You have mastered the art of thunder and you tell me that it is in a strange world?

Chapter 253 The Thief Who Stole the State
"You...you are joking. Youzhou Wei Wang Li Ji and Yuzhou Jing Wang Li Yu are both famous princes today. How could anyone not know them?"

The scholar's smile was a little stiff, stuck on his face.

"I can see your true nature. You have a strong aura of old earth binding. You must have been trapped in this dilapidated temple for a long time without getting out."

Zuo Chen said again.

"What you said..."

The scholar's voice became smaller and smaller, until it was barely audible at all.

He lowered his head, not daring to look at Zuo Chen.

"How long have you been in this deserted temple?"

After a few moments of silence, seeing that Zuo Chen was not annoyed and continued to sit beside him, the scholar sighed:

"About twenty years. I have never been able to leave the country. I have relied on the passing woodcutters to learn about Daliang's situation. There was a family living in a nearby village before. They got to know me well and thought I was the mountain god. They often came to pay tribute to me and told me about recent events in Daliang. But one day, they said they couldn't live in their village anymore, so they moved away, leaving me alone."

At this point, I suddenly remembered something and felt a little embarrassed:
"Master, I have only eaten incense for so long and have never hurt or killed anyone. If anyone gets lost in the forest, I will show them the way and let them get down the mountain."

"I don't plan to save you."

"The aura you showed just now is a bit like..."

Zuo Chen: “…”

He felt that the scholar in front of him might have a slightly wrong judgment of him.

What a good man he is! Peace-loving, helpful, the best.

"I won't harm you." Zuo Chen said, "I just met with Li Ji and Li Yu some time ago. I had a good chat with them."

"Ah?" The scholar was slightly startled: "Have you met them before?"

Zuo Chen nodded and asked:
"I can see that you have a lot of resentment. I think you must have experienced a lot of things twenty years ago. Can you tell me about it?"

After hearing what Zuo Chen said, the scholar in front of him finally fell silent.

"Is it related to the ghost disaster in Kyoto twenty years ago?" Zuo Chen asked again.

"You really do know a lot." Hearing this, the scholar finally relaxed: "It is indeed related to the ghost disaster, but it is not the main cause. At best, it is just a trigger."

Zuo Chen sat upright, and Caiyi also slowly came out from the side and sat down next to Zuo Chen quietly, looking like she was listening to a story.

"Li Ji... Li Yu, these two are both my uncles.

"My name is Li Yunze. I am the son of the previous Qingzhou Shouwang Li De. I am the second child in the family and have an older brother. Later, my brother died in the ghost disaster in Kyoto. I became the first heir to the Qingzhou Shouwang throne."

"You? Qingzhou Shou Wang?!" Caiyi couldn't help but gasp: "Then why are you here?"

As soon as Caiyi said this, Zuo Chen reached out and knocked on Caiyi's head. After hearing Caiyi's cry, he withdrew his hand:

"Just listen to what others say."

"Oh……"

The scholar didn't care. Instead, he smiled and said, "I have told others about this matter in the past few years, and their reactions were roughly the same. Some of the more emotional ones even wanted to get out here and report my affairs to the authorities. I had no choice but to create a fog so that they couldn't find me. I hid in the mountains for five or six years before the fog was lifted.

"After that incident, I was reluctant to tell others my identity, because most people wouldn't believe it anyway."

"If you are the Shou Wang, then who is the Shou Wang of Qingzhou now?"

Even though Caiyi was knocked, she still couldn't help asking questions. This time, the scholar was silent for a moment before answering:

"That's my old friend."

……

The old Prince Shou had two sons, one a military man and the other a scholar.

The one who joined the army was the eldest son, Li Yunze's eldest brother. He was extremely talented, kind-hearted, and had acquired skills at a young age. He was sent to the army to gain experience.

The younger one is naturally Li Yunze.

Because he had an older brother at home, Li Yunze did not think that the position of Prince Shou would fall on him, so he devoted himself to the study of books and literature, intending to learn more about civil and political knowledge so that he could assist his elder brother in the future. In this way, Qingzhou would naturally be able to proceed smoothly.

So he went to Kyoto to study and entered a library. After studying there for a while, he felt that the concepts did not fit in, so he left and returned to Qingzhou.

Just like fate loves to torture people, ghost disasters are happening everywhere.

The crazy and frantic Kyoto ghost army rushed to Yuzhou and Youzhou, and the remaining small group went to Xuzhou and Qingzhou. Xuzhou King Kang was less than 20 years old at the time, and was frightened by the sudden disaster. He urgently closed the pass and waited for it. Li Yunze's eldest brother in Qingzhou was accidentally shot by an arrow when evacuating civilians. He didn't take it seriously at the time. After returning home, he had a high fever all night, vomiting and diarrhea. Li Yunze's father was distressed and went to ask for the best old doctor. As a result, before the old doctor arrived, his eldest brother died directly.

After hearing this, the old King Shou became so angry that he suffered a stroke, because the battle reports from the front line showed continuous defeats, which led to the obstruction of Qingzhou.

The old King Shou didn't fight for long and died.

When Li Yunze returned to Qingzhou City, he was the only one who could handle the situation.

He was at a loss and could only manage Qingzhou with gritted teeth. However, Qingzhou was in chaos at that time and needed a leader with strong skills. Li Yunze himself had an easy-going personality and was a conservative king, not a pioneer. It was really too difficult for Li Yunze to let a young scholar manage the situation at that time.

This lasted for more than three months, and Qingzhou was in turmoil.

"I was in a very upset mood at that time, so I chose a day and left Qingzhou City, planning to take a walk around the area, inspecting the situation in Qingzhou and relaxing. As a result, on the way, the Kyoto ghost army suddenly rushed out, killed my men and captured me.

“I thought I was doomed, but I didn’t expect a white-armored general to suddenly appear. He was very powerful and saved me.

"He called himself Zhang Baishan, a young military commander who was very good at leading troops in battles and had great abilities. At that time, I thought he was my God-given general and my ideal man, so I drank with him and even became his sworn brother. After that, he really helped me a lot.

"I gave most of the military power to Zhang Baishan. He was very capable and killed more than half of the Kyoto ghost soldiers, which made Qingzhou much more stable. But I soon discovered that he had an erratic temper. He would kill people for fun and skin women.

“I felt this was not good and advised him several times, but he agreed verbally but continued privately.

"At the end, I couldn't stand it any longer and decided to temporarily strip him of his military power and let him calm down. Although Zhang Baishan was dissatisfied, he didn't say it openly.

"But who would have thought that this guy would actually poison my food and make me pass out."

Li Yunze recalled this and his expression turned very ugly:

"Those people used a unique method. They lit seven lamps and knocked me unconscious. When I woke up, I found that I had become a remnant soul and was trapped in the mountain temple. I couldn't leave."

Having said this, he also closed his eyes, and a thick sadness surged out of him like a wave.

How sad.

"Later, I heard that I asked a few people who went up the mountain, and they told me that since that day, King Xinshou seemed to have changed into a different person. He was very good at leading troops and fighting, and he quickly dealt with all the ghost troops that entered Kyoto. After that, he started to build a large-scale construction project, creating the Seven Mountains and Four Lakes Formation, and also built a town for his own enjoyment, which still exists today.

“If my guess is correct, Zhang Baishan has already replaced my fate, and he has become the King of Longevity, enjoying the happiness of the world.

"I don't know how to evaluate his actions. If he is extremely evil, he was able to eliminate the disaster in Qingzhou. But if you say he has made contributions, he has wasted people's money and resources for his own selfish desires, and he also likes to hurt and kill innocent people."

The words stopped in his throat, and finally only a long sigh remained:

“But at the moment, if someone like me who cannot protect Qingzhou really took the position of Shou Wang, I’m afraid Qingzhou would have been swept by the Kyoto army long ago. I’m really not as good as that person.”

Li Yunze finally finished telling the story of what happened that year, and Zuo Chen also roughly understood the cause and effect of the matter.

I really didn't expect that the current King Shou in Qingzhou would have such an identity.

From Li Yunze's description, this man might have been hiding in the deep mountains and forests to prevent his identity from being exposed.

"So what are you going to do?" Zuo Chen asked.

"I..." Li Yunze half lowered his head and thought silently: "Master, if you can, can you take me to see Zhang Baishan?"

"Some time ago, I heard from a woodcutter that he was sending a large army to attack Xuzhou. There was also a fierce battle in the south. Such a war would inevitably cost the people money and manpower. In addition, he has a personality problem, so I am worried that something might go wrong."

"I have something to do now, so I need to go to Huishan first, but you can follow me first. After I have settled the matter at Huishan, I will take you to visit the current Shou Wang."

Hearing Zuo Chen's agreement, Li Yunze finally breathed a sigh of relief:
"Thank you for your help, Taoist priest."

……

At the Huishan Mountain in Qingzhou, the rosy clouds stretch for thousands of miles.

It is cloudy today with a drizzle, but even so, the gray mountain is glowing a dazzling white light in the mist and rain.

At that time, the entire mountain was engraved with magical runes that could disperse the mysterious gate.

Next to the mountain, there is a small village that has been deserted before. But now that the mountain has risen and it is suspected that treasures have been unearthed, it has directly attracted many wanderers in Xuzhou to visit this place.

In order to make money, the people in the small village set up tea stalls one after another on the roadside to sell tea to these wanderers.

The wanderers were all sitting in the tea stalls staring at the distant mountains, but no one dared to move.

There was thick fog in the formation. Yesterday, several masters traveled together and entered the fog.

Haven't returned yet.

(End of this chapter)