Way of the Devil

The night went by without a word being said.

Lu Sheng did not make any unnecessary movements. He merely replenished his body with Yang Essence gradually to prime it for the cultivation that would ensue.

He woke up early next morning before the sun was even up.

With the maidservant waiting on him, he freshened up and tidied himself. He brought his spice bag and walked slowly out of the bed chambers.

There was a small landscape garden outside his bed chambers. There were artificial hills and a little stream. There was even a red square-roofed pavilion.

When Lu Sheng came out, he ran into a handsome young lord. His hands were rummaging through the bosom of a female guard. They flirted like nobody else was there.

Lu Sheng searched Huang Jing’s memories, and instantly recognized this young lord.

Yuan Jikong, the eldest son of the prince mansion’s garrison general. Like Huang Jing, he led a life of debauchery without the slightest scruple, and spent his days in a drunken stupor.

Huang Jing would stay sober for a day or two sometimes, and be filled with grief and indignation over this colossal empire which was slowly approaching its end. However, this other person was completely different.

Yuan Jikong was dissolute in nature, handsome, and with a father who was of a high office. Naturally, he had trampled countless ladies.

He, Huang Jing, and another Shi Tonghao were notorious for their behavior in the Huan Jiu area around the prince’s mansion. Everyone knew about them.

Lu Sheng understood that Yuan Jikong and Shi Tonghao were actually acting without scruples by using the Moon Prince mansion’s name.

However, compared to the two of them, Huang Jing did not often indulge in women—he was more of a man of booze. His body was in the red only because he was led further astray by these two while in a drunken state.

“Oh? Big Brother, you’re awake? I was surprised to learn that no maidservants did you any service last night. I heard that you’ve had quite a drink. Pray tell, is there something bothering you?” When Yuan Jikong saw Lu Sheng, he immediately pushed the female guard away and walked over.

“What brings you here this early?” Lu Sheng mimicked Huang Jing’s dry tone.

“Didn’t we make a promise? Have you forgotten, Big Brother? The Jiusang Mansion’s General Chen Kai has sent a huge gift over. He’s hoping the crown prince will show mercy and let his daughter go.” Yuan Jikong walked over and giggled.

“If you ask me, you should take the gift and that Chen Qiuhan! You’ve seen that girl, Big Brother. With those looks, even in the small Jiusang Mansion, she’ll be coveted sooner or later. It’s better for you to take her as a concubine as soon as possible!”

“We’ll talk about this later. I’m on my way to meet my father. You coming?” Lu Sheng said drily.

“No thanks…” When Yuan Jikong heard that he was going to meet the Moon Prince, the smile on his face immediately froze, and he dared not speak nonsense.

Just because the Moon Prince doted on his son, it did not mean that he was lenient to others.

This prince had one of the shortest tempers among the dynasty’s nine princes. Although he was not skilled in martial arts, he had three great generals leading tens of thousands of soldiers under him. He held control over the several great provinces and zones in the surroundings. He could be said to have strong soldiers, sturdy horses, and a great force.

The princess Ning He hailed from a rich family. The Ning Family was in charge of almost half of the perfume and cosmetics supplies of the dynasty.

With his strength in men and money, even the emperor paid attention to him, let alone ordinary forces.

“That can’t be right, didn’t the prince go on a punitive expedition against the other clan to the west the other day?” Yuan Jikong was suddenly stunned.

“Is that so?” Lu Sheng smacked his own forehead. His memories were foggy. There was not much about what had transpired yesterday. It was clear that when the Moon Prince left, this host was in a drunken state, and could not even think straight.

“Well, what do you say, Big Brother? Do you want to go and see this great gift the Jiusang Mansion has brought?” Yuan Jikong started smiling again.

“I’ll pass.” Lu Sheng frowned. “Don’t even mention this. By the way, can you find out if there were any Taoist skill elites in the city recently?”

In his memories of Huang Jing’s connections, although this Yuan Jikong was not a wonderfully capable person, he was trustworthy enough.

In two past assassination attempts, Yuan Jikong had thrown himself before him as a human shield.

“Taoist skill elites?” Yuan Jikong was stunned. When he finally processed the request, Lu Sheng had already left him.

The crown prince’s abode was a detached and separate building. Lu Sheng crossed a wide road and walked into a larger park.

According to customs, he had to pay his mother Ning He a visit first. However, this custom existed in name only.

Ning He had always been cold. Although she was the princess, she did not care much about the Moon Prince and her own son. She filled her days with playing the zither or reading books.

Lu Sheng went into the yard and saw a sweet, fair, and graceful woman standing under the eaves far away. Two servant girls supported her weight carefully between them.

Since he could not meet the Moon Prince, he settled for meeting this biological mother of his who oversaw the internal affairs. Lu Sheng could not shake the feeling that this world resembled the Investiture of the Gods which he had read on Earth. There was Nüwa, immortals, and two great sects that were going against each other.

However, his current priority was to find a way to come into contact with this world’s main system.

In other words, Taoist skills.

“Greetings, Mother.” As he got near, Lu Sheng mimicked Huang Jing’s manner and bowed respectfully toward the princess Ning He.

“Arise. This is unlike the sloppy you, being up so early. Is something the matter?” The princess glanced at Lu Sheng, and returned her gaze to the book in her hands.

Lu Sheng sized this biological mother of his. Her seductive body aside, her facial features were dignified and beautiful, her skin tender, and her hair was black. From a distance, she did not resemble a princess at all. Instead, she resembled a young lady of the noble families who was steeped in the four arts[1. Probably zither, chess, painting, and calligraphy (in their Chinese versions).].

She did not have the imposing manner of a princess.

It was said that Ning He fancied another man of a noble family before this. They both loved each other. However, the Moon Prince chanced upon her one day. To appease those with higher power, the Ning Family sent Ning He to the Moon Prince’s mansion the next day.

Unexpectedly, Ning He was pregnant with the crown prince after merely a night of special favor from the prince. Huang Jing was born. The mother’s honor increased as her son’s position rose. In addition to that, with the head of the Ning Family’s strategic planning on embarking on punitive expeditions, they finally made Ning He a princess.

However, since Ning He was forcibly torn away from her past love, she was very cold to her own son and the Moon Prince. She was not close to them.

The Moon Prince merely treated her as a plaything and the marriage as a business deal. If Ning He had not born him a son, she would not have been able to become the princess.

“It’s true that I have something to ask of you, Mother.” Lu Sheng went through the information about this woman in his mind.

“Tell me, which family’s daughter caught your eye this time?” The princess put her book down. She looked at Lu Sheng with a slight look of scorn.

“That’s not it…” Lu Sheng hastily shook his head. “I’ve been reading some novels recently and I admire the immortals very much. I wonder if our Moon Prince Mansion is capable of inviting one or two of these immortals?”

“Immortals?” The princess was slightly stunned. Although she was steeped in the four arts, she was not an ordinary woman who knew nothing about other matters.

Although there were not many immortals, as the emperor’s relatives and the Moon Prince Mansion’s forces, they should be able to invite one or two of them.

She muttered to herself for a while. Then, she carefully observed Lu Sheng’s expression.

“If you’re really interested, there’s a Taoist in your maternal grandfather’s place. It’s said that he has quite the cultivation base. I’ll see if I can send him over here for you.”

Lu Sheng was delighted. His maternal grandfather’s family would get on the prince mansion’s good side in various ways. In addition to that, they were rich merchants to begin with. Their network was shockingly wide. If they said they could find them, they certainly could.

“Thank you, Mother!” Lu Sheng immediately cupped his fists and offered his thanks.

“If you’re really interested in Taoist skills, you should read more Taoist books when you head back.” The princess seemed to be tired. She started to ignore Lu Sheng as she turned around and went into her room.

Lu Sheng maintained his posture where he stood. He only turned and left after the princess had entered her room. He went back to his own courtyard.

‘Being the crown prince is really convenient.’

With his request being settled this easily, Lu Sheng felt the weight lift from his shoulders. When he was crossing the road between two courtyards, he suddenly heard faint shouting sounds from afar.

‘Are those the prince mansion’s guards doing their morning training?’ Lu Sheng guessed in his heart.

Lu Sheng walked along the road, and soon saw a spacious field. Dozens of people stood scattered in the field as they carried out their own training.

Some of them lifted rock weights; some of them stabbed their hands into a basin of sand; some of them rammed themselves into trees bare-chested; some of them sparred with weapons; last but not least, some of them threw punches in the air.

There was a variety of styles, but Lu Sheng roughly understood the mainstream martial art of this world with a single glance.

These were the personal guards of the Moon Prince Mansion. They were cream of the crop. However, these people were only cultivating ordinary outer skills. Immortal skills and Qi aside, they were not even seen cultivating inner skills.

‘Either they’re being suppressed by the gods, or…’ Lu Sheng’s heart was slightly heavy.

He returned to his own yard. He had someone set up a table and serve some nice dishes and wine, and then someone else delivered the relevant information to him.

He browsed through the information and waited for a little while longer. A servant girl of the princess quickly brought a white-haired old Taoist over.

This old Taoist wore bluish-black robes and sported a long beard. His face and skin were a healthy sheen of red. With an exquisite, silver handle horsetail whisk in hand, he appeared to be a learned and erudite person with the perfect appearance.

“Greetings, Crown Prince. This humble Taoist is Zhuang Wuyou. My Taoist title is Wu Youzi. I hear that the crown prince is interested in learning about Taoist skills. May I know what aspect of the skills are you looking into?” When the old Taoist saw Lu Sheng, he immediately showed his true colors, and was all smiles.

Lu Sheng sized this old Taoist up. He smiled ingratiatingly, and was full of careful flattery.

The information in his hands clearly outlined the background of this old man. It seemed that he was a deserter from a small sect. The only thing he knew about was the spitting and swallowing art which was used to strengthen the body. He knew nothing else.

When he was employed by the Ning Family, he exaggerated his own skills. He told them that he could spit the essence of the world and harvest the Spiritual Essence of the sun and the moon.

However, as the years gone by, everyone knew that the only thing exceptional about this old man was that his constitution was better than ordinary people’s. At most, he could wear less layers when it was cold outside. Besides that, nobody ever saw any of his other skills.

‘Oh yeah, I think this old man knows a Bronze Hill Longevity Fist. It was a health-maintenance cultivation method similar to the Five Animals Art. Although it’s not very useful, this old Taoist is quite eloquent. He’s familiar with the Taoist books. Also, as a person from a Taoist sect, he should know much insider information.’

“I see, it’s Taoist master Wu Youzi. Taoist master, to tell you the truth, I’m recently interested in Taoist skills. I wonder if you’re familiar with these legendary magical Taoist skills?” Lu Sheng asked directly.

“Taoist skills?” Wu Youzi was all smiles just a few moments ago. However, when he heard the words Taoist skills, his face scrunched up.

“Crown Prince, you might not know this, but the Taoist skill this humble Taoist cultivates in cannot be displayed to another person. Also, my Taoist skill is weak. At most, I have better tolerance to heat and cold. If you’re asking about the legendary and magical Taoist skills, I’m afraid my master is the only who…”