Chapter 55: Temporary Retreat

Elder Qi left after staying in the Chongyang Palace for less than three days. The specific reason was that he simply could not bear the endless disturbance! Because Qiu Zhiqing, after failing to invite Elder Qi to offer him guidance directly, began encouraging Yin Zhiping and the others to seek out Elder Qi for sparring and instruction!

As this went on back and forth, Hong Qigong grew extremely annoyed. He discovered that ever since the first time he caught them off guard out of unfamiliarity and broke their Heavenly Dipper North Star Formation, they had become exceedingly cautious. His subsequent attempts to use the same trick all failed as they refused to take the bait...

After numerous rounds of sparring that consistently ended in draws, they essentially wore him out... As a result, their coordination improved significantly, and they successfully exhausted Elder Qi until he left!

More than half a month later, Qiu Zhiqing arranged the internal affairs of the sect, stating that he intended to embark on a journey of roaming the world. Having failed to wait for his master to emerge from secluded meditation, he left a farewell letter for him and descended the mountain...

***

On this day, Qiu Zhiqing lay reclining atop the Kaifeng Iron Pagoda, gazing at the bustling nightscape beneath the moonlight. North of the Yellow River lay the smoke and fire of war, yet separated by just a single river, Kaifeng and Bianliang remained as prosperous as ever.

History rolled relentlessly forward amidst such endless cycles of repetition. How remarkably similar the Northern Song Bianjing of a century ago was to the Bianliang of the Jin Dynasty at this moment! What remained unchanged was the surging Yellow River and the boundless earth; what changed were merely the mortals traversing them...

The *Complete Essentials of the Military Classics* spanned twenty chapters, divided into upper and lower parts, totaling forty volumes. Such a vital text naturally could not be stored casually. Given its utility, the most likely locations for it were the offices of the Privy Council, the inner imperial palace, or the Ministry of Works!

He had previously laid eyes on this book once within the palace city of Lin'an. At the time, he had only seen the catalog, which was kept in the archive repository within the palace. It was said that there were originally two sets—one kept within the palace, and the other at the Privy Council!

The set currently held by the Jin Dynasty was precisely the one that had been stored in the Privy Council back then...

Therefore, his primary target for tonight was the archive repository of the Ministry of Works! When the imperial city and its various administrative offices extinguished their lanterns and sealed their gates, Qiu Zhiqing began his operation.

Within the imperial city, a dark shadow flashed past. Tonight was a waning crescent moon, so there was no need to worry about being betrayed by moonlight. Taking advantage of the gap between guard patrols, Qiu Zhiqing swept effortlessly across the walls of the imperial city.

Though his speed was blinding, the sound of the wind he stirred was virtually imperceptible. By the time the patrolling soldiers turned around to check, he had already landed deep within the imperial city. Assuming it was merely a trick of the mind, the patrolling soldiers did not investigate further. After throwing a hurried glance backward and finding nothing amiss, they quickly caught up with the patrol squad...

Qiu Zhiqing silently scolded himself for being too reckless; he must not rush so much next time, and should at least wait until people had walked far enough away before moving! He looked up at the plaque: half of the characters were Chinese, while the other half were unrecognizable—likely the Jurchen script they used.

However, this script was of little practical use; they rarely even used it themselves, generally relying on Chinese characters instead. After careful comparison and spending roughly half an hour, he finally arrived at the archive repository of the Ministry of Works!

To his surprise, this massive archive repository was completely unguarded. He easily made his way to a second-floor window! Just as he was about to use his internal energy to nudge open the wooden window bolt and pull it open to enter, he suddenly felt that something was amiss.

The resistance of the window as he pulled was wrong, as if something was obstructing it from behind. Peering closely through the crack in the window, he confirmed his suspicion: a fine silk thread was tied across the inner window frame, with something small dangling from its other end.

Presumably, it was a bell-like contraption designed to sound an alarm. Abandoning his plan to enter through the second-floor window, he resolved instead to enter through the most unlikely place of all—the main front gate!

***

This was a type of spring-loaded lock very popular at the time; one merely needed to press the internal springs straight to spring the lock open! This was by no means difficult for him. Having spent years cleaning with a horsetail whisk and integrating martial arts into daily life, what he had truly practiced was the absolute mastery and control of his internal energy!

Picking up his whisk, he channeled his internal energy, and the strands of the whisk slowly extended into the keyhole. A moment later, with a faint, crisp click, the lock sprang open in response! He then carefully inspected the door to ensure no hidden mechanisms or traps had been rigged behind it.

Finding everything clear, he cautiously pushed the main door open. Strictly speaking, such elaborate caution might not have been necessary, but since this was his first reconnaissance, it was best not to alert anyone, lest he run the risk of an inauspicious start.

At that moment, Qiu Zhiqing suddenly realized the absurdity of his approach: why hadn't he simply paid a visit to the residence of some high-ranking official? Wouldn't everything have been laid bare before him then? Even if he subsequently burned the *Complete Essentials of the Military Classics* to ashes, as an accomplice, the official would never dare utter a single word about it...

It was too late for regrets now. Never mind, he might as well finish investigating the archives of the Ministry of Works first!

Before long, Qiu Zhiqing found himself immersed in this ancient encyclopedia of engineering and technology. There were exquisite tribute jewelry, diverse construction blueprints, and architectural drafts for various palaces, covering subjects including but not limited to agriculture, river management, feng shui, surveying, and mineral prospecting.

Yet he failed to find his intended target, which was to be expected—he had never genuinely anticipated finding it on the first day anyway. In his estimation, the archives of the Ministry of Works were the least likely place to house the *Complete Essentials of the Military Classics*...

And so it proved to be! Calculating the time, the hour of the Chou had just passed, and the night was still young. He might as well take this opportunity to check out the Privy Council as well!

When Qiu Zhiqing restored the Ministry of Works archive repository to its original state and arrived at the Privy Council, he discovered that the Privy Council was brightly lit and heavily guarded—far more secure than the Ministry of Works, especially its archive repository: the East Pavilion!

The defenses within were exceptionally tight, which was understandable given the desperate state of the war, and quite a few people were still on duty inside. This made things rather tricky!

To make matters worse, the East Pavilion lacked windows entirely; instead, it was designed with rows of meticulously crafted small apertures—large enough for a cat to slip through, but impassable for a human! Unfortunately, he had not cultivated any bone-shrinking arts, so this posed a genuine obstacle.

It seemed his only option was to find an official and ask him directly...

Lü Pu was a jinshi scholar who had placed high in the imperial examinations a few years prior. Due to his high ranking, he had always served within the Hanlin Academy. This did have its advantages, however—at least Emperor Xuanzong had brought him along when heading south.

Yet judging by the current situation, the Jin Dynasty likely would not hold out much longer before following in the footsteps of the former Liao Dynasty. He wondered what the Mongols were like, and whether they would treat Confucian scholars as benevolently as the Wanyan clan had.

Perched upon the rooftop, Qiu Zhiqing watched the middle-aged official sighing dejectedly down in the study below, assuming he was lamenting the impending doom of the Jin Dynasty. He even sighed internally that such fine talent had been pledged to the wrong state.

Had he known that this sixth-rank Hanlin academician was actually agonizing over whether he would be able to secure an official post under the Mongols, one wonders if Qiu Zhiqing would have been enraged enough to leap down and sever the man's head on the spot!

He would surely have wanted to inspect the man's brain to see if there remained even a shred of the scholarly integrity encapsulated by "bearing worries for the realm before all else, and enjoying its pleasures only after all else."

This was already the evening of the second day. He had waited outside the imperial city for half a day, having specifically targeted this seemingly righteous fellow beneath him...

***

Lü Pu stared at the Taoist youth who had suddenly materialized and seated himself directly before his desk. With remarkable wisdom, he refrained from shouting or screaming, and instead maintained a facade of composure as he asked, "May I ask what brings the Taoist priest here in the middle of the night? Is there any way this humble one might be of service? Pray, speak your mind."

"Those who recognize the current circumstances are brilliant men of the age. This poor Taoist requires a map showing the storage location of the *Complete Essentials of the Military Classics*. For Your Excellency, this should be a trivial matter, no?"

Seeing the Hanlin official hesitate for a fraction of a second, Qiu Zhiqing mistook him for one of those unyielding loyal ministers and unhappily remarked, "What? Do you find it terribly difficult?"

"No, no, no! Not difficult at all! May I ask if the Taoist priest is one of those people from the north?" With that, he pointed a finger toward the north.

Clueless as to what he was driving at, Qiu Zhiqing gave an ambiguous reply: "What if I am? What if I am not? What concerns this poor Taoist is whether you can provide what I want!"

Seeing the stranger's eyes narrow into a gaze that clearly betrayed killing intent, Lü Pu feared triggering a fatal misunderstanding or a catastrophic conversational mishap, and hastily explained, "Taoist priest, do not misunderstand! The *Complete Essentials of the Military Classics* is kept within the inner palace, inside the Department of History. I shall draw the route for you right now..."

"Very well. Draw it in meticulous detail, just so I can verify whether the previous person drew it correctly!" Naturally, this was just a bluff to pressure him, as this was the only official he had approached today...

It seemed this upright-looking scholarly gentleman was not quite as upright as he appeared. Before long, a map of the Inner History Pavilion within the palace city lay spread before Qiu Zhiqing.

Watching the Taoist priest intently scrutinizing and comparing the map he had drawn, Lü Pu could not help feeling a flutter of nervous tension. While secretly swallowing his anxiety, he anxiously monitored the Taoist's facial expressions, terrified that any sign of dissatisfaction might prompt the priest to deal him a fatal blow.

Noticing the tension ease from Qiu Zhiqing's face, Lü Pu finally mustered the courage to speak: "If the Taoist priest truly hails from the northern side, when the heavenly armies of Mongolia eventually enter the city, might I ask you to put in a good word for this humble one, in consideration of the meager service rendered tonight?"

Who would have guessed? The man appeared the epitome of righteousness and loyalty on the surface, yet his bones were riddled with rebellion! He had truly misjudged him... Appearances could indeed be entirely deceptive!

Though inwardly filled with contempt, Qiu Zhiqing did not voice his disdain. Instead, he walked over, patted Lü Pu on the shoulder, and smiled. "Splendid. I have high hopes for you. If my endeavor succeeds tonight, your contribution will not be overlooked. Rest easy and wait patiently!"

While he spoke of waiting patiently, what he actually meant in his heart was *never see you again*! You can just wait here for all eternity!

Seeing the visitor pull open the study door and stride out into the night, Lü Pu hastily rushed forward to check. By the time he bolted to the threshold, the intruder had already vanished without a trace...