Records of Mysterious Things in the Southern Dynasties

Chapter 511 The end is coming
The ship, which had traveled a thousand miles, was moored deep within the Yunmeng Marshland, silent and invisible.

No one has boarded the ship for a long time, but Xiao Heizi still diligently wipes the deck every day, waiting for the passengers to arrive.

Suddenly, it saw a flash of white light before its eyes, and the figure it had been longing for appeared on the deck.

Xiao Heizi's jaw dropped to the ground in shock. After a long while, he picked it up and pressed it back down, saying, "Great news! The ship owner is back!"

"Haha, Little Blackie, have you missed me?" Ren Yuan patted the old hat on its head, which was a New Year's gift he gave it four years ago... Of course, for Little Blackie, it has been more than forty years.

"Sorry, I have no feelings." Although Xiao Heizi said this, the skull was clearly smiling.

"Haha, say what you will. What about the others?" Ren Yuan asked.

“Answer. No one has boarded the ship for ten years.” Little Blackie said calmly, “Correction. That worst guy came a few times eight years ago.”

"My older brother?" Ren Yuan's eyes lit up. "Great! It seems he's back safely!"

Passengers could only board the ship through dreams in the Yangzhou and Nanyanzhou areas, which were influenced by the Dream God. They wouldn't do so within the territory of the Northern Dynasty. Chen Baxian's ability to board the ship indicated that he had returned to the Southern Dynasty, and specifically to the capital region.

"Then why didn't he get on the ship later?" Ren Yuan asked anxiously.

"Pass on the message," Xiao Heizi replied. "The last time he boarded the ship, he said he was going south to Jiaozhou with the White Robe Army to quell the rebellion, and asked me to tell the ship owner if he boarded. Now the ship owner has boarded, so the message has been relayed."

Perhaps because it hadn't spoken for a long time, it became somewhat incoherent.

"He didn't say how many more White Robe Brothers there are?" Ren Yuan pressed.

“Recalling,” he said, “there are still three thousand people left.” Little Blackie replied.

Ren Yuan's expression darkened. Of the seven thousand white-robed soldiers who went on the northern expedition, only three thousand returned...

"Huh?" At this moment, a gasp rang out in the cabin. Zu Chongzhi appeared in front of Ren Yuan in the blink of an eye, grabbed his shoulders with both hands, and looked him up and down, saying, "You actually became a god?"

"Yes, Senior Brother, is this how you speak to the Sect Leader?" Ren Yuan said with a smile.

"My apologies, my apologies..." Zu Chongzhi quickly released his hands, and the two laughed and looked at each other again.

The senior student clicked his tongue and said, "Good kid, I knew you wouldn't die! But I didn't expect you to surpass me so quickly!"

"There's nothing I can do. My senior brother chose the most difficult path," Ren Yuan laughed. "To be honest, I was also confused and didn't know how I became a god."

"How is that possible? Countless chosen ones have tried their best to become gods but failed." The senior brother, however, did not believe it: "Tell me about your experiences before you became a god, and I will calculate it for you."

Ren Yuan then succinctly recounted his experiences to Zu Chongzhi.

"You became a god, probably because of the miracle of breaking through the eighteen levels of hell, right?" Zu Chongzhi said, stroking his goatee.

“I guessed so.” Ren Yuan said, looking puzzled. “But I’m still missing half a portion of divine fire. Chen Shuai was the same way last time. Could it be that divine fire is generated during the creation of a miracle?”

“Never heard of it…” Zu Chongzhi pondered for a moment, then shook his head irritably and said, “Don’t ask me about your gods’ affairs. I haven’t even become a god yet, how would I know?” “You were the one who said you would help me calculate it,” Ren Yuan said innocently.

"I'm so jealous now, I don't want to forget it, okay?" Zu Chongzhi rolled his eyes at him, annoyed.

"Chengcheng," Ren Yuan said, both amused and exasperated, "You're under a lot of pressure. It's not like the circle absolutely has to be cut. If you really can't finish cutting it, then don't cut it, okay?"

"The end of the world is coming, how can we not act?" Zu Chongzhi shook his head resolutely and said, "You don't know yet, do you? Your emperor has completely knelt down. Now he even wears a bald head and monk's robes in court. He has also conscripted laborers from all over the country to build temples for Buddhism. The rebellion in Jiaozhou is related to this."

"It can't be that bad..." Ren Yuan frowned slightly. He was more or less influenced by Chen Qingzhi and always felt that the emperor had a deep hatred for the Buddhist sect, so he couldn't have become a complete slave of the Dream God.

“Your senior brother Chen told me all this,” Zu Chongzhi said. “He said that there are currently a thousand large temples under construction across the country at the same time, and another thousand will be built every year thereafter. Do you think Xiao Yan is that man’s lackey?”

"..." Ren Yuan couldn't refute it, and asked softly, "Then what does Senior Brother Chen mean?"

"Of course he earnestly advised Xiao Yan not to bring about his own destruction!" Zu Chongzhi said, "Building these tens of thousands of temples will not only exhaust the people and the nation's resources, but also require countless monks to fill them all. At that time, the entire Southern Dynasty will truly become a Buddhist kingdom!"

“Yes, if everyone becomes a monk, who will farm and who will be a soldier? Who will get married and have children?” Ren Yuan sighed. “We are indeed not far from the destruction of our country and the extinction of our race.”

“That’s why Junior Brother Chen risked his life to advise him, but unfortunately Xiao Yan wouldn’t listen at all, and their relationship became very tense.” Zu Chongzhi said with a worried expression, “If it weren’t for the fact that he was a meritorious official in the Northern Expedition, Xiao Yan would have dealt with him long ago.”

He paused for a moment, then sighed, "It is precisely because of this halo that Xiao Yan will deal with him sooner or later."

"Yes." Ren Yuan nodded and said, "Senior Brother Chen's achievements are too great and threaten the master's position."

“That’s right, so you should go back and persuade him. A wise man serves when the times are bright and retires when the times are dark. There’s no need to hang yourself on one tree.” Zu Chongzhi said, “At this time, his decision to retire gracefully is something Xiao Yan would like to see.”

“Okay.” Ren Yuan nodded and then asked, “Senior brother said that the end of the world is coming. What do you mean? The Buddhist sect is building temples everywhere. Although there is a risk of national subjugation and extinction, it is not imminent.”

"How come you've become stupid after becoming a god? Don't think that just because everything can be solved with force, you don't need to use your brain." Zu Chongzhi rolled his eyes at him and said, "Tell me, why did the Buddhist sect build so many temples? Is it really just to spread Buddhism?"

"Of course not." Ren Yuan shook his head and said, "The Buddhist sect is just a front for that person who is putting up a sheep's head while selling dog meat."

As he spoke, he suddenly realized, "So, they did this to establish an earthly kingdom for Him?!"

“That’s right.” Zu Chongzhi nodded and said, “They want to turn the human world into a dreamland as well. Such a miracle is enough to support that person’s ascension to the position of chief god!”

“If He becomes the supreme god, then the entire China will be forever trapped in a dream, and everyone will become a walking corpse.” Ren Yuan felt a chill run down his spine and said, “That would indeed be the end of the world.”

“Yes,” Zu Chongzhi said solemnly, “so we must also begin preparing for war. Later, find Zu Geng and help me transform the Thousand Mile Ship into a powerful warship to deal with our enemies.”

"I understand." Ren Yuan nodded to indicate that he had made a note of it.

As they were talking, Xiao Heizi announced: "Attention, passengers are boarding!"

Ren Yuan looked in the direction of the voice and exclaimed with delight, "Second Brother, it's you!"

(End of this chapter)