Chapter 250: You think the old master is no ordinary person!

Dream.

Dream.

Another wonderful Daoist mystery dream, allowing one to glimpse heaven and earth.

The guest room was silent, cut off from heaven and earth.

Fucuzi wrapped himself in a thin blanket, lay on his side on the bed, tightly holding that warm, smooth stone mirror, and fell completely into the dream.

The Daoist arts he studied were not the orthodox teachings passed down by worldly Daoist temples, but an extremely obscure and rare Yin transmission technique.

The so-called Yin transmission is commonly found in the southern lands, considered a derivative art formed by combining with southern sorcery and ritual.

This technique is taught by the yin souls and mystic spirits who have attained Dao in the world, imparting lessons from afar; they do not worship the Three Pure Ones, nor follow the orthodox Daoist canons, treading the obscure path of penetrating the darkness to enter the mystery and probing heavenly secrets.

The foremost ability of this method is not only to communicate with a certain yin soul or mystic spirit, but also to leave one's physical body behind while half-asleep, projecting one's soul a short distance away, wandering between the virtual and the real to discern worldly secrets...

Put more plainly, this is 'soul exiting the aperture'.

The coolness of the stone mirror in his arms seeped into his skin, and Fucuzi fell completely into the dream.

In an instant, his physical body lay still on the bed, unmoving, while his soul lightly drifted free of its shell, sinking into a hazy, chaotic dream where the virtual and real intertwined, and his spirit communed.

Dream visions suddenly arose; before his eyes the scene shifted, no longer the crude setting of a remote guest room, but transformed into an exquisite, luxurious, warmly inviting palace chamber.

Within the chamber, lavish furnishings spread, brocade carpets covered the floor, curtains hung low, everywhere revealing the refined splendor of the royal inner court.

At the center of the view, two figures stood facing each other: none other than the recently departed Crown Prince Si'er of the King of An Nan, and the Queen who resides deep in the palace, mother of An Nan.

The two now bore no trace of the former dignified harmony of royal mother and son; the atmosphere was taut to the extreme, a fierce confrontation ready to erupt.

Si'er's face was dark as iron, fury and suspicion filling his brows and eyes, his body tense, he glared fixedly at the Queen before him, his posture fierce, as if loudly demanding accountability.

The Queen stood where she was, her posture slightly trembling, her face bearing resentment, indignation, and a hint of panic; she repeatedly raised her hands to heaven in oath, her expression earnest, vigorously defending herself, utterly refusing to admit any leakage of secrets.

Their argument raged, voices rising and falling; though the words were indistinct, one could clearly sense the tense, sword-drawn atmosphere within the chamber, thick with estrangement and anger that suffocated the whole hall, making it hard to breathe.

Fucuzi's spirit, like a spectator watching a play, saw the scene flow like a revolving lantern; fleeting fragments of hidden truth raced through his mind, letting him instantly grasp the full reason behind their conspiracy to poison——

As it turned out, the King of An Nan's grave illness this time was no random misfortune.

It stemmed from the King of An Nan's licentious decadence in his later years, ignoring court criticism and the Queen's dignity, insisting on marrying the Queen's maternal niece into the palace to serve, lavishing favor upon her, with the intent to appoint a new consort and replace the Queen.

And the Queen's maternal clan, fully aware of this, had long been dissatisfied, unwilling to see their influence wane or their daughter supplanted by a newcomer; they secretly urged the Queen, hoping to overturn the situation through this affair and secure their family's standing.

And the Crown Prince Si'er's rebellious intent had also long been brewing.

He had held the Crown Prince's position for over thirty years, groomed since childhood to be the next King of An Nan, but as time passed and he grew older, his wings full and power waxing, he instead incurred the King of An Nan's deep suspicion.

The King of An Nan was unwilling to relinquish power thus; fortunately he had many sons, and these past years he frequently suppressed Si'er, hoping to replace him with a younger Crown Prince to better maintain control......

One sought to secure the queen's position.

One sought to seize the throne.

Mother and son hit it off, thus giving rise to their joint covert plot to drug and frame the feudal prince, a monumental conspiracy.

One after another, hidden past events flashed before his eyes; the truth unfolded layer by layer, all sinking into Fucuzi's perception.

Fucuzi stood to the side, looking left and right, relishing the sight of the two arguing without cease.

He was mischievous at heart, about to step closer to tease them further, when his gaze unintentionally swept the inner side of the chamber, and his heart suddenly tightened——

Not far away, upon the coiled‑dragon bed, lay a thin, withered figure.

That was an old man with white hair like silk, his head covered in disheveled silver strands, his face gaunt and wrinkled, skin clinging to bone, his body emaciated to the point of near deformation.

His eyes were cloudy, yet he stared fixedly, silently gazing at the quarreling mother and son before him; tears continually slipped from his murky depths, sorrowful and desperate, his aspect like a demon crawled from purgatory, grim and terrifying.

No need to think; Fucuzi had only recently seen this person's portrait, and of course could instantly recognize his identity, whereupon he blurted out:

"King of An Nan!"

That soft cry, like a sound that shatters illusion, smashed the entire illusory dream.

The arguing voices in the chaotic dream, the rising corners of clothes from agitation, the variegated light and shadow interwoven in the hall......

Everything shattered with a boom.

Fucuzi shot his eyes open, leapt up from the bed in a start, his chest heaving, breath ragged, the lingering fear not yet gone.

He hurriedly lowered his gaze, only to see that the Piercing Mystery Stone Mirror still lay steady in his embrace, warm and cool to the touch, intact; only then did Fucuzi's tensed heartstrings slowly loosen.

Fucuzi exhaled a turbid breath, lifted his hand, and gently wiped the stone mirror's surface, sweeping away the thin sweat that had stained it.

Immediately he raised his hand, fingertips flying through complex hexagram signs, the signs whirling as he reckoned without cease.

The hexagram signs shifted layer upon layer, heavenly secrets faintly emerging......

Everything was exactly the same as the Great Dao he had divined when he first picked up that stone mirror.

The so‑called Great Dao means that the female emperor will, with a posture that sweeps all aside, clear the universe inside and out, driving the alien races far from the Han lands' homeland.

Dayin will usher in a world‑watched emperor, an age of unparalleled prosperity.

And before that, all means are merely steps toward that outcome.

He has come this time for 'evil'......

It is also merely for that outcome.

After a moment, Fucuzi slowly lowered his hands, the astonishment in his brows and eyes fading gradually, his mood calming, settling completely.

The house remained silent, the night already deep, only the candlelight swaying gently.

Fucuzi lay down again, preparing to sleep.

Yet before he could even feel drowsiness rise, a heavy, hurried footsteps suddenly sounded from outside the courtyard.

Outside the courtyard, a figure brimming with ferocity rushed swiftly toward the guest room.

The next second, a loud 'bang' exploded.

The door was kicked open with a fierce blow, the door panels striking each other, emitting a violent tremble, dust flying.

Fucuzi sighed alas in his heart, rose to his feet, opened his eyes, and saw Si'er standing at the door, brimming with hostility.

Si'er and the Queen Mother's argument had been inconclusive; now he was filled with pent‑up resentment, and upon seeing Fucuzi again, the more he looked, the more he felt everyone around him were spies, the plot to murder his father already common knowledge......

Si er must know that the whole of An Nan is not only his power as the Crown Prince!

Various forces are intertwined and complex; if outsiders were to find out, if his brothers, who have grown up and whose wings are gradually strengthening, were to find out......

Now, it is truly that murderous intent has been fully revealed:

"You claim you can probe heavenly secrets and are good at divination, don't you? Then calculate—where is my missing fifth brother now!"

"If you cannot answer today, then it is your death date!"

This is naturally a difficult remark.

But Si er does not know that his words coincidentally hit exactly what Fuzhouzi had in mind.

Or rather, the reason Fuzhouzi endured a long journey to An Nan was precisely for this matter.

Even all the previous elaborate preparations were merely for this matter.

Therefore, facing the killing intent and threats that came upon him, Fuzhouzi's heart remained undisturbed, and even the corners of his lips lifted again with that calm, unworldly smile.

He slowly raised his eyes, calmly meeting Si er's icy gaze, his tone light yet resolute, and slowly spoke:

"Crown Prince, your younger brother has already died; if you wish to rely on him to clean up the mess and control An Nan, it is utterly impossible."

Seeing Si er's pupils contract suddenly and his face full of shock, Fuzhouzi paused slightly, then continued speaking calmly:

"However, I can offer you another broad and smooth road——

"You had better take advantage of the fact that the plot to drug and harm the Prince has not yet been exposed, and the various forces within An Nan have not yet reacted, by moving your troops north to first seize a territory."

"As long as you establish a foothold, then even if your plot to poison and harm the Prince is discovered later, what can they do to you?"

"As for where to go north to attack...... how about Yongzhou Zhoufu?"

"First, the city there is luxurious and the people are averse to war. Second, there, the true murderer who killed your fifth brother still remains."