Distant Mountain Battle Song

Chapter 271 The Unmagical High Priest

Why haven't any more been added?

Zhang Min couldn't help but ask.

"The Grand Marshal is not allowed to be added."

Wu Tong's answer was concise and to the point.

Eji ignored all of that and instead focused her gaze on the Dragon God Temple, which was higher up. She didn't care what the emperor's palace looked like; the Dragon God Temple and the vast palace complex behind it were what she was really looking forward to today.

I heard that the entire area belongs to the High Priest Liu Changsheng.

When they arrived, Eji had discussed with Yun Ce that if they could take over the Changsha King's faction, they would; if not, they would just let it go. It was purely a matter of taking risks even if they had no chance of success.

Incidentally, this incident can also be used to test Liu Changsheng's opinion of Yun Ce. In any case, Yun Ce doesn't believe in love without a reason, and neither does E Ji.

She now wanted to put on a greedy act to show Liu Changsheng, hoping that he would kick them all out so they wouldn't fall into an even bigger vortex.

After resting for a while, the girls carried Eji up the mountain again. The desolate state of the palace was astonishing. They didn't encounter a single person along the way, and many palaces had collapsed, with some small animals wandering among them.

"This is the Imperial Palace of the Han Dynasty?"

A fat bird was startled by their arrival and flew away in a flurry. Lei Ming restrained himself from shooting the bird down.

"At its worst, there were six thousand people fighting each other here, and blood flowed like a waterfall on the steps."

Wu Tong's words were devoid of any emotion, as if he were an indifferent passerby casually explaining to Eji and Zhang Min what had happened here.

"My lord says that the Han Dynasty's elite troops perished in this palace battle, and the Han Dynasty will surely perish in this palace battle as well. Do you agree, Shaoqing?"

Seeing that Eji had started speaking in a literary style, Wu Tong lowered his head and sighed, saying, "It's hard to say whether it's good or bad to clean the house before inviting guests in."

Eji, holding the cloud spear, leaned against a little girl behind her and continued, "My husband said the same thing. He said that the Han Dynasty has accumulated problems for thousands of years, just like a person who has been free from illness and disaster for thousands of years. In fact, some minor problems have long since become major hidden dangers. Even if the Han Dynasty survives this outbreak, it will at least lose half its life."

Wu Tong looked at Eji and asked, "So?"

Eji sighed and said, "My husband said, 'When Qin loses its deer, the whole world will chase after it.'"

Wu Tong looked at Eji and said, "The Han Dynasty still has loyal guardians after all."

“My husband says that the culprit behind this chaos is the Grand Marshal, and that he also hopes that the Grand Marshal will cause chaos. You, Shaoqing, are under the Grand Marshal's command, so how can you protect the Han Dynasty?”

Wu Tong frowned and said, "Your husband's current power is not enough to say such things."

Eji laughed and said, "My husband said that when signs of chaos appear in the world, he will emerge from seclusion; when the world is in great chaos, he will begin to stir things up; when heroes are vying for power, he will be able to conserve his strength and build up his power. When a few people in the world become emperors and a few become kings, that will be the perfect time for him to contend for the Central Plains."

Wu Tong chuckled and said, "Fortunately, there's no one around here."

Having said that, he stopped arguing with Eji and quickly stepped forward, reaching the platform of the Divine Dragon Palace in no time.

Zhang Min looked at Eji and said, "My husband didn't say these words. It sounds like they came from Feng An and Liang Kun."

Eji laughed and said, "It's alright, since we've said it, it's what my lord said."

Lei Ming, who had been guarding Eji all along, suddenly said, "Give me another ten years, and I will don armor and wield weapons to defeat thousands of troops for my lord."

Eji tenderly pinched Leiming's cheek and said, "It is said that roasting Shehuo is of great benefit to you martial artists. Now that you have come to the Divine Dragon Palace, you must try the power of the ancestral fire."

Lei Ming asked in surprise, "Did our lord say this too?"

Eji nodded and said, "You are lucky to have such a good lord."

As they talked, they soon arrived at the platform of the Divine Dragon Palace. Eji got off the chair that the four girls had built with their hands, tidied her hair and clothes while holding the Cloud Spear, and then waved to Zhang Min and the others. The group then walked along the gleaming stone path toward the Divine Dragon Palace.

Liu Changsheng lay on a large soft couch, propped up his upper body, and craned his neck to look at the entrance of the main hall. He saw a group of people entering through the door. His gaze did not fall on the woman who walked with a somewhat arrogant gait, but on the tiny baby in the candle swaddle. From the moment he saw the little person, Liu Changsheng smiled silently.

The Dragon God Temple is very dry. The air here is like it has been scorched by fire. Breathing it in is like breathing in dry sand. In just a moment, it makes people feel parched.

After meeting Liu Changsheng, Eji approached and gracefully bowed, saying, "Yun'e, the Crown Princess of Changsha, greets the King of Changsha."

Liu Changsheng glanced at Eji and said coldly, "Why not call her Liu E?"

Eji continued to bow, saying, "The Yun clan ancestral hall still exists, and Eji dares not call herself a member of the Liu clan." Liu Changsheng said, "So, you came to the Dragon God Temple this time just to take advantage of the situation?"

Eji chuckled and said, "My husband said that while the High Priest is getting old, we must take advantage of him now and do our best, otherwise we won't have the chance to do so later."

Liu Changsheng chuckled and said, "It's not that you can't pick it up. It mainly depends on what kind of child you give birth to. If you give birth to the right child, you will be the Crown Princess. If you give birth to the wrong child, you will be nothing."

Eji smiled and stepped forward, handing the cloud spear to Liu Changsheng, who had already sat up.

Liu Changsheng took the child, opened the swaddling clothes, and lifted the bare leg of the baby from inside, examining it closely. He then reached out and plucked a firework from the hearth. The firework landed on the baby's head, which may have startled him. Yun Shuo stretched out his little hands to grab the firework, but it shifted slightly, causing him to miss. He tried again, but missed once more. Just as he grabbed again, the firework dodged. At that moment, a bright, clear jet of water gushed out from between Yun Shuo's legs, arcing through the air before landing on the firework.

Although it was only for a moment, the Shehuo (a type of folk performance) was like a frightened little animal, throwing itself into the fire pit without looking back and never coming out again.

"There's nothing supernatural about it—"

Liu Changsheng couldn't help but call out.

Eji didn't care whether her child had any supernatural abilities or not; she was just extremely dissatisfied that her precious child was being held by one leg. She stepped forward, snatched her child back, and held it to her heart, saying, "My husband said that the fact that this child was born is already a great blessing. As for whether there are any supernatural abilities, my husband and I really don't care."

Liu Changsheng did not answer, his eyes fixed on the fire pit. Just as a candle flame was about to go out, Liu Changsheng waved his sleeve, and the flame was able to enter the blazing ancestral fire.

Zhang Min held Yun Tui in her arms and placed him in Liu Changsheng's arms, saying, "High Priest, please take a look at the two sons of the Yun family."

Liu Changsheng also opened the swaddling clothes, grabbed the child's leg and summoned a candle flame to place on the child's head. The candle flame quickly grew from a weak flame into a bright yellow flame, tightly surrounding Yun Tui. Yun Tui, enveloped in the flame, seemed not to feel any pain and was still grabbing at things haphazardly in a daze.

Zhang Min glanced triumphantly at Eji, then hurriedly asked Liu Changsheng, "High Priest, is this a divine miracle?"

Liu Changsheng waved away the folk performance and returned the cloud to Zhang Min. He then said to Eji, "Give me your son."

Holding the cloud spear, Eji shook her head decisively and said, "My husband said that this is the eldest son of the Yun family and cannot be easily entrusted to others."

Liu Changsheng sneered, "Without dragons, what kind of nobility is there to speak of?"

Eji laughed and said, "My husband said that what is his own is the best. As for dragon cubs, he doesn't care. Alright, alright, you've seen the child. We've traveled a long way home and need to rest."

Besides, it's too dry here.

Zhang Min asked anxiously, "How is my child?"

Liu Changsheng said, "There's nothing special about it."

Zhang Min said, "That ball of fire has already reacted."

Liu Changsheng casually summoned a candle flame and placed it on Lei Ming's head. Instantly, Lei Ming's body was enveloped in a bright yellow flame, with continuous explosions occurring within the fire.

Liu Changsheng looked at Zhang Min and said, "There's really nothing special about it."

Eji stood up straight, picked up the cloud spear, and walked towards the back. Liu Changsheng did not stop her. He watched as they went to the back courtyard, then went to the ancestral fire, put his hand into it, and after a moment, he seemed to wake up from a dream and said, "So that's how it is."

Wu Tong stepped out from behind the pillar, bowed, and said, "High Priest, how long must we wait? If we do not execute the traitors, the Han Dynasty will perish."

Liu Changsheng sighed and said, "The Han Dynasty is gone, but it's still a country made up of the same people. It's just a change of name. It's not a big deal."

Wu Tong exclaimed, "Does the High Priest turn a blind eye to the suffering of all living beings in the world?"

Liu Changsheng waved his hand and said, "Go on, I'm tired of this."

After saying that, he lay back down on the soft couch and soon fell asleep.

Eji was overjoyed, but when she entered the Changsha Prince's Mansion behind the Dragon God Temple, she found that it was actually just a small courtyard. The courtyard was empty, with only a few simple thatched houses. A bamboo fence separated this place from the luxurious world outside, creating two different areas.

The gate of the thatched house bears the four characters "Changsha Prince's Mansion," which have an ancient feel to them and do not seem fake.

The magnificent building with carved beams, painted rafters, and flying eaves that she saw outside was not the Changsha Prince's Mansion, but a much larger Dragon Palace.

Lei Ming opened a wooden gate and said to E Ji, "Mistress, let's rest first." As he spoke, he took a large bundle from his back and placed it on the stone table in the courtyard.

Eji said, "Whether it's good or bad, this is still the Changsha Prince's Mansion, and the person living here is the Changsha Prince."

Just as everyone finished cleaning and tidying up, and Lei Ming and his younger siblings began cooking, Wu Tong arrived again. He leaned against the doorframe and said to E Ji, "Doesn't the Crown Princess want to hold a palace banquet here to officially establish the title of Crown Prince?"

(End of this chapter)