Imperial henchmen? My divine skills are all hacked versions.

Xu Xian was taken aback, inwardly cursing.

Actually, I'm a friend of women.

"Human nature has desires, and if these desires are not controlled, chaos will ensue... From today onwards, there will also be a word on the back of the monument commemorating good deeds."

He reached out and flicked his hand in the air, and the teapot that had been floating in mid-air in the distance flew back and landed in front of Xu Xian.

Xu Xian looked down and saw a new word on the teapot: Evil.

The characters are from the same hand as the gentle "good" character on the stele, but the brushstrokes are completely opposite. The "good" character is as gentle as jade, while the "evil" character is as sharp as a knife.

"Fellow Daoist and I share a Confucian affinity. In return, I will plant a Dao seed for you. You cultivate martial arts, which emphasizes killing. When you break through to a higher realm in the future, your inner demons will be the strongest, and you will be most prone to going astray."

"At that time, the seed of the Dao will help you guard your true nature and protect you from the tribulations of inner demons."

The young man's figure gradually disappeared into the white space.

Xu opened his eyes and found himself still sitting cross-legged in front of the stone tablet.

As the morning sun shone on the monument, the character "善" (goodness) gleamed with a warm light.

Dean Zhou stood to the side with a teacup in his hand, about to speak, when suddenly, the ground of the entire academy trembled slightly.

The leaves of the bamboo groves in the courtyard rustled, and the teacups on the stone table wobbled a few times, spilling tea.

  

On the back of the monument in front of us, a single character slowly emerged.

evil.

Dean Zhou was shocked, and the teacup in his hand fell to the ground and shattered.

He glanced at the faintly glowing character for "evil" on the back of the monument, then at Xu Xian, opened his mouth, then opened it again.

"Young Master Xu... what exactly did you do in there?"

Xu Xian got up and rubbed his numb legs.

"I didn't do anything special, I just had an argument with a sage. He said that human nature is inherently good, and I said that human nature is inherently evil. In the end, he couldn't win the argument, so he said that I had good karma. Oh right, he also called me a fellow Daoist."

"Fellow Daoist?"

Dean Zhou's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. "A sage calls you a fellow Daoist?"

"Yeah, I don't understand either. I'm a dignified fifth-level Body Tempering cultivator, and he's just a Saint. Why should I be his equal? ​​But since he called me that, I couldn't very well refuse."

Dean Zhou stood frozen in place, as if petrified.

He lived for over seventy years, served as the head of the academy for forty years, and saw countless students come to the Stele of Benevolence to seek enlightenment.

Some people went in and fell asleep, some went in and cried, and some came out saying they didn't see anything.

No one has ever gone in and argued with the sage, or even made the sage admit defeat.

"Xu Xiaoqi, I don't know if you are destined or not. The sage calls you a fellow Daoist, but I dare not treat you as an elder... Alright, the academy will give you its best disciple."

He turned to the young scholar beside him, lowered his voice and gave him a few instructions. The scholar then quickly walked out of the courtyard.

Xu Xian turned around and looked at the sharp, wicked character on the monument, quite satisfied.

After all, not everyone can gain the approval of a Confucian sage.

Before long, light footsteps echoed from the depths of the corridor.

A young woman emerged from behind the bamboo grove, dressed in snow-white, with only a white jade hairpin in her hair and a scroll of bamboo slips hanging from her waist.

Her features were clear and elegant, as if she had stepped out of a painting of a lady. She stood in front of the bamboo forest and looked at Xu Xian with a gaze as calm as a deep pool of water.

"This is Jun Jingyan, the most talented student of our academy this generation, a scholar of the eighth rank in Confucianism and Taoism," Dean Zhou introduced.

Xu Xian clasped his hands in thanks, and Jun Jingyan returned the gesture without saying a word.

...

Xu Xian returned to the Inspection Department, where Wang Yanni was pacing back and forth at the entrance of the office. Seeing Xu Xian alight from the carriage, she paused.

"Xu Xiaoqi, are you alright?"

Wang Yanni strode up to greet him, "When Commander Yang carried you out yesterday, your face was purple. I thought you were going to die in my Qingzhou territory."

"Almost..."

Xu Xian flexed his wrists and glanced at Yang Xu beside him. "If Commander Yang hadn't run so fast, I would have really been killed."

Yang Xu chuckled lightly, "You're just lucky."

"It's good that you're alright."

Wang Yanni turned to look at the woman in white standing behind Xu Xian, "Who is this young lady?"

"Jun Jingyan, a student of Zhengxin Academy, is at the eighth rank in Confucianism and Taoism. I invited her to help."

Xu Xian introduced, "Miss Jun, this is Lord Wang Yanni, the garrison commander of Qingzhou."

Jun Jingyan nodded slightly, as if to say hello.

Wang Yanni returned the greeting with clasped hands, then watched Jun Jingyan's retreating figure as she entered the communal room. "Eighth-rank Confucian and Taoist? What's she good at?"

"The dean said she knows everything that Confucianism requires."

The three entered the office. Xu Xian pulled up a chair and sat down. "Lord Wang, I asked you to keep an eye on the whereabouts of Li Shanyu's letter. Any news?"

Wang Yanni leaned against the edge of the table, crossed her arms, and shook her head.

"Zhou's advisor didn't know who delivered the message either. He said that Li Shanyu went out alone that day without any attendants."

Xu Xian stroked his beard. "That means the messenger might still be alive, or he might have been silenced."

"Anything is possible, but to be honest, the chances are slim. If the messenger has already been killed and the body has been buried in some desolate wilderness, even a god wouldn't be able to find it."

Xu Xian was silent for a few moments, then said, "Then I won't look for letters."

"Tsk... Maybe there's something Li Shanyu found out in that letter. Should we give up on looking for it?" Yang Xu raised an eyebrow.

"The letter that Li Shanyu sent out is evidence, but there's more evidence than just that one letter, and Li Shanyu may not have found more information than we have..."

Xu Xian stood up and walked to the map of Qingzhou hanging on the wall, pointing to the location of the cold iron mine in the north of the city.

"We've already figured out what's going on at the mine. Every year, 20% of the cold iron is intercepted, and the person in charge is Sun Buhai, the Sima of Qingzhou. Sun Buhai signs the warrants, and Sun Quan's caravan picks up the goods. We still need to investigate where they're transported to..."

"The most urgent task is to subdue Sun Buhai. Once we have Sun Buhai, we'll have both witnesses and physical evidence, so whether he's believed or not is irrelevant..."

Yang Xu spoke up, "I've brought up Sun Buhai's matter, and Lord Wang has already sent people to keep an eye on it."

Xu Xian turned around. "Lord Wang, what's the news from Sun Buhai's side?"

"Sun Buhai has been staying at the mansion for the past two days and I haven't seen him go out. I sent two spies to keep an eye on the front and back gates of the Sima mansion, but they haven't found anything unusual."

"He's hiding..."

Xu Xian chuckled lightly.

"That old bastard is well-informed. News of our investigation at the mine has already reached his ears. Sun Buhai is currently holed up in his mansion, either waiting for instructions from the mastermind or destroying evidence."

"Then we can't wait any longer..."

Wang Yanni straightened up from the edge of the table. "Go to the Sima residence now and arrest him, catching him off guard."

Xu Xian nodded. "That's what I meant too. Lord Wang, how many men can you spare?"

"Ten Black Riders, all skilled fighters. Add you, me, Commander Yang, and Miss Jun, and that's enough. The Sima family keeps a few guards, but their cultivation isn't high, only at the Body Tempering Realm. There's only one at the Meridian Opening Realm. The main concern is that Sun Buhai might have a Gu Master by his side..."

"Then let Miss Jun deal with the Gu Master, and we'll deal with Sun Buhai."

Xu Xian turned to look at Jun Jingyan, who was sitting quietly in the corner, and said, "Miss Jun, the Gu Master is now in your hands."

Jun Jingyan looked up at him and nodded slightly.

Wang Yanni strode to the door and shouted into the courtyard, "Black Cavalry, assemble!"

...

Meanwhile, Zhengxin Academy.

Since Mr. Xu left, Dean Zhou has been sitting in front of the monument, looking at the newly emerged character for "evil" on the back of the monument.

"Dean, you still haven't told me where this character comes from..."

Mencius approached and asked, "What is the mystery behind this character?"

"The sage's stele has stood here for a thousand years without change, but now there's an extra character..."

Dean Zhou gently touched the surface of the monument with his finger.

"The word 'good' is as gentle and refined as jade, while the word 'evil' is as sharp and ruthless as a knife. Both words originated from sages, yet they possess two completely different qualities. What do you think this signifies?"

Mencius was silent for a moment. "Does this mean—the sage himself contradicted his own conclusions?"

"Won't..."

Dean Zhou withdrew his finger, sat cross-legged in front of the monument, facing its surface. "I'll go in and take a look."

In his youth, he often came to study the Dao, just like other students, but now he has long since finished learning the Dao of the three generations of sages and has not entered the stone tablet for a hundred years.

Dean Zhou's eyes shone brightly as he suddenly stood in a vast white space, with water beneath his feet and emptiness above his head.

He stared blankly at the scene before him, standing there helplessly, not knowing what to do.

In the past, when he entered, it was always the sage who preached to him. But now, he was not opposite the sage, but to the side. Opposite the sage... there was another person!

The man was sitting cross-legged on the ground, talking eloquently. His face was clear and his appearance was dignified. It was none other than Mr. Xu!