Immortality: Starting with a grave, I'm invincible when burying corpses.

Zhuang Sheng was stunned for a moment. He raised his head and pondered for a long time.

Finally, he stood up, bowed deeply to Mu An, and sat down next to Wan Shu.

Many things don't need to be said too clearly, and Zhuangzi was a smart man, but perhaps limited by his era and perspective, he couldn't think of some things.

But as long as someone points it out, Zhuangzi can find the answer to most of his questions; it just depends on whether he is willing to think about it.

Mu An did not speak to the two of them again until they were almost at Qishan Road.

When they were still half an hour away from Qishan Road, Zhuang Sheng took the initiative to walk up to Mu An and knelt down.

"Zhuang Sheng thanks Lord Mu for saving his life this time. If there is anything Zhuang Sheng can do in the future, even if it costs him his life, Zhuang Sheng will repay this kindness."

Looking at Zhuang Sheng kneeling on the ground, Mu An nodded noncommittally.

He waited quietly for Zhuang Sheng to stand up again.

"What are your plans next?"

Zhuang Sheng straightened up and bowed again. He looked at Wan Shu, who was cautiously watching them, and earnestly made a request to Mu An.

"My heart is not yet clear, but my will remains. The path I have pursued for half my life has yet to see the light of day. For the rest of my life, I want to travel the world with this child and find the answer in my heart."

The expected answer did not surprise Mu An. He nodded slightly to Zhuang Sheng, which was considered an admission of his statement.

"How do you plan to do it? Do you have a clear idea?"

"The court of Daqi is rotten to the core, and top-down reform is simply impossible. This time, I plan to start with thousands upon thousands of small towns, influencing one at a time, step by step, to try to change things..."

As he said this, the dejection in Zhuang Sheng's eyes disappeared, replaced by a sparkling light, as if his recent experience had not broken his spirit.

"In that case, you should rest and recuperate in Qishan Road for a few days before setting off."

"Zhuang Sheng thanks you, sir."

"The courtyard where you lived back then has not been demolished, but because no one has lived there for so long, it seems that many children treat it as a haunted house. You can go back yourself, or you can find a restaurant to stay in."

Zhuang Sheng paused for a moment, then nodded.

"Since the children like it, we might as well give it to them."

"Suit yourself. Little Ling'er says she wants to see you. You still owe her an apology from back then."

"Thank you for your trouble, Lord Mu."

……

July of the first year of the Tianshun reign.

The emperor issued an edict of self-reproach, declaring the reforms a failure and abolishing all twelve new laws.

In the same month, the emperor issued an edict, summoning all the feudal lords of the realm to the capital to discuss the important matter of the new laws. The new laws, which would allow the Great Qi Dynasty to flourish and last for eternity, would be jointly weighed by all parties.

In the same month, the nine major vassal states of the Great Qi Dynasty declined to go to the capital for various reasons, and instead sent their respective generals with a small number of elite troops to the capital.

In August, all the feudal lords in the land followed suit.

In an instant, countless forces converged on Qi'an City, causing undercurrents to surge in this ancient capital, where life-or-death crises lurked everywhere.

Summer faded away amidst the chirping of cicadas, and the joy of harvest filled every inch of the land along the Qishan Road.

This year is another bumper harvest!

For the almost independent Qishan Road, the bloodshed in Qi'an City couldn't cause a ripple, let alone affect the people living in Qishan Road.

As one of the nine major lords, Mu An immediately followed the example of the other eight senior figures, sending Lin Ping with a few shrewd strategists, a thousand soldiers, and several hundred attendants to Qi'an City.

Regardless of what outcome Qi'an City reached or what schemes were involved, he didn't really care.

But since the other eight major vassal states had all sent people, Qishan Road naturally couldn't be left behind; that's called making a good impression.

Besides, Jun Cheng'an hadn't told him about the Sage of Literature at all beforehand. Now that he thinks about it, it's clear that Jun Cheng'an had tricked him.

Although we can't get the debt back now, it's still no problem to send people to Qi'an City to eat and drink and collect more benefits.

Therefore, Mu An's demands on this delegation were extremely strange, and his instructions left Lin Ping completely baffled.

They only care about eating, drinking, and having fun, and they accept any benefits offered by anyone!

Ideally, we should try to squeeze every last penny out of the royal family!

They only take your money, they don't do anything!

They won't agree to anything else, no matter who says what, and they won't understand when asked. If there's anything important, you can contact them through the communication stone.

The strange instructions left Lin Ping completely bewildered, unable to grasp their true meaning at all.

But he didn't dare ask Mu An any more questions, fearing that Mu An would discover he was too stupid and distance herself from him.

Before setting off, Lin Ping hosted a lavish banquet at his home, spending a fortune to entertain Wang Le. During the banquet, he reached a preliminary strategic cooperation agreement with Wang Le.

Lin Ping's head spun whenever he saw anything about academics or calculations; he wished he could split his head in two.

It's impossible to figure it out; it's fundamentally impossible to figure it out!

But it's not a big problem. He doesn't understand, but Wang Le does!

This kid was full of ideas back then, and he's even more impressive now. He's a trusted advisor whom Lord Mu praises highly.

Lin Ping naturally felt that he had finally obtained the communication stone that he had always admired, and it would be foolish not to use it!

This sound transmission stone is incredibly powerful; it allows direct communication even across thousands of miles.

He dared not ask Lord Mu any questions, but couldn't he at least chat with his old buddy?

……

September of the first year of the Tianshun reign.

The delegations from various feudal lords arrived in Qi'an City one after another. The leaders of each faction noticed that everyone was in sync, each bringing their elite troops, and each group was larger than the last.

Especially the Duke of Zhenbei, whose entire delegation consisted of five thousand people, all clad in heavy armor and even equipped with cannons. Anyone who didn't know better would think they were going to war.

Moreover, many merchants from the north also joined the group, bringing the total number of participants to over ten thousand.

The Marquis of Zhennan was not to be outdone, though he sent a smaller army of only three thousand soldiers.

But those caravans, in total, numbered as many as eight thousand. More importantly, these caravans spent huge sums of money acquiring real estate in Qi'an City, indicating their intention to settle down there.

So much so that when Mu An heard the news, he slapped his thigh and exclaimed in surprise.

Good heavens! You can even do that?! Compared to these old fogies, he's far too thin-skinned!

I thought it was already outrageous enough that he sent Lin Ping with a thousand elite soldiers, but I never expected that among the nine major warlords, he sent the fewest people!

Throughout the entire Great Qi Dynasty, there were nearly eight hundred feudal lords, large and small. The smaller ones sent only a few dozen people, while the larger ones sent as many as ten thousand.

All together, the army alone could number 100,000.

With such a massive and complex force suddenly crashing into Qi'an City, I'm afraid that all the important figures in Qi'an City are so anxious that they can't even find a place to use the toilet.

Mu An seriously doubted whether these feudal lords were there to discuss the new laws or to attack Qi'an City.