Chapter Text
Winter in Gusu had always been chilly and bitterly cold.
There's barely any snowfall. The ground was covered with withering grass. In the Cloud Recesses, the remaining evergreen shrub was the Pine Trees.
Lan Xichen walked unhurriedly on the meticulously swept stone path. His destination was another private residence secluded within another part of Pine Forest in the Lan Clan's mountains. At the end of the road, a courtyard began to appear clearer, with the plaque reading "Songshi" hung solemnly on the residence.
He looked up at the courtyard and raised his fist to his lip, coughing lightly, before knocking on the door. "Uncle. It is me, Xichen."
It's time for another discussion.
The Uncle and Nephew sat facing each other.
Lan Qiren initiated the conversation first, speaking in a low voice, "I hope you are here to explain properly what you have done."
Lan Xichen chuckled lightly. "Uncle, in your words, it sounds like I have done something wrong."
"After sending a troublesome treasure all of a sudden without prior notice, are you in the position to deny your misstep?"
"Xichen apologies for the sudden arrival of the Mirror. However, calling an Immortal Treasure a troublesome thing..."
"Otherwise? Too much wealth will evoke greed. Trouble will come from others' envy and covetousness. And you still wish to display the Mirror to the whole world!" Lan Qiren snapped the book in his hand.
His eldest nephew, on the other hand, raised his hand to pacify him, "Uncle, please calm down. Naturally, Xichen knows the consequences of showing one's wealth and power."
GusuLan had always been modest. It wasn't like they had no destructive techniques. They just hid them away in their Forbidden Library. It wasn't like they didn't have peculiar treasures. They just stored them safely in the Treasure Pavilion.
If Lan Xichen was just sending back the Kunlun Mirror and letting it be hidden within their Sect, it wouldn't be so much of an uproar. However, the Sect Leader's choice to reveal this controversial treasure to the public elicited doubts and worries from the Clan members. Including Lan Qiren himself.
"You said you knew the consequences, then let me ask you, Lan Xichen, do you think that you are so powerful, enough to stand against the world? Are you assuming your Lan Sect is mighty enough to bear everyone's various sentiments? Do you think everyone will just happily agree to let our Clan possess this Immortal Treasure? Have you never thought that some people will raise their objections, thinking the Treasure should be in better hands?"
Saying it needed to be handled in better hands, but in reality, others couldn't let the Lan Clan own such a treasure. When dissatisfaction arose, chaos would be inevitable. People would resort to anything to get the treasure. They'd try to find anything to prove that the Lan Clan wasn't suitable to hold it.
At that time, the peaceful tranquility that the Lan Clan had been maintaining, would be gone.
Lan Qiren's face turned grave as he spoke another sentence, "...Were you blinded by power, because of Wei Ying?"
"I have not been blinded by power. Neither will I."
Facing Lan Qiren's obvious agitation, Lan Xichen remained calm and collected.
"Uncle, as you have mentioned, when others desire something that we have, they can resort to anything. But, Uncle, just because we are afraid that others might covet what we have, are we supposed to just remain stagnant? Just like what we were back then? When QishanWen came to the mountain, we were left helpless. Is it alright to keep going like this? When someday others want to trouble us, they can just trouble us. When others decide to do something to us, they can just do it."
Lan Qiren's eyes narrowed. "So you want strength? Does that justify your behavior of chasing power and fame?"
Lan Xichen laughed at this. "Uncle, Please do not misunderstand. What Xichen wants is not the power to rule others, but the power to protect ourselves."
The room went into a stale silence for a while. Lan Xichen remained composed. The stare from his Uncle that seemed about to drill a hole in his being didn't make even the angle of his smile falter.
It was Lan Qiren who snorted at last. "Tell me. What are you actually planning?"
Lan Xichen took out a scroll from his sleeve and placed it on the table. "What Xichen wants," Once the thick paper was unraveled, the content was finally revealed. It was a map of their Cultivation World. "...Is a Reconstruction of our Society."
Before Lan Qiren commented on anything, Lan Xichen added, "Uncle, this is not a sudden reckless move or a whimsical vision. I am aware this is not an effortless endeavor. However, someone needs to do this. We have to do this. Otherwise, our Cultivation Society will deteriorate sooner or later."
"Deteriorating society?" Lan Qiren sneered. "What basis do you use to judge the world as so?"
"Uncle, Where did Wangji get his title from? Hanguang-Jun, appears wherever the chaos is. Since young he has been known for night hunting in various places, be it major hunts or small cases. Xichen has some doubts. There are more than enough Cultivation Clans spread throughout the regions, but how did Wangji able to get entitled as such?"
Lan Xichen stared at his Uncle and smiled. "That is because most Clans do not care about their area. If there is no death report, they won't come to take care of it. That is why Wangji can be known."
"...And what about it? They are the affairs of other Clans."
"What Uncle said is true. They are indeed other Clans' affairs. However, this is affecting the situation in our society as a whole. There is only one Hanguang-Jun but countless regions. No matter what, it is not enough. On the other hand, Rogue Cultivators are afraid to hunt on the same ground as a Cultivation Clan. Otherwise, if they were to meet a descendant from the Clan, conflicts similar to what happened in Baifeng Mountain before, between a Clan descendant and Rogue Cultivators, might occur."
"There are conflicts. But why do you call it a deteriorating society?"
Lan Xichen looked surprised. "Uncle, if things keep going on like this, Cultivation itself will someday perish."
"Perish? That is one presumptuous assumption you have made." Lan Qiren frowned in disapproval.
"Uncle, let's start thinking in this way. The current atmosphere has made people feel hardship as Rogue Cultivators, someday there will perhaps be no more of them. Nowadays, the descendants of the Cultivation Clan can decide they just want to take care of things until there is a death report. In the future, they will start thinking of only taking a big case to seek fame. However, solving big cases without training on trivial cases first will dull their ability. As a result, they might not be able to solve the big case at all. The inability to solve things may discourage them. In the end, Cultivators will think as long as they form a Golden Core it is enough, even without any battle skill. But without honing, how could one's Cultivation be tempered and advanced? Despite having a Golden Core they are no different than mortals. Then, they will think, why bother to cultivate? Is it not enough to play politics and be a rich man?"
Lan Qiren fell silent. Of course, he would not rebut it with "So what if Cultivation World will die out? What does it matter with you? With us? Why do you have to step forward?". Those words, regardless of his personal feelings, shouldn't be uttered as a gentleman.
"As Xichen has confessed, this is not a reckless move or a sudden whim. I started to think about it months ago, when Wei-Gongzi first showed me his creations. I have a hunch they will be essential to the general masses. Afterward,"
Lan Xichen gestured toward the map on the table. "Not long ago, I had some discussion with Lianfang-Zun. It was regarding the plan for building Watch Towers in the regions where it is not monitored by Cultivation Clans."
His Uncle immediately countered, "Are you sure he is proposing entirely to benefit common people? Is it not overlayed by another purpose, changing the Supervisory Offices into Watch Towers? Those who control the Watch Towers will also control the entire Cultivation World. It is said monitoring regions, but it will be up to them which incidents need to be reported and which will be covered?"
"Naturally Xichen has also thought of this." Lan Xichen laughed helplessly.
It was to be expected for his Uncle to be so distrustful. Recalling about LanlingJin's recent conduct and the black history of Lan Xichen's Sworn Brother, Lan Qiren who hated people with misconduct the most, would be the first to doubt.
To be fair, if it were him in the past, Lan Xichen would definitely have zero vigilance over his Sworn Brother.
If Jin Guangyao said it was to benefit the common people, then it was true. Lan Xichen would never have thought about that hardworking young man who silently bore prejudice, to use them for anything else, such as intercepting any news about the Jin Clan's dirty laundry in remote areas.
He paused for a while before explaining, "Regardless of its risk, the idea itself is a beneficial project. So long as some people do not misuse the Watch Tower to manipulate other Clans or for their own benefit. Nevertheless, I think that is worth a try."
"So you are planning to work together with LanlingJin? QingheNie as well I assume?"
Lan Xichen shook his head. "They are indeed, will be our partners. But to be exact, this project needs the participation of all the Cultivation Clans."
"How are you going to convince them?"
However, before Lan Xichen gave any reply, Lan Qiren's pupils contracted slightly as he eventually realized. "The Kunlun Mirror."
He looked at Lan Xichen who was smiling in front of him. "...I see...so that is why you need to ascertain fame to convince others?"
"It is not so much of seeking fame." Lan Xichen modestly corrected.
The eyebrows in the older gentleman knitted slightly.
Even though the tone of his voice was no longer as resistant as before, he still uttered another doubt, "The construction of Watch Towers will need a lot of money and resources. Even if you can convince other Clans, they are not going to happily hand you over their resources. If you are going to rely on the wealth of LanlingJin, it's just the same as giving them a handle to get an account from us in the latter days."
Lan Xichen smiled and took out another scroll.
Lan Qiren, "..." I strongly feel De Javu with this kind of scene.
As expected, when the scroll was unraveled once again, Lan Xichen started to elaborate, "Wei-Gongzi, as Uncle has been informed, he's working on some research these days. It is about the teleportation array that we originally used to transfer Kunlun Mirror back here. However, Wei-Gongzi decided to modify the array further. Uncle?"
Noticing the weird look that his Uncle had on his face, Lan Xichen had to stop his explanation and carefully inquired, "Is something the matter?"
Lan Qiren, "..."
I just knew it!
It always ended up with that Wei Ying!
Even so, he rigidly replied, "Continue what you have to say."
After making sure that the Uncle was really alright, Lan Xichen continued, "Previously, the Teleportation Talisman only worked on humans. It is a high-quality Talisman itself, rarely used by Cultivators unless necessary. Besides, It expended a huge amount of Spiritual Energy upon activation, and only Cultivators with some decent Cultivation were able to utilize it. Not to mention that it will take a long time for that lost Energy to be gained back."
The Talisman could transfer people hundreds of miles away at once, but why didn't they regularly use it? Obviously, because the loss outweighed the gain. It wasn't something anyone could use, and at any time.
"That being said, after our first modification, the runes can be transformed into an array. The array itself can transport Spiritual Treasures. Now, Wei-Gongzi has modified it even further. The array can be activated without exhausting Spiritual Energy from any Cultivators, by utilizing Spiritual Veins from the Earth."
Lan Qiren understood immediately. "You mean to say, you are going to connect between regions with Teleportation Gate?"
"Exactly." Lan Xichen smiled.
Afterward, his face turned serious once again. "Uncle, this is what Xichen says a Reconstruction for our Society. The first step has been partly done, fortifying Rogue Cultivators as another formidable force on their own by equipping them with Nighthunting tools and knowledge sharing—— The second step is to revitalize the Cultivation Society. Let's stop this rotting process of Cultivators abandoning their passion to Cultivate, and Kunlun Mirror is the key——Furthermore, this change can not just be done by one Sect or two Sects, that's why we have to start the Watch Tower project to gather everyone's participation—— However, distance is something that people find hard to conquer. The farther the distance, the more people feel disconnected from the ongoing project——That's why we will cut the distance with this Teleportation Gate!"
The existence of auxiliary tools in Nighthunting would incite more exploration.
More exploration meant more resources to be found. More cases to be solved.
The existence of Watch Towers was the physical manifestation of a Communication channel. Better communication meant, no more cases to be delayed.
Teleportation Gate ensured transportation pathways across the entire region from North to South, from the Mountains to Sea. Guaranteed access across all regions meant, alliance and exchange between Sects would no longer be strictly divided by area.
"Who doesn't want to arrive from Qishan to Gusu in just a blink of an eye without exhausting any energy in the days of flight using a sword? Besides," Lan Xichen's voice became strangely low. "This is not just for Cultivators. But also for mortals. Those with no Spiritual Energy..."
The one who modified the array was Wei Wuxian.
Obviously, he would make the most cost-effective product that could be used by a Waste with low Spiritual Energy like himself!
But if the Teleportation Gate could even be applied to mortals, then, "...It will be a tremendous change." Lan Qiren remarked.
"It is." Lan Xichen agreed. "But we can not do everything at once. Everything must have started one by one. Cultivation Society will first be the receiver."
What did it mean to have all regions connected? It meant no longer news being delayed. It meant, no barrier of distance. When the obstruction of distance had been lifted, then the exchange of techniques, knowledge, culture, economics, and other sectors would be evenly spread out. No more regions were left behind.
It meant the booming of commerce. It meant wealth. It meant prosperity. It meant resources! Every Clan had their own private properties and businesses to maintain their enormous spending. Who didn't want to get more resources?
Lan Qiren asked with difficulty, despite already having a hunch in his heart, "You said before, how to take care of money and resources to build the Watch Towers, what does it have to do with this Teleportation Gate?"
Lan Xichen smiled widely. "Of course...by the fact that someone who understands how to assemble this Teleportation Array is only Wei Wuxian."
Lan Qiren, "..."
In the past, Wei Wuxian could say "Even if I don't wear clothes, what can anyone do to me?"
And no one refuted it.
So, today, if Wei Wuxian refuses to build the Array in your region, what can you do to him??
In other words, I told you to participate in the Watch Towers construction for your own good, you better listen!
Everyone else could connect their region with others, if there was a chance to expand the wealth of their Clan, how could anyone be willing to be left in the cold?