Simultaneous travel: City, infinite evolution

Chapter 244 Refuting Yi Xiaochuan's Argument with Cui Wenzi

"On the contrary, it is you who is talking at length about the drawbacks of the Qin law and how to improve it. What are you trying to achieve?"

"Are you after personal gain, fame, and a position in the imperial court to enjoy the wealth and resources contributed by the common people?"

"Don't think I didn't see through your intentions. You're just fishing like Jiang Taigong, waiting for someone willing to take the bait."

"Do you dare say that you said these things without harboring the intention of changing the fate of the Qin Dynasty and altering history?"

Yi Xiaochuan was surprised that Chen Hong nodded calmly.

"Yes."

"So what if I harbored the intention to change the fate of the Qin Dynasty and alter history?"

"You're unhappy, aren't you?"

"If you're unhappy, bite me."

Yi Xiaochuan was stunned, then flew into a rage.

"You look like an educated person, how could you possibly change the course of history?"

"History cannot be changed!"

"You selfish person, you only think about your own wealth and glory, but you don't think about the generations of people under history."

Chen Hong was so disgusted that he laughed.

"You dare to talk about ordinary people?"

"I ask you, what were your intentions in becoming sworn brothers with Xiang Yu and Liu Bang?"

"Are you thinking of getting in touch with some big shot in the future to seek personal gain?"

"I didn't!" Yi Xiaochuan immediately retorted. "I was just being playful. I wanted to become sworn brothers with a historical figure, take a video, keep a memento, and show off a little."

What's wrong with this?

I never intended to change history.

"Didn't expect to change history?"

"I never expected to change history, so why are you helping Liu Bang so much?"
He used the money Xiang Yu gave him to feed and entertain him.

Even this trip to Xianyang, you came with him, didn't you?"

"Liu Bang was the head of the Sishui Pavilion and came to Xianyang to deliver corvée labor."

Can't I come along and see for myself?
I gave him food and drink; that's our brotherly bond. What's it to you?

Chen Hong immediately laughed, "You take the money Xiang Yu gave you and use it to treat Liu Bang to food and drinks, and you call that brotherhood?"

"If you're so capable, go earn your own money."

"Moreover, do you dare to say that if you can't go back in the future, you can join Liu Bang and become a marquis, living a life of wealth and honor?"

"I...I didn't think that much about it."

Yi Xiaochuan seemed a little unsure of himself. "I just couldn't help but get to know these historical figures when I saw them."

I don't have as many bad intentions as you say; you're just imagining things.

If you're bad yourself, you'll naturally see everyone else as bad too.

Chen Hong laughed again, "Alright, alright, let's put aside these bad intentions for now."

Just talking about your interactions with these historical figures, won't that change history?
The impact you have on them is like the butterfly effect; it can change their life trajectory and even alter history at any time.

What gives you the right to demand that others not change history, while you yourself are constantly and subtly influencing it?

Yi Xiaochuan choked for a moment.

“This…this is different.”

"I just became sworn brothers with them for fun; it won't change anything significant."

"But you are thinking of changing the fate of the Qin Dynasty's demise, which is a major event that will affect the course of history."

"You are the culprit."

"You should immediately abandon this idea, go with the flow of history, do not interfere, and let history follow its own course."

Chen Hong's face turned cold.

"Do you mean I should just sit idly by and watch the chaos at the end of the Qin Dynasty, the devastation, and the deaths of millions upon millions of ordinary people in the war?"

"Or do you mean I have to sit idly by and watch the darkest period of the Five Barbarian Invasions, the division of the Northern and Southern Dynasties, the chaos at the end of the Sui Dynasty, the devastation of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, the bloodshed and cannibalism, the southward migration of the elite during the Jingkang Incident, the ravages of the Jin and Yuan dynasties, the great famine at the end of the Ming Dynasty, and the Manchu conquest of China, which dragged China back more than two hundred years?"

Yi Xiaochuan was startled and waved his hands repeatedly.

"no!"

"I didn't mean that."

"Don't label me without my consent."

"I, Yi Xiaochuan, absolutely did not mean that."

"No?" Chen Hong sneered. "Isn't that what you mean by not changing history?"

"If you want to condemn someone, you can always find a pretext!" Yi Xiaochuan said indignantly. "What's wrong with upholding history and not changing it?"

"Does not changing history mean just sitting idly by and watching these things happen?"

"Nonsense! You think changing history will prevent these things from happening?"

Ultimately, isn't it all for your own selfish desires?
You changed history, who knows what will happen next?
It might be even worse?

Who will bear the blame then? You? Can you afford to?

"All I know is that these things will happen even if history isn't changed."

Only by striving to change can we have a different future and a glimmer of hope.

Isn't your fear of changing history precisely because you're afraid of losing the advantage of being a prophet?
You're afraid of losing the time traveler's greatest informational advantage. Ultimately, isn't your so-called "not changing history" just for your own benefit?

"Nonsense!" Yi Xiaochuan stopped abruptly. "You're judging a gentleman by your own petty standards!"

"I'm not going to talk to you anymore. There's no point in arguing with a petty person like you who's full of scheming and self-interest."

"Different road non-phase plan!"

"Gao Yao, me and him, who are you with?"

Gao Yao glanced at Yi Xiaochuan, then at Chen Hong.

Without hesitation, she stood by Chen Hong's side.

"I'm sorry, Ogawa, but I think the gentleman is right."

"Hmph!" Yi Xiaochuan flicked his sleeve and left angrily.

"They're all just selfish and self-serving people!"

Yi Xiaochuan went to find his sworn brother Liu Bang.

Chen Hong took the tiger-shaped pendant, smiled as he put it away, and looked at Cui Wenzi, who was lying drunk on the ground.

"Mr. Cui, why pretend to be drunk?"

No response.

Only the sound of snoring echoed in the air of the room.

"Haha, is Mr. Cui scared?"

“Mr. Cui is a reclusive master. Since I am here speaking with Yi Xiaochuan, I have tacitly allowed you to eavesdrop. Why be alarmed?”

"Or does Mr. Cui not want to get involved in worldly karma?"

Faced with Chen Hong's blunt teasing, Cui Wenzi could no longer keep up the act.

She slowly opened her eyes, took a sip of wine, and sighed.

"I am but a wanderer in this mortal world, a drunkard among the masses. Why should I strive for the immortals?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Hong smiled slightly.

“I have heard that there was a man named Cui Wenzi in Mount Tai who was fond of Huang-Lao philosophy. He lived at the foot of Mount Qian and later made Huang San Chi Wan (a traditional Chinese medicine formula), built the Shi Fu Temple, sold medicine in the city, and claimed to be three hundred years old.”

Then a plague struck, killing tens of thousands of people. The local official, Wen, pleaded for help. Wen carried a red banner and tied a yellow shawl to the gates of the village.

Those who drank the powder recovered immediately, and tens of thousands of lives were saved.

Later, he went to Shu to sell Huang San (a type of traditional Chinese medicine).

Therefore, the red pills and yellow powder produced by Cui Wenzi, a renowned physician, are truly close to divine efficacy.

"Sir, you are a man of great talent. Are you willing to decay in this mortal world, turn into dust, and disappear from the world?"

Cui Wenzi was somewhat surprised that Chen Hong knew so much about his background and origins.

However, he was already close to enlightenment and no longer cared much about worldly affairs.

If it weren't for a compassionate heart, unable to bear the suffering of humanity, and forced to travel far and wide to practice medicine and save lives, I probably would have long ago retired to the mountains and forests, living a carefree life.

"Life and death are merely the natural order of things; why force them?"

"Immortality? It's nothing more than an obsession that people can't attain."

"Human life is nothing but a sea of ​​suffering, in which all beings torment themselves and cannot escape."

Life is full of disappointments, but the most important thing is to have a broad mind. As the saying goes, a broad mind leads to good health.

"Follow the way of nature, live well, and live happily and comfortably."

Then die peacefully, without regrets or obsessions.

Chen Hong was genuinely impressed.

"Sir, you are truly an immortal!"

"Though detached from worldly affairs, he still has compassion for the suffering of people."

"Though one sees through all things, one should not develop an arrogant and indifferent heart."

"Though I roam freely in the world, I do not seek immortality."

"I am not as good as him."

"I am but a mortal with many desires. The immortals value life, and I wish to avoid death and prolong life, seeking only carefree ease."

Gao Yao looked at Cui Wenzi with some surprise.

"I never imagined that a drunkard like you would have such a magnanimous attitude, not even tempted by immortality?"

"Hey, tell me, were you ever actually drunk?"

Cui Wenzi took another sip of wine, and, reeking of alcohol, said:
"Whether I am drunk or not is in your eyes, but whether I am sober or not is in my own heart."

"Hmm..." Chen Hong nodded, "Sir, your state of mind is extraordinary, never mind..."

"I won't force you."

"Since we've encountered a true fellow Daoist, why not have a discussion about the Dao?"

"Discuss the Dao?" Cui Wenzi raised his head, glanced at Chen Hong, and then smiled. "Alright!"

Then, the two sat cross-legged under the moonlight before a table and began to discuss philosophy.

From Huang-Lao philosophy and life principles to what one has seen and heard, to Taoist techniques and pharmacology, nothing is left undiscussed.

Chen Hong discovered that Cui Wenzi not only possessed great wisdom, but was also an expert in preparing Huangjing powder and Zhusha Dan.

His skills in using elixirs and medicine had reached an extraordinary level; he was adept at using various drugs to concoct miraculous remedies tailored to specific ailments.

Moreover, he seems to know some skills in judging people by their appearance and divination, and can see through human nature and predict future trends.

Coincidentally, Chen Hong also knew some alchemy, weapon crafting, astrology, divination, and feng shui.

There are also alchemy and weapon crafting, astrology and divination, and feng shui and physiognomy.

He possesses supernatural powers in medicine and boiling stones.

[Medicine] It can bring the dead back to life and heal the wounded, and is a cultivation method that uses medicine to enter the Tao, encompassing all kinds of medical and immortal techniques.

【Boiling Stones】All metals and stones are used to refine and calcify medicines for consumption; this is a kind of alchemy technique.

After discussing with Cui Wenzi, Chen Hong gradually localized the various elixirs, supernatural powers, divination and fortune-telling techniques from his memory into this world, adapting them to the laws and environment of this world and making them suitable for local conditions.

Gradually, he began to have some ideas about refining the elixir of immortality.

Furthermore, Chen Hong took out the tiger-shaped pendant to study it and discovered that it contained a magical energy.

This energy can help people strengthen their muscles and bones, making them physically strong and highly skilled in combat.

Chen Hong discovered a more profound and hidden power.

This power is extremely elusive, yet its essence is profound. It seems to be related to space and time.

But this power is already very thin and is close to disappearing.

However, there seems to be a mysterious force in the world that is constantly replenishing the tiger-shaped pendant.

However, the recovery is very slow, and it seems that it will take more than two thousand years to fully recover.

(End of this chapter)