Chapter 324 Identity
"Your Excellency is born with knowledge, and your learning and talent are all at the top. I originally thought that Your Excellency was also at the top when you came here, but it turns out that you are not... Your Excellency's life was not going well at first."
"…Why do you say that?"
“If you have not risen from humble beginnings, you will not put your country before your family. If you have not experienced acute pain, you will not have deep and broad compassion.”
The old man stood upright like a pine or cypress.
Lower your hands, bend down and worship.
"Thank you for your hospitality, Your Majesty. Wang Chan will leave now."
Ying Chengjiao grabbed Guiguzi's hands and prevented him from leaving.
"No, I haven't finished yet. Where is that girl with double pupils? I'll send someone to kidnap her and bring her back. When she grows up, she'll be my retainer. I can't kill her, but I can keep her as my retainer."
According to previous history, Xiang Yu is only three or four years old now.
Ying Chengjiao didn't know that the Qin army had unified the world ten years earlier. With such a big change, many things were different from before.
For example, Xiang Yu’s age was not three or four years old, but fourteen.
"It is in Qi. Your Majesty can send someone on your own."
Ying Chengjiao pointed at the map of Qi and said unhappily:
"Qi is so vast. If you don't tell me where to look for it, how can I have so many people to search Qi? Please tell me clearly and determine which city you are looking for."
Qidi refers to the original land of Qi State, which was second only to Qin and Chu in terms of land area in the late Warring States Period. If you want to find someone in Qidi, it is like looking for a needle in a haystack.
This kind of thing is possible in Guanzhong, where Qin's laws are the most stringent and Qin has the strongest control. Qi has not been baptized by war, and most of the cities have maintained their original appearance, and most of the officials are former Qi officials.
The First Emperor had been trying to capture the descendants of the Xiang family for such a long time but failed to do so, and Ying Chengjiao didn't think he could catch them.
"...Does Your Majesty have some misunderstandings about Yin-Yang magic?"
"The prince's Yin-Yang magic can't even locate a specific city?"
Guiguzi couldn't help but feel suspicious when he saw Ying Chengjiao speaking so easily.
"Your Majesty, have you ever seen someone use Yin-Yang magic to determine a specific location?"
[Does the Sky Eye count? ]
"No, to be exact, the prince was the first person to show me the magic of Yin-Yang magic. The prince knows me, and I never believed in it."
"There are only a few people in the world who can surpass me in Yin and Yang skills. No one can do what Your Majesty said."
“I see…”
Ying Chengjiao nodded with a little disappointment. The Yin-Yang magic that Guiguzi talked about was far from what he had imagined. He thought it could be used to cultivate immortality.
"Wang Gong, could you please tell Cheng Jiao what the Yin-Yang technique is?"
Ying Chengjiao's face showed half embarrassment and half apologetic expression.
"Cheng Jiao saw during the day that the prince did not want to talk, but he was indeed somewhat curious about this magical way."
Guiguzi's attitude during the day clearly showed that he didn't want to say more, and Ying Chengjiao thought that Guiguzi would refuse to say anything.
But unexpectedly, Guiguzi was just stunned for a moment, looked at Ying Chengjiao carefully, then simply sat down and said "Yes".
[My old friend, the Yin-Yang family that was derived from your corpse family has been lost in the future...]
"To be precise, what Zen uses should be the art of corpses."
"Corpse technique? Which corpse?"
"The corpse of the corpse."
Ying Chengjiao's eyes widened with excitement, and he couldn't wait to say:
"Xiangxi corpse-driving technique? Prince knows this? Can he really make corpses move freely?"
"…What nonsense are you talking about, Your Majesty? The "shi" in "shishu" has nothing to do with corpses. It is called "shidao" because the creator of this art is named "shijiao". The Yin-Yang Dao created by Zou Yan was derived from the "shidao"."
"Corpse?"
Ying Chengjiao muttered something and tapped his head.
"I think I've heard of this name."
Guiguzi showed a hint of joy on his face.
"Your Majesty, have you heard of it?"
"I think I've heard of it, but I can't remember it. It shouldn't be very famous."
"In the mind of Zen, Confucius and Li Er are not as good as Shi Jiao."
Ying Chengjiao blinked his big eyes and nodded. Although he disagreed with the idea that the two saints were not as good as a little-known corpse, he didn't say anything because there was no need to spoil Guiguzi's interest.
If the two saints were really not as good as Shi Jiao, how could they be unknown? There are not so many people in the world who are talented but not appreciated. Most of them are just self-important people.
In his opinion, Guiguzi was obviously helping his relatives and not the wise, and was bragging for his old friend.
"I know that Your Majesty will definitely not agree with Zen's words at this moment. Zen will prove to Your Majesty that there should be a corpse in this world. May I ask Your Majesty."
Guiguzi stared into Ying Chengjiao's eyes.
"Have you ever heard of the word universe?"
Ying Chengjiao's already wide eyes widened even wider. How could he hear this word?
This was in ancient times, during the Qin Dynasty, when people believed the sky was round and the earth was square, and people didn't even know that the earth was round. How could anyone know about the universe at this point in time?
[Could this Guiguzi also be a time traveler? ]
Ying Chengjiao said abruptly:
"Palace Jade Liquor!"
"Is this the name of the wine that Your Majesty is going to brew?"
"How about this wine?"
"…Your Majesty, are you confused? Zen hasn't drunk yet."
[Even if they are from another time, they are not Chinese. ]
Ying Chengjiao smiled awkwardly twice.
"I am confused, I am confused," the prince continued. "This is the first time I have heard of the word 'universe'. What do these two words mean?"
Guiguzi's face showed a nostalgic look, his eyes were full of memories, and he murmured:
"The four directions and the up and down are called yu, and the past and the present are called zhou."
[Fuck, this explanation is quite interesting...]
"…Is this what the corpse said?"
"Exactly."
Guiguzi smiled happily and looked proud. Ying Chengjiao had never seen him like this before.
In the Chang'an Jun Mansion, although Guiguzi has a strange appearance, he is very easy-going in his behavior and actions. Most people in the Chang'an Jun Mansion regard him as an amiable old man.
However, Ying Chengjiao knew that Guiguzi was an extremely conceited person, and a person who thought highly of himself. It was a bit of an exaggeration to say that he looked down on everyone, but it was absolutely true to say that he looked down on few people.
Moreover, Guiguzi looked down on not only the people of his time, but also the historical celebrities. Guiguzi called out the names of canonized saints like Confucius and Laozi more than once.
Even when addressing him respectfully as "Zi", his tone lacked the respect and reverence that other people showed him.
But when Guiguzi said the word "corpse" just now, there was respect in his tone. Even if it was a bonus to a loved one, it was very rare for a conceited old man.
"Just this one sentence should be enough to let Your Majesty know how high the ambition of our old friend Chan is. Confucianism, Legalism, Taoism, and Mohism are all worldly laws. The Shi family, on the other hand, speaks of the laws of the universe..."
The rain outside the window is gradually getting lighter, dripping and pattering.
The lights in the house remain on until dawn.
The sun appeared in the sky, and the rain still did not stop, but it was much lighter and turned into drizzle.
Guiguzi pushed open the door and walked out, with his raincoat draped over his arm and holding an oil-paper umbrella, he walked along the path in the county governor's mansion. When he reached the dirt that was not covered by blue bricks, his feet were covered with mud.
The old man returned to his residence and asked the servants to bring hot water to pour into the wooden barrel. A lot of hot air rose from the barrel, creating a misty atmosphere.
The old man adjusted the water temperature to the highest level he could tolerate, took off his wet clothes, and stepped into the wooden barrel.
Heat surged from every part of his body except his head, enveloping every inch of his old body. His skin quickly turned from yellow to red, the color of a cooked crab.
Steam continued to rise from the barrel, and the mist soon covered the old man's head. If there were other people around, they would only see white steam above , but no one inside.
"It makes sense, everything makes sense. My old friend, you once said that there is more than one world in this world, so I thought that the Lord came from another world. I thought those novels, stories, and inventions were all from outer space. I was wrong, completely wrong. The Lord did not come from another world, but from the future of our world.
"Why did he not want to be the king when he was born in the royal family, and insisted on bringing Ying Zheng from Zhao? He obviously did not know the art of corpses or Yin-Yang, and did not know that Ying Zheng was born under the fate of Ziwei Star. Because he would not be the king in the future, he did not know how to be a good king. You, me, and Ying Zheng, to him, are just like the Xia and Shang dynasties, all history.
"So he knew that Ying Zheng could be a good king, so he knew when Li Mu would be abandoned by Zhao State and could find the only time to win Li Mu over. So he had a deep understanding of Confucianism, Legalism, Nominalism, and Mohism, as they were all things he had studied before.
"But he doesn't believe in witchcraft, corpse magic, and Yin-Yang magic, and he also has a lot of complaints about doctors. It seems that these will no longer exist in the future, or will change... Doctors' purpose of action is to save the dying and heal the wounded. If he can make him complain, doctors at that time should not be considered doctors. Don't be angry to death if Bian Que is resurrected."
There was a faint whimpering sound, like an old animal shedding tears.
"But that's better than you. He has never heard of the Corpse Family, doesn't know Corpse Arts, and says that you, Corpse Jiao, are a nobody. Old friend, Zen, is very unhappy..."
After a cup of tea, the disappeared sound was heard again.
"His previous actions had always been very purposeful, as if he knew what to do was right. But in fact, his actions were indeed inspired, but there were also many ridiculous things. Zen didn't understand why a person's actions would have two completely different expressions.
"It's both mature and immature, both wise and stupid. Now it makes sense, it's just copying.
"He is changing the law according to the future, so it is naturally impossible to do so. Although Zen can see that he has tried very hard to change according to the times and the situation, and has not copied it completely. But the basic color cannot be changed at will. He has been moving towards an answer, he knows where his end is, and he has been opening up mountains and building roads.
"Does Zen want to help him? Help him create a world without you, without corpses, without corpse arts. What kind of world is that? Without heaven? He does not believe in heaven, so it is obvious that everything related to heaven has disappeared.
"You said that learning accumulates over a lifetime, but he threw away all the accumulated knowledge in his actions. You said that following the right path will bring good fortune, but he chose to do the opposite, going against the right path and bringing disaster. He will not be a leader in the future, so why would he rather abandon the wealth and glory of this life, not care about the hereditary throne of the Ying family, and want to reform?
"This is something that even Ying Zheng, who was born under the Purple Star Fate and had a mighty mind that should be hard to find in the history of the world, could not do. Ying Zheng called himself the first emperor and wanted to pass the throne to the second, third, and so on. He changed the feudal system into counties to centralize power. He believed that he could suppress everything and rule the world for eternity. He wanted to make sure that there would be no feudal states in the world and no one could rebel, so that the Qin Kingdom would be forever stable.
"But he is not. His reform is not for the Ying family, but it is not for the Ying family. He is just like Mozi, moving towards the dream in his heart. But Mozi's dream is empty and has no place to land. And he came from the future, and what he thinks is what has already happened..."
The voices stopped again, as if Guiguzi, the founder of the art of diplomacy and famous for his eloquence and clever thinking, was not in his right mind and didn't know what to say.
The water vapor in the room completely enveloped the wooden barrel. Amid the sound of splashing water, mist rolled around, as if a dragon was swimming inside.
The old man's voice sounded again, calm and peaceful.
"You don't have to be unhappy, old friend. Although you are gone, your theory of the universe remains. He said he didn't know the word universe, but it seems that this is not the first time he has heard of it. What is the Imperial Jade Wine he was talking about? How good is this wine? It should be a big thing that everyone will know in the future.
"What will the future be like, that an ordinary person can have knowledge comparable to that of the philosophers? Even if there is a prophet, it is rare that he can avoid repeating the same mistakes. In the future, will everyone be able to read and write? Since he invented paper and used simplified characters, I think it should be possible.
"But there will be some bad things in the future. The people's work should not be reduced. I can see that he is not king because he is not good enough, but also because he hates it from the bottom of his heart. This is really strange. The people can read and write, but the corvée is still there, and they are still exhausted. What kind of world is this..."
The mumbling sound continued, and no one knew how long it had been going on.
Guiguzi did not do any work today.
Guiguzi understood, and with a faint voice of relief, he told his old friend Shi Jiao about it in this deserted place.
…
"Oh, what should I do?"
Ying Chengjiao threw himself onto a large bed covered with more than ten layers of animal skins, just like he fell on a trampoline and bounced three times.
"What happened, young master?"
There was a look of worry on Dingxiang's beautiful face, she was worried about Ying Chengjiao.
"Yes, yes, what's wrong with you, sir?"
Qingmei's equally beautiful face was full of curiosity. She stuck her head less than three inches in front of Ying Chengjiao, shook her head slightly and asked cutely.
The two girls were born within a short time of each other. When they were silent, they looked identical and it was difficult to tell who was the older sister. But as soon as they opened their mouths, the sisters could be easily distinguished.
"Go! Go! Go."
Ying Chengjiao pushed Qingmei's face away and turned his head in another direction.
"I'm annoyed."
Qingmei's eyes rolled around, and she sat down on Ying Chengjiao, and her little hands took out the bird very naturally.
Ying Chengjiao turned over and pressed Qingmei under him, grabbing Qingmei's two restless little hands, his face full of impatience, but he tried hard not to get angry and said:
"Stop it, it's really annoying."
"Sir, if you have any troubles, just tell me. What if Qingmei can help?"
[Help me, what the hell, I'm probably completely seen through by Guiguzi. I'm completely exposed, and your way of helping is to kill Guiguzi.]
