Chapter 840: Answer (Makeup for Yesterday)

Chapter 840: The Answer (Making up for yesterday)

"Say whatever comes to mind, treat it as mere idle banter. Once you become the emperor, there isn't even a single soul left to share idle gossip with." Gao Zhijian poured out his grievances to Li Huowang.

"Heh, do you truly believe I came all this way just to indulge in idle banter with you?" Li Huowang tossed aside the pebble in his hand, idly brushing the dirt from his palms.

"Naturally not, but before we delve into official matters, consider it a kindness to accompany me in conversation. Even speech within the palace walls is strictly governed."

"You are the Emperor, who could possibly govern you?"

"I am the Emperor, and so the rigid rules of kingship naturally govern me. They govern how I dine, how I speak, and how I carry myself before others."

As they spoke, the silken flock of concubines from the inner palace came rushing forward, murmuring their grievances to Gao Zhijian.

An expression of sheer impatience crossed Gao Zhijian's face, and with a few terse words, he dismissed them. Pointing a thick, calloused finger toward the retreating figures of the women, he spoke with profound distaste: "I detest them. Their minds are entirely consumed with nothing but bedding me! The mere sight of them turns my stomach."

"Heh, those words of yours would drive every man under heaven mad with envy."

"Ah, Senior Brother Li, you do not understand. If you were thrown into the inner palace for three months, you would comprehend."

"Cough! Cough, cough!" Beside them, an old eunuch cradling a horsetail whisk began to cough fitfully.

"Gao Zhijian, speak words befitting an emperor, or else this old eunuch will cough himself to death right here."

"Hahaha!" Upon hearing this, Gao Zhijian seemed to find it immensely amusing. He slapped his own knees and threw his head back in a roaring laugh.

The laughter gradually subsided, and his countenance slowly turned solemn.

With a wave of his sleeve, the surrounding attendants immediately retreated, forming a wide, distant perimeter.

Li Huowang took a deep breath, drew the twin spine swords from his back, and tossed them casually onto the ground.

"Senior Brother Li, you are still sending grain to the Great Qi, are you not?"

"Yes, indeed," Li Huowang answered as though it were the most natural thing in the world.

"Do not begin your usual lecture just yet! Listen to me first!" Li Huowang's words caused Gao Zhijian to close his mouth.

"Do you still remember the past? In the days of old, the people of Great Qi and the people of Great Liang lived perfectly well. I do not wish for Great Qi to vanish, nor do I wish for Great Liang to perish."

"It is not entirely impossible for them to coexist! The previous state of affairs was maintained by both sides for a thousand years. Did that situation bring any harm to Great Liang? I desire nothing grand; I simply want both sides to return to how they originally were."

Seeing that Gao Zhijian remained silent, Li Huowang questioned him, "Where did that rhetoric you spouted earlier originate?"

"From the ancestors within the Dragon Vein."

"Is what the Dragon Vein decrees necessarily correct? What they say might not be true; it is entirely possible they are deceiving you!"

"I once had a friend, he was a true gentleman," Li Huowang continued.

"He was a storyteller. He once sought to inform the people of Great Liang that Great Qi truly existed."

"If it were truly as you claim—that two distinct histories cannot run parallel and that the populace of one must be sacrificed—then he would absolutely never have chosen to be a mere storyteller! There is undoubtedly some deception afoot!"

Gao Zhijian gazed at the distant fields where the eunuchs were cleaning up after him, and slowly spoke, "Senior Brother Li, you say the Dragon Vein might deceive me, but could it not be that your friend deceived you as well? Was everything he uttered truly the absolute truth?"

"You!!" Li Huowang gritted his teeth, his fists clenching tight. Just as the hearts of the distant eunuchs leaped into their throats, Li Huowang slowly unfurled his fingers.

"He is dead. That friend of mine has been dead for a very long time. It is true he might have deceived me, and I cannot be certain if there were falsehoods among the tidings he gave me."

"However!" Li Huowang’s tone grew heavy with conviction, "However, in a matter of this magnitude, he is the one person who could never deceive me. He was incapable of committing an act that would result in the deaths of everyone in the entire world!"

"If he were truly capable of such a deed, he would absolutely never have deceived me for the sake of the common people under heaven! Nor would he have taken his own life over such a wretched business!!"

"Therefore!" Having uttered this, Li Huowang panted heavily, "Therefore, can you not wait just a little longer regarding this matter? Senior Brother Li begs of you."

"You have known the pangs of starvation yourself. Do you know how many souls in Great Qi are starving to death? Do you know what manner of despair it is for a six-year-old child to be driven by hunger to gnaw on the flesh of her deceased mother?"

"She did not even comprehend that her mother was dead. I had no choice but to utilize the tricks of the Sitting-Forgetting Way to deceive her, keeping her under the illusion that her mother still lived!"

After a prolonged silence, Gao Zhijian slowly spoke, "Senior Brother Li, if something truly threatens Great Liang, as a good emperor of Great Liang, I must prevent it. Only then am I a good sovereign to Great Liang."

"I know, of course I know, but there is still a turn of events. Great Qi will not necessarily pose a threat to Great Liang."

"At present, Great Qi has merely taken a portion of Great Liang's grain. Rest assured, once Great Qi possesses an abundance of grain, I shall bring it back jin by jin. I will absolutely never allow Great Liang to suffer a loss!"

"Great Qi might even nurture Great Liang in return, and the two lands could even engage in commerce!"

Gao Zhijian brushed the dirt from his robes and stood up, "Senior Brother Li, your friend was no immortal. What he believed is not necessarily correct."

"Then is the Dragon Vein definitely correct? When they drew breath, they too were merely mortal! They were no immortals either!"

Gao Zhijian shook his head, turned, and departed in that manner.

The attendants gradually withdrew, leaving Li Huowang alone to face this fraction of an acre of unplanted earth.

"Rest easy, I am here." The voice was intimately familiar, so familiar that Li Huowang did not even need to turn his head to know who it was.

"What the Emperor decides to do, can you, a mere member of the Directorate of Astronomy, truly obstruct? Let it be. This is a matter for elders; do not entangle yourself in it."

Li Huowang did not wish for Li Sui to be drawn into this. If the Directorate of Astronomy of Great Liang truly clashed with the Emperor of Great Liang, it would be a catastrophe for all involved.

Li Huowang stood up as well, slid his hand into Li Sui's crimson Daoist robe, and gently caressed her head, "Be good. This is my affair, and I can resolve it myself. Do not intervene."

"If he intends to slay you, should I still not intervene?"

"Yes."

As Li Huowang spoke, he drew his spine sword and slashed forcefully to create a rift, stepping directly through it.

Where the farmland of Great Liang sat, its counterpart in Great Qi was the main hall of Zhendeng Temple. The monks within the hall naturally recognized Li Huowang and showed no great reaction.

However, the words Li Huowang had spoken before his prior departure had left everyone in Great Qi deeply unsettled. The moment news of his return arrived, Chan Du immediately hurried over.

"Benefactor, how did it fare? Did you speak with them? For what reason do they wish to strike?"

"We spoke. As for why they intend to move against me, the Emperor of Great Liang believes that if your realm prospers, it will pose a threat to his side." Li Huowang delivered this answer with profound bitterness.

"The Emperor of Great Liang?! Benefactor Li?! Was it truly the Emperor of Great Liang who acted?"

Chan Du's immense astonishment left Li Huowang somewhat bewildered by the situation. "Did you not know this previously? Why such a violent reaction?"

Chan Du hastily pressed his palms together, beginning to revolve his prayer beads. "Amitabha. This poor monk never once suspected the Emperor of Great Liang. This poor monk presumed they hailed from other realms."

"What?! There are other worlds?!" Now it was Li Huowang's turn to be stunned; at this moment, it felt as though a thunderclap had erupted directly above his crown. "Such a vital matter, why did you not inform me sooner!!"

"Does... does this even require stating? Did Benefactor Li not know of this long ago?" As Chan Du spoke, he extended a hand toward the five glittering golden statues of the Buddha within the hall.

"In the center resides Vairocana of the Vajra Realm; in the east, Akshobhya of the Abhirati Realm; in the south, Ratnasambhava of the Srimat Realm; in the west, Amitabha of the Sukhavati Realm; and in the north, Amoghasiddhi of the Prakuta Realm. Because the Buddha governs the five realms of Buddhism, he is called the Five Wisdoms Tathagata."

With each name Chan Du uttered, Li Huowang's mouth opened a fraction wider.

"Why is Benefactor Li so astonished? Did you not possess knowledge of this long ago in the past?"

Li Huowang was so consumed by fury that smoke practically rose from his crown. "The worldviews of every single one of your sects and factions contradict one another completely!! How could I possibly divine which of your notions is real and which is false!!"

Happy New Year to everyone. Tomorrow is New Year's Eve, so I will take a two-day rest. Updates will resume on the second day of the Lunar New Year. I ask for everyone's understanding.

(End of chapter)

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