Chapter 441 – The Hidden Saint
By the end of the year 193, Wu Guotai was not the only one with a new child.
In Ye City, Wang Yi, or Liu Yang, gave birth to a girl.
In history, Wang Yi should have two sons, Zhao Ying and Zhao Yue. Disguising as a historical figure, Liu Yang named her daughter Zhang Ying to camouflage the historical trend, so Tong would not suspect her.
Still, Zhang Ying's innate power scared Liu Yang.
"What kind of monster have I given birth to?"
The baby girl already had two wings since birth, one white and one black.
.
Meanwhile, Friday delivered a healthy baby boy, Zhang Guo, which had the same name as one of the eight immortals in Chinese mythology.
Medusa also had a baby boy, Zhang Yi. She got this name from one of the legendary strategists in the ancient warring state era during 320 BC, since she wanted this boy to support Zhang Guo in the future.
With two new competitors, Liu Xie's standing in the court hit rock bottom even though he still had the title as the first prince.
At Jibei County, the news about Tong's new children reached Liu Xie.
Taishi Ci, Liu Ye, Zhang Xiu, Zhang Ji, and Liu Xie were there as they were a part of Demon Legion. Also, all of them had already joined Tong's clan chat and got the cultivation manual.
Liu Xie got his memory back when he was once the true emperor of Han.
Now, his status in the court got more complicated.
Liu Xie sighed as he was frustrated by his fate and his alternate world's memory. It was not something he wanted to know, and he could not unlearn it.
'I was used by Cao Cao in the other life, and Zhang Tong is using my foster mother as a stepping stone to the throne. What kind of bullshitting lives I have been living?'
Emperor Xian of Han in history had a limited role and power after Cao Cao took over the court. Because he was inexperienced in worldly affairs and politics, Cao Cao took control of the government and used his name to expand his influence.
Feeling threatened by Cao Cao's influence, Liu Xie conspired with Liu Bei and Ma Teng to assassinate Cao Cao, but they failed. As that event's consequence, his concubines were killed by this minister as a warning, and Liu Bei had to flee from Xu Province.
Eventually, he lost the throne to Cao Pi and became the last emperor of the Han Dynasty, shaming all Han emperors.
'Well, at least Zhang Tong preserves the Han Dynasty's prestige. I should be grateful for that…'
Liu Xie's eyes revealed determination.
Unfortunately, the authority and privilege of an emperor could blind anyone's judgment, especially had someone tasted it. Liu Xie's 39 years of luxurious lifestyle got him addicted to the taste of power, even though he did not have the court control.
Liu Xie planned that this grand war between them and Cao Cao's coalition would be his stepping stone to fame. With the Demon Legion, he should be able to obtain the recognition from his subordinates and the court.
He focused on his cultivating technique. Two white wings fluttered behind his back.
'But that doesn't mean I haven't given up the throne, father. Your "election plan" will be your downfall. After all, that throne is rightfully mine!'
.
Henei County, Monster Legion
Li Feihong, as usual, was staying inside his private world, managing crops, and collecting provisions for Tong's forces.
It was the system notification as Li Feihong's skill automatically-collected these crops.
For a long time, Li Feihong was already aware that Zhang Tong was the same person whom he had falsely accused in the previous life. Thus, he worked for Tong, repenting, and repaying for his crime. For years, he repeated this tedious process for the sake of Tong's kingdom.
Yet, his eyes were dull. Li Feihong never celebrated or enjoyed what he was doing.
'For how long do I have to work for him, I wonder?'
Tong never gave him any extra reward other than titles, salary gold, and the right to own mobilize soldiers of the legion.
He felt that something was missing in his life!
Li Feihong watched his spy monitors, which revealed the events in the outside world.
At the maximum level of this [Private World] system skill, he could see everything in a radius of 10 kilometers.
Again, he was bored.
'So tiring. When will this job ever end?'
He sighed and exited the private world along with the food. He walked to the granary, planning to unload all of his harvests from his space inventory.
As soon as he left his private world and appeared on the Henei government hall, a servant knelt before Li Feihong and reported an urgent message.
"Sir Strategist, a Taoist visitor is here to see you."
Li Feihong frowned, "I never associate with any religion. Who is this?"
"He said his name was Zuo Ci, sir."
"Zuo Ci!?"
He recognized this sage as he was one of the famous people in this Three Kingdom period.
Curious, Li Feihong summoned Zuo Ci to meet him.
Twenty minutes later, the old sage arrived.
"I see that you're doing well, junior Li," the sage smiled and nodded at Li Feihong.
Many attendants of Li Feihong were angry that the Taoists did not bow to their master. They yelled at the sage and summoned the guards to drag him away.
Li Feihong raised his hand, stopping his subordinates from offending this person.
"What can I do for you, great sage?"
The sage smiled, but he glanced at the surroundings.
Li Feihong caught the hint, "All of you, leave us."
All attendants and bodyguards were reluctant, "Sir?"
"Leave us alone."
"… Yes, sir."
.
Both Zuo Ci and Li Feihong were left alone as everybody left. The wide assembly hall looked desolate with only two people inside.
"You can get to the point, great sage."
"Very well," Zuo Ci coughed, "Be my disciple, and I'll free you from this karma and Lilim's little game."
"Err."
Li Feihong was taken aback. It was something that he had never guessed that would come out of Zuo Ci's mouth.
"Why me?"
"Because you're the strongest sinners among all surviving ones."
"But Zhang Tong is way stronger than me."
"Zhang Tong is deeply tied to his previous lives' karma. His sins are deeper than what you've thought."
"Isn't he someone with positive karma? I heard from one of the demonesses that Tong shouldn't have been sent to Hell."
"That's where you're wrong. He has ties with the local people, and he's destined to come back to repay for his crimes in this world. What he's doing right now are fate and karma. He has to pay for his old debts before he can move on."
"I don't understand."
"For now, it's something that we can't interfere with. Let's get back to the topic. Will you be my disciple?"
"But others are…"
"You are the only sinners among the rest that's free from greed and ambition. The rest may have awakened their souls of virtues or souls of sins, but their core and principle are corrupted. They can't become a sage."
"…"
Zuo Ci brought out a tea jar and a cup. He slowly poured rainbow tea into the container.
"Drink this tea, and you'll be free from karma. However, you will spend eternity watching over mortals like me."
Li Feihong froze when he heard [Eternity]. He had a second thought.
"What kind of work do I have to do as a sage?"
Zuo Ci shrugged, "Similar to what you've been doing. Farming, fishing, rearing animals, and watching over mortals in this world. Well, sometimes, you have to come down and stop any heretic from ruining this world."
"…"
It was similar to entering monkhood in Buddhism. They had to cut ties with the worldly affair and study in the teaching of Buddha. In Li Feihong's situation, he got the immortality as a reward for cutting ties with everything.
He reached his head out to take the cup.
"Ugh!"
Still, his legs refused to move forward. It was as if something had caught his ankles.
As he was struggling, he saw an illusion of Tong's angry face in the trial court when Ping was freed from all charges.
Then, he noticed several shadows, holding his ankles and legs.
Li Feihong recognized all of them. One of the shadows was Ping, and the others were his dead family in his previous life.
[You betrayed me!]
[Dad, you killed us!]
[Dear, why did you have to confess?]
Everyone blamed Li Feihong for their death, even though it was not his fault.
Zuo Ci looked straight, watching how Li Feihong struggled against his past. After all, this was the first hurdle of becoming a sage, who governed a dimension.
Wing power might be a factor of strength, but the true strength came from the purity of the soul. Tong, Friday, Medusa, Te Langpu, Liu Yang, Pu Jing, and Sun Fang were corrupted to the core, so they were disqualified.
Only Li Feihong, who had been living in seclusion and being a semi-celibate, could walk the path of Nirvana, which would be free from all karma.
Though the angry shadows tied Li Feihong, the latter did not try to force his way forward or resist against their pulling. He allowed the shadows to drag him backward.
Simply, he turned around to look at them.
"I'm sorry."
[…]
It was simple words, yet they filled with his sincerity and regret.
"Ping, I shouldn't have accepted your bribe. I'm sorry for taking your money."
"Honey, children, I'm sorry that I got you involved with the mafias."
Then, he turned to the illusion of Tong, who was glaring at Li Feihong.
"Tong, I'm sorry for lying that day in the court."
The shadows froze and faded. However, Tong's illusion remained.
Li Feihong took three steps forward and picked the teacup with rainbow tea. He turned to Zuo Ci and bowed to him.
"I'm willing to be your disciple, but I would like to postpone the apprenticeship until I complete my goal."
Zuo Ci widened his eyes in surprise, "Then, what do you want to achieve in this life, junior?"
Li Feihong turned to Tong's illusion.
"I haven't paid him back yet. I ruined his entire life, so I'll pay him back with my entire life. Until Tong has unified the world or what he's trying to do, I'll be working for him."
He returned the teacup to Zuo Ci and glanced at Tong's illusion.
"Don't glare me that much. I won't go anywhere any time soon. I don't care if I have to be a 1,000-year-old virgin, but I keep my promise."
The illusion faded.
After everything disappeared, Zuo Ci burst into laughter.
"Good! Very good, junior! I'm impressed!"
Li Feihong blinked his eyes, "Err?"
"Well, I'll revisit you in the next 100 years. I hope you don't marry anyone yet, or your karma will be impossible to cut."
Zuo Ci faded to nothingness along with the teacup set.
Li Feihong looked at the empty hall where Zuo Ci had stood. He sighed, "I should have drunk that. What the Hell am I thinking?"
Despite having awakened four souls, Li Feihong could get another six right away.
This did not happen recently. He could have acquired all souls since last year. Yet, Li Feihong suppressed all of them and refused to get more wings.
He could have gotten 10 wings, which could rival Lilim at any time he wanted to!
"Silence, stupid system. Four wings are enough. I haven't mastered Tong's [Square Accel] yet. How can I get more souls right now when my foundation is lacking."
"OH, COME FUCKING ON!! SIX FREAKING SOULS ARE ALREADY DRIVING ME NUTS, AND YOU WANT TO BUG ME MORE WITH YOUR WARNING MESSAGES!?"
Li Feihong's scream echoed in the assembly hall.
