Chapter 1607: The Writing Reflects the Writer
Not long after, Tần Mục's surrender memorial appeared in Hạo Thiên Tôn's imperial study.
Hạo Thiên Tôn unrolled the memorial and read it carefully, unable to contain his delight as he burst into loud laughter.
The more he read, the more pleased he felt. The various clever little thoughts hidden between Tần Mục's lines made him clap his hands and laugh heartily. He could discern from the words Tần Mục's unwillingness, fear, despair, helplessness, and blustering bravado, as well as Tần Mục's greed for power and reluctance to part with his status.
"With barely two thousand words in this short memorial, Mục Thiên Tôn has managed to dissect his own heart so cleanly and clearly. Truly brilliant literary talent, no less than a great master of prose!"
Hạo Thiên Tôn said to the Grand Chancellor beside him, "After I finish reading it, you shall read it aloud to me."
The Grand Chancellor acknowledged the order.
Hạo Thiên Tôn continued reading, then could not help but laugh heartily again, and commanded, "Bring me wine! How can one read Mục Thiên Tôn's surrender memorial without wine to enhance the mood?"
Soon, divine attendants presented fine wine. Hạo Thiên Tôn drank while admiring the memorial, praising, "Brilliant prose, brilliant prose! It truly should be printed in hundreds of thousands of copies and distributed across the myriad worlds, so that all gods and demons may read it... Damn that Mục Thiên Tôn!"
Suddenly he flew into a rage, the wine cup in his hand shattering with a crack, wine splashing across the floor.
Hạo Thiên Tôn's face was contorted with fury as he stared fixedly at that line of text—indeed, the words "already asleep" written by Tần Mục.
In the imperial study, no one knew why he was angry. They exchanged bewildered glances and dared not speak.
"That damn Mục Thiên Tôn! Wasting heavenly gifts, defiling a goddess—a crime unforgivable! And this wretch dares to come boast to me! I want his head!"
Hạo Thiên Tôn could not suppress his rage. He slammed his palm down, shattering the writing desk to pieces, and rose furiously, "I won't kill him yet! Drag his envoy here! I want to cut off his head to vent my anger!"
The Grand Chancellor hastily said, "Your Majesty, even warring nations do not execute envoys. Moreover, Mục Thiên Tôn has come to surrender. If Your Majesty kills his envoy, how would Mục Thiên Tôn dare to surrender?"
Hạo Thiên Tôn's chest heaved with fury: "If I do not kill, my anger cannot be appeased!"
The Grand Chancellor hesitated, then said, "Your Majesty, if one cannot endure small things, one will ruin great plans..."
Hạo Thiên Tôn glared at him: "What harm is there in me killing one envoy? Mục Thiên Tôn has angered me—I'll first have Hư Thiên Tôn wipe out half of Diên Khang's population! Go! Bind that envoy and bring him to me!"
The Grand Chancellor dared not speak further and hurried away.
At that moment, Ngọc Thần Tử was at Bạch Ngọc Quỳnh's Quỳnh Hoa Thiên Cung. Bạch Ngọc Quỳnh knew he was the envoy from Diên Khang and, to avoid suspicion, refused to see him.
Ngọc Thần Tử lifted his robes and, with a thud, knelt outside the gates of Quỳnh Hoa Cung, causing passing deities to stop and stare.
Fearing the matter would escalate, Bạch Ngọc Quỳnh hastily ordered someone to invite him in, and complained, "Envoy of Diên Khang, you are far too reckless. I am of the human race, and you kneel at my doorstep. If word spreads, others will think I am colluding with your Diên Khang! Did Mục Thiên Tôn send you? That old rogue always tries to put me in a difficult position!"
Ngọc Thần Tử rose from his seat, then knelt again, weeping loudly, "Bạch Thiên Sư, please save the human race!" With that, he kowtowed repeatedly.
Bạch Ngọc Quỳnh hurriedly helped him up, but Ngọc Thần Tử remained kneeling, unwilling to rise, holding up Tần Mục's jade pendant with both hands, choking with sobs, "Mục Thiên Tôn, for the sake of the human race, his hair turned white overnight. Feeling that there was no longer any path of survival for humanity in heaven and earth, he wept until he fainted, only waking after six or seven days. He said that only Bạch Thiên Sư can save the human race from extinction."
Bạch Ngọc Quỳnh's expression was complicated. She did not take the Reincarnation Jade Pendant, and said, "If Mục Thiên Tôn surrenders, Hạo Thiên Đế would not necessarily insist on exterminating the human race. I fear Mục Thiên Tôn still harbors thoughts of staging a comeback, or even thoughts of a fight to the death, which is why he thinks I can help him win."
She also had an identical jade pendant, refined by Tần Mục to save her life.
Tần Mục had refined a second such pendant, clearly to ask for her repayment.
But this pendant, she dared not accept, nor did she want to.
Ngọc Thần Tử's heart trembled slightly, silently praising this woman for her extraordinary intelligence.
"Bạch Thiên Sư, Mục Thiên Tôn has truly reached the end of his rope, with no path left."
Ngọc Thần Tử wiped away his tears and said, "As a human, can Thiên Sư truly bear to watch the human race be exterminated? Even if Mục Thiên Tôn surrenders, the human race will still be fish on the chopping block, at the mercy of others!"
Bạch Ngọc Quỳnh sighed and said, "What do you want me to do? I am a Heavenly Court Thiên Sư. I will not side with the human race simply because I am human. However, if it is of no great consequence, I can help you somewhat, but you must not expect too much."
Ngọc Thần Tử's spirits lifted greatly: "Mục Thiên Tôn dares not ask for too much—only that Thiên Sư go see Mạnh Vân Quy Mạnh Thiên Sư."
Bạch Ngọc Quỳnh's gaze fell upon his face. She was silent for a moment, then said, "Mạnh Vân Quy, Senior Brother Mạnh, is also a human Thiên Sư. Though he ranks as the Second Thiên Sư, even Thương Bình Ẩn is no match for him. He would be more than qualified to be the First Thiên Sư, but how could a human be the First Thiên Sư of the Heavenly Court? That is why Thương Bình Ẩn can still hold the title of First Thiên Sư."
She walked two steps around the kneeling Ngọc Thần Tử, then stopped and said, "All of Mục Thiên Tôn's schemes might fool Thương Bình Ẩn, but they cannot fool Mạnh Vân Quy. Mạnh Vân Quy places greater emphasis on power and profit, values his own life more, and is more slippery. If you try these little tricks before him, you cannot hide them from him at all."
Ngọc Thần Tử felt a chill in his heart and said, "Mục Thiên Tôn asks for nothing else—only that Bạch Thiên Sư go see Mạnh Thiên Sư, so that when he raises his blade against his own kin, he raises it a little higher, allowing some fish to slip through the net and survive."
Bạch Ngọc Quỳnh closed her eyes and let out a faint, long sigh. Then she opened her eyes, reached out, and accepted the Reincarnation Jade Pendant, saying, "My opinion, Mạnh Vân Quy will still listen to. I will go see him. You can rest assured."
Ngọc Thần Tử kowtowed heavily again. Bạch Ngọc Quỳnh, feeling vexed, waved her hand and said, "Go, go! Do not come to my Quỳnh Hoa Thiên Cung again."
Ngọc Thần Tử rose and took his leave.
He had not yet walked out of Quỳnh Hoa Cung when suddenly the Grand Chancellor led a host of heavenly soldiers and generals filing in, storming into Quỳnh Hoa Cung, throwing the entire palace into an uproar.
"Bind him!" the Grand Chancellor waved his hand and shouted.
The heavenly soldiers and generals swarmed forward and, without explanation, locked Ngọc Thần Tử in chains and bound him tightly.
Bạch Ngọc Quỳnh hurried out, frowned slightly, and said courteously, "Grand Chancellor, the envoy sent by Mục Thiên Tôn is also my nephew, here to request surrender. What crime has he committed? Why must he be seized and punished?"
The Grand Chancellor said, "There is a problem with the surrender memorial he delivered. His Majesty flew into a rage upon reading it and wants to personally cut off his head. Originally, I would not have dared to barge into a Thiên Sư's residence, but His Majesty ordered it, so I had no choice but to intrude. I ask Thiên Sư to grant me this face."
Ngọc Thần Tử said, "Auntie, this is most likely a misunderstanding. Auntie need not worry about your nephew. Once I explain to His Majesty, the misunderstanding can be resolved."
Bạch Ngọc Quỳnh stepped forward and straightened his robes for him, saying, "Rest assured, I will find a way to preserve your life."
Ngọc Thần Tử breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that she was not speaking of his life, but of the life of the human race.
In the imperial study, Ngọc Thần Tử was brought forward under guard. Before the divine general could kick the back of his knee, he had already taken the initiative to kneel with a thud.
Hạo Thiên Tôn was holding the surrender memorial, reading it carefully, and said with a smile, "In this memorial, Mục Thiên Tôn put in quite some effort—he even listed all of Diên Khang's wealth. He is quite thoughtful."
He closed the memorial, and his expression darkened.
Ngọc Thần Tử chose that moment to shiver. Hạo Thiên Tôn's mood was clearly much better than before, but seeing him reminded him of that displeasing passage in the memorial. He said indifferently, "Mục Thiên Tôn sent you here, so you must be a silver-tongued fellow. I have hated silver-tongued fellows all my life..."
"Your Majesty, the old rogue Mục is using a borrowed knife to kill!"
Ngọc Thần Tử hastily cried out in protest: "Your Majesty must not fall for the old rogue Mục's scheme!"
Hạo Thiên Tôn let out an "oh" and laughed, "You mean Mục Thiên Tôn wants to use my hand to kill you? What virtue or talent do you possess? Why would he not simply eliminate you himself, instead of borrowing my hand?"
Ngọc Thần Tử stiffened his neck and said, "The rogue Mục is dissolute and licentious. I repeatedly admonished him, which earned his displeasure. But I am a disciple of the Dao Ancestor, so he cannot kill me without cause. That is why, for this surrender, he threw me out to die! I know all of Diên Khang's foundations inside and out. He is fooling Your Majesty in that memorial! He has secretly kept much of his wealth for himself, planning to take his beauties—Lãng Oản Thần Vương and Diên Tú Đế among them—and live a life of pleasure after surrendering!"
Hạo Thiên Tôn was taken aback, then laughed and shook his head, "You are measuring a gentleman's heart with a villain's yardstick. Mục Thiên Tôn has fought against me for so many years—he is not that kind of scoundrel."
Ngọc Thần Tử said, "Your Majesty, after he surrenders, he plans to take his beauties and riches back to Dũng Giang to herd cattle!"
Hạo Thiên Tôn laughed so hard he could barely straighten up: "The esteemed Mục Thiên Tôn is actually a cowherd?"
The Grand Chancellor beside him quickly added, "Your Majesty, this Mục Thiên Tôn indeed started as a cowherd. Your servant has already investigated thoroughly. In his early years, Mục Thiên Tôn herded cattle at Dũng Giang—the character 'Mục' in his name comes from that. Diên Tú Đế often affectionately calls him 'the cowherd.' Your servant's informants in Diên Khang say that Diên Tú Đế is searching for her old father and plans to abdicate, likely to go herd cattle with him..."
"Is that so?"
Hạo Thiên Tôn was astonished: "My mortal enemy is such a person?"
Ngọc Thần Tử said, "Your Majesty, after the old rogue Mục returned from U Đô, his Dao heart collapsed. He kowtowed, he prostrated himself, crying to heaven and earth with no one answering. He was preparing to come surrender and beg for forgiveness, making a complete spectacle of himself. It was Lăng Thiên Tôn, Nguyệt Thiên Tôn and others who forcibly dragged him back, but the old rogue Mục was set on surrendering, so he wrote the memorial. I was right there at the time. Because the old rogue had been defeated by Your Majesty's brilliant strategy, old grudges and new hatreds surged up together, and he sent me as the envoy to take my life!"
Hạo Thiên Tôn became interested and said, "You were there when he wrote the memorial? Tell me in detail!"
Ngọc Thần Tử then recounted Tần Mục's state of mind when writing the surrender memorial—though of course he omitted the part where Tần Mục was building up his emotions.
He gestured as he spoke, vividly and expressively, imitating Tần Mục's manner while writing the memorial with remarkable accuracy. Hạo Thiên Tôn roared with laughter.
Ngọc Thần Tử said, "The writing reflects the writer. Your Majesty can summon masters of calligraphy and painting to study the memorial, and you will know whether your servant has deceived Your Majesty."
Hạo Thiên Tôn was also cautious by nature. He glanced at the Grand Chancellor.
The Grand Chancellor quickly said, "Under Văn Xương Tinh Quân there is a group of divine beings skilled in calligraphy and painting. They can be summoned to examine Mục Thiên Tôn's handwriting."
Hạo Thiên Tôn waved his hand, and the Grand Chancellor hurried off.
Hạo Thiên Tôn glanced at Ngọc Thần Tử, who was still kneeling below, and said, "Rise. If what you say is true, I will spare your life."
Ngọc Thần Tử kowtowed repeatedly, then climbed to his feet.
Before long, Văn Xương Tinh Quân led his prized disciples to pay respects to Hạo Thiên Tôn. They requested the surrender memorial and studied it carefully. Indeed, the emotions in every word and phrase were interpreted by these great masters of the Dao of calligraphy and painting, with little difference from what Ngọc Thần Tử had described.
Hạo Thiên Tôn laughed and said, "The human race's talents—the elder son Tần Nghiệp, the younger son Tần Mục. The elder has already died by my hand, and the younger has also had his Dao heart destroyed and returned to being a cowherd. I can rest easy now!"
"Your Majesty, wait!"
Suddenly a voice came from outside the imperial study, arriving before its owner: "If Your Majesty trusts your servant, then first drag this Diên Khang envoy out and behead him, then immediately dispatch troops to attack Diên Khang!"