Immortal Travel of Longevity

Chen Changsheng went on to tell him about everything he had seen and heard on the road.

By now, the old man had no choice but to believe him.

After a long silence, the old man muttered in disbelief, "How did it come to this..."

"This Chen finds it hard to understand as well," Chen Changsheng said.

"You could say The Prince is foolish, yet he managed to rise above the rest of the Seven Kings. You could say he's smart, yet he brought about this exact situation."

The old man fell silent.

Perhaps he knew exactly why things had turned out this way, and so he was unwilling to speak.

Mostly, he was just wondering how the world had devolved into such a state.

The empire was torn by war, and the common people always suffered in the end, but it was hard for him to accept that they were suffering to this extent.

The old man let out a long breath, weighed down by a profound sense of powerlessness and regret, as if mourning a memory.

Chen Changsheng turned to look at him and asked, "Why the sigh?"

"I should have known this day would come."

The old man said, "If I had known earlier, I wouldn't have been so willful, and things would never have reached this point. Given the current situation, The Prince is bound to fail..."

Hearing this, Chen Changsheng asked, "Do you think The Prince is capable of achieving great things?"

The old man opened his mouth, then said, "The Prince comes from a military background. He... he doesn't understand state affairs. If he had the right advisors by his side, he could achieve a great revival."

Chen Changsheng shook his head. "This Chen doesn't actually have high hopes for him. Look at the state of this place: the government is dysfunctional and the people are divided. There is no future to speak of."

"You would only believe it if you saw it," the old man said. "People have different strengths. Even if The Prince is absurd when it comes to the people's livelihood, his abilities as a commander are extraordinary."

"I see."

Chen Changsheng asked, "If you respect The Prince so much, why are you sitting in this dungeon?"

The old man gave a helpless smile and said, "I was among the scholars who cursed The Prince, and I was the one who started it."

"Oh..."

Chen Changsheng realized who he was. "So it was you."

"Your influence is truly quite something. Because of you, Prince Kang burned all the books in this region to ashes, and who knows how many scholars he killed."

"I..."

The old man sighed and said, "I am a sinner, which is why I am in this dungeon. But time will prove that my choice was right. One day, The Prince will summon me out."

"What if he has forgotten about you?"

"Impossible!"

The old man suddenly grew agitated. "How could The Prince forget me!"

Chen Changsheng raised a hand and said, "Calm down."

"Putting aside your talents for a moment," Chen Changsheng said, "he has already done the deed and killed the people. You yourself said he is a military man with that kind of temperament. When the time truly comes, even if he remembers you, would he really lower his pride to seek you out?"

Hearing this, the old man fell silent.

In truth, he was lying to himself.

He knew very well in his heart that he would likely never leave this place for the rest of his life.

He just couldn't resign himself to it.

His heart was full of boundless ambition, yet he had nowhere to exercise it.

Trapped in this square prison for a lifetime—how could anyone be willing to accept such a fate?

Chen Changsheng said calmly, "So, you might as well let go of these matters. As they say, a fine bird chooses a good tree to roost in. Since you have ambitions, you might as well serve a different prince, or at the very least, head to the Capital City. There will always be a place for you to utilize your talents. The way This Chen sees it, whether it be the other princes or the Imperial Court, none of them will treat you poorly."

Hearing this, a thought stirred in the old man's heart.

But he suddenly stopped himself and flared up in anger. "You! How venomous! To actually tempt me into committing such a treacherous act!"

Chen Changsheng shook his head and said, "I don't think following Prince Kang is an act of the Righteous Path anyway. If he really manages to become the emperor, what kind of situation will that lead to in the end? He already neglects civil affairs now; what about the future?"

"Say no more!"

The veins bulged on the old man's forehead as he snapped, "I will absolutely never do something so filthy!"

Hearing this, Chen Changsheng said no more. He spread his hands and said, "That is entirely up to you."

The old man gave a cold snort and sat back down.

For the rest of the night, he didn't say another word to Chen Changsheng. He even sat far away, as if thoroughly disgusted by him.

Chen Changsheng could actually understand what the man was thinking.

People of his generation always held to a bottom line. To them, bowing to a new master was unacceptable; it was not the conduct of a gentleman.

But in Chen Changsheng's eyes, on this chessboard of heaven and earth, one ought to choose a wise master to follow.

The night passed in silence.

At noon the next day, meals were distributed.

They were spoiled again.

Chen Changsheng didn't eat this time. It wasn't out of disgust; he didn't need to eat in the first place, and had only eaten a bowl yesterday out of curiosity about the taste.

"Not eating?"

Seeing this, the guards watching over the dungeon let out a sinister laugh.

"Beat him."

Before long, a guard came swinging a Whip at him.

"Stop!"

The old man barked.

The guard paused and looked at him. "Oh, Lord Rong is putting on quite the official airs! You've been reduced to a prisoner, yet you still act so high and mighty?"

Chen Changsheng silently lowered the hand beneath his sleeve that had been about to cast a spell.

The old man frowned and said, "The tiger falls to the flatlands and is bullied by dogs. In my eyes, you are nothing but clay roosters and tile dogs. You hold a Whip, and suddenly you think you are tigers too?"

These words instantly drew their ire.

"Beat him!"

"Don't stop until I say so!"

The Whip immediately rained down on him.

"Hit me! Beat me to death!" The old man gritted his teeth and spat, "If I die, you will die too!"

Although he had been thrown into the imperial dungeon by Prince Kang, there was still an old bond between them. If he died, given Prince Kang's temperament, these dungeon guards would find it hard to escape a calamity.

As soon as these words were spoken, the guard who had just yelled in anger immediately shouted, "Stop!"

The man shot him a cold glare.

"Old coot! Just you wait!"

The guards in the dungeon immediately backed away and left.

And with that, a grudge had been forged.

The old man burst into laughter, cursing, "Clay chickens and tile dogs! Clay chickens and tile dogs!!"

His curses echoed throughout the dungeon.

The guards left with gloomy expressions; the old man's days ahead were likely to be difficult.

When the old man grew tired of cursing, he let out a long breath.

Chen Changsheng looked at him and asked, "Why did you help me?"

The old man rolled his eyes at him and said nothing.

Chen Changsheng smiled and said, "This Chen has rested enough. Let me ask you: do you want to get out of here?"

Hearing this, the old man paused and said, "If the price is making me serve another master, I refuse."

He paused again and asked, "Which prince do you work for?"

Realizing the misunderstanding, Chen Changsheng replied, "This Chen is not under anyone's command. If I must say, This Chen stands on the side of the common people."

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