Chapter 448: Wholeheartedly Devoted to the Dao

【There is an extra chapter ahead.】

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Main text:

The distance from Gold Brilliance to Peace and Stability isn't short either; the tedious journey's Da Wang's job is to bring Dong Fu to check out the current state of the Northern Border, so that the future Grand Commander can gain a sense of belonging.

In drought‑stricken areas, he occasionally puts on a water‑source prospecting demonstration with Ling Yin.

In the morning, when the sun's glare is blinding, Da Wang usually rides in the carriage; in the afternoon, as the sun sets, he goes down to ride a horse. Dong Fu notices that despite such harsh weather, Da Wang never complains, staying cheerful every day, happily finding fun in the dull journey, making people see his mouth unconsciously curl up.

This morning Da Wang rode the carriage as usual; this guy, being alone, lounged with an unrestrained posture.

The screen curtains were drawn; this guy lay on the couch in only his inner garment, legs crossed, left hand holding a leisure book, right side a plate full of snacks—candies, nuts, all colors and varieties.

He snacked while reading, popping a treat into his mouth whenever he felt like it; the wise Da Wang had earlier taken the time to peel the candy wrappers and nuts, so now eating is hassle‑free.

Others lose appetite in the heat and guzzle water, but Da Wang has no such trouble—he isn't hot at all, and everything he eats tastes great.

Outside, the palace guard brought a jug of cool mountain spring water; Wei Shen, having had enough of the sun, volunteered for the task, planning to hitch a ride on Da Wang's carriage. As he lifted the curtain and stepped in, he saw Da Wang blowing on the pages of the book in his hand……

Wei Shen: ……

He had finished a page, and this guy was trying to turn it with his mouth. What about his hands? He's holding a lollipop!

"With your diligence, the Grand Tutor and Xie Yuan would be moved to tears upon seeing you."

Da Wang saw it was Wei Shen and quickly extended his sugar‑covered paw, saying, "Quickly grab the wet wipe from over there—it's too hot today, the sugar's melted on my hand, don't let it smear the book!"

Wei Shen was speechless: "How dirty—can't you just toss it and wipe it over?" Still so thrifty!

Da Wang declared righteously, "It's my favorite orange flavor, just one stick!" After saying that he licked it, leaving Wei Shen even less appetite in the midday heat.

"Da Wang, don't you feel any summer fatigue?" On such a hot day he can eat a whole plate of that sweet, cloying candy… wait, a whole plate?!

Wei Shen instantly betrayed Da Wang, lifted the curtain and filed a complaint. Reporting to Wei Ke that Da Wang was eating candy by the plate, he also blamed Zhao Bao for not watching Da Wang. Hearing this, Da Wang exploded, threw the book at him and subdued his cousin with one hand; the two troublemakers, undaunted by the heat, started clashing……

Dong Fu, behind Da Wang's carriage: ……

Just as they were about to stop for an afternoon meal break, Zhao Bao came trotting over from the rear carriage, seeing Dong Fu so close and making a polite remark: "Look at how fit our Highness is, in this weather he's still…… hearty."

Dong Fu: ……

He wasn't familiar with Manager Zhao, nor did he have a good impression of the eunuch; he merely gave a polite, aloof nod.

Wei Ke couldn't stand it any longer, so he just gave it a hard rinse, right?

"Manager Zhao, hurry up and get His Highness ready for lunch."

Hey!

Da Wang, having finished his ruckus and tidied up, was about to follow Wei Shen down when he suddenly heard the familiar buzzing sound. Huh? Did Meng Meng activate on its own? Could something big be happening?

He hurried back and first opened the light board to check.

【Congratulations, my lord—detection shows a Daoist inheritor‑level figure has entered the Northern Border; a new main quest is posted. Accept? Yes/No】

Daoism, ah—Da Wang understands.

"Just 'take down' that one?"

★

Da Wang's reaction to Meng Meng was either nonexistent or, when it acted, it threw out a main quest that satisfied him immensely; he gleefully clicked 'Yes'.

【Religion can strengthen the legitimacy of rule, promote social order and stability. The growth of religion brings more benefits than drawbacks for my lord.】

Now issuing main quest five:

Find that Daoist inheritor, gain his loyal faith, make him believe that my lord is the heaven‑mandated son of heaven, and further sanctify my lord's rule.

Quest reward: Daoist Architecture Set x1

Time limit: three months

Penalty: deduct 1000 gold from the balance.

Da Wang, who had been grinning while accepting the quest, instantly straightened his mouth: "Why deduct money too? How would I know where he is? Only three months… why not mark him on the map? Like make his head glow?"

This guy started day‑dreaming, and the system of course ignored him.

He muttered a couple of lines, cheered himself up, thinking the task was also easy—a free construction job! Getting one person to acknowledge him shouldn't be that hard, right?

The next second a note popped up below:

【Loyal faith means sincere inner acceptance; mere lip service doesn't count!】

Da Wang, who had just been thinking of beating the person into submission: ……

"Plucking a bit of wool from you is no easy feat. Meng Meng, give me a hint—is the target male or female, how old? You say nothing, and three months will fly by; the Northern Border could have over a million people—you're not making me search for a needle in a haystack, are you?"

This time Meng Meng didn't even flash a note, so Da Wang decided to talk it over with Bai Ze that night.

At night Da Wang, wearing a mysterious expression, grabbed Bai Ze and said, "Dong Fu told me there's a legend that you once lectured the Yellow Emperor by the East Sea—what scripture was it?"

Bai Ze: "Definitely a scripture you wouldn't understand."

Da Wang: ……

"You're making me angry!"

Bai Ze: "So, why not just say what you want to say straight out? No need for beating around the bush."

Da Wang honestly pulled up the quest for him to see; Bai Ze glanced at it and said, "Daoism is the native religion of this land, so choosing it makes sense. It involves much knowledge, and its development brings many benefits—cultivation, rites, medicine, astronomy; the Daozang is vast."

Da Wang: "You seem to know everything under heaven—how would you have a lead on finding this Daoist inheritor? I can't just round up everyone who's newly arrived in the Northern Border and interrogate them all."

Bai Ze lazily replied, "That's your forte—fishing law enforcement. In Great Jin, Daoism hasn't developed yet; it hasn't entered the court nor the populace, and few have even heard of the Dao De Jing."

Da Wang, what a person he is, he realized.

That night he rushed back to the estate, calling, "Brother Bai, buy books! Got any good Daoist classics for me?"

The next evening Da Wang obtained a vertically printed, imitation‑ancient edition of the Supreme Response Chapter.

"This is suitable for popular promotion—it encourages goodness and stresses karmic retribution, perfect for the damned ruling class."

Da Wang automatically filtered out the second half, saying, "That's the one!"

Starting this day, the Prince of the Northern Realm devoted himself wholeheartedly to the Dao.

Lu Jia looked west from the farm gate, his gaze soon turning statue‑like; he had almost given up hope, was about to write home for rescue, when a white horse burst into the Peace and Stability Farm.

He quickly wiped his eyes with a clean sleeve, "Am I seeing things? It looks like I saw the Snow Riders."

Then he heard the patrol cavalry shout, those Snow Riders: "The mission here is suspended; quickly tidy up, the Prince summons you back!"

"What about us? What about us?" the cavalryman shook his head, saying he hadn't heard of their arrangements; Lu Jia instantly felt cold, his heart turned icy.

When the remaining three unlucky ones heard, they came running back frantically; the king poked his head out of the carriage, took a look at the four foppish dandies' current appearance, and sneered.

Good heavens, four ashen charcoal‑roasted potatoes!

Who can tell which potato belongs to the Xie family and which to the Lu family!

The king coughed hard to hold back his laughter, "Long time no see, I've come to visit you!"

Look.

This word is really frightening.

The four of them almost cried out, "What does this mean? Not taking us with you?"

Lu Xing held back tears as he approached, "Your Highness, how can I leave this place? As long as you say so, I will surely manage!"

The king gazed at the sky: "Next year's imperial examinations, placing among the top? Then there will naturally be better prospects; it's a pity for talented people who do well to be tilling the land."

Lu Jia's intelligence suddenly kicked in, "Your Highness, do we not need to prepare for the examinations? I must go back to study; with my father and uncles' guidance, I have a better chance, greater odds."

The other three nodded quickly, the king suppressed a laugh: "Fine, learn agricultural skills to this extent first, the examinations are paramount. Once you place among the top, you'll secure a post in Youzhou and won't be able to leave; you'll miss this vast land of Liangzhou."

The four unlucky ones: …

Absolutely impossible.

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Those coming from the south entering the Northern Realm will surely make a trip to the capital, Youzhou. The king is still basking in the sun in Bingzhou, and the chief steward has already begun acting.

Daoist Qingxu entered the Northern Realm from Yizhou, hardly stopping, and brought his young disciple straight to Youzhou.

The shock of the city gate to the newly descended master and disciple need not be mentioned; the brand‑new couplet on both sides of the gate made him feel uncomfortable all over.

【Purple aura comes from the east thirty thousand li, auspicious clouds gather from the west nine thousand spring】

The city guards saw a man in wide robes and large sleeves, accompanied by a half‑grown child, constantly scrutinizing the gate tower outside, refusing to enter.

The young disciple's face was flushed red from the sun, "... Master, this idle matter truly isn't suitable for us to handle; why not go in first and discuss later?"

Qingxu also stopped circling; he stood and educated his disciple, "This is no trivial matter!"

After they had circled countless times, and still hadn't prepared to go in after the time of two cups of tea, the city guards took the initiative.

"Are you going to enter the city or not? Do you lack a travel permit? Youzhou is different from other prefectures; you must present proof of identity to be allowed through, not just a travel permit—do you have any other means of proving your identity?"

Daoist Qingxu finally couldn't hold back; he bowed to the city guard, "Sorry to trouble you, Officer; I feel the gate's couplet is somewhat off."

That city guard, illiterate and unable to argue, recalling the commandant's orders, hurriedly had someone summon the commandant.

The gate commandant came, first sized up the two individuals, then asked what was wrong with the couplet.

"Is this couplet derived from 'Purple aura comes from the east thirty thousand li, Hangu Pass initially crossed five thousand years ago'?"

The commandant thought, "How would I know? I've never read so many books."

He nodded calmly on the surface.

"Exactly! That five thousand refers to the five thousand true words of the Dao De Jing; the lower line should read 'Auspicious clouds gather from the west five thousand spring'—changing it to nine thousand makes no sense!"

The commandant began to be startled, seeming hardly believing; later, unable to withstand Qingxu's lengthy discourse, he stepped back, saying he had seriously noted it and would report it upward. Daoist Qingxu, before leaving, still uneasy, said he would come back in two days; if the responsible official didn't believe it was written wrong, he was willing to step forward and clarify things.

The Northern Realm's willingness to use these two lines as the gate couplet is an affirmation of their Daoism; Qingxu couldn't stand by while they caused such a great flaw through half‑knowledge.

The commandant finally, with a kind attitude, personally helped him register the travel permit and saw the master and disciple off into the distance.

"Have Unit Jia send people to follow them!"

"Yes!"

After the time it takes to burn half an incense stick, the chief steward learned of this; the commandant gave her a detailed description of the appearance and demeanor of one old and one young.

"Have you assigned someone to watch them?"

Receiving an affirmative reply, she again instructed, "Before the Prince returns, they are not allowed to leave Youzhou."

The gate commandant thought of the newly added couplet on the gate tower, "Should we now take down the gate's couplet?" hearing this, it really seems wrong—how embarrassing! They don't care, but to hang such an obvious mistake on the west gate—doesn't that lose face for the king?

Zhuti waved his hand indifferently, "No need, leave it be. Maybe it's not him; perhaps someone else. Besides, among those coming and going at Youzhou's gate, how many are literate?"

Commandant: ……makes sense.

No longer arguing about the five thousand vs nine thousand; they don't even know they've written the wrong character.

Who could have imagined that the capital's gate couplet is merely a fishhook the king just cast?

When the king learned of this in his manor, that fellow strutted around the White Poplar shop with hands on hips, proud as a little peacock—whatever the king's virtue, that's what he is.

"Hahaha! Got it without any effort!" that fellow exaggeratedly laughed up to the sky.

"Tsk! Does Xie Yuan know you're messing around with Youzhou's appearance?"

The king withdrew his hands on hips, "He couldn't possibly know. Xie Yuan doesn't have the leisure to go out and play in the city!"

White Poplar: …

Sympathized with Xie Yuan for a second.

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…………………New Chapter………………

………………Supplementary Part………………

Great King's troop changed their plan on the way back, trying to take a route different from the one they came on. After entering Wing Prefecture, they encountered more and more refugees.

The people in the northern border still struggle with the drought; they haven't yet reached the point of completely abandoning the autumn harvest, and it's obvious that many places in the south have already lost control.

Dong Fu watched wide-eyed as the Great King smeared his own face with a mess of colors, put on the ill-fitting outerwear his cousin wanted to throw away, rolled hard on the ground twice, and climbed up covered in grass scraps and dirt...

The Great King drove away the people following him, took Wei Shen and mixed into the refugee crowd, wanting to learn about the situation in the south.

Wei Ke led the opposition all the way, fearing the refugees might carry some disease, but he couldn't stand against the Great King's stubbornness. This guy is quite articulate; if these people had come through regular channels via Luoshui Pass, they'd surely have been quarantined by now—where would any disease come from?

The Great King and Wei Shen mixed in easily, and upon inquiry found that this group of refugees came from the vicinity of Jiyin and Changyi; they had met along the way and banded together to head to the northern border to survive.

This drought in the northern half of the Great Jin has lasted three years; in the severe areas, corpses litter the ground and countless people have been displaced.

Hearing the refugees curse the Great Jin ruler for lacking virtue, claiming Heaven therefore sent punishment, the Great King remained calm.

As for these 'scattered households' they'd picked up midway, the refugees were neither wary nor bothered, since they had nothing to offer for anyone to scheme over. Having been educated by Luoshui Pass, they were far more honest than when they were in the Great Jin.