Immortal Travel of Longevity

Hearing this, Ruyi could not help but say, "I actually know about that. I've heard people talking about it before. The Imperial Court has barred people from jianghu sects from engaging in commerce or pursuing civil service. If caught, there is absolutely no leniency, so they had no choice but to leave their sects."

Chen Changsheng said, "That leaves them no way out. He has offended them all to the bitter end."

It had to be said, the current Yan Ruchu was truly a ruthless man. When he launched his night raid on the Imperial Palace, he had relied on the aid of these jianghu martial artists. Now, however, he was killing the donkey once the mill was done. It was the same for the jianghu sects as it was for Prime Minister Wen, who had helped him back then only to die by his blade.

But no matter how one looked at it, these were the actions a qualified emperor ought to take.

Moreover, in Chen Changsheng's view, suppressing martial artists was indeed the right course of action. It was just...

Ping'an sighed. "Truth be told, His Majesty is acting with undue haste. Whether it comes to suppressing the martial artists of the jianghu or dealing with the chaos in West Xiao, His Majesty seems intent on resolving everything immediately, as if he cannot bear to wait any longer. In the past, His Majesty was never like this."

Logically, it should not be this way. These matters called for a gradual approach.

Ruyi blinked. "What kind of person is His Majesty?"

Ping'an paused for a moment before answering. "Since there is no one else in the courtyard, I will speak plainly. Though, of course, this cannot be repeated outside."

"He's that amazing?" Ruyi muttered. "I've never even seen an emperor before."

Ping'an smiled. "You are wrong about that, Sister."

"Hm?"

"Perhaps you met him a long time ago."

Ruyi blinked in confusion. "I have?"

Ping'an said, "The Rebel Army that entered Qingshan City back then was His Majesty's former army."

Ruyi froze. "But wasn't he... wasn't he..."

She remembered it very clearly. Hadn't that Rebel Army leader been captured back then?

Ping'an said, "This is another matter that cannot be spoken of outside. Just keep it to yourself."

His Majesty had long since issued an edict banning all discussion of the matter.

Thus, aside from a few old officials, very few people knew the truth.

Ruyi was left in a daze.

She never would have guessed. "I always thought the current His Majesty was also a Xiang Person..."

Ping'an said, "His Majesty is a Jing Person. If he had ascended the throne with his identity as a Jing Person, the realm would inevitably have fallen into chaos once more. Furthermore, only by taking the throne as a Xiang Person would those old officials have had a chance to survive. Otherwise, a complete reorganization of the Imperial Court would have left the nation wildly unstable."

Ruyi sighed. "That took far too much nerve. Was he not afraid of being discovered?"

Ping'an smiled. "That was merely a temporary measure. In truth, the officials of the Imperial Court already know about His Majesty's identity as a Jing Person. And even if word spread, the Great Xiang of today would not necessarily descend into turmoil. The rift between the Xiang People and the Jing people has long since worn away over these past few years."

If he had not chosen to deceive heaven and cross the sea, how could he have stabilized the realm?

On this matter, His Majesty had made certain concessions, even discarding his identity as a Jing Person.

But Ping'an knew this was only temporary.

He felt that perhaps one day, the name Xiang would be changed. He could faintly sense that His Majesty harbored a long-standing ambition regarding this matter.

He could tell simply from how the words of the Jing officials in the Imperial Court were carrying more and more weight.

Ping'an suddenly remembered something else and could not help but look toward Uncle Chen.

"Speaking of His Majesty... Uncle Chen, did you know him long ago?"

Ping'an remembered that back in Qingshan City, someone had once come to visit Mister. Ping'an had taken a careful second look at the man, and it was solely because of that glance that he had been stunned for so long when he later met His Majesty in person.

Ruyi was also taken aback. "Uncle Chen, you know the emperor?"

Chen Changsheng admitted, "You could say that."

"'You could say that'?" Ruyi blinked.

Chen Changsheng said, "I did him a few small favors. It was all a very long time ago."

Listening to their words, Mo Yuan said, "Mister is just being modest. Even though Yan Ruchu has now become the Human Sovereign, he still has to act with the utmost reverence when he sees Mister."

Lihua, looking utterly perplexed, blinked and asked, "Is the Human Sovereign very powerful?"

Mo Yuan answered, "Not really. It is just that killing him would invite a great deal of trouble."

"Oh, okay." Lihua nodded in understanding.

Listening to their words, Ping'an could not help but feel a lingering sense of shock.

Was this really something that could be said out loud?

He sighed inwardly, unable to stop himself from wondering just what kind of identity this Young Master Mo possessed.

An Immortal? A demon? Or something else entirely?

Regardless, there was no denying that this Young Master Mo was an extraordinary figure.

Ruyi rubbed Lihua's ears and said, "Lihua won't cause any trouble."

Lihua blinked. "Lihua is very well-behaved."

"Mhm."

Mo Yuan gave a helpless smile. "You make it sound like I'm the one who is always causing trouble."

Chen Changsheng looked at him. "You are alright, I suppose."

Hearing Mister say this, Mo Yuan could only scratch his head.

The group shared a laugh.

Ping'an then urged, "Drink your tea, drink your tea."

They moved past these matters of the Imperial Court.

Ruyi asked, "Hey, Uncle Chen, did you come to Shangjing this time to attend that Investiture of Immortals Assembly?"

Chen Changsheng shook his head. "It is merely a coincidence. This Chen has come to Shangjing for other matters."

"Shangjing has been incredibly lively these past few days," Ruyi said. "Lihua and I ran into a demon before we even entered the city. Over the last couple of days, we have been bumping into demons right on the streets. Lihua has spotted quite a few of them."

"Demons?" Ping'an frowned.

Ruyi nodded. "That's right. It seems these demons have all come for the Investiture of Immortals Assembly. As for their exact reasons, I am not too clear on that, and Lihua cannot explain it very well either."

Ping'an raised his brow. "The Investiture of Immortals Assembly? What are demons doing here for that?"

Mo Yuan explained, "The explanation is quite simple, actually. For them, this Investiture of Immortals Assembly is a stroke of serendipity."

"Serendipity?"

"Indeed," Mo Yuan continued. "The Investiture of Immortals Assembly does not solely confer titles upon humans or Immortals. Demons can just as easily be conferred. The benefit is that demons who receive an Investiture Scroll will be blessed by human dao qi fortune. From there, they can establish temples and enjoy incense offerings. For a demon, such fortune is incredibly hard to come by, which is why everyone wants to come and try their luck."

Ping'an said, "I imagine His Majesty would not actually bestow titles upon demons, would he?"

Mo Yuan smiled. "That is not necessarily true. If they dare to come, it means they must have some method to deceive heaven and cross the sea."

Ping'an asked, "Even if they manage to deceive His Majesty, they could not possibly fool the City God, right?"

"The City God?" Ruyi blinked.

Ping'an opened his mouth, glancing at Ruyi and then at Uncle Chen before explaining, "The City God recently visited me in a dream, which is how I found out..."

"You are the Metropolitan Governor. It is perfectly normal for the City God to seek you out."

"So that is how it is."

Chen Changsheng then said, "You mentioned earlier that the City God would intervene in this matter, but that is not necessarily true either. A City God's duty is to protect the common people, which certainly entails slaying evil and purging demons. In practice, however, a City God does not hunt down just any demon. If a demon is benevolent, the City God has no reason to punish them."

Ping'an was startled. "Then doesn't that mean... there really are demons who could be bestowed titles and become Immortals!"

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