Novels online

“Wu Chong, I told you last time to tell me about any deeds or individuals among the people you have met in your life that have left a deep impression. I think today is a good day, so tell me about one.”

Ji Yuan had long since finished reading his book titled “A Historical Account from Outside the Tao.” It had been a long time since he had read a “novel,” so it would definitely be more interesting to listen to the stories of those who had experienced them.

“As you command, Mr. Ji!”

The Old Turtle bowed in the water. From the conversation between Mr. Ji and Yin Qing, he could tell that Mr. Ji was likely to be leaving. After careful consideration, he thought of an event that happened a long, long time ago.

His body gradually sank back into the water, leaving only his turtle head exposed above the surface. The Old Turtle’s voice was filled with emotion.

“It was about 170 to 180 years ago. Dazhen had been founded only 20 or 30 years before. I can’t remember exactly when, and many things seem vague…”

The Old Turtle saw that Mr. Ji was not going to interrupt him because he had mentioned that “many things seem vague,” so he continued on with confidence.

“That year marked a little over 50 years after I, this Old Turtle, had refined my horizontal bone. There was a scholar surnamed Xiao who had come to visit Chunhui Prefecture to play. He was a man with good fortune… On a flower ship, a drunk man attempted to molest a songstress, when this scholar Xiao angrily rushed to the scene and assisted her…”

The Old Turtle smiled before continuing.

“Then he was kicked into the river by the drunkard. Although he was quickly rescued by the ship captain and his crew, it was still a disgrace. But this incident gave me the impression of him as an honest man.”

The Old Turtle spoke slowly, describing how he “had chance encounter” with Scholar Xiao in a way that would not frighten him too much, how he slowly got to know him, how he helped him divine his fortune, and how he advised him on the timing in dealing with certain essential matters.

“Originally, I just wanted to form a good connection with him, and point out some places where he could find some unexpected fortune, or what places were in urgent need of goods and when the timing was right. If he wanted to do business, he could make a small fortune. However, after the scholar and his family grew a little richer, he still wanted to become an official, specifically a high-ranking official…”

“Haha, the fate of a dynasty and the career of an official are no trivial matter. How can one’s career as an official be determined via fortune telling? One must rely on real talent and knowledge. Although he had some talent and some knowledge, it was not enough. So I told him frankly that if he was if he was unwilling to study, and study hard, he had no chance of becoming an official. It was especially taboo to achieve results by way of demonic powers. For a long time after that, Xiao Jing never came to see me again…”

Ji Yuan listened quietly. Naturally, he didn’t think the story would end there.

“When I next heard news of Xiao Jing again, he had somehow become the Imperial Censor2 in just six or seven years…”

Ji Yuan frowned and looked at the Old Turtle. The latter narrowed his eyes and looked out at the river. This action belied the Old Turtle’s rising emotions.

As the story continued, he recalled some details that he had almost forgotten, and the Old Turtle’s thoughts became much clearer.

“It was the 32nd year of the Yuan Dynasty, and the founding emperor of Dazhen had already grown old. The chronic illness he suffered from during the founding of the country was frequently uncontrollable in his later years. It was time to pass the throne on to the crown prince. However, although the crown prince had already reached adulthood, his prestige was still too low. Most of the founding ministers in the court were old, and had succeeded alongside the emperor with unparalleled military achievements…”

As the Old Turtle spoke, his eyes narrowed more and more. In Ji Yuan’s heart, he could faintly feel a bloody aura about to rise.

“Alas… I, this Old Turtle, am really unlucky. The little help I gave Xiao Jing in the early years did not bring me any reward. Instead, when blood stained the Censorate, bad karma followed!”

He didn’t say anything specific, but this sentence basically let Ji Yuan understand the tone of what was to follow.

Killing meritorious officials was a fairly common practice among founding emperors of every feudal dynasty.

As for Xiao Jing, who had been appointed the Imperial Censor, he was in charge of supervising the court, able to impeach any and all officials. The role he played must have been disgraceful. The merit in providing a great contribution to establishing a dynasty was gained in following the Emperor.3 The evil karma that came with killing such old and excellent ministers was definitely too much for the Old Turtle to bear.

Ji Yuan placed his right hand on his knee and tapped slowly. As he sympathized with the Old Turtle and some of the innocent old ministers, his mind was deep in thought.

‘The surname of Xiao?’

Ji Yuan looked at Ying Ruoli with an inexplicable expression. She did not hold back the first time, but the second time, she did not really let Xiao Ling and Duan Muwan split the burden, but returned 90% of the vitality and only symbolically took another 10% from Duan Muwan.

There was no Book of Life and Death2 in this world. Even the underworld could only see the changes in their records when a person was about to die. It was impossible to change a person’s lifespan just by drawing it out. Ten or five years of vitality drew out the vital energy of the human body, which was a fundamental aspect. Years were just the measurement method. If an accident happened during recuperation, it would be easy for evil Qi to enter the body and breed serious illness.