Longzang

Chapter 254 Just Right
In the eastern part of the Shattered Realm, a caravan moved slowly, escorted by cavalrymen in bright armor. Banners fluttered in the caravan, bearing a prominent character "Zhao".

In the center of the procession was a three-zhang-long and one-zhang-high cart, its body black with gold patterns. The cart's wheels did not touch the ground, but floated close to it, so smoothly that one could not feel it moving.

The carriage windows were deep and dark, shielded by magic, preventing anyone from peeking out, yet those inside could freely see outside. A young girl inside the carriage quietly looked outside and suddenly said, "This place is full of life, unlike the miasma and poisonous waters described in the books."

An elderly man was sitting in the carriage, holding an ancient book in his hands. His long eyebrows almost reached his chest, and his age was unknown.

Hearing the girl's words, he opened his somewhat cloudy eyes and slowly said, "If we had come three months earlier, the princess would still be seeing the scenes in the book. Now, although this place is still a bit worse than the real human realm, people can already live here."

"What happened in these three months?"

The old man pointed at the sand table map on the table and said, "More than two months ago, someone erected a boundary stone here. I speculate that the boundary stone is likely the Azure Nether recorded in ancient books. The witch energy does not come from nothing; it also flows from high to low. But with the Azure Nether standing in the west, blocking the path of the witch energy coming from the east, this region was affected by the pure energy of the human realm and gradually came back to life."

The girl asked, "Teacher, didn't you say that Qingming and Kong are just legends, legends that have existed since the time when humans had the history of immortals?"

The old man said slowly, "Perhaps some descendant made a fake based on the legend."

The girl felt this explanation was somewhat dubious, but her attention was quickly drawn to the place the old man was pointing to. She said, "This place is far from human territory, isolated and without any natural defenses. How could anyone have erected a boundary stone here? This is completely different from the military strategy you taught me!"

"Military strategy is for intelligent people, but there are always some people in this world who are not so intelligent."

The girl extended a finger as slender as a scallion and drew several lines from the west, representing possible directions for the witch army's advance. Then she drew two more lines, one to the south and one to the north, both unobstructed routes that could bypass the boundary and complete the encirclement.

She looked thoughtful, then said, "Even if the Western Jin sends a large force to reinforce us, the journey is long and the terrain is unfavorable. If I were in command, I would cut them off from the north and south, and this territory would be easy to take. Could it be that the Western Jin has colluded with the Wu tribe again and reached some kind of deal?"

The old man said, "The person who established Qingming has nothing to do with the Western Jin Dynasty, at least not now. So the Western Jin Dynasty not only didn't provide support, but also blocked his supply lines."

"The witch clan didn't attack?"

"There were three major offensives alone."

The girl asked, puzzled, "Then how did he manage to guard it?"

"Yes, how did he manage to keep it?" the old man replied, half-asleep, then lowered his head, already lost in a dream.

The girl took a robe and gently covered the old man with it. Then she sat back down in front of the sand table, took out a military book, and flipped through it while comparing it with the sand table. In the blink of an eye, an hour had passed, and she had not been distracted for a moment.

The interior of the large carriage was surprisingly simple. There were no paintings, calligraphy, or jewels; instead, there were swords, spears, and arrows. Two longbows hung on the ceiling, their ornate bows appearing purely decorative. However, beside the longbows hung three quivers, each filled with arrows.

Instead of wine and food, the table in the carriage was set out with a sand table map of military operations. The map in front of her covered the entire Western Jin Dynasty.

Hanyang Pass.

In a quiet corner of the city, in the study of a secluded courtyard, a middle-aged scholar was writing the words "benefit all things without contention" on a piece of paper. The characters were written with a shimmering, watery quality, appearing as if flowing streams, with a refreshing mist rising from them.

After collecting the last penny, the scholar examined it carefully and was extremely satisfied.

The scholar had a short beard, eyes like precious jade, and skin like smooth jade; he was exceptionally handsome. Looking at the painting-like calligraphy, he smiled and said, "Some people always say my calligraphy is too ornate, lacking in rules and subtlety. I don't think so myself." An old scholar beside him said, "Although Your Excellency didn't explicitly write 'water,' the feeling of water is palpable. Moreover, your calligraphy is like a painting; it's very pleasing to the eye."

The middle-aged scholar chuckled and said, "You old man, you never say anything nice."

The old scholar sighed, "I really can't find the words to praise your calligraphy, Lord Marquis."

The middle-aged scholar picked up the paper, let the ink dry slowly, and said, "If I didn't write so plainly, most people in the world probably wouldn't be able to tell that I wrote the character for water."

The old scholar said, "Words can convey one's aspirations. Since Your Excellency has great ambitions, and true friends are few in this world, why make such a fuss?"

The middle-aged scholar said, "The world is full of the corrupt and the pure, and true friends are hard to find. I can't wait that long. Is my calligraphy really that bad?"

The old scholar glanced at the calligraphy, which resembled splashed ink landscape painting, and sighed, "It's still a bit higher in artistic conception than those who make a living by selling their calligraphy in the countryside. When they write about horses, they always draw a horse's head. At least yours is splashed ink landscape painting."

The middle-aged scholar laughed and said, "Water benefits all things, and it can also conceal its sharpness. Look at this piece of calligraphy I've written today; it has no murderous intent whatsoever."

The old scholar then truly opened his eyes, examined the matter carefully, and nodded after a moment.

After the middle-aged scholar put away his writings, the old scholar said, "Aren't you going to see the garrison commander?"

"He's gone. That guy is single-mindedly pursuing the Dao and can't be won over. As long as he doesn't ruin my plans, that's fine. Besides, that old thief is known for his boundless magical power, but he used a lot of life-sustaining pills to break through in his early years, so his foundation is unstable. Even if he wins this time, I don't think he'll be able to hold out for more than a few years. By then, being associated with that Xu guy won't necessarily be a good thing."

Just then, there was a knock on the door, and a slightly inexperienced maid entered, handing an envelope to the middle-aged scholar. As she was about to leave, the scholar called her back, saying, "Take a look too."

He opened the envelope, took out the paper inside, and found it covered with tiny writing.

The middle-aged scholar carefully read the letter and handed it to the old scholar, who then gave it to the plain-looking maid who seemed to be underage.

The middle-aged scholar pondered for a moment and said, "Wei Yuan... I really didn't expect that his Dao Foundation would actually merge with Qingming. Does that mean he can't go too far from the realm?"

The old scholar said, "Even though he has fused with the immortal stone Qingming and gained great magical power, the restrictions have become even more severe. I'm afraid he won't be able to leave the realm at will before he manifests his Dharma form."

"No wonder the Left Prime Minister, with his keen sense of smell, ignored him. He must have known about this all along."

The maid asked timidly, "Isn't achieving the Dharma form just a matter of time? Once Wei Yuan achieves the Dharma form, won't he be able to walk around?"

The middle-aged scholar said, “Becoming a Dharma Master is neither difficult nor difficult, but no one knows when he will achieve it. Once he can walk, that’s all in the future. In political struggles, everyone is focused on the present; who cares about the future? If you can’t get through the present, no matter how far-sighted your plans are, you’re just doing the work for someone else. The Left Prime Minister has many bargaining chips, so he doesn’t care about having one more or one less.”

The old scholar asked, "Should we continue?"

The middle-aged scholar smiled slightly and said, "Although the Western Regions are broken and barren, they are still a source of profit. The best outcome would be if they could just take it all, and we could just take it all; that would be a perfect match."

(End of this chapter)