The Empress's No.1 Lackey

Heaven and earth are not benevolent... Heaven and earth are not benevolent...

Early in the morning, inside the soup and pancake shop, when Zhao Douan recited this phrase.

The Old Heavenly Master, originally indifferent and without expectation, seemed to be struck.

Chewing over the sentence quietly, though he was of advanced years, his eyes, still as clear as a child's, suddenly brightened.

Strictly speaking, the "benevolence" Zhao Douan referred to was different in context from the "benevolence" Zhang Yan Yi had just mentioned.

Zhang Yan Yi had said that heaven and earth possess benevolence, which was an exclamation in a particular context.

I inferred that he, as a Magician who believed in the "Heavenly Dao," could glimpse the fortunes and misfortunes from the workings of the heavenly dao.

And thus avoid them, which to the common folk would seem like the "benevolence" of heaven and earth.

It was a subjective exclamation, but it didn't mean that he truly believed that the "Heavenly Dao" had human-like emotions.

The sentence recited by Zhao Douan, however, was a calm, and even slightly cruel description.

Meaning that heaven and earth were neither "benevolent" nor "unbenevolent," they simply existed naturally, and the various facets of the world live and die in accordance with natural laws.

In this way, between heaven and earth is like a giant bellows.

Vacant yet never exhausted, pumping and the wind growing, numerous policies vex the people, better to maintain emptiness and stillness.

In his previous life, Zhao Douan had seen someone use this phrase to explain Laozi's concept of "governing by doing nothing."

It was interpreted as a Taoist doctrine, advising the upper echelons of rulers.

But the same phrase, in a different world, told to this "casual official" of the Heavenly Master Mansion, took on a slightly different meaning.

It was more about how "Cultivators" should perceive heaven and earth.

How they should conduct themselves, avoid external disturbances, and guard their inner selves.

...

"What an excellent 'Heaven and earth are not benevolent.'"

Zhang Yan Yi couldn't help but praise aloud.

As a Magician who studied the Heavenly Dao, he especially understood this deeply and looked at Zhao Douan with an increasingly appreciative eye:

"Young friend has never cultivated the heavenly dao, yet you have such a thorough understanding. Choosing the path of a martial artist is indeed unreasonable."

Zhao Douan blushed at the flattery.

Mr. Zhao still cared about face.

Not to mention that his words were copied, but even putting that aside, anyone from his past life who had studied and taken physics classes would reach this level of understanding concerning the laws of the objective world.

He said seriously,

"Old Sir, such words should not be repeated, I fear Your Majesty might misunderstand."

The Old Heavenly Master smiled and wanted to say, "Xu Zhenguan that girl will only hold you back."

But after thinking it over, he ultimately did not speak and instead said,

"Young friend's elaboration on heaven and earth is quite insightful and easy to understand. However, in my view, it ultimately falls short."

Zhao Douan was not convinced:

"I cannot ignore such words from you, Sir."

Zhang Yan Yi smiled and said,

"Do not misunderstand, I am not belittling your point, but it's incomplete. As you said, heaven and earth are not benevolent, and cultivators should maintain a state of emptiness and stillness. But knowing only stillness, one remains a mortal. How should one cultivate then?"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Douan did not rush to respond. Instead, he slowly ate a few bites of pancake and drank half a bowl of thick soup.

Thus, he piqued the curiosity of the Old Heavenly Master for a while before smiling and saying,

"This is even simpler."

"Simple?" Zhang Yan Yi raised an eyebrow.

"Of course," Zhao Douan said calmly,

"If the Old Sir also agrees that heaven and earth are not benevolent and that the heavenly dao naturally exists, then what we should do is even more straightforward. I can summarize it in thirteen words."

He recalled the experience from last time and wanted to write with his finger dipped in soup.

But he considered the mutton soup to be too greasy, and the words too many, so he decided against it.

Thirteen words?

The Old Heavenly Master was curious. The descriptions summarized in the Heavenly Book had twenty-one characters, and in nearly five hundred years, they hadn't been altered.

This young man dared to claim that he could clarify with only thirteen words?

Zhang Yan Yi felt somewhat expectant.

Only to hear Zhao Douan sit upright suddenly and say each word distinctly:

"Man follows the earth, the earth follows heaven, heaven follows the Dao, and the Dao follows nature."

The Dao follows... nature!

In that moment, despite being prepared and having learned a lesson from the previous "Dao begets one," the Old Heavenly Master discreetly established a stance.

He severed the connection between the two of them and the cosmos.

But as these thirteen characters each struck his ears, they still set off waves in the heart of this great Magician who stood at the pinnacle of this world.

"Follow" here meant "to emulate."

Zhao Douan threw out two striking sentences, which connected meant:

Heaven and earth are not benevolent; they operate according to objective laws, and the cultivation of man should emulate the natural laws of heaven and earth.

And the last four characters "the Dao follows nature" did not mean that Dao emulates nature, but that the Dao emulates itself.

Translated into plain language, it's not complex or profound.

Just like most of the world's true wisdom, it is also quite simple and unadorned.

But to truly understand, many people need to spend a lifetime.

For Zhang Yan Yi, he had understood these principles many years ago, but he had never thought that

such concise language could be used to clearly and plainly elaborate the understanding of the "Heavenly Dao" and the essence of cultivation.

No Heavenly Master from the "Heavenly Master Mansion" predecessors had achieved this, nor had Zhang Yan Yi himself.

But today, it was articulated by a mere mortal martial artist, who had chosen the path of a warrior.

How could he not be surprised and delighted?

"Old Sir, what do you think?"

Zhao Douan also watched the other's reaction, a triumphant smile appearing at the corner of his mouth.

Yes, it seemed that these two sentences should be able to fetch a good price.

Zhang Yan Yi came back to his senses and gave Zhao Douan a profound look, his heart filled with mixed emotions:

Just by the words "the Dao follows nature," he knew that some phrases in the Heavenly Book would have to be revised.

Ironically, during the hundreds of years that Zhang Yan had been Sect Leader, he hadn't made as many changes to the Heavenly Book as the half sentence Zhao Douan had casually recited.

"Indeed."

The Old Heavenly Master said with a bit of a downcast emotion and immediately stood up, languidly adding:

"The old man has some matters to attend to, so I won't disturb you any further."

With that, he turned and took a step, vanishing into the crowd in the blink of an eye, as if he had never appeared.

And none of the commoners around seemed to notice.

"It's not..."

Zhao Douan opened his mouth, somewhat taken aback.

What does 'indeed' mean? Shouldn't you give some kind of response?

Maybe throw in another piece of talisman paper... In a daze, he felt as if he had been taken advantage of.

Grinding his teeth, he shoved the silver "Imperial Talisman" into his chest as his trump card.

Zhao Douan wiped out the flatbreads and beef soup, throwing down several coins before leaving.

The owner of the eatery chased after him, timidly saying:

"Sir, your friend has not yet paid for the soup and pancakes he ate."

"...?" Zhao Douan's face was expressionless:

"I don't know him."

The owner of the soup and pancake shop, an honest man, insisted:

"You both had eaten here twice."

Zhao Douan let out a long sigh to the heavens: "...This is such a misfortune."

...

...

The Eight Directions Theater.

Being afternoon and evening, it was the busiest time for the theater.

Therefore, every morning, the theater would not serve customers, and the actors would close doors early in the morning to practice their vocal cords and polish their basic skills.

Wu Ling, as the newly favored "star," had been arranged by the theater owner to live in a separate courtyard.

However, this morning, when this delicate-faced, young man—whose appearance was as pretty as a woman's—pushed open the door of the rear courtyard, he was greeted by a group of uninvited guests.

They all wore dusty gray cloaks, their faces hidden behind veils.

The leader wore an indigo ghost mask.

Judging by the exposed parts of his body, he should be a middle-aged man.

Wu Ling led the group into the room, closed the door, and then, with eager eyes, bowed with fists clasped:

"I, your subordinate, pay my respects to the Squad Leader! I was unaware of the Squad Leader's early arrival in the Capital, and I regret not welcoming you from afar."

The middle-aged man with the indigo mask chuckled:

"No need for such courtesy. You must already know that my entry into the Capital is to replace Grandmaster Zhuang as the New Leader of the Kuangfu Society sub-branch in the Capital. However, it seems that the Capital has not been peaceful lately."

Wu Ling spoke with bitterness:

"The Leader already knows?"

The middle-aged man nodded, his tone becoming a little more serious:

"I received an urgent message outside the Capital yesterday, stating that our mole in the Imperial Court had been rooted out, prompting me to enter the city ahead of schedule. However, the message was brief and did not clarify the situation. Please, explain in detail."

Wu Ling nodded.

He immediately presented all the information he had gathered about the mole in the Imperial Court being exposed.

All the grey-robed people were visibly moved, while the New Leader listened quietly.

Finally, he asked:

"So after the two from Iron Ruler Pass were caught, you immediately notified all related contacts to withdraw?"

Wu Ling replied:

"Yes. But it was all too sudden, and some members were inadvertently exposed, such as the one arranged by the Zhao thief's side, who perished at the hands of the Zhao thief."

The New Leader frowned:

"As you say, was the misfortune of yesterday also designed by that Zhao Douan?"

Wu Ling nodded, earnestly saying:

"According to what we know, it indeed was. Everyone has underestimated the Zhao thief. Ever since he forced the Grand Tutor to flee, he has made significant achievements in the past two months, becoming a serious problem."

The New Leader inquired, "Have you tried testing him?"

Wu Ling said with a wry smile:

"I once attempted to assassinate him but didn't even catch a glimpse of him; my actor's substitute was destroyed by a Great Cultivator, and I suspect the Fake Emperor intervened.

The Zhao thief holds much more sway in the heart of the Fake Emperor than anticipated, and his tactics and wisdom are definitely not as awful as the rumors suggest."

Upon hearing this, the group of Kuangfu Society Members who had traveled to the Capital, weary from their journey, were greatly surprised.

They could not believe that the notorious little white face of the Empress in the Jianghu rumors had such a high evaluation from Wu Ling.

"One should never judge a book by its cover; this incident serves as a lesson."

The New Leader sighed, glancing around at everyone:

"The Capital is the Fake Emperor's territory. As newcomers amid turmoil, carry out my order: all members lie low temporarily and avoid making waves."

Everyone agreed.

The New Leader changed the subject and looked at Wu Ling with a smile:

"Nevertheless, don't be disheartened. After Grandmaster Zhuang left, you were leaderless, giving the court and that Zhao Douan an opportunity. Now that I have arrived, I will not let our brothers sacrifice in vain."

Wu Ling's spirits lifted:

"Do you mean, Leader..."

The masked New Leader of the Capital sub-branch laughed:

"As you say, then let's start with this Zhao Douan. The Fake Emperor can protect him for a moment, but not forever.

Since he dares to be our enemy, then let's take his life first, to honor our fallen brothers, boost morale, and avenge the ruin of Grandmaster Zhuang's plans caused by him."

...

Mistakes will be corrected in subsequent updates.