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In Linzi, Great Qi, at the Donghua Pavilion.

Originally a warm pavilion for resting, it gradually took on extraordinary significance because the current emperor often read, discussed minor matters, and met with ministers there.

The emperor had been on the throne for fifty-eight years. Holding court in the Zijí Hall, cultivating in the Dele Palace, and reading in the Donghua Pavilion had almost become routine.

People at the time said: Those who could often enter and exit the Donghua Pavilion were all in the emperor’s sacred heart.

A hunched old man wearing a broken leather hat, a tattered jacket, and carrying a white paper lantern walked in inauspiciously. The Jin Gua warriors standing at the door seemed unaware.

Han Ling, the chief eunuch, stood silently attending to the emperor.

Li Zhengshu, who held the elegant title “Donghua Scholar,” sat with his hands tucked in his sleeves.

Inside the pavilion, it was quiet and the lamplight was warm. Only the blind old man’s footsteps were unhurried.

The Qi Emperor put down the book he was reading, lifted a finger, and gestured for a palace maid to bring a large chair. He kindly said to the old man, “Mister, you’ve worked hard. Please sit.”

The old man did not sit.

He placed the white paper lantern on his back and bowed to the emperor. “Although I receive the emperor’s great love… I am in shabby clothes and a dirty body, I dare not be presumptuous.”

The Qi Emperor did not force him, only sighed, a bit wistfully, “When was the first time I saw mister?”

Candle Age thought for a moment and replied, “It was in Your Majesty’s first year as Crown Prince.”

“What did you say then?” the emperor asked.

Candle Age replied, “This old minister avoided the seat, called himself the one who carries the lantern and patrols the night, and said the white paper was inauspicious.”

“Then what did I say at that time?” the emperor asked again.

Candle Age said, “Your Majesty said, ‘A bright lantern in the long night, even if it illuminates the netherworld, it still points the way forward. How is it not inauspicious?'”

This blind old man, in the warm lamplight, spoke of events from many years ago, a story that Li Zhengshu did not know, nor did Han Ling.

“Then Your Majesty at that time stretched out your hand and said to this old minister, ‘This is the lonely one’s hand. Flip the palm down,’ saying ‘this is for inauspicious,’ and then flipped the palm up again, saying ‘the world is greatly auspicious.'”

Li Zhengshu’s handsome face was silent.

Covering the palm makes the world inauspicious, lifting the palm makes the world greatly auspicious. What kind of spirit was that!

When the current Your Majesty was still the Crown Prince of the East Palace, he already had the ambition to cover the world with his palm, and also possessed the ability to realize it.

Candle Age is the leader of the Night Watchers and Beat Watchmen in Great Qi, an organization that has guarded the Jiang clan’s dynasty since the time of the Martial Ancestor. He is a powerful figure.

In Your Majesty’s first year as Crown Prince, he went to find Candle Age, and that conversation happened. What does this explain?

It explains that even when the emperor was still in the East Palace, in his first year as Crown Prince, he had already mastered the world, controlled the court both inside and out, and had even begun to take back into his palm the most private branch of power of the successive emperors.

Successive court changes inevitably involve bloodshed. And no wonder when the emperor succeeded to the throne that year, there wasn’t even half a ripple!

What made him even more silent was this: He, Li Zhengshu, was called the “Donghua Scholar,” and also the “Cloth-robed Great Official.” He often sat with the emperor to read, play chess, and discuss politics, counting as one of the emperor’s most trusted people.

But regarding the matter Candle Age spoke of, he was completely unaware. The emperor’s heart encompassed the universe.

The emperor was like a dragon, with only half a scale or a claw visible outside the clouds.

After quietly listening to Candle Age finish speaking about that year, the Qi Emperor said with emotion, “I have never regarded mister as inauspicious. Mister is the one who cures inauspiciousness! Without mister’s night patrol, how could I sleep peacefully?”

Candle Age bowed his head. “This minister is terrified.”

The emperor said again, “How is Marquis Wu’an?”

Candle Age paused slightly, clearing away all irrelevant emotions, and then said, “Marquis Wu’an killed Yu Guangyuan, defeated Ao Huangzhong, and forced the Dingmao domain into the human race’s camp. He chased after Ao Huangzhong for a day and a night, stopping only before the great army’s ambush. On the way back, he proactively attacked again, joining forces with Qin Zhen of the Xunhai Tower to repel the Blood King Yu Xinzhou. Later, the Great Prison King Zhong Xi made a move, and this minister repelled him.”

He narrated Jiang Wang’s experience in the labyrinth completely, without adding any subjective ideas.

The emperor repeated with satisfaction, “Genius wise teacher Yu Guangyuan, young famous general Ao Huangzhong.” He accurately stated the characteristics of Yu Guangyuan and Ao Huangzhong.

It should be known that he governed the vast Eastern Domain, which included the Southern Summer and extended to the nearby sea. His territory was not only tens of thousands of li, but his subjects also far exceeded a hundred million. Every day he had to handle affairs like mountains and seas… and yet he was actually so familiar with a casual false king within the labyrinth!

Li Zhengshu was just extremely admiring in his heart when he saw the emperor look over, his eyes burning. “Qi Xiao said that Marquis Wu’an’s military strategy is insufficient, and of course she has her judgment. But warfare, in the end, still depends on victory and defeat, doesn’t it? The Li family is a military family for generations, what do you think, Zhengshu?”

This question was very dangerous.

Either go against the holy will, or confront Qi Xiao, and also go against his conscience, and also bet on the reputation of the Li family as a military family for generations.

Smart people never make a choice.

Li Zhengshu replied sincerely, “The Li family is indeed a military family for generations, but the Marquis of Destroying the City is my younger brother, not me. I have studied Confucianism since childhood, and on military strategy… I really cannot intervene.”

Although he didn’t serve in the government, he still held a scattered position as a Wenlin Lang and had the name of discussing politics, so he could still be called a minister.

The emperor’s tone was playful. “Just chatting, why are you nervous?”

The more relaxed the Qi Emperor’s tone, the more serious Li Zhengshu’s tone became. “Military national affairs, how can you ask an outsider? This minister can play chess and discuss history, but military matters… alas! I can’t speak! Otherwise, what is this minister doing visiting the Hall of Military Affairs?”

“Old slick!” the emperor scolded. He turned his head back to look at Candle Age. “Mister, why do you think that Zhong Xi made a move?”

Candle Age said without any fluctuation, “He said he received an urgent letter from his blood descendant Ao Huangzhong, standing up for a junior.”

“Do you believe him?” the emperor asked.

Candle Age expressed his own opinion for the first time. “Half believe.”

The emperor’s tone was composed. “The sea tsunami is about to arrive. Let’s see how Qi Xiao sails the boat.”

Candle Age stood below the steps, wanting to speak but stopping.

“Mister, do you have something to say?” the emperor asked.

Candle Age spoke deliberately, “Since Your Majesty delivered the ruins of the Ku Rong Institute that year, this minister has immediately sat there with my Dharma Body for decades, never leaving for a moment. This time I went to sea to complete Marquis Wu’an, and I had to respond with my peak combat power. Therefore, my Dharma Body and Dao Body merged, and I followed into the labyrinth.

Although I swept the ruins once before leaving the capital, I am still uneasy.

Now, this mere Report Body, dealing with several petty thieves, still has oversights. Sitting in the Ku Rong Institute… I fear it will not be able to catch them.”

“Zhao Cangwu” said: One must merge the Dharma Body and Dao Body to derive the Dao. It is said to be the key step from the Dongzhen realm to the Yan Dao realm.

After reaching the Yan Dao level, the Dao Body cultivates moment by moment. The absolute majority of peak powerhouses usually walk the world only with their Dharma Body. Only at critical moments requiring life-and-death battles do they merge their Dharma Body and Dao Body to manifest their peak combat power.

Of course, the Dharma Body acting alone, after all, has insufficient power and the risk of being damaged, which is very detrimental to the Dao. The specific situations are all in each person’s choice.

As for the Report Body that Candle Age spoke of, it is his own divine ability. It is not named Report Body; he just uses this Buddhist term to refer to it.

After listening to Candle Age’s worry, the Qi Emperor simply waved his hand. “I have my own plan.”

Candle Age thus bowed. “This minister takes his leave.”

The leveling of the Ku Rong Institute was a matter of the twenty-ninth year of Yuanfeng. Time flew, and now it was the fifty-eighth year of Yuanfeng.

A full twenty-nine years had passed. Could there still be waves in the Ku Rong Institute?

As the eldest son of the concubine of the Shimen Li clan, Li Zhengshu understood the events of that year, but he was unclear how the twenty-nine years within the ruins had flowed after the Ku Rong Institute was leveled.

He silently looked at the lines on his palm, only listening and not speaking.

And the emperor quietly looked at the hunched back of the blind man carrying the lantern, watching him leave the Donghua Pavilion.

On Candle Age’s body, that tattered jacket hid some warm light. So in this warm and spring-like Donghua Pavilion, he also had some flickering dimness.

Until that figure disappeared, Han Ling, who had been standing silently by the side, lightly said, “Master Candle Age’s body is simple and plain, thus the upper follows the lower, and the Beat Watchmen all love to dress like this.”

This Han Ling, he doesn’t even know who is behind him when he talks nonsense! Li Zhengshu was a little annoyed and looked again at the needlework on his sleeve.

He only heard the emperor say, “The Martial Ancestor’s heroic strategy, I also often think of it.” Only this one sentence.

This needlework was truly beautiful, a loving mother’s thread, a wandering son’s clothes!

Li Zhengshu’s birth mother died early, and he was raised by Old Matriarch Li since childhood, also regarding the old matriarch as his biological mother. At this moment, he missed home a little.

The Qi Emperor sat there quietly for a while, then suddenly repeated softly, “Repel the Blood King Yu Xinzhou…”

He picked up a memorial beside him, and dusted it off with satisfaction. “Initially in the Dele Palace, I asked him what he would report, and he answered that the heaven’s proud son of Qi would conquer the heaven’s proud son of the world. Now he has won outside the heavens.”

The emperor’s wise eyes recognized people, having long seen the extraordinary nature of Marquis Wu’an. He was naturally greatly wise.

But… don’t leave out Qin Zhen!

The Blood King might not have been repelled by Jiang Wang. At most, he beat a side drum. What are you so proud of here?

My life, Li Mouren, is one of not liking to boast. Although I have a good family friend relationship with Marquis Wu’an, I cannot bear to steal his thunder and falsely claim his name!

The emperor’s hand holding the memorial paused in mid-air, as if waiting for something. Li Zhengshu quickly said, “Your Majesty, this statement is wrong!”

“Oh?”

“The holy emperor governs the vast world, encompassing ten thousand realms. How can it be only the present world? In this minister’s view, Marquis Wu’an is still conquering the heaven’s proud son of the world, just as he said before in the Dele Palace!”

“Jade gentleman ah, jade gentleman, you this person…” The emperor reached out and pointed at his Donghua Scholar, but said nothing else.

He then opened the memorial in his hand. “There is one more matter. You and I can discuss it.”

Li Zhengshu bowed. “This minister will try to listen.”

The emperor looked at the memorial and said, “In Qi Xiao’s secret report commenting on Marquis Wu’an’s military strategy, there is still one sentence. She said she made a move to wipe away the disaster on Marquis Wu’an, but the disaster on Marquis Wu’an seemed not serious initially… What do you think she meant by these words?”

Li Zhengshu did not hesitate this time and replied directly, “Commander Qi is telling Your Majesty that she already knows about your dispatch of Master Candle Age to protect Marquis Wu’an.”

“And then?”

Li Zhengshu said, “Given Commander Qi’s style, she will certainly put Master Candle Age to use.”

Constantly accompanying the monarch, knowing when to be wise and self-preserving, and when to be sincere. The measure of this is not something ordinary people can grasp.

Many ministers entered the Donghua Pavilion, and not a few accompanied the emperor to play chess and read books. Why was only he, Li Zhengshu, called the “Donghua Scholar”?

That was also due to some real skill!

“This Qi Xiao.” The emperor was a little helpless. “Does she have such a big appetite?”

Li Zhengshu said, “This minister does not understand military affairs, but occasionally I will gamble a little. The wealthy have their way of gambling, and the poor have their way. Usually, on the gambling table, the wealthier one is, the more money one can win.”

“Qi Xiao wishes to illuminate the way forward with the white paper lantern. How can she not again place Marquis Wu’an in danger?” the emperor said. “He returned from the demon realm with great difficulty, and should have rested for a year or half a year. His hurried return to the labyrinth may all be due to my intentions.”

Li Zhengshu pursed his lips and did not speak.

“Stop, stop. In the field, one must have one’s own judgment.” The Qi Emperor put down the memorial. “Since I have appointed Qi Xiao to military affairs, entrusted her with life and death, and utilized her brave strategy, how can I sit in court and point fingers!”

“Your Majesty is wise!” Li Zhengshu’s shout was extremely loud.

The emperor looked over. “Then what do you think Marquis Wu’an should do?”

Li Zhengshu lowered his head. “Considering that Your Majesty already has a plan, this minister dares not speak randomly.”

The emperor looked out the window at the five-person embraced floating mountain old osmanthus, which had not yet seen autumn colors. His voice was leisurely. “Yu Shangqing wrote a lyric a few days ago, it was not bad.”

Li Zhengshu said, “The Peach Blossom Immortal is a romantic character.”

“He has been idle in court appreciating flowers for more than a year. He can go out and relax.” The emperor said, “He also drank wine with Marquis Wu’an, didn’t he?”

Han Ling lightly bowed, and his figure had already disappeared from the Donghua Pavilion.

People always come and go, and the world remains as usual.

Drinking wine is only wine when drunk by old drunkards. Common people mostly drink human emotions, and some, neither common nor elegant, drink emotions.

For Marquis Wu’an to feast with friends, the Dingmao Floating Island naturally brought out its cellar, of course, it was not that good. But it was strong enough and in sufficient quantity.

Fang Yuanyou came up to the building carrying a large wine jar, just in time to hear his Marquis lightly describing encountering the Blood King Yu Xinzhou.

His hand trembled, almost dropping the wine jar.

Fortunately, the entire wine building was very quiet, and no one noticed him.

“Ah?” Zhu Biqiong’s eyesight was not as good as Zhuo Qingru’s. She didn’t know exactly how Jiang Wang was injured. Hearing about the Blood King, she couldn’t hide her panic. “How are you?”

Jiang Wang raised his hand to gesture, his tone calm and confident. “No harm.”

Zhuo Qingru borrowed drinking tea to cover her shock, and involuntarily re-examined this heaven’s proud son of Great Qi.

But Jiang Wang also didn’t truly rely on someone else’s name. He only said, “Fortunately, I was traveling with True Person Qin at that time. That elder helped block it.”

“Which True Person Qin?” Zhuo Qingru asked.

Jiang Wang said, “There is no second True Person with the surname Qin in the labyrinth at this moment.”

Zhuo Qingru’s eyes flickered, and she subtly glanced at Zhu Biqiong. The Blood King’s terrifying divine ability might not be easy to block. Idle cultivators would die without even getting a glimpse of it. A True Person of the Xunhai Tower, is it that easy to help? Especially a heaven’s proud son of the Qi country?

Zhu Biqiong breathed a sigh of relief. “True Person Qin doesn’t care much about mundane affairs, perhaps she doesn’t understand you enough… uh, I mean, I mean, she, she…”

Her mood fluctuated too much, and for a moment her mouth was clumsy. The more she tried to explain, the more unclear she became, so anxious that she wanted to use a record of the Eight Sounds Burning the Sea. Completely losing her usual indifferent and serious senior sister appearance.

Zhuo Qingru kindly helped summarize. “You mean she has bad eyesight and is blinded by lard.”

Zhu Biqiong glared at her with angry eyes.

“The first time I came to the labyrinth, someone told me that all human races in the labyrinth are comrades. True Person Qin also held this belief.” Jiang Wang took over. “Fellow Daoist Zhu, do you have a way to contact your sect? True Person Qin is currently injured, and the Sea Race’s Yan King is probably pursuing her—”

“Good, I’ll go immediately!” Zhu Biqiong immediately stood up.

Turning her head, she saw Fang Yuanyou standing there holding a huge wine jar.

She turned back and pulled up Zhuo Qingru. “Senior Sister Zhuo, I don’t remember the way, accompany me!”

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