Wei School's Three Good Students

Chapter 162 Golden Splendor
In the Great Dao World, if famine or disease occurs in any place and reaches a certain threshold, rebellion will arise.

"Rebellion" is merely a phenomenon from the perspective of the ruling class; from the perspective of the people at the bottom who instigate the rebellion, they are heroes who seize the opportunity and are doing nothing more than acting on behalf of Heaven.

In the process of calculating the destiny of Zhenzhou, the disciples of those sects observed that the color of Zhenzhou had turned green on the landscape map in the water mirror, but they were unaware that the location of their mountain gate was becoming increasingly blue.

As the sect elders verified the chosen one, they grew increasingly confident through their exchanges, believing they had already located the one destined for tribulation.

…Thousands of miles away, someone is well-versed in the past…

In Fenxing City, at the City Lord's residence, Wu's Third Sister, Yao San Niang, extinguished the flame of the lotus lantern. Looking towards Lelang City, she revealed a playful smile.

Yao San Niang turned around, picked up the ruler, and said to her son who was leaning against the corner of the wall, "Your father will be here in a few days. If you make a mistake, I won't hit you anymore. But for now, I still have to teach you."

Having said that, she took the ruler and struck her son's palm hard, scolding, "Don't dodge! I'm making you recite the Shangqing Records, and you're sleeping? You're going to make your mother angry to death!"

The son cried loudly, shouting, "Dad, Dad, save me!" The ruler fell mercilessly, leaving red marks on his buttocks, like the tail of a red sparrow.

…historical narrative…

Xuan Chong is using his own experience to describe how many more years "Da Yao" can last, and pondering: which social strata are least willing to let "Da Yao" last?

Xuan Chong couldn't help but ponder the Confucian scholars of the Han Dynasty. Some say that Han Confucian scholars were different from those of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, but in reality, their core was the same. From the day they were born, Confucianism served the ruling class and for thousands of years attempted to deeply influence their rule.

Han Confucian scholars attempted to bypass the bloody struggles at the grassroots level (the Snake-Slaying Uprising) and directly seize political and military power from the top-level theoretical system. This naive idea emerged as early as the reign of Emperor Xuan of Han. Emperor Xuan's response to the Mandate of Heaven theory was: "The Han dynasty has its own system, which is a mixture of hegemonic and benevolent rule!" In other words, "Go away and stop shamelessly spouting nonsense!"

Before Wang Mang usurped the Han throne, the Han Confucian scholars had lost the constraints of the "Way of Kingship and Hegemony" and were eager to take power. They perfected the "Theory of the Mandate of Heaven," waited for natural disasters, and argued that the Mandate of Heaven for the Han dynasty had run out, so "the one who will replace the Han dynasty is Dangtu Gao."

So the enthusiastic Han Confucian scholars pushed Wang Mang to the throne. As for the common people, what did they know about the changing of the Mandate of Heaven? Only the most learned Confucian scholars could explain the Mandate of Heaven.

Then Liu Xiu led the local powerful families to complete the "debate on the classics" with the great Confucian scholars in the central government.

Therefore, after the events of the Han Dynasty, Confucianism no longer dared to deduce the Mandate of Heaven from "upper-level narratives".

No! The Han Confucian scholars were still harboring treacherous intentions.

But the terrible history that followed the Wei and Jin dynasties is well known to all scholars: when the previous dynasty collapsed, anyone who tried to seize the Mandate of Heaven from the original court would only have a short life.

The fate of a dynasty is not determined by fate, but originates from somewhere in the land. Later heroes should learn from Liu Bang and start from humble beginnings.

Later, the metaphysical narrative of the dynasty became the mystical "dragon vein".

The current Da Yao has not yet gone through such a historical process. The power of Da Yao over thousands of years, as well as the conferment of titles, means that "the Mandate of Heaven" still originates from Heaven.

The Great Ruler of the Path is now weak in virtue, so sects and aristocratic families are starting to stir, feeling that they are close to the right to interpret the "Mandate of Heaven"; since the Ruler of the Path has been lost, they want to seize the Mandate of Heaven and the fortune of the local area.

…Back then, Wang Mang was nothing more than a tool; now, those born to face calamity are also “tools”…

In Laocheng, a hundred miles west of Lelang City.

A battalion commander stationed here was riding his horse out of the city gate; his name was Bai Cunxi.

At the city gate, the brothers called out to him as he sped away, "Brother, slow down!" When they received no response, they cursed, "Damn it, hurry back and reincarnate!"
Now, the White Camp Commander has received an urgent message from home, requesting his return.

Bai Cunxi was puzzled by the urgent letter from home. The last time he returned to his hometown was a year ago, when his family was thriving in the area.

Upon his return, Bai Cunxi silently wondered, "My parents said last year they wanted to build a big village, and the year before that they said the family income had increased. This year they should be able to fulfill their wish, right? What exactly happened?"

Upon arriving home, Bai Cunxi was stunned by the sight of the white cloth hanging high in the house. As he entered the room, he saw two coffins in the mourning hall, and the house was in a state of disrepair. The servants were all gone, leaving only his younger brother and sister in mourning.

Bai Cunxi burst into the mourning hall. Looking at the coffin, his sorrowful expression shifted slightly. Ignoring his brother's objections, he opened the coffin and saw his father's remains. While his appearance was unremarkable, a hint of malevolence lurked between his brows, and his fingernails grew exceptionally long. He had been corrupted by evil energy and had become a zombie.

After pulling out all of his elderly father's teeth, Bai Cunxi suppressed his anger and asked his younger brother, "How did Father die?"

Bai Cunxi sensed something was amiss when his younger brother stammered, and soon after arriving on the street, he overheard others discussing the matter.

At this moment, outside the Bai family's gate, the village women and men watched the fine horse, Bai Cunxi, stop at their doorstep.

"That Bai family, their rise was meteoric, and their fall was sudden!" "Indeed, buying and selling people, how could they not be immoral?"

"Besides, it seems your wife wasn't bought from his family."

"What exactly happened in the Heavenly Wing City Prison? The old man of the Bai family spent all his family fortune while he was there."

Under the tea stall, Bai Cunxi overheard crucial information and immediately stepped forward to inquire about the "prison".

Under the threat of Bai Cunxi's knife, the villagers, their faces filled with fear, stammered out the reason for their arrival.

It turns out that after Bai's father earned enough money to build a house, the tax clerk came to his door, took him to jail, and that's how he ended up like this when he returned.

…The immortals have calculated this very clearly…

A few days later, Bai Cunxi attempted to reach Lelang City, but was blocked by cavalry along the way.

The cavalry brought Wu Hanluan's orders, forbidding him from advancing.

Bai Cunxi repeatedly protested along the way, but to no avail. Just as he was dejectedly drinking alone in a roadside inn, he encountered a strange man. This man gave him a leaf that could ward off the malevolent aura emanating from him.

The mysterious man imparted his knowledge and explained that the reason he was stopped by his superiors in the city was because he was a soldier, while Wu Hanluan was a general. This leaf could conceal his identity, preventing Wu Hanluan from knowing of his arrival.

Just as Bai Cunxi was asking what was in Lelang City, the person had already disappeared.

Seven days later, Bai Cunxi emerged from the prison. He was covered in filth and coughed incessantly, trying to circulate his qi and blood to stop the corrupting force in his body, but to no avail.

Bai Cunxi's emotions fluctuated abnormally, as if he had seen something intolerable, to the point that it destroyed his loyalty to Wu Hanluan.

Bai Cunxi sat by the roadside, muttering, "This is heretical and evil practice; the Wu family is a den of filth and corruption."

Bai Cunxi went to Qinghua Sect to report, but after thinking about it, he realized that the Wu family was deeply rooted in this area and there were Wu family disciples in the sect.

Just then, he encountered an immortal on the way and quickly told the immortal about the matter. This immortal happened to be a guest of the King of Langya. After giving Bai Cunxi a token, the immortal told him that he could return to Laocheng.

The immortal then transformed into a beam of light and headed east.

…The situation developed rapidly…

In the third month of the second year of the Tianyou calendar, just after Wu Fei and Wu Hengyu had made great contributions in the north.

The governor of Jizhou was overjoyed to have obtained evidence that Wu Hanluan was using evil magic to sacrifice the people. He then reported this to the imperial court and summoned the leaders of various sects to make it public.

At the Immortal Clan Conference, many sects took the "Mirror of Reflection," and immediately frowned at the incomprehensible filth within it. However, several remained silent.

On the clouds above the spiritual veins of mountains and rivers, golden light unfolded like a futon, and one by one, immortal sages took their seats.

A righteous leader with 1,500 years of cultivation said: "If it were unorthodox methods like 'exorcising ghosts' or 'blood refining,' that would be fine, as they would be taken from the people and used for the people. However, the price for absorbing the power of the evil moon is the damage to the very source of the Xiren realm."

The immortals nodded in agreement. In recent years, the application of the Evil Moon's power had caused mountain collapses and the depletion of spiritual veins. They discussed: Wu Hanluan possessed a title bestowed by the Great Yao Zhengshuo and commanded a large army stationed in the western border of Great Yao. If he were to eat people or exorcise ghosts, it would only harm a small number of mortals, and the immortal sects wouldn't take such drastic action. However, the spiritual veins beneath the various mountain gates had now been affected by the Evil Moon in the sky, making punishment inevitable.

The last problem facing the immortal sects is that Wu Hanluan, as a strategist, possesses a powerful aura of military bloodlust.

The spirit does not contend with evil. If there is no other evil energy to restrain it, the many immortals will not be able to use their spiritual powers to eliminate the source of evil.

...We need a cannon fodder...

At the urging of all parties, on March 10th, in the city of Lao, first the city's main flag was torn down, and then each household in the city saw shadows on the walls talking to them, revealing secrets.

During the pandemic, people were in turmoil and distrusted one another.

Furthermore, in the past few days, the merchants had all had their money taken away by Wu Hanluan through strange means. After their resentment was channeled, they all participated in spreading the news of rebellion.

After a series of bizarre events, groups of soldiers followed instructions to the city's training ground, and finally, a riot broke out.

What exactly happened that night that caused the residents of Laocheng to collectively hate the Wu family overnight?

Note: Six months later, Wu Fei returned and investigated the rebellion. After a detailed interrogation of hundreds of people who participated in or followed the rebellion, he found that not a single one of them could give a coherent account.

According to a soldier who experienced the rebellion, after being suppressed for too long, he suddenly felt enlightened, as if he understood many things about right and wrong, and then he joined the rebellion.

After Wu Fei's investigation yielded no results, he directly labeled the activities of the eight sects within his jurisdiction as licentious rituals.

…Lan Xieyue loves to wake people up by slapping them awake…

Returning to the topic, from Wu Hanluan's perspective of ruling Zhendi, on March 15th, a rebel army suddenly appeared on his territory.

When the rebel army in Laocheng emerged, Wu Hanluan's measures to suppress Jindou completely failed.

On this morning, Wu Hanluan had just gotten up when he felt a pain in his lower back and a series of blisters growing around his abdomen. He hurriedly put on his armor, went out of the room, and looked around.

However, upon stepping off the platform, they saw a green beam of light fly into the sky from the direction of the prison in Lelang City. High above, a green moon was acting strangely. Upon closer inspection, the moon was not pockmarked, but rather covered with bulging little beans.

Wu Hanluan's heart skipped a beat, because he felt that the lid of the golden bucket he had been covering was finally overflowing.

Wu Hanluan looked at the mosquitoes floating in the sky outside the city, then called over the winged tiger and carried it towards Lelang City for a closer look. Swarms of mosquitoes were flying around the streets, and the residents looked pale and their bodies were swollen.

Wu Hanluan then discovered that Jin Dou's pathogenic energy was accumulating in Lelang City and could not dissipate. Realizing something, he looked up at the sky and saw that there seemed to be an invisible curtain above.

The area where he was located had been sealed off by the Mountain and Water Formation. After realizing that various sects had begun to target him and that he had received a lukewarm "reprimand" letter from the imperial court, he understood that he had been caught.

So he found his only trustworthy assistant, Wang Xi.

On the city tower in the east of the city, Wu Hanluan addressed his hurried subordinates, saying, "Wang Xi, you've been with me since the 20th year of the Heavenly Calendar, haven't you?"

Wang Xi: "Yes, sir, it has been nineteen years!"

Wu Hanluan: "Yes, nineteen years have passed in the blink of an eye. Back then, you and Zhao Tu joined my ranks together. Zhao Tu was highly valued by Yuan Chang, and you were still my personal guard."

Wang Xi sensed something, and his eyes reddened: "My lord, I am willing to die for you."

Wu Hanluan waved his hand: "I know you are loyal. Do one last thing for me. Go to the northeast and bring Wu Fei back. Let him inherit the Wu family and become the chief of the army. You must assist him well."

Wang Xi: "My lord?"

Wu Hanluan: "I'm beyond saving."

After saying that, he removed his armor to reveal the rotting blisters on his body. Looking at Wang Xi's shocked expression, Wu Hanluan said, "You have them on your back too, right? Those who follow me are like that. But you can still be saved. Yuan Chang has medicine. He didn't have any symptoms when he was with me. On the contrary, the people I sent there all recovered while they were with him. If you go there, you will be fine."

Knowing that Wu Hanluan was giving his final instructions, Wang Xi choked up, "My lord, I—"

Wu Hanluan nodded: "Don't cry, this is my retribution. I have killed and harmed too many people. Heaven is taking my life, and I have no regrets. But the Wu family's foundation cannot end here. My son is brave, but he lacks a benevolent heart. In the past, I have always worried about how he will get along with Wu Fei in the future. He (Wu Hengyu) is stubborn and has relied on Yuan Chang's help all these years. However, Yuan Chang has a lot of things to do himself, and a large number of people depend on him for their livelihood. He cannot help him (Hengyu) for a lifetime."

Wu Hanluan looked at Wang Xi and said, "When you go there, you must advise him to behave himself in the north. Be more tolerant and less prejudiced towards others."

Wang Xi remembered this message well, then mounted a dragon horse and left Lelang City.

…a glimmer of hope, which the immortals sought to extinguish…

Outside Lelang City, numerous cultivators who were using magic to manipulate clouds and winds in the heavens saw this crimson aura of bloodlust leave the city and head north. They immediately rode their immortal swords and reported it to their sect leaders.

After calculating, Sect Master Wangheng paused slightly and said, "We must stop him!" The Immortal Sect Elders and Dao Venerables exchanged instructions and then issued a decree to their disciples. With each activation of immortal techniques, clouds began to surge for hundreds of kilometers.

While the malevolent energy of soldiers rampages through densely populated mountainous regions, the spiritual energy of immortals can move thunder and rain over a wide area.

…The perspective shifts to the official road leading out of Chen…

Wang Xi ran wildly on the road, but soon got lost. The continuous heavy rain poured down on his area, making it impossible for him to see his surroundings.

He dismounted, squatted down, and dug at the roadside soil with his knife, discovering that the soil a foot below was dry. He then realized that the torrential rain was aimed directly at him.

He shouted to the sky, "What kind of demon are you, daring to block my way?"

He unleashed a burst of murderous aura, but the resulting fluctuations were still somewhat weak compared to the spiritual energy array spanning dozens of miles. However, some disciples whose foundations were not yet strong enough were affected by his shout.

Then came the voice of the Xuanji Peak Elder from the cloud: "Expand the formation, and do not panic! The imperial court has already determined the nature of the matter in Zhenzhou. Our formation is for the purpose of eliminating demons and protecting the righteous."

However, the sect disciples standing within hundreds of miles were still somewhat hesitant. A female cultivator voiced the fear in the hearts of all the cultivators: "If this person is really affected by our magic and dies unjustly, what will happen if he becomes a vengeful ghost?"

Wu Hanluan was the master of tens of thousands of people. Such a person, who carried the mission issued by the master of tens of thousands of people, also had blood evil on him. If he died unjustly, he would be affected by the human world and would not be able to be reborn in the world.

The Heavenly Dao holds a grudge against those who cannot be reborn. If it involves cultivators' magic, then it will inevitably retaliate. The Heavenly Dao will not deceive; it will guide the evil energy from the shadows. And cultivators fear this most.

Just as the formation loosened, a sword light pierced through from the outside, and Han Jiangxue rushed into the formation.

Wang Xi saw a suddenly appearing, rainless, open space in the heavy rain, and sensed that someone was there. He quickly drew his knife.
The female warrior Han Jiangxue said to the arriving cultivator, "General, please don't be impulsive. I will lead you out."

When she sent the message, she revealed a red jade waist tag engraved with the name of the Governor's Office of Yongji Pass.

Wang Xi grasped at this as if it were a lifeline: "Who has come here, fairy?"

Han Jiangxue looked up at the array on the horizon, drew her sword, pointed around, and said, "General, I'll hold off the array here. You hurry north to report the news."

…The raindrops hovered in the air, transforming into countless ice swords…

After Wang Xi left, the cultivator within the formation asked, "Fairy, why did you come here? The Wu family has acted perversely and deserves divine punishment!"

Han Jiangxue said coldly, "Someone has committed a grave error and deserves to be punished. But you all have been fueling this trouble. Aren't you afraid of divine retribution?"

Then, in the heavy rain, sword energies began to clash. The fairy was no match for them, and just as she was about to be defeated, she was captured by the elders of the Qinghua Sect and taken back to be confined.

(End of this chapter)