Pre-Qin Mythology: Starting with the River God

Once the day of Lidong (the Beginning of Winter) passed, the pre-battle divine sacrifices ended, and the once deserted altars were now filled with soldiers and officials cleaning up the mess. Qu Xia, as the Mo'ao, was finally freed from the gods' victory and could now properly handle... matters of power and territory that were not within his jurisdiction...

"Quan Ming!"

"What a Quan Ming! If I hadn't been so busy with affairs and couldn't leave Yingdu, Quan Di wouldn't have made such a 'mistake'."

Qu Xia instructed his servants to summon a covered carriage.

He was prepared to personally set foot in Quan Di and confront Quan Ming to set things right in the "chaos" of Quan Di.

Soon, a soldier on horseback arrived with a report: "Mo'ao, the King has ordered you to settle the matters concerning the gods and then proceed to Jingmen to discuss military supplies and plan for wartime."

The report was brief, only informing Qu Xia of what he was going to discuss.

As for the King of Chu's attitude, he remained silent.

Qu Xia looked at the armored soldiers. He knew that they were the King of Chu's confidants. Their arrival was very timely, clearly intended to prevent him from going to Quan County.

With a huff, Qu Xia said, "Your Majesty has been exchanging many letters with that Quan Xian lately, and has certainly drunk quite a bit of Quan's fine wine!"

The confidant glanced at Qu Xia cautiously.

Qu Xia disregarded the charge of spying on the King of Chu. He calmed his tone and solemnly said, "I will set off for Jingmen immediately... Besides the war, I... also want to know what arrangements Your Majesty has for that Quan Xian. In any case, I, Mo Ao, cannot touch him!"

Thinking of how he had exhausted all his efforts, even at the cost of offending the gods, to quickly send the high-ranking gods to the border.

Now I just want to prepare to deal with that restless Quan Ming.

At this time, however, the King of Chu protected Quan Ming and did not hesitate to put pressure on him.

Qu Xia was also helpless. What kind of bewitching wine did Quan Ming give the King of Chu? Why not give him a cup as well, so that he wouldn't be confused and unable to let go of Quan Ming, always wanting to win?

Da da da!

The carriage had arrived, leaving Qu Xia no time to think. He had no choice but to head to Jingmen. However, he would not let things go so easily. He immediately picked up a pen in the carriage and, even though the journey outside the city was bumpy, he held the carving knife tightly and intermittently carved his instructions to Qu Wan on the bamboo slips. He was preparing to use Qu Wan to carry out the plan. Even if he could not suppress Quan Ming, he would at least restrain him to some extent and not let Quan Ming be so arrogant!

Finally, the last four characters were inscribed on the bamboo slips: "Use the county to control the gods!"

……

As the sun set, Qu Wan, holding a talisman, had just finished discussing Quan Ming's business strategy with the leaders of those clans. As the administrator appointed by Quan Ming in this strategy, he was in high spirits, having swept away his previous dejection.

And those clans naturally wouldn't miss this opportunity.

Quanjiu liquor from Quan County is already selling so well.

If they could secure another share of the lacquer business, they would receive even greater rewards within the clan, and their status would rise considerably. This would be a cause for great joy, so how could they not accept it? Of course, to make this happen, they would need to write home and ask a prominent figure in their family to "snatch food from the tiger's mouth" from the King of Chu.

With war looming, King Chu will surely agree in order to appease the various clans.

"Um?"

"This is a letter from my uncle..."

The letter, which had been awaited for months, finally arrived today, but Qu Wan felt no joy whatsoever. In particular, after reading it, his brows furrowed even more... He abruptly pulled the bamboo slip and rolled it up.

"Using counties to control deities!?"

His gaze shifted constantly, as if he were struggling.

But there was no need to struggle; he quickly made his decision: "Mo Ao... want me to hinder Quan Xian's every action in Quan territory, and even block his conversations with the Quan people?"

Hey!

He collected the bamboo slips, tied them up, and placed them in the innermost corner of the bookshelf.

"This decree is of no benefit to Quan County. As the magistrate of Quan County, I should prioritize its interests. If Mo Ao is to blame... then come in person, or perhaps transfer me to another post!"

Qu Wan's eyes were filled with determination, but also concealed a hint of disappointment. In truth, if this order had come the day before yesterday, he would have accepted it. However, Quan Ming's words to him yesterday made him think...

"Quan Xian is a deity, and deities are not close to humans. He is governed by the laws of Heaven and must prioritize the fate of the Chu Kingdom. How could he possibly harm Chu?"

"Uncle... no, Mo Ao, why are you unwilling to believe Quan Xian, instead harboring such suspicion and even fear towards him!"

"Quan Xian merely wants the Quan people to return to Chu, thus unifying Quan and Chu!"

"This is a matter of great benefit to Chu!"

"I, Qu Wan, am not talented, but I am still a subject of Chu. How can I betray the sincere heart of the immortal?"

The more he said this, the more determined Qu Wan's gaze became.

He finally stopped looking at the bamboo slips that Qu Xia had sent, turned around and went to the desk to start writing a strategy on the business he had discussed with the clan leaders that day. Every word was carefully considered, and he dared not hide his talents or be negligent. He had to let Quan Xian see his abilities, otherwise how could he be qualified to govern Quan County?

……

……

"Coo coo coo!"

Underwater, a red head emerged from the mud. A small red carp, blowing bubbles, glared angrily at the green turtle struggling in the mud, and demanded in a huff, "I've been searching for over a month! Where is the great secret you spoke of, turtle? Are you trying to play a trick on me?!"

The tortoise was so frightened that it retreated into its shell, timidly saying, "No, no..."

"But that great secret is under a spell; only the clever can find it. We can only try our luck. Perhaps, just perhaps, we'll see it if we come back tomorrow..."

Seeing the red ball, it looked reluctant and was about to leave.

The tortoise quickly flipped over, rushing to ingratiate itself, even going so far as to reveal the secret's owner beforehand: "Great Carp Immortal, Great Carp Immortal, this great secret concerns the Cloud Dream Celestial God, the path for spirits to become gods and achieve the eighth level of the Dao Heaven!"

"Um?"

Yunmeng Celestial God...

Red Ball was stunned. He seemed to have heard his clan elder grandmother say that this was a powerful immortal god who ruled over the Yunmeng Great Swamp before the establishment of the Chu Kingdom. He was revered as the common god by the surrounding countries, tribes, and all living beings in Yunmeng!

The eighth level of Daotian?

Now, the entire Chu Kingdom only has Donghuang Taiyi!

A look of longing flashed in Hongqiu's eyes. He subconsciously touched his waist, where a scale was always missing. It was a scale that he had voluntarily handed over when he entered the Water Palace... It represented a Daoist charm, and it was the only thing he could offer at the time. Of course, he later learned that Quan Xian did not care about etiquette and only cared about first impressions.

He did not use his achievements to win back that scale that was useless to Quan Xian.

Because he wanted to remember the heart-wrenching pain and never forget to seek revenge.

"I'll... trust you one more time!"

The red ball suppressed its playful expression, stared intently at the tortoise, and said coldly, "But you must tell me that little secret first. I wasted a month of my cultivation time; I can't leave empty-handed."

The turtle trembled, startled by the red ball's gaze.

He swallowed hard and said, "I told you, don't ignore this big secret... It's this little secret... Actually, that giant python from before, the previous Immortal Quan had the bloodline of the Cloud Dream God, although it was diluted, it was real... If we could catch it..."

The tortoise glanced cautiously at the red ball, whose face had turned ashen.

He whispered, "Perhaps if we can cultivate that bloodline, it will be of great use, whether it's finding a great secret or uncovering the secrets of the Cloud Dream God..."

The tortoise couldn't continue, because the red ball had already cursed, "Do you think I'm capable of catching the previous Immortal Quan?!"

……

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