Chapter 120: Great Figures See No Right Or Wrong
Liu Changsheng, returning to the Dragon God Hall, glanced at the paper documents piled on the desk, pondered for a moment, and then handed these paper documents one by one to the lively candle flames to play with.
A candle flame topped with a piece of paper wandered half a circle in the fire pit, after which that piece of paper disappeared without a trace.
When Liu Changsheng picked up the last piece of paper and looked at the report on it about the Divine Dragon appearing at Tianzhu Mountain, he finally handed this piece of paper to an eager candle flame.
The reason people find many things mysterious, or think many figures are intelligently unattainable and decisively ruthless in a shocking way.
Actually, there’s no need; it’s just that the heights occupied are different, and the information received is different. Just like Liu Changsheng—with a single order, through his understanding of Yun Ce’s life, plus Liu Changsheng’s profound cognition of this world, and his deep understanding of Shehuo.
Yun Ce basically has no secrets from him.
Although Liu Changsheng’s understanding of Yun Ce all came from inference and speculation, with no evidence, for someone like Liu Changsheng, what need is there for evidence? What he says, what he understands, what he infers, that is ironclad proof.
The Divine Dragon did not appear in Chang’an to receive worship from ten thousand people, but went to remote Chuyun Prefecture—this matter is hard for others to understand, but for Liu Changsheng, who has memorized the entire continent’s history so thoroughly and scrutinized every detail so meticulously, this matter is not hard to understand.
After all, more than twelve hundred years ago, it had already happened once. That time, the Divine Dragon descended upon Haikun Prefecture, and immediately after, waves over a hundred meters high appeared there, sweeping across the Ground for thousands of miles.
Later on, on the battlefield between the Han People and the Gui Fang people, an army appeared claiming to be survivors from Haikun Prefecture, and the leader of this army called himself Huo Qubing!
1 This time, the Divine Dragon appeared in Chuyun Prefecture, and then a wildman who was first called Liu Chang’an and later called Yun Ce walked out from the Wasteland. Although this person appeared very low-key before the Great Han people.
1 In Liu Changsheng’s eyes, however, he was as glaringly obvious as the sun.
1 The Dragon Pearl was lost in Chuyun Prefecture—that must mean Yun Ce took it.
1 Shehuo was lost in Chuyun Prefecture—that must mean Yun Ce took it.
1 The first matter was just suspicion, but the second matter was something Liu Changsheng had personally verified. In this world, no one is more familiar with Ancestral Fire and Shehuo than him. As soon as he approached Yun Ce, he felt the warmth that only Shehuo could make him feel.
1 Although he didn’t know where Yun Ce had hidden Shehuo, Liu Changsheng was still firmly convinced that Shehuo was on Yun Ce.
1 With the second matter as proof, then the first one needed no further evidence. That is, Yun Ce took the Dragon Pearl; otherwise, he could not control Shehuo.
1 The reason he left the fairyland-like Dragon God Hall was originally just to bring back the Shehuo wandering outside, and by the way see if Yun Ce was actually useful. If useful, keep him temporarily and let him develop; if not, arrange more spiritually gifted women for him to see if local women mating with people from the Ancestral Land could give birth to even more outstanding offspring.
1 In short, the opportunity is rare, and no waste can be allowed.
1 Until he personally saw papermaking at Yun Family Manor, and unheard-of farming technology.
2 Huo Qubing brought new order to the Great Han: it was soldiers, it was war, it was new territories.
2 Now it seems Yun Ce brings to the Great Han new farming technology, new inventions and creations from the Ancestral Land, or perhaps even more civil governance methods from the Ancestral Land.
2 These are very important, even more important than the Emperor’s life.
2 In view of this, Liu Changsheng handed all the news related to Yun Ce to the candle flames to play with.
2 “Great Elder, Imperial Consort Yu requests an audience.”
2 Liu Changsheng, who was teasing the candle flames, had his gaze darken slightly, then placed his hand on the little Taoist’s head. After a moment, he shook his head helplessly and said to the little Taoist, “Qing Feng, you have been cultivating for quite some time; it’s time for you to go down the mountain.”
2 The little Taoist lifted his tear-filled face and knelt before the High Priest, saying, “I just feel that some things, if not done, would make one unhappy.”
2 Liu Changsheng smiled gently and said, “You are not wrong; the one who is wrong is Imperial Consort Yu. She shouldn’t have stirred up your longing for your mother. Let Imperial Consort Yu come in, and then you go down the mountain.”
2 The little Taoist kowtowed three times in succession, then turned and left the Divine Dragon Hall, seemingly not attached to the place at all.
2 When Imperial Consort Yu entered, the High Priest once again lazily leaned against the fire pit, unwilling to move for a long time, like an old cat that had lived many years.
3 “I want little Huo Qing to open a mansion and establish a banner in Chang’an, recreating the former King Huo Mansion.” Imperial Consort Yu prostrated herself at Liu Changsheng’s feet, speaking her most unreasonable demand in the gentlest voice.
3 “In the end, you still devoured the Essence Spirit left by Huo Qubing. Don’t you know that was an opportunity for Huo Qubing to return to the Human World?”
3 Imperial Consort Yu prostrated herself on the ground again and said softly, “I want it faster; if any slower, my beauty will be gone.”
3 The High Priest smiled, raised his hand, and pointed at Imperial Consort Yu with the Golden Striker, saying, “Essence Spirit transforming into soul—you think Huo Qing is Huo Qubing. Have you not considered that you nurtured him and gave birth to him, so you are his mother?”
3 “What does a mother’s beauty have to do with her son?”
3 Imperial Consort Yu raised her head, her face beaming with a smile: “We are different in the end.”
3 After staring at the Ancestral Fire and Shehuo for a while, the High Priest slowly said, “Blending in and conforming to the dust is most important. What we want is sameness, though we can also accept acceptable heresies.”
3 “Huo Qing was born from you, so he is your son. He is Huo Qing, not Huo Qubing, and certainly not the lover you have yearned for all these years.”
3 “Go. Since you have chosen to leave, don’t casually come back to cause trouble for others; that will invite disgust.”
3 “Also, you have seventy percent Gui Fang people bloodline, so you should be a Gui Fang person. Since you have entered the Great Han and are liked by the people, you should properly conceal your identity, rather than casually using the unique charm abilities of female Gui Fang people to charm others and achieve your goals.”
4 “This is disrespect to yourself and disrespect to everyone’s life.”
4 Imperial Consort Yu grabbed the hem of the High Priest’s black robe and said, “Since the Great Elder knows my background, why have you tolerated me so much all these years?”
4 The High Priest smiled and said, “When one gets old, one wants to see some different scenery. I really wanted to see just how much effect your charm abilities, surpassing all female Gui Fang people, could have in the Great Han.”
4 The High Priest smiled mildly, but the words from his mouth were ice-cold and ruthless. Imperial Consort Yu knew that the High Priest had said all that could be said; saying more might provoke the High Priest’s displeasure.
4 She kowtowed naturally with the flow, stood up, and then left.
4 After Imperial Consort Yu left, the High Priest sighed, hugged the Golden Striker, and leaned against the fire pit, drowsy. Just as he was about to enter dreamland, he suddenly opened his eyes and called out loudly, “Is Ming Yue here?”
4 He called three times in succession with no response. A faint smile appeared on the High Priest’s face as he said softly, “Why do so many people think that this world revolves around them?”
4 Qing Feng and Ming Yue, the two little Taoists, were both orphans he had adopted. Unexpectedly, today they were both lured away by Imperial Consort Yu.
4 The High Priest did not get angry. After muttering to himself for a while, he leaned against the fire pit and fell asleep. It was unclear if he was dreaming, but the corners of his mouth were curved very high.
4 “Mm, E Ji is the best. Not only should everyone in the entire manor revolve around you, but everyone in the whole world should revolve around you.”
5 Yun Ce praised E Ji over and over again.
5 Because in just these ten days or so, E Ji had not only earned a lot of money for the whole family by selling paper, but also taken the opportunity to buy the mountain behind the house for grazing cattle.
5 Yun Family Manor had suddenly expanded its land by ten li, and E Ji’s achievements were outstanding.
5 Facing Yun Ce’s utterly shameless praise, E Ji accepted it all and even further believed that the personnel structure of Yun Family Manor still had great room for optimization.
5 The optimization she spoke of was not about firing people, but that the people in the household could do more things, work more—no more than sleeping less, a small issue. With improved food quality, these people still liked working.
5 Feng An and Liang Kun, after hearing E Ji’s further optimization plan, were somewhat furious. Because E Ji wanted them two, while continuing to oversee the construction of more courtyards, to also take charge of developing and utilizing that Chicken Dung Mountain, because Yun Ce had said that Chicken Dung Mountain was a treasure trove.
5 Since it was a treasure trove, its value should be developed.
5 “Look, this is the task your wife has assigned us: how to turn Chicken Dung Mountain into money.”
5 Yun Ce looked at the angry Feng An and Liang Kun, pointed at the paper they brought, and said, “Aren’t we already refining saltpeter around Chicken Dung Mountain? That thing is a treasure.”
5 “Cash—your wife wants cash. She thinks the Glauber’s salt stored at home is already plenty and can be turned into cash. She even mocked us two for spending so much labor just to turn Chicken Dung Mountain into Glauber’s Salt Mountain.”
6 Yun Ce smiled and soothed the two chief stewards of the household: “Don’t fuss. Next year the household’s land will be even more, and Chicken Dung Mountain won’t last much longer before it disappears.”
6 Feng An thought for a moment and said, “I know the Patriarch wants that chicken dung to fertilize the fields, but Chicken Dung Mountain has accumulated for years, and the bottom layer has already turned into stone. How can it be used to fertilize fields?”
6 Hearing that part of his family’s Chicken Dung Mountain had turned into phosphate fertilizer, Yun Ce’s heart was filled with irrepressible joy. He grabbed Feng An’s hand and said, “Right now, find people to smash the stones at the foot of Chicken Dung Mountain, and also keep pouring water on Chicken Dung Mountain, so more Glauber’s salt can crystallize out.”
6 “You two listen: Chicken Dung Mountain really is a treasure mountain. In the future, you will surely understand.”
6 Feng An hesitated and said to Yun Ce, “Lantian County Office is selling official slaves. Should we buy some back?”
6 Yun Ce frowned and said, “Actually, I don’t like using slaves much.”
6 Liang Kun sighed and said, “No matter what, our ability to gain a foothold in Lantian County owes much to our relation with County Magistrate Lin Weizhou. Now that he has been raided and his household sold off, we should help out a bit—at least ensure his wife, old mother, and sisters do not suffer humiliation.”
