After saving the Empress, I became the top scholar in the imperial examination.

…………

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Fireworks burst into the sky one after another!

Like shooting stars, like a shower of flowers, falling from the sky.

Whether red, green, or purple, the entire Forbidden City was shrouded in a dazzling haze.

At Dong'an Gate on the east side, the red and yellow flames shifted, still illuminating half the sky.

"Kill!...Kill!...Kill!..."

"Kill without mercy..."

"Those traitors of the Heavenly Principle Sect!"

"No need to leave any survivors..."

His vocal cords vibrated as he roared.

The sound of muffled, thunderous footsteps echoed ceaselessly through the alleys, at the entrances of lanes, on the main roads, and atop the city walls.

"Waaah!—"

"Waaah!—"

"Waaah!—"

The sound waves of shouts of battle, bugle calls, and war drums spread through the air together.

The water rippled, tiles fell off, and cracks in the bluestone slabs widened.

In an ordinary courtyard house in Mao'er Hutong, a screen wall carved with landscapes is placed in front of the door, with a few strands of cold white moonlight reflecting on the landscape.

Behind the screen wall, in the courtyard, there is a stone table and four stone benches.

A Taoist nun sat on a stone bench on the west side, gently cleaning the wounds of a young man on the north side with her delicate hands, her expression solemn and earnest.

"...Kill Yongzheng? Kill the emperor? How could they possibly kill Yongzheng with such a small number of people... Not only could they not kill him, storming the palace would be suicide... Even if they did kill him, what good would it do? Would killing Yongzheng mean the fall of the Northern Dynasty? Would it weaken the Northern Dynasty... What unrealistic dreams are they having!"

The young man's bloodshot, tired eyes roared at the Taoist nun in a fierce voice!

The nun kept working and wasn't angry. She just said something that reminded the young man of something.

The young man's expression suddenly froze, he paused for a moment, his lips trembled slightly, and his eyes became somewhat lost.

After a couple of breaths, the Taoist nun said to him calmly:

"This same question was posed by the old leader to Chen Kebai and Tang Xuanzi, two predecessors who stormed into the Forbidden City and then escaped with a concubine hostage, more than twenty years ago. At that time, the old leader was still young, probably my age now."

"Han Qing... The old leader's real name wasn't Han Qing, and I've forgotten his name... The Han Qing who led Chen, Tang, and many other brothers into the Forbidden City is dead, he died inside the palace. To intimidate the people, the Northern Dynasty said he was captured alive and cut in half at the waist."

"The old cult leader had many questions in his heart, but he couldn't ask the other party anymore. He could only ask Chen and Tang."

"Chen Kebai was heavily injured, and Tang Xuanzi was no less so... Senior Chen sneered, 'The leader is wise and brave, his virtue is boundless. What business is it of yours, a mere scholar? Is a leader's token so great?!'"

"The capital city was under a tight net, trying to kill us. The old cult leader, a scholar, led the remaining members of the cult... I was less than ten years old at the time, and I was among them... We hid, scattered, and fled... He led us out of the capital city."

"During this time, while all of us captured brothers were being displayed with our heads hanging in the air, the old leader went to the Meridian Gate alone and retrieved Han Qing's head..."

That night, another street performer, much younger than the old leader, also went to the Meridian Gate to retrieve his master's head. Holding his master's head, he followed the old leader back to fight his way back.

That night, he burned incense and joined the church.

Ten years later,

"Mu Ziying became our right protector."

"From that night on, the old leader changed his name to Han Qing. Han Qing was resurrected and regained control of the Heavenly Principle Sect..."

Amidst the sounds of shouts and gunfire, the Taoist nun calmly recounted some past events to the young man.

"The old leader did not approve of the previous approach of risking one's life to attack the Forbidden City. He said that we should start a rebellion in a prefecture or county, occupy a county, and then gradually make our move. All the altar leaders and incense masters in the sect agreed."

"After lying low for three years, the old leader led us in three uprisings over the next ten years, each one more powerful than the last."

"But in those ten years, we lost two seniors, Chen and Tang, more than ten altar masters, and nearly ten thousand followers."

"Ten years ago, the old leader raised his banner in Hua County, Henan, beheaded three thousand Green Standard Army soldiers, captured Hua County, and shook the world! ... But... it was useless... it was all in vain. In just three months, we failed... they didn't even send out the Eight Banners army."

"Although we defeated the Henan Green Standard Army three times and held Hua County, we were already exhausted, and they trapped our main force in Hua County."

"Some prefectures and counties that should have responded to us were quickly divided and destroyed. After being trapped for a month, the old leader led his men to break through the encirclement. We suffered heavy casualties, and Hua County returned to the hands of the imperial court..."

Sigh… Xu Xiyin’s eyes darkened, and she let out a soft sigh:

"At that time, Han Qing... Han Qing finally understood... and realized why he had so decisively stormed into the Forbidden City... It was useless. As long as there was no great chaos in the world, the Tartars' rule was as stable as Mount Tai."

"The Eight Banners, the Green Standard Army, and all the civil and military officials who came through the imperial examinations... these are all mountains weighing down on us. Their support is what the Tartars bestow upon them official positions. We are nothing but weeds, left to be slaughtered at their mercy. The old leader said... they, they are the root of the Red Sun's calamity... we cannot defeat them..."

The deep darkness of night enveloped the two of them.

The Taoist nun's voice faded away.

Ning Nanbu's left arm, bearing two horrifying knife wounds, was trembling slightly.

"Um……"

The usually serious and aloof Taoist nun smiled at the young man for the first time and said:

"The old leader said you've written many fragments. His favorite is: 'Ten years facing the wall to break through it, even if it fails, leaping into the sea is still heroic…'"

"When he failed to break through the wall, tonight he led nearly two hundred brothers from my sect to launch a feigned attack at Dong'an Gate and another to enter the Forbidden City to kill the emperor and plunge into a sea of ​​blood. This was a plan devised half a year ago."

"Saving you, the new cult leader, is just a side effect."

"Life and death are predestined; we, the followers, will all meet again in the White Sun World. You need not worry about it."

Ning Nan's face was pale, his eyes became somewhat vacant, and his lips moved but he couldn't say anything.

Xu Xiyin bandaged his wound, reached into her bosom, took out an iron plaque, placed it on the stone table, and pushed it toward Ning Nan.

The Taoist nun glanced at the token on the table, which symbolized the leader of the Heavenly Principle Sect, and finally said:

"This iron plaque was given to the old leader by Han Qing before he stormed into the Forbidden City."

"The old leader said you're right, a piece of iron plaque is indeed useless. It took him many years to get the followers of the Heavenly Principle Sect to be willing to die with him. Even if you're willing to become the leader of my sect, you still won't be able to pass this test."

"If you are unwilling, you may hand this iron plaque over to me to teach the Left Protector. The Left Protector's lineage will keep it for a hundred years."

"The Northern Dynasty's fate has not yet run out. Within a hundred years, our sect will no longer perform the rituals of restoring the imperial attire, avenging blood feuds, bringing peace to the common people, relieving their suffering, and welcoming the new year."

"Our sect will not appoint a leader; we will lie dormant for a hundred years, awaiting the opportune moment!"

Xu Xiyin, the newly appointed Left Protector of the Heavenly Principle Sect, stood up and solemnly bowed to the young man, saying in a voice:

"I am not very talented, but I was just promoted to the position of Left Protector of our sect by the old leader yesterday."

Xu Xiyin earnestly begs the leader to have pity on the poor and weak, and to help those in distress and danger…

"Let not the common people suffer further from that century-long calamity of the Red Sun!"