Pre-Qin Mythology: Starting with the River God

Dou Bo has no choice but to agree!

The events that took place in Quancheng today, witnessed by so many eyes, will surely spread throughout the Chu Kingdom.

Quan Ming was speaking to the King of Chu rather than to Dou Bo.

Dou Bo was also a veteran minister for many years. Although he could not fathom the King of Chu's thoughts, he knew why the King of Chu had summoned the soul and left the person in Quan's place.

...It's simply about winning people's hearts and conquering those in power through benevolent rule.

Thus, he also understood that Quan Ming was not someone to befriend, and that it would be difficult to bring him down at this time.

Thinking this through, Dou Bo returned the greeting to Quan Ming: "What Immortal Quan said is about Quan Ren returning to Chu. This old man will naturally tell the King of Chu the truth and dare not delay... Let us set off now!"

Dou Bo and Quan Ming exchanged a glance.

They all maintained the dignity of the gods and ministers of Chu.

But they didn't stand on ceremony any further. Dou Bo turned around and patted his nephew on the shoulder: "Until the county magistrate arrives, just obey Quan Xian's every command... Don't forget to help Quan Xian send his belongings to the Water Palace."

"……promise!"

Dou Lian, the young general from the State of Chu, stood ramrod straight and responded resolutely.

Dou Bo's eyes were filled with despair. How could he have imagined that a mere Water Immortal would be so difficult to deal with? His nephew's transfer order had already been issued, and he could not take him away at the moment. He could only stay here temporarily and find a way to transfer him away later.

……

Dou Bo left, escorted only by a small squad of armored soldiers.

Compared to their former glory, they now looked disheveled. However, Quan Ming knew that this was a deliberate show of weakness on the other side. After all, they hadn't brought back any treasures from Quan Kingdom. Could they possibly return to the city with drums and gongs?

He thought to himself: "Old fox."

Looking at the mess Quan Cheng had created, Quan Ming knew that Dou Bo had done it on purpose.

But he wasn't annoyed.

For both ordinary Chu officials and powerful figures, this was a difficult problem to solve—how to find a balance between Chu's control and the dignity of powerful figures?

But for him, it was a trivial matter.

At this point, he possessed sufficient prestige.

He instructed Dou Lian: "Once the soldiers have confiscated the bronze utensils, let Quan go home on his own. Remember, do not confiscate his rice or grain. The harvest season is coming soon, and if Quan has nothing to eat, who will harvest the grain in his fields? As for the soldiers, they should guard the city gates and key locations and prevent Quan from leaving the city. Do not suppress him otherwise. We will arrange the rest when the county magistrate arrives."

Dou Lian replied, "Yes!"

Quan Ming nodded. He had finished most of the business he had come to Quancheng today and was preparing to leave.

"uncle!"

The boy, held captive by the soldiers, looked at Quan Ming with a stubborn yet helpless expression.

Quan Ming did not respond.

He is now a deity of Chu, but his only living blood relative has not yet returned to Chu. Getting close to him now will only put the child in danger.

Before leaving, he said to Quan Ren, "If you encounter any difficulties, you can confide in Quan Shui. If it is reasonable, I will naturally appear."

As dusk settled...

The bamboo-awning wooden boat sailed towards the center of Quan City, the Quan Palace.

Dou Lian beckoned, ordering two armored soldiers to step forward: "The Quan family has no one left, but he is Quan Xian's nephew after all. Send this child cooked food every day, and do not make things difficult for him otherwise."

"promise."

……

As night fell, Quan Ming arrived at the collapsed Quan Kingdom ancestral temple. To outsiders, it appeared that he only glanced at it with lingering affection before disappearing with the clouds and leaving Quan City. However, he had actually arrived at the water cave below the ancestral temple, which was covered by huge rocks above, with only a small opening for ventilation in a narrow passage.

An ordinary person would not be able to enter the inside of the boulder.

But Quan Ming was already a water immortal, so naturally he could transform into a stream of water and flow into it...

Hey!

The water flowed to the ground and transformed into human shapes in the spacious underground palace.

This is the greatest secret of the Quan Kingdom. Over the centuries, it has been meticulously preserved and kept extremely secret. Outsiders cannot obtain it; only the direct descendants of the Quan family can enter.

This was Quan Ming's second time here.

The first time was when he was born. As the eldest son, he was brought here by the powerful ruler to recognize his ancestors.

If he hadn't been born into this world and hadn't been born with intelligence from a young age, he probably wouldn't have known about the existence of this place.

Quan Ming frowned slightly; there was a stench of corpses here!

Holding his breath, he turned to look at the dark passage, a secret passage leading directly to the Quan Jun's bedchamber. However, although the Quan Jun was a wicked ruler and an unkind father, he did not forget his honor as a descendant of the Shang Dynasty at the last moment and completely blocked the passage. Even the meticulous Dou Bo could not find any clues.

The underground palace was not large, illuminated only by two dim kerosene lamps, and the faint sounds of 'rats' could be heard from the dark corners.

rustling...

The other person's blood-stained, withered hand reached out, dragging a magnificent silk robe, a crown symbolizing the emperor, and a powerless body as it crawled out. The other person just stared at Quan Ming, mouth open but unable to speak.

"It has been fourteen days since the fall of the Kingdom of Quan..."

Quan Ming stepped onto the bluestone bricks, his gaze fixed straight ahead, not looking at him, and said softly, "Are you sure this is what you want?"

"Ah...ah..." The other person struggled to raise their hand, trying to grab the hem of Quan Ming's skirt, but the distance was too far, so he could only slowly move forward.

Quan Ming shook his head: "Treat me like a human sacrifice, offered to our ancestors."

"When your ancestors responded, they were unable to resist the State of Chu, and those Zhou states that were originally on your side ignored your pleas for help, too busy to help themselves... If you were to die a heroic and valiant death for your choice, then I could still call you by your name..."

"But you escaped here?"

Quan Ming's gaze fell upon the enormous bronze mural at the very front of the underground palace!

And in the very center of the mural is a huge Shang Dynasty bronze cauldron!

The painting is engraved with the origins of the Shang Dynasty, depicting the "Dark Bird of Heaven Descending to Give Birth to Shang," and the legends of the Shang ancestors ruling the world under the protection of the "Four Wind Gods"—Shun bestowing surnames upon his sons, Qi being enfeoffed in Shang, Zhaoming at Muye, Xiangtu at Longqiu, Wang Hai training cattle, Tang of Shang overthrowing the Xia Dynasty, Pan Geng moving the capital to Yin, Wu Ding opening the mountains, Fu Hao conquering the Qiang, and Zi Quan establishing the state…

These are all praiseworthy achievements.

But Quan Ming can see the hidden bones of the world's inhabitants.

And you can vaguely see real white bones in the Shang Ding... that is his corpse... There is a custom of sharing the food after the sacrifice. After he was drowned in the water sacrifice, the ruler did not spare his corpse!

"Ah...ah..."

The inhuman Quan Jun had already climbed up to Quan Ming and placed his hand on Quan Ming's clean black boots.

Quan Ming clenched his fists!

He bypassed Quan Jun and arrived before the Shang Ding… Looking at the corpse, which looked as if it had been torn apart by a wild beast, now swollen and oozing pus, revealing bare white bones and a foul stench, he chuckled: “No wonder, I searched the entire Quan River and didn’t find my body. I thought it was in the hands of Zhi Xian downstream… But!”

Where's my head?

Quan Ming turned around, his eyes filled with undisguised hatred!

He is a traveler!

But he had lived in this world for over twenty years, and the emotions he held here were not much different from those in the previous world... He could still remember the joy of the Quan King when he gave birth to him, the eldest son, and how he announced it to the ancestors, holding him up to show them that he had an heir... and his mother, who died young, whose love was genuine and unadulterated. These were all memories he could not forget... until the Quan Kingdom's power declined day by day... and everything changed!

And now, at this very moment!

In order to eke out a living in this underground palace, the powerful ruler actually...

Quan Ming muttered to himself in a low voice, "The tide of history never ceases. I could have stayed out of it, but I couldn't be heartless. So I took the initiative to find a way to survive for Quan Guo and to help the people of Quan avoid the flames of war..."

He raised his hand, his fingers trembling.

Look at the headless remains inside the Shang Ding.

His gaze was resolute!

A wisp of Chu's will rose from his palm and flowed into the body of the still weak and growling Quan Jun. The power of Chu's will healed the other's body and will.

Where's my head?

Quan Ming stared intently at Quan Jun, who was gradually regaining his senses.

Seeing the other person's face change from relief at escaping death to terror, he used his divine power, and a wisp of Daoist energy transformed into a stream of water, trapping him tightly!

"Ah...ah...Shuixian, it was Shuixian who suggested it, it was him...Ming'er, please spare your father, please spare your father..."

Quan Jun wept bitterly and even knelt down to beg Quan Ming.

Quan Ming did not grant the other party's wish.

They simply used the water flow to tighten around him, forcefully lifting him into the air!

Narcissus, the previous one was the powerful Narcissus!

"It's there!"

"Ah...ah...the cauldron...inside the cauldron..."

"Bang!"

The ruler was swept up by the water and slammed hard against the bronze mural.

The skull cracked open on the seal script character for "power".

Quan Ming's eyes glazed over, and he said coldly with his eyes closed, "Your Majesty... will die today!"

Quan Ming was never one to blindly adhere to the traditional system of filial piety; he certainly knew that the death of a feudal lord was called "hong".

In his view, however, the powerful ruler did not deserve this honor.

……

……