I am the old, fiery-faced man from the senior department.

The rest of the rascals either spent their days indulging in various forms of entertainment, or were pure martial artists with no intellectual knowledge, or, like Ah Jin, enjoyed studying all sorts of things.

If he deposes the crown prince, who can he appoint? Does he have to go to great lengths to create another one?

"So be it, so be it. Children and grandchildren have their own blessings to offer..."

Let the old man worry about this troublesome matter.

Chapter 44: Blood relatives grow distant, brothers quarrel.

"Grandpa, I've thought of a new idea that might speed up the research process... If I actually figure it out, hehehe, Grandpa..."

The little girl held her thick notebook, filled with notes, as if it were a priceless treasure, and gave him a sly smile.

"Grandpa, Grandpa, today is the Mid-Autumn Festival. There are lantern displays on the streets. Grandpa, would you like to come with me for a stroll?"

"Oh well, I'll just treat it as a break from work. Maybe if I go out for a walk, my inspiration will explode like fireworks."

The little girl changed into her beautiful new clothes and pulled him step by step toward the bustling streets of the city.

"Old man, it's true that the human body has its limits."

The little girl lay sprawled on the tatami mat, her delicate white feet curled up inside her skirt, occasionally peeking out her toes to lightly touch the blanket before quickly retracting them.

"If you want to cast a spell with your bare hands, you need to resonate with the Originium Dust in your blood, but the consequence of doing so is that you will inevitably become an Infected."

"Is this the only way to gain powerful abilities...?"

The little girl tried many approaches, but no matter what, they had no way to cast spells without taking damage if they didn't rely on a casting medium.

"Does this mean that we will ultimately have to rely on external forces?"

The little girl held a golden flower in her hands; it was a bit of magical energy she had borrowed from her grandfather.

"...Even if you convert arcane energy into your own power, it still doesn't count as true bare-handed spellcasting."

Raising her right arm, which was covered in fine golden veins like those of a rose, the little girl casually summoned nine bolts of lightning, which shattered the peach wood in front of her into ash.

"How did the old man do that?"

Even immortals need a medium to exert their powers, but my grandfather can truly perform all kinds of magic with his bare hands.

"I really want to... study the old man."

The little girl leaned back in her chair, waiting for him to return from the clouds.

"Grandpa, Grandpa, just give me a little of your blood... Sigh, there's no such thing as blood... Damn it, could it be..."

The little girl nestled in his arms, unwillingly lifting his arm to examine the contents repeatedly.

"I failed, old man."

"Even adding a little bit of arcane energy allows a person to cast spells without even reciting incantations, but if you remove that little bit of arcane energy, the human body is like rotten wood or stubborn rock that has been insulated; no matter how much you shout, there will be no change."

The little girl hugged his neck from behind, uttered a few discouraging words, but quickly regained her confidence and smiled again.

"Hey, Grandpa, let's plant some sunflowers next spring and fence off this whole yard."

"It will definitely look beautiful when the sunflowers ripen. We can even roast some sunflower seeds to eat."

The little girl wiped her mouth, filled with anticipation for the delicious roasted sunflower seeds.

"Grandpa, how old are you?"

During a break, the little girl suddenly asked him a question out of curiosity. Hearing the number he uttered, the little girl looked at him in amazement, and then, as if she had thought of something, she ran off to do the math, counting on her fingers.

"Grandpa, Happy New Year! Hurry, hurry! Here's some lucky money..."

She knelt down beside the bed to wish him a Happy New Year, and accepted the bright red envelope. The little girl smiled and put it into her most treasured little box.

"Grandpa, look! I've devised a new thunder technique! Grandpa, please give it a name!"

The lightning magic unleashed by the little girl was powerful enough to tear apart the top of a small mountain.

"Sigh, shall I get it? Hmm... then let's call it... Ah Jin Happy Thunder! Sigh, just kidding, of course it's just a joke. How about Nine Heavens Thunder... is that a duplicate name? Then let's just call it Ah Jin Happy Thunder..."

The little girl eventually gave him the right to name the spell, and until he came up with a good name, she wanted to call it Ah Jin Happy Thunder.

"Grandpa, in the blink of an eye, Father is gone too... The eldest son had so many children, tsk, he was quite the womanizer, I already have four sisters-in-law. But I still get four red envelopes every New Year..."

The little girl kept complaining to him, then suddenly became melancholy:

"Grandpa, what's it like to have children... I really want to try it."

"Hmm, why is that? Grandpa, what's wrong with you? Seeing him suddenly reminded you of my great-grandfather? Sigh, did my great-grandfather also look like that? Then why are you so handsome, Grandpa... But thinking about it, this kind of old man is quite interesting, hehehe."

"Grandpa, did you see that little girl... hehehe, she's so ugly. Huh? I looked like that when I was born? Ah... how could this be..."

"Grandpa, why are you back so late again... I know, I know, you've taken on some strange prayers again, haven't you? Tell me about them... Sigh, alright, alright, I'll tell you tomorrow, but don't forget, Grandpa."

“Grandpa, another year has passed. Look, look, I’ve saved so many of the New Year’s gifts you gave me.”

"Grandpa... how do I look in this outfit? Do I look very energetic? That's good."

"Grandpa, this is a little doll I made especially for you. You've taken care of me for so long. Please take good care of it. When you see it, you should think of me... Why is it my doll? And where is Grandpa? Oh, Grandpa is here, now he's turned into Ah Jin's scarf."

"Grandpa, Grandpa, I want to see the sunflowers we planted. They must be so beautiful in the early morning when the sun rises."

"Old man..."

"Ah Jin."

He opened his eyes during the day and called out softly as usual, but there was no response.

I slightly raised my eyes, my gaze passing over the windowsill to the sky shrouded in dark clouds.

"A storm is brewing, so we can't go see the sunflowers on that hillside today."

He dipped his fingertip into a small jar, added a little water, and wiped the silly little wooden puppet clean in the daytime before holding it in his hand.

“Let’s go, Ah Jin. This capital city has become defiled again after so many years.”

When the true dragon rises, the clouds move with the wind.

"In a moment of carelessness, I caused brothers to fight each other, and the blood of my closest relatives to spill on the ground. It is a disgrace."

The wind in the capital city was no longer gentle; it felt like a knife piercing to the bone.

"Is this revenge...? Is this revenge for the five generations of brotherly love, fraternal harmony, and kinship I have suffered?"

Alone on the throne, he silently gazed out of the palace during the day.

"Brothers fight and bleed at the walls...and foreigners dare to interfere in the internal affairs of our Great Yan."

"This is my dereliction of duty."

As he watched the crimson dragon slowly step into the palace, Bai Zhou's expression became somewhat dazed.

It's so similar, so incredibly similar.

"Second Uncle...you always said you were unruly and not suited to sit on this throne..."

"Now I realize that this is not something that can be done by someone who is 'naughty'."

Returning to the Forty-Five Rebellious Journey

"Young Master! Young Master! Get up quickly! Something terrible has happened!"

A series of urgent knocks on the door, accompanied by shouts, woke Pei Qianli up.

"Damn it! Why are you yelling like that? It's only the second watch of the night! Do you think I don't get any sleep?!"

The boy, who had been woken up, loudly rebuked the terrible behavior, shuffled to the door in his slippers, and opened it.

Upon closer inspection, Pelosi's face was flushed and he was sweating profusely. He was now fully armed and clad in full armor.

It seems that something truly extraordinary has indeed happened.

"Young Master! You're finally awake! If you hadn't woken up, a terrible disaster would have occurred!"

Upon seeing Pei Qianli, the man hurriedly grabbed his hand and launched into a torrent of words.

"Zhao Quan? What are you doing here today if it's not your shift? What happened? Get to the point! I'm going to get my armor."

Pei Qianli frowned. Given his tense appearance, could it be that the old emperor couldn't hold on any longer and passed away before leaving a will?

That would be a real problem.

Thinking this, he shook off Zhao Quan's hand and quickly went back into the house to get his armor.

"Young Master! Lord Wei has rebelled!"

"what?"

"Who has rebelled?"

Pei Qianli stopped and looked back at him in disbelief, asking again.

"Young Master! Lord Wei! Lord Wei has rebelled!"

Zhao Quan seemed to still be reeling from the shock of this earth-shattering news. He stammered as he repeatedly called out "Young Master," probably only feeling at ease when he could hear Pei Qianli say it aloud.

"Which Lord Wei! There are so many people with the surname Wei in the capital, I know which Lord Wei it is! You better explain yourself! What's with the panic! All your usual martial arts practice has gone to waste!"

Seeing Zhao Quan's disheveled and confused state, Pei Qianli was furious and shouted at him. At the same time, he quickly picked up the armor hanging on the shelf by the bed and put it on.

"Yes, it's Wei Yanwu, Lord Wei! He somehow managed to gather the Imperial Guards and suddenly barged into the Crown Prince's quarters at the first watch of the night."

"What?! Wei Yanwu has rebelled! He's gone mad!"

"And what about the Imperial Guards? Did Yang Shangzhuo have the guts to follow that idiot into the Eastern Palace? Isn't he afraid that His Majesty, though old and vigorous, would rather abandon this son than let the family scandal go unpunished?"

"Furthermore, this isn't a banquet he's attending. Does he not know the Divine Lord's identity? Does he think that by feigning merit to support the emperor, Wei Yanwu can protect him?!"

Pei Qianli tugged at his armor to avoid digging into his shoulder when he raised his arm.

"What should we do, young master!"

Seeing that Pei Qianli had finally put on his armor, Zhao Quan felt relieved.

"What to do? Just deal with it!"

Pei Qianli muttered a few words under his breath, which seemed to be some kind of vulgar language.

"What are you standing there for? Send the signal! Tell the Left and Right Imperial Guards to hurry to Xuanwu... no, we're going straight to the Golden Palace!"