Although he hadn't studied for a year, if he were to take the exams now, passing at the highest level would be effortless.
Unfortunately, there was no point in passing the exams.
'Should I waste another lifetime becoming a powerful minister?'
The Imperial Family of the Jin Kingdom probably had its own Immortal Master Tributors from some powerful faction.
However, having dealt with the Immortal Master Tributors of the Wu Kingdom in his previous life, he knew all too well how lofty and arrogant those Immortal Masters were, viewing mortals as nothing more than ants.
Even when he controlled the court and held sway over the entire Wu Kingdom...
...to an Immortal Master, he was still just a slightly larger ant.
In this life, if he wanted to start by approaching the Jin Kingdom's Immortal Masters, who knew how many years it would take to achieve a position of power? Only then might he be deemed worthy of some slight consideration by an Immortal Master Tributor, giving him a chance to ask to become a disciple.
Rather than wasting so much time and effort, it was better to find another path.
Du Youqian recalled hearing in one of his few conversations with the Wu Kingdom's Immortal Master Tributors that Loose Cultivators appeared in the south of Wu.
'A Loose Cultivator is fine. As long as they can teach me a Cultivation Technique and set me on the path of Cultivation, that's all that matters.'
Du Youqian was in no hurry.
A person's life is very short.
But he had countless chances to reincarnate and start over.
As long as he didn't meet a violent end.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
「The Wu Kingdom, Capital City.」
A Young Man stopped and gazed at a tall, moss-covered courtyard wall.
A branch of delicate Peach Blossoms peeked out from over the wall.
A passerby smiled and asked, "Young man, why are you staring blankly at Duke You De's Mansion?"
The Young Man, speaking with a local accent, replied, "Back in my hometown, I heard stories about Duke You De and have admired him ever since. I happened to be in the Capital City on business, so I thought I'd come take a look."
"It's only normal to have heard of Duke You De's deeds; it'd be strange if you hadn't. Without him, our Wu Kingdom might have been lost long ago." The speaker's face was filled with vicarious pride.
"A pity," someone nearby sighed, shaking their head. "'The blessings of a great man are severed in five generations.' Ever since the former Duke You De passed away nineteen years ago, the Duke You De's Mansion has declined with each generation."
Listening as these enthusiastic passersby chimed in one after another, recounting the major events the Duke You De's Mansion had faced in recent years, Du Youqian could only remain silent.
After he passed away, his eldest son inherited the title.
His eldest son had little ambition and heeded his teachings, choosing to keep a low profile.
Although this led the family into a slow decline, it was actually a good thing, as they all enjoyed several years of peace.
But soon, his eldest son also passed away, and now his eldest grandson was the head of the Duke You De's Mansion.
As for this grandson of his, he had seen what he was made of back when he was still alive.
He was filial and had a decent conscience.
But his ambition far outstripped his talent, and his reach exceeded his grasp.
Just as he had expected, for more than a decade, his grandson had been single-mindedly focused on reviving the family's fortunes but lacked the means and intellect to do so.
As a result, the Wu Imperial Family grew suspicious and began to suppress the Duke You De's Mansion. Some of their former allies lost faith, growing distant and disloyal. This, in turn, caused the family's status to plummet sharply.
Even though his grandson's mother was a Princess of Wu, she couldn't protect them forever.
If his grandson kept up these frantic efforts, never mind the family's fortune being 'severed in five generations'...
...he feared their title would be stripped and the family imprisoned within this generation, or the next. Escaping the execution of their entire clan would be a testament to the Emperor's mercy.
When his grandson was born, Du Youqian had already retired, relinquished his authority, and cooperated fully with the Wu Imperial Family as they consolidated their power. He lived as a wealthy, idle nobleman, which allowed him to maintain a harmonious relationship with the Imperial Family and spend a great deal of time doting on his grandchildren.
Of all his descendants, Du Youqian's bond with him was the deepest.
Even though this grandson must now be a man in his fifties or sixties.
Yet when Du Youqian thought of him, the image that appeared in his mind was still that of a chubby-cheeked baby.
Or the image of him toddling unsteadily, his voice small and childlike as he struggled to form complete sentences.
Thinking again of his long-departed eldest son, Du Youqian clutched his chest.
A faint, twisting pain made him sigh.
He had planned to leave today to seek his immortal destiny in the south, but he suddenly changed his mind.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
「That night.」
In the Duke You De's Mansion.
The current Duke You De, Du Zhiqiu, awoke in a fit of violent coughing.
He knew it would be impossible for him to fall back asleep tonight.
Sleep came shallowly to the elderly.
After sitting in bed for a while, Du Zhiqiu decided to get up. Without waking Xiaoya, who was sleeping in the outer room, he draped a white fox-fur jacket over his shoulders and fumbled to light a candle.
"Duoduo."
"Who's there?!" Du Zhiqiu felt his blood run cold.
Duoduo was his childhood name. No one had called him that for at least forty or fifty years.
Even back then, very few people were qualified to use it.
"Duoduo, the slingshot you used to break the coral from Consort An's home... I helped you bury it behind the rockery. I wonder if it's still there?" The voice was eerie, but Du Zhiqiu was no longer afraid.
Because the owner of this voice had doted on him so much.
Even as a ghost, he would never harm him.
"Grandfather!" Du Zhiqiu cried out once before falling to his knees, unable to speak through his tears.
Memories of his childhood flooded his mind.
Those carefree, simple, and happy days seemed so precious now.
"It's still there. It's still there. Just a few days ago, I... I went to dig it up and look." After a moment, Du Zhiqiu was able to speak again.
"Is that so? It's still there? That's good, that's good..."
"Grandfather, I've missed you so much!"
"Heh, Duoduo, I always thought you were a filial child, but it turns out I was wrong."
Du Zhiqiu grew anxious. "Grandfather, I am filial!"
In this day and age, calling someone unfilial was the most vicious of insults.
Du Zhiqiu, of course, could not bear such an accusation.
"You're filial? When you were little, I taught you your letters. Do you remember this passage? 'While a man's father is alive, look at the bent of his will; when his father is dead, look at his conduct. If for three years he does not alter from the way of his father, he may be called filial.' Have you done that?"
Du Zhiqiu was silent.
He was full of ambition and didn't feel he had done anything wrong.
However, it was true that as soon as he inherited the Duke's Mansion, he had brazenly changed many of his father's strategies.
And looking back now, his actions had indeed damaged the strength of the Duke's Mansion.
In front of others, he could get angry, make excuses, or change the subject.
But before his grandfather's ghost, he was speechless.
"I must go now..."
"Grandfather!" Du Zhiqiu panicked and stood up. "Don't go! I miss you so much. Please, talk with me a little longer!"
"After you sneak a chicken leg, don't wipe the grease on your clothes."
"Grandfather! Grandfather!"
Du Zhiqiu called out several times, but he heard no reply.
He couldn't help but break down, wailing loudly.
The white-haired old man cried until his snow-white beard was matted with tears and snot.
His grandfather's last words held no special meaning.
It was just that when Du Zhiqiu was a child, he would sneak a chicken leg, wipe the grease on his clothes, and feel smugly triumphant, thinking no one had noticed he'd done something wrong without being punished.
He never knew that the adults had seen it all along.
Thinking back on it now, it was both amusing and heartwarming.
Sadly, those days were gone, never to return.
The most ordinary happiness was the hardest to obtain.
At this thought, Du Zhiqiu cried even more sorrowfully.
His powerlessness to revive the family, the endless trivialities of a large household that left him mentally and physically exhausted, the fear of death that came with his decaying body...
In that moment, all he wanted was to be a child again, to hold his grandfather and cry his heart out.
His sobs soon alerted the servants sleeping in the outer rooms. Thinking a thief or an assassin had entered the Duke's Mansion, they raised such a clamor that candles were lit throughout more than half the estate.
Amid the chaos, Du Youqian had already left the Duke You De's Mansion.
'Man is not grass or wood; who can be without feelings?'
'But while I still feel some affection for the Duke You De's Mansion now, what about after a few more reincarnations?'
'What about when my grandson's grandson's grandson is in charge of the Duke You De's Mansion?'
'Will I still have even a shred of feeling for the Duke You De's Mansion then?'
'Everything in this world is but a dream, an illusion.'
'Only the Immortal Dao is eternal.'
This further solidified Du Youqian's resolve to seek the Dao.
Having gotten his bearings, he headed toward the south of the Wu Kingdom.