Chapter 282: Chen Yan's Immortality Technique

The air fell silent for a moment, and everyone was stunned by Chen Yan's answer.

Regaining his composure, Li Shimin laughed heartily: "Hahaha, you kid, this answer really does vary from person to person."

"I have considered many answers, but I never expected Liu Chan. I must say, Zi An, after talking with you for a while, I feel much better."

Wushe and Li Junxian wore rather odd expressions, glanced furtively at Li Chengqian, then quickly bowed their heads.

"Brother Zi An… you, what do you mean?"

Li Chengqian's face flushed red, his defenses shattered.

"No matter what I am, it shouldn't be comparable to Liu Chan, right?"

"No, pick another!"

Hearing that, Li Shimin's brows twitched slightly, but no one was paying attention to him, so it went unnoticed.

"What's the matter, you underestimate Liu Chan?" Chen Yan arched his neck and said: "Back then, Liu Chan was not yet five years old, yet he led a soldier and rescued Lady Gan during the Battle of Changban Slope. Could you do that?"

Li Chengqian: "......"

Li Shimin: "......"

The four fell silent together at Chen Yan's single sentence.

Is that so?

Ah!

Seems indeed to be the case, huh!

Chen Yan seemed somewhat reflective, "You all think Liu Chan is mediocre, but I find him impressive—a quite competent ruler."

"If the Western Jin famed minister Zhang Hua, the Northern Qi celebrated general Huli Guang, and the historically renowned Prince of Lanling had an emperor like Liu Chan, would you believe they could even laugh themselves awake in their dreams?"

"Brother Cheng Qian, don't let worldly judgments cloud your eyes; you must see for yourself, study, understand, and not just listen to what others say."

Chen Yan continued, "Have you truly examined the circumstances when Liu Chan ascended the throne?"

"At that time, heroes of the Three Kingdoms emerged in great numbers, countless talents and oddities, and when Liu Chan took the throne, the nation was at its weakest, a situation akin to a sky collapsing at the start. Yet he devoted himself to maintaining stability, even supporting Zhuge Liang and Jiang Wei in a total of eleven northern expeditions, ultimately holding on for thirty hard years before the state fell."

"Do you still think poorly of him?"

Those words gave Li Chengqian a tremendous shock.

These were things he had never considered before.

Yet on closer thought, Chen Yan's words seemed indeed correct.

Could it be that everyone has misunderstood Liu Chan?

Li Shimin gave Chen Yan an admiring glance.

Indeed, Liu Chan is truly a ruler deeply misjudged by the world.

Of course, only by earnestly studying the histories can one discover what kind of emperor Liu Chan truly was.

Afterwards, Li Chengqian kept pondering, and no one spoke up.

Unwittingly, they arrived at the Wei He dock.

At this moment, the dock's roads had all been repaired; the previously uneven, waterlogged pits had vanished without a trace, leaving only solid, level ground.

On the Wei He itself, various vessels moved in and out in orderly fashion, countless workers continuously unloading cargo from merchant ships, forming a vivid picture of bustling prosperity and vibrant life.

Standing by the river, Li Chengqian said in a low tone, "Brother Zi An, Cheng Qian, I have been taught."

"People, you live and learn forever," Chen Yan nudged him with his shoulder, "If you ask me which emperor I like, my answer of Liu Chan is not meant to belittle you."

"The world says Liu Chan has a great flaw: he is mediocre."

"Yet I think Liu Chan also has a great virtue: he knows his own mediocrity."

"A person is valuable for having self‑awareness!"

He paused, shook his head, and said, "I once heard a passerby say something interesting: not fearing a second‑generation prodigal, but fearing a second‑generation who strives upward and wants to achieve great deeds."

Upon saying that, the four, including Li Shimin, all wore puzzled expressions.

Not fearing a prodigal second generation, but fearing one who wants to accomplish great things?

That sounds wrong no matter how you hear it, right?

After a moment of thought, Li Shimin suddenly realized, "Emperor Yang of Sui!"

"Exactly!" Chen Yan nodded, "Emperor Yang of Sui is a typical big‑dreamer, foolishly trying to accomplish in one generation what would take several generations. That exceeds not only his capability but also the nation's capacity."

"The final outcome, of course, needs no further explanation."

"Brother Zi An, you really didn't belittle me?" Li Chengqian complained, feeling depressed.

Earlier, when Chen Yan said he hadn't belittled him, he believed it.

But now Chen Yan repeatedly told himself to have self‑awareness, to know his own mediocrity.

Who could endure that?

It was Chen Yan himself; if anyone else said that, they'd have to give the other a hefty ear slap.

"Don't misunderstand; I truly didn't mean to belittle you. I just hope you can constantly have a clear self‑perception, after all you are the greatest second‑generation under heaven," Chen Yan explained.

At that moment, Li Shimin suddenly patted Li Chengqian's shoulder, "Zi An wouldn't lie about this. If he wanted to belittle you, he'd do it outright, no need to beat around the bush."

Li Chengqian: "......"

"Thanks, uh, that was comforting."

"Moreover…" Li Shimin said, "If you truly could be Liu Chan, then I would also feel gratified."

Li Chengqian, hearing this, stared at his once‑feared father emperor and was momentarily frozen in place.

Li Shimin withdrew his gaze, hands behind his back, gazing out over the expansive Wei He.

"Zi An, does this world truly have no immortality?"

When he said that, he actually no longer held hope; he just wanted a definitive answer from Chen Yan to convince himself to give up, to stop clinging to immortality.

But Chen Yan's following words made his body shudder, and bright light burst from his eyes.

"There are, His Majesty, there are!"

"Does it really exist?"

Li Shimin snapped his head around, his voice trembling without his realizing it.

"There is."

Chen Yan first affirmed, and without waiting for Li Shimin's reaction, he continued: "I heard another passerby say that a person's true death goes through three stages."

"The first is death in the physiological sense. When you lose your breath and your heart stops beating, at that moment you are declared dead in the physiological sense."

"The second is death in the ceremonial sense. When you are interred, and relatives and friends gather at your tomb to bid you a final farewell, from that moment the world no longer has a place for you."

"And the final one is death of the spirit: when the last person who remembers you forgets you, then you truly vanish from the world."

Li Shimin's eyes went vacant, and he stared at him in a daze.

Chen Yan sang softly, "His Majesty, there are no immortals in this world, nor is there any everlasting life that lets a person remain forever among the living!"

"All we can do is use our hearts as brush and our deeds as ink, to inscribe in this mortal world marks that time cannot easily erase."

"When the walls we build continue to shelter the people, when the institutions we implement bless future generations, when the lands we claim are inhabited by our descendants, when the verses we compose are still sung…"

"Centuries later, the common folk, while living in peace and prosperity with ample food and clothing, will still recall—everything they now possess is thanks in part to us."

"Then, our spirit will endure forever, we will forever live in the hearts of later generations, living within those marks that time cannot easily erase!"

"......"