Yun Ye did not follow Li Tai’s brain-dead idea of racing wildly along the Shu Road. Arriving safely in Chang’an was the most important thing. Originally, he had planned to travel very discreetly, but those Tibetan people kept singing songs along the way, which gave everyone quite a headache.
Pang Chi’er didn’t stop them either. She sat in the carriage with a holy smile, watching these singing Tibetan people. Only after asking the leader of the Yun Family merchant caravan who was guiding them did they learn that they had been singing all the way from Songzhou to the Qinling Mountains like this.
It was said that the Tibetan people were the race closest to the sun, with hearts as pure as ice and snow. Of course, a child who understood nothing would be even more chilling when killing people.
Happiness—that was what Pang Chi’er wholeheartedly wanted to bring to this race. During rest stops, Pang Chi’er would also join those Tibetan people in dancing around the fire. Only Yun Ye and Li Tai, like two fools, squatted to the side watching.
Intelligence and stupidity are relative. Yun Ye thought these Tibetan people were essentially a bunch of traitors, betraying the Tibetan people and destroying Tibetan culture. But in their view, they were pursuing happiness, pursuing the purest happiness. Gar Tongtsen led Tibet’s most formidable warriors across the snowy plateau, collecting heavy taxes and plundering their already scarce barley and livestock, which made them unhappy. So they stood on the princess consort’s side, wanting to overthrow Gar Tongtsen and topple his tyranny. They would rather sing and dance joyfully than enjoy the glory of warriors while starving.
What they could come into contact with was their own tribal group, and at most they could see their dignified tribal chief. Singing loudly under the blue sky, playing freely on grass-covered meadows, caring about how their barley crops were growing, caring about whether their cattle and sheep were fat—to them, these were their entire world. As for things like family and nation, those were concepts proposed by people like Gar Tongtsen. Heroes should fight the most terrifying demons, brave men should kill the lingering vengeful spirits in mountain valleys—killing people was truly cowardly behavior.
Yun Ye’s face twitched severely, and Li Tai’s dry laughter became increasingly meaningless.
“Chi’er, is this your doctrine? I always feel something isn’t quite right. Singing all day, dancing all day, men chasing women all day? Enjoying one’s own barley, enjoying one’s own livestock, enjoying one’s own love? Not considering vicious bandits? Not considering enemy invasions? Not considering natural disasters and man-made calamities either?”
“Why consider them? Shouldn’t people live more happily? Can’t people pursue the ones they love? Can’t people enjoy the fruits of their own labor?”
“In ancient times, didn’t we live exactly like this? What joy is there in life, what bitterness in death? Didn’t our ancestors chase prey with naked bodies, and after eating their fill, dance and sing around fires? When night fell, didn’t they reproduce around the fires? Why should we change?”
“When someone dies, we send them off with songs. When someone is born, we also celebrate their arrival with songs. As for the notion of family and nation you mention, those are all things emperors and generals have imposed on us. We are naturally free—the land is ours, the green grass is ours, the sunlight is ours, and life is ours too. If there are enemies, it only means we haven’t spread our doctrine to those pitiful people. Once they understand our doctrine, they’ll put down their weapons and sing heartily and dance freely with us.”
Pang Chi’er used poetic language to proclaim her doctrine to Yun Ye and Li Tai, making them break out in cold sweat, filled with anxiety. Because what she said wasn’t a joke—looking at those carefree Tibetan people, they really did seem extremely happy.
Pang Chi’er’s appearance was far too deceptive. Yun Ye and Li Tai watched helplessly as their own subordinates had already become skilled at singing and dancing in just these few days. Since ancient times, Qin soldiers had been hardy in bitter battles, and the Qin people’s iron will to fight to the death could not withstand a few hastily improvised songs and a few casually twisting dances. Before even reaching Guanzhong, the Great Tang warriors had already generously handed over their horizontal swords to the Tibetan people to cut mutton! Previously, the horizontal swords in their hands were supremely precious—if their wives touched them carelessly, they might even get a beating, let alone sending their weapons, which they treasured more than their lives, to others to stick into meat and roast over fires!
“Ye’zi, are you sure you want to bring this ghost woman to Chang’an? They’re a plague! If Pang Chi’er is allowed to spread her doctrine in Chang’an, that would be too terrifying. Our Tang people would like the life described in the doctrine even more than the Tibetan people. Think about it—monks merely say with empty words that believing in Buddha can bring blessings in the next life, and yet countless people in the world believe in Buddha. If this woman stands on the street and starts spreading doctrine saying present life is happy, next life is still happy, generation after generation is happy, and moreover this happiness is visible and tangible, plus there’s a demon woman who looks like a celestial fairy—good heavens, the Great Tang’s foundation will surely collapse! I don’t know how Gar Tongtsen can tolerate these people.”
“I’m increasingly convinced that Gar Tongtsen’s hasty attack on Nepal and Tianzhu was actually to escape, not to expand territory. These parasites who only know foolish happiness have probably already destroyed the snowy plateau, haven’t they?”
Yun Ye didn’t even know how to answer Li Tai’s questions. Pain is contagious, but in fact, happiness is even more contagious. If a people becomes a happy people, that people is basically not far from being finished.
Happiness is like honey—it naturally has a magical power to intoxicate people. In ancient times, sweetness represented happiness. People liking sweetness is human nature, and by the same logic, people liking happiness is also damned human nature!
Han Zhe’s doctrine was originally taught to him by Yun Ye. At the time, he hadn’t taken it seriously. Who knew that after ten years, that nonsensical doctrine could form a trend on the Tibetan plateau? The King of Tibet married a woman twenty years older than him—what did this indicate? It could only indicate that Pang Chi’er’s influence was truly too great. Only the union of god and human could make people forget the god’s age, just like Dong Yong and the Seventh Fairy, Liu Yanchang and the Third Holy Mother. Although both the Seventh Fairy and Third Holy Mother wore beautiful women’s skins, they were already old women who couldn’t be any older, yet in folk legends, when they fell in love with young men, there was no sense of incongruity at all—it only made others feel faint envy! This was like seeing ghosts.
A group of happy people surrounded two unhappy people walking on the road back to the capital. Li Tai’s desire to pursue happiness was false—his heart was actually very bitter. If he truly wanted happiness, he would have long since joined this happy army. If it weren’t for consideration of Yun Ye, Pang Chi’er would make Li Tai happy even if she had to undress.
The happier others were, the more painful the two of them were. Seeing they were about to exit the Qinling Mountains, Yun Ye insisted that Pang Chi’er should stay at the Yun household—harming the Yun Family people would be enough. She couldn’t stay at the inn and harm other Great Tang people. They were a plague and needed to be quarantined. Of course, the abnormal Yun Family people would surely develop sufficient antibodies to these people, because the Yun Family people were already happy enough.
All the retainers who had accompanied Yun Ye to Yuezhou were sent to the distillery. There, their happiness would definitely have no room to manifest. Several old Yun Family retainers would find the warrior’s hot blood in them again. Singing and dancing? In the Yun Family’s distillery, even passing gas required the old retainers’ approval, especially those several old retainers who had retired from the Xuanjia Army—they were abnormal among the abnormal.
Xiao Wu rushed to the Yun household at the first opportunity and found Pang Chi’er staying in Moji’s courtyard. Without a single superfluous word, she grabbed the teapot and smashed it over her head.
It wasn’t quite proper for a man to squat nearby watching women fight. Yun Ye sighed deeply, closed the door, and walked out. Although Xiao Wu had been the mother of three children for these years, she had never neglected her martial arts. She couldn’t compare with Xiao Miao, but beating Pang Chi’er probably wasn’t a problem. This was an old score from years past that still needed settling. However, Pang Chi’er was Han Zhe’s younger sister—she probably wasn’t easy to provoke either. Coming from an abnormal family, she surely had some skills hidden away.
Moji listened to the sounds of fighting coming from her courtyard while holding a dustpan of corn kernels feeding her Liuyao chickens. The six large roosters had now grown to half a person’s height. Wang Cai had long since given up revenge and now didn’t even come near this courtyard. Sticking his head over the low garden wall, he looked at Yun Ye, who was talking with Moji.
“An evil cult, Milord! Sweet things naturally intoxicate people. The soft red dust for ten zhang brings carefree pleasure. Although using sound and beauty to entertain people is somewhat base, the effect is very significant. They say a beauty’s lair is a hero’s tomb. Sending this demon woman into the imperial palace—the consequences that might result are too difficult to predict. The Li family is naturally lustful as life itself, from Li Yuan to Li Shimin, all are like this. The more talented and ambitious a heroic ruler is, the stronger his desires become. A woman like Pang Chi’er has a fatal attraction for men like the Emperor. Do you still think stories like using beacon fires to amuse the lords are legends? Years ago, this old woman planned to cultivate Xiao Wu into such a woman to send into the palace, but seeing you were extremely disgusted by such matters, I had no choice but to give up. Otherwise, how could little Zhangsun Wuji trouble you so much?”
“Pang Chi’er is a person of Baishi Palace. People of Baishi Palace are naturally madmen. Do you know what consequences will result after reaching the ultimate extreme of perfection?”
Yun Ye shook his head. On this point, Moji was a true master.
“Destruction! It’s destruction! There’s no mistake! Whether from heaven’s will or human will, it’s all the same. That’s why heaven is not complete, and what escapes leaves no trace to follow—all of this has its reasons.”
People of Baishi Palace might not have had such a mentality before, but now it’s different. When they use religion to deceive the Tibetan people, those influenced Tibetan people will in turn influence them. Although very slight, accumulated over time, the most frenzied one will probably be the one with the highest position. So you see, though this woman speaks very logically with clear thinking, she’s actually already gone mad.