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    Edict of Peace 127

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    Chapter 127: I Shall Become the Red Emperor!

    “Aunt, everything is well in the capital. I’ve recently received a promotion.”

    “Elder Xue arranged a large residence for me, with plenty of various sweets—they’re delicious. I’ve also met many like-minded friends; we often go hunting together. The spring scenery in the capital is beautiful, the people live in peace and prosperity, and I’m doing very well…”

    Li Guanyi picked up his pen, pondering how to write to his aunt.

    Yesterday, he’d stormed the ghost market, slaughtering many people—his blades were even dulled. He wasn’t at the Xue family residence now; his surroundings were simple, the windows secured with wrist-thick, refined steel locks. The young man sat cross-legged, casually stuffing a bun into his mouth, enjoying it immensely.

    This was the Jinwu Guards’ confinement cell—colloquially known as a “small dark room.”

    Old Master Si Ming had mysteriously disappeared yesterday. The general dragged him back, stripped him of his badge and weapon (a war halberd), kicked him in the butt, and tossed him into the small dark room before grumbling off to brawl with the capital’s city defense guards.

    Rumor had it their Jinwu Guard general single-handedly berated dozens of people on the imperial road.

    He was a true veteran ruffian who had clawed his way up from the bottom.

    Uninhibited and unrestrained, his curses were laced with irreverence towards ancestors.

    The officials were furious, their faces turning red as they stammered and sputtered. Several reportedly fainted from rage.

    Gong Zhenyong sneered, implying they had spent too much time in brothels.

    This revived the few civilian officials.

    Clang, clang, clang—

    A gentle tapping sound came from the window. Li Guanyi ignored it, and the tapping stopped. A clear, soft thud followed; something seemed to have been thrown inside. The young man’s ears twitched.

    Huh? Gold?!

    Li Guanyi blinked, turned, and saw a small gold nugget in front of him. He reached out and picked it up. Another was thrown in front of him. The young man picked up several more, slowly approaching the window and looking up.

    A slender, fair finger flicked his forehead.

    Looking up from his seated position, he saw a smiling face, fair as jade, with bright almond eyes and long, flowing black hair parted in the middle, bangs falling over her forehead. It was the young miss.

    “Such a moneygrubber!”

    The young miss chided, “I had to use gold to lure you out.”

    A radiant smile bloomed on Li Guanyi’s face. “Young Miss!”

    Xue Shuangtao stood on a rock, her toes pointed. “You fought with General Yue Qianfeng, the Red Dragon, just the other day. I wanted to see you, but Grandpa said you were fine and told me to stay in the palace. But only two days later, you’re fighting again?”

    Li Guanyi grinned. “Couldn’t help it. It was just a coincidence…”

    “Now I don’t even have the rank of an eighth-rank official. My ceremonial robe and jade belt have been stripped.”

    This was actually Gong Zhenyong actively protecting him.

    Generals from military families on the border were known throughout the land for their protectiveness.

    *My own man, I even stripped him of his robe and rank, what more do you want? I’ve gone this far, do you want me to chop him up?!*

    *If you chop him up today, do you want to have a problem with me?*

    *Whoever speaks up, I’ll go back and chop that kid up right now, and you’ll remember it for the rest of your life!*

    Gong Zhenyong pinched his thigh, his eyes red as he glared at the civilian officials when he said those words. All the officials wilted. None of them wanted to push a general of the Imperial Guard to the limit, especially since Gong Zhenyong was a *Qin Xun Yi Wei Yu Lin Lang Jiang* (a high-ranking officer in the Imperial Guard).

    What does *Yi Wei* mean?

    Only the grandsons of second-rank officials, sons of third-rank officials, and sons of fourth-rank officials could hold this position. *Qin Xun Yi Wei* is even higher; the sons of second or third-rank officials could fill this personal guard position. *Qin Xun Yi Wei Yu Lin Lang Jiang* means Gong Zhenyong’s men were at least the sons of fourth-rank military officials, up to the sons of second-rank officials, including the descendants of princes and *Shang Zhu Guo* (high-ranking officials). Gong Zhenyong’s current rank wasn’t high, but all great generals from past generations held this position.

    His troops weren’t soldiers; they were generals.

    No one wanted to offend him.

    Gong Zhenyong used the battlefield tactics of a low-level ruffian to verbally battle the scholars.

    While Li Guanyi squatted in the small dark room, pondering, he felt a hand on his head, gently rubbing his hair. He looked up and saw the girl, tiptoeing, basking in the sunlight outside the window, giving him a radiant smile. “Well, but you did the right thing.”

    “If no one else praises you, I will.”

    “You’re truly worthy of being my husband.”

    “You’re the Qilin (Chinese Unicorn) of the world!”

    “Even if the emperor thinks you’re wrong, I’ll stand by you.”

    The young man looked up, saying nothing. He let the young miss rub his hair. He handed her the letter. “Young Miss, please give this letter to my aunt and tell her not to worry.”

    Xue Shuangtao nodded. “Reach out your hand.”

    Li Guanyi was puzzled, but he still reached out. The girl placed her hand in his palm, then released it.

    It was a handful of gold coins.

    “They punish you, but I will stand by your side.”

    “This is all the gold I have, saved for many years. It’s all yours.”

    A bright smile lit Xue Shuangtao’s face.

    “Don’t say it’s too little.”

    The girl waved her hand, turned, and lightly jumped down from the rock. Li Guanyi held the handful of gold, saying nothing. He felt much better. The girl’s words and comfort, her visit at this time, were more precious than gold.

    The smile on Xue Shuangtao’s face vanished, replaced by worry.

    She pursed her lips and ran to find her aunt.

    After the girl left,

    Amidst rustling sounds, a boy emerged from the grass, his eyes wide, crouching there, clutching two blades of grass. Then, two more emerged from behind an artificial mountain, one from behind a rock, and two from the pool.

    They even spat out some water with grass in it.

    The boys exchanged glances, then rushed to the window.

    Zhou Liying shouted, “Boss, what’s going on?”

    “Why did Young Miss Xue come to see you specifically?!”

    Li Guanyi rolled his eyes. “Don’t call me boss!”

    Zhou Liying said, “Okay, Boss.”

    “No problem, Boss.”

    The young Jinwu Guards laughed in unison.

    Li Guanyi twitched the corner of his mouth.

    He felt the title sounded like the boss of some mountain bandits. After yesterday’s events, Li Guanyi’s reputation among the young men of the martial arts families had soared. The sons of civilian officials thought he was too reckless, believing that *a son of a thousand gold pieces should not sit in a precarious position*. The sons of martial arts families, however, found it exhilarating. When they mentioned him, they no longer used his name.

    Those ten Jinwu Guards who had stormed the ghost market all had bragging rights.

    Zhou Liying laughed heartily. “Boss, let me tell you, yesterday I climbed the wall to escape and even stole a horse from home. But when I got back, my old man didn’t beat me. He just asked me one question.”

    “He asked if I was scared and whether I fought bravely.”

    “I said I didn’t retreat a single step. My old man actually drank with me! He never lets me drink at home. Hahaha, he did that for the first time, and told me to follow you.”

    Zhou Liying beamed.

    Li Guanyi sighed. “Okay, okay, so how are things going with you guys?”

    Zhou Liying and Ye Buyi exchanged glances. “General Gong is still berating those civilian officials and scholars. Now, those officials are not concerned with you killing people; it’s that you created such a big incident before the grand festival, causing Chen Kingdom to lose face before other countries and damaging the foundations of the state.”

    “They say you don’t understand the larger picture.”

    “The general was about to give in.”

    “But don’t worry, Master Wang Tong stepped in.”

    “Then, we wiped out the ghost market—armor, crossbows, people… those people wouldn’t have enough lives if they had three. Their relatives who didn’t report them will be exiled three thousand li (about 900 miles), probably to work as laborers in the Western Regions for the rest of their lives. All evil-doers will be executed, and the punishment is not just strangulation.”

    “The ringleaders will be subjected to slow slicing (lingchi).”

    “The Jinwu Guards worked all night. They were all young men who had been pent up in the palace. The number of people rescued was not just the dozen you saved; there were about a thousand people still alive.”

    “According to our laws, they will be given money and sent home. If they have no relatives, they will be settled locally and given land, exempt from taxes for three years. After Elder Xue learned about what you did, he took over the handling of these people, pretty much as you guessed.”

    Li Guanyi nodded, whispering,

    “A thousand people…”

    Ye Buyi and Zhou Liying exchanged glances. They didn’t mention that when the Jinwu Guards arrived, they found boiled human leg bones. It wasn’t due to lack of food. The ringleader was a thug who told the Jinwu Guards he was just experimenting and hadn’t killed many people.

    Since all his people were there, he immediately confessed and pleaded for leniency. He hadn’t killed many people, so could he be given a lighter sentence? Gong Zhenyong hacked him with a sword three hundred times, hacking him down to a skeleton. He was scared and pained to death when he saw his own bones.

    But Li Guanyi had already guessed something.

    He bowed. “Thank you, brothers.”

    Ye Buyi, Zhou Liying, and the others returned the bow respectfully.

    The young man thought for a moment and held out his hand, showing the gold coins the young miss had given him. “Although it was the young miss who gave it to me, I’ll just pass it on—let’s get the brothers some drinks.”

    The others looked at each other. Ye Buyi said, “That was from Young Miss Xue.”

    Li Guanyi smiled slightly. “The gifts she gave me are more valuable than gold.”

    “That cannot be shared with you.”

    Everyone laughed, developing even more fondness for the young man who was in dire straits.

    They found it exhilarating.

    Li Guanyi sat there, his mood unsettled. Many things were taking shape in his mind. He looked at the sky, for the first time thinking about his and his aunt’s future. The young man’s head bumped against the wall.

    After a while, he heard noisy sounds again. The young military officials came back, bringing wine, meat, and more friends. They set up a banquet outside the Jinwu Guard confinement cell.

    They passed wine cups through the window. Ye Buyi said, “Come, let’s drink together.”

    Li Guanyi smiled and agreed.

    After a round of drinking, the ten-person group grew to thirty-three. They brought along their friends from martial arts families, drinking merrily. But, being Jinwu Guards, they couldn’t stay too long. Finally, only Li Guanyi was left.

    Elder Xue visited once, telling him not to worry, also saying he had been reckless.

    The elder’s voice was gentle. “Saving people is like fighting a fire. I understand your intentions, but you could have taken other approaches…” The elder told Li Guanyi about carefully weighing options and choosing safer methods.

    “You used the Jinwu Guards and the grand festival to expose the ghost market, but you inevitably suffered as a result. But under the circumstances, this was already the best choice.”

    “But you did well, you did right.”

    The old man raised his wine cup. “Do you intend to take these people under your wing?”

    Li Guanyi replied, “Saving people is saving people. I didn’t do it to gain followers.”

    Elder Xue laughed, whispering, “Such a stubborn child. But it’s good, only this kind of intensity is good. A young man without such spirit is not a young man. We can handle the scheming and calculations; I have something to teach you.”

    “You should know already.”

    Li Guanyi’s eyes paused slightly. He nodded.

    The old man pointed at Li Guanyi, speaking slowly, “You saved them and sent them home. But you annihilated a gang of thieves today. There are others in the world… they lack the strength to protect themselves. This world isn’t peaceful and prosperous; they will suffer again.”

    “I once saved a person. That person was saved seven times and sold seven times. They went mad.”

    “But you don’t need to worry about those you saved, because of the Jinwu Guards and me.”

    “But what if you don’t have them one day? These are all external things.”

    “Without my influence, without your status in the Jinwu Guards…”

    “In this world, saving people is like killing people.”

    Li Guanyi suddenly understood the heartbreaking sorrow in Old Master Si Ming’s eyes—because in some situations, being bought was better than being killed during a raid, being taken away, and then being killed after being sexually assaulted along the way.

    The old man, having lived so long, must have witnessed many sorrowful things.

    Li Guanyi looked at Xue Daoyong. The ferocious tiger of this chaotic world reached out and ruffled the boy’s hair, softly saying, “You knew you had my backing when you went to save people; you knew you had the Jinwu Guards, so you went alone and broke up the ghost market. You are courageous, perceptive, and daring to gamble and kill.”

    “But remember, you will one day need your own *backbone*.”

    Seeing Li Guanyi’s expression, he patted his hair, laughing heartily. “Don’t feel sorry. We have an alliance, and furthermore, backing our younger generations, allowing them to make mistakes and then grow, is our responsibility to you.”

    “But—”

    He looked at Li Guanyi, whispering, “You must grow.”

    “A youth has spirit, like a white tiger taking flight, but if a youth doesn’t grow, he will remain a fool.”

    The turmoil in Li Guanyi’s heart subsided. He bowed.

    “I humbly accept your teachings.”

    The elder left.

    There was a pot of wine left.

    There were books, but they were all about loyalty and patriotism.

    He took off his shoes, sat cross-legged. Night had fallen, when the chains were unexpectedly opened. A scholar entered; he was young but possessed great bearing, wearing a purple robe. It was Wang Tong.

    Seeing Li Guanyi drinking alone at night, Wang Tong smiled freely.

    “Li Guanyi, you are quite carefree.”

    Li Guanyi stood up to greet him. “Master?! How did you get here?”

    Wang Tong raised the imperial edict in his hand. “Naturally, to deliver an imperial edict.” He sat down casually beside Li Guanyi, throwing the edict to Li Guanyi to read it himself. Li Guanyi read the edict. Wang Tong continued, “The court officials argued for a whole day. It was the emperor’s order given by Dantái Xiànmíng.”

    “He said that your elimination of the ghost market was a great accomplishment that should be rewarded; however, disregarding the grand festival and harming the national image cannot go unpunished, so the punishment will be postponed. As for the ghost market incident, it must be cleaned up, but publicly, the matter should be suppressed and not spread.”

    “The emperor said ‘okay.’”

    “Your reward and punishment will probably be decided after the Grand Festival.”

    Li Guanyi remained silent.

    Wang Tong said, “After all, it’s Chen Kingdom.”

    “Speaking of, after Guan Yi City, this was our first meeting. The reason we didn’t meet again for so long was because you were energetic and passionate then, seeing only the bright side of the world. To allow you to see the darkness of the world will allow for true instruction.”

    “Now that you’ve seen it, how do you feel?”

    Li Guanyi concealed his true feelings, yet still said, “Unpleasant.”

    “I feel very stifled, and I feel like my life is not long.”

    Wang Tong asked, “Why?”

    The young man said, “During Chen Kingdom’s Grand Festival, Jiangzhou City is like this, so Jiangzhou City during ordinary times will be even worse; and since the capital is like this, what about the rest of the country?” He pointed to his eyes. “With my personality, I can’t ignore things.”

    “The world is so chaotic, and I’m not blind.”

    The youth sat there, his head hitting the pillar. “With my personality…”

    “In this world…”

    “I’m destined to die a bad death.”

    Wang Tong smiled, raising his wine cup. “Well said!”

    “His Majesty said your recklessness is indeed true. He said that you haven’t read enough, so he sent me to teach you before the Grand Festival. This is already a reward. Come, let’s read some classics, history, and literature.”

    Li Guanyi replied, “Classics, history, and literature… reading more only makes one a gentleman.”

    “A gentleman cannot save this chaotic world.”

    Wang Tong frowned. “The books contain the principles of sages.”

    Li Guanyi was quiet for a moment, pressing his hand to his chest.

    “I have a teacher, a real teacher.”

    “He said that one should clean the house before inviting guests. In my eyes, the world is full of trash. No matter how good something is, placing it in a house full of trash will only make it look messier.”

    Wang Tong seemed struck by the words. He fell silent, then said, “The Six Arts of a Gentleman, which do you like?”

    Li Guanyi answered, “Li (ritual), Yue (music), She (archery), Yu (charioteering), Shu (writing), and Shu (mathematics). Knowing how to read, write, and compose poetry is enough. I’m also pretty good at math. Archery and swordsmanship; I can kill ten, a hundred, even one or two hundred people. So what?”

    “I’m just a ten-to-one, a hundred-to-one fighter.”

    Wang Tong looked at him, breaking into a smile.

    “Do you want to learn the skills of the hegemon from eight hundred years ago, the skills of a ten-thousand-to-one fighter?”

    Li Guanyi looked at the master before him. “Can I trust you, Master?”

    “Yes.”

    “Do you see the common people of the world in your eyes?”

    Wang Tong said, “Yes.”

    “Good.”

    So, past experiences converged in Li Guanyi’s heart—all his experiences, and Elder Xue’s words. He raised his wine cup, addressing Master Wang Tong.

    “Before, I just wanted to go back to Jiangnan with my aunt. My aunt and I depended on each other. I used to be very afraid of death, very afraid, because I was afraid that only we two would be left in this world.”

    “What if I died? What would happen to my aunt?”

    “If she were left alone in the world, how miserable would she be? No one to compete with her for roast goose, no one to be teased by her. Just thinking about this would keep me awake at night.”

    “But yesterday I knew that there are others who care for and protect her in this world. Sending her there will make her safe, even without me. My aunt will be protected, and as for myself…”

    Li Guanyi closed his eyes. Qian Zheng, the farmer, human trafficking, the black market, deserters, the emperor, the aristocratic families, his parents, Yu Wen Lie—this world, this blood feud, this destined enemy… he must avenge his parents’ death. His enemy is the emperor of a great power.

    His destined enemy, the fifth Divine General in the land.

    He closed his eyes. “Master, my life will either be a great success or a great failure.”

    He bowed deeply, his heart finally radiating light.

    “I won’t learn to be a hegemon, a ten-thousand-to-one fighter.”

    “I want to learn to be the Red Emperor, to cultivate the skills of a ten-thousand-to-ten-thousand fighter!”

    Wang Tong looked at the young man.

    His wine cup fell to the ground without him noticing, wine spilling, the strong aroma as before.

    After a long while, he exhaled.

    The unparalleled Confucian scholar slowly raised his hand, returning the bow.

    “—Yes.”

    *Historical Records, Annals, Volume 1*: ■The youth did not study Confucianism, yet he was intelligent and insightful, fond of planning, able to listen, and possessed great courage. At fifteen, he became a Jinwu Guard. He once brandished a three-foot sword and stormed a treacherous place, single-handedly killing more than a hundred and saving nearly a thousand. He was feared by the emperor and imprisoned in the palace.

    The Master visited him and they conversed intimately.

    He adjusted his robes and bowed, beginning to cultivate the skills of a ten-thousand-to-ten-thousand fighter.

    In prison.

    He first saw the world.
    ………………

    The next day, when Li Guanyi was sleeping soundly, he heard noisy sounds outside, including General Gong Zhenyong. Rubbing his eyes, he went to see what was happening, saying “What’s going on again…” The door opened, and he saw the young men and Gong Zhenyong. The general looked at Li Guanyi oddly.

    “You kid, you have a wide network…”

    He stepped aside, revealing a young man in a brocade robe and golden crown, his folding fan gently swaying.

    Li Zhaowen.

    (End of Chapter)

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