into the Niuzhu Palace, which turned out to be a natural underwater cave.

This surprised Jiang Xingzhou quite a bit.

Inside the palace, chalcedony algae emit light to represent day, while giant clam shells close their shells to represent night.

There are also schools of stonefish, swimming around with luminous pearls in their mouths, and the Niuzhu Palace, though located in deep water, is surrounded by a faint glow.

However, one could see that many demon people and demon soldiers were coming and going in and out of Niuzhu Palace.

They gathered in small groups, either listening to the preaching of their senior demon clan members or trading items needed by the demon clan.

The aquatic creatures are incredibly diverse and unlike anything I've ever heard of.

However, some fish demons and shrimp demons, who had only barely grown heads and had not yet completed their transformation, were terrified when they saw Jiang Xingzhou, dressed in a scholar's robe, appear in the palace.

The old clam spirit on the road hurriedly closed its shell.

They had never seen a human scholar appear in the Niuzhu Palace.

The bronze-masked demon general's voice grew increasingly respectful: "Ahead lies the Nine-Bend Dragon Corridor; the Lady has prepared a banquet at the Xie Zhi Palace!" They swam for a long time...

The bronze demon general and Jiang Xingzhou finally arrived at a deep underwater palace, with the keel of a sunken ship forming the palace steps.

Twelve whale fat lamps hung among the algae and water plants, flickering in and out.

Lady Qingyao sat on the coral throne, surrounded by a thin gauze curtain hanging from the dome, revealing her stunningly beautiful face as promised.

"Wow——!"

The scallop maidservant unfolded her treasured food box, which glowed with a gentle flame three feet high, and presented the "delicacies" served on a giant clam shell plate. Soon, a dragon bone banquet table was filled with all sorts of aquatic delicacies.

One of the dishes, a braised fish feast, was adorned with long catfish whiskers.

Jiang Xingzhou sat down opposite Madam Qingyao.

Although it was our first meeting,

However, he was extremely familiar with Lady Qingyao—the thousands of volumes of "Jiangyin County Gazetteer: Records of Strange Things" had already clearly arranged the details of Niuzhu Palace and its owner.

"Young master, are you Jiang Xingzhou, the Imperial Scholar of Jiangyin County?"

"Exactly!"

"Young master, you have quite the nerve!"

My Niuzhu Palace has long been without any distinguished human guests. I heard that you, sir, have been lingering outside the palace. Out of curiosity, I ordered my demon general to invite you into the palace for a chat!
Unexpectedly, this young master, a mere student, actually dared to enter Niuzhu Palace alone.

Any other student would probably have fled in panic long ago!

Lady Qingyao, her fair wrist half-exposed beneath her black silk shawl, picked up a piece of food with chopsticks and took a small bite, smiling as she spoke.

She admired his courage alone.

"You're too kind, Madam Qing!"
Having read over a thousand volumes of the "Jiangyin County Annals," I know that countless fierce demon generals and demon leaders were killed or defeated in this county, and none of them lived for more than a hundred years.

But Lady Qingyao and the Niuzhu Palace alone, for hundreds of years, did not clash with the scholars of Jiangyin, nor did they leave behind a bad reputation.

In the "Jiangyin County Annals" from three hundred years ago, there is a record of the following line of writing about Niuzhuji:
"In the seventeenth year of the Daqian era, the demon general Qingyao opened his demon palace at Niuzhuji on the Yangtze River, and presented the Yu the Great's wine vessel at the Confucian Temple in Jiangyin, in exchange for three hundred years of peace."

From then on, among the demons within a thousand miles, only Niuzhu Palace was revered.

It is evident that the lady is resourceful, exceptionally intelligent, and adept at self-preservation!
I pondered, since the lady is so wise, I need no courage to enter Niuzhu Palace.”

Jiang Xingzhou said calmly.

"Young master, you are a wonderful person!"
They even know about a trivial matter from hundreds of years ago!
"You've uncovered all of my secrets, young master. It seems I truly have no secrets left."

Madam Qing's expression changed slightly, but she quickly giggled and picked up her wine cup to cover it up.

She knew very little about Jiang Xingzhou.

Jiang Xingzhou even revealed in a single sentence how she started her business at Niuzhu Palace three hundred years ago.

She was clearly the owner of this place, yet she suddenly felt as if she were sitting on pins and needles.

Who would be so bored as to flip through the "Jiangyin County Annals" from 300 years ago and even notice such a small sentence?

"But I wonder why Madam sent a demon general to capture me here today?"

Jiang Xingzhou asked in confusion.

"I wouldn't dare!"
The old scholar Pei Jingyi from Jiangyin is determined to tear down this Niuzhu Palace and skin me alive!

Ordinary minor demons could easily escape.

My Qingyao family is so wealthy and powerful, possessing the Niuzhu Palace, that I would never be willing to give up this family fortune!

"Young master, you can rest assured that you will not be harmed in the slightest within my Niuzhu Palace!"

Madam Qing immediately smiled.

"Oh, then why were you invited here?"

Jiang Xingzhou asked in confusion.

There's nothing important here.

In my Niuzhu Palace, the sun and moon are never seen. The rise and fall of the river marks the four seasons, and the year ends when the dragon's energy is at its peak on the Dragon Boat Festival!

I, the master of Niuzhu Palace, am quite bored on weekdays, except for preaching to the demon race.

I heard today that you, sir, have come to Niuzhuji, and I am filled with curiosity!

Madam Qingyao smiled and said, "I read in the classics that 'the emperor judges a child, his eyes hold the wisdom of spring and autumn.' But I have never seen such a person before. I wonder what kind of 'eyes hold the wisdom of spring and autumn' means?"

Saying,

Madam Qing approached from the opposite banquet table, her eyes gazing intently at Jiang Xingzhou, her breath sweet as orchids.

But see,

Jiang Xingzhou remained calm as he gazed at Madam Qingyao.

Deep within his eyes shimmered eight thousand characters, which transformed into bamboo scrolls, recording the extraordinary phenomena of the Xia, Shang, Zhou, Qin, Han, Tang, and Song dynasties, all contained within the historical records.

"Ah~!"

Madam Qingyao felt a slight burning and stinging sensation in her eyes from the countless strange phenomena of blood and fire. She gasped softly, still shaken, and closed her eyes, unable to look any longer.

"The so-called Spring and Autumn Period is a bloody war song of countless dynasties changing hands. The lessons learned through blood and tears, carved into bamboo slips, are so that future generations will remember them and pass on the torch of humanity!"

Jiang Xingzhou said calmly, "The demons and barbarians have no written language, they only live one life, and they don't understand the Spring and Autumn Annals!"

Upon hearing this, Madam Qing's expression changed.

When she looked at Jiang Xingzhou, the human race's Holy Judge, again, she felt awe and dared not underestimate him.

This fifteen or sixteen-year-old boy is exceptionally courageous, shrewd, and knowledgeable; he is no ordinary person and, given time, will surely become a leading figure in the Great Zhou Dynasty.
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(End of this chapter)