Winter wind tore through the peaks, making bare branches shriek their mournful cry.
On the flagstone path, Xu Qian turned to watch Xu Xinnian walk ahead, sleeves and black hair dancing together. This cousin of such enviable features seemed like an immortal descended to earth.
Xu Xinnian pointed to a waterfall in the distance, explaining: "This was a place of enlightenment for a predecessor of the academy. By the falls stands a stone tablet recording his life."
In winter the waterfall was weak, a feeble thread of water trickling into a pool of startling clarity.
By the pool stood a tablet and a bronze figure seated in meditation. The inscription chronicled the life of a scholar named Qian Zhong, born six hundred years ago, active at the founding of Great Feng.
In those days, the previous dynasty's ruler was debauched, officials were corrupt, and local strongmen preyed upon the people. Rebellions erupted across the Central Plains, with insurgent armies carving out territories.
The Great Zhou court fought a seesaw war lasting more than a decade against the rebels, the common people suffering terribly.
Qian Zhong, at the second rank of Grand Confucian Master, spent three years traveling. Witnessing firsthand the people's misery, he carried theirresentment to the Great Zhou capital and, with his own body, shattered what remained of the dynasty's national fortune.
Then Great Feng rose, quelled the wars, and brought peace to the four seas.
"Grand Confucian Masters are that powerful?" Xu Qian asked skeptically. "How come I don't see the words 'badass' written on those three old Masters?"
Xu Xinnian didn't know what "badass" meant, but it was clearly vulgar. Considering his cousin's poetic achievement, he held back his retort and replied: "Who told you our teachers are second-rank Grand Confucian Masters? They're only fourth-rank Gentlemen."
Xu Qian was incredulous: "Then how dare they call themselves Grand Masters?"
Xu Xinnian crouched by the pool, washing his hands. "Grand Master has two meanings: a scholar of deep learning and renown; or specifically, the second rank of the Confucian path. Our academy's Grand Masters are the former."
A second-rank Grand Confucian Master carrying the people'sresentment to shatter a nation's fortune—even in the dynasty's twilight, when its luck was waning, this was beyond mortal power. Just how strong was the second rank? And the first?
Xu Qian fell into deep thought. After a long pause, with a somewhat respectful tone: "Does White Deer Academy have a second-rank Grand Master?"
Xu Xinnian shook his head. "In two hundred years, at most the third rank. The third rank of Grand Master is Destiny Fulfillment. I learned this from my teacher when we saw off the Purple Sun Master. Our academy's Dean is third-rank Destiny Fulfillment."
Xu Qian's tone became casual: "Not bad."
Those three old gentlemen's personalities seemed a bit flamboyant and unserious, lacking a certain gravity. He shared his assessment with Er Lang.
His cousin considered: "They weren't always like this. After the Gentleman rank comes Destiny Fulfillment... it may have to do with that realm."
"Yes, the Purple Sun Master used to be similar. Recently he changed completely—like a different person. I heard from my teacher that the Purple Sun Master is only half a step from Destiny Fulfillment."
The brothers wandered the academy without purpose. Xu Xinnian led him past scenic spots and historic sites. As an academy with twelve hundred years of history, were it not for the rule barring outsiders and disturbing the students, Clear Cloud Mountain would surely be a tourist destination.
"Brother..." After a while, Xu Xinnian called out, his voice suddenly low.
Xu Qian stopped and looked at him.
Xu Xinnian glanced at him, then turned away, pretending to admire the view. "I thought about it a long time last night. If not for you, Father would have been executed, and the women of our household sent to the Bureau of Music."
"If not for you, Sister Lingyue would have been in grave danger yesterday. She likely would have been bullied by that Zhou fellow."
"If not for you, the Xu family might still be clinging to the illusion of survival after our close call—until one day, we were exterminated."
He finished and strode ahead. After a dozen paces, he mouthed silently: Thank you.
...
The Second Sage's Shrine.
Xu Xinnian led his cousin up the steps, past the incense burner and into the hall. Seven-meter-tall red pillars held up the ceiling. The shrine housed the Second Sage—the founder of White Deer Academy.
In the flickering candlelight, the Second Sage wore a teal crossover-collared scholar's robe and a tall cap. One hand was clasped behind his back, the other rested at his waist, his gaze fixed on the distance.
At the Second Sage's side stood a graceful white deer, its white fur marked with faint cloud patterns.
Xu Xinnian pointed at the deer: "That's how White Deer Academy got its name."
Xu Qian said: "Scholars certainly have refinement—a white deer as a mount."
Xu Xinnian looked at his cousin and corrected: "Not a mount. A wife."
"!!!" Xu Qian re-examined the Second Sage statue and murmured: "Not much difference."
Either way, you ride... He didn't dare say it aloud.
Xu Xinnian seemed to know what his cousin was thinking. "The academy's Chronicle of the White Deer records that this deer was a demon. It sat beneath the Sage and listened to his teachings, then transformed into human form and remained by the Second Sage's side. They grew up together, their bond deep, and married."
"Human-demon romance was taboo then... as it still is. But the Sage did not oppose their union. He said: Great love knows no boundaries. So long as there is affection, human and demon may live together."
Since ancient times, human-demon romances have always had nicknames: the Necromantic Knight; the Heroic Commoner; Heaven and Earth United. So what was this Second Sage's nickname?
Calling a deer a horse... Horse's horse? Xu Qian bowed to the Second Sage's statue.
While Xu Xinnian paid his solemn respects, Xu Qian's eyes wandered. He noticed two man-height stone tablets on either side of the hall.
One was blank; the other bore an inscription.
He walked up and read: "To die for justice and repay the monarch's grace; to leave a name that lasts through all eternity.—Cheng Hui."
The characters were neat and measured—not flamboyant, not sloppy, not extravagant. They carried the steady grandeur of a gentleman.
"That was left by the Second Sage at the Imperial Academy," Xu Xinnian said, standing beside his cousin.
"The Imperial Academy's Second Sage... I've never quite understood the history of the feud between the Imperial Academy and White Deer Academy." Xu Qian was intrigued, the word "gossip" practically written in his eyes.
Xu Xinnian glanced around, and seeing no one, spoke in a low voice: "It goes back two hundred years, to the Succession Dispute."
"Succession Dispute?" Though a history novice, Xu Qian understood the term.
The Crown Prince—this was the root of the nation!
The Succession Dispute was a battle over the heir apparent.
"At the time, Emperor Renzong was on the throne. The position of Crown Prince had been vacant for more than a decade. Two princes were the leading contenders: the eldest legitimate son, and a concubine-born prince. The concubine was alluring and deeply favored by Renzong."
"Renzong intended to name the concubine-born prince as Crown Prince, but faced opposition from the entire court. He issued edicts repeatedly, only to have them rejected by the Grand Secretariat. Leading the opposition were the scholars of White Deer Academy."
"The eldest should inherit before the younger; the legitimate before the illegitimate—that was the rule since ancient times. Even the emperor could not violate it. Brother, you were right: propriety is the dragon-slaying art of scholars."
"The dispute dragged on for six full years. During that time, four Grand Secretaries fell, and court officials were purged and replaced again and again. In the capital and the provinces, over two hundred officials were implicated."