Yun Ye had everything prepared—all that was missing was Li Chengqian’s death. But he couldn’t say this aloud. Ever since Li Chengqian had been formally invested as Crown Prince and disposed of his own wife, it was as if he had been reborn. Not only had he become spirited and energetic, but he could even mount a horse and ride for a couple of circuits.
After coming to the Yun Family home for a bowl of noodles, he circled around Wang Cai repeatedly, insisting that this was Wang Cai who had grown younger through some secret method. Sitting with Yun Ye in the greenhouse, he kept fishing for information about this secret technique through indirect questions.
“This is a young horse from the herd that Wang Cai entrusted to my care. Since my brother recommended it, of course I must look after it wholeheartedly. Wang Cai has gone to the horse tomb—no one knows where it is. If I knew where it was, I’d plan to be buried there too.”
“If you want immortality, why not seek out Yuan Shoucheng? That fellow has actually, visibly become younger. What’s the point of looking for me? Could it be that now you’re unwilling to die again?”
Li Chengqian laughed heartily: “If one can live, who would want to die? In this world I am supreme, but if I go to another world, I’ll have to start again as a junior—how unsatisfying!”
The two men strolled along Yushan’s small paths when they inadvertently spotted a very large red scorpion moving through the grass. Yun Ye’s brow immediately furrowed. The fire candle’s scorpion always disappeared for periods of time, and now that it had emerged, it was not a good sign. The most likely possibility was that Princess Jinyang was nearby—only she could make the guards hidden in the vicinity remain silent, and only because it was Princess Jinyang would the guards allow a giant scorpion to approach the Emperor and the Duke of Chu.
“Your sister has arrived. Learn well from her. Last time I saw Princess Jinyang, I discovered her appearance had basically not changed at all. She broke through a certain-death situation—you should have some confidence too.”
Li Chengqian had just revealed a glimmer of hope for survival, but after glancing at his own emaciated body, he returned to that indifferent manner and shouted toward the grove: “Princess Jinyang, come out. Come see your elder brother! Let elder brother get a good look at you too. If you don’t come out now, there won’t be another chance to see me.”
A sobbing voice came over: “I am an inauspicious person. Wherever I appear, disaster befalls. Elder brother, I came specially to see you. Just seeing you, this little sister is content.”
“Nonsense! Who dares say you’re inauspicious—elder brother will exterminate their nine generations! Elder brother’s body was worn down by exhaustion—what does it have to do with you? Do you know how much elder brother’s heart aches from missing you?”
Yun Ye sighed deeply and led Wang Cai toward a side path. A white-clad figure suddenly threw herself into Li Chengqian’s embrace, crying loudly. Li Chengqian stroked his sister’s hair, softly praising her beauty, praising her for knowing to come see elder brother…
Yun Ye couldn’t bear to witness such scenes. He grabbed the menacing scorpion from the ground and introduced it to Wang Cai. This scorpion had nearly achieved spiritual enlightenment—having lived so many years, it was still vigorous and mighty. Yun Ye grasped the scorpion’s large pincer, but with just a slight effort it pried open Yun Ye’s palm. The pincer clamped onto a thin twig and with a snap severed it in two.
The scorpion broke free from Yun Ye’s grasp and, embracing a half-dead tree, forcefully stabbed its tail into a small hole. Within moments a squirrel was impaled on its tail. It swiftly descended from the tree and, holding its prize aloft on its tail, retreated into the grass to enjoy its meal.
Not far away beneath that large pagoda tree was the Kingdom of Huai’an. Since they had already been discovered by its sentries, Yun Ye, as the Great Tang’s Cavalry General, should pay his respects to their king—this was how diplomatic relations between two nations were conducted.
The subjects of the Kingdom of Huai’an were truly numerous, each one busily engaged in constructing the city walls. It seemed they were preparing for an impending great flood. A group of busy subjects passed by—it appeared the soldiers had returned from a victorious campaign in foreign lands. About a hundred warriors carried the massive corpse of an enemy general through the streets in triumph, naturally earning the adoration of all the subjects.
This was a prosperous and progressive nation. It was evident that the Kingdom of Shikeng had been destroyed by them—remnant corpses lay everywhere, presumably the result of Huai’an Kingdom’s great general leading troops in a punitive campaign.
Yun Ye was planning to find a wooden stick to dig open the Kingdom of Huai’an’s city gate and pay his respects to the king—after all, their gate was too small. But before Yun Ye could act, Wang Cai positioned himself above the Kingdom of Huai’an and released a stream of urine.
This was truly an unwarranted disaster. When Yun Ye looked at the Kingdom of Huai’an again, it had indeed suffered severe calamity. The city walls had collapsed, countless subjects were being swept away by the current. Some brave ones could still climb ashore and were rushing about anxiously…
“What’s so interesting about Wang Cai’s urine?” Li Chengqian frowned, unable to comprehend Yun Ye’s peculiar interest. Princess Jinyang had moved even farther away, afraid of being tainted by the urine’s stench. Just moments ago, she and elder brother had been watching the dazed Yun Ye for quite some time.
“Alas, Wang Cai has just brought profound disaster upon the Kingdom of Huai’an. I had originally intended to pay my respects to their king as a gesture of courtesy, but now that we’ve become mortal enemies, perhaps it’s better not to meet!”
“The Kingdom of Huai’an?” Li Chengqian lowered his head and looked carefully for a long while before saying: “You’re not treating this ant colony as a nation, are you?”
“What’s the difference? They also have a king, generals, soldiers, and enemies. You cannot disrespect their ant king just because you are king of humanity. In terms of status and position, there’s not much difference between you.”
“Wang Cai’s stream of urine is just like the floods our Great Tang suffers. The warfare between two ant colonies—isn’t that exactly a replica of our battles with the Turks, Goguryeo, and the Caliphate?”
“The worries you have, the ruler of the Kingdom of Huai’an probably shares the same concerns. So don’t think you’re the only one having a hard time. Look at the ruler of the Kingdom of Huai’an—having just suffered a great flood, haven’t they already begun to rally and rebuild?”
Li Chengqian squatted down to carefully observe the ants swarming out from the hole. He discovered they indeed had clear divisions of labor. The slightly larger ones were searching everywhere for enemies, preparing to attack, while the smaller ones were carrying earth to rebuild the entrance.
“It really is like that! So the entire world is staging various joys and sorrows, honors and disgraces, rises and falls every single day?”
“Naturally. Of other Buddhist teachings I don’t much agree, but the saying ‘One grain of sand, one world; one flower, one Buddha’—this I very much endorse. Overall, all Buddhist scriptures, Daoist texts, and even extending to all religions—their way of viewing things is pessimistic. They always seek liberation, hoping their next life will be better.”
“‘One grain of sand, one world’ has already been confirmed by the Academy! Under the microscope, in a single drop of water there are countless tiny living beings. By extension, the theory of ‘one grain of sand, one world’ is also valid.”
“I don’t like living pessimistically. I always want to see the most beautiful aspect of things. I once heard someone recite a poem, and I felt that kind of outlook on life was correct.”
“‘What thoughts as my head falls today? A lifetime of hardship, a hundred battles more. To the springs below I’ll summon old troops—with a hundred thousand banners, I’ll behead King Yama!'”
“Death is not the end of life, but should be another journey of life. You’ve already done everything you could do. You’ve already devoted yourself wholly to the Great Tang until death. Now just enjoy your life well. Don’t swallow those terrifying elixirs anymore. I know that for this moment of peace and contentment, you must endure two hours of suffering every day.”
“Chengqian, don’t do this anymore. Whether you’re lying in bed or standing here, I only hope you can find peace in the end. For every extra day you remain, we still have a bit more to cherish. When a person dies, truly only memories remain!”
Li Chengqian patted Yun Ye’s hand with a bitter smile: “Coming into this world, people are here to suffer. Physician Sun says my liver is already useless, my lungs have major problems, my kidney water has dried up. If I lie in bed, I’ll become a pile of mud. Li Chengqian cannot be counted as a hero, but I’m unwilling to die like rotting mud. Even in death, there must be dignity. I am the Emperor of the Great Tang, the supreme sovereign of the mortal realm. This entire world is mine!”
Princess Jinyang pulled a pill from her pocket and offered it to Li Chengqian, saying: “Elder brother, take this medicine and you won’t feel pain anymore.”
Yun Ye glanced at the pill in Princess Jinyang’s hand. Though he knew it was opium, he didn’t stop her.
He pulled out a piece of paper from his breast, took the pill from Li Chengqian’s hand, broke off a small piece, then rolled it with tobacco leaves. After lighting it and taking a puff himself, he handed it to Li Chengqian saying: “That stuff is opium. We confiscated quite a bit before. It has anesthetic properties. After consuming it, your spirit will experience great pleasure—unfortunately, the consequences are equally severe.”
Li Chengqian brought the cigarette to his lips, took a puff, and laughed: “What consequences do I have to fear now? But Princess Jinyang, if you dare touch this stuff even once, even if we meet in the underworld, I won’t forgive you!”
Princess Jinyang was stunned for a moment and said softly: “This is a miraculous medicine my master obtained. Master said it very easily allows her to enter the most ideal ethereal state. She only gave me one pill. Worried about elder brother’s illness, I didn’t take it and brought it here specially.”
Yun Ye rolled his eyes: “Your master has already become an opium addict. Try having your master go without supply for two days and see—she’ll immediately fall from immortal to hell. The pain of ten thousand ants gnawing through the body is not something anyone can endure.”
Princess Jinyang was simply a muddle-headed fool—had been since childhood. Fortunately, he had discovered this today, or it would have caused endless harm.
“This stuff cannot be planted, cannot be collected, must be completely destroyed. Tomorrow, take my written order back to your master and have her immediately prohibit this thing. Otherwise, I won’t hesitate to use Heluo’s troops to capture your master and bring her back, destroying all the pleasure grass. If she truly cannot abstain, then send her to Chang’an and keep her in the imperial palace, supplying her with pleasure grass on schedule. Private individuals are absolutely forbidden from cultivating it. Other medicines at most take lives—this thing takes away human dignity!”
Li Chengqian, holding the cigarette in his mouth, nodded in agreement. He had witnessed the harm of this substance with his own eyes back then. The Bureau of Waterways had conducted several experiments with it—quite a few stubborn prisoners had been turned into putty because of this substance. When Yun Ye said this thing took away human dignity, it was absolutely true.