Chapter 138: Interrogation

May you be as well as you look upon seeing this letter.

Shi Niang, as of today, I have begun practicing the Dao of Alchemy. I now deeply feel the arduousness of this path, having ruined medicinal ingredients sixteen times before finally witnessing a successful brew.

The first batch of pills I refined today is named the "Eight-Treasure Muscle-Regenerating Pill," yielding five pills from a single furnace. My instructing master has already tasted their medicinal properties, and the elder remarked that this is a fine pill.

Consuming this pill can whiten the skin, freshen the breath, and produce sweet saliva. I wish to gift them to you, but due to my heavy cultivation duties, I am unable to leave, and the elders in the mountain do not wish for me to exit the sect. Therefore, much to my shame, I must ask you to send someone to retrieve them.

I still remember our parting at Changbai last time, when Shi Niang said that upon returning to Peacock City, you would descend the mountain to seek me out. Yet, the cicadas in the mountains have cried thrice, and still there is no sign of you. If you have the leisure when coming for the pills, I truly hope you will come in person.

Additionally, my instructing master has asked me to collect more golden materials for alchemy for my own use. However, my internal alchemy cultivation is demanding, and I really do not wish to spend time on this. Since Shi Niang manages a commercial firm, I must trouble you to keep an eye out for these, and I can offer refined pills in exchange.

...

After finishing writing, Cheng Xinzhan set the letter paper aside, closed his eyes, and recalled the details of today's alchemy, going over them repeatedly in his mind.

Previously, he had considered his fire arts to be passable, but after trying today, he realized just how shallow his skills truly were.

Ruminating repeatedly on what he had learned yesterday, he did not know how much time had passed until he heard two cockcrows resounding from within his spiritual mansion. Cheng Xinzhan knew that the hour of Mao had arrived.

He opened his eyes and found that a reply had already appeared on the letter paper on the desk, which read:

The joy of receiving your letter is as refreshing as seeing you face to face.

I offer my congratulations to Xinzhan on stepping into the Dao of Alchemy. May furnaces rise and pills succeed henceforth, achieving the ninefold return of the elixir.

If you ask me, Xinzhan is still being overly modest. To study the Dharma and succeed in alchemy in a single day is something I have truly never heard of before, and I hardly know how to evaluate it.

I am an idle person, and fearing that Xinzhan's cultivation is busy, I dared not disturb you lightly. Since Xinzhan has extended the invitation, this idle person will come immediately. Please let me know a specific time.

Furthermore, being able to obtain Xinzhan's very first batch of pills brings me boundless joy. As for the golden materials, Xinzhan must never let this matter distract your mind; I shall seek them out myself.

...

Xinzhan smiled, picked up his brush, and replied:

Shi Niang may submit the request note today; I shall sign it and then reply to Shi Niang with the precise hour.

After finishing, he hurried off to Danxia Mountain to continue studying the Dharma, taking advantage of the time before Master Ren's arrival to warm up the furnace first.

Yet on this day, no alchemy was practiced once again. Ren Wushi led Cheng Xinzhan through a review of yesterday's mistakes, explaining the crucial points within them.

Although Cheng Xinzhan had pondered by himself throughout the entire previous night, there were still many things he had not figured out. Guided by Ren Wushi's pointers, he instantly achieved a great deal of enlightenment.

As for Ren Wushi, he grew even more satisfied with Cheng Xinzhan. When he asked the young man about corrective measures for certain issues that had arisen during yesterday's alchemy, the young man was able to answer most of them. For the few he genuinely did not know, he was able to draw analogies based on pharmacology and cultivation to make an educated guess, and his words were almost always substantive.

This was excellent, proving that the child had indeed reflected upon his work when he returned the previous night.

This day concluded amidst the conversation and demonstrations between master and disciple, and both were thoroughly pleased.

Cheng Xinzhan bowed in farewell to his instructing master, only to hear Ren Wushi say,

"The assembly within the mountain has already passed the motion, formally appointing you as the White Tiger Envoy. The Sect Master asked me to inform you to make a trip to the White Tiger Mountain Inspection Office tomorrow to collect your official provisions.

"A White Tiger Envoy of the Second Realm—such a thing has never existed since ancient times. I know this is the will of the immortals who dwell in the world, and its original intent should be to allow you to familiarize yourself with the sect more quickly and participate in vital secrets at an earlier date.

"However, you are now also an alchemist. What we alchemists do must be done with utmost seriousness, rigor, and attention to every detail. Therefore, since you have become the White Tiger Envoy, do not treat this as a sinecure, and pay even less attention to saving face. From now on, apply your mind to it and achieve some results for everyone to see.

"Thus, you need not come here every day from now on; come during the first ten days of each month. In the middle and latter parts of the month, you will focus on your own cultivation and carry out your supervisory duties.

"Tomorrow you will go to White Tiger Mountain and familiarize yourself with inspection affairs; you need not come for the rest of this month. Over these past three days, on the first day I taught you the general principles of alchemy, on the second day I taught you how to open the furnace and refine pills, and on the third day I taught you how to summarize mistakes. Henceforth, your own alchemy may also follow this sequence: ponder the principles of alchemy before opening the furnace, concentrate your mind fully during the refinement, and summarize your mistakes after the pills are formed. Only thus will your progress be swift and your foundation firm."

At this moment, Cheng Xinzhan felt an incomparable sense of fortune in his heart. His Master, Patriarch Tongxuan; Instructor Tao Jianxian of the North Pole Department at Pivotal Mountain; Instructor Di Jianping of the Penglai Department; Instructors Fu Shouzhou, Zhou Shouxin, and Sun Duheng of the Five Thunders Courtyard; Instructor Jiang Weishan of the Weaponry Courtyard at White Tiger Mountain; Instructor Ke Weixi of the Sword-Throwing Mountain; and now Instructor Ren Wushi—all the teachers he had followed along this path of learning had instructed him with earnest teachings and heartfelt sincerity.

Outsiders called him a genius, but without these fine teachers, a genius would still be a genius, yet inevitably would walk more slowly or even take some detours.

He bowed deeply to Ren Wushi and said,

"I shall strictly obey Instructor Ren's teachings."

Ren Wushi smiled and nodded.

————

The next day.

Rising early once again, he arrived at White Tiger Mountain at the very beginning of the Mao hour.

He was relatively familiar with the White Tiger Mountain Inspection Office. Among the two departments and two courtyards, he was considered half a disciple of the Weaponry Courtyard, he frequently visited the Puppet Courtyard, had simple dealings with the General Inspection Department, and was completely unfamiliar only with the Atmosphere Inspection Department.

Today, he headed straight for the Atmosphere Inspection Department, the one he knew least.

Therefore, he deliberately rose early to avoid taking the wrong path and delaying the hour.

The Atmosphere Inspection Department and the General Inspection Department within the Inspection Office, much like the Yuanyuan Office at Pivotal Mountain, required officers to sit in their offices and handle official business. According to the rules of the mountain, officials had to punch in for duty, arriving before the end of the Mao hour and the start of the Chen hour.

The Atmosphere Inspection Department was located in the innermost depths of the Inspection Office, occupying a deep and gloomy courtyard.

Someone was on duty outside the main gate. Cheng Xinzhan knew this was the duty guard, but because he had woken up rather early, he found the Atmosphere Inspection Department smoothly. At this time, it was not even a quarter past the Mao hour, so he waited at the entrance.

However, as soon as he stepped near the main gate, the guards recognized him and informed him that the Mountain Master and Department Master were already waiting for him inside.

Cheng Xinzhan was somewhat surprised. Why so early? Although summer was passing into autumn, the sky was still shrouded in dim twilight.

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Cheng Xinzhan stepped into the courtyard, only to find that it was already filled with many people. The coming and going disciples were all tight-lipped yet walked in great haste, appearing extremely busy.

The scene strongly resembled the first time Cheng Xinzhan had entered the Yuanyuan Office.

On the chests of the Daoist robes worn by these disciples of the Atmosphere Inspection Department was embroidered the image of a Bi'an. The divine beast Bi'an was also depicted with tightly pressed lips, with only its eyes glowing brightly.

Seeing Cheng Xinzhan enter, these people must have already caught wind of the news, as they cast curious glances at him.

One person even took the initiative to step forward and lead Cheng Xinzhan inward, yet did not utter a single word along the entire way.

What puzzled him the most, however, was that in such a sprawling courtyard—with its gray walls and black tiles—the lights were also dim and gloomy. A faint orange glow leaked from within the lanterns, resembling the flickering, dying ash of incense in a dilapidated mountain temple.

Was this an inspection office or the underworld?

They reached a room deep within the compound. The guide stopped at the doorway and gestured for Cheng Xinzhan to enter.

This room was quite peculiar: it had a doorway, but no wooden door was fitted within it.

Anyone coming and going in the courtyard could see the situation inside the room, and naturally, those inside the room could also see the situation outside.

He nodded in gratitude, then stepped inside, finding that this room was similarly dim—so dim that one could not make out its full layout.

Yet this should be a study, or rather an official office. Facing the doorway stood a desk piled high with case files, upon which rested a bronze lamp.

Two people were currently standing before the desk.

One of them he had seen before: not very tall, but broad-shouldered and thick-waisted, with a square face. It was none other than Gong Weijian, the Mountain Master of White Tiger Mountain.

The other person had drooping brows and downturned eyes, a long face with a narrow forehead, and a few sparse strands of beard beneath his chin. This person he had never seen before.

Cheng Xinzhan stepped forward two paces and saluted,

"Greetings, Mountain Master Gong, and greetings, Daoist Master."

Gong Weijian nodded and made the introduction,

"This is Master Jingyi of the Atmosphere Inspection Department, and this is Cheng Xinzhan."

Cheng Xinzhan immediately offered another salute to Ma Jingyi,

"Greetings, Department Master."

Ma Jingyi nodded slightly toward Cheng Xinzhan, the movement so slight as to be almost imperceptible, and did not speak in reply.

"Though the position of White Tiger Envoy carries high authority and its appointment is decided jointly by the Sect Master and the various mountain assemblies, the post is nonetheless established within the Atmosphere Inspection Department. From now on, any mistakes you point out and correct outside must be recorded in the register and submitted to the Atmosphere Inspection Department to be archived for reference, and your annual salary will also be disbursed by the Atmosphere Inspection Department,"

said Gong Weijian.

Cheng Xinzhan acknowledged the command.

"The White Tiger Envoy possesses a specially crafted White Tiger Dharma robe and a brush-and-paper register, which are kept in Jingyi's custody. Jingyi, hand them over to Xinzhan."

Ma Jingyi gave another imperceptible nod without lifting his eyelids; it seemed he treated everyone this way.

Ma Jingyi flipped his palm over, causing a wooden tray to materialize. On the tray lay a silver bracelet, a cinnabar writing brush, and a ledger with white paper and a black cover.

Cheng Xinzhan looked over it, but saw no Dharma robe?

"Put on the bracelet. Wear it on your left hand,"

said Gong Weijian.

Cheng Xinzhan nodded and picked up the bracelet.

The bracelet was exceptionally heavy and felt icy cold to the touch. It appeared to be made of silver, with the pattern of a White Tiger pursuing the wind shallowly carved upon it.

He slipped the bracelet onto his left wrist. A brilliant flash of light burst from the bracelet, enveloping Cheng Xinzhan's entire body. When the radiance dissipated, he discovered that his original Daoist robe had undergone a transformation.

What he had been wearing was one of the standard-issue Daoist robes of Mount Sanqing—a lake-blue robe bearing a pattern uniform across the entire sect: upon the chest was the Scenery of Mountain Mists, depicting three towering mountains wreathed in clouds and mist, while the back featured a Post-Heaven Taiji Bagua diagram. In addition, over his left breast near his spiritual mansion was a miniature crimson dragon, representing the cloud-borne "Dragon Chariot." Although he rarely used the "Dragon Chariot" for travel ever since he became capable of walking through the void, he had always kept this cloud.

Now, however, the base color of his Dharma robe seemed to have deepened, shifting from lake-blue to dark cyan. The crimson dragon on his left breast and the Bagua on his back remained, but the mountain mist pattern on his chest had transformed into an image of a baring-fangs and brandishing-claws White Tiger.

Most marvelous of all was that if one gazed directly into the eyes of the White Tiger on the robe, one would find that the divine beast appeared to be moving, as if about to leap forth and devour someone.

Gong Weijian looked at Cheng Xinzhan, smiled, and nodded,

"Putting aside everything else, a young man certainly looks much more dashing wearing the White Tiger Dharma robe; it lacks any aura of senility."

Following that, he pointed to the remaining brush and ledger and said,

"This is your inspection brush and ledger. Everyone in the Atmosphere Inspection Department has one, but yours is simply extra thick. As the White Tiger Envoy, whenever you discover individuals or actions that corrupt the sect's ethos or harm the sect's atmosphere, you have the right to confront them on the spot about their faults and record them in the ledger. Should there be any disputes or defiance, you may bring them to the Atmosphere Inspection Department for a public debate. If anyone acknowledges their faults verbally but refuses to mend their ways, the sect has its own punishments."

Cheng Xinzhan picked up the brush and ledger.

"Wear this bracelet on your right hand, and the Dharma robe will not manifest; wear it on your left hand, and the White Tiger Dharma robe will appear. Clad in the White Tiger Dharma robe and holding the brush and ledger, you are the White Tiger Envoy. Within Mount Sanqing, those who are questioned must halt to offer explanations, submit to public debate if defiant, or listen to admonitions and undergo rectification—there is no third path. Anyone who turns a blind eye to the White Tiger Envoy shall be deemed in violation of sect regulations, and the Inspection Office shall step forth to apprehend them."

Cheng Xinzhan lowered his head to gaze at the ledger in his hand and the robe upon his body, instantly feeling their immense weight.

He looked out the door once more at the gloomy sky and the bustling people in the courtyard, then turned his gaze back to Gong Weijian and Ma Jingyi. Collecting his composure, he opened his mouth and asked,

"Department Master Ma, may I ask: according to the rules of the mountain, for those who sit in their offices to handle official business, the duty hours are from the start of the Mao hour to the end of the You hour, where 'Mao' refers to the end of the Mao hour, and 'You' refers to the start of the You hour. In other words, one is required to arrive at the office before the eighth quarter of the Mao hour. Why is it that right now, even a quarter before the Mao hour, the Atmosphere Inspection Department is already bustling with activity? Has Department Master Ma privately altered the mountain gates' regulations and ordered your fellow sect members within the department to arrive ahead of time?"

Cheng Xinzhan's voice was exceptionally clear and bright.

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It was also loud enough to ring clearly within the quiet Atmosphere Inspection Department.

So loud that everyone walking in the courtyard heard it, causing the courtyard to grow even quieter.

Ma Jingyi finally lifted his eyelids—an action that seemed to cost him great effort. He glanced at Cheng Xinzhan's face, then looked down at the White Tiger on Cheng Xinzhan's chest, straightened his expression, and replied,

"Yes."

Cheng Xinzhan nodded, began flipping the ledger to its first page, picked up his brush, and wrote upon the blank paper:

In the four hundred and thirty-second year of Ming, on the fifth day of the seventh month, at the first quarter of the Mao hour, questioned Ma Jingyi, Department Master of the Atmosphere Inspection Department under the White Tiger Mountain Inspection Office.

The recorded words are as follows:

...

"According to the mountain gates' rules, Mount Sanqing operates on the transmission of the Dharma through master-disciple instruction, where disciples revere and obey their masters. Furthermore, the authority of all official offices and agencies applies solely to official duties and takes effect strictly within official hours. To my knowledge, these fellow disciples within the department are not all your personal disciples. Then, may I ask Department Master Ma, when you ordered your fellow sect members to arrive at the office ahead of time, did you issue this command within official hours or outside of official hours?"

Ma Jingyi fell silent for a moment before saying,

"I do not remember clearly."

Cheng Xinzhan shook his head,

"Department Master Ma, you are a great cultivator at the Golden Core realm; how could you possibly not remember such a thing? Mountain Master Gong just told me that anyone questioned by the White Tiger Envoy must halt to offer explanations, submit to public debate if defiant, or listen to admonitions and undergo rectification—there is no third path. Is lying the third path?"

Ma Jingyi fell silent for another moment, then said,

"Within official hours."

Whereupon Cheng Xinzhan stated,

"During official hours, you may only assign official duties. The arrival hours for the various departments and offices within the sect are determined by the several Sect Masters and do not fall within your purview; you have violated the sect regulations."

"I remembered incorrectly; it seems it was outside of official hours."

"Outside of official hours, you have no authority to instruct your fellow sect members; you have still violated the sect regulations."

Ma Jingyi fell silent once more.

"I ask you again: faced with the questioning of the White Tiger Envoy, you lied first, spoke ambiguously second, and repeatedly changed your tune thereafter. Is this not an act of showing contempt for the White Tiger Envoy?"

Ma Jingyi quickly shook his head and answered,

"No."

"Is it because you saw that this session's White Tiger Envoy is young and lacking in might, held him in contempt in your heart, and thus adopted a flippant attitude?"

Ma Jingyi was silent for a moment, then nodded.

"Please answer with words."

"Yes."

Cheng Xinzhan recorded this faithfully and asked further,

"The offices of the Atmosphere Inspection Department are gloomy, and no lamps are lit at night. For what reason? Is there a deliberate intention to foster a depressed and oppressive atmosphere so as to intimidate your fellow sect members, or those fellow members who come here for public debate?"

Ma Jingyi's jaw muscles twitched, and the sound of grinding teeth could be heard distinctly throughout the room. He truly had not expected that this young man who had just donned the White Tiger Dharma robe would take the internal affairs of the Atmosphere Inspection Department and dismantle them piece by piece, interrogating him down to the dust in front of a wide audience.

Seeing that Ma Jingyi remained silent for a long time, only clenching his fists and grinding his teeth with a creaking sound, Cheng Xinzhan prompted him,

"Department Master Ma, please answer."

Ma Jingyi nodded with difficulty and uttered a single word:

"Yes."

Cheng Xinzhan nodded as well and said to Ma Jingyi,

"Department Master Ma, there are still many questions concerning you—for instance, whether you have abused your official authority, or whether you have forced subordinates to leave late. However, I shall not press these in detail; shortly, naturally, other fellow members of the Atmosphere Inspection Department will come to question you. I trust you will not treat them with such casual disrespect as you have shown me."

Having said this, Cheng Xinzhan ceased looking at Ma Jingyi, turned to a fresh page in his ledger, picked up his brush, and wrote:

Continuing from above, questioned Gong Weijian, Mountain Master of White Tiger Mountain.

The recorded words are as follows:

...

Having finished writing, he turned his head to look at Gong Weijian, the Mountain Master of White Tiger Mountain, and asked with a solemn expression,

"Mountain Master Gong, Department Master Ma altered the official duty hours. As the Mountain Master of White Tiger Mountain and the Head of the Inspection Office, were you aware of this?"

Gong Weijian looked at the excessively young White Tiger Envoy before him, unable to suppress a wry smile.

He thought to himself:

Indeed, how could the immortal ever miscalculate? To think that people like us argued with the Sect Master for so long over this.

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