The old things I repaired have become fine

Chapter 674 Shen Le: Is the nation's fate really going against me?
"You're right. Battlefields and renowned generals are indeed the easiest places to produce top-notch talents, much more convenient than mining in the deep mountains."

A group of senior brothers surrounded Shen Le, chatting amongst themselves. Every now and then, one of them would raise his sword and show it to Shen Le.
"I found this sword on the ancient battlefield of Changping. I dug through the mud for three whole years to get it, killing at least five or six vengeful ghosts and zombies every day!"

"This sword of mine was passed down from my sect. It's said to have been taken from the armory of the Han Dynasty... It's not the sword of Emperor Gaozu who slew the serpent! It really isn't! But it was placed very close by!"

"This sword of mine was taken from the Julu region... It's layered upon layered, and I can't even tell which round it is anymore. I've buried at least two thousand corpses, and I've even mastered the spell of digging!"

Then one day, after burying a body, I looked back and there it was, quietly waiting for me. Fate, it's all fate!

He pointed downwards, and the soil immediately sank into a large pit, seven feet long, three feet wide, and five feet deep. His fellow disciples around him burst into laughter.
"Very good, very good, a perfectly shaped coffin pit!"

"The coffin can be placed down and then filled with soil; there's no need to change anything!"

"But did you really buy two thousand coffins? Where did you get the money? Did you rob a wealthy family?"

"What a joke! In the end, they just wrapped her in a reed mat. There really weren't that many coffins—no matter how rich you were, you couldn't buy two thousand coffins at once!"

Lou Yun also secretly told him:

"The best sword I've seen in recent years is Hulü Guang's sword. It's a pity it's meant for Junior Brother Zhong; you'll have to find another one..."

"By the way, don't go to the battlefield! Our magic can't withstand the impact of a large army's aura; it will be directly dispersed, and if it's dispersed, we'll die too!"

Unable to go to the battlefield, and unwilling to mine—it's said that all the nearby mountains have been mined out, and to find suitable metalworking experts, one would have to go to places like the Kunlun Mountains, where it would take at least twenty or thirty years to mine…

Shen Le returned to Ye City once again to observe the turning of the wheels of history up close, hoping to gain something from it.

The Northern Zhou Dynasty was, after all, a major dynasty in the Northern Dynasties, so there must have been many famous ministers and generals, and many wonderful stories, right?

……Maybe?

Then he was shocked. In the first year, the Northern Zhou emperor—who was also the founding emperor—Yuwen Yong led his troops to capture Ye City and destroy the Northern Qi in a spectacular fashion;

The following year, Yuwen Yong suddenly died with a thud!

Hang up!

He died at the young age of 36, in the prime of his life!
In the third year, Yuwen Yong's eldest son, the second emperor, abdicated after a series of mass killings and forced deaths of meritorious officials, after indulging in wine and women and building palaces extensively, and after implementing harsh laws and punishments.

He abdicated the throne to his six-year-old eldest son. Yes, six years old. Previously, Emperor Gao Wei of Northern Qi abdicated the throne to an eight-year-old!
You're only in your early twenties, what position do you have to take?!
Were these emperors more and more abstract and less human than the last?
Shen Le had already lay flat, watching the chaotic dance of demons with dead fish eyes, waiting to see what kind of magic tricks it could pull out next.

In short, it's probably impossible for the Yuwen family's emperors to produce any notable ministers or generals, or to gather a group of elite talents...

Then, he was shocked once again. In the fourth year, Yuwen Yun, who had just become the retired emperor, barely in his early twenties, died with a sudden thud, died, died…

"Okay, please feel free to do as you please..."

Shen Le had no desire to say anything more, only regretting that he had wasted four years in the capital and hadn't gone to the deep mountains to mine.

Honestly, observing the evolution of history up close is quite interesting, especially the kind of drama that unfolds every year, with one emperor dying each year.

The level of disruption they've caused is almost on par with Trump's actions across the ocean!
Aside from Trump, who else could create so much drama? However, even Trump serves a four-year term; he can't hold an election every year...

Fortunately, history finally unfolded into a familiar phase for him.

Yuwen Yun died, and his youngest son—yes, the one who accepted the abdication earlier—is unsure if he can be considered the successor. However, a figure familiar to Shen Le has appeared on the historical stage:

Yuwen Yun's father-in-law, the young emperor's maternal grandfather, Emperor Wen of Sui, Yang Jian, officially seized power. In the fifth year, Yang Jian usurped the throne and established the Sui Dynasty.

Shen Le silently breathed a sigh of relief. Good, now they're entering a relatively long period of stability, I think it'll be around thirty or forty years?

In the early years of Yang Jian's reign, he unified the country and destroyed the Chen Dynasty, which was described as having "beautiful concubines with faces like flowers covered in dew and jade trees shining in the rear courtyard." It was not a particularly famous war, and it seems that it did not bring together any elite talents.

Later in his reign, Emperor Yang of Sui, Yang Guang, launched three campaigns against Goguryeo, resulting in disastrous defeats... Well, he probably hoped for a major uprising at the end of the Sui Dynasty...

With this in mind, Shen Le decisively bid farewell to the immortal sect and embarked on the Silk Road, intending to go to Kunlun Mountain to see if there was anything worth searching for.

However, after spending twenty years buried in the mountains, he encountered a bunch of minor demons and monsters, and dug up a huge bag of white jade and top-grade immortal herbs. The five elite metals he wanted...

I'm sorry, but all I can say is that the Kunlun Mountains are simply too vast. With his strength alone, if he digs in the wrong place, finding anything is out of the question.

Without cell phones, GPS, roads, road signs, marked telephone poles, or people to ask for directions, it's already quite remarkable that he didn't get lost and starve to death in the mountains...

Shen Le calculated the time and figured that the time for Emperor Yang of Sui's third campaign against Goguryeo was approaching. He packed up the things he had found in the Kunlun Mountains and reluctantly climbed back to the Immortal Gate.

Let me see if I can manage to snag something from this war to help me master the art of flying swords...

As Shen Le walked down the mountain, he immediately sensed that something was wrong.

Previously, under the rule of the Northern Zhou/Sui Dynasty, there was a pavilion every ten li and a post station every thirty li. The land was quiet, and there were supplies along the way, so there was not much to worry about bandits.
However, when they returned along the same route, they only saw barren fields and dried-up irrigation ditches. It should have been the season when wheat seedlings were growing strong and upright, working hard to fill their grains, but the wheat ears in the fields were scattered here and there, sparse and scattered.

Looking around, there were hardly any adult men working in the fields. Occasionally, you'd see two people, either elderly men with silver hair or young children.

Or, upon seeing Shen Le from afar, she would crouch down, panicking and hiding in the field, clearly a poor peasant woman whose clothes were incomplete...

Shen Le's mood grew heavier with each glance. He used his magic to fly eastward, and before the sun had even set, he had already crossed the Hexi Corridor and arrived directly at the gates of Chang'an.

Chang'an City was indeed magnificent, towering high on Longshou Plain, bathed in a brilliant golden light by the setting sun, vaguely resembling the Tang Dynasty Chang'an City of my memory.

Before even getting close, Shen Le saw a large number of camels lined up in a long procession, stretching quietly outwards from the city gate. Western merchants with high noses and deep-set eyes jumped down from afar and prostrated themselves before this miraculous city. As they got closer, along the Qujiang Pool, the graceful green trees were covered with flowers, which, upon closer inspection, were clearly wrapped with countless silks.

As they approached the city gate, a majestic, grand, and icy aura swept over them, causing Shen Le to shudder and almost drop the spell in his hand!

He concentrated and regulated his breathing, silently circulating his sect's inner power seven or eight times, finally stabilizing the spell that concealed his appearance and supported his body.

Looking up again, a huge red dragon coiled above the capital, coldly surveying all directions.

The slightest bit of pressure emanating from it made Shen Le's heart pound and his breathing difficult; he could only bow respectfully to it.

"I have no ill intentions... I won't break the law... I just want to go in and take a look, is that alright?"

No. Or rather, no one can perform magic in the capital without permission or authorization—not even the most basic spell.

Shen Le looked up at the red dragon's pupils and somehow understood this rule. He carefully retreated, hid in a secluded spot, and dispelled the magic on his body.
This is troublesome; it seems he can't get in... He's been mining in the mountains for decades, but he has no identification, no travel documents, nothing.

If you go into the city like this, you'll either be arrested as a spy or as a vagrant...

"Why are you stealing our food!"

A sharp, childish cry rose high above the distant roadside. This was followed by a strange, exaggerated laugh, much like a foreigner speaking Chinese.

"Who robbed us? Your Khan invited us here—your Khan said that China is bountiful, and taverns don't charge a fee, so we can eat as much as we want!"

What utter nonsense! Ah, this was indeed a policy issued by Emperor Yang of Sui, allowing barbarians to eat and drink freely in Chang'an without charging them money. So, that's fine—no way!
What kind of stupid policy is this?!

No wonder the Sui Dynasty eventually perished; with such a brain-dead emperor, it would have been strange if it hadn't fallen!

Shen Le, full of complaints, quickly went over to watch. The Hu man laughed heartily, grabbing various foods and drinks and stuffing them into his mouth, chewing a small portion and tossing the rest aside.

The people around frowned and whispered among themselves, but no one dared to speak up to stop them: if they argued or fought with them, whose side would the government take?
Regardless of whose side you're on, meeting with an official once will at least leave you feeling utterly humiliated...

Shen Le, however, could no longer bear to watch. After the Hu people had eaten and drunk their fill and left singing, he secretly followed behind, leisurely approaching, and flicked a sharp gust of wind from his fingertips, which swept past the Hu people's waist.

A sharp gust of wind swept back, bringing with it a small gold ornament. Shen Le drew her sword, cut the ornament into small pieces, rolled them into tiny gold pellets, and quietly tossed a few into the boy's pocket.

Even with such a subtle movement, the red dragon circling above the palace turned its gaze and let out a warning roar.

The roar wasn't loud, and the people around couldn't even hear it, but Shen Le was so shocked that his blood surged and he almost fell to the ground, spitting out a mouthful of blood!
"Ah... I'm leaving now, I'm leaving now." He bowed repeatedly to the sky, took a few steps, and hurried away.

This red dragon, representing national destiny, order, or whatever, is far too strict!

So you don't allow martial arts practitioners to break the law, right?
In particular, it is forbidden to use magic to violate national laws, right?
Okay... I'm leaving!
He struggled to keep his upper body still, maintaining an elegant and composed posture, kicking up a cloud of yellow dust as he moved away. He hadn't gone far when he was suddenly slapped on the shoulder, nearly knocking him over.
"Ah Lu!"

"Ah... Senior Brother Lou!"

Shen Le rushed out seven or eight steps, finally managing to steady himself on the ground, feeling as if his knees were about to break. He turned back, panting:
"Senior brother, what are you doing here?"

"How did I get here? -- What do you think!" Lou Yun looked at him with a dark face:
"The celestial astronomical instrument is acting strangely; it's obvious someone is using magic! I thought it was some ignorant barbarian who came out to suppress it, but I never expected it to be you!"

The "unruly barbarian" touched his messy hair and somewhat tattered clothes, smiling sheepishly. Senior Brother Lou reached out and pulled him:

"Alright, now that we're here, come back with me. At least we'll get a token that lets you take action in the capital. — Don't slack off, there's a ton of work waiting for you!"

As expected, once the world was at peace, disciples from the immortal sects, as usual, left the mountains to cooperate with the imperial court and handle some cultivation-related matters on its behalf.

Shen Le followed his senior brother and smoothly entered Chang'an. However, when his senior brother gave him the jade token that allowed him to legally act within the capital, he made all sorts of excuses:

"I don't want to. —Senior brother, I advise you to leave as soon as possible. All the disciples of our sect should get out of here as soon as possible. This emperor..."

His voice trailed off, fading into silence, using only lip movements to express his disapproval of "he's an idiot" and "unreliable." Lou Yun gave a wry smile.
"Alright, if you don't want to get involved in karma, then don't. Maybe that's a good thing. —So, there's something you can do me a favor for?"

"Brother!"

Shen Le stared intently at him, her gaze unwavering for a long time, trying to convey with her eyes, "Promise me you'll leave right now." Lou Yun shook his head and sighed.
"Don't worry, I'm fine. With this kind of..."

His lips moved silently twice, clearly silencing a few words, before he continued:

"...Our sect has extensive experience in dealing with people, and we know when to stay and when to leave. Besides, this person above is certainly better than those of the past dynasties, isn't he?"

That's right. The Eastern Wei, Western Wei, Northern Qi, and Northern Zhou dynasties—a whole series of anthropomorphic beings, regardless of their talent or virtue, were all locked up in mental hospitals, and very few of them were innocent.

Shen Le felt somewhat reassured and stared at his senior brother, waiting for him to issue another task. Lou Yun then said leisurely:

"Fire another batch of Soul-Suppressing Figurines."

"What?!"

Shen Le's voice became shrill! Senior brother, I said before that I would never burn again, and you promised!
You know why I refused to burn any more!

"This is truly an emergency." Lou Yun looked at him seriously.
"Now, in the south and north of the Yangtze River, the battle to pacify Chen has left an aura of death that fills the sky. We have managed to appease the spirits, but the resentment lingers, forming a charnel ground—"

"If we don't use the Soul-Suppressing Puppet to purify it, once the Corpse Forest has accumulated enough death energy and corresponds to the celestial signs, the entire Jiangnan region will be transformed into a ghost realm!"

Shen Le's face was grim. Looking up at the palace, he felt a surge of urge to curse, yet he struggled to hold back. Finally, he gripped the hilt of his sword tightly.
"So this time, whose ashes will be used to fill this hole?!"

(End of this chapter)