Mei Qing followed Wu Bing in silence along the long corridor, his heart filled with a mixture of nervousness and excitement.
He had a feeling that today, when Lord Sixth summoned him, it was likely about something he had long anticipated—perhaps today, everything would finally come to light.
“Sit,” Lord Sixth said, just as he always had, casually toying with the paperweight in his hand, his expression as calm and indifferent as usual.
To everyone’s surprise, Mei Qing didn’t offer any polite words and sat down directly on one of the chairs to the side without hesitation.
Lord Sixth lifted his gaze and scrutinized Mei Qing carefully. Mei Qing, seemingly unaware, sat there calmly, his eyes fixed vaguely on the distance ahead.
Suddenly, a hidden door behind them opened, and a figure silently walked out.
“What? You’re not even surprised? Did you already know this old man would come?” Lord Sixth couldn’t help but ask when he noticed Mei Qing glance up briefly, showing no sign of shock.
The newly arrived figure looked even more astonished. It turned out to be Master Zhong, the管家 of Mei Qing’s household.
Note: “管家” is a Chinese term typically translated as “butler” or “house steward,” referring to a senior servant in charge of managing a household. If you’d like a more natural English expression, I can adjust it to “butler” or another appropriate term depending on the context.
Let me know if you’d like that adjusted or the tone modified (e.g., formal, literary, conversational).
“It seems my young master already suspected that your old servant had some secrets,” Zhong said with a bitter smile. “So, the other day when you and A Bi discussed eloping and kept cutting off my words, that was all part of your plan?”
Mei Qing stood up respectfully and replied, “Uncle Zhong, I did know you had secretly come out at night to this Garrison. I indeed made some moves to pressure you these past few days. But as for A Bi and me, we really did plan to leave for a while. Since you overheard us, consider it as if we had left you a letter.”
“Hmph, old man, now you know what’s what? I told you your trail might have been exposed, but you refused to believe me. What do you have to say for yourself now?”
“Alright, Liu Zi, don’t always try to have the last word,” Zhong retorted, not backing down. “Don’t tell me you haven’t placed any spies in the Mei household. If I didn’t notice, do you think your highly capable men would have either?”
Lord Sixth snorted but did not respond. Zhong had a point. Mei Qing had tracked him, and although Zhong was a martial artist and might have missed it, Lord Sixth’s men included cultivators from the cultivation world who had also sensed nothing. It was indeed an embarrassing situation for everyone involved.
“Enough about that,” Lord Sixth waved his hand. “Mei Qing, I called you here today because there are some things I need to ask you.”
Mei Qing murmured an “Oh,” then slowly sat back down and said indifferently, “Please ask, Lord Sixth.”
Lord Sixth looked at Mei Qing, then at Zhong, before solemnly asking, “Mei Qing, when you went to Yongping, who were those monk and Taoist you met?”
Mei Qing thought for a moment and replied, “I merely met them by chance, and we didn’t know each other well. I really don’t know their background. Since you’ve already had your men investigate, I assume you can enlighten me.”
Lord Sixth shook his head. “Mei Qing, I don’t have any resentment toward you. I’m not here to interrogate you today. Since you see Zhong here, you should understand I have no ill intentions toward you.”
Mei Qing suddenly raised his head. “I know Lord Sixth has no ill intentions toward me. In fact, all along, you have always been looking out for me, and I’m truly grateful. But in this world, there’s no such thing as love or hatred without reason. I know both you and Uncle Zhong have been hiding many things from me. If I’m not mistaken, it must be something related to my origins, right?”
Lord Sixth and Zhong exchanged bitter smiles, both thinking, “This kid is just too clever. Not a bit of deception can get past him.”
Mei Qing continued on his own, “When I discussed leaving with Zhen Er, although I intentionally told Uncle Zhong, I also wanted to pressure him into revealing the truth to me. But I never expected that in the end, it would require Lord Sixth himself to come looking for me. I wonder why it has become so serious. Has Lord Sixth already reported this to the Commander?”
Lord Sixth said, “I came directly to you because I won’t allow you to act recklessly. As for the details, once you tell us what needs to be told, we’ll naturally tell you what you need to know. Now, can you finally tell us who those monk and Taoist really were?”
“Lord Sixth insists on knowing their identities—could there be something wrong?” Mei Qing asked in return. “Besides, with the all-seeing eyes of the Jinyiwei, why must you rely on me to provide their information?”
Lord Sixth snorted. “Mei Qing, what stage of cultivation have you reached now?”
Mei Qing answered straightforwardly, “I’ve already formed my Nascent Soul, so I’m at the stage of refining Qi into spirit.”
“Hmm,” Lord Sixth murmured, then looked at Mei Qing again and said slowly, “Your cultivation speed, though I wouldn’t dare say there’s no one like you in the future, is certainly unprecedented in the past. Before you went to Yongping, you hadn’t even reached the stage of forming a Golden Core, still stuck in the early phase of nurturing it. How is it that in just a few days, you managed to form a Nascent Soul and refine your Qi? I’m not stupid. It must be because of that monk and Taoist, right?”
Mei Qing replied impassively, “Even if it was, or wasn’t, what difference would it make?”
Lord Sixth hesitated for a moment before slowly saying, “Mei Qing, the reason I summoned you today is because we’ve discussed it and decided it’s time to tell you the truth about your origins. The restrictions and protections we’ve placed on you weren’t without reason. Your background is somewhat special. If it were to leak out, it could cause many complications.”
Upon hearing Lord Sixth’s words, Mei Qing felt a slight surprise. He had heard from Zhang Liusun that he was a ‘ding nu’ (鼎奴), a clone created through alchemical techniques and sent by Zhang Liusun. Could there be another hidden secret beyond that?
Zhang Liusun had passed on some techniques for controlling the ‘Zi Ding’ within him, which initially proved effective. However, since his escape from Jieshi, those techniques seemed to have lost their effect.
Now that he thought about it, Zhang Liusun must have withheld some key information. So the true origin of this so-called clone must be even more mysterious.
“Twenty years… It’s already been more than twenty years,” Lord Sixth sighed. “I used to think that day would never come. Back then, your mother also instructed that you must never pursue cultivation. At first, she said it was because your constitution was unique—once you started cultivating, it would go wrong, and you would end up with your soul scattered. But now, it seems there must have been another reason why she didn’t want you to walk this path.”
At this, Lord Sixth looked at Mei Qing and continued, “I suppose you already know that you’re not the real descendant of the Mei family. That’s right. The real Mr. and Mrs. Mei both died in a bandit attack. At that time, your mother brought you here, and I arranged for you to take their place, hoping you could live a peaceful and worry-free life. But who could have predicted that fate would have its own plans… Hmph.”
At this, Zhong also sighed deeply, filled with emotion.
“Then… who exactly was my mother?” Mei Qing pressed.
“Your mother was also a cultivator, but even we don’t know her real name. However, we suspect—” Lord Sixth glanced at Zhong before continuing, “Your mother was likely a member of the Plum Blossom Sect, and possibly even one of the legendary Six Plum Blossoms.”
“Six Plum Blossoms?” Mei Qing asked, clearly unfamiliar with the name and somewhat surprised.
“Not many people know about them now. In fact, the Plum Blossom Sect itself was an extremely mysterious sect. When they suddenly appeared, they almost completely humiliated the entire Daoist world, leaving them too ashamed to show their faces. Strangely, no one outside the sect knew the names of any of its members, except for the sect leader, Master Fan Wentai of Plum Blossom Sect. The term ‘Six Plum Blossoms’ refers to the six disciples under the Plum Blossom Sect. Whenever they engaged in duels with other sects, they would refer to themselves as Plum Blossom No.1 or Plum Blossom No.3, as if those were mere titles. Thus, people came to call these six individuals the Six Plum Blossoms.”
“Fan Wentai himself was an even more mysterious figure. No one knew where he was from, which sect he belonged to, or where his sect’s mountain stronghold was. Even the name ‘Plum Blossom Sect’ itself was questionable. It was simply a name given to them because he called himself the Plum Blossom Taoist, so people referred to his sect as the Plum Blossom Sect.”
“It is said that when Fan Wentai first emerged, his cultivation level wasn’t that high. But his progress was astonishingly fast. It’s said that he reached the Golden Core stage in just ten years and formed his Nascent Soul in another twenty. Such a speed is unimaginable for ordinary cultivators without the support of a powerful sect or mentor.”
At this, Lord Sixth gave Mei Qing a meaningful look.
Mei Qing was stunned. He knew his own cultivation speed was indeed abnormal. If Fan Wentai’s progress had already seemed shocking, what did that make him? Even Bi Zhen’s cultivation had advanced rapidly alongside his.
Suddenly, a thought struck Mei Qing. The Lord Sixth before him had cultivation power clearly beyond the Nascent Soul stage. If what he said was true—that he was an old friend of his parents—then he couldn’t be more than fifty years old at most. His cultivation speed must also be extraordinary.
“But not many people know about the Plum Blossom Sect. Although their cultivation levels were amazing, they never showed off. From the beginning, Master Fan Wentai’s actions involved challenging various cultivation sects one by one. At first, he targeted smaller sects like Wu Feng, Jing Ming, and Lin Ji. Later, he gradually moved on to larger ones like Da Dao and Lou Dao. It is even said that sects like Mao Shan and Ge Zao were not exceptions,” Lord Sixth continued thoughtfully.
“What about the Celestial Sect?” Mei Qing asked in surprise. “Could even Long Hu Shan have been an exception?”
Lord Sixth shook his head. “In fact, during the previous dynasty, the Celestial Sect under the leadership of Zhang Liusun had already unified the southern sects under the Long Hu Sect. People just continued to use the old names out of habit. The Plum Blossom Sect never made their actions public, and they never lost a single battle against any sect. Each sect wanted to protect its own reputation. Since the Plum Blossom Sect didn’t publicize their victories, how would the defeated sects willingly admit their losses? Therefore, most people in the world were actually unaware of these events. I only gradually uncovered them later. As for whether Master Fan Wentai ever challenged the Celestial Sect, there are conflicting accounts. Some say he did fight against the Celestial Master, but the details remain unknown.”
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