Chapter 428
Chapter 428 The Queen Mother and the Jade Emperor
Before Bai Ze and Youqin Xuanya could react, Li Changshou bowed to the sky and said loudly, “I understand.”
Then, he stood up and looked at Youqin Xuanya, who could not help but stand up.
Youqin Xuanya’s eyes were filled with confusion. Her fair and slender fingers intertwined with each other, and her icy-blue dress swayed like water ripples. She looked a little lost.
Bai Ze smiled and said, “Did Grand Pure One give you an order after hearing our conversation?”
“Mr. Bai, you’re wrong.” Li Changshou sighed and said, “Teacher has been devising strategies and plotting for thousands of years. He must have long known about the Jade Emperor. He’s just giving me a little reminder. Don’t hesitate and cause trouble.”
Bai Ze frowned and pondered. Is this the difference between me and the Water God…? It puts me in despair.
Youqin Xuanya was confused. However, Li Changshou did not say much, and she did not dare to ask further. She did not know what had happened.
I heard Senior Brother Changshou and Bai Ze start to discuss the division of labor. They seem to want Mr. Bai to pay attention to Lingle’s safety at all times. Senior Brother Changshou also divided a portion of his attention and stayed in the South Continent.
Youqin Xuanya took the initiative to ask, “Senior Brother Changshou, is there anything I can do?”
“You can’t participate in the matters we’re discussing for now.” Li Changshou smiled and said, “When you’re cultivating in the mountain, remember to revise the actions I taught you previously.”
“Okay!”
Youqin Xuanya cupped her fists and agreed. When she saw that Li Changshou and Bai Ze were still discussing the matter of the teacher, she summoned the Fire Scale Sword Case and went to an empty space not far away.
Youqin Xuanya took a deep breath. A faint golden light shone around her, making her snow-white skin look even more translucent.
She pointed out a water mirror in front of her and reflected her figure. Then, she grabbed the hilt of the Fire Scale Sword Case with her left hand and gently handed it forward. Her body leaned to the side, and her slender figure surged with dazzling light. Her entire body was full of heroic spirit, like a female Martial God.
“The vicissitudes of the righteous path!” Youqin Xuanya’s face turned red. She retracted her sword and thought about how she could improve her expression. Beside the pool, Bai Ze hugged his arms and nudged Li Changshou with his shoulder. “Youqin Xuanya will definitely be famous in the trichiliocosm. When does the Water God plan to let her go to the Heavenly Courts?”
“In three to five years.” Li Changshou picked up the teacup and took a sip. “It depends on her intentions. Although I’ve made so many arrangements, I don’t want to force her to do anything.” Bai Ze pursed his lips and said calmly, “Water God, you’re being a little unreasonable. I’m doing this for you, yet you still say that. Sometimes, the Water God would subconsciously avoid some responsibilities. It is indeed to avoid karma, but it is not beautiful. Since you let her take this path, why can’t you give her a clear order? She is just a disciple of Ren School, but Water God, you’re already a disciple recognized by the Saint. It’s not a big deal to bear some pressure for her.”
Li Changshou thought carefully and smiled. “Mr. Bai, you’re right. I didn’t think it through. Next, I’ll arrange it for Xuanya.”
“The Water God is thoughtful and considerate. The Water God thinks about people, and there are always flaws. Hahahaha, don’t take it to heart, Water God.”
Li Changshou shook his head and turned to look at Ling’e. He began to plan his next step.
Half a day later, the paper effigy that Li Changshou had hidden beside the Jade Emperor and the Queen Mother moved again after many years. Two paper effigies flew out of the ground. One of them transformed into a middle-aged scholar and changed into a brocade robe. He held a folding fan and placed the other paper effigy in his sleeve.
Just like that, he swaggered towards the bustling city wall.
In his heart, the “script” regarding the Jade Emperor and the Queen Mother’s Tribulation that was modified by the Queen Mother appeared. In this life, the Jade Emperor was born rich. His father was the guardian of this city. He controlled a mortal army and was famous within a 500-kilometer radius. The Jade Emperor’s body during the Tribulation Transcendence was called Hua Youming. He had been mischievous since he was young and had dominated an area in the backyard of the General’s Residence. He hated literature and was good at martial arts. He was sloppy, rough, and easily arrogant. That was the setting of the script. It was not the Jade Emperor’s personality! The ordinary officials looked serious.
The Queen Mother’s Tribulation Body was the Eldest Young Lady of the local City Lord Residence. She was gentle and virtuous, and her name was Xia Ningshuang. Due to the fact that the Jade Emperor and Queen Mother’s souls had undergone the Tribulation, their appearances after they became adults were similar to their main bodies. Therefore, Xia Ningshuang had long been named a beauty. According to the script set by the Queen Mother, the Hua family and the Xia family were close to each other. As for Xia Ningshuang, she had liked to torment Hua Youming since she was young. Every time the two of them met, she would tease him.
Li Changshou originally did not want to come to the mortal world himself…
Intervening in the Jade Emperor and the Queen Mother’s tribulation was something that required a lot of effort.
However, he could not resist the instruction to ‘go’. He could only brace himself and arrive at the city. He would have an unexpected ‘encounter’ with the Jade Emperor and the Queen Mother.
What… did he encounter?
Before Li Changshou entered the city, he scanned with his immortal senses and discovered a young man shouting in a teahouse. The young man had sword-like eyebrows and starry eyes. He was carefree and unrestrained. Although it was a hot day, he was wearing a black mink coat and his body was slanted. On his left and right, sixteen people in armor and eight people in servants’ shirts occupied the first few tables. On the wooden platform at the side of the teahouse, a few young women were playing and singing. They were singing a little tune that made one’s bones tingle. They were playing a gentle and low tune. Their standards were quite good. The teahouse was almost full. The waiters of the teahouse were running around, sending tea, snacks, coins, and gold. They wanted everything to be stable, and their feet were light and silent. After the song ended, an old man in the corner of the teahouse stood up and cheered. However, just as he shouted halfway, he was stopped by someone who was with him.
“Do you want to die? Did Young Master Hua allow you to shout?”
On the soft couch in the front row of the teahouse, the young master dressed in a mink in summer calmly cleared his throat and raised his hand to clap gently.
“Reward.”
A servant immediately carried a tray and walked forward. He casually scattered some gold and silver to the other ladies and sent a pair of expensive bracelets to the young girl who was playing the lute.
The young girl’s face was flushed red. She stood up and bowed to the young general of the Hua Residence. She said gently, “Thank you, Young Master.”
“That’s all for today.” The young man stood up and said, “Don’t tire yourself out. I’ll come and see you tomorrow.”
The young girl hurriedly said, “Yes, Young Master.” The group of armed guards and servants immediately stood up and lined up behind the young man. They swaggered out of the tea house.
Just as he was about to leave, the manager of the teahouse ran over and bowed to the young man. Then, he asked softly, “Young Master Hua, when are you going to bring Yingying back to the residence? Yingying’s master and his wife have been urging me to tell you that you have given them enough. They are really uneasy…”
“Come.” The young man waved his hand. He, who was almost an adult, hooked his arm around the manager’s neck.
The manager’s forehead was covered in cold sweat. The young man looked at the street without any focus and said calmly, “I’m just watching a performance and I have to bring the one playing the song home? If I come here to drink a few more cups of tea, should I buy your tea house too?”
“This, this…” The manager’s mouth trembled.” Young Master Hua, don’t misunderstand. I’m just…” The young man sneered and patted the shoulder of the teahouse’s manager before leading his men away. At the corner of the street, Li Changshou witnessed that scene. He covered his face with his fan and really could not bear to watch it.
He did not know what expression the Jade Emperor would have when he recalled the “arrogant” years after the Jade Emperor’s tribulation ended.
According to the script set by the Queen Mother, Young Master Hua should be around 17 or 18 years old. He would have to experience huge ups and downs, lose his wealth, and live in poverty. Then, he would marry into the Queen Mother’s residence and live a peaceful life for a few years. Then, his family would fall once again… That was the result of the two scripts overlapping. Of course, these were all fated paths. There was a possibility of changing one’s fate. The trajectory set by the Book of Life and Death was not constant. Uh, imagine the Jade Emperor’s reincarnation. Standing on the city wall, raising his sword and yelling into the sky, “God, my life is my own!” That scene would be really classic!
However, considering the emotions of the Dao Ancestor and the Jade Emperor, Li Changshou still had to do some work to prevent that from happening.
Li Changshou pondered for a while and followed behind. He first understood the temperament of the Jade Emperor’s tribulation body and then understood the situation of the Queen Mother’s tribulation body. Finally, he decided what to do next. Tsk, when he thought about how he had been ordered by the Saint to arrange for the Jade Emperor and the Queen Mother… It was also quite exciting.
Li Changshou followed Hua Youming for half a month.
He saw the playboy side of Hua Youming. He was playing casually in the city, walking south and north, visiting stalls and drinking tea. He was chatting and bragging to the young masters of the other wealthy families in the city. Then, he was tricked by an older scion to go to the brothel. In the end, he was captured by a deputy general of the Hua Residence.
He had also witnessed the scene of Hua Youming being ridiculed when he met his other friends because of that matter.
Hua Youming walked into the upper floor of a restaurant. All the young masters who were drinking looked at him and laughed. Some shouted, “Young Master Hua, did your mother catch you again?” Hua Youming’s eyes widened. He lifted the hem of his robe and stuffed it into his belt. He quickly walked up and beat up the few people who were talking and laughing, causing them to be in a miserable state.
Then, Hua Youming grabbed the pouches of the young masters and threw them into the hands of the shop assistants who wanted to stop the fight but did not dare to move forward.
“These young masters will pay for all the expenses in this restaurant today.”
The entire restaurant instantly cheered. It was lively both outside and inside. At the same time, Li Changshou also understood why those red strings appeared. A year ago, Hua Youming had just left the Hua Residence and become good friends with a group of young masters from wealthy families. He had bragged about it.
At his age, Hua Youming was already a little restless. When his friends beside him were bragging, one of them shouted, “I want to marry ten!” and the other shouted, “I want to marry twenty!”
Hua Youming snorted coldly. He pulled open his lapel and revealed the word ‘ambition’ was written on it.
“I want more women to be happy!”
Hence, he became famous after the battle.
Under such circumstances, Hua Youming began to become a little frivolous and irritable. After a while, he really liked a few girls. However, he was muddle-headed and his mother was very strict. He did not dare to cause trouble.
Love could be deep or pure lust.
Hua Youming belonged to the latter. He projected it onto the clay figurine of marriage, which led to the situation in the Hall of Marriage.
How should I guide him? Li Changshou was not in a hurry to rush to the Hua Residence. Instead, he began to investigate the situation inside and outside the city. He listed out the relationships between the mortal factions within thousands of kilometers.
Since it concerned the Jade Emperor, he had to be more stable.
At that moment, Li Changshou did not want to be the “teacher” of the Jade Emperor’s tribulation. After thinking about it, he decided to sneak into the Hua Residence and be a study companion… Hua Residence? High-level study companion? He seemed to have seen this episode somewhere in his previous life. Li Changshou smiled and began his first attempt. He transformed into a young man and carried a backpack. He was travel-worn. When he arrived at the back door of the Hua Residence, he was about to approach when he was stopped by two soldiers. “Stop! What are you doing?”
“I’m a student who studies strategies. Due to the decline of my family and the fact that I don’t have the ability to sustain a livelihood, I came to the residence to ask if there are any lack of study companions here.”
“No.”
“You two…”
“Release the dogs.” Li Changshou widened his eyes. Before he could say anything, the back door of the courtyard opened. A few cute little dogs that were four to five inches tall rushed out and chased Li Changshou for three streets.
The ruthlessness of the two guards really made the ordinary gods of the Heavenly Courts admire them.
Li Changshou secretly went back to the back door and pondered over the Hua Residence.
At that moment, a middle-aged man in a long robe and a beard came over and muttered to Li Changshou, “Buddy, do you also want to enter the Hua Residence to pass time?”
“Oh?” Li Changshou smiled and said, “Buddy, do you have a solution?”
“Of course, we are heroes who specially help people like you who want to enter the Hua Residence to work, but we have no way to do so.” The middle-aged man waved his thumb behind him. “We will pretend to be corpses. Later, you will push us to the back door and cry more miserably. The lady of the residence is soft-hearted. If you cry, she will definitely accept you… Hey, don’t go. Aren’t you going to ask about the price? We will only charge you a year’s salary after you enter the residence, which you can pay in two annual installments! Brother… Psht! Go and do it yourself!” Li Changshou quickly left. After taking a few steps, he could not help but laugh. He felt that it was quite interesting
Forget it. I should use the backup plan that works faster and discuss it with Bai Ze.
Pretend to be a Paragon.
Li Changshou took two months to prepare.
He first chose the appearance of a middle-aged scholar and became a teacher in the mortal world.
Then, he first hyped up the reputation of being a “genius of the human race” in a nearby city and allowed it to spread everywhere.
It was similar to the “Sea God’s Little Story” of the Sea God Sect. It was novel, interesting, and could be spread by word of mouth.
Like what?
When he was persuading the young people, a golden light appeared at the back of his head and he persuaded a gambler to start a new life. He sat in front of the brothel and talked to him for two days and two nights. The brothel collapsed. The manager of the brothel was kind and half of the ladies who worked at the brothel left.
Apart from that, wherever he walked, dead fish would become alive, dried wells would produce water, and flowers would grow on the ground that he sat on. With a raise of his hand, he would attract birds that filled the sky and circled around. When his reputation became known, Li Changshou took the opportunity to visit the most famous academy in the area. A debate made a few white-haired old sages call him Teacher, but he left…
Reputation was only the first step. The second step was to show off.
Li Changshou announced that he was going out to study. No one knew which city wanted to receive him. The messengers from the various city lords came with gifts and queued up on the streets.
Li Changshou added, “I’m too lazy to go too far.” He chose three nearby cities to increase his reputation.
He deliberately placed his true destination, the city where the Hua Residence was located, at the end of his journey. He spent ten days walking past two cities and held a few “pointers” meetings. Finally, he arrived at the city where the Hua Residence was located with honor.
On the day that Li Changshou arrived, the guards welcomed him from five kilometers away. The entire city was filled with men, women, elderly, and children. However, they only scattered a few hundred kilograms of flowers. The officials in the city held a banquet to welcome him. During the meal, Li Changshou said a few more words. “Life is too short. The world is too big. Although my heart is infinite, my feet do not suffice. The people of this city are outstanding and the scenery is not bad. In a while, I will stay here for three years. I will set up a small academy and teach seven to eight disciples. Then, I will continue to travel far and explore the boundaries of the world.” The nobles could not help but be overjoyed. All of them leaned forward and said how outstanding their children were.
Li Changshou smiled and shook his head. He said that he would not accept tuition fees, gifts, and only accept intelligent and sensitive disciples. When the academy was completed, he asked them to bring their children over to take a look. In the bustling area of the city, the current Virtuous Paragon bought a huge house and was very generous.
In just one night, the original building of the residence had disappeared. Li Changshou had set up a bamboo forest, a pool, and a few artificial mountains. Only two bamboo houses were dotted there.
Some mortals wanted to barge in, but they lost their way in the courtyard. They walked in and out in a daze.
Immediately, anyone who had some knowledge knew that an “expert” had arrived in the city. Young masters were sent to the front of the academy and were led to line up by the various families. Li Changshou said that he wanted to take in four male disciples and three female disciples.
The officials in the city were excited again. A large number of little girls and girls rushed to the front of the academy. The order of queuing was also very realistic. Whoever had a higher status would be in front. Hua Youming and Xia Ningshuang met again in front of the school gate. Originally, Hua Youming, as the son of the city guard, was firmly ranked first. However, when Xia Ningshuang, who was wearing a veil, arrived, she immediately stood in front of Hua Youming weakly and turned her head to reveal a pitiful look. Just as Hua Youming was a little touched, he heard Xia Ningshuang say softly, “Go, go to the back.” Hua Youming frowned. The scenes of him being tortured by the young girl in front of him since he was young surfaced in his mind! At the age of three, he had been splashed with water when he was taking an afternoon nap. At the age of five, he had been pushed into the mud pit when he was playing catch crickets. At the age of seven, he had been chased all over the courtyard by bees. At the age of nine, he had climbed onto the roof and was taken down the stairs. At the age of eleven… At that moment, hatred rose in Hua Youming’s heart. He took half a step forward and clenched his fists. Xia Ningshuang blinked gently. Her face behind the veil was filled with weakness.
“Are you going to hit me, Youming?”
“I won’t stoop to your level!”
Hua Youming snorted and took two steps back. The crowd behind him chuckled.
Ding, ding… A bell sounded from behind the gate of the academy. The gate opened by itself and a voice sounded from inside.
“The first twenty students can listen to my lecture. I will decide whether to let them stay or leave based on their performance in the classroom.”
The youths and children immediately rushed forward. Xia Ningshuang and Hua Youming had the advantage of being at the front. However, after Xia Ningshuang jumped into the wooden door, Hua Youming turned around and glared at the crowd that was about to rush up. His young face was filled with dignity. He shouted in a low voice, “Why are you squeezing!?! Why are you rushing! Don’t you know what you are capable of? Those who are usually ignorant and incompetent should stand outside! I will beat up those who dare to rely on their family’s power to snatch the spots first, every time I see them!” After saying that, Hua Youming did not enter the house himself, which surprised Li Changshou. Just as Li Changshou was thinking about how to let Hua Youming enter, Hua Youming shouted loudly, “Those who know more than a hundred words should enter first!” The dozen or so young children who were originally at the front could not help but stop in their tracks. They could not do it!