《In Another Life》 Chapter 1 - Offending the Fetchers of Dead Proofreader£ºZhou Zhijie What goes around comes around. No matter who you are, how wealthy or poor you are when you are alive, it¡¯s inevitable for you to enter the Yama Palace after death. How wealthy your afterlife could be is predestined by the merits and virtues of your prelife. Whether you can go to heaven or hell, the outcome is in black and white in the Register of Life and Death. In the gruesome Yama Palace, all the devils stand on each side. The angry King of Ghost, with the Register of Life and Death in hand, stares at Soul No. 8268 kneeling in the midst of the palace. Ma Yi, born on the Earth, once lived on cheating women emotionally to rake in money. Evil Karma: The soul had committed six types of the Ten Evil Karma, including coaxing women into giving up their property, virginity and affection, which resulted in the suicides of numerous heartbroken women. And even worse, this soul had been keen on deceiving people in the name of the Immortal Queen Mother, whose reputation therefore was ruined. So Queen Mother has sent a message to the King of Ghost, demanding a severe sentence to this soul. After going through all the details, the King of Ghost smacks his desk in rage. ¡°You skunk! You deserve being boiled in the burning oil! Regarding what you have done in the world above, even the skinning punishment in the hell is too mild for you.¡± Kneeling in the palace, with chains weighing heavily on his soul body, Ma Yi trembles with fear. How aggrieved he is! He did scam some money, but swindling was not an easy job. To earn a living, he even had to philander with some old ugly women. The King of Ghost eyes him coldly. ¡°However, there is a record in the Register of Merit that once you have donated money in Fengdu, Ghost City. Considering this merit, King Yama showed particular mercy on you. As a result, you don¡¯t need to go to the hell, but you¡¯re supposed to be reincarnated in the animal realm so as to neutralize your evil karma. You will then reincarnate nine times as a hog, six times as a dog. Only after that can you reincarnate as a human.¡± On hearing this Ma Yi recalls a tour to the Three Gorges he made a few years ago. While visiting the resort of Fengdu, Ghost City, he tossed 100 RMB into the donation box in order to show his pretended noble benevolence to a chairwoman. He never expected that such a trivial act would turn out to be his greatest merit! But the thought of living as a hog or a dog that destined to be killed and eaten discomforts him. He would even slap himself on face for not having donated 200 RMB more! ¡°Attention! Ox-headed and Horse-faced, take the soul to the Mirror of Six-Realm Samsara. It¡¯s time for him to reincarnate.¡± The two devils pick up Ma Yi¡¯s soul body and drag him out of the palace as easily as a hawk carrying a chick followed by the unceasing wail of ghosts on both sides. They come to the Mirror of Six-Realm Samsara, where sits an old lady. In front of her lays some bowls of tea. Ma Yi looks at the old lady and her tea in puzzlement. He has heard that in the world of the living, people would drink a cup of farewell wine before they were guillotined to give them some courage. Would it be a custom for people in the world of the dead to drink a bowl of ¡®Longjing Tea¡¯ before their incarnation? ¡°How are you, dear Meng Po.¡± ¡®Meng Po?¡¯ Gosh! Isn¡¯t it the legendary ¡®Meng Po¡¯s Soup¡¯(the water of Lethe), the forgetting soup? It is said that I will forget everything I¡¯ve experienced once I drink it. What should I do? Is this the end of my wise and splendid life? Ox-headed starts turning the Mirror of Six-Realm Samsara. The Mirror, in a burst of iridescent light, rotates slowly. ¡°Why bother so much? Why not just toss him directly into the Lake of Reincarnation? It is too troublesome to operate the Mirror and the Incarnation Talisman to depersonalize his body and soul, isn¡¯t it?¡± Meng Po complains. ¡°Oh, my dear lady, there is something you don¡¯t know. Immortal Queen Mother has ordered to punish this bastard severely. The Mirror of Reincarnation enables us to arrange his destiny precisely. In the first incarnation he will live as a hog, which will be stabbed eighteen times and keep screaming for six hours before death.¡± Horse-faced explains. ¡°Humph! It seems that this bastard has offended Queen Mother. What bad luck! Both of us used to be wooers of Jade Emperor. After that penny pincher succeeded, she disfigured me out of revenge. So I came here in a pet to sell ¡®the Water of Forgetfulness¡¯. Mentioning her gets on my nerves! Take this bowl of soup and make the soul drink it. I¡¯d better go and sell the soup somewhere else. Don¡¯t forget to depersonalize his body and soul, otherwise he might incarnate as a monster like Pigsy (a character in Journey to the West), a human being with a piggy head.¡± After saying this, the old lady turns around and disappears in the air. On hearing these, cold sweat oozes out every pore of Ma Yi. How ridiculous it is! What he has done is just making a few petty pledges in the name of Queen Mother, by which he scammed several women into sexual relations willingly. Why can¡¯t they let go of him, a nobody, as humble as an ant? ¡°Oh, dudes, how handsome and outstanding you are! Could you please arrange a better destiny for me? Nowadays pet pigs are fashionable in the world of the living. May I be reincarnated as a pet pig whose owner is preferably rather affectionate?¡± A flattery smile spreads over Ma Yi¡¯s face. ¡°Nonsense! Considering what you have done in the living world, you should thank God for being exempt from going to the hell. Your new life will begin as soon as the Mirror stops rotating. This is the consequence of being a fraud! Ha-ha-ha!¡± After saying this, Ox-headed bursts into a roaring laughter which is joined by Horse-faced. The smile fades away from Ma Yi¡¯s face. He glares at the two fetchers of dead maliciously. On seeing them taking pleasure from his misfortune, Ma Yi thinks to himself: ¡°Since I¡¯m doomed to die, why not let myself go while I¡¯m still conscious?¡± He acts out immediately. ¡°Damn you! You sons of bitches! What a fucking ugly appearance you have, which must have resulted from your dad¡¯s bad moods while fucking your mom! You must be so shameful to expose yourselves in public that you abandon yourselves to working as ghost soldiers in such a damn place. Even though destined to be a hog, I will curse you hundreds of times each day!¡± ¡°Ugh! How dare you curse me, the great fetcher of dead? You court death!¡± says Horse-faced while swinging him several slaps. Even in his soul body, Ma Yi is rendered dizzy and giddy. But he keeps cursing unyieldingly while thinking ¡°I will become a hog anyway. Why not seize the last chance to enjoy myself? I won¡¯t stop cursing them unless they beat me to death!¡± The outraged Ox-headed gives Ma Yi a swift and hard kick in the behind, which sends Ma Yi¡¯s soul body flying straight to the Mirror of Six-Realm Samsara. Whoosh! With a flash of golden light, Ma Yi¡¯s soul body vanishes into the rotating Mirror. The furious Ox-headed and Horse-faced glare at the disappearing figure, with their hands on hips, cursing. Gradually, the anger on Horse-faced¡¯s face turns to panic and he utters, ¡°Oh, brother, he didn¡¯t drink the Soup!¡± ¡°Nor did I apply the Incarnation Talisman to depersonalize his soul and body!¡± ¡°What¡¯s worse, brother, he didn¡¯t enter the animal realm. Look at the Mirror! It didn¡¯t stop until now. The soul is going into a human society in unearthly world!¡± Horse-faced tugs at his ears while Ox-headed tugs at his horns, both of whom tremble with fear. ¡°Brother Ox-headed, will the King nail us to the bronze pillar and roast us whole as his meal?¡± ¡°When the King finds out what has happened, he will definitely peel off our skin to make the Dharma drum! What shall we do?¡± Ox-headed sounds like going to cry. Horse-faced looks left and right and not a single soul is in sight. ¡°What if we make a little alternation to his destiny?¡± He ventures to say, ¡°Anyway, in only one thousand years the King will be promoted to a Celestial Immortal in Heaven.¡± Looking round likewise, Ox-headed nods desperately. ¡±OK. Anyhow, this is just between you and me.¡± Encouraged by Ox-headed, Horse-faced pulls out an iron stylus from his back. He flips over the Register of Life and Death and spots Ma Yi¡¯s name. He writes as follows: ¡°Ma Yi, reincarnated as a hog. Life cycle: 1 year.¡± Horse-faced adds four ¡°0¡± heavily behind the number ¡°1¡±. After doing so he exhales a breath of relief. ¡°No, Horse-faced. There can¡¯t be a 1000-year-old hog. We will be convicted of malpractice once the Judge finds it out.¡± ¡°So what should we do?¡± A tearless grief appears on the long face of Horse-faced. ¡°In for a penny, in for a pound. Let¡¯s destroy the evidence.¡± With a desperate and fierce light in the eyes, Horse-faced opens the Register of Life and Death for a second time. He crosses out the name of Ma Yi, which means that Ma Yi¡¯s name will never appear in the Register of Life and Death again. Ox-headed gives a kick to the soup, which spills and gives off a puff of yellow fume. When everything is cleared away, Ox-headed and Horse-face, on pins and needles, go back to report the result. They may never dream that such a minor mistake would contribute to an immortal man in the human society of the unearthly world! Chapter 2 - A Blessing in Disguise Proofread by Yin Jing Humanity on the earth is not the only creature in dharmadhatu¡ªthere is different mankind living in the other space. The only difference between them is the slow development, which is equivalent to the cultural, scientific and technological level of ancient China on the earth. In a shabby temple, an old couple prays devoutly. ¡°The Great Sun God! We¡¯re old now and have no child. We want to adopt a child to run the family business. Can your Grace please give us some suggestions?¡± After saying that, the old couple fetches out oblations and puts them in order. The husband lights three sticks of incense and inserts them into the censer. They kneel reverently to the altar. Just then, dark clouds gather all at once. There came a flash of lightning, leaving a huge hole in the roof. At the same time, a meatball from the sky knocks a one-meter-deep crater in the ground. The whole temple shakes. The couple flopped down in awe. Not until the clouds disperse and sun shines again do they pluck up courage to crawl to the crater, trembling with fear. For a moment, what they see makes them wide-eyed and speechless¡ªin the crater lies a naked man. The naked man is the reincarnated Ma Yi. At the moment he stepped into the Mirror of Six-Realm Samsara, his body exploded, but then rapidly forming a new body. Due to the overwhelming impact, most of Ma Yi¡¯s new-born skeleton gets fractured. Lying in the crater, Ma Yi feels a sharp pain, but he stares blankly as if he is insensible to pain. ¡°I¡¯m doomed. My reincarnation is a hog!¡± he thought, considering what happened just now. ¡°Son, a God-given son! My dear, look! The Sun God gives us such a big boy! Boohoo¡­thanks to the Sun God, our family finally has an offspring!¡± When saying that, the two elders burst into tears in excitement. Son? Are there any people willing to consider a hog as their son? Even if there is, the birth of such an¡°offspring¡± is owed to ox-headed and horse-faced demons rather than the Sun God! In perplexity, Ma Yi looks at these two elders standing by the pit. He turns his neck hard. Gosh, I¡¯m not a hog but a man, a man with the memory of his previous life! He gets fainted due to great happiness. When Ma Yi opens his eyes again, he finds himself lying in the house of the old couple, who are smiling broadly at him. After many hours¡¯ care, he has no choice but to accept his new identity, Li Dafu¡¯s son! He is named Li Heaven for his new father maintains that he is a gift from Heaven. But the name of his mother is Cuihua, which is conventional. Thanks to more than a month of intensive care from two elders, Ma Yi¡¯s fractured bones¡ªno, now he is Li Heaven¡ªhave healed marvelously. Meanwhile he has known basic information of this society from his new parents. This is a peaceful feudal country called the Great An, whose social structure is similar to that of ancient China. The country has seven neighbor countries but it is the most powerful one. He is living in the field of a Marquis, Wang Ping. Without war for ages, most of people value literary talents above martial arts. According to international conventions, the national quality of the Great An is good. What excites Li Heaven most is that Chinese language and characters are used here. They are called the Great An¡¯s language and characters according to people here. Although the two elders live a frugal life, Li Heaven is satisfied with their life. After having been bedridden for a month, Heaven is able to walk. He stretches, looks at his clothes, then finds a bronze mirror and takes a look at his face. Although it can¡¯t be seen clearly, in general it¡¯s a fairly handsome face of a sixteen or seventeen boy instead of an ugly face of a hog. Now that he comes here, he can¡¯t keep doing nothing for the family. At first he should make some money. When Li Dafu knows his idea, Li Heaven¡¯s plan of going out to make money seems to fall on stony ground. Cuihua also strongly disapproves, ¡°My son, neither your father nor I am young. The acres of land in our family are all yours. We can¡¯t bear to see you suffer outside.¡± Even though they just live together for over a month, Heaven is deeply moved by their selfless love. In consequence, he stays half a year additionally at home. To his surprise, the daily routine of wood-chopping and water-carrying strengthens his physique day by day. Of course, Heaven practices Kungfu that he knew in his prelife. Considering there is no blade in current society, he forges a sharp knife in a smithy. With great efforts and practice, Heaven became a master of knife. Suppose he is about to steal from someone, the target definitely suffers immeasurable losses. Besides, he is still proficient in calligraphy and painting that he mastered in his previous life, which is basic skills of a ¡®famous¡¯ swindler. It was such skills that helped him to win women¡¯s affection and coax them into giving up their virginity in the prelife. Well, it is not easy to be a swindler. Knowing that Heaven is able to write, the old couple is so excited that once again they thank the Sun God¡ªPeople in the Great An are true believers of him. From their perspective, both good harvest and wealth are a given by the Sun God. In the twenty-eighth year of the Great An, it has been the seventh month since Heaven becomes a member of this world. The emperor issues an edict, marking the start of the quadrennial national examination for literati. After that, the top ten of each field will go to the capital city to take the final exam in the royal palace. Hearing the news, Heaven eventually persuades his parents into agreeing with his decision about taking the exam. The next day, Cuihua tearfully prepares sixty eggs and thirty pancakes for Heaven. There is also some money and Heaven knows that it is all the savings of their frugal life. Under the firm gaze of wrinkle-faced Li Dafu, Heaven sets off for Pingdu, the main city of the field. He walks around outside, and then sneaks into home to leave both the money and a letter. Although Cuihua and Dafu can¡¯t read, he is sure that they will turn to literate people. Once again he stares at his home, and hardly tears himself hard away from the place where he has lived for more than half a year. There are more than seventy miles from their house to Pingdu. With a skinny donkey as the only vehicle, Heaven doesn¡¯t arrive at Pingdu until evening. The first thing he does is to sell off the donkey and all the eggs. Disappointedly, he just earns less than two taels of silver. Besides, he also gives all the pancakes to beggars. In this difficult situation, he has no choice but to rob the rich. The first rule of the Law of Swindler: whenever it is, the appearance must be valued. Therefore, Heaven buys a decent outfit. He stays at a first-class hotel¡ªit is the second rule of the Law of Swindler: wealthy or not, the first-class hotel must be chosen. ¡°Hey, dude, I¡¯d like some delicious side dishes and the high-class liquor.¡± Saying so, Heaven hands the last silver to the server without hesitation. ¡°The rest is yours.¡± The server¡¯s eyes light up. As for him, the status of Heaven has reached to a new level. Heaven spends all his money in eating and drinking. Undoubtedly, it seems that if he can¡¯t earn much money, he will be thrown out of the hotel at once. With the hospitable guidance of the server, Heaven goes to the best-known brothel in Pingdu, that is, Place of Art and Beauty. What a regret! Such a delicate word is the name of a whorehouse! Heaven swaggers into the Place of Art and Fragrance, which is completely different from that in his imagination. He thought that he would be surrounded and greeted by a crowd of women. But actually many scholars and poets sit there, sipping tea gently. They totally immerse themselves in the Chinese zither performance of a comely girl, now and then applauding. None of servers notice Heaven¡¯s arrival. Is brothel here different? Or human quality here already goes to such an extent? It is nothing like a pleasure-seeking place. Such a good order can only be found in parliament! Heaven looks around the hall and finally sets a target¡ªa fat person. According to the swindler¡¯s motto, fat person must be either a hidden master or an idiot. Considering the fat body and acne all over the face, he must be the latter. With two thin servants standing by him, the fat seems to be wealthy. ¡°Sir,¡± an admiring smile appears on Heaven¡¯s face. ¡°Among all people in the hall, you are the strongest one. I wonder whether I could hobnob with you, bro?¡± His flattery takes effect. ¡°Of course! Despite being the outstanding figure, I have a modest heart. Please feel free to take a seat. Server, give me the best Tea of the Great An. It¡¯s my treat.¡± ¡°It¡¯s so kind of you! My treat today.¡± ¡°Bro, make yourself at home. I love making friends! Just take a seat.¡± Heaven sits down sheepishly. After the conversation, he realizes that all people are waiting for Ya Fang, the unsurpassed beauty, hoping to hear her play a tune. And if fortunate enough, they may have the honor to talk with her alone for a while. ¡°Gosh, what do these idiots want to do? Splurge just for this? ¡®Ya Fang¡¯ sounds like a cosmetic! Alas, all of them are stupid! ¡± ¡°Sir, do you plan to make love with her after the talk? She must be beautiful and I¡¯m sure spending a night with her must be an ecstasy!¡± Heaven firmly believes that it is what these men think. But the fatty looks at him in astonishment. With face downcast, he fumes: ¡°Vulgar! How vulgar it is! God, it¡¯s shameless for me, an intellectual to consider sex! You are insulting my great personality! I won¡¯t sit with you any more!¡± With a snort, he brings his servants to another table, only leaving Heaven a disdainful glare. Oh, nowadays even a whore-master is noble! As a man and a swindler, I¡¯m such a loser that even a piggy fatty looks down upon me! The depressed Heaven smells an elegant fragrance, then he sees two handsome men take their seats. No wonder they choose to sit with him, as other tables are not available. The departure of the fatty, whose great figure has occupied a space for two people, just leaves vacancy for them. Heaven looks at the newcomers in disgust. Are they homosexuals? If not, why do two sissies spray themselves with perfume? But after a careful scan, he realizes that they are two girls disguised as men. In his prelife, he had got along with numerous women, and Heaven sees through their disguise without effort. What attracts him is their beauty. In his opinion, these two girls definitely can be classified as the first-class beauty. ¡°Seize every opportunity¡± is one of the swindler¡¯s mottoes. Of course Heaven won¡¯t miss this heaven-sent opportunity. He is experienced enough to get the most sophisticated women¡¯s heart, let alone two inexperienced girls! ¡°Hello, it¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve been to Pingdu, and I¡¯ve never expected to meet so many talents. I guess, outstanding as you are to attend the examination as well? My name is Li Heaven, may I have the honor to know you?¡± Heaven smiles sincerely. He is confident of the credibility of this smile¡ªwhen he practiced in front of a mirror in the past, even he himself was nearly cheated by it. The older girl smiles back. ¡°Hello, we¡¯re going to attend the exam too. This is my little brother Wang Qing and I¡¯m Wang Hong. Nice to meet you.¡± Wang Qing nods in acknowledgement. Wow, what an enchanting smile! Heaven tries hard to prevent from giving himself away. The sixth rule in chapter four of the Law of Swindler: No matter what woman you face, obscene expression is forbidden. Inwardly you can be dirty and shameless but outwardly you must be calm and composed. Heaven is about to say something else but a burst of applause in the hall pulls his thoughts back to the stage. A classical beauty slowly steps onto the stage. It must be Ya Fang. Actually she is a beauty, but by Heaven¡¯s standard, she is still a bit inferior to the two girls beside him. Ya Fang slightly lowers her head, taking her seat by Chinese zither. She plays the Chinese zither, making a melodious tune. No one makes a sound and all people are preoccupied with the music. Heaven gives up the thought of talking with the disguised men when noticing that they also lose themselves in the performance. These performance are good, but he has no interest in them. It is boring and disappointing due to the monotonous score and technique. He expected to listen to authentic music but obviously the level of music of this age is low. Applause bursts when the performance ends. People are glowing, applauding desperately, as if they have taken Viagra. Well, Heaven shakes his head reluctantly. His expression is seen by Wang Qing. She frowns slightly: ¡°Li, is there any wrong with Flora¡¯s performance or¡­?¡± She doesn¡¯t say further but Heaven knows her implication that he may be a layman in music. As a high-level swindler, he won¡¯t miss such an opportunity: ¡°I mean, Ya Fang does play well but her tune and technique are still a bit humdrum. With some improvement it will be better.¡± Considering the noisy hall, he raises his voice. Unfortunately, this comment irritates a person, a big cheese. Chapter 3 - Rise to Fame by Accident Proofreader: Yin Jing The piggy fatty, who seems to be a diehard fan of Flora, suddenly jumps to his feet with extremely bulky body, his plump hands thumping the table with a huge noise. ¡°I have had enough, you shameless bastard! How dare you comment on Flora¡¯s performance! If I don¡¯t kick your ass now, I am not Big Fat Lei any more!¡± He walks towards Heaven, step by step, trembling the wooden floor. Damn it! Does he want a shit fight? Oh I should take the advantage of attacking first. The pen knife hidden in Heaven¡¯s sleeve is moved to his hand without being noticed, and he is ready for an attack. All the audiences in the hall are shocked by bearlike growl from the piggy fatty, going to silence at one blow, then focusing their eyes on them. ¡°Wait.¡± A silvery voice breaks the silence. It¡¯s Flora who walks up to them with deliberate steps. ¡°Mr. Lei, here the Palace of Art and Fragrance is a place for the recreation of refined scholars rather than a fighting place for yokels. If you have got something to say, keep your composure, please. Fighting is not refined scholars¡¯ style.¡± With her words, she took a very strange look at Heaven. The piggy fatty turns from a hero to a coward immediately. He talks to Flora with an adulatory look on his face. ¡°Miss Flora, as a qualified refined scholar of the Great An, how could I do such rude things! This is nothing but his sharp words¡ªhe questioned your skill of playing the Zheng! That¡¯s why I¡­¡± Fatty leaves the unspoken words hanging in the middle of the air, which causes public outrage, however. All the audiences keep their eyes on Heaven maliciously, expecting to tear Heaven into pieces. ¡°Sir, it seems that you are very accomplished with playing Zheng, so I wonder if you could give me some directions?¡± Flora smiles at Heaven charmingly, but her words are a little bit sardonic. Shit! How dare she play with the artificial smiles before me! Not knowing how high the sky is. ¡°Ah, Miss Flora, just tune him out. I didn¡¯t mean that. I just thought that this song was not the best select, but I still highly appreciate your skills and techniques.¡± Whoops, as a fraud, it¡¯ll be hard to cheat some money if he provokes public outrage. ¡°Humph, a total philistine not knowing anything about rhymes and melodies dare make audacious remarks so proudly here!¡± Fatty says disdainfully, curling his lips. Damn it, this shit fatty just wants to fight, right? I, Heaven am very angry now, which will lead to sheer catastrophe. ¡°Fat bro, you wouldn¡¯t say that. You are actually not vulgar, but a little bit overstaffed.¡± Hahaha! Laughter falls around them, even the two pseudo childes are laughing with hands covering their mouths. Fatty becomes so angry that all the pimples on his face even glow. ¡°You! I owe you one hundred taels if you can play any songs as well as Miss Flora. If you can¡¯t, crawling out of this hall is enough and I will not ask for anything from you. You, such a tattler, let¡¯s make a bet if you dare.¡± A number of audiences in the hall kick up a row simultaneously. Seeing that, Flora hurries to persuade them: ¡°Oh, gentlemen, just forget about it. Everyone is here to support me. Don¡¯t hurt the kindness.¡± Heaven understands that she is trying to help him in case he loses and feels shameful. Thus he looks at Flora gratefully, and nods to her with a tender smile, whispering ¡°thanks, honey.¡± Flora blushes slightly. How can this gentleman call her honey when they just barely met. Heaven laughs and turns around, saying ¡°Well, I¡¯ll play a song. But what¡¯s the wager if I win accidentally!?¡± ¡°How ignorant!¡± ¡°How arrogant!¡± ¡°That¡¯s the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard till now!¡± ¡°So ignorant that he couldn¡¯t realize how great our Sun God is!¡± Heaven has stimulated so much cynicism before he finishes his words. In their view, that Heaven dares to compete against Flora in playing Zheng is similar to the action that Pan Changjiang, the short man, competes against Yao Ming in height! It is just a matter of course. Alas! A degeneration of public morality! ¡°Well, it¡¯s a deal. Here are the notes of a hundred tael. I put them here.¡± with great fear that Heaven might regret, Fatty immediately puts the notes on the table and calls a waiter to check them. ¡°Raise! Plus 50 taels more!¡± ¡°Ha-ha, raise, too. Another jeweler! Raise! 60 taels!¡± After a while, a mountain of notes and taels is piled up by those rich young men who come here for fun. They elbow their way through and push others aside to re-bet, lest they will be looked down upon. There is no doubt that they will definitely win this deal in their minds. It¡¯s nothing better than regaining their money, seeing the fun and showing off at the same time. Seeing the heaps of bank notes and taels, even the managers of the Palace of Art and Fragrance trot here green-eyed. Flora sighs slightly, and shakes her head reluctantly. In such a situation, it is inappropriate to stop them. After a while, through counting, the general manager declares with great excitement, ¡°Mr. Lei¡­And, may I have your name, please?¡± ¡°Heaven Li.¡± ¡°Oh, the sum of all the wager is one thousand and three hundred taels. Win or lose, we are going to take 10% away.¡± Oh my gosh, so unscrupulous! But for these wealthy men, it doesn¡¯t matter to lose just 10%. In a fanfare of cynicism, Heaven waves and says: ¡°Since it is a bet, I sincerely invite Miss Flora and these two gentlemen to be the notaries. Is it okay with everyone?¡± Finishing his words, he demonstrably glances at the two pseudo childes. ¡°It can¡¯t be better! My elder sis¡­brother and I will be the best notaries! We have watched Miss Flora¡¯s outstanding performances!¡± The girl named Wang Qing is so delighted as to spill the beans. The rest agree. As for Heaven, he is afraid of coming across unfair calls. Almost all the audiences take the gamble, if all of them were to have infinite faith in his definite failure, except crawling out of the hall, his legs must be broken by those crude janitors here. Everything is ready. In everyone¡¯s ardent eyes, Heaven takes steps to the stage, then touches the strings. He has not played the Zheng for a long time, so now Heaven is not sure about his skills. Back to the old days, to cultivate a supreme fraud, his unscrupulous master trained him by using sticks and practice torture so that his skills of music, chess, calligraphy and painting were all superb and exquisite. In this life, Heaven isn¡¯t willing to ruin his master¡¯s reputation ¡ª his own reputation should not be that worthy, but crawling out here is really a big deal! Heaven sits down slowly, closes his eyes slightly. With clips of his last life flows one by one in his mind, a spirit of confidence rises from the bottom of Heaven¡¯s heart, as if having taken a tranquilizer. By Zheng, I can even sing rock and roll! How should I frighten these guys! The problem is what they like. Metal, Punk, Soul, Hip hop or rap? If I showed all of these at one time, what wait for me must be rotten eggs and tomatoes. Gosh, something elegant might be the best choice. It¡¯s up to God. Just like an old saying goes, ¡°Go on your own way, let others be on crowded buses!¡± A nationwide famous Zheng music ¡°High Mountain and Flowing Water¡± debuts in this society today. However, this fairly elegant and transcendent melody is used as a tool to gamble. After finishing the song, Heaven, who loses him in the rhyme, slowly lifts his head, waiting for applause and cheers. Silent. Quite silent, with no hurrah. Flora comes with slow steps, and she takes a deep breath with her trembling finger pointing at Heaven. ¡°You call this playing? You call it a song? Impossible! Absolutely impossible!¡± Then she turns to the two fake gentlemen or the two judges for help. ¡°Am I right?¡± Both of them nod without hesitation. I lost, here must be a shit unfair call. How disappointing it is that in order to be invincible, a girl could do such a thing! Until now, Heaven starts to realize how vicious women can be! And those two ¡°gentlemen¡±, they stand together to bully me! A loyal rustic! God! Is there still justice? Beaded drops of sweat flow from his forehead. Flora turns herself around to Heaven, trembling slightly. She is either excited or feels sorry for Heaven. She asks softly: ¡°Sir, what was the name of the song that you played just now?¡± ¡°High Mountain and Flowing Water.¡± Heaven is out of heart just like a defeated rooster. ¡°Did you write it?¡± ¡°Nope.¡± ¡°I bet you can¡¯t! This kind of melody cannot come from the land of the living! It must be the granting of the Sun God! Only in the heaven can it be heard! Thank you! I lose!¡± Eh-hem! Heaven almost loses his breath. Oh God, did I hear it right? He looks at the judges for help, only to find that they nod immediately, gazing at him with admiring eyes. And nodding may be the only thing they are able to do now. Heaven stands up superciliously ¡ª he feels awesome! The applause has continued for almost five minutes, and of course, that¡¯s Heaven¡¯s estimation. Surrounded by admiring eyes, the general manager walks to him with plenty of bank note and taels and says with a smile from ear to ear: ¡°What a genius you are! Sir, here is all your gains, already except the fee of our service. The total sum is one thousand one hundred and seventy taels. Here are two five-hundred bank notes. And the left are all ready money. Count it, please.¡± ¡°No need.¡± Heaven reaches to take the bank notes, but ignores the ready money. ¡°All those present today are wealthy, but there are still a great amount of poor people! Manager, please hand out some rice porridge with the ready money for me. The affliction of people is my torture, and it is really good that everyone is good!¡± Amidst the gazes of reverent and ashamed onlookers, the adoration towards Heaven reaches a new peak, even the fatty lowers his piggy head in shame. Oh Ox-headed and Horse-faced, you two should keep in mind that these are earned dignified and imposing by gambling. What¡¯s more, I have done a good deed! When the day I come back to the hell again, you should give me a great life. If you guys want to transfer me into a hog or a dog or any other livestock, I will file a complaint against you for attacking my personality. The general manager holds Heaven¡¯s hands tightly, says in shame: ¡°I have never thought that Mr. Li was of so much kindheartedness. It¡¯s my shame. Thus I decide to donate five more taels in handing out porridge, in stand of our business.¡± However, his words only elicit consuming discontentment and disdain. The general manager strongly invites Heaven to write a few words as a memorial. Under this forceful invitation, Heaven finishes a few pieces of writing in a while. The sun is setting in the west! The lake of Pingdu is so quiet! Play my beloved lute! Look at those charming beauties giving out porridge! The general manager bursts into tears as if he finds out an ancient treasure after reading Heaven¡¯s work. Heaven has never thought that such self-contradictory words could be highly prized by literati and poets! Then this work soon becomes a famous name of the tunes to which the poets are composed, which is called ¡°Beauties in the West¡± for short. What¡¯s more, ¡°High Mountain and Flowing Water¡± is known as a miraculous song. ¡°Mr. Heaven, could you please come with me to the back hall? I want to ask for some advice.¡± Flora says tenderly. A beauty wants to make an appointment! I can¡¯t be brusque towards a honey! But suddenly he feels something unkind in those two ¡°gentlemen¡±. Oh Gosh, here are two more beauties. I cannot let them look down on me. ¡°Thanks for your invitation. It¡¯s my first time to come here, and my intention is just to broaden my horizon, not for any other things. The national examination is only a few days away, so I have to brush up.¡± Haste makes waste. If Heaven goes inside the room with Flora, all the adoration may switch to disdain outright. Flora is very depressed but the two ¡°gentlemen¡± nod with contention. Heaven makes a bow mildly to Flora: ¡°Goodbye, Miss Flora.¡± But then whispers to her, ¡°I¡¯ll definitely be back one day.¡± The blush of Flora is like peach blossom. She murmurs to him in return, ¡°Stud.¡± Alas, what is this girl thinking about? ¡° ¡®Gentlemen¡¯, see you in the examination place.¡± Saying that, Heaven walks towards the gate in an grand manner. In this case, one must maintain his or her etiquette without any hesitation. Ouch, life is difficult, for a celebrity it is even more difficult. A few days later, a big deal that is worthy of being recorded in the history happens in Pingdu of the Great An. The famous Palace of Art and Fragrance sets up temporary huts which can provide the poor with rice porridge. Lack of enough staff, almost all the waiters and inferior prostitutes have to come to help with this charity. And for the sake of enhancing the images of Palace of Art and Fragrance, all the staffs wear uniforms which are nearly transparent white. Some rich young men pretend to be the poor to come here, but they never need any pickles even a bowl, what attract them most are the beauties. Shortly after this news is spread, flocks of poor people and beggars who live near the town swarms into the palace. It is really a spectacular. Having heard of such an earthshaking event happened in his territory, Marquis Wang Ping immediately transmits a memorial to the throne. Not only that, he sends a plaque that inscribed by himself, on which written ¡°White Fairies¡±, to the Palace of Art and Fragrance. To Heaven¡¯s great regret, he didn¡¯t ask for any contact information from the two sisters. Even a SNS is okay! Because it occurred to Heaven suddenly that in this society women were not allowed to take part in the national examination, thus the luck of meeting the two beautiful sisters will depend on God. Alas! The exam will start tomorrow. Heaven is not at all certain about the possibility of entering the top ten. Whether the Four Books and Five Classics are within the scope of the exam is not sure in this society. He cannot keep all those knowledge in mind. The poetry from the ancient Tang and Song dynasty seem to be not very popular here either. Chapter 4 - Ordeal in the Exam Hall Proofread by Yin Jing Marquis Wang Ping is a military general. In the society which values literary talent above martial arts, it is rare for him, a general, to be given his own fiefdom. There are four provinces and more than three million people in his feudal territory, most of whom are required to learn literature, while those who learn martial arts are truly few. There has been no warfare for more than sixty years in the Great An, so ¡°war¡± at all is an extremely strange word to all the people who feel it is far from them. What¡¯s more, the present emperor seems to be a man who only lives an insipid life, having no pursuit of expanding and conquering the territories. The national examination is great for other feudal lords but not for Marquis Wang Ping. He doesn¡¯t care about it. For the reason that military generals are often under the oppression of civilians, there is even an undercurrent of antipathy towards this exam in his mind. Anyhow, he knows that is not something he has to worry about, because all the exams will be invigilated by the assigned officials of the Great An. And all the tests are unified, thus the only thing he has to do is to seal the recommendation letters of the top ten with his own seal. That¡¯s his work. Heaven walks to the exam hall with the flow, looking all around along the way in order to find the two gutsy girls, who might dare to risk their death to take this examination to become number one female scholars. Heaven also greets those who recognize him ever and again. He feels really good to be a minor celebrity. But at last, Heaven still doesn¡¯t see the two fraud gentlemen. A sense of loss creeps upon his heart. Having his mind stuffed with two beauties, Heaven suddenly is waken up by a crowing of cocks. ¡°Attention! By the Emperor¡¯s order, the unified imperial competitive examination of the Great An starts now! And I will read out the rules of the examination hall¡­¡± God, amazing! Heave Li, meets an eunuch, who he only knows from legend! He is dying for stripping him naked to study for a while carefully. Of course, academically. He, does not have any bad hobbies. For the first time! No matter what it is, the first times are always a little bit nerve-racking. Heaven takes a sharp, deep breath to calm down his mind, then turns over the exam paper slowly. ¡°Oh, my gosh, how can it be called exam?¡± Heaven¡¯s eyes almost pop out of his head. There is only one line on it. ¡°God, Emperor, the stability and prosperity of the Great An.¡± Shit! Heaven originally thought that it could be something about poetry, which he could copy others¡¯. In this way, his own capacity is out of reach now. Vaguely, an ode to Buddha written by Empress Wu Zetian crosses his mind, ¡°The dogmata of belief of Buddha are elusory and of paramount profoundness. And were we not born to suffer trials and tribulations? Too hard to comprehend the truth of doctrines! From now on, I know what I should do ¡ª to abide by the Buddhist teachings of self-cultivation ¡ª in order to thoroughly understand Buddhism.¡± ¡°I do not know whether this is definitely accurate, either. But if I apply this to apple-polish Sun God? How irrelevant! Also test requires acceptable connections among God, emperor and the stability and prosperity of the Great An! The examiner must be mad! Alas, it seems that it must be lucky if he will not be at the bottom of the pack, and he should have not expected to be among top ten at all. Anyway, I have enough money! If not, I am able to start my own business! It is not bad to be a moneybag!¡± Taking these into consideration, Heaven raises his hand. ¡°Sir, could I hand in my papers now?¡± ¡°What? Are you finished? Impossible! I just handed out the papers!¡± Having heard his voice, all the other participants look at Heaven in great astonishment. ¡°Nope, I don¡¯t mean that¡­it¡¯s a blank one, no answer.¡± Heaven says in embarrassment. ¡°Oh my Sun God, do my ears deceive me? You just intended to hand in a blank paper?¡± The examiner doubles his mouth so much that his chin almost drops. And a blast of guffaw breaks out from participants. ¡°Shame! What a shame! It¡¯s absolutely a shame ever in the Great An! I will report it to our Great Majesty! Your rudeness will be annunciated throughout the whole nation. And your family will be written into the annals of history as a part of negative teaching materials! What¡¯s your name? Spit it out! My patience is wearing thin! You ¡­¡± ¡°Okay! God, I¡¯ll do it. I¡¯ll do it¡­ Oh Sun God, is it that serious? Just hand in a blank paper! Look at how angry he is! If he would have fainted in a pet, I should be branded as a murderer who kills an official! Don¡¯t they behead me in that case?¡± ¡°Shit! Just to apple-polish the Sun God, and attach personality cult to emperor at the same time! What the hell! I do not believe, that I can not hold you assholes down.¡± Heaven lifts the pen and starts to write. In a while, he finishes the paper fleetingly, hands in it to the examiner and strides out of the hall when the others are all in a daze. In Heaven¡¯s memory, it is the first time that he has finished a paper at leisure. For the sake of bootlicking all these three themes simultaneously, Heaven recalls a song which has ever been exceedingly popular for a period. Even if he just changes the lyrics a little bit, the Sun God will be greatly flattered because of his flowery speech. Millions of ships sailing at sea depend on helmsmen and seamen. All living beings thrive on the Sun God! Growth of grain seedlings is due to rain and dew. Wealthy and strong country relies on the brilliant rays of our Majesty! Majesty of the Great An! You are the never-set sun! ¡°With regard to apple-polishing, I can run him over with flattery.¡± The examiner comes over with a disdainful look towards Heaven¡¯s back, takes up his paper which he glances over roughly. Humph! It¡¯s better than the former one, even though it just includes a few lines. But the moment that he ends up reading, the examiner collapses to the ground at one blow. ¡°Sir? Sir!¡± ¡°Somebody come! Quick! Get him back and takes him into custody!¡± The other examiners feel overwhelmed in astonishment. ¡°Alas! An unlucky year! How unlucky I am! Did I bootlick wrongly? Or are there any taboos in the Great An? Sitting in the cold prison cell, Heaven actually regrets what he has done. I should have handed in the blank one! Just be annunciated throughout the whole nation! Just my family will be written into the annals of history as a part of negative teaching materials! At least, I would be remembered for centuries, for better or for worse. I am finished now! I will probably be banished to the frontier! I wish it is not a death sentence! I have never heard of any precedents who were sentenced to death as a result of flattery! Am I going to be this kind of first-timer? I¡¯ve got the blues.¡± When Heaven is buried in depression, even Marquis Wang Ping is shocked by the fact that the examiner fainted on account of a participant. It¡¯s really a big deal! The examiner is Grand Scholar Liu Dong, who is a favorite with the emperor. ¡°Come one! What a cheeky man! No matter what, let¡¯s bludge on him with plank for thirty times first! And send for our famous doctor, shit. Don¡¯t let anything bad happen on my land! Otherwise, those civil officials will take pleasure in my misfortune unitedly to trump up a charge against me!¡± Marquis Wang Ping yelps furiously, then two subordinates promptly go out to find the poor unfortunate who strokes the fur the wrong way. The two execution officers might have taken stimulants, bludgeoning Heaven with might and main, as if he is their personal enemy for generations. Then they exclusively bring Heaven to the exam hall to execute punishment publicly, which will serve as a warning to others. ¡°Oh, my gosh, don¡¯t beat! Ah! Ah¡­I¡¯ll complain against you! Ah¡­Don¡¯t beat, please! I¡¯ll change, ah! Ah¡­ I dare no longer to suck up to our emperor! Ouch!¡± His voice is just like a wolf as a result of extreme torture. Those poor students all can¡¯t take the paper in stride with their trembling hands, for they are afraid of being the second Heaven. What¡¯s more, the percentage of participants who wet their pant reaches up to thirty percent. After doctor¡¯s massage and acupuncture treatment, the poor examiner finally wakes up. At this moment, Marquis Wang Ping breathes a sigh of relief, for this examiner is safe and sound at long last. ¡°Guys, someone gives me paper and pen! I am going to write a memorial to our great emperor!¡± The examiner just woke up, but quavers in sound. ¡°What? Grand Scholar Liu! Is it that serious? It is totally not necessary to submit a memorial to the throne for such trivial matters. Majesty? He is always busy burn.¡± Wang Ping sports a sour face slightly, for he strongly dislikes those civil officers who often submit memorials to the throne at every turn. ¡°No-no, I have been beavering away in literature and history since my childhood, but I have never thought that I could read an article so rich and bright in my lifetime! A rare talent! A real finding! I recommend him without reservation to our great Majesty in person! Come on, invite that scholar to the courier hostel that I live in! And keep in mind, must do a good job to entertain him. A treasure! A valuable acquisition!¡± ¡°Ah! Oh! I think that it¡¯s better to invite him to my mansion first until you complete all your exam task. When you finish correcting all the papers, please come to my home. And how about grabbing a drink together! Such a rare talent in my people! I¡¯m on cloud nine! I¡¯m over the moon!¡± After he said this, Wang Ping gives a knowing look to a subordinate who then quickly runs away like a fly to the exam hall. Marquis Wang Ping does not want Grand Scholar Liu to know that the rare talent in his heart is screaming and shouting at the top of his voice under server torture. Heaven just switches his way from hell to heaven at a stroke ¡ª He was just being bludgeoned and cried for his mother just now, but they suddenly reinvent him into a VIP. Heaven sprawls out in the deluxe bed, and after consultation, famous doctors prescribe a great many courses of treatment and applies ointments to his hip. The servants serve Heaven with daily routines and some girls are special to massage his limbs, which doctors said that it would be good for accelerating blood circulation and in this case, it would heal faster. This huge contrast baffles Heaven, which makes him think that this might be Ox-headed and Horse-faced¡¯s credit. However, it is still kind of unaccustomed to bare his hip in front of so many servant girls. How effective natural herbs are! In no more than three days, the wound on his hip is scabby, so that he is able to put on his pants with a bad grace. ¡°Thank god, I can no more bare my hips now! During these three days, those servant girls have been gazing at my hip strangely, only to make me feel panic-stricken. Are they voyeurs?¡± ¡°Daddy, what¡¯s up?¡± Stroking his beard, Marquis Wang Ping looks at his dear daughter with his eyes filled with love. ¡°My dear, I look for you and your elder sister, just because I¡¯d like to have dinner with you two. I have been very busy these days and it¡¯s been a long time since we¡¯ve had dinner together. Look at how beautiful my daughters become! Ha-ha-ha¡­¡± ¡°Is there any good news, Dad? You laugh so happily!¡± While they are talking, a girl who looks like a slender flower of jade walks in. ¡°Sis, Dad wants to dine with us! And he said that you would marry a good man! Hee-hee!¡± ¡°What nonsense you blah? I¡¯ll knock you flat, un huh?¡± Watching two daughters playing with each other, Marquis Wang Ping just smiles without a word. Since the Marquise passed away ten years ago, he has never been remarried and devoted all his love to his two daughters. The elder one is sixteen this year, and the second is one year younger, just at the age of fifteen for few months. ¡°Bring that poor unfortunate here, we¡¯ll have dinner together.¡± Marquis Wang Ping bids. ¡°Master, that genius is still in bad condition. I¡¯m afraid that he is unable to walk. So¡­¡± One steward says hurriedly. ¡°If he can¡¯t walk, lift him here! Idiot.¡± As a military general, Wang Ping doesn¡¯t take literati etiquette seriously. The steward just tried to tell something but gives up with his head shaking reluctantly, then walks out of the room obediently. ¡°Genius? Daddy, what kind of genius?¡± The elder daughter asks in curiosity. ¡°How can I know what a shit genius he is! I just heard that Grand Scholar Liu fainted at the exam hall, just because of him! I got very angry so I gave him punishment in return! However, I had never known that Liu fainted in astonishment because of his rich and bright writing until Liu woke up! What the hell is this! To save my own face, I just brought him back our home to cure his wound. Otherwise, if those damn civil officers knew what I had done, they must have talked up babblingly that I was bullying literati! Anyhow, he is one of my people in my fiefdom, and won glory for me. Now think about it, it¡¯s better to meet him.¡± Marquis Wang Ping understates the whole story carelessly. ¡°Grand Scholar Liu fainted because of his literary talent?¡± The elder daughter replies in amazement. ¡°Ha-ha-ha-ha! What a poor guy! Punished by daddy for no reason at all! I do want to see who the unlucky guy is!¡± The younger daughter bursts her sides with laughing. After a while, the poor guy she ever mentioned is just lifted here. But instead of a sedan chair, he is lifted on a long board. Heaven lies on his belly on the board. ¡°My great Marquis Wang, nice to meet you! For my server injury, I am not able to bow a kowtow, I bed your understanding.¡± Without looking up, Heaven lies on the board covered with a silk quilt. Even though his gesture is a little bit undignified, his words are still very polite. ¡°Eh-hem! I do not blame you. I just want to invite you, a genius, to have a family dinner with us. But¡­I think¡­ not this time. We can have another one after your wound cures.¡± Marquis speaks in embarrassment. No wonder, he can¡¯t lie on the board when having dinner with Marquis¡¯ family. Once having heard of this Marquis¡¯ gentle character, he has this time as a good chance to observe. ¡°Thanks for your great grace, Marquis.¡± After he said, Heaven looks up at Marquis Wang Ping furtively. Hum, not bad. Quite a majestic-looking man. ¡°Ah! It¡¯s you!¡± Two screams come from sideways. Until hearing the voice, Heaven realizes that here are two beauties standing by Marquis. Chapter 5 - Meeting Beauties Again Proofread by Yin Jing It never occurs to Heaven li that things should turn so embarrassed when he meets the disguised gentlemen again, and in such a situation that he lies on his belly on a board! ¡°Oh my god and godness, although I never believe in you, please give me a place to hide!¡± ¡°Do you know each other?¡± The Marquis looks at his daughters in bewilderment The elder girl blushes, and before she could say anything, the younger one rushes, ¡°Oh my God! Daddy, do you know who he is? He is Heaven Li, the genius who has played the ¡®miraculous song¡¯ and written ¡®Beauties in the West¡¯! Moreover, he is the philanthropist behind Palace of Art and Fragrance, for which you have left an inscription on its plaque!¡± Wang Ping is surprised. The guy lying on the board before him is the initiator of that benefaction? He is sort of happy, ¡°You are a philanthropist? Well, good, pretty good. Give him a seat.¡± Hey geezer, what¡¯s his problem? If he is able to sit, he won¡¯t just lie on a board! ¡°My Lord, but how ¡­?¡± ¡°Ah! Hmm, you can keep lying. These are my daughters, the elder one named Ruyan and the younger one named Ruyu.¡± The Marquis really feels embarrassed. ¡°Dad, why do you tell your daughters¡¯ name to others!¡± Ruyu pouts angrily. Ruyan and Ruyu, like the mist and the jade? Well, their names are good enough, and their appearances are even better. ¡°Misses, nice to meet you.¡± Heaven says politely. ¡°Meet? When have you met each other?¡± The Marquis looks at Heaven in bewilderment. ¡°Oh, well, no, I mean¡­¡± Gosh, has this old guy gotten kicked in the head by a donkey? ¡°Dad¡­Ah! Li, just ignore him. My dad is a military man and etiquette is not his forte. Please make yourself comfortable.¡± Ruyan is much more considerate. ¡°Thank you, Miss. But there is kind of authority in our Marquis, it is hard for those literati to exceed. Indeed, literature can rule the country, but it will be pointless without the assistance of the army. The prosperity of our nation must be supported by generals. Without military officials, no matter how wealthy a country is, it can only wait for the enemies¡¯ occupation.¡± A little flattery is necessary¡ª once he cottons up to the Marquis, it will be easier for him to coax his daughters! As expected, hearing this, Wang Ping is so excited that he pounds on the table. ¡°Awesome! That¡¯s music to my ears! I never thought that a kid could have such a deep comprehension of the function of generals and literati! Hey, literati are just bullshit, forget the exam and work with me! With such wits, you can start from being a Baihu, which enables you to manage a hundred families!¡± Gosh! With such intelligence, no wonder he is not match for those civil officials. ¡°Daddy! How can you make a decision like this! How can a literary prodigy like Li spends his career with you? No, I will never agree with that. ¡°You are a girl. You know nothing of that.¡± ¡°Neither do I. How can a literary prodigy condescend to lift stone lock every day!¡± The daughters row with their father respectively. ¡°They don¡¯t agree? Who are they, my acquaintances? Do they have a crush on me? Well, according to my experience, this is the beginning of falling in love with someone.¡± ¡°Uh-huh! Let¡¯s calm down. Can I have your attention, please?¡± The father and the daughters turn to see Heaven immediately, who lies on his belly on the board. Ruyan and Ruyu blush. ¡°Fine. Now you have two options: work with me, or with those acidulous literati?¡± Damn, this old guy must have been a Mafia in his prelife! What he said comes out in a bossy tone! ¡°My Lord, as far as I¡¯m concerned, only when generals know how to strategize, can they determine the final outcome in the future. Therefore, literati are not worthless. Only being adept with both the pen and the sword is the kingly way.¡± Wang Ping walks around Heaven three times: ¡°You know tactics?¡± ¡°Why does this old guy keep walking around me while speaking? I don¡¯t think he will have any interest in my ass!¡± Having been a military fan, Heaven acquires all the military knowledge from movies and books. ¡°My Lord, I just know a little about it, a tiny little¡­¡± ¡°All right. Let¡¯s have a wargame. If you win, you can go to the capital city to take the final exam, otherwise, you shall report to my camp. Four days will be given for you to make preparations, at that time your ass shall almost heal too.¡± Before Heaven can continue, Wang Ping has hurriedly reached a conclusion. It seems that he feels like getting a military talent. ¡°Daddy, you are bullying him!¡± Ruyu seems very dissatisfied. ¡°That¡¯s settled then. Send Mr. Li back to take a rest.¡± Before Heaven can say anything, he is lifted. Lying on the big bed, Heaven is preoccupied with things like ¡®trench warfare¡¯ and ¡®mine warfare¡¯ ¨C maybe some methods in modern military methods can be applied in ancient times? Early the next morning, the doctor smears balm on Heaven¡¯s wound. According to the renowned doctor, Heaven¡¯s injuries are all external. The wound has healed, so Heaven can walk after the swelling is relieved. This is the last time to apply medicine, after that he just needs to take some drugs. With an ass full of medicine, Heaven has to expose his ass to the air. The door is creaking open. It must be those peeping maids coming to watch the fun! Damn, you have seen it lots of times! ¡°Come. Stretch my back and help promote my blood circulation, so that I can get on my feet earlier!¡± For a moment there is a no sound, so Heaven looks up. Alas! He finds Ruyan standing there, surprised, with a few books in her hand. Heaven¡¯s voice raises a brush on her cheek. ¡°I, I come to give you some military books! ¡­ I put them here!¡± With that, Ruyan puts down the books and runs out of the door. Before Heaven can change his expression, he hears a voice outside. ¡°Why does sis run so fast?¡± Then the footsteps are approaching. ¡°Ah! Don¡¯t come in, Ruyu, please!¡± How shameful it is if both of the sisters see his ass! ¡°Humph! Why should I listen to you! Of course I will come in! Oh! You¡­ you bastard! Why don¡¯t you tell me earlier? Damn it!¡± Fine, this one runs away, too. Tell you earlier? How can I tell you my privacy? I shall take revenge by looking at yours after I rise to my feet, otherwise the loss will be too much for me! Three days passed. Finally Heaven is able to take a little walk. With the help of maids, he puts on new clothes. Undoubtedly, Heaven flirts with them in return for the exposure of his ass. Ox-headed and Horse-faced, you can¡¯t record this on the Register of Life and Death! Because Confucius once said, ¡°Food and Sex are human nature!¡± As soon as Heaven recovers, someone comes to find fault with him. ¡°Get out, all of you! Don¡¯t come in unless I ask you.¡± ¡°Yes, Misses.¡± Seeing these two aggressive beauties, Heaven wonders what they want to do¡ª the worst he can imagine is rape, but that¡¯s impossible! Absolutely impossible! Heaven knows there are no pennies from heaven, so do they plan to kill the witness? Well, that is much more possible. In this era, if news of a Marquis¡¯s daughter seeing a man¡¯s ass spreads out, there will be a serious consequence. ¡°Li!¡± ¡°Bastard!¡± The girls call out at the same time, with Ruyan saying the former and Ruyu the latter. ¡°Hum¡­Well, who you are calling? Heaven or bastard?¡± Ruyan glances at her younger sister. ¡°Li, I tell you, you must keep the thing ¡­ the thing in that day a secret! Otherwise¡­!¡± ¡°Do you hear that?¡± Adds Ruyu. ¡°Well, it is a fine day today, but I have never remembered what happened that day.¡± ¡°Humph! You are clever.¡± Ruyu puffs out her chest, with her hands resting on her hips. Ah, this young girl is so sexy! My god, I¡¯m just thinking of it. ¡°Then! It¡¯s ¡­ um¡­ it¡¯s the day after tomorrow that our father will play a wargame with you. Are you sure to give up your golden career and work with him as a military man?¡± Ruyan is too shy to look at Heaven. Well, she is much more considerate to me, so she will be my first target! ¡°Oh, that¡¯s difficult. As a subject I have to obey my Lord, but maybe I won¡¯t lose.¡± ¡°Humph, pigs might fly if you win!¡± It seems that Ruyu has a great deal of confidence in her father. ¡°I will burn the midnight oil to read some military books, but!¡± ¡°But what?¡± Two girls ask simultaneously. ¡°But you¡¯d better give me a hand tonight.¡± Oh, his secret plan for picking up girls begins! ¡°In your dreams!¡± The sisters blurt out. They are right. It¡¯s really a little bit hard to come to a man¡¯s room at midnight. ¡°Can you bear to see a promising literary prodigy like me being wasted by the Marquis?¡± ¡°We can help you now.¡± Says Ruyan. ¡°What I want to do is to practice tactics in the evening with the guidance of you two, like what¡¯s your father¡¯s favorite formation and what¡¯s its solution? You¡¯d better come to find your father and fish for information!¡± ¡°Humph! Any¡­anyhow I won¡¯t come! Sis, I should go.¡± Saying this, Ruyu runs away. ¡°Sis, wait! I, I should leave too.¡± Before leaving, Ruyan takes a look at Heaven. A crafty smile comes to Heaven¡¯s face. He knows well that Ruyan will definitively come tonight. When the moon hung behind the willows, young people went out on dates under them. ¡°Hell, how can our ancestors write such a classical poem?¡± Time passes moment by moment, and Heaven starts to worry. His plan for tonight will come to ruins if Ruyan doesn¡¯t show up here. He will also have to postpone the plan for cultivating beauties! ¡°Tap-tap-tap!¡± Eventually Heaven hears three knocks at the door. Seeing Ruyan standing at the door, Heaven feels like hugging her. ¡°Miss Ruyan, come in please!¡± ¡°I just come to tell you something about the situation, after that I will leave.¡± Ruyan says with a blush. Ruyan enters the room. Ah, even a fool can detect her clumsy lie! Her lovely face goes as red as a little peach blossom, while her heart is beating so furiously that even Heaven can hear it. Heaven folds her hands in his. ¡°Thank you, Ruyan. Having such a confidante as you, my life is enough.¡± ¡°Ah! You! I am not your confidante!¡± Ruyan promptly takes her hand away in a panic. Heaven doesn¡¯t mind. He turns around, moves across to the desk, on which his prepared ¡®tool¡¯ is placed, that is, a painting of ¡°The Three Variations on Plum Blossom¡±. Heaven reaches for it and says, ¡°Ruyan, that¡¯s a gift to show my appreciation.¡± Ruyan comes to him questioningly. Instead of taking the painting, she only reads the inscription in a low voice: ¡°The first variation on plum blossom is heartbreaking, The second variation on plum blossom is thought-demanding, The third variation on plum blossom is surging, Deep in the mist is the boundless water. Can somebody tell me, What is love supposed to be? That makes me hold no fear in the face of death. With your absence, my existence is meaningless on earth.¡± Alas, from Ruyan¡¯s expression, Heaven knows well that she has been spellbound. ¡°Li, did you write this?¡± Ruyan eyes Heaven amazedly. ¡°Ah, yeah. It¡¯s only me who can write this in this word.¡± ¡°Li, you are prodigiously talented. Thanks for your painting.¡± Ruyan folds up the painting carefully. ¡°So now you have been my confidante.¡± Once again Heaven holds Ruyan¡¯s hands. The girl struggles slightly. Seeing that Heaven doesn¡¯t let her go, she feels her neck starting to get a little red. Heaven takes such an advantage. Stretching out his right arm, he holds Ruyan in his arms. ¡°Ah ¡­ Li! Please no ¡­ ah!¡± Without saying a word, Heaven kisses Ruyan¡¯s lips. As for these girls who have their first crush, it¡¯s better to strike first. Otherwise, there may be numerous love tests waiting for you! After a while, Heaven finishes the kiss reluctantly. ¡°Ruyan, you are mine now! I shall marry you.¡± ¡°At first you shall let me go!¡± Nervous and shy, Ruyan hides her face in Heaven¡¯s arms. ¡°Only if you promise me.¡± Ruyan nods lightly. Gosh, I¡¯m half way there. So long as the second step is completed, then it will end successfully. Heaven releases Ruyan, who immediately grabs the painting and runs to the door. She says in a low voice, ¡°Sis is right. You are a bastard! I ¡­ I will neglect you!¡± Then she opens the door, running outside. ¡°Ruyan, don¡¯t go! We haven¡¯t completed the second step! Ouch! My damned ass!¡± With the wound still aching, Heaven stumbles slowly to the yard, only to find Ruyan disappears into the night. Hey, I shall go. It¡¯s almost done and haste does not bring success! Just as Heaven turns around, he finds a shadow facing him. ¡°Gosh!¡± With a flop Heaven sits down on the ground, which causes great pain on his buttock. ¡°Ouch!¡± He manages to get to his feet again. Chapter 6 - Accept Ruyu Proofread by Yin Jing Seeing the view behind his back, Heaven gets the hairs on his body stand up upright. Would not it be the Ox-headed and Horse-faced who will take me into the nether world, would they? I¡¯m not lying this time! It¡¯s my true feeling! ¡°Humph! Bastard! What did you do to sis?¡± ¡°Gosh! It¡¯s you, Ruyu. You know, I am almost scared to death!¡± Realizing that it is not ghost, Heaven breathes a sigh of relief. ¡°Don¡¯t talk rubbish! Just tell me what you did just now!¡± Even though the expression of Ruyu couldn¡¯t be seen clearly in the dark courtyard, Heaven could still feel the anger from her tone. ¡°Nothing! I didn¡¯t do anything¡­¡± Actually, Heaven is little bit afraid of being found out with a guilty conscience. ¡°Humph! I saw it all!¡± ¡°Oh my god! It¡¯s midnight! Why do you come here instead of going to sleep?¡± ¡°I, I just intended to inform you of my dad¡¯s situation! I didn¡¯t expect you behave like a hoodlum! Towards my sister!¡± My goodness! A hoodlum! It¡¯s unbelievable that this word has already appeared in this society! Who is so bored to coin it? ¡°Ruyu, it¡¯s¡­it¡¯s not a hoodlum! I¡¯m serious!¡± ¡°You bastard! I will let dad know this! And tell him to give you a thrashing again!¡± After that, Ruyu turns around and is leaving. Gosh, Heaven catches her by the arm. ¡°Listen to me, Ruyu.¡± ¡°Let me go. I won¡¯t listen.¡± Oh my holy God! If I let you go now, I must be dead soon. Heaven holds Ruyu tightly in his arms at a draught. However, his mood is totally different from which when he did this to Ruyan. ¡°You bastard! Let me go! Or I¡¯ll yell! Help¡­¡± Just before Ruyu shouts out the word of ¡°me¡±, Heaven kisses away her yell. How can this all happen? I just kissed the elder sister affectionately, then I kiss the younger one roughly! Heaven doesn¡¯t know how long it takes. Finding that Ruyu struggles no more, he slowly stops kissing. ¡°Boohoo!¡± Ruyu lets out a sob. ¡°Bastard! You tease not only sis but also me! I ¡­ I must tell dad! Boohoo!¡± She cries tearfully. ¡°My God, her brainless dad must kill me if he knows I tease his darling daughters! This is his territory and I won¡¯t even get a chance to complain! Even though he won¡¯t kill me, he may also turn me into an eunuch.¡± ¡°Ruyu, listen! Well, I have kissed both you and your sister. Once the news of this spreads out, the reputation of your family will be ruined. Do you think so?¡± It seems to work because the crying stops¨C ¨C what nobles fear most is a bad fame. ¡°You just kissed me! Will ¡­ will I get pregnant?¡± Nervously, Ruyu asks in a low voice. Gosh, how little knowledge this society has imparted the young about sex! It should provide sex education to teenagers! ¡°Well, actually, technically speaking, of course you won¡¯t get pregnant. If you want a pregnancy, then you should take the second step ¡ª I can¡¯t say more. How about this, I¡¯ll promise you anything so long as you keep this secret.¡± He wishes she won¡¯t let him look for a needle in a bundle of hay! Ruyu doesn¡¯t say anything. Heaven waits quietly, while still holding her tightly. He is really afraid that the girl will dash off to tell her father once she gets released ¨C Heaven¡¯s ¡°duck walk¡± makes it impossible for him to catch her! Ruyu thinks for a while, and finally makes up her mind, ¡°All right. That¡¯s what you said. No getting back.¡± ¡°Ok, what do you want?¡± So long as she has the requirements, she won¡¯t tell the secret! ¡°I want you to marry me.¡± In the darkness, Ruyu¡¯s big eyes are extraordinarily bright. ¡°Marry you?! Oh no, I have promised to marry your sister. I can¡¯t go back on my words, otherwise, I will hurt her. Damn, I¡¯d like to say yes, but what if I marry Ruyu and Ruyan comes to tell her father in her anger? I will also die miserably!¡± ¡°I¡¯m not saying you can¡¯t marry my sis! There¡¯s no rule saying one can¡¯t marry the sisters at the same time.¡± Ruyu whispers. ¡°The Great Sun God, this is the first time I praise you sincerely! Yes, in this society, there¡¯s no rule saying monogamy. Hell, the one that enacted this marriage law was really brilliant!¡± ¡°Well ¡­, as you please! Hey, am I so great that you have already had a crush on me long before? Eventually, there seem to have pennies from heaven for me!¡± ¡°Keep dreaming!¡± Ruyu says in a whisper. ¡°As for your sister, hmm ¡­ well, you¡¯d better inform her lest ¡­ Jesus, am I too mean?¡± ¡°One more requirement.¡± Ruyu continues. You see, this girl is not a soft touch. Heaven grits his teeth, ¡°Go ahead. There will be no problem, so long as it¡¯s acceptable.¡± ¡°You shall teach me the ¡®miraculous song¡¯.¡± Heaven exhales out a breath of relief, ¡°I thought it would be a big deal. No problem, you can count on me.¡± ¡°Then you should release me! You have been holding me for so long that my arms go numb!¡± Ruyu says, almost inaudibly. Her face can¡¯t be seen in the darkness, but Heaven is sure that she must blush. After releasing Ruyu, Heaven also stretches ¡ª It seems that giving continuous hugs is kind of manual labor! ¡°Ruyu, do you think we should go into a house together and make the second step so that I can teach you to get pregnant?¡± ¡°Go to hell!¡± ¡°Ouch! Don¡¯t kick my ass!¡± Does good luck fall from the sky today? Or how can he get such a dumb luck? It is just like buying a gold necklace which comes with a free diamond ring! Everything is all right, then he should be ready for the wargame with his future father-in-law! As the saying goes, if a chopper is grinded before the war, even though it can¡¯t be sharper, at least it will be brighter! ¡°As the Marquis¡¯s future son-in-law, I can¡¯t let him belittle me! It¡¯s a matter of ego. Even if defeated, it must be a victorious defeat!¡± Lots of military men are seated in the wargame hall. Heaven is not sure of their positions, but it seems that all the renowned generals in Pingdu have arrived. Marquis Wang Ping sits in the middle. ¡°Heaven Li, I just want to let you know what battlefield is. You must do a good job in my army. I think highly of you, so don¡¯t make mistakes!¡± Marquis Wang Ping smiles at Heaven. It sounds like the Marquis has already predicted he will be the winner. Heaven asks quickly. ¡°My Lord, I don¡¯t know if what you have said still counts?¡± The Marquis gets a surprise. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°If I win, you will let me go to the capital city.¡± Heaven says carefully. All those generals in the hall break into laughter, and the Marquis even laughs to tears. He finally stops laughing and says, ¡°Good boy, so long as you win, I will not only let you go but give you a hundred taels of silver as travelling expenses.¡± ¡°Thank you, my Lord. I know it¡¯s impossible to beat you, but could you do me a favor in case I win?¡± Heaven is setting a trap. Whether he can marry the two sisters all comes down to this wargame. ¡°Hahahaha, if you win, I will promise you. But what do you want?¡± The old fox is not brainless at all. He tries to trap Heaven into saying his goal. Heaven merely stares at his saber. With an envious look he says, ¡°That must be your most beloved treasure, and it has been with you for years.¡± Seeing Heaven¡¯s eyes, the Marquis laughs. ¡°You¡¯ve made a good choice! That¡¯s my most beloved thing. But I¡¯m just afraid that you can¡¯t take it away!¡± He thinks Heaven is really attracted by his sword, but how can he know what Heaven says is his two daughters? The maneuver is pretty basic. It is a maneuver between the attacker and defender. There are 20000 soldiers in the army of the attacking side, while 5000 in the defending side. The casualty ratio between the attacking side and defending side is 4 to 1, which means if both of the sides take strong actions, the final result will be deaths of both armies. It is quite fair. But there is difference on the services¡¯ quotas and the equipment. Both sides have a three-day supply. In other words, if the war can¡¯t be over within three days, they will have to try to keep themselves from starving to death. The quota of the defender is: 2000 light cavalries, 2500 infantries, 500 archers (including 20 scouts). Besides, there are 50 catapults (their effective distance is 300 to 500 meters, which will be increased by 100 meters while the catapults are placed on the wall), 10 barrels of burning oil. The quota of the attacker is: 4000 heavy cavalries, 11000 infantries, 4000 light cavalries, 1000 archers (including 100 scouts). Besides, there are 100 catapults (their effective distance is 300 to 500 meters), 200 scaling ladders. After knowing the quotas of both sides, the Marquis generously asks Heaven to choose first. Without hesitation, Heaven chooses the defender side. Marquis Wang Ping smiles, ¡°Boy, don¡¯t let me down too much.¡± ¡°My Lord, it is already a privilege to play a wargame with you. But I¡¯m still thinking about your treasure, so of course I won¡¯t lose it all. After you, your excellency.¡± Wang Ping nods, then walks into his command post. Heaven also walks into his own command post, sitting there foolishly. Although he has spent a whole night in making preparations, he still knows little about the military situation in this society. He can just rely on the things he knew from the movies and magazines in his prelife. If Heaven wins, everybody will be happy; if Heaven loses, at worst he will work with Wang Ping for a few days. At the staff¡¯s command, the wargame formally starts. All personnel in the command post enter the state of war immediately. Heaven gives orders at once. ¡°Attention, every scout! Within 50 miles outside the city, any news about the enemy should be collected! Light cavalries, garrison at 500 meters inside the wall and wait for orders! Infantries and archers, all of you be on standby on the wall!¡± Considering the catapults take up too much room, Heaven orders to remove them from the wall. Seeing that his orders are issued one by one, Heaven really feels himself like a major general. A few moments later, a scout comes to report that the enemy sets out camp five miles outside the city. Outside the city, the attacking side lines battle formation in rows. The Marquis eyes Heaven¡¯s formation on the wall, then looks at those swaying silhouettes behind the wall. At last he shakes his head and sighs, ¡°Hey, layman is layman. I will show you something skillful, and end the battle tomorrow. Defeating you too early before my men will bring no honor to the victor, since I¡¯ve praised you so highly.¡± ¡°Ready to attack! Catapults, move to 200 meters outside the city, set the target above the wall then launch three rounds! 1000 archers, move to 40 meters outside the city and shoot rapid arrow at full strength! 6000 infantries, lay siege with all your strength!¡± The Marquis has 100 catapults. A round means three fires, so three rounds mean nine fires. As soon as 900 huge stones fall from the sky, the department of maneuver has judged that on Heaven¡¯s side, 200 people died and 70 seriously injured, and they should quit the battle sequences. Chapter 7 - Triumph of the Maneuver Proofread by Yin Jing Heaven is really depressed. The Marquis finds there are no huge catapults on the city wall before he dares to place his catapults at such a close range. His 500 archers will compete with Wang Ping¡¯s 1000 archers. Although his army has no advantages in number, as the defending side, it boasts of a good location. Occupying a commanding position, they fight Wang Ping¡¯s army to a draw. But once the 6000 infantries come on stage, Heaven will be understaffed. 100 scaling ladders are placed. The wall is covered with thousands of ant-like people. Wang Ping¡¯s archers seriously restrict Heaven¡¯s people, therefore a tragic hand-to-hand combat ensues. A few rounds later, more than half of Wang Ping¡¯s 6000 infantries are killed and wounded. The two sides both suffer heavy losses. Having seen the victory, Marquis Wang Ping withdraws troops with a wave of the flag. According to the post-war report sent by the department of maneuver, the interference caused by the stones from the attacking side results in a loss of 1100 people of the defending side. What¡¯s worse, 1730 people who were killed or wounded by the catapults have quitted the battle immediately, while on the Marquis¡¯s side, only 3400 people quit the battle sequences, and 3 catapults are damaged. The proportion is less than 1 to 3! Heaven protests to the department of maneuver, but the latter just gives him a brief answer: the judgment is fair. My God, there are still more than 3600 people on the enemy¡¯s side! They haven¡¯t even let the heavy cavalries fight! What if Wang Ping launches an all-out attack tomorrow? Once he bursts the gate open, even if only 1000 heavy cavalries enter, they can kill Heaven¡¯s 2000 light cavalries easily¡ª heavy cavalries are mainly used in rushing and killing on the battlefield. Their superior armors almost prevent them from all the arrows. In the other command post, Wang Ping looks at the report in his hand. He smiles at his subordinates and says, ¡°The young man is too naive!¡± Heaven pats himself on the head. ¡°Standard method won¡¯t work when you¡¯re fighting with an old fox. I must make a surprise move, or the battle will be over tomorrow.¡± There are 3000 people or so in my army, while more than 16000 people in Wang Ping¡¯s. So why not take the initiative and launch a surprise attack on him? The herald drinking water beside him almost chokes to death. Even though it¡¯s just a wargame, a fight on paper, he is still taken aback by Heaven¡¯s audaciousness and recklessness. He transmits the order and reports to the department of maneuver: the defending side decides to make a night attack. Under the cover of darkness, 1000 light cavalries leave the city stealthily. On the battlefield, speed is their advantage. As for them, five miles¡¯ journey is a piece of cake. Based on the scouts¡¯ intelligence, the attack aims at their left camp, where catapults and scaling ladders are placed. The light cavalries dash into the left camp rapidly. Instead of killing people, they set the camp on fire. One after another, torches stained with burning oil are flung to piles of supplies, tents and catapults. Once their task is finished, they flee without hesitation. The camp is soon enveloped in flames. It never occurs to Wang Ping that with just about 3000 people, Heaven dares to make sneak attacks. As an experienced general, he did leave 4000 light cavalries as lookouts, but he put them in the main camp. When he realizes and starts to chase the cavalries, the latter have run out of the firing range, that is, less than 200 meters. But the cavalry in the rear still holds a torch, seemingly giving directions to the enemy. Wang Ping orders his men to chase with all their strength. When the defender¡¯s light cavalries are 500 meters away from the gate, Heaven¡¯s second plan begins. The 50 catapults on the wall line up, then launch three rounds as well. As soon as the last torch of the defending side enters the 400-meter range, pieces of stones are flung away. Everything on the attacking side is thrown upside down. Unlike what happened by day, once the foregoing cavalries fall down, the cavalries behind smack into them too. All of them collide. Unable to stop the horses, most of the light cavalries fall down from their horses, so their charge formation is in a mess. At that time, Heaven¡¯s light cavalries swing back and make a second attack, while another 1000 light cavalries rush out of the city. These 2000 light cavalries rush at the chaotic enemy. A cavalry without horse is a sitting duck, so a few charges later, there are just about 300 enemies left. Not until now do Wang Ping¡¯s heavy cavalries catch up¡ª for heavy calvaries, speed is their biggest drawback. Well, it¡¯s also understandable, since their armors are too heavy. Seeing the enemy¡¯s heavy cavalries, Heaven withdraws his troops. The heavy cavalries rush to the scene as soon as the drawbridge rises. What greets them are a pile of huge stones. Even though they are immune to arrows, they can¡¯t do anything about the stones ¡ª no one can survive while being smashed by a heavy stone weighing dozens of kilograms, much less a stone with an impact force! Heaven really feels like laughing while seeing the department of maneuver¡¯s report! It says, ¡°The sneak attack succeeds. The attacking side loses 3700 light cavalries, 380 heavy cavalries. In the left camp, 300 infantries die, 60 catapults are ruined. 110 scaling ladders are ruined, since they are stacked together. The defending side just loses 80 light cavalries.¡± What a triumphant night attack! Wang Ping is so angry that even his mustache starts to shake. He thought that even if he lost his 4000 light cavalries, Heaven¡¯s 1000 men would have been killed. In this case, Heaven will have about 2000 people left, which can not match the strike of his 12000 men. It never occurs to him that Heaven not only raids him but also sets a trap! Most of his light cavalries are lost. ¡°Fine. How dare you to play tricks on me? I¡¯ll teach you a lesson!¡± The more the Marquis thinks of it, the angrier he grows. At a stroke he tears the report apart. The next day, the attacking side turns out in full force. As for the defending side, its formation on the wall is almost the same as in the first day. The only difference is that 20 catapults have been placed. Looking at infantries on the wall, Marquis Wang Ping snorts. ¡°Reckless! I¡¯m not in the mood to play games with you. Give out my order, all of the heavy cavalries make a close formation! Infantries follow the heavy cavalries and archers shoot arrows when you are 50 meters outside the city! Attention, everyone! Start to siege!¡± With Wang Ping¡¯s order, the troops go forward slowly. The arrangement is very sensible¡ª heavy cavalries are not afraid of arrows, besides there are just few catapults on the city wall. Wang Ping¡¯s infantries are following the cavalries. Once they enter the city, no one can stop them! The battle would have been over if this plan has been used in the first day. However, it won¡¯t work today. As soon as the heavy cavalries arrive at the 300-meter range, 10 barrels fall from the sky. Rather than huge stones, this time, what inside them is the burning oil. The barrels fall accurately in the midst of those heavy cavalries. With the help of the barrels¡¯ fragments, the oil is everywhere. Torches are tied to huge stones, thrown away by Heaven¡¯s 10 catapults. In a flash the 300-meter range outside the city is engulfed in flames. Suppose light cavalries are here, they can scatter immediately. But heavy cavalries are sluggish, and now their armors are covered in blood. Their horses, which are also covered with armors, aren¡¯t clever enough to resist the fear of fire. With flames all over their body, horses run around. Some of them even burst into the infantries¡¯ formation! All at once, the rampaging heavy cavalries and the fleeing infantries make the battlefield slip into chaos. Now or never! Heaven gives order immediately¡ªopen the gate and all the light cavalries chase at full strength! A staff officer of the department of maneuver comes in, with a report in his hand. ¡°Commander of the defending side, the maneuver is over. You are the winner of this wargame!¡± When Heaven comes back to the hall, he sees a completely different light in the generals¡¯ eyes. However, Marquis Wang Ping looks sullen. Heaven feels something strange. He hastens to salute the Marquis. ¡°My Lord, I know I have lost on the very first day. You make it easy on me so as to train my ability to command, that¡¯s why I can edge out you by accident. I really appreciate your great kindness.¡± The Marquis stares fixedly at Heaven. Little by little his expression softens, then a smile steals over his face. ¡°Ha-ha-ha-ha, this time I lose. But I have had a good time! Little do I think burning oil can be used like this. Good boy, you have a promising future! What a pity it is that you won¡¯t join the army! All right, I approve of your going to the capital and taking the final exam!¡± Chapter 8 - Wisely Deceive the Marquis Proofread by Yin Jing ¡°My lord, thank you for your great kindness! I will spend my whole life in paying back your favor! How can I not take care of you? Sooner or later we will be a family, and what¡¯s more, you have no son!¡± Hearing his words, Wang Ping smiles from ear to ear. He speaks to other generals loudly, ¡°If only I could have such a good son!¡± The others all look at Heaven. How stupid the boy is! They think. Why not kneel down and acknowledge the Marquis as his adoptive father, then all of his property will be his! Some wink at Heaven secretly because of eagerness, and some even anxious to kick him, but Heaven pretends not to see them. You know nothing ¨C a son-in-law is nearly half a son! His two daughters will both be mine, so there is no need for me to acknowledge him as my adoptive father! Seeing that Heaven has no response, Wang Ping is quite disappointed. He picks his carry-on sword off and reaches out to Heaven, ¡°Take my beloved treasure away. I¡¯m a man of my word.¡± ¡°No, no. My lord, the beloved treasure I mentioned is not this precious sword! It has accompanied you for a long time, how can I take it away?¡± Wang Ping eyes Heaven in puzzle, ¡°Not my sword? So what it is, what has accompanied me for a long time except my sword? Are you interested in my armor?¡± ¡°Well, the thing is ¡­ My lord, I wanted to ask for it after I go to the capital city and win the fame. Now that you¡¯d like to give it to me right now, I will accept it.¡± Heaven is sweating nervously ¨C what if the old guy turns hostile?¡± ¡°Why do you drag your feet? Come on, what do you want? Don¡¯t worry, now that I have promised you, no matter how precious the treasure is, I will never go back on my word!¡± ¡°Okay, I will tell you. I ¡­ I want your daughter!¡± The coming will always come, and Heaven just wonders whether the Marquis will react violently. He hopes that he won¡¯t be killed immediately! Wang Ping slaps the table with a slam, ¡°Bloke, dare you say that again?¡± What will be will be! Now Heaven also takes the plunge. He looks up and says solemnly, ¡°My lord, I want to marry your darling daughter, and she has already promised me!¡± Well, he really dares not claim that they both have promised. He can just do it step by step. Anyhow, Ruyu is still young! Other generals are taken aback. Their eyes fix on Heaven, who is also awaiting the final judgement. ¡°Ha-ha-ha-ha! I wondered why you had no response, so that¡¯s because you want to be my son-in-law! And you have kept such a thing from me! Well, you have the guts. I really appreciate you. All right, I agree.¡± Other generals simultaneously sigh with relief. Gosh, my father-in-law is so different! Not until now does Heaven feel sweaty. Back to the Marquis¡¯s Mansion. Ruyan and Ruyu are whispering. ¡°Sis, I saw something I shouldn¡¯t see last night. A girl in our mansion was kissed by a bastard!¡± Ruyu looks at Ruyan cunningly. ¡°Ah¡­! How ¡­ how could that be! What did you see?¡± Ruyan felt guilty. There is a slight quaver in Ruyan¡¯s voice. Actually, Ruyu¡¯s word makes her feel guiltier. ¡°Humph, you can keep pretending to be innocent! Tell me the truth, or I shall tell our dad! Surely dad will take the bastard apart!¡± Ruyu smirks. ¡°Oh, my dear sister, please don¡¯t do that, please!¡± Ruyan is no match for her sister. Within a round she has lost the argument. ¡°That¡¯s ok, I can keep the secret, but you should promise me one thing.¡± ¡°All right, I promise, what is it!¡± Alas, Ruyan has been trapped by her sister! ¡°It is that ¡­ I¡¯ll marry him too!¡± ¡°Ah! It¡¯s too early for you to talk about marriage! Do ¡­ do you also have a crush on him?¡± Ruyan eyes Ruyu in disbelief. ¡°Yes, I do.¡± Says Ruyu shyly. Ruyan¡¯s face goes pale. Slowly she lowers her head, ¡°My dear sister, if he agrees, I ¡­ I will quit!¡± The sisters have always been very close to each other. Conceivably, this is a hard decision for Ruyan, and she is even a bit heart-broken! ¡°What are you saying? Why should you quit? You are my dear sister! I mean, both of us marry him! Humph, that¡¯s too good for him!¡± Ruyu doesn¡¯t seem to care at all. ¡°Oh! What? What are you saying?¡± Ruyan is really surprised. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? It is possible! There is no rule saying we can¡¯t marry the same man.¡± Ruyan flushes. Alas, her sister is always quick-witted! How did she conceive such an idea? But when she thinks further, she also finds it reasonable ¡ª it isn¡¯t forbidden! ¡°But¡­! I¡¯m afraid that he won¡¯t agree.¡± Utterly confused, Ruyan has been standing on the same line unconsciously with Ruyu. ¡°Huh! He can¡¯t be happier! He agreed last night, and even wanted to make the second step!¡± At the thought of last night, Ruyu flushes at once. ¡°Last night?¡± ¡°Yes, sis. I was also kissed by him last night.¡± Ruyu whispers shyly. ¡°Ah! He is a lady-killer! How dare him kiss my sister? Ruyu, what is the second step?¡± ¡­¡­ The moment Heaven went back to his room, he suddenly shivered. My God, who is speaking ill of me behind my back? In the canteen of the Marquis¡¯ Mansion, Wang Ping smiles at his daughters, holding his glass. ¡°Now I¡¯m going to make an announcement.¡± Seeing their father has not stopped laughing since entering the room, and there¡¯s a strange look in his eyes, Ruyan and Ruyu¡¯s dare not say too much. But when they see the Marquis¡¯s smile, they know that he must win the wargame. None of them dare ask whether Heaven suffered a crushing defeat. Ruyu rejoins discontentedly, ¡°Dad, congratulations to you on beating that unlucky guy!¡± ¡°Unlucky guy? Honey, be prudent, or no one will marry you! Humph, I didn¡¯t win. I lost badly!¡± ¡°You lost! Hurray!¡± The two girls exclaim, high-fiving each other. Wang Ping stares at them. Alas, daughters and dead fish are no keeping wares! Now they have already been biased towards an outsider! ¡°OK, stop jabbering! Now I have an announcement to make, I¡¯m having a son! Ha-ha!¡± The Marquis burst out laughing. As a father having no son, he considers his son-in-law as his own son. ¡°You are looking for another wife? And you have already got a son?¡± asks Ruyan sadly. ¡°Do you forget our mum? Humph, I will no longer speak to you! Sis, let¡¯s go!¡± Ruyu shows more anger. ¡°Eh-hem! What are you saying? Do you think I¡¯m that kind of man?¡± A blush appears on the Marquis¡¯s aged face. The sisters look questioningly at their father, then Ruyu seems to realize something. ¡°Oh, I got it. You must have taken a fancy to some fool and adopted him!¡± ¡°Hum, that¡¯s my thought, not his.¡± Wang Ping purses his lips. ¡°Huh, who can be so audacious? I¡¯ll fix him!¡± says Ruyu angrily. ¡°Ruyu, you can¡¯t say that! You will be familiar with him in the future!¡± Deliberately, Wang Ping glances at his elder daughter. From his perspective, Heaven will soon become Ruyu¡¯s brother-in-law, so of course, they will be familiar! ¡°No matter who he is, I won¡¯t call him brother!¡± Ruyu loses her temper. Ha! Wang Ping says in mind. Brother? You will call him brother-in-law! He sips his wine and says, ¡°The tricky Heaven not only beat me but also fooled me into agreeing his condition, humph!¡± Leaving girls in suspense, he is amused by their expressions. Then he continues, ¡°He said he would marry my daughter!¡± The daughters look at their father nervously. Ruyu recklessly asks, ¡°Do ¡­ do you agree?¡± ¡°Sure! I always mean what I say! Therefore, I agree with him at once!¡± Heaven, you are too amazing! Knowing that the problem is easily solved, the sisters are overjoyed. ¡°But there is one thing I¡¯m not happy with. He said my daughter has promised him. Humph, do you still remember your father? Who has promised him? Come out and tell me!¡± With that, he pulls a long face intentionally, and then empties the cup. ¡°It¡¯s me.¡± Ruyan and Ruyu say simultaneously. ¡°Poof!¡± The poor Marquis spits out all the wine. ¡°Who? Who the hell it is? I didn¡¯t catch it!¡± He looks at his two daughters. ¡°It¡¯s us. We both promised.¡± This time Marquis Wang Ping nearly collapses on the table. ¡°Come immediately, call that bloke over! No, tie him up and send him here! Damn it!¡± ¡°Wait!¡± The sisters shout at the same time. With Marquis Wang Ping slapping the table in rage, all the food and drinks shake. ¡°How arbitrary you are! How dare you decide such an important thing all by yourselves! Marry that bloke together? Keep dreaming! No way! Do you still remember your old father? With the family rules left by your mother, I dare not have even a concubine! How dare he marry you two? You, Ruyu, why do you contend with your sister? And you, Ruyan, why don¡¯t you make a concession? Don¡¯t tie him up? It¡¯s OK, only if one of you give up marrying him! Now you can make a decision, otherwise I will kill him and none of you can get him!¡± The Marquis is blue on the face. Chapter 9 - Breaking up the Affectionate Couple Proofread by Yin Jing The atmosphere freezes all at once. Wang Ping is the leader of the clan. While they are spoiled by him, seeing that he is very angry, Ruyan and Ruyu lower their head, too frightened to speak. The looks of the beloved daughters also distress the Marquis, so after a while, he lowers his voice, ¡°Why, I do it for your sake! As an aristocrat of the Great An, a dignified lord, I didn¡¯t even stress the hierarchy! I have showed my mercy on him a pleb for letting him marry one of my daughters.¡± ¡°Humph, he is a promising prodigy, that¡¯s why you would promise him!¡± Mumbles Ruyu in a low voice. ¡°What? What are you saying? Am I that kind of person? If he follows me, with my protection, he may become a Grand marshal! If he just relies on his own efforts ¡­ huh! I¡¯m not looking down upon him, but at best he will become an inferior county magistrate.¡± Wang Ping knows the darkness of officialdom well ¡ª for one who has no background, promotion is impossible. ¡°Not necessarily. Mr. Li has been little known, but since he came to Pingdu, everything he has done is unexpected and great. Even you, father, you claim to be the top general in the Great An, lost to him too.¡± Hearing that her lover is underestimated by her father, Ruyan retorts immediately. ¡°You ¡­! You have taken sides with an outsider even before you get married! I shouldn¡¯t have spoiled you! Besides, I never claim myself as the top general ¡ª actually I obtained the title with my feat! When I was in the capital, I won 18 wargames back to back and got the champion. I bet against our Majesty and won my fief. Do you think I¡¯m just a paper tiger?¡± ¡°Perhaps Mr. Li¡¯s fief will be larger than yours!¡± Ruyu pouts. ¡°All right, so you two are determined. I will give the bloke two years ¡ª if he can have his own fief, I will agree; otherwise I will drive him away from my fief! It¡¯s a deal.¡± Wang Ping doesn¡¯t even have the meal and leaves angrily. His word is sort of harsh. In the Great An, you may obtain a superior title of nobility or become a dignitary, but it¡¯s hard to get a fief. Among the nine existing lords, except Wang Ping who won his fief by fortune, everyone else is royal relative. Marquis Wang Ping¡¯s word shows his determination to annul the marriage. The sisters weep quietly. After all, marriage is such an important event. According to the Great An¡¯s law, none can marry them unless the clan leader agrees. Moreover, Heaven has no ability to snatch a bride from a lord¡¯s mansion! When Heaven hears the Marquis¡¯s words, he is nearly stupefied ¡ª half a day before, this old guy was still kind and on the cloud nine. How can he change so rapidly? ¡°My lord, how could that be? You just make me in a pickle!¡± Marquis Wang Ping sneers, ¡°Bloke, aren¡¯t you able? You stay in my mansion, lying on your belly on the board, then within three and a half days you have lured my daughters into marrying you! Both of them! How great you are!¡± The more Wang Ping says, the angrier he is. He gnashes his teeth and continues, ¡°Two years, bloke, do you hear that? If you won¡¯t have accomplished it but dare to meet my daughters, then don¡¯t blame me for being rude. And, from now on, you can move out from my mansion. Don¡¯t meet my daughters. I don¡¯t want to see you for even a moment. Now, go away!¡± Knowing that there¡¯s no use discussing it, Heaven nods, ¡°It¡¯s fine. Two years. Two years later I will pick them up. I, a dignified pleb will keep my word. Your Honor, please take care of them for two years for my sake.¡± Then he turns away. At this time, Heaven hasn¡¯t realized the difficulty of obtaining a fief. In his opinion, so long as he works hard, he will probably have his own fief. He is still a new comer, knowing little about this world. Wang Ping stares at Heaven¡¯s receding figure, as if he recalls something suddenly. Why! The reckless bloke left without a salute! How can a pleb be dignified? Take care of my daughters for his sake? I have taken care of them a dozen years! It is he who wants to snatch my beloved treasure, how can mine become his at a draught? He pisses me off! ¡°The girls are grounded for a month!¡± After half a month¡¯s work, Grand Scholar Liu Dong finally finishes the correction of all the papers. He keeps shaking his head ¡ª except Heaven¡¯s paper, all the others are unpresentable. He has no choice but to choose the taller among the dwarfs. The list of top ten is submitted to the court, and there is also an announcement in Pingdu. It is also understandable ¡ª the candidates had already been nervous, then they were startled by Heaven¡¯s cry. With minds in turmoil, how can they have good ideas? After leaving the Marquis¡¯s mansion, Heaven waits for two days in the inn, never seeing Ruyan and Ruyu. He knows that they must be guarded by Wang Ping. The announcement has been issued, within a month candidates on the list should report to the capital. Considering he will go to the capital, Heaven goes back home, leaving the overworked old couple 800 taels of silver. They work all their lives, treating Heaven as their own son. Throughout more than half a year, their thoughtful kindness really lets Heaven have a feeling of being at home. But when Heaven says the money is awarded by the court, the excited old couple once again come to the shabby temple and praise the Sun God. Before returning to the capital, Grand Scholar Liu Dong specially visits Marquis Wang Ping, hoping to see Heaven. However, Wang Ping says that Heaven has returned home. According to the Marquis, after a few days¡¯ observation, he found that this candidate not only has misbehavior but no regard for superiors. The Grand Scholar is wild with joy when he hears this comment. What he is afraid of is that talents like Heaven will get roped in by these military officers. Seeing Wang Ping¡¯s expression and the spread news of his fiasco, Liu Dong secretly makes a decision. When he returns to the capital, he will spare no efforts to bond with Heaven Li, so as to train him as his trusted follower. The reputation of a person is just like the shadow of a tree. When Heaven is doing his filial respect to the old couple, his deeds are eulogized by some Pingdu¡¯s minstrels. Stories like ¡°Heaven¡¯s performance surpasses the orian¡±, ¡°Heaven¡¯s benevolence moves the god¡±, ¡°Heaven¡¯s talent shocks the examiner¡±, ¡°Heaven¡¯s tactics defeat the Marquis¡± are gradually spread through the Great An. At a lightning speed Heaven is all the rage at the time. Some greedy booksellers immediately release bestsellers like Heaven Li¡¯s Secrets for Success, Heaven Li¡¯s Inescapable Stories, Heaven Li and ¡®Beauties in the West¡¯, which are sold out immediately. Finally, Heaven is on his way to the capital. It takes about six to seven days from his house to the capital. This time he doesn¡¯t ride on a donkey. Instead, he hires a carriage, with many books and dry rations on it. Lest he be bludgeoned with plank once again, Heaven plans to make a full preparation for the final exam. He hasn¡¯t known that he has become a celebrity! Nothing happens on the way. The Great An values literacy, so brigands and robbers are rare. Even a quarrelsome man will cite the well-known sayings of sages, as if the sage would stand by his side once he cites him first. The Great An has a prosperous capital, which is also frequently visited by envoys from various countries. Peddlers and vendors spare no efforts to show themselves in such a promising land. However, there are lust and darkness accompanied with the prosperity. Six or seven days later, Heaven¡¯s carriage arrives at the outskirts of the capital. After a tiring journey, he really wants to make haste to enter the capital, find a luxury inn, take a bath and have a good sleep! ¡°The man before in the carriage, what do you do and who are you?¡± Heaven is awakened by a yell. He lifts the curtain and sees a guard inquiring. The carter pulls the rein and stops the carriage, ¡°Your Honor, the man in my carriage is a candidate who will take the final exam!¡± says he proudly. ¡°Cut the crap! What do you have in the carriage? Leave the carriage for check!¡± The two guards don¡¯t go for it¡ª it has already been a convention for these sharp-eyed guards to blackmail carriages from other places. They can instantly recognize what kind of carriage they can¡¯t afford to offend or what kind of carriage they can bully easily. It¡¯s a skilled task! A man in a splendid carriage may slap you as soon as he gets off the carriage, and you can just endure; a poor man won¡¯t even give you a cent even if you dry your mouth up, pop your eyes out! The best choice is carriages like Heaven¡¯s normal one. And it¡¯s sure that two men who can afford a carriage must be wealthy. Alas, blackmail isn¡¯t an easy job! Perhaps you will encounter a difficult person! Even if they encounter two serious plebs who will complain to the troop leader, their complaint will end up with nothing definite if they don¡¯t have background, because guards grease the troop leader¡¯s palm every month! Heaven gets off the carriage. He is remarkably kind with the guards. Comparing with a big bug, it¡¯s harder for you to deal with a small potato. This is the permanent law and he doesn¡¯t want to get in trouble. ¡°What do you have in the carriage?¡± ¡°Books.¡± ¡°What¡¯s your name? You look something like a wanted robber!¡± The guard points at Heaven impassively, which means it¡¯s time for him to hand in money. For Heaven, such a wile is a piece of cake. In no mood of getting in trouble, he takes out several pennies. ¡°Your Honor, I¡¯m a candidate coming to the capital to take the final exam. I bring the recommendation, which was given by Marquis Wang Ping in Pingdu. How can I get involved with a robber? Your Honor, you work too hard! With these pennies you can buy some food and drink. Excuse my poor treat!¡± Seeing that Heaven is clever and generous, the guards nods and smiles, ¡°Well, you¡¯re welcome, sir ¡­ , could I have the name, please?¡± ¡°Heaven Li.¡± ¡°Heaven Li? Oh! Heaven Li from Pingdu? You are Heaven Li?¡± Chapter 10 - Meet Messenger for the First Time Proofread by Yin Jing Heaven looks at the guards in puzzlement, nodding with confusion, ¡°Yeah, Heaven Li from Pingdu.¡± Immediately the guards smile flatteringly, ¡°Sir, why didn¡¯t you say that earlier? How dare we accept great scholar Li¡¯s money?¡± Then they quickly hand the newly-obtained silver back to Heaven. Heaven takes the silver from them confusedly¡ª he really can¡¯t understand these fools¡¯ intention! ¡°Great scholar, there is something you don¡¯t know! The Cabinet Grand Scholar Liu Dong has specially sent his servants to city gates to pick you up! It never occurs to us that you will enter the city through this gate! It is our great honor! Please come on in.¡± With that, they lead Heaven towards the city gate. Heaven doesn¡¯t return to his carriage. He follows the guards doubtfully. The carter follows them, leading the horse and the carriage. Once they enter the city, a banner comes into their sight. There are a few characters on it, which reads, ¡°Reception for Heaven Li from Pingdu ¡ª Liu¡¯s Clan.¡± Next to the banner is a fancy carriage. ¡°Sir, please wait a moment.¡± The guards walk up and say something. A few moments later, two servants run through a side door. They give a fist salute to Heaven, and say, ¡°Sorry to have kept you waiting, sir. We come here to greet you at our master¡¯s command. Please get in the carriage.¡± Saying this, they run over to lift the fancy carriage¡¯s curtain. This apparently means to invite Heaven to get in this carriage. ¡°Pardon? What¡¯s up? I have had my own carriage!¡± ¡°Sir, you can rest assured! We will settle the luggage for you, so you don¡¯t need to worry about it!¡± Whatever! Anyway I have no acquaintances in the capital, so don¡¯t blame me if you pick the wrong person up! Well, Heaven doesn¡¯t know that ¡°Liu¡± is the fainted examiner, and it¡¯s for Liu¡¯s sake that he was bludgeoned with plank! Compared with other mansions in the capital, Grand Scholar Liu¡¯s is dignified rather than huge. Following the servants, Heaven walks around the mansion, whose style is quite similar to that of Suzhou Gardens. The servants halt when they come to a pavilion. ¡°Sir, please stay and let me inform my master.¡± Who exactly wants to see me? Does he or she mistake me for someone else? I know none of those big names. A loud gust of laughter comes. ¡°Heaven Li, you¡¯re here at last! I miss you so much!¡± My God, isn¡¯t it he that examiner? What¡¯s wrong with him? Miss me so much or want me dead? Anyway, it¡¯s necessary to be formal before a big name! ¡°I¡¯m Heaven Li. Your Honor, nice to meet you.¡± ¡°Ha-ha, don¡¯t mention it! Come on, the journey must be tiring, come in and enjoy the tea!¡± says Liu. He enters the living room, taking Heaven by the hand affectionately, which makes Heaven get goose bumps all over. After entering the room, the Grand Scholar sits on a palace chair. He says nothing but keeps smiling at Heaven, as if he were a miser seeing a gold ingot, and the more he looks at it, the more he likes it! Under his gaze Heaven sweats: Is he familiar with me? Or the geezer has some special interest? ¡°Eh-hem!¡± coughs Heaven twice, ¡°Your Honor, why do you fetch me up? Do you want anything? Your specific instruction will be appreciated!¡± He can¡¯t stand it anymore¡ª he will certainly throw up if being stared at by this geezer longer! ¡°Ah, here is the thing.¡± Grand Scholar Liu recovers from his dreams. ¡°I truly appreciate you. Your literary talent is so great that I have specially reported your paper to Your Majesty, who is very happy with it. With Your Majesty¡¯s special permission, you are excused from the final exam, ha-ha! Congratulations! Now there is no outsider, no one else knows it except the ¡®Messenger¡¯ and me!¡± Gosh, I¡¯m excused from the final exam? How brazen the geezer is! Certainly he wants me to appreciate his help, but I just have 100 or so taels of silver left! What if I give my money to him? Heaven pretends that he is too excited to cry. ¡°Your Honor, I have no way to repay your great kindness! The only thing I regret is that I hurried on with my journey so that I bring no speciality in my hometown to you. Alas, a pity! What a pity!¡± Hearing his words, the Grand Scholar says angrily, ¡°My good sir, what are you saying! I think highly of you, only because under no circumstances can we stifle talents, whose talent should be used to the full. Later the ¡®Messenger¡¯ will arrive at my mansion. He also thinks highly of you.¡± Well, within a moment, Heaven has become his ¡°good sir¡±! In the Great An, the Sun God is supreme. As a result, there are many shrines. Despite the very poor ones, all the others are managed by the God¡¯s Servants, beneath whom are the God¡¯s Slaves. The God¡¯s Messengers in white robe are men of the highest position in the Great An, who have no rank but enjoy the supreme status. To speak bluntly, they are trickers specializing in doing a snow job; and he, Heaven Li, who was born in a temple and knocked a hole in the temple¡¯s roof , will be the best person for this job! Speak of the devil! Soon after they start talking, a servant comes to report that the Messanger has already arrived. ¡°My good sir, come with me to greet the Messenger! He comes here just to see you.¡± Says Grand Scholar Liu and leads Heaven out of the room. How weird it is! It¡¯s understandable for Grand Scholar Liu to co-opt me, but why does he, a God¡¯s Messenger want to see me? As the representative and the loyal servant of the Sun God, though not in the bureaucrat system, the Messengers are highly respected in the Great An. Even the emperor will think highly of them, so Liu himself is supposed to come out and give a warm reception. Heaven is a bit surprised at the Messenger¡¯s appearance. He used to think that at least the Messenger would look like the legendary pope; that he would be an old man wearing a white robe and a holy crown, with a fake merciful look. However, the one before him is a young man who seems not much elder than Heaven. Well, his appearance is so-so, but why does he shave his head? Is Messengers in this society the same as monks in my prelife? Alright, it seems that¡¯s how it goes. The Grand Scholar leads the Messenger and Heaven back to the living room. ¡°May the Sun God be always with you, my Honor.¡± Staring at Heaven seriously, the Messenger asks Liu, ¡°Is he the scholar you have recommended?¡± ¡°Yes. He is Heaven Li.¡± Nods the Grand Scholar slightly. Then he turns to Heaven, ¡°Heaven, come over to salute the Messenger!¡± Damn, it¡¯s annoying to salute a tricker! It¡¯s the first time Heaven sees a clergyman ¡ª he can¡¯t even find a Servant in that shabby temple in his hometown! Not knowing what kind of salute should be given, Heaven finally decides to bow. Three bows are given ¡ª don¡¯t blame me for using a mourning gesture in my prelife! While bowing, he also starts to say, ¡°Your Honor, your light shines upon the earth, enables me to have light in the darkness.¡± Well, with such a shiny bald head, it¡¯s unnecessary to light lamp if he goes to the bathroom at night! Nodding with satisfaction, the Messenger says to Liu, ¡°Fine. Heaven Li is not bad. I shall give him the God¡¯s blessing. Mr. Liu, I¡¯d like to talk to Li alone, can I?¡± ¡°Well, please. I shall go to the antechamber to order dishes. Your Honor, please stay for a simple meal here.¡± ¡°You¡¯re welcome. May God be always with you.¡± Well, a tricker is a tricker, mentioning ¡°God¡± all day long! The Grand Scholar goes out. The door is closed by servants. Now there are only Heaven and the Messenger left in the living room. Alas, if it¡¯s in my prelife, a swindler and a tricker will be colleagues! Although we use different methods, our purposes are the same! A feeling of closeness wells up in Heaven¡¯s heart, because finally he finds his own team! ¡°O Child of the God, you shall accept the God¡¯s blessing. Alasika.¡± A typical trickers¡¯ opening line! But what is the meaning of ¡®Alasika¡¯? It seems to be some word like ¡®Amen¡¯ and ¡®My Merciful Buddha¡¯! ¡®God¡¯s Child¡¯? If I were a child of the God, then the God should step in to stop Ox-Head and Horse-Face from beating me! Damn, Heaven feels annoyed every time he recalls the scene. ¡°Hey, thank you! What¡¯s the matter with you, your Honor?¡± He won¡¯t respect his colleague as much as the others do. For one thing, colleagues are opponents. For another, the Messenger can do nothing to him. Without an official position, the most severe punishment he can give is to condemn Heaven for profanity. ¡°Li, I have seen your paper and heard of your benevolence. You have done a really good job. Therefore I want to petition Your Majesty ¡ª with your talent and morality, you well suit the position as God¡¯s Servant. What do you think, child of the God? Are you too happy? Afterwards you can compose anthems for the God specially! O the Great Sun God, behold! Under your light, how happy the child is! I praise you, Alasika!¡± says the Messenger excitedly. What? Let me be the God¡¯s servant? Chapter 11 - The Tricker Is Exposed Proofread by Yin Jing My God, did I hear that right? He wants me to be a tricker? Shortly after I was engaged to the beauties, and was separated from them by their father. Once again, before seeing the emperor, I encounter a monk! Isn¡¯t it unethical to take business from your peers? I don¡¯t want to be a monk! In Heaven¡¯s eyes, the Messenger¡¯s smile looks like nothing but unfavorable. With an unspeakable anger welling up in his heart, he decides to go the whole hog ¡ª at worst he can run away to another country without any passport! ¡°How about it? Child of the God, thou shall salute to your master, the Great Messenger myself!¡± The Messenger is still indulging in self-delusion. ¡°Hey bro, you are not much elder than me. And I, I have a lot of work to do. So I can¡¯t join your organization, as I want to live a normal life.¡± Heaven fixes his eyes on the Messenger. The narcissistic Messenger is so surprised that he almost falls onto the ground. ¡°What? How dare you defy the God¡¯s order? Call me bro? How dare¡­¡± ¡°Enough! Don¡¯t play etiquette with me, because I used to be your peer! Being a tricker is not easy. From now on let¡¯s just mind our own business, OK?¡± Honestly speaking, facing such an idiot, Heaven doesn¡¯t feel like smashing his confidence. ¡°O God, please forgive me! The man before me is a devil from hell! Wait, I shall petition Your Majesty for demoting you to a destitute! No, to an eunuch!¡± Out of anger, even the Messenger¡¯s face is distorted. ¡°Shit! How dare you threaten me? So malicious! Threaten me? Demote me to an eunuch? Damn¡­¡± Heaven beats him up. Fortunately, nobody is around ¡ª supposing the Messenger has something confidential to say, Liu has withdrawn all the people. ¡°Ouch! Gosh! My SUN GOD!! I shall have a duel with you!¡± Screams the Messenger, then furiously grasps Heaven¡¯s hair. Unguardedly Heaven stumbles over the Messenger¡¯s clamping legs. The two men fall to the ground together. ¡°Shit! How dare you play dirty! Tricker, I¡¯ll kick your fucking ass!¡± Heaven reaches for the Messenger as well, but when touching the Messenger¡¯s shaved head, he realizes that his opponent really takes great advantage of it. So he reaches for the Messenger¡¯s ears instead. Hell, they are both fighting like shrews! Back in the days, Heaven had gotten into fights. Besides, the half-a-year-long wood-chopping and water-carrying have also strengthened his physique. However, not until this moment does Heaven realize that the most tiring thing in the world is the shrews¡¯ fight. A few moments later, they are both tired and panting, but neither of them gives up. ¡°You, let me go.¡± ¡°So long as you release me first.¡± ¡°Shit.¡± ¡°Son of bitch!¡± At last the cornered tricker starts to abuse. They insult each other by cursing everything one can imagine. To their surprise, this amazing verbal battle eventually comes to a draw. Now their faces are splattered with spit. The Messenger holds Heaven¡¯s hair with both hands, while his ears are held by Heaven. ¡°Bloke, you have balls. In the Great An nobody dares to treat me like this! I truly admire you.¡± ¡°Tricker, you are always posing in public. I never think that you can swear more than me!¡± ¡°Same here. You are not bad. If you release me firstly I won¡¯t trouble you!¡± ¡°Damn, who are you kidding? Why should I believe a tricker¡¯s word? I tell you, if it can¡¯t be solved today, I would rather perish together with you! Anyway I have little to lose!¡± ¡°You idiot, what do you want?¡± ¡°Give me an assurance.¡± ¡°All right, I will swear in the name of God!¡± ¡°Stop. I don¡¯t believe in that guy. Change a way.¡± Heaven won¡¯t be fooled by doubtful talk. ¡°Damn you, what exactly do you want?!¡± The tricker is really cornered ¡ª he never feels wronged like this! ¡°Give me a letter of assurance. From now on, by no means will you mention it or take revenge on me.¡± ¡°Damn it, you are shrewder than the monkey! I will do so, but in return neither can you mention what has happened today! Otherwise I won¡¯t let you off.¡± ¡°OK. One, two, three ¡ª let¡¯s release together!¡± They both sit down on the ground. Heaven¡¯s scalp is stinging; the tricker¡¯s ears are also swollen because of Heaven¡¯s grasp. The tricker grinds his teeth, staring at his opponent maliciously. ¡°Why do you look at me? There are brush and paper on the table, pick them up and write the letter. But because of negligence I have let you grasp my hair. Write or fight again, but this time you will regret it!¡± With that, Heaven suddenly reveals the knife hidden in his sleeve, and plays with it with no effort. His performance really frightens the tricker. ¡°Y-you want to kill me?¡± ¡°Huh! I won¡¯t kill you. I will just inscribe the word ¡®sanctimony¡¯ on it. With such words, will you be shameless enough to continue appearing in public?¡± For a face-saving tricker, this punishment is severer than murder! ¡°Damn! I can write the letter, but you are not allowed to let anyone see it! Otherwise, I would rather perish than write it.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, considering my personal safety, I won¡¯t let anyone else in this world see my amulet! From now on, we¡¯re all in the same boat.¡± The tricker also knows that Heaven dares not show the letter so long as he doesn¡¯t trouble Heaven. After all, even if he is exposed, the emperor will kill Heaven to save his face. Heaven reads the letter of assurance, then tells the tricker to stamp a thumbprint and impress his personal seal. Only after finishing all of these, does Heaven smile at him trustingly. ¡°What are we laughing at? Look at me and my clothes ¡ª how can I go out like this?¡± ¡°You are really stupid! Why not have your man send your clothes here and let Liu¡¯s men send a barrel of bath water? Then we can take a bath, change our clothes before getting outside. Don¡¯t tell me you are unable to tell a lie!¡± Regardless of the tricker¡¯s attitude, Heaven shouts at the door, ¡°The Messenger has something to command!¡± What the tricker can do is to point at Heaven with his shaking finger, ¡°Shameless!¡± Hearing the call, Liu¡¯s subordinates come to the door at once. ¡°Your Honor, please give your command.¡± They have no courage to enter the room. The tricker clears his throat and begins sanctimoniously, ¡°The Great Sun God just gave his oracle. This child of the God, Heaven Li, shall accept the supreme blessing, so as to purge his sinful heart. Go and carry a bathtub filled with clear water, tell my servants to send a brand new robe. This sinful child shall have a new suit too, since the holy light will be used to purge his bad karma. Go, children of the God. Alasika!¡± My God, this man deserves to be a high-level tricker! How can he keep mentioning God even when he is telling a lie? Comparing with him, I¡¯m really faltering! In a moment, a large bathtub is carried into the room by four strong men, while two suits are brought in by the God¡¯s Servant. None of these men looks up. Instead, they back out reverently, closing the door while leaving. Heaven furtively peeps in through the crack of the door, seeing the excited Grand Scholar Liu standing at the door. Well, as for them, few people can accept the Sun God¡¯s blessing! ¡°Hey tricker, can you tell me that how can you become the top tricker at such a young age? Maybe I can learn from you, and we can exchange experience!¡± Now that both in the same boat, they might as well have a chat to promote their relationship! Moreover, now they are in the same tub nakedly, having nothing to hide! ¡°I warn you, don¡¯t call me tricker anymore.¡± ¡°OK, OK, I won¡¯t call that in public, all right? Now you can tell me.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a long time ago¡­¡± ¡°Stop. I have no interest in The Thousand and One Nights. Tell me frankly. ¡± ¡°Damn!¡± Swears the tricker and continues, ¡°The former Messenger was my teacher. He died and I succeeded him as the next Messenger.¡± ¡°That¡¯s it? Is it that simple?¡¯ ¡°Shit, will you stop it? I¡¯m already hungry!¡± Answers the tricker dissatisfiedly. ¡°It¡¯s not difficult! Watch me.¡± Says Heaven, then shouts at the door, ¡°The Messenger is casting! He needs some support! Please send us some food and drink!¡± The tricker also exclaims tacitly, ¡°O great Sun God! Merciful you are, please accept the sincerest oblation from your servant! Alasika!¡± There is a bustle outside the door. The Grand Scholar has gone. His and the tricker¡¯s subordinates are waiting outside. Looking at each other, Heaven and the tricker simultaneously give thumb-ups, saying ¡°I admire you!¡± Alas, the world is really crazy! As for Heaven, he never expects that the first thing he does in the capital is to drink with a tricker nakedly! In short, after the sacred Messenger left, Heaven is arranged to live in Liu¡¯s mansion, waiting for the emperor¡¯s decree. During this time, Grand Scholar Liu is too busy to be seen. Therefore, Heaven decides to read more books so as to understand the situation of this crazy world ¡ª kings and bears often worry their keepers. He may die if he makes some mistake while meeting the emperor! The placid life doesn¡¯t last long. It is interrupted by the eunuch¡¯s sissy voice, ¡°With the decree of the Great An¡¯s emperor, I notify you, Heaven Li, the great scholar from Pingdu enter the palace to meet Your Majesty.¡± Chapter 12 - In the Royal Hall Chapter 12: In the Royal Hall Translator: Lao Xinxian Proofread by Yin Jing Heaven comes to the palace. After the imperial edict is issued, he strides into the meeting hall with the Grand Scholar¡¯s guidance. Having seen few official visits, Heaven just follows Liu, kneeling whenever Liu is kneeling, then standing up whenever Liu is rising to his feet. The civil and military officials are standing on opposite sides of the hall ¡ª this is really no difference from the description of the dramas in his prelife! ¡°Raise, Mr. Liu.¡± ¡°Thank you, your Majesty.¡± Liu comes to his feet. Heaven intends to follow, but Liu¡¯s whisper holds him back. ¡°Keep kneeling! His Majesty hasn¡¯t allowed you to stand up.¡± ¡°Heaven, I have read your paper. I really like it. Raise.¡± ¡°Thank you, your Majesty.¡± It¡¯s said that you can¡¯t look around unless the emperor lets you raise your head. Otherwise you will probably offend him, and therefore, suffer from a castration then and there. ¡°Take it easy, Heaven. Your paper has been read by me and all the officials. It is unanimously praised. As a result, you will be exempted from the final exam. I also hear that you defeated old Wang Ping in the maneuver. Ha-ha-ha, great! In the Great An, it¡¯s so rare to meet such a literary prodigy mastering military tactics.¡± As for the emperor, he has long held the grudge that Wang Ping won a fief of him. What Heaven has done this time actually helps him out. ¡°That¡¯s because your Majesty¡¯s virtue moves the Heaven. Only in the peaceful and prosperous Great An can remarkable people emerge in succession. Actually, in all time before now and in all time to come, there has never been and will never be any countries as powerful and prosperous as the Great An. Everyone says that¡¯s because we have a great emperor, a wise ruler.¡± Heaven answers immediately. Damn, he believes even the traitor minister He Shen couldn¡¯t do better than him! The emperor is greatly pleased. The officials can¡¯t help nodding their head ¡ª this base bloke is promising. ¡°Ha-ha-ha! Heaven, I can¡¯t be that great. All of these are the Sun God¡¯s blessing. I have decided to appoint you as the Number One Scholar of this national examination. You shall be put in an important position. Look up, let me see you.¡± ¡°Thank your Majesty.¡± Well, it seems that no one can resist flattery¡¯s charm. Heaven slowly lifts his head, with his eyes sparkling with worship ¡ª in Heaven¡¯s prelife, he wouldn¡¯t use such expression unless he was visiting fathers of those girls cajoled by him! The emperor seems to be in his fifties. He is comely but a bit pale, which is the proof of his deficiency of the kidney. Evidently, he has too much sex. To Heaven¡¯s surprise, he also sees the last person he wants to see. The tricker stands beside the emperor. There is an obvious malicious look on his face. ¡°Your Majesty, as the great Sun God once said, without going through wind and rain, we can¡¯t see the rainbow; without going through training and hammering, we can¡¯t make the steel. So I, the God¡¯s Messenger feel that only after spending a few years in working in a tough place, can Li serve our country better in the future. Great Sun God, Alasika!¡± says the tricker, and comes over to Heaven slowly. Hateful tricker! The great Sun God never bothers to say a word like this! Heaven knows that is a Greek gift. ¡°Hum, His Eminence is right. It¡¯s necessary for youngsters to go to tough places. Gentlemen, do you have any suggestions?¡± says the emperor to officials. ¡°Your Majesty, Heaven requires some adjustment. I¡¯m afraid that he is too inexperienced to take office outside.¡± Grand Scholar Liu really doesn¡¯t want to let Heaven go. ¡°Your Majesty, I agree with the Messenger. Heaven had better take some exercise.¡± Says a thin man, whose appearance reminds people of the monkey. Heaven later comes to know that he is Qian Gui, the assistant minister of Ministry of Revenue. ¡°Now that His Eminence thinks it¡¯s necessary, this man had better receive some exercise. However, he can be put in an exceptionally important position.¡± The emperor¡¯s voice silences all the officials. ¡°Your Majesty, Chaodu is an important border city. According to governor-generals, it¡¯s a tough place to manage. What¡¯s worse, Chaodu is frequently afflicted by mountain people. It has been nearly four years since the last governor-general of Chaodu was assassinated. From then on, this city is deserted. In my opinion, we should send a man well versed in both polite letters and material arts to manage Chaodu, but the governor-general¡¯s rank is a bit¡­¡± The implication is that for a candidate who just finished the national examination, the governor-general¡¯ rank is a bit high. Under normal conditions, a candidate should start as a country magistrate, then gradually gets promotion. The gap between governor-general and country magistrate is just like that between provincial governor and country head. The emperor frowns. It seems that he is also reluctant to send Heaven to Chaodu. He knows well what sort of place Chaodu is ¡ª it is a place of conflict and strife, a settlement of various ethnic groups. Moreover, Chaodu is an extremely exclusive place where many officials have somehow died. But after all, it is the Great An¡¯s territory. Perhaps problems will be solved if he sends an official adept with both the pen and the sword. This will exempt the court from future worries! Thinking of this, he says without hesitation. ¡°Remote as Chaodu is, it is still an important border city of our country. A talented person should be sent there. One¡¯s rank all depends on his talent, so be it. I appoint Li as Chaodu¡¯s governor-general. Li, don¡¯t disappoint me.¡± The civil and military officials all nod in agreement, only Grand Scholar Liu shakes his head secretly. Heaven senses something fishy going on. After a few days of reading, he gains some idea of the Great An. However, he can¡¯t say it. He can do nothing but to kowtow and thank. ¡°Thank your Majesty. I will certainly govern Chaodu well and serve our country!¡± While no one is looking, the tricker whispers to Heaven: ¡°Ha! Chaodu is well-known as the forbidden area for officials, because most of the officials who come to Chaodu die there. Without even a shrine, it is also called as City of Evil. I¡¯m afraid that you won¡¯t be fortunate enough to enjoy your high position! Ha-ha!¡± ¡°Shit! So it¡¯s you that are cheating!¡± Heaven silently fights back. ¡°Yes. It¡¯s me. I let QianGui do so, so what? Can you hit me?¡± With an expression of sanctity, the tricker stands next to Heaven. He gnashes his teeth, so Heaven is the only one that can hear what he says. ¡°Your Majesty, may I, you courtier, ask His Eminence a small question?¡± Now that being an official, Heaven changes his form of address. ¡°What¡¯s your question? Go ahead.¡± The emperor is surprised, too. ¡°Your Eminence, the light of the Sun God is ubiquitous. Your Eminence does spare no effort to spread the Sun God¡¯s light, doesn¡¯t you? Our great Messenger?¡± Having known Heaven¡¯s cunning, the tricker feels that things are going wrong. It isn¡¯t wise to lose his temper before all the officials, so he has to follow Heaven. ¡°Right. Indeed, under no circumstances will I stop spreading the Sun God¡¯s light.¡± ¡°What a great man! your Majesty, I hear that Chaodu is a violent city, in which there are many unregulated ethnic groups, who have made troubles and assassinated our officials for many times. Why? In my opinion, that¡¯s because they haven¡¯t received the Sun God¡¯s love, and God¡¯s servants are incapable of spreading the Sun God¡¯s light in this city.¡± ¡°Therefore, I venture to suggest, for the sake of the poor people in Chaodu, the great Messenger should go in person to Chaodu to spread the Sun God¡¯s light. Only by this can the Sun God shine all the Great An.¡± As soon as Heaven¡¯s words finish, officials all nod in approval. The emperor also nods. ¡°Yes. Over the years, Chaodu has long been one of the hardest-hit areas in the Great An. The number of sacrificed officials in Chaodu is so huge that some officials would rather retire than go there. Heaven is right. That¡¯s because the Sun God¡¯s blessing can¡¯t reach there. Your Eminence, please go to Chaodu in person!¡± It never occurs to him that Heaven and the tricker are trying to infight! ¡°If your Majesty says so, I shall go there myself. When I come back, everything will have been arranged. The great Sun God will certainly shine Chaodu!¡± answers the tricker with a straight face, but in fact, he gnashes his teeth angrily. The tricker turns to Heaven. ¡°O great Sun God, your light will shine over Mr Li! God bless you, Alasika!¡± Then he whispers, ¡°May you be killed on the half way!¡± Heaven returns with an innocent expression. ¡°Thank you, your Eminence. Damn, may you stumble and die as soon as you get out of the door!¡± Of course, he also whispers the last words. ¡°Mr. Li is glowing with health. I¡¯m glad to see his uncomparable respect to the God. Your hell son will be born without anus!¡± Again, only Heaven and the tricker can hear the last word. ¡°I owe it to your Eminence¡¯s great effort. Your mom is a whore and your dad is a procurer£¡¡± You are too green to quarrel with me! ¡°Y¡­ you! Well, very well, I think highly of you. Gosh, I can¡¯t stand him anymore, please let him be raped by shrews!¡± With this, the tricker bows and takes his leave. Humph! Even though I don¡¯t fight back, I have beat him mentally! In general, I win. At least, I won¡¯t die alone! Chapter 13 - Meanness and Shamelessness Chapter 13: Meanness and Shamelessness Translator: Lao Xinxian Proofread by Yin Jing Grand Scholar Liu has been sighing away for days. He had thought that he found a good helper, but he hasn¡¯t expected that QianGui¡¯s words would send Heaven to death. As a mere nominal territory of its own country, there isn¡¯t even a soldier from the Great An in Chaodu. Apparently Heaven is promoted to governor-general, but in fact he is no better than an exile, who may die in foreign land. On condition that neither soldiers nor Heaven will be paid and no provision will be granted in the next three years, 5000 troops are generously deployed as Heaven¡¯s retinue. Besides, 100 thousand taels of silver are granted. In contrast, the Messenger just takes 40 Servants and Slaves. Heaven is on a white horse. He wears the formal governor-general¡¯s robe, while his troops the gleaming armors. A flag with Heaven¡¯s surname on it is held by a soldier. The Messenger is on a splendid coach. Facing people who come here to see them off, he preaches sanctimoniously: ¡°Children of the Sun God! God¡¯s light shines you forever. I will soon come back, Alasika!¡± a satisfied smile appears on his face while a great cheer goes up from the crowd. ¡°I can¡¯t take it. Why these men are so insane?¡± shouts Heaven, ¡°Quick march!¡± The magnificent troops leave the capital. As a novice rider, once leaves the city, Heaven can no longer maintain his pretentious manner. With an aching ass, he halts the troops. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± the Messenger pokes his head out of the coach in a puzzle. ¡°Well, leave me and his Eminence alone. I have something secret to share with him.¡± It is known to all that the discussion between a governor-general and the Messenger must involve something confidential, so Heaven¡¯s escort immediately step a few meters back, guarding their master in a circle. ¡°Hey tricker, considering the boredom it is for you to stay alone in such a coach, I would condescend to share the coach with you. We can have a chat or even a quarrel. After all, they are better than loneliness.¡±At the first sight of the coach, Heaven has intended to sit in it. ¡°Do you think it is possible? Even his Majesty doesn¡¯t have such privilege to enter a Messenger¡¯s special coach!¡± An insidious smile can be seen from the tricker¡¯s eyes. ¡°Actually, I can¡¯t ride.¡± Damn, Heaven has to tell the truth. ¡°Ha! Ha-ha, ha-ha-ha! My God, you know everything! Please let this shameless guy suffer all the way, or even smash his ass into pieces! I praise you, Alasika!¡± The tricker is elated. ¡°Shit, dare you say it again? Let me in or not?¡± Heaven really wants to slam into his face with brick! ¡°Hey, the great God once told me, enjoy my coach and let others suffer! So I¡¯m really sorry that I can¡¯s meet your requirements.¡± The tricker¡¯s look is infuriating. ¡°All right. Listen, I¡¯ve got a letter of assurance, which is ¡­¡± Heaven takes out the tricker¡¯s guarantee. Before he can finish his words, the tricker breaks in hastily, ¡°My God! I¡¯ve just received an oracle. The God let you come in his coach! Great God, how merciful you are!¡± Glancing at the tricker smilingly, Heaven waves to his troops. ¡°Bros, march! Take care of my horse, report to me if something happens!¡± When Heaven steps into the coach, he is stunned ¡ª the coach is so big that it even contains a bed with fox-fur mattress! Damn, the tricker really knows how to enjoy the journey. Hardly could he take a seat when the swearing tricker rushes over, ¡°If you dare threaten me with the fucking guarantee, I won¡¯t let you off! I must strangle you when you are asleep!¡± ¡°Watch your manner and morality. A Messenger should not use dirty words all day long! Moreover, you are not a patch on me.¡± Heaven pushes him away. He simply ignores the tricker, seemingly shows infinite interest in everything in the coach, and even tends to open and look into a small silver box. ¡°Stop! If you dare open it, I¡¯ll kill you or die!¡± The tricker seems to be cornered. Well, so be it. Sometimes ignorance can be a blessing. ¡°OK. It¡¯s time for us to talk it over. Why the fuck do you want to send me to Chaodu? So insidious! If I die, you will be reassured, right?¡± Reclining in the bed, Heaven eyes the tricker. ¡°Man, be grateful. You should thank me for providing an opportunity for you to be a governor-general at once!¡± Boasts the tricker. ¡°Thank you for promoting me to a victimized governor-general? Don¡¯t you see Grand Scholar Liu is absent-minded, as if he has lost his money? I know your malicious intentions. Anyway, now we are both in the same boat.¡± Says Heaven. He stretches himself, lying down on the bed, humming a tune which goes: ¡°I¡¯m waiting for you to come back!¡± ¡°Huh, good thinking. I tell you, I just need to leave a few men in Chaodu, then I can come back. At that time you can do nothing but wait to die. Ha-ha, I will cry for you! Why, such a good opponent will be destroyed by savages! Poor ME!¡± The tricker reveals his rascality. ¡°Idiot, whether you can return is up to me. It is on my turf and it is me that make the decision! Come to your senses, please.¡± ¡°You! Dare you kidnap me, a Messenger? All of your kinsfolk will be killed for the crime you commit!¡± ¡°Hey, you think you are a real Messenger? I tell you, you are nothing before me.¡± ¡°Shit, get down from my bed! Don¡¯t profane the holy bed!¡± The cornered tricker resorts to force. ¡°Why the fuck do you pull my hair? I shall beat you to death, smash your bald head to pieces! ¡­ Ouch! Unclench your teeth¡­!¡± With constant shouting and cursing and sounds of struggle coming out, the coach starts to shake. These sounds stun the carter, who is a faithful believer of the God. The carter sees a wolf. In his mind, the Messenger is sacred and inviolable. How can the great Messenger swear and even fight? What¡¯s more, he has never seen one who dares to disrespect the Messenger! Now such an irreverent man emerges, and this rare man is a governor-general! He can¡¯t afford to help the Messenger, since a governor-general wields so much power! Alas, he had better pretend to know nothing! Let them fight with each other, what I should do is do my own part well. With noble moral character and professional ethics, the carter cracks the whip, leaving behind the sounds from the coach. The fight inside the coach goes into halftime. Tired and exhausted, Heaven starts gnawing an apple while his opponent sticks a peeled banana in his mouth. ¡°Heaven Li, why can¡¯t you let me go? Yes, it¡¯s me that set the trap, but once you let me go, I can put in a good word for you when I see his Majesty, then you can return to the capital!¡± The tricker pants. ¡°Return? Why should I return? I don¡¯t want to come back! Honestly speaking, hearing that I will be discharged, I was on cloud nine! Ha, I¡¯m on the top of the world!¡± ¡°Insane, you must be insane. I don¡¯t want to die with you!¡± ¡°Hey, it will be a hassle for me to lead a disunited team! What I lack is a commissar, and you are the most suitable person for this position. How about unifying my subordinates by your trick? Ah, it¡¯s hard to woo a talented person!¡± Eventually, Heaven unfolds his purpose. ¡°Fuck, don¡¯t even think about it! Who do you think you are? Woo me and let me follow you? I am the MESSENGER! In the name of God, next life you shall be a hog. In any case I will curse you!¡± The carter is scared. Gosh, it should be definitely impossible! It can¡¯t be his Eminence¡¯s voice, absolutely not! I confess that I have eaten a sacrificial date last year, is the illusion today my punishment? I¡¯m sorry, forgive me! I have two children to bring up. The poor carter even starts crying. ¡°I say, tricker, I¡¯m never afraid of the hell, let alone you! Believe me, within two years, I can turn Chaodu into a heaven on earth. At that time, Chaodu will be the most prosperous area in this world. Besides, you are not following me. You will be at my level. At that time, you can get everything you want, enjoying yourself with wine and beauties every day. I will build up a few sauna centers, which is a place to take bath, and let beauties give you a massage. Shit, what an enjoyable life! It will be much more comfortable than you¡¯ve been in the capital. Don¡¯t tell me you are a virgin!¡± The tricker is a bit tempted by Heaven¡¯s sweet talk. Staring at Heaven for quite a while, he finally asks: ¡°Why is me?¡± ¡°Because you are very shameless.¡± ¡°I really appreciate your meanness. All right, deal!¡± Answers the tricker seriously. ¡°Great. A combination of meanness and shamelessness is invulnerable.¡± They hold each other¡¯s hands tightly. Heaven really feels like shouting: comrade! At last we meet each other successfully! ¡°My great God, please forgive us! If I see beauties in the future, I will be the first one to make love with them! Of course, after that, I¡¯ll offer up them to you, my God. Alasika!¡± Heaven really worries that the angry Sun God will come down to earth to beat this tricker! The most shameless man won¡¯t be more shameless than this tricker. It will be hard to find such a tricker talented in shamelessness in this world! That¡¯s Heaven¡¯s sincere opinion. Now that they are partners, the tricker also exerts his strengths all the way. Wherever they arrive, he will cheat the locals out of food and drinks in the name of God, which enables Heaven not only to save expenses but also obtain many benefits. Furthermore, there are lots of caravans and disciples choosing to join in their team. Heaven promises that these caravans won¡¯t be taxed within a year. He purchases many stores of grain, which is enough to feed 100 thousand people for more than half a year. Besides, he employs a host of craftsmen. Whether they work or not, they are provided with food, accommodation and a salary of 40 pennies; and if one chooses to work, he or she will get a quadruple salary. As for the tricker¡¯s characteristic praise, the future of Chaodu is promising. However, behind Heaven¡¯s back, the tricker will rather call him a spendthrift. Gradually, there are more than 15,000 people in Heaven¡¯s team. It takes them nearly a month to arrive in Chaodu. Getting out of the coach, Heaven and the tricker look around. ¡°O Great Sun God, I praise you for this splendid area. Alasika!¡± Cries the tricker sanctimoniously, then he turns and whispers, ¡°Our cooperation is over. Damn, how can humanbeings live in such a place? I will return to the capital tomorrow!¡± Chapter 14 - Rebuild the Homeland Proofread by Yin Jing Honestly, whoever sees the scene will think of leaving¡ª can this be called as a city? A glance through the remnants of the shabby city wall offers a bleak view of Chaodu. Seeing Heaven¡¯s troops, small groups of lookers-on come out curiously. Pale and emaciated, they all dress in rags, reminding one of the refugees. Strangely, none of them is young man. Heaven¡¯s troops enter the city. Watched by the multitude, they reach the former Yamen, the mansion of governor-generals. Gosh, it looks more like the beggars¡¯ headquarter! With a throng of people coming out, a stench fills the air. ¡°Damn you, don¡¯t tell me we¡¯ll live with them! My God, forgive me, there is no beauty! I was cheated by this goddamned idiot!¡± comes the tricker¡¯s impatient voice from the carriage. Heaven has no time to retort. He immediately orders the whole staff of his troops to clean up the mansion, then sends people to inquire about information. Besides, citizens are all informed to get their food before the mansion the next day. With such a ramshackle mansion, it seems that everything has to start from scratch. Fortunately, Heaven has foreseen this situation and brought a lot tools and food. Currently, the biggest difficulty is the shortage of craftsmen. The mansion looks better after being cleaned. Under Heaven¡¯s order, a captain of the trade caravan puts all the supplies together, which are then guarded by a designated team. Besides, all the other soldiers carry out their own duties. Some of them are on duty, others are on guard; scouts are patrolling around, in case of accidents. Only after everything works, dare Heaven take a nap on a shakedown. No sooner had he fallen asleep than the morning came. People have thronged outside the temporary mansion. They are the elderly and children waiting for famine relief. Several soldiers have set five field cauldrons to cook porridge. Likewise, craftsmen get busy too. Carpenters are chopping down trees; some plasterers are making mortars, while the others setting to build brick kiln outside the city. As for Heaven, he turns to an old man for more information of the area. There used to be about 20,000 people in Chaodu. In its surrounding mountains dwell six races and two groups of bandits. In general, the six races won¡¯t take initiative at intrusion unless they are provoked. But bandits are not the same. They force all the mature male citizens to be bandits, only leaving less than 10,000 elders and children in the city. Taking geographical advantages of the tri-border and natural mountain forests, they are tricky for soldiers. When Heaven asks about the former governor-generals, the old man eyes him and sighs. ¡°Sir, may I ask how long you will stay here?¡± ¡°Why?¡± Heaven looks at him in a puzzle, ¡°I¡¯m the governor-general of Chaodu, why do you ask me how long I will stay here?¡± Hearing this, the old man bursts into tears. ¡°Sir, you don¡¯t know about this! Your predecessors burned, killed and looted wherever they went, because once having perceived the situation of Chaodu, none of them intended to stay here. Most of them provoked those alien races of strange ability, that¡¯s why they were either mad or dead! Actually, they all have shot oneself in the foot!¡± Heaven understands ¡ª all those former governor-generals wanted to grab some money, and then left. It seems that they died of their own misdeeds. After a few busy days, the governor-general¡¯s mansion is taking shape. Under Heaven¡¯s appointment, all the soldiers are managed by a man named Zhang Qianzong; every now and then, they are psychologically comforted by the tricker¡¯s blessing. Besides, Heaven also sends scouts to keep an eye on the mountains. Old Gao from the trade caravan is now more like Heaven¡¯s butler, busy inside and out. At Heaven¡¯s command, citizens are gathered together, enjoying the provided lodging and boarding for free. Besides, they each get a piece of cloth and some cotton and can ask the tailoress to make a garment with all the cost paid by Heaven too. Having pulled down all the old buildings, the craftsmen came with Heaven start their hard work. Some strong elders and women also join them. Every time they are at table, the mincing tricker will appear and say something ¡ª as if he were the one that offer people food! But yes, the citizens revere him, as if he were the god. Such busy days has lasted for more than a month, before things turn better. Rows of relatively sturdy bunk houses have been built and allotted to citizens. All the possible laborers have participated in planting crops. During this period, many former citizens (now they are bandits) sneaked in Chaodu several times. Heaven asks the guard to give them the green light, and thus picks up some news from them. Just over a month, Heaven has brought a reeking shabby city from the brink. The elders and children, who have been sallow and emaciated, also put on new clothes. Such a flourishing scene attracts the six races¡¯ attention. According to negotiation between the two sides, Heaven gives food to these races, and in return, they provide him with a great deal of hide, iron mine, ganoderma and ginseng. All of these can be sold at a high price in cities! When the first trade caravans return with fruitful results, Old Gao is formally designated as the mansion¡¯s steward. Any businessmen who come to Chaodu won¡¯t be taxed. However, selling food without authorization is strictly forbidden. With the control of food supply, Heaven controls the six races and therefore takes initiative. Meanwhile, the tricker chooses several able men from his followers. As a result, functional organizations in Yamen work gradually. Seeing that there is abundant food in Chaodu, the races once again send their delegates. This time, they say that their patriarchs want to talk with Heaven. Heaven discusses with the tricker. In his opinion, only if they go there in person, can they make a breakthrough. But the frightened tricker will do anything but to find these races. ¡°Are you insane? Why not tell them to come here? They are alien races, they can kill you whenever they want! Anyway I won¡¯t go. You¡¯d better not either! Well, you can go there¨Cdon¡¯t forget to tear off my letter of assurance before you die! Fuck, I don¡¯t want to let others know it.¡± Heaven has no choice but to let the tricker stay in Chaodu. Accompanied by a few guards, he goes into the mountains following two Bear¡¯s representatives. Without guidance, the zigzag ghat will really be intractable. Seaman is the Bear¡¯s patriarch. Just as his clansmen, this instinctive berserker is tall. Even though in his fifties, he is as strong as a bull. His genial embrace is so choking that Heaven almost throws up! All these races are humans. It is the custom of endogamy and innate special ability that add a sense of mystique to them. They are called as Bear, Lizard, Bird, Dwarf, Centaur and Zerg respectively. Bears are crazy about war. With extraordinary strength, they are instinctive martial artists. Lizards are instinctive killers, whose body color can change in line with environment. Birds can¡¯t fly. However, their ability to command birds with a special twitter helps them earn the name. Despite their tiny figure, Dwarves possess no small strength. With awesome capability of mining, they live under the ground. Meanwhile, they are talented armorers. Centaurs are characterized by their special ability of running and archery. Zerg is a special race, which is usually in the company of poisonous insects. Seaman politely guides Heaven to his rath, where five men are seated. Undoubtedly, they are patriarchs of the other five races. ¡°Sir, we feel you are different from your predecessors. That¡¯s why we want to talk with you.¡± starts Seaman politely. ¡°If you were the same with them, you would have died.¡± follows the Zerg¡¯s patriarch grimly. ¡°We, dwellers of the hill, are not afraid of those soldiers from the Great An.¡± says the Dwarf. ¡°All the court¡¯s spies have died in the hands of my men.¡± says the Lizard. ¡°None of them can escape from birds¡¯ surveillance.¡± Undoubtedly, this is the Bird. ¡°Nor flee from Centaurs.¡± When they finished, Heaven slowly starts. ¡°You ask me to come here just for this? I¡¯m the governor-general of Chaodu. I won¡¯t be threatened by anyone. No matter where you dwell, who you are, you are my subjects.¡± Seeing Heaven¡¯s brush-off, the six patriarchs¡¯ faces cloud. A scarlet blood spider quietly climbs up to Heaven¡¯s foot. Chapter 15 - The King of the Forest Proofread by Yin Jing Among the six races, Zerg is the most ruthless one, about to kill others whenever they want. Any underpopulated race with mercy would have been exterminated by other races in the mountains. Led by Patriarch ZangTian, Zerg is a match for the other races in the age-long battles. All patriarchs look serious. Heaven knows that once he yields now, he will have to yield to them forever. ¡°Patriarchs, I know you are here for the sake of your people. Why get into age-long conflicts and xenophobia? For food? As a governor-general, I promise, if you are subjected to me, your people will never worry about food and drink on this land.¡± Heaven doesn¡¯t mention the court. ¡°Humph, even though we fight, it¡¯s none of your business. How dare you, an outsider ask for our subjection? Go to hell!¡± says the patriarch of Zerg. With his murmuring something, Heaven feels a sudden tingling from the foot. He bends over the desk dizzily. ¡°Patriarch ZangTian, no! The discussion is not over yet.¡± Blurts Seaman. It doesn¡¯t matter for other races. But for the populous Bear in need of food, it does. Seeing that Heaven has collapsed, Seaman can do nothing but shake his head helplessly ¡ª the venom of the blood spider is incurable. ¡°Patriarch Seaman, as you know, granted that he can survive from the venom, he will also go mad. Now that he is doomed, the discussion is meaningless. Farewell, I shall take a leave.¡± The Dwarf¡¯s patriarch sets out to leave. ¡°Wait. Who says I¡¯m doomed? And I¡¯m not mad! How can such a bug poison me? You really belittle me!¡± Heaven slowly raises his head. Actually, he is also at a loss ¡ª with a strike of dizziness he was unconscious, but for an instant a certain refreshing air woke him up! Heaven doesn¡¯t know the reason. In general, only if a soul becomes a deity can it cast off the Six-Realm bondage. Under that circumstance, it will be protected by the Universal Spirit. Some of these souls become gods, and others become devils. So long as they break away from the six realms, they are immortal. For them, neither severe injuries nor poisons will work. That¡¯s why Hell dare not meddle in their business. As for Heaven, he should have owed his immortality to Ox-headed and Horse-faced¡¯s mistake. However, as an ordinary man without supernatural power, he just maintains such immortality unconsciously with the help of the Universal Spirit ¡ª he still presumes the poison is too shoddy to take effect! The stunned patriarchs look at Heaven in astonishment. They exchange an excited look, then nod simultaneously. Without saying anything, the Centaur¡¯s patriarch fetches out a gold bow ¡ª in a second an arrow swooshes through Heaven¡¯s heart! That is the greatest treasure of Centaur. But this time, the rarely-used bow is used for Heaven. It doesn¡¯t let the target down. When the arrow penetrated Heaven, it was slightly diverted by a sudden white light that rose from Heaven¡¯s precordium. But it is enough to let him spit up blood. Aching and exasperated, Heaven shouts in rage, ¡°Shit! I will never let you off!¡± Reclining against the table, he glares at the Centaur¡¯s patriarch. With a serious look, all the patriarchs get up and slowly walk up to Heaven. Heaven is really contrite. Why did he ignore the tricker¡¯s advice? If so, at least he can enjoy a longer life! Now it¡¯s too late to do anything. Alas, tricker, I am sorry that I have no energy to tear off your letter! It seems that those races will get the goods on you. You are bound to be subject to them forever. The patriarchs eye one another, then all of a sudden they kneel down and say in chorus. ¡°We pay our respect to the king of the forest.¡± Am I insane in pain? Seeing the kneeling patriarchs, Heaven says to himself. Otherwise, how can I begin to hallucinate? ¡°My Lord, you don¡¯t know about this!¡± Seeing Heaven¡¯s vacant look, the Bird¡¯s patriarch says in excitement. ¡°Long time ago, the Goddess of Nature left our six races an oracle, saying that we¡¯re supposed to wait for the king of the forest to come. According to the oracle, he or she is the one that neither the blood spider¡¯s venom nor the gold bow¡¯s attack can kill. ¡± ¡°But what if you meet a detoxification specialist with a breastplate? So is he or she also your king?¡± Heaven queries in pain. ¡°The venom of blood spider is invincible, so is the arrow of gold bow. Your Grace, you are the one we keep waiting! Eventually you come here!¡± Seaman¡¯s eyes well with tears of delight. Gosh, I was nearly scared to death! With a bump, Heaven passes out. The King of the forest! What a distinguished person! Since that, the six races keep serving Heaven with aphrodisiac tonics like precious ganoderma and ginseng. Heaven is so nourished and satisfied that he wants sex all the time. He keeps thinking of Ruyan and Ruyu! In order to reassure the tricker, Heaven sends a guard to report to him. Lying on bed, Li Tian puts the erotic desire aside, and starts to consider the future development. The six races have already paid allegiance to him, so it¡¯s time to deal with those bandits. Why can they coexist with the powerful six races? Heaven summons all the patriarchs, and asks politely: ¡°Why are there still bandits roaming around this area region, regardless of your powerful people?¡± ¡°My Lord, you don¡¯t know.¡± Says Wan Shan, the Lizard¡¯s patriarch. ¡°The leaders of these two groups of bandits used to be a couple. They disagree with each other, thus respectively set up their own organizations. Both of them are superb martial artists proficient in tactics. Although they keep to themselves in peacetime, in wartime they will help each other. They get along well with all the races, taking advantage of our internal conflicts to develop. Our six races fight against external enemies together, but we also feud internally ¡ª for the sake of food!¡± When it comes to food, the Bear¡¯s patriarch is a bit dispirited. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. You can tell your men that as long as I¡¯m the governor-general of Chaodu, I¡¯ll solve the food problem for you.¡± ¡°A great lord! On behalf of the six races, I appreciate you, the king of the forest!¡± Says Seaman, then he kneels before Heaven.¡± ¡°Raise, please raise. Don¡¯t mention it, because we are a family!¡± Still suffering wounds, Heaven can do nothing but show his gratitude through words. Seaman bursts into tears. He stares at Heaven excitedly. ¡°My Lords, you won¡¯t know how many battles we have launched for the sake of food! And now your words enable nearly two million people in the forest to become a united family! Just as the goddess¡¯s oracle goes!¡± ¡°What? Two million?¡± Heaven is so startled the he almost falls off the bed! Gosh, how can he find so much food? They will eat him out of house and home! After pondering, Heaven replies. ¡°All right. The food supply can be guaranteed. But you should give me something in exchange. Every speciality in the mountain is OK.¡± ¡°My Lord, please rest assured. In such a large mountain, there is nothing more common than speciality! If specialities can be exchanged for food, people in all the races will take action.¡± Says the Dwarf¡¯s patriarch. ¡°Good. Now your six races are subjected to me. Those bandits shall pay their allegiance to me or perish. Now that you have a good relationship with them, send them a message and observe their reaction for me. ¡°Please count on us! Bears can wipe out their small stockades without effort. You just need to wait for the news. Within three days they will come here, otherwise I will be relentless!¡± The pugnacity of Bear is epitomized by the patriarch! As expected, within two days, the two leaders of bandits appear in front of Heaven. Indeed, threatened by Heaven¡¯s soldiers and the six races, if they do not choose to surrender, they will die! They walk over to Heaven¡¯s bed, holding their fists and saluting: ¡°Guo Jing and Huang Rong, pay their respect to the governor-general!¡± They say simultaneously. Oh my god, Guo Jing and Huang Rong? Their names sound the same as those of the hero and heroine in The Legend of The Condor Heroes (a famous Chinese martial arts fiction)! Gosh, what a coincidence! Heaven looks at them. Guo Jing is a burly man, while the woman seems spirited. ¡°Please raise. Forgive me, I am too weak to get out of bed and greet you! Seaman told me that you are masters of martial art and tactics, so I wonder whether you would like to join us?¡± To attract people with talents, Heaven must show his politeness! Guo Jing glances at Heaven. ¡°My Lord, you don¡¯t know, it was the oppression of those corrupt officials who drove us to revolt. What¡¯s worst, we are wanted by the court since we have been well-known as ¡®the Emperor of Force¡¯ and ¡®the Empress of Force¡¯ in the underworld of the Great An. I¡¯m afraid that my submission may have put you at a disadvantage!¡± Fuck, only a fool would let such good bodyguards go! ¡°Ha-ha!¡± Heaven says with a laugh. ¡°Please feel assured. Whoever follows me is my compatriot. Why should I comply with the Great An¡¯s convention? What I want is to reconstruct Chaodu and to transform it into a prosperous land. As for me, the emperor of the Great An is nothing. I don¡¯t buy his story.¡± Heaven¡¯s word terrifies Guo Jing and Huang Rong. Even Seaman is petrified, let alone Heaven¡¯s two guards, who nearly get fainted! Even though they are bandits, they dare not loosen up. How can they believe a governor-general should say such treasonous words! Having perceived the impact of his words, Heaven continues. ¡°In my heart, whoever follows me is my brother or my sister. I will spare no efforts to give you, my people and my compatriots, a good life, regardless of the most severe trials!¡± Alas, such a word will be more appealing if it is said by the tricker! At this moment, all people in the room kneel down in front of Heaven. Each of them bursts into tears excitedly. They chorus ¡°my Lord, may I follow you forever!¡± Gosh, have they rehearsed it? Otherwise how can they say in union? Thanks to the good air quality in the mountain, a few days later, Heaven gets back to his feet. Now he realizes why there are many monks and taoists keen on setting up temples in mountain ¡ª the pure air is natural, the vegetable is fresh, and the inhabitants here are unsophisticated, who take everything you loosen up seriously! Good days don¡¯t last long. A few days later, the tricker sends a messenger to the mountain. The emperor is about to pick up a Crown Prince. Thus officers of or above the rank of governor-general must return to the capital to attend the ceremony. Chapter 16 - Back to the Capital Proofread by Yin Jing Heaven returns to Chaodu. After arranging everything well, he goes to the capital with the tricker and three hundred followers. For the sake of Heaven¡¯s safety, each of the six races sends ten of their own martial art masters in company with Heaven. Guo Jing also becomes Heaven¡¯s bodyguard and assistant. Accompanied by ¡°the Emperor of Force¡±, Heaven really feels at ease! Huang Rong is in charge of the affairs of Chaodu. Meanwhile, the six races join in the task of construction. As for Old Gao, the butler, his main task is to develop the trade caravan and export goods from the mountain, which will be swapped for money, then food. Within less than two months, earth-shaking changes have taken place in Chaodu. Indeed, Many places are still under construction, but the mental state of people is much better. Before leaving, Heaven gives an order to the patriarchs ¡ª people of all nations are welcomed in Chaodu, but anyone intends to spy on Chaodu will be killed with no exception. Heaven returns to the capital with mixed feelings. Four months ago, he was nothing but an ignorant examinee, but now he is already a high-ranking official, the king of the forest, the leader of the six races! Did I ever do good deeds? I don¡¯t think so! Maybe that¡¯s because when I was a child, I have picked up a penny by the road, then handed it over to the police? The tricker is the happiest one among them. Seeing the cheering crowd and beauties throng to send them flowers, he nearly bursts into tears. ¡°Scum, do you see that? That¡¯s my life. My God, I do come back! I will no longer leave you!¡± He says to Heaven. Since Heaven returned to Chaodu, the tricker started calling him ¡°scum¡±. ¡°Bah! After the ceremony, you can stay here if you like. But I have to warn you, once everything in Chaodu is settled, you will find it difficult to return to Chaodu.¡± Leaving aside the tricker, Heaven urges the horse to rush forward ¡ª he has left the tricker¡¯s coach since he learned to ride horses. Considering the large number of people who follow him, Heaven rents a whole inn instead of staying in the courier hostel prepared for officials. Thanks to the furs and local products provided by the six races, Heaven earns a lot all the way. Now he can be regarded as wealthy. Of course, as a magistrate, he should also give some gifts to the officials in the court, which is a matter of convention. Undoubtedly, Heaven chooses to visit Grand Scholar Liu Dong at first. Even though Liu is pedantic, he has treated Heaven well. One must return any little help. Wearing shame on his face, Heaven presents him two catties of wild mushrooms, which is enough to get Liu moved. He holds Heaven¡¯s hands tightly with eyes filled with tears. As for the humor of scholars, ¡°It¡¯s the thought that counts.¡± Surely, Grand Scholar Liu receives a better gift than other officials, whose gifts are no more than a catty of pine nut. Even so, the mean tricker claims that the present is his and Heaven¡¯s. What else can we do? says the tricker. It¡¯s known to all that magistrates of hinterland are too poor to bribe! There are still a few days left before the ceremony. Having settled everything, Heaven puts casual clothes on, and hangs out with five of his men. After all, he hasn¡¯t enjoyed the view in the capital yet! In the center of the capital is located a grand square, where various vendors exhibit a bewildering variety of goods. Wherever Heaven goes, people keep away from them consciously. Well, it isn¡¯t because they realize that Heaven is somebody; it is because Heaven is followed by four gloomy muscular bodyguards of Bear race. In the bodyguards¡¯ and Guo Jing¡¯s company, Heaven really feels secure. What¡¯s more, no one will bother to assassinate a magistrate from hinterland! After walking around the square and buying many gadgets, they are hungry. Instead of returning to the inn, Heaven leads his followers into a luxurious restaurant, which seems to have such a good business that its hall is crowded with people. Finally they take their seats on the second floor. Knowing that Bears all have a gigantic appetite, Heaven says to the waiter, ¡°I¡¯d like to have 20 catties of beef, several delicious dishes and four jars of spirit.¡± The waiter is really startled. He intends to say something, but seeing the fearsome Bears, he chooses to swallow his words, nods in acknowledgement and walks to the kitchen. Their table is soon filled with dishes. Bears shovel meat into their mouths. Heaven and Guo Jing smile at each other. They just ignore the Bears, savoring the food slowly. ¡°The men upstairs, attention! My master is gonna have a party! Everyone irrelevant gets out of the way!¡± With a shout, a dozen servant-like wretches rush forward, driving nearly half of the consumers away. When there is someone reluctant to leave, they beat him up. In a moment, Heaven and his followers become the only ones who stay on the second floor. ¡°What? Don¡¯t you hear me?¡± Comes a servant with a stick in hand. Other people also gather around. In the past Heaven would be the fastest runaway, but now it¡¯s different. Now he is not only a man of condition but he is also accompanied by many tough men. Therefore, he doesn¡¯t even take a look at them. ¡°Blow! Throw them out!¡± That¡¯s all he says. Guo Jing doesn¡¯t have to take action¨Cwith meat still in their hands, Bears throw all these servants down without effort, as if what they throw were sacks of rubbish. Since they can walk, Bears are supposed to learn fight and exercise. What¡¯s more, they have inborn extraordinary strength! As for them, fighting with these servants is a piece of cake. ¡°How dare you beat my men? You are gonna die!¡± As a shout goes up, another dozen men come forward, among whom stands a domineering young man. Guo Jing eyes them, then says in a low voice. ¡°Your Grace, be careful. There are a few martial art experts among them.¡± ¡°Experts? Experts better than you?¡± Heaven asks cautiously. If they are more than ¡°the Emperor of Force¡± could manage, he should change his way of speaking! ¡°Huh! I think nothing of them! I¡¯m just worried about your safety.¡± Heaven is reassured, thus he says to the youth, ¡°Childish kid! Restaurant is a place for people to have meal. How can you drive everyone away? Have you ever been disciplined by your parents?¡± Actually, this guy is probably older than Heaven. So Heaven just wants to annoy him. ¡°Fuck, you court death! Master Du, whip him! Let him know what pain means!¡± As soon as the youth stops, a middle-aged man raises his hand. Whoosh! A soft whip is lashed out at Heaven. Like a vicious snake the whip goes straight to Heaven¡¯s face. At the same time Guo Jing raises his hand, too. With a crack, the end of the whip is held between a pair of chopsticks. When Guo Jing sways his wrist, the whip swerves back as if by the will of God. The fact that his own whip is to attack himself shocks the middle-aged man. If he avoids it, the young master will become the target of the whip! It is at this moment that a man in black beside the youth comes forward, resolving the crisis by grasping the whip. But what just happened is enough to make the childe pale with fear. The man in black has bright piercing eyes. He holds a fist salute, looking at Guo Jing. ¡°Excellent kung fu. I¡¯m He Bishi, the ¡®Ironhand¡¯. Who you are? Which organization do you belong to?¡± Guo Jing doesn¡¯t reply. Instead, he says to himself. ¡°Ironhand He Bishi? The one who used to manage escorts in the Northern part of underworld? How does he become a watchdog?¡± ¡°Humph, you¡¯d better be polite. I¡¯ve been amnestied and become the security manager of Qian Family. Apologize to me, or I will set you straight!¡± Right after he finishes, the childe shouts. ¡°Ignorant men! Do you know who I am? I¡¯m Qian Xiaocang, one of the four noblest childes in the capital. My dad is Qian Gui, the assistant minister of Ministry of Revenue. Now kowtow and confess to me, then get out of the restaurant. Otherwise all of you will come to a bad end!¡± Damn, he is the son of the old bastard, who proposed to send me to Chaodu! A malicious father and his annoying son! It¡¯s time for them to suffer the consequences. ¡°Ah, so it¡¯s you, Childe Qian. Nice to meet you.¡± Heaven puts on an expression of comprehension. Seeing that Heaven has caved in, Childe Qian gets tough at once. ¡°Fear me! In the capital, nobody dares to offend me. Kowtow and confess to me, give me 1000 taels of silver. Or I won¡¯t let you off¡ªmy uncle is the Tidu of nine cities!¡± Tidu of nine cities is the equal to Minister of Public Security in modern world. Therefore, the implication of Qian¡¯s words is that he will arrest Heaven if they refuse to obey him. ¡°Hey, what if we don¡¯t do that?¡± ¡°Humph, of course you can. Do you have any beautiful sisters? Let them be my servant girls. I will forgive you if they serve me well!¡± says Qian with a lascivious smile. Fuck. These words are enough for me to kill you, lest you continue to scourge others! Chapter 17 - Kill the Childe through Scheme Proofread by Yin Jing With anger in his heart, Heaven glares at Qian Xiaocang, as if he were a dead person. So do Guo Jing and the Bears. Qian Xiaocang is startled by their looks. Except for Heaven, all the other men went through countless fights, and their expressions are too intimidating for the childes in the capital! ¡°What, what are you doing? This is the capital! Do you want to do violence in broad daylight?¡± Qian Xiaocang¡¯s voice shakes with fear. All at once, four guards stand in front of him. He is right. If he is killed in broad daylight, Heaven and his followers will surely get into trouble. After all, this is the capital. ¡°Hey, Mr. Qian, kowtowing is too humiliating for decent men like you and me. Why not choose another solution? I¡¯m Li, not a local businessman lodging in Tonglin Inn. I¡¯ll not only give you 10000 taels of silver but also treat you to a feast tonight as an apology. In return, you¡¯ll let bygones be bygones, OK?¡± As soon as Heaven finishes, Bears all blurt out in surprise: ¡°Your¡­¡± ¡°Your? Your? Don¡¯t you listen to your brother? Shut up.¡± Heaven doesn¡¯t want to let these simple-minded Bears spoil his plan! Bears are confused, but they shut their mouths obediently. Guo Jing glances at Heaven, as if he has perceived Heaven¡¯s idea. ¡°10000 taels of silver? Ha-ha, all right! It¡¯s a deal. Give me the silver first.¡± Qian Xiaocang takes it for granted that he can take advantage of a nonlocal businessman. 10000 taels of silver is not a small sum¡ª it is more favorable than a kowtow! ¡°Sir, none of us brings notes. What do you think we give you the notes tonight?¡± Blackmail me? Go to hell and blackmail Hades! ¡°I suppose you dare not escape. See you tonight. Let¡¯s go.¡± Qian says and leaves along with his followers. Before leaving, the Ironhand (He Bishi) glances at Guo Jing. There appears an insidious smile on Heaven¡¯s face. He doesn¡¯t make any explanation to his followers. When the meal is over they hurry back to the inn. ¡°How is it going? Does anyone tail after us?¡± Heaven asks Guo Jing. ¡°Two men keep tracking us. Your Grace, shall we¡­¡± Guo Jing makes a slicing gesture with his hand by his neck. Heaven smiles. ¡°No. Make an arrangement for me, tonight we will take action. Besides, send for His Eminence secretly.¡± Heaven really shows respect for the tricker in the presence of others. Everything is ready. The tricker also secretly arrives at the inn¡ª he reaches here by sedan chair instead of his own coach. ¡°Scum, what do you want me for? I¡¯m busy preparing a congratulatory speech for the ceremony! Shit, my brain aches for this passage!¡± complains the tricker. ¡°Well, I¡¯d like to send the Crown Prince a present, but I¡¯m dithering over what to give. Finally, I decide to send this.¡± Says Heaven, taking out a big diamond. That¡¯s a treasure unearthed by Dwarfs. Heaven names it ¡°The Last Night Star¡±. ¡°O God! My Lord! How can such a treasure fall to a scum like you! This is a gift of God, which should be given back to God!¡± The tricker is green-eyed. ¡°Fuck you, don¡¯t do that before me. Threaten others with God! I don¡¯t buy your story. By no means will I give you.¡± ¡°Hey, bro! You see, I¡¯m planning to craft a holy crown, on which the diamond can just be mounted. As for the Crown Prince, send him any gift you like. Leave me, your brother, with the diamond please!¡± The tricker¡¯s mouth almost waters. He even turns to call Heaven ¡°bro¡±. ¡°Well, if a man is shameless, even ghosts and gods will fear! All right, I can give it to you, but!¡± ¡°But what? Just tell me. With me, nothing is impossible!¡± To get the diamond, the tricker really goes all out. ¡°OK. Tonight I invite several guests, you come and accompany them. But don¡¯t show your identity, for fear that they would get scared.¡± ¡°Bah! Is that all? Give me the diamond, you can let me do anything.¡± ¡°Great, deal. So long as you treat the guests well, I will give it to you on the spot; but remember not to reveal your identity, otherwise, you will never see it again.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I, a great Messenger always keep my word. Whoever draws back is the son of a bitch. I will conceal my identity all night long. I won¡¯t tell anybody I am the Messenger. And who is the Messenger? I don¡¯t know!¡± Alas, is that the God¡¯s Messenger adored by tens of thousands of people? He¡¯s more like a rascal! Qian Xiaocang arrives on time. His 20 retinues seem to be martial masters, the Ironhand He Bishi is among them. ¡°Mr. Qian, please sit down. It is a great honor to make friends with you.¡± Says Heaven, whose cheesy grin makes the tricker feel sick. When Qian¡¯s men have taken their seats, Heaven shouts: ¡°Serve our dishes!¡± Then he points to the tricker and says to Qian Xiaocang: ¡°This is a relative of my own clan, a countryman, who knows little of the world. You can just call him Doggie.¡± The tricker actually frequents Qian Gui¡¯s house. Since they usually talk in the hall, he never meets Qian Gui¡¯s son. Qian Xiaocang has seen the tricker before, when he was in his holy robe, assuming a sacred appearance. Tonight, the tricker puts on a little hat and wears a motley coat. With a false beard on his chin, he looks like a landlord! Hearing that he was called Doggie, the tricker tends to get mad at once. Heaven gesticulates a circle, saying in a low voice, ¡±Come on, if you don¡¯t want to have the diamond, just tell me.¡± Hearing this, the tricker is discouraged immediately. After a few drinks and dishes, all other people are busy with flattery and blandishment. The tricker whispers to Heaven: ¡°I know your heart is blacker than coal. Do you want to gain something from this idiot?¡± ¡°Damn, am I so shameless?¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you?¡± It is about the time. Heaven stands up and says to the tricker. ¡°Cousin, it¡¯s unsafe for me to keep your treasure. I¡¯d better return it to you!¡± Saying so, he takes ¡°The Last Night Star¡± out and hands it to the tricker on the spot. Even though the tricker senses there is something insinuating in Heaven¡¯s words, when he sees the diamond, his eyes light up. He takes it over without hesitation¡ªthat¡¯s why he has been reconciled to be called Doggie! ¡°Wait! Gosh, what is that?! I have never seen such a big diamond!¡± says Qian Xiaocang. Then he grabs the diamond from the tricker ¡ª Heaven has deliberately made them sit close to each other. Qian Xiaocang¡¯s eyes also light up. Unwilling to let the diamond out of his hands, he turns to Heaven. ¡°Mr. Li, I don¡¯t want the money. I just want to take this diamond.¡± ¡°Sorry, I¡¯m not the owner; this is my cousin¡¯s.¡± With a smile, Heaven looks at the tricker. ¡°Oh, Doggie! Present the diamond to me, and I will give you more benefits in the future.¡± Focusing on the diamond, Qian Xiaocang doesn¡¯t notice that Doggie has already been shivering with fury. The tricker has been purple with rage since Qian Xiaocang snatched the diamond. Except for Heaven, no one dares to treat him in that way, and in the capital, even the emperor will take care of his feeling! But now he is called Doggie (what a vulgar name!); what¡¯s worse, his possession is snatched! ¡°Doggie! The hell Doggie! Get your dirty hands off me. I am the God¡¯s Messenger!¡± Damn, the tricker is too mad to maintain his image. ¡°How dare you yell at me! The God¡¯s Messenger? If you were the God¡¯s Messenger, then I should be the Sun God! Shit.¡± Qian Xiaocang raises his feet, kicks the tricker to the ground. As a man who knows a little Kung Fu, he kicks him with strength. ¡°Mess, what a mess! Come, beat him as hard as possible!¡± The tricker knows that Heaven brings more than 300 martial masters. ¡°Assassination! Kill him!¡± Heaven also gives an order. What the tricker said is to beat the childe, but what Heaven said is to kill him. With ten swooshes, Qian Xiaocang¡¯s 10 guards are killed instantly. Heaven¡¯s 10 Centaurs are all sharp shooters. With a surprise attack, they kill their enemies with arrows through their throats. ¡°Damn! Young Master, we are tricked. Go away fast!¡± As a veteran, He Bishi quickly realizes what has happened. Qian Xiaocang¡¯s face goes pale with fear. With the protection of his guards, he fights and retreats from the inn. In the darkness, with a few silhouettes flashing by, a few more people fall down beside Qian Xiaocang. The Lizards¡¯ skill of changing color is formidable. Another wave of arrows falls. This time, Qian Xiaocang is killed by an arrow. Except for He Bishi who escapes with an injury, all the others lose their lives. At this moment, Guo Jing comes with ten Bears. ¡°Your Grace, all the spies outside have been killed. To my surprise, some of them are notorious bandit leaders. If I were not there, it would have been hard to defeat them.¡± ¡°Good job. You¡¯ve been so hardworking ! Now please step out¡ªone more play is about to begin.¡± After handling the people outside, Heaven returns to the hall of the inn. The tricker is still clutching his stomach and groaning. Heaven raises him up. ¡°Put on your robe quickly! Those officers are coming.¡± ¡°So what? Shit, I am not afraid of them! How dare he kick me? No, that is an assassination! An absolute assassination! Monstrous crime! He will be punished by God!¡± ¡°Well, well, whoever needs to be punished has been punished. They all died.¡± Sure enough, a few moments later, the inn is besieged by a crowd of officers and soldiers. A commander with a saber in hand shouts to the inn: ¡°Listen! People inside, how dare you commit murder in the capital?! Come out and surrender, or you will all be killed!¡± Chapter 18 - File the Complaint to the Emperor Proofread by Yin Jing Rows of soldiers draw bow-strings against the inn. Whoever dares to disobey will be immediately shot like a hedgehog. ¡°How dare you shout outside, Heaven Li, the governor-general of Chaodu and God¡¯s Messenger are here, anyone cannot be rude.¡± Guo Jing¡¯s voice is not loud enough, but with internal force, which makes the soldiers outside hear clearly. ¡°Governor-general Li? And the God¡¯s Messenger?¡± The commander is a little puzzled. Is this true or false? A report came to him that someone here intended to murder Childe Qian Xiaocang , which frightened him extremely. The childe is the son of the minister of Ministry of Rites, and the nephew of their top boss! The tricker comes out with a serious and inviolable face. Heaven follows him and looks around at the solders. The tricker opens his hands and says, ¡°Children of God, put down your bows and arrows. In the light of love, God will bless you best, Alasika.¡¯¡¯ Soldiers have never seen the governor-general Li, but they are more than familiar with the God¡¯s Messenger. They all gather up their bows and arrows and kneel down on the ground to salute him. The commander comes down from his horse, steps forward, kneels down on one leg, and says, ¡°Zhang Liang, the chief inspector of the city, pays respects.¡± ¡®¡¯The great Sun God, your light will drive away the darkness. Stand up, children of God.¡± ¡°Zhang, just now I was talking about the Crown Prince with His Eminence, I didn¡¯t expect that someone should assassinate His Eminence. At present, the ceremony is about to begin, so I think the assassin wants to destroy the ceremony. Without blessing from the Sun God, the prince will not become the Crown Prince. Such an event is related to the rise and fall of the country. Such an assassination is serious enough to invite the execution of the assassin¡¯s whole clan. You must carry out a thorough investigation. I will report everything to His Majesty. You can take the dead body away now and must find out who he is.¡± Heaven overstates the case lest anyone dares to intercede. The commander is so scared that he sweats. Assassinating God¡¯s Messenger is a really big crime. He even doesn¡¯t need to check it out¡ªwho could fail to know the Childe Qian? He¡¯d better report back first. This is not his business. After Zhang leaves with the dead body, Guo Jing immediately asks people to clean the inside and outside of the inn, and it becomes clean again. ¡°Tricker, you also should return, and I will let someone send you back.¡± ¡°Wait, you haven¡¯t given me your diamond yet.¡± ¡°We¡¯ve agreed that you are not allowed to reveal your identity tonight. You don¡¯t keep your promise, so ¡­After shooting Qian Xiaocang, the diamond is naturally returned to Heaven.¡± ¡°Fuck, don¡¯t do that. You used me and then you want to abandon me? I¡¯m neither a fool nor your ¡®Doggie¡¯! If you don¡¯t give me the diamond, you¡¯re screwed.¡± It seems that the tricker is not stupid. ¡°Hey, I can see it. All right, here you are.¡± With that, Heaven takes out the diamond. The tricker grabsit, hides it in his arms, and then breathes a sigh of relief. ¡°Don¡¯t you want to know who the sucker is?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care who he is. Inside the capital, I don¡¯t fear anyone.¡± ¡°Well, that¡¯s good. I have been afraid that when Qian Gui asks you about that, you can¡¯t even know how to explain.¡± ¡°Bah! I haven¡¯t feared anyone! ¡­Wait, who are you talking about? Qian Gui? ¡± ¡°Well, that boy is his son.¡± ¡°Fuck, you are killing me this time. I have had a good relationship with Qian Gui. What can I say to him then? Why do you bother to mess with his family? His brother-in-law is the Commander in chief of the nine cities, while his eldest brother, Qian Fu, is the military marshal of the northwestern frontier!¡± The tricker scratches his bald head anxiously. ¡°Ah! Listen, it is you that gave the order. I invited people to dinner with me out of kindness. You were kicked and you asked my men to kill him. how can this be my business?¡± Heaven says with a very wronged tone. ¡°Me? When did I call your men to kill him? ¡± When it comes to the incident just now, the tricker also forgets whether he said ¡°beating¡± or ¡°killing¡±. ¡°You can ask my men, why, are you afraid?¡± Heaven smiles, looking at him. ¡°Bah! I am the God¡¯s Messenger and I am not afraid.¡± What a typical rogue! ¡°Then all right. When the time comes, we will be on the throne of the palace. We insist that he kill you. No one dares to offend us any more.¡± The tricker stares at Heaven with his small eyes. After a long time, he said: ¡°It is despicable, too despicable and shameless, all right. Don¡¯t change our story. Great God, forgive Heaven. It¡¯s time for me to leave.¡± In their plot, murder is nothing but an easy thing. Early next morning, in the imperial hall, Qian Gui and the commander-in-chief of the nine cities are crying like bitches who have been gang-raped. ¡°Your Majesty, please do me justice! My poor child! Woo! ¡± ¡°Your Majesty, my nephew died wrongfully. Please do me justice!!¡± The two men burst into tears. Civil and military officials feel confused. They all look at the two and quietly talk about them. ¡°How dare you as ministers cry in the imperial hall!¡± Liu Dong looks at them. ¡°You two ministers, what happened? Why both of you cry like this?¡± The emperor asks in puzzle. Qian Gui has been crying for a long time and could not say a word. It is his brother-in-law who told the story again. ¡°Your majesty, there is something you don¡¯t know. Last night, my nephew was killed when he was out for drinking. Only one of his guards escaped, who also suffers serious injuries. All the others were killed. Your majesty, please do me justice.¡± Saying that , Qian Gui kneels down. ¡°What? How daring they are! Have you ever caught them?¡± Hearing this, even the emperor is shocked, let alone the civil and military officials. Last night, He Bishi, the Ironhand was injured and escaped. But his injury was not serious. Heaven let him go deliberately so as to let him call the officials to come over and make the tricker get involved. He Bishi knew that the situation was serious, and fearing that Heaven would escape, he reported it to the official first and followed him secretly to the inn. After seeing things clearly, he felt that it was a matter of great importance and went to the office to report to Qian Gui. When he was reporting, Qian Gui passed out on the spot. As a veteran, He Bishi immediately sent someone to ask the commander-in-chief of the nine cities. Hardly had the messenger set out, the Tidu came in a hurry. Assassinating God¡¯s Messenger and disrupting the ceremony are serious enough to destroy the whole clan. He does not want his clan to be executed because of this nephew. Qian Gui wakes up with great difficulty. Angrily, he is going to take someone to catch the murderer. But hearing that his son not only intended to assassinate the God¡¯s Messenger, but also disrupted the grand ceremony on purpose, he faints again with a clash. The angry commander-in-chief pours a bucket of cold water directly on Qian Gui¡¯s head, finally stimulating his brother-in-law to consciousness again. ¡°Brother, how can you faint now! Our whole clan is likely to be executed!¡± The commander-in-chief of nine cities, Zhou Zhong, has only one sister. If something happens to Qian Gui, his future will be finished and he himself will be implicated. Qian Gui is anxious, angry and distressed. Qian Xiaocang is the apple of his eye. Now this only son suddenly passed away, and he feels extremely miserable, as if a knife were stabbed in his heart. After hearing He Bishi¡¯s description, Qian Gui clenches his teeth bitterly. ¡°Heaven Li, I¡¯m going to break you into ten thousand pieces to relieve my hatred!¡± The two old immediately know that Qian Xiaocang has been tricked. However, if this trick is not solved, the whole family would suffer. ¡°Brother, I have suspended the news, but we have to come up with a perfect solution.¡± Qian Gui also slowly calms down, ¡°Hum, Heaven wants to win, that is impossible. God¡¯s Messenger, I used to treat you well, how did you treat me like that? Don¡¯t blame me for being ruthless.¡± ¡°Men, send a pigeon mail to my eldest brother of the border, telling him to be prepared in case of any accident. Zhou Zhong, you should send someone to closely monitor Heaven. Don¡¯t let him escape. The Ironhand, you call up soldiers secretly trained by us and prepare everything. I will go to court with Zhou Zhong early tomorrow morning. Let¡¯s report him first. Hum, how could he describe it as assassination? His Eminence seems to be hoodwinked by Heaven. There is no witness to prove who is right. His Eminence has got along well with me for many years, and he wouldn¡¯t strike me when I am down.¡± In this way, they discusses a plan. That¡¯s why they file the complaint to the emperor in the imperial hall. Zhou Zhong kneels down in the hall. Hearing the emperor¡¯s question, he cries and says: ¡°Your Majesty, the assailant has not been caught yet. Fortunately, he is being monitored by my men. But I cannot act without authorization.¡± According to the law of the Great An, officials above the governor need the emperor¡¯s approval to be punished, so Zhou Zhong also dare not arrest him without permission. ¡°Oh? Why not? ¡± The emperor asks doubtfully. ¡°Because he is a court official.¡± ¡°What? Is the murderer is here right now?¡± The emperor is surprised. ¡°No, no, Your Majesty, he is an local minister. He is Heaven Li, the governor-general of Chaodu!¡± His words are really astonishing. It is indeed a problem that a local official killed the son of a court minister. However, Heaven is different. From the perspective of court-ministers, Chaodu is a dispensable place and Heaven is a nominal governor-general. None of them will offend Qian Gui because of him. Therefore, civil and military officials unanimously demand that the murderer be severely punished and the law be strictly enforced. The emperor shouts, ¡°Someone goes and announces Heaven to enter the palace.¡±