High School of Demon Hunting

Order.

The more Zheng Qing studied these two words, the more confused he felt.

The Code is Order, rules are Order, front, back, left, right are also Order; the Three Pure Ones and Four Sovereigns are Order, Zeus is Order, Odin is likewise Order; Alpha, who advocates "freedom and justice," in Practice clings to the ancient Order of bloodline and inheritance; even the many beings of the Starry Sky, born out of chaos and blindness, similarly abide by Their own Order.

The ancients said, "The Five Elements have no constant victor, the four seasons have no constant station; the sun waxes and wanes, the moon dies and is reborn." At first hearing, it seems this World is submerged in uncertainty, yet if one thinks carefully, is this not itself a kind of Order?

Now, this question from Master Bao Yangzi seemed to further confirm some of his vague ideas—since the relevant department has its own Order, there is Mount Buzhou, and so there is The Garden of Eden, and then there is the Babel Tower; where there is a Mountain Master, there is a Garden Director, and then a Tower Master.

Then what about "Order"?

How should his "Order" be woven into such an Order?

"—You just said that ’forms of address’ are a trivial matter."

The Young Wizard principal gave a soft laugh and did not answer the Elder Wizard’s question head-on.

Master Bao Yangzi looked at him carefully.

"The fact that you do not lightly try to describe ’Order’ shows that you already have sufficient understanding of it. That is very good."

The old man nodded approvingly, then after a moment’s thought said, "—As for ’forms of address’, the ’name of Order’ I mentioned is not the same notion as the kind of labels like ’Two, Four, Five, Six’ you asked about before. In that saying, ’What the ruler governs are only names and implements; they must not be entrusted to others’... the word ’name’ divides into ’great name’ and ’small name’. The great name belongs to the Master of Names, and is what the ruler governs. Thus, ’By name one issues trust, by trust one guards the implement, by the implement one stores ritual, and by ritual one carries out righteousness.’ From a mystical perspective, your ’Order’ can be summarized in a single word: ’Li’—Ritual. Therefore the ’great name’ is of greater importance to you. In contrast, the small name belongs to the Master of Fate; it is closely bound up with you personally, yet does not concern your path of Dao. So in my eyes, it is a minor matter."

Zheng Qing stood with hands respectfully folded, listening with utmost seriousness.

Only when Bao Yangzi finished did he formally bow and offer thanks.

"Thank you for your guidance, Professor."

Ever since leaving his Teacher, it had been a long time since anyone had explained anything to him with such seriousness.

The old man waved it off lightly. "—Do not call me Teacher; you have only one Teacher. Call me ’Professor’... So, have you decided on the ’great name’ of this organization of yours?"

Zheng Qing was just about to speak when something occurred to him. He followed Master Bao Yangzi’s earlier line of sight, toward the direction of the gate of this desolate garden, and a look of sudden realization flickered in his eyes.

"Do you think ’Palace’ is a good choice?" He recalled the three blurred characters "Ziwei Palace" on the plaque over the archway outside this wasteland, and muttered, "—Order Palace?"

It was indeed a good name.

As Yiyun says, "In high antiquity men dwelt in caves and in the wild; later the Saint changed this to palaces and chambers." From its birth, gong—"palace"—has stood for a concretized Order. On the small scale, the birth of life takes place in the "uterus-palace"; on the grand scale, there is the Purple Cloud Palace where the Taoist Ancestor is said to reside. From coffin to school, from ancestral temple to official residence, and further to musical scales and etiquette, this character seems to capture to the greatest degree the meaning of the word Order.

This should also be the name preselected for Zheng Qing by the relevant department.

Only, he did not like it.

For no good reason, he felt that using "Palace" to stand for Order carried a kind of deathly stillness—this misgiving perhaps comes from the Imperial Palace, perhaps from ’palace punishment’, perhaps from the very notion of "walls" that the word itself conveys.

To sit high up "in the Palace."

Indeed can make one feel as if one holds the Order of the world in one’s grasp.

Yet Zheng Qing felt that Order should be something more full of vitality, more brimming with life, vigorous and lively. Not a concept saturated with boundaries and constraints.

"You don’t like it?"

Master Bao Yangzi keenly sensed the subtle emotion carried in the Young Wizard’s tone.

"May I choose another name?" the young man countered.

"This is the safest name." The old man cautioned him carefully.

Zheng Qing fell silent for a few seconds, then in the end still shook his head. "—Compared with the title of ’Palace Master’, I still prefer to be called something like a bookstore manager."

"A bookstore?"

Master Bao Yangzi clearly knew of San You Bookstore. He frowned slightly, his gaze falling upon the Law book hanging at the young man’s waist. "You want to take ’book’ as your Name? An Order Book?"

Zheng Qing nodded, then shook his head.

"It is shu as the Name, but not ’Order Book’—instead, ’Order Tree.’"

He explained lightly, "Compared with a palace, in my eyes the concept of Order conveyed by a ’tree’ possesses more life-force... a kind of beauty of Order that is unconfined. ’Order Palace’ is too solemn, too stiff, too lofty. I prefer an Order that sinks its roots into the earth and touches the Starry Sky."

Master Bao Yangzi’s expression grew grave. His hands slipped into his sleeves and began to calculate swiftly.

After a while, he gave a very slight nod.

"You are the one in charge of Order; this is a matter you may decide for yourself." Clearly, the name "Order Tree" also met the expectations of the relevant department: "—As it happens, The Garden of Eden has just sent you a sapling of Xuanhuang Wood; you may plant it at the headquarters of your Order. Perhaps, many years hence, it will grow into a great being that supports the entirety of your Order."

Zheng Qing touched the Emerald ring on his hand.

"You do not mind that the person responsible for the ’Order Tree’ is a ’store manager’?" Because the question he had expected never came, he finally could not help but ask it himself.

Master Bao Yangzi cast him a meaningful look.

"I don’t have any compulsive disorder. Whether you call yourself a ’Tree Man’ or not has nothing to do with me."

He patted the Young Wizard principal’s shoulder, half in jest. "Uncertainty is itself a kind of Order. The Tree of Order can grow on Mount Buzhou, can grow in The Garden of Eden, can grow beneath the Babel Tower... You are not the same as Them... So, in my view, you need not force yourself to pick a ’store manager’ title just to resemble those three. Calling yourself directly ’Order Chief’ is also very good."

Zheng Qingyuan had thought that he was already quite ’radical’; he had not expected this old man to be even more free and easy than himself.

This made his understanding of the relevant department much clearer.

While he was still pondering, the hand resting upon his shoulder suddenly pressed gently down.

The Young Wizard looked up at the old man.

"—Last of all... that you were willing to return and take up the responsibilities of the Edge Academy or the relevant department, I am very glad."

In Master Bao Yangzi’s tone there was a trace of gratification. "For a Wizard like you, possessing Legendary strength and with a Forbidden Curse at your side, carefree freedom ought to be the greatest happiness. You clearly could squander this World at will—disregarding Dao, spurning constraints, ignoring rules, merely savoring the Legendary Wizard’s legendary life, and bearing no responsibility at all. But you did not. You came back. The Saint said, ’He who bears the filth of the state is called the lord of the altars of soil and grain; he who bears the misfortunes of the state is called the king of all under Heaven’... You are very good."