Mythical Three Kingdoms

”Let’s head directly to Sili,” Li Jin said with a smile on his face, yet he didn’t notice a white line rushing towards the gate of Shanyang Commandery City.

”Eh, what are these White Horses?” Li Dian, with his sharp eyes, rode forward and instantly spotted the White Horse Righteous Followers at the city gates. Then, the large ”Zhao” on their banner made him immediately realize who they were.

”Zhao Yun!” Li Dian gritted his teeth as he looked at the exceptionally graceful man riding a white horse under that large banner. Although the man was twice his age, he appeared almost as young as Li Dian himself.

”Let’s go.” By then, Li Jin had also seen Zhao Yun, but his demeanor remained exceedingly calm because he knew that now was absolutely not the time to reveal any inkling of other thoughts. The slightest impact on Li Dian’s state of mind might mean the end of the Li Family of Shanyang.

Zhao Yun frowned as he looked in Li Dian’s direction. He had sensed a thread of killing intent from that way but, upon looking again, he saw only a group of merchants transporting goods. If it had been someone ruthless like Lyu Bu, he might have gone straight there to inquire, but Zhao Yun did not have the mindset of ”rather killing wrongly than letting go.”

”I am Zhao Yun, under the command of the General of the East, here to take over Shanyang. Where is the Prefectural Governor?” Zhao Yun let go of tracking that fleeting killing intent and started his official duties. For Zhao Yun, occupying Shanyang was far more important than finding an enemy who dared not show his face. His strength gave him tremendous confidence.

Shortly, the Prefect of Shanyang, Zhao Yu, appeared before Zhao Yun with the official seal, and Zhao Yun simply ordered the posting of decrees to pacify the people, sent men to survey the households, redefined the fields and acres, and opened the granaries to distribute grain.

”Let’s go.” Li Jin led Li Dian and the rest of the Li Family’s younger generation to depart. As for the local Aristocratic Clans, Chen Xi’s consistent policy had been if you wish to leave, then leave; if not, then abide by the rules obediently.

”This group...” Zhao Yun, with a furrowed brow, watched as the Li Family escorted their family’s wealth and goods towards the city outskirts. He could sense that the entourage shipping the Money and Grain clearly had military origins.

”General, this group is from the largest Family in Shanyang Commandery, the Li Family of Shanyang. They previously had a considerable connection with Governor Cao,” Zhao Yu promptly stepped forward to clear up Zhao Yun’s puzzled look.

”Li Family of Shanyang?” Zhao Yun tilted his head. ”Never heard of them, let them go.” Zhao Yun, even with a good memory, wouldn’t remember the names of the foot soldiers he had casually slaughtered.

”So strong...” Once out of the city, Li Dian felt a dampness on his back; a mere casual glance from Zhao Yun had given him a sense of an insurmountable force.

”It’s not just strength. In today’s world, perhaps only Lyu Bu is certain to win against him. It would be difficult for anyone else to defeat him,” Li Jin exhaled a breath of turbid air and said, ”Let’s hurry and leave this place. This time, Liu Bei was surprisingly lax and did not conduct a strict investigation.”

”It’s probably because they simply don’t care about us. What’s crucial to us is just a minor matter to them,” Li Dian, after all, understood human thought processes better than Li Jin. To some extent, if it weren’t for the Li Family holding him back, Li Jin wouldn’t be much different from someone like Zuo Ci.

”That’s also true,” Li Jin nodded and said, ”Still, Yanzhou has now become Liu Bei’s territory, so we’d better leave quickly. I can already see the Dragon Rising of the Northwest.”

Li Dian grimaced. What had troubled him the most over the past year was Li Jin’s occasional talk of Fate, Vitality Number, fortune, and such—he didn’t really believe in those things at all.

”Rest assured, we will eventually return; Yuan Benchu’s Vitality Number is far more formidable than that of the Han Dynasty. Yuan Benchu is destined to win. Although Liu Bei is strong, he merely relies on the lingering dragon spirit of the Han Dynasty, which is nowhere near the Vitality Number of Yuan Benchu,” Li Jin said confidently as he glanced at a location in the southern part of Jizhou.

Then he looked towards Mount Tai, where the signs of a Dragon Rising were indeed present, but they were far less significant than the dragon spirit Li Jin had discovered along the border of Jizhou and Yanzhou. The Vitality Number, almost comparable to that of a nation’s fate, was hidden and not manifest. Did this imply that Yuan Shao’s current situation was merely a Hidden Dragon in the abyss?

If Li Youu knew the exact location Li Jin was now observing, he would be shocked. The Two Xuanyuan Cauldrons he had forged were buried at that spot, and the dragon spirit hovered above the two cauldrons. What is known as turning the false into the true, this was it; if Li Youu were to dig them out now, even if he claimed they were fake, no one would believe him.

This was also because Li Youu’s skills were not mastered. After all, he knew a little bit of everything—Feng Shui, fate numbers, and he indeed chose an excellent spot to bury them for the sake of deception.

Ironically, in his effort to create a semblance of authenticity, Li Youu meticulously selected the exact location, which was where the true Two Xuanyuan Cauldrons had vanished.

Although the Two Xuanyuan Cauldrons had disappeared, the dragon spirit was still suppressed beneath, and the Divine Stone that landed there became the new vessel. If Li Youu refrained from digging it up, in a few hundred years, a Beautiful Jade more powerful than the Hei Clan Jade capable of suppressing the nation’s fate would have been born at that location.

After all, the Hei Clan Jade could only suppress for three hundred years, this Beautiful Jade, if it came to be, could suppress for six hundred years. Unfortunately, there were no what-ifs; Li Youu did dig them up, and also buried the cauldrons there, which led to the current situation.

Incidentally, it was only by unintentionally using a spell from the Taiping Qingling Dao that Li Jin managed to detect this. Otherwise, even oddities like Zuo Ci or Nanhua flying overhead would have trouble noticing it, as the dragon Qi was bound within the cauldrons.

That is to say, even though the cauldron is still a forgery, it now has the same effect on suppressing the nation’s fate as the legendary Two Xuanyuan Cauldrons. One cauldron for three hundred years, far surpassing the hundred years of each of King Yu’s Nine Cauldrons. Zhou bestowed one to the Lu Kingdom, and as a result, they only had eight hundred years left...

Naturally, if you were to dig this up, no matter what you say, there are too many who can prove its authenticity. Eyes like those of Zuo Ci and other Daoist priests are not blind; they can discern the truth. Plus, the fakes created bear the same effects as the real things, making any attempt to refute their authenticity futile.

You see, after the Martial Emperor’s Yuann Cauldron, the Han Dynasty’s fate lasted exactly three hundred years, which in metaphysics indicates that the Xuanyuan Three Cauldrons inherently contained three hundred years of dynastic power. Considering the state of affairs during the late Martial Emperor’s reign, without going into detail, it is understandable that uncovering six hundred years of national fate is something worth fighting for.

Of course, the reason why the nation’s fate at the location observed by Li Jin seemed so prosperous is too simple—carrying six hundred years of dynastic power. How could a regular emperor possibly surpass the inherent dynastic power of such an artifact? Typically, the combined fates of founding emperors and generals are just a few decades to a little over a hundred years.

Speaking of which, Chen Xi actually inherently possessed one hundred years of national fate. For each year he lived, he added one year to the national fate, comparable to one of King Yu’s Nine Cauldrons, and with good luck, he might even extend it further.

That is why sometimes the dragon spirit of Mount Tai is seen in one form, at other times in another form, and occasionally it scurries all over the place, since Chen Xi is constantly on the move, so is the nation’s fate.

However, as long as he does not leave Mount Tai for an extended period, the dragon spirit of Mount Tai appears relatively normal. Should he part from Liu Bei for too long, the dragon spirit of Mount Tai may lose its shape completely and transform back into a mass of Golden Cloud. (To be continued. If you like this work, please come to Qidian ) to cast your recommendation votes and monthly votes. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read at m.qidian.com.)