If you don't give up, I'd like to be your adoptive father.

Chapter 1496 Five-Sword Maiden Li Manman

Xiao Yu sneered, "Look at this, so this is the great nobleman from the upper class, so hypocritical."

Peony shook her head repeatedly and said, "It's a fact that people's hearts are no longer what they used to be and that etiquette and music have collapsed."

But not all great people are like that. Perhaps the great people I've encountered aren't old enough.

Xiao Yu was speechless and said, "If it were any older, they would probably all be bastards who steal their daughters-in-law, have affairs with their sisters, or seduce the wives of their ministers."

If it were even more ancient, they would look at you as if you were a sacrificial offering.

After all, when they were alive, they captured barbarians to sacrifice to the heavens.

"No way, no way that everyone living in the underworld or blessed lands is a good person, almost a saint," Peony hurriedly denied.

Xiao Yu said calmly, "How could I not understand the rules of the underworld? The Ten Kings of Hell recognize the privileges of nobles, which can largely exempt them from the karmic consequences of good and evil."

For example, Empress Dowager Zhao.

She, with her extravagant lifestyle, exploitation of the people, and open debauchery, even has the right to independently establish a blessed land for the people.

Life in this blessed land is like that of a god, where all karmic debts from one's previous life are wiped clean.

Peony said, "To become a person of great nobility, one must have cultivated virtue and accumulated merit over several lifetimes."

"Whether good deeds from a past life can offset bad karma in this life can only be known after the trial. Directly exempting someone from the trial is definitely unfair and will surely allow a large number of bastards to enter the blessed land," Xiaoyu said.

Peony hesitated, then stammered, "Logically speaking, I'm not qualified to enter this blessed land either."

Xiaoyu's expression froze; she was caught between two conflicting ideas.

However, she was quick-witted and soon said, "You are different from them. You did not enter the blessed land with the privilege of a noble person. Your karma is with me, and I paid the price for you."

Besides, you weren't a bad person to begin with, and you don't have any major bad karma.

You went from being an ordinary ghost who should have been reincarnated to a ghost enjoying blessings in a blessed land, without distorting the rules of karmic retribution.

You planted a good seed with me, and now you are reaping a good harvest, which aligns with the principle of karmic retribution.

Peony thought for a moment and said, "Although what you said makes some sense, the principle of karmic retribution is a rule, and the creation of blessed lands by great benefactors is also a rule."

Xiaoyu shook her head and said, "Some rules are created to break injustice and maintain basic justice; some rules are created to uphold injustice."

The principle of karmic retribution ensures justice.

The establishment of blessed lands by great benefactors is a legacy of the early development of humanity.

The reason why the Blessed Land of the Human King appeared was that the rules of the Netherworld were not yet perfect at that time, which allowed human leaders to obtain additional authority.

Given the circumstances at the time, the underworld could, to some extent, protect the souls of the tribe's people. Although there were many injustices, it was still necessary.

Now that both humanity and the Pangu Great Way are constantly developing, the protection mechanism for the souls of all living beings has been established and is gradually being improved, so the Blessed Land of the Human King is no longer necessary.

When something loses its necessity, injustice becomes all the more apparent, and change is imperative.

Peony could no longer keep up with her pace and could only ask blankly, "Who will make the changes? The Heavenly Emperor? I heard that the Heavenly Court is going to implement reforms."

"Can we rely on the Lord of the Divine Path for matters concerning the human race?" Xiao Yu shook his head and said, "If the Heavenly Court were to intervene, it would only transfer power from the human king to the divine path."

"What do you mean? Aren't the gods in control of the underworld now?" Peony felt like she was losing her senses. She could understand each sentence individually, but not when they were put together.

Xiaoyu said, "I am not satisfied with the current state of the divine way; there is a lot of room for improvement."

However, it must be admitted that Shinto is now subject to considerable constraints.

If a deity acts recklessly, the county magistrate can judge it; the county constable can lead his men to destroy temples without retaliation; and the emperor can negate it with a single word.

If this privilege were stripped from the 'great noble,' the divine way would surely retain it itself, rather than distributing its authority equally among all mortals.

Peony rubbed her temples and said, "I don't understand anything about the divine way or the human way, but I'm sure that whoever gets special privileges won't give them up easily."

The new rule is that whoever has the ability to seize privileges should be the one to use them.

Xiaoyu gave a thumbs up and praised, "Sister Peony, you have great wisdom!"

Peony rolled her eyes. "Let's talk about something that won't make me doubt my own intelligence!"

Xiaoyu called out towards the door, "Fat Mole."

"Master, I'm here!" Fat Moller immediately ran in.

"Have you prepared the New Year's program?" Xiaoyu asked.

Fat Moller looked at Peony and laughed, "Last year was a bit rushed, and I couldn't let Miss enjoy herself to the fullest."

This year, learning from past mistakes, I started preparations in June to ensure the young lady's complete satisfaction.

Peony clicked her tongue in surprise: "It starts in June? What kind of programs are they? Compared to all kinds of aristocratic banquets, I would actually prefer to follow Confucian tycoons to do scholarship."

She's not just an artistic young woman; she naturally enjoys this kind of style. After returning to the Blessed Land from Xianyang, only improving her own talents and temperament can help her better integrate into the "Blessed Land Art Troupe."

Indulging in all kinds of banquets does not improve oneself; on the contrary, it will be ridiculed as "vulgar" by the wise men in the "art troupe."

Fat Moller said, "Miss, don't worry. There aren't many banquets. The main thing is to make reservations in advance with various academies to get the opportunity to listen to the sages lecture."

Peony became interested and asked, "Which sages were they?"

"All the schools of thought are represented here. Miss, please wait a moment." Fat Moller quickly ran back to his small study, retrieved a booklet, and handed it to Peony. "Look, the great Confucian scholars are listed at the very beginning, followed by Legalism, Taoism, and the School of Diplomacy. Even the Mohist school will be holding public lectures this year!"
However, there are too many scheduling conflicts, please pay attention to the times listed below.

As she flipped through the book, Peony exclaimed in surprise, "Master Mao is going to lecture on the Book of Songs again this year? That's wonderful! I thought he had gone home."

Fat Moller said, "Master Mao did take a boat trip to Xingyang in the summer, but he returned quickly. He joined forces with great Confucian scholars such as Dong Zhongshu, Fuqiu Bo, Yuan Gusheng, and Shen Peigong to build a 'Xianyang Academy' outside the city."

It's the Qiushuang Garden of the Epang Palace that you saw last year.

The spiritual materials and divine gold used to build Qiushuang Garden were dismantled and exchanged for silver.

A grand academy was built on the original site using ordinary wood and stone.

It was said to be modeled after the Jixia Academy in the State of Qi, funded by the imperial court and managed by several eminent Confucian scholars.

Peony asked in confusion, "Everyone says that the Great Qin has lost its Mandate of Heaven, so why are there still so many wise men gathering in Xianyang? There are even more this year than last year."

Fat Moller pondered for a moment and said, "In my opinion, there are three main reasons."

First, since the master became Grand Tutor, the laws of Qin have become more lenient, and the suppression of schools of thought other than Legalism has been almost completely lifted.

The official even encouraged various schools of thought to grow and expand, with the imperial court allocating special funds. As long as one gave a public lecture, even an ordinary scholar could receive money from the government. A great Confucian scholar like Master Mao could earn a hundred taels of gold for a lecture attended by a thousand people.

Even if the great Confucian scholars were not fond of money, they would certainly have been very pleased with the court's strong support.

Furthermore, the imperial edicts issued to the people were gaining increasing influence. Scholars from various schools of thought all hoped to contribute to these edicts and promote their own theories.

Finally, with the Central Plains in turmoil, Xingyang seemed very dangerous, while only Guanzhong remained stable, so many people came to Xianyang for refuge.

Xiao Yu sneered inwardly. Perhaps these were the three reasons why other schools of thought had entered Xianyang. Those great Confucian scholars weren't so simple-minded; they were also plotting their own "Mandate of Heaven"!

She had been back in Xianyang for several days and had naturally noticed that the "Western Capital" was now culturally flourishing.

She also received a secret report from Ying Ziying that many great Confucian scholars wanted to join the "News Office," which was suspected of controlling the editing of the proclamation to the people.

"By the way, is Li Manman still in Xianyang? If so," Peony looked at Xiaoyu and hesitated, "could we invite Li Manman to the Grand Tutor's mansion? I feel she really wants to see you."

"Who?" Xiaoyu was preoccupied with something and didn't react for a moment.

Fat Moller said, "Miss, Miss Li Manman has already returned to Western Shu. She left around April. Before she left, she came to see me and left you a letter."

After saying that, he ran back to get the letter.

"Oh, so it's Li Manman, the Five Swordswoman? When did she arrive in Xianyang?" Xiaoyu asked.

“Even excluding this year, she has been in Shenzhou for two or three years, searching everywhere for a chance to become an immortal!” Peony sighed, “But she doesn’t have your great fortune, and she has never been able to find an immortal teacher.”

She had visited many immortals, but none of them would accept her as a disciple, saying she lacked the blessings of an immortal, her already flawed immortal bones had been corrupted, and she was burdened with many karmic entanglements. Alas, I used to be so jealous of her, but now I feel she's more pitiful than I am.”

She and Li Manman were old acquaintances. Meeting in a foreign land, they had many private things to say to each other.

Li Manman could tell her about his sordid and shameful things, but Shaoyao couldn't tell another person about her private matters behind Li Manman's back.

Even though the other person was someone close to her, she spoke rather vaguely at this moment.

Although his words were vague, his tone and expression could not hide his sympathy and pity, which Xiaoyu could tell.

"Since you've been in China for several years and wanted to see me, why didn't you see me, but instead you ran into me?"

“She happened to be at the Hexi Academy listening to Master Mao lecture on the Book of Poetry. I didn’t notice her, but she saw me. After the lecture, she greeted me excitedly, and I even let her stay at your Grand Tutor’s Mansion for two days,” Peony said.

She was personally introduced to Master Mao by Grand Tutor Yu and was treated as a distinguished guest by the Mao family.

When the sermon began, she naturally sat in the VIP seat at the very front.

Li Manman, on the other hand, ran around trying to get a spot as an observer, and stood in the audience like a lackey.

When Li Manman first saw Shaoyao, she only felt that the person looked familiar, and did not immediately confirm her identity.

After all, Peony had been a "veteran lord" in the blessed land for ten years, and had also seen the world in Xianyang with Grand Tutor Yu. Her demeanor and appearance were very different from before.

She was as elegant and noble as a young nobleman from China.

Fortunately, Peony's "Taiyin Refinement" technique was not fully mastered, and she had obvious Yin energy on her body, which made Li slowly suspicious.

Otherwise, the two of them would really miss out.

"Miss, this is Miss Li's letter." At this moment, Fat Moller also ran back, took a letter from the jade box, and handed it to Peony with both hands.

Peony glanced at it and sighed, "She really went back to Western Shu. She said the Central Plains were in chaos and she wanted to avoid the calamity. She also advised me to take good care of myself and not to be tempted by the prosperity of Xianyang and forget about my safety."

"It's good that she's going back to Western Shu. The current Divine Continent is no safe place. If she gets involved in the Great Calamity of Heaven and Earth... well, with her strength, it seems she's not qualified to participate in the Great Calamity of Heaven and Earth."

"But if she runs amok in the Central Plains and encounters rebels, she'll probably meet a bad end," said Grand Tutor Yu.

Peony said with a strange expression, "To be honest, Li Manman did have the idea of ​​supporting the Dragon Court and voluntarily entering the tribulation to gain fortune before."

She had already planned to first go to Xianyang or Xingyang to find connections.

Isn't she the adopted daughter of the Prince of Qinghe? Why was she given the surname 'Li'?

Two young men from the Li family came to Xianyang a long time ago and even managed to get jobs through your connections.

They are considered Li Manman's older brothers!
Li Manman secretly planned to first become a female general in the Qin Dynasty, and then, once she met her true emperor, she would lead her troops to join him.

As a result, you encountered me fighting several near-Great Luo outside Xianyang City.

The aura and scene of your battle within the Yellow River formation extinguished her courage and boldness.

Seeing Xiaoyu's strange expression, Shaoyao nodded heavily, "It's true, she told me herself that after witnessing that battle, she truly understood the horror of the 'Great Calamity of Heaven and Earth,' and she no longer dared to have any wild thoughts."

Xiaoyu was initially a little smug, but at the same time found Li Manman somewhat ridiculous, and finally felt a little sorry for her.

"I didn't know you two were so close that you talked about such private things."

Peony sighed, "Don't tell me you don't know, before I met her in Xianyang, she probably neither knew nor acknowledged that we had a 'close personal relationship'."

In a distant land, when you encounter old friends from your hometown amidst disappointment, even if you only had a slight acquaintance or were merely polite to each other, the bond can transform into a deep affection.

She told me about her ordeal, and I recounted the detailed events of my own murder. The more we talked, the more we clicked.

Oh, right, I haven't told you about my visit to Li Rongji in the underworld yet, have I? I told her.

Hehe, I was taken by Chi Miao to the seventeenth level of hell to watch Li Rongji be tortured.

I felt a little strange at the time, but after that, the knot in my heart was completely untied.

Xiaoyu was unhappy. "Why didn't you tell me before?"

“It’s ancient history, from seven or eight years ago. I never thought of it before. I only brought it up when I was chatting with Li Manman about our past experiences.” Peony said with emotion, “If it weren’t for the fact that humans and ghosts are different, I would have invited Li Manman to visit the underworld.”

Xiaoyu pondered for a while and then said, "So, I really underestimated her in the past."

Once a thought arises, heaven and earth know it all, and cause and effect arise spontaneously.

Once a normal person has the idea of ​​supporting the imperial court and the desire to gain the dynasty's fortune, it is difficult to escape even if they are willing to risk their life for it.

She was able to suddenly realize her mistake after years of planning and decisively cut off her distractions.

They would rather return to Western Shu with disappointment and have gained nothing than immediately avoid the chaos in the Central Plains.

This wisdom and Dao heart alone far surpass those of other cultivators.

She's definitely much better than her friend Dou Gengyan.

(End of this chapter)