Investiture of the Gods: Childhood Sweetheart Daji, Starting with Quasi-Saint Cultivation

Chaoge, deep within the royal palace.

King Zhou sat alone on the rooftop terrace of the Star-Picking Tower, with two jars of wine and several jade cups on the stone table in front of him.

The night was deep, but he was wide awake, gazing at the starry sky in a daze.

Footsteps sounded from behind.

"Your Majesty," Su Yunbai's voice came.

"You've arrived?" King Zhou didn't turn around. "Sit."

Su Yunbai sat down opposite him and glanced at the wine jar: "His Majesty summoned me late at night just to drink?"

"Otherwise what?" King Zhou opened a jar of wine, poured two cups, and said, "This 'Drunken Immortal Brew' was brewed by me... by my own hands. I used a recipe from Earth. Try it."

Su Yunbai picked up his wine glass, the aroma of which was familiar and mellow.

He took a sip and nodded: "It's good wine."

"Is that so?" King Zhou laughed, but there was a bitter taste in his smile. "Back on Earth, I loved going to food stalls with my comrades on weekends. A few bottles of beer, a bunch of kebabs, and we could chat until dawn."

He paused.

"Yunbai, have you thought about going back?"

Su Yunbai's grip on the wine glass tightened slightly.

"There's no going back."

"Yes... there's no going back." King Zhou tilted his head back and finished his wine. "Eighteen years have passed. Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night and think I'm lying on a hard bed in the military camp. But when I open my eyes, I see a bed with dragons and phoenixes carved on it, and lying next to me... are concubines whose names I can't even remember."

He looked at Su Yunbai.

"You know what? In the first few years after I transmigrated here, I was hoping every day that the system would issue a 'return mission'. Later, I gave up and thought... since I'm here, I might as well do something big. Be a wise ruler, reform the government, and make the human race stand up."

"You've done very well," Su Yunbai said earnestly. "The imperial examination system, farmland irrigation, military reforms... the Shang Dynasty is several times stronger than it was eighteen years ago."

"What's the use?" King Zhou shook his head. "What was bound to happen has happened. The Investiture of the Gods, the sages' game, the rebellion in Xiqi... all that I did was utterly insignificant in the face of absolute power."

He stood up, walked to the edge of the terrace, and looked down at the sleeping city of Chaoge.

"Sometimes I feel like a joke. I'm a modern person, yet I have to play a game of power struggles in this mythical world. In the end, I can't even protect the people around me."

Su Yunbai remained silent.

He could understand King Zhou's feelings.

The loneliness of a time traveler is understood only by the time traveler himself.

"Your Majesty, you summoned me here tonight not just to complain, were you?"

King Zhou turned around and looked directly at him.

"Yun Bai, I want to abdicate."

The terrace suddenly became quiet.

A night breeze blew by, carrying the aroma of wine.

Su Yunbai put down his wine glass: "What did you say?"

"I said, I want to abdicate," King Zhou repeated. "I don't want to be king anymore."

Why?

"I'm tired." King Zhou sat back down on the stone bench and poured himself another cup of wine. "I'm really tired. Every day I go to court, review memorials, scheme against ministers, and guard against this person plotting against that person... I've had enough."

He looked at Su Yunbai.

"Besides, I know I'm not cut out for it. In governing the country, I'm not as good as Wen Zhong. In leading troops into battle, I'm not as good as you. I'm able to sit on this throne half thanks to the system and half thanks to you guys supporting me."

"But you are the Human Emperor," Su Yunbai said. "The Great Shang needs you."

"What the Shang Dynasty needs is a wise ruler, not me." King Zhou shook his head. "Yun Bai, you shall be the king. With your cultivation and strategy, you will surely lead the Shang Dynasty through this calamity."

Su Yunbai flatly refused: "No way."

Why?

"First, I am not of the Cheng Tang bloodline, so my claim is illegitimate." Su Yunbai raised a finger. "Second, I have my own principles and cannot be confined to the court. Third..."

He looked at King Zhou.

"You are my friend, my fellow townsman. I can't take your place."

King Zhou was stunned.

friend.

Fellow villager.

He hadn't heard those two words in a long time.

In Chaoge, he is His Majesty, King, and I.

Nobody dared to call him a friend.

"Yunbai..." King Zhou's voice was somewhat hoarse.

"Don't think about those things." Su Yunbai raised his cup. "You still have to be the king. At least, you can't step down before the Great Tribulation ends."

"But I..."

"Missing home?" Su Yunbai suddenly asked.

King Zhou remained silent.

After a long pause, he nodded.

"I miss it. I miss it terribly." His voice was low. "I miss my mom's braised pork, I miss my dad nagging me to drink less, I miss my comrades joking around with their arms around each other, I miss the spicy hot pot on the street, I miss ice-cold beer in the summer..."

His eyes reddened.

"Yunbai, I want to go back. Even just for one look... just one look."

Su Yunbai remained silent.

He wanted to as well.

I think of my parents from my past life, my friends, and that ordinary yet warm world.

But we can't go back.

We can never go back.

"Your Majesty," he said slowly, "since we can't go back, let's make this place our home."

"Home?" King Zhou smiled bitterly. "This place doesn't feel like home at all."

"Chaoge is your home," Su Yunbai said earnestly. "Wen Zhong, Bigan, Huang Feihu... they are all your family. The people of the Great Shang are also your family."

"But they..."

"They respect you, love you, and are willing to die for you." Su Yunbai interrupted him, "Isn't that enough?"

King Zhou stared at him blankly.

"Your Majesty, we transmigrators are destined to be alone." Su Yunbai finished his drink. "But being alone doesn't mean being lonely. You have me, you have Wen Zhong, and you have everyone who is loyal to you."

He stood up and walked to the edge of the terrace.

"It's normal to miss home. But since we're here, we should make the most of it. Not for anything else, but to do justice to this journey."

King Zhou remained silent for a long time.

"you're right."

He stood up and stood side by side with Su Yunbai.

"But sometimes... I really can't take it anymore."

"Tell me if you can't hold on." Su Yunbai turned to look at him. "We'll get through this together."

King Zhou looked at him and suddenly laughed.

"Yunbai, thank you."

"What are you thanking me for?"

"Thank you for still considering me a friend," King Zhou said softly. "Here, you're all I have left."

These words are heartbreaking.

Su Yunbai patted him on the shoulder.

"I've always been here."

The two drank for a while longer and talked about their past on Earth.

When the funny parts came up, King Zhou laughed so hard he almost fell over.

When the topic turned to sadness, the two fell silent.

Night deepened.

"Yunbai, tell me..." King Zhou suddenly asked, "Can we go back?"

"I don't know," Su Yunbai shook his head, "but I won't give up hope."

"If... you could go back someday, would you go back?"

Su Yunbai remained silent.

He wanted to go back.

But I can't let go of the people here.

Daji, Bixiao, Yunxiao, Jiang Xiaowu, Ao Ling, Yang Chan...

There are also unborn children.

"I don't know," he said truthfully, "but when that day comes, I will make a choice."

"Me too," King Zhou laughed, "but thinking about that now is too far off. Let's get through this hurdle first."

"right."

At midnight, Su Yunbai took his leave.

King Zhou escorted him to the top of the stairs.

"Yunbai".

"Um?"

"If... I mean if," King Zhou looked at him, "if I really can't hold on any longer, would you be willing to take over?"

Su Yunbai shook his head: "You won't be unable to hold on."

"What if?"

"There's no 'what if'," Su Yunbai said earnestly. "I'll hold on for you."

King Zhou felt a warmth in his heart when he saw the determination in his eyes.

"it is good."

He turned and went back to the terrace.

As Su Yunbai walked down the stairs, he suddenly heard suppressed sobs coming from upstairs.

It was very soft, but she was definitely crying.

He paused for a moment, but ultimately did not turn around.

Let King Zhou cry for a while.

Once you become king, you have to cry in secret.

not easy.

On the way back to the General's Mansion, Su Yunbai was filled with turmoil.

He witnessed King Zhou's downfall.

He deeply understood the loneliness of those who traveled through time.

But he cannot fall.

He is the pillar of everyone.

You must stand up straight.

Back at the manor, Jiang Xiaowu was still waiting for him.

"Why aren't you asleep yet?"

"I'll wait for you." Jiang Xiaowu stood up. "Is His Majesty alright?"

Su Yunbai shook his head: "It's nothing, I just... miss home."

Jiang Xiaowu asked, puzzled, "Hasn't His Majesty been staying in Chaoge all this time?"

"This isn't the same place," Su Yunbai said without further explanation. "Go to sleep."

The two lay down, and Jiang Xiaowu leaned against him.

"Yunbai".

"Um?"

Do you ever miss home?

Su Yunbai remained silent for a moment.

"meeting."

Where is your home...?

"A very far place," Su Yunbai said softly, "a place I can't go back to."

Jiang Xiaowu hugged him tightly.

"This is your home too."

Su Yunbai felt a warmth in his heart.

"I know."

He kissed her forehead.

"Go to sleep."

"Um."

Morning next day.

King Zhou sat upright on his throne, his expression unchanged, as if he were not the one who had broken down and wept bitterly the night before.

He handled the reports from his ministers one by one, with clear and organized steps.

When Wen Zhong reported on the military situation at the front, King Zhou interrupted him:

"Grand Tutor, how much longer can Sishui Pass hold out?"

"Without reinforcements, it will last at most a month."

"That's enough." King Zhou looked at Su Yunbai. "General Su, in three days, I will personally lead the expedition."

The entire hall erupted in uproar.

"Your Majesty, you mustn't!" Bi Gan exclaimed urgently. "Your precious life is not meant to be taken to such a dangerous place!"

"It is precisely because of my precious life that I must go," King Zhou said calmly. "I want to tell Xiqi, and to tell the world—the Great Shang will not back down."

He looked at Su Yunbai.

"General Su, would you be willing to accompany me?"

Su Yunbai stepped forward and bowed.

"Your subject is willing to go."

"Very well." King Zhou rose. "Court is adjourned."

After the court session ended, Su Yunbai was left behind.

The Imperial Study.

King Zhou dismissed his attendants and smiled at Su Yunbai:

"How was it? Did I act well?"

Su Yunbai chuckled: "It's similar."

"Actually, it's not all acting," King Zhou said seriously. "I really want to lead the army myself. Staying in the palace for too long has made me rusty. Getting out and about might help me rediscover the feeling I had back in the army."

"Danger at the front."

"With you here, what do I have to be afraid of?" King Zhou patted his shoulder. "Besides, I also want to see for myself just how capable Jiang Ziya really is."

Su Yunbai nodded: "Alright."

"By the way, there's something I need to ask you." King Zhou took out a jade scroll. "This is some 'modern knowledge' I've compiled over the years. It covers agriculture, industry, and military affairs. If I don't return..."

"His Majesty!"

"Let me finish," King Zhou waved his hand. "If I don't return, this thing is yours. Use it if you can, keep it as a memento if you can't."

Su Yunbai took the jade slip; it was heavy.

"You won't be gone forever."

"I hope so," King Zhou laughed. "Alright, go and make preparations. We'll depart in three days."

"Yes."

Leaving the palace, Su Yunbai had mixed feelings.

King Zhou is... giving his final instructions.

He sensed that the jade slip contained not only knowledge, but also a wisp of King Zhou's divine soul imprint.

Those were his "last words".

"Why bother..." he murmured.

But then I thought, if it were me, I might do the same.

Time travelers always need to leave themselves a way out.

Upon returning to the general's mansion, the women had already learned the news.

"The emperor himself is leading the expedition?" Bixiao exclaimed in surprise. "Has King Zhou gone mad?"

"He has his plans," Su Yunbai said. "I'm going too in three days."

"I'll go too!" Bixiao immediately said.

Yunxiao held her down: "Third sister, Chaoge needs someone to stay and guard it."

"But……"

"Yunxiao is right," Su Yunbai said. "Bixiao, Xiaowu, Yang Chan, you stay in Chaoge. Yunxiao, you come with me."

Bixiao pouted: "You left me here again."

"You're too impatient; the front lines aren't for you," Yunxiao said. "Listen to me."

Bixiao reluctantly replied, "Fine."

Jiang Xiaowu looked at Su Yunbai: "Be careful."

"Um."

Yang Chan whispered, "General... if you see my brother..."

"I know."

That night, Su Yunbai sat alone in his study.

He opened the jade slip given to him by King Zhou.

As my consciousness probed in, a massive amount of information flooded into my mind.

Hybrid rice, steelmaking process, gunpowder formulation, basic physics, chemistry...

There is another chapter, which is King Zhou's diary.

"Ten years have passed since I traveled back in time, and I'm so homesick I can't sleep..."

"While reviewing memorials today, I suddenly remembered the evening study sessions before the college entrance exam..."

"Wen Zhong praised me as a wise ruler today, but I find it ironic..."

"Su Yunbai is here. Finally, there's someone I can confide in..."

Page after page, word after word.

Loneliness, longing, struggle.

Su Yunbai watched quietly.

Until the last page.

"If I die one day, I hope Yunbai can look out for me... the future of the Great Shang Dynasty."

He closed the jade slip.

Looking towards the direction of the royal palace.

"You won't die."

"I promise."