Immortal Travel of Longevity

The soldiers of the Yan Army had long since spent their strength. With a roar from the enemy ranks that night, their final shred of hope collapsed.

That night, a mutiny even broke out in the camp, and the vast majority simply fled.

Those seven old men fought a bloody battle outside the city, only to die at the hands of some nameless minor officer, bringing their lives to a tragic end.

But to them, perhaps it was no tragedy.

It was more like their rightful end.

There were no good men among those who followed the Grand Ancestor. They were never destined for a good end. Upon death and entering the Yellow Springs, they would still plummet into hell.

With the troops defeated like a mountain collapsing, the army lost its center. In just one night, the remaining soldiers of the Yan Army surrendered.

The night raid seemingly crushed the Yan Army without the slightest effort.

Inside the command tent, Prince Yu slowly exhaled. After several months, the end had finally come.

The soldiers reporting to him all shook their heads.

Prince Yu was mildly puzzled. He then asked, "What about the Prince of Yan's subordinates?"

"Only one martial general is left. As for his tacticians..."

"Your Highness, we did find them. But they fought desperately on the battlefield and were hacked to death in the chaos."

Prince Yu fell into a brief daze before murmuring, "They truly were Zhao Zhen's men."

Still, he was far more curious about where the Prince of Yan had gone.

"Search! The Prince of Yan must still be in the city," Prince Yu ordered.

Sure enough, it took no more than half a day.

The soldiers found a man hiding at the bottom of a well in a courtyard.

When Zhao Gongzuo was escorted into the main camp, he faced an entire assembly of martial generals and civil officials under Prince Yu.

Zhao Gongzuo struggled for a moment, then straightened his robes.

His gaze fixed straight upon Prince Yu, who sat on the high dais.

Prince Yu studied the man in return. After pondering for a moment, he shook his head. "You aren't the real Prince of Yan, are you?"

Zhao Gongzuo raised an eyebrow. "Yan Nantian, do you look down on this king?"

"Is His Highness's name yours to speak? Kneel!"

With that, someone kicked the back of Zhao Gongzuo's leg, forcing him into a half-kneel.

Zhao Gongzuo barked a laugh. "Hahaha, truly laughable! You're nothing but a bastard born to that man and a brothel whore, yet you genuinely think you are above everyone else?"

"Insolent!"

"Shing!"

Instantly, the ringing of drawn sabers and swords echoed throughout the tent.

"How dare you slander His Highness! I'll cut you down right now!"

"Cut out his tongue first!"

Curses rained down on him, but Zhao Gongzuo showed absolutely no fear. He shouted back, "Come on, kill me! Hmph, did I say something wrong? Do you dare ask your king if he was born to a brothel whore? And if his father was that Prince Yu!"

"Kill him!"

Just as a martial general was about to strike, Prince Yu finally spoke up, his voice soft. "Hold."

"Your Highness..."

Prince Yu slowly stepped down from the dais.

Step by step, he approached Zhao Gongzuo.

Seeing that the prince's expression hadn't changed, Zhao Gongzuo felt a flash of displeasure. This Prince Yu truly knew how to keep his composure.

Prince Yu crouched down. He looked at Zhao Gongzuo, then glanced at his brothers in the tent.

"Do you think he speaks the truth, or is it a lie?"

"Your Highness, it is naturally a lie. Your Highness's status is noble..."

"Indeed, indeed."

Prince Yu smiled, but shook his head. "He's right."

The moment those words left his mouth, the soldiers in the tent froze.

Even Zhao Gongzuo froze in place, staring up at Prince Yu in disbelief.

Prince Yu stood up. "This king was indeed born to a brothel whore. My mother followed The Prince in her early years, but for fear of ruining The Prince's reputation, she never asked for proper standing. As for me, I cannot be considered noble in the slightest."

"Like all the brothers in this tent, I rose from humble beginnings. Though I hold a high position today, I have never called myself a superior man. Everyone in this tent is a brother who has fought bloody battles by my side. Without them, I wouldn't be where I am today. I view them as my own brothers."

"Your Highness..."

The martial generals and civil officials present looked blank. Caught in a daze, they didn't know what to say.

Prince Yu continued, "This king doesn't find my mother's identity shameful in the slightest. If it weren't for her, how could there be a Yan Nantian? If I were to disown my own mother simply because of the status I hold today, then I, Yan Nantian, would be worse than a beast. So what if my origins are lowly? In this world, the victor has always been crowned king and the loser branded a bandit. Is a noble birth inherently good? Is a humble birth inherently worthless? Did this king not carve out a piece of the world all the same?"

"His Highness is right!"

"Right!"

"Anyone who refuses to acknowledge their own parents is worse than a beast!"

"Your Highness's filial piety and righteousness are unmatched. We are in awe."

Zhao Gongzuo's face went blank. He shook his head, then suddenly began to laugh, the sound bizarre and jarring.

"You actually admitted it. Just like that..."

"Hahaha..."

"You actually just admitted it?"

Zhao Gongzuo's face steadily paled, as if his mind had taken a devastating blow. He seemed to have gone mad.

Prince Yu crouched down once more. He lightly patted Zhao Gongzuo's shoulder. "This king is not like you. Even if you possess heaven-defying abilities, you are still nothing but someone's puppet."

Hearing this, Zhao Gongzuo's eyes instantly went wide.

He suddenly began to struggle violently.

"I am not!"

"What are you doing? Settle down!"

Zhao Gongzuo roared, "I'm not a puppet! I am the Prince of Yan! I am the king of this world!"

Prince Yu gave a mild smile. "A fake is a fake. It can never become real."

Zhao Gongzuo stared fixedly at him. "On what grounds? On what grounds! Why does Zhao Wuji get to be the Prince of Yan, but I can't? Why!"

At that name, several people in the tent were taken aback.

"Zhao Wuji..."

"Zhao Wuji?"

"Who?!"

One of them suddenly realized the implication. "Your Highness!"

Prince Yu raised a hand. "This king knows who he is."

Zhao Gongzuo froze, suddenly realizing he had let the truth slip.

But by now, he was already somewhat delirious, unable to grasp the situation.

"No, no..."

Zhao Gongzuo's expression was dazed. "I am the Prince of Yan," he muttered softly. "I am. He isn't. He isn't at all. I am..."

"Let me go!"

"Hold him down!"

Instantly, the soldiers rushed forward. Several men worked together to pin Zhao Gongzuo to the ground.

"Let me go!"

Zhao Gongzuo roared, seemingly entirely deranged.

"I am the true Prince of Yan! I am!"

"That Zhao Wuji is not! He isn't! I am the real Prince of Yan!"

"He deserves to die! He deserves to die!"

"Hahahaha, I am the Prince of Yan..."

As he rambled, Zhao Gongzuo began to weep bitterly, throwing a mad fit right there in the command tent.

"He's gone mad..." someone murmured.

Prince Yu merely watched and let out a quiet sigh.

He knew full well that Zhao Gongzuo hadn't gone mad at all. He was just faking it.

Following the downfall of the Prince of Yan, this late-rising warlord had taken only a few years to swallow nearly half the realm. He had emerged from nowhere and surged to sudden power.

"It truly exceeds all expectations."

Tong Zhihuan was stunned by the news. Back when he first heard a prince was gathering power at the Border Pass, he had assumed it would take the man a very long time to truly rise. Dealing with the North Desert People was no easy task, after all.

He hadn't expected this prince to stabilize the situation at the Border Pass so quickly, lead a massive army heading south, and conquer Yan Land in just a few months.

In the end, Prince Jin's earlier schemes had only paved the way for Prince Yu.

Tao'er said, "Prince Jin schemed and calculated, only to meet with an accident halfway and lose absolutely everything."

Tong Zhihuan nodded. "Looking at it this way, the unification of the Mortal World shouldn't be far off."

"Husband, do you think the world will belong to Prince Yu?"

"Without a doubt."

Tong Zhihuan said, "Leaving aside the fact that Prince Yu himself possesses great talent, the forces supporting him from the shadows might be even more extraordinary. It's as if the chaotic chessboard of this world was set up entirely for him, and he is the unexpected winning move."

Hearing this, Tao'er felt he was right.

Prince Yu's rise held the heavenly timing, advantageous terrain, and human harmony—yet all of these advantages seemed as though someone had deliberately prepared them for him.

Tong Zhihuan smiled. "Let's not dwell on it. In the end, it doesn't matter who becomes emperor. Our Qiuyue Fang won't change no matter what."

Tao'er gave a gentle smile and nodded in agreement.

"Daddy, Mommy, what are you talking about?"

Tong Zhihuan scooped her up, planted a kiss on her cheek, and said, "We were just talking about whether it's time for you to go to the academy and study."

Tong Nianyi let out a hum, rubbed her eyes, and said, "Daddy, Nianyi already finished her elementary learning. I don't need to study anymore. I heard Big Sister Lin from the courtyard over there say that girls don't need to study after they finish their elementary learning."

Tong Zhihuan said with absolute seriousness, "What other families do doesn't matter. You are going to study."

"But Nianyi doesn't want to study."

"If you don't want to study, what do you want to do?"

"Nianyi wants Big Cat to play with me."

Tao'er chuckled. She patted the girl's head and said, "Big Cat has its own things to do. It won't always be around to play with you."

Tong Nianyi murmured, not knowing how to reply.

She looked left at her father, then right at her mother.

"Do I really have to study?"

Her parents' attitudes were surprisingly unified.

"You absolutely must!"

Listening to their nagging, Tong Nianyi immediately felt a headache coming on.

In the end, she couldn't escape her parents' arrangements. Within a few days, a teacher was contacted, and she was sent to the academy.

Qiuyue Fang was merely a small border town, and it had never produced any brilliant figures in the imperial examinations. However, the academy's teacher had been a licentiate in his early years. Later, when war tore through the nation, he had returned to Qiuyue Fang, opened a school, and begun teaching students.

The academy's teacher was relatively stiff and old-fashioned.

Listening to him made Tong Nianyi doze off, which earned her a paddling.

Ever since she started studying, she spent her days gloomy and depressed, rarely showing a smile.

What she dreaded most every day was going to the academy, and what she wanted most was to be let out early.

She certainly didn't absorb much of the material.

Seeing that she was Physician Tong's daughter, Mister Xiucai accommodated her time and time again. But Tong Nianyi refused to change her ways. To her, the textbooks were like illegible heavenly tomes; she was wide awake between classes but dozed off the moment lessons began. Mister Xiucai found himself in a very difficult position. Left with no other choice, he ultimately sent Tong Nianyi back home.

"Doctor Tong, I have tried my utmost, yet I have failed to impart any knowledge or literature to her. I am truly powerless..."

Tong Zhihuan apologized profusely, begging the teacher for forgiveness.

He politely and amiably saw Mister Xiucai out the door.

Unsurprisingly.

Tong Nianyi received a paddling.

And it was her mother who personally administered it.

But after the paddling, Tao'er's heart ached for her. Rubbing Tong Nianyi's little hands, she asked, "Did Mommy hit you too hard?"

Tong Nianyi shook her head, though her eyes were still red and brimming with tears.

Tao'er wiped away her tears and sighed. "You're still young. You don't understand why people need to study."

"What's the use of studying?"

This question lingered in Tong Nianyi's mind.

She went to ask Big Cat.

Lihua shook its head upon hearing the question, answering simply, "Lihua has never studied. I don't know."

Tong Nianyi smacked her lips and asked, "Then... does Aunt Ruyi know?"

Lihua thought for a moment. "Ruyi?"

It shook its head. "I don't know if Ruyi knows or not."

Tong Nianyi blinked, feeling a little dizzy from its roundabout words.

"I'll go find Aunt Ruyi."

When Tong Nianyi found Ruyi, Ruyi was under the tree in the courtyard, guiding Dong Chiyu in spear practice.

The two moved in perfect synchronization. Their sweeping and thrusting of the spears kicked up a flurry of fallen leaves.

Tong Nianyi stared at the scene with wide eyes.

She felt incredibly curious.

"Nianyi, what brings you here?"

"Aunt Ruyi, Auntie Dong."

Ruyi walked over and rubbed the girl's hair.

Tong Nianyi asked the question weighing on her mind.

Ruyi thought for a moment and said, "Studying..."

When she heard the question, a flood of answers rose in her mind, but just as she opened her mouth to speak, she paused.

Right...

What exactly was the point of studying?

She had harbored the exact same doubts back then, but she had never asked Uncle Chen.

She had merely listened to her mother, who said that this was a rare opportunity. In such chaotic times, having a teacher to guide her in reading and writing was an incredibly remarkable thing.

That was why she had studied so hard.

But even later on, when she had achieved some small success in her studies, she still couldn't figure out the true purpose of reading.

Perhaps it was because she was an unreasonable person by nature that she felt this way. She lived up to her name—Ruyi, 'as one wishes'—wishing for everything to go her way.

But there was one principle she did understand.

Ruyi crouched down and said to Tong Nianyi, "Do you know what your Aunt Ruyi was like when she was little?"

Tong Nianyi blinked, then shook her head.

Ruyi said, "When I was young, I had a fierce temper. I loved bullying people. Beating up my little brother wasn't enough, so I would go beat up the kids in the neighboring courtyards. There wasn't a single person who wasn't afraid of me. I can't tell you exactly what the use of studying is, but I can tell you what I would have become if I hadn't read books, hadn't learned a few characters, and hadn't learned the principles of the world back then."

"What would you have become?"

Ruyi took a deep breath and said, "If I hadn't learned the truths in those books, if I hadn't understood what it means to be human, how to conduct oneself in the world, what is evil, and what is good..."

"In such chaotic times, with my temper, I probably would have become an evil person. I'd be just like the thugs on the street, using my strength to bully the weak, committing all sorts of wickedness. But in reality, I wouldn't have possessed much real skill. Eventually, I would have fallen into ruin, dying in some unknown place—either hacked to pieces by blades or freezing to death in the snow somewhere—and no one would have cared."

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