[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-if-you-will-not-reject-me-i-wish-to-bow-and-take":3,"chapter-if-you-will-not-reject-me-i-wish-to-bow-and-take-if-you-will-not-reject-me-i-wish-to-bow-and-take-chapter-21":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","If You Will Not Reject Me, I Wish to Bow and Take You as My Adoptive Father",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2276748,4454,"Chapter 21: The Plight of Guan Lao Ya","if-you-will-not-reject-me-i-wish-to-bow-and-take-chapter-21",21,"\u003Cp>“Master Qingsong...” Guan Huchen unconsciously tugged the reins, and Chiyan Ju immediately slowed its pace.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After hesitating a moment, he ultimately did not turn his horse around to seek out Master Qingsong at once.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Where did you see him?” he asked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“By the western garden gate, in the alley—he was surrounded by many others.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xiao Yu described the children with concise yet precise wording.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She did not mention how Master Qingsong had called her “clever,” or that if Danzi followed her advice, he might live a few more years.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hmm, they’re probably hidden dragons pulled from other vassal states,” Guan Huchen said with sudden understanding.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The fact that Master Qingsong had rushed overnight to Shadou to find him showed just how busy he’d been—and what he’d been busy with.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xiao Yu said: “They’re all better dressed than Danzi; many don’t even look like ordinary people.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Guan Huchen thought a moment, then said: “Likely remnants of old royal lineages.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By “old,” he meant before the Thirty-Six States Alliance was crushed by the Yangyang Marquis.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xiao Yu longed to ask: Didn’t Qin ruthlessly slaughter anyone whose blade hadn’t yet dulled, and bury those whose blades had? How could there still be royal descendants left?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, even if Xiao Yu wasn’t a humanities student, she remembered from her past life that Qin troops had buried only common folk; most of the Six Kingdoms’ nobles had been spared.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They were relocated to Xianyang, where they remained a step below Qin nobility but far above ordinary people.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“There are also some ordinary children... some aren’t even children,” she said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ordinary children... even our remote borderlands in Shu aren’t spared? Hmph!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Guan Huchen clenched his lips, a faint flush of anger on his face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The anger didn’t last long; he merely fell silent, face cold.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xiao Yu added another question to her mind but wisely stayed quiet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The next morning, in the back courtyard of the Guan family’s herbal shop.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Guan Huchen leapt off Chiyan Ju and, face grim, told Guan Zhong: “Send someone to wait outside the Prefect’s office. When Master Qingsong returns, come straight to me.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had just returned from the Prefect’s office.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a night’s rest, a bath, and changing into clean everyday robes, he’d planned to visit Master Qingsong there—but upon entering, he didn’t even catch a glimpse of him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I asked around. Last night, the Prefect wanted to host a banquet for the imperial envoy, but couldn’t find him—he searched the entire Prefect’s office and couldn’t locate Master Qingsong.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They say the master used immortal arts, appearing and vanishing without trace,” Guan Zhong said, trailing behind Huchen, face troubled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Prefect’s office had warriors and sorcerers—yet even they couldn’t detect Master Qingsong’s comings and goings. What use was stationing ordinary men at the gate?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huchen sneered: “If he were alone, even I couldn’t spot him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But no matter how skilled his Five Elements Dunshu , he can’t carry many people.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These past few days, he’s been ruthlessly gathering ‘Dao seedlings’ across northern Shu.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Dao seedlings... meaning talented disciples for cultivation?” Guan Zhong asked, astonished.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Not just cultivation talent—those born with Dao bodies, Immortal bodies. Perhaps such people exist in Zhonghua. But in our backwater, we don’t produce such gifted geniuses.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huchen stopped in the main hall, unconsciously touching his brow and eyes, “Mainly those born with innate magical abilities!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Innate magical abilities...” Guan Zhong glanced quickly at Huchen’s “Immortal Eyes,” and understood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I don’t understand why Master Qingsong is neglecting sleep and meals to gather Dao seedlings for our Shu.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I know Shu has been ravaged by the Thirty-Six States Alliance, with heavy losses and weakened strength—but why is the master so obsessed, ignoring even the Prefect’s invitations?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As he spoke, Guan Zhong poured tea for Huchen, seated in the master’s chair.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huchen sipped his “Great Qin Longjing” and sneered: “You understand nothing—you’re a fool! Master Qingsong is draining Shu’s vital essence to feed Qin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Right now, the Dao seedlings are being kept at the Prefect’s office; when the Yangyang Marquis returns, he’ll take them all—along with the hidden dragons—back to the heartland of Qin.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Guan Zhong blinked, then bowed: “I am shallow! Master, your insight is profound—you see the whole tree from a single leaf.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huchen shook his head: “I’m not as astute as you say—I simply know more than you.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Qin’s Daoist thieves have been doing this for ages.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Every three or five years, border inspectors crossed Liushahe to secretly patrol our western vassal states.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Back then, they never stayed in Shu; they focused on draining the richer, stronger states farther west—Xilu, Juxiang, Tianfeng, Chichi, and others.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Without these constant drainings, how could the wise and martial rulers of Lu, with its flourishing culture and martial tradition, have produced only ‘Ten Great Immortals of Xilu’?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Guan Zhong exclaimed: “All these years, so many border inspectors came—and I never heard a word of this!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huchen set down his teacup and sighed: “Even Zhang, the Prefect who wields arcane arts, can’t find Master Qingsong. What makes you think you’re better than him?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Those Daoist thieves are truly cruel and ruthless—and they truly possess uncanny foresight, profound sorcery, and vast supernatural power.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Had Shu not held Tianmen to guard the Shadou crossing—through which all travelers from the west must pass—I’d never have known this existed.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Guan Zhong held back several times, but finally couldn’t: “Master, I understand your loyalty to Shu, and your sorrow over the loss of Dao seedlings and declining strength.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But you must think of yourself too.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If you know Master Qingsong can foresee the future, don’t keep calling him ‘thief Daoist’ or ‘little Dao boy.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Beware—he might sense your words and calculate your fate!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was roughly Huchen’s age, a household-born servant who had served Huchen since childhood, and knew his master’s nickname: “Guan Lao Ya.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He’d heard Huchen mutter “thief Daoist” before, knew it was wrong, but also knew it was just “Guan Lao Ya” being himself—so he’d said nothing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But now that Huchen had explicitly said these Daoists could foresee the future, he could no longer stay silent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Guan Huchen replied calmly: “I have no patriotic devotion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If Shu grew strong, the Li family would fear drawing Qin’s attention—and our Guan family would gain nothing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With Shu’s talent dwindling, our Guan clan’s heroes stand a better chance at high positions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for these Daoists’ foresight—you’re worrying over nothing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Divination is real, but even a Heavenly Immortal can’t sit at home, calculate a few moments, and know everything in the world.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even the Jade Emperor needs the Eyes of a Thousand Li and Ears of a Thousand Miles to learn details.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Does the Jade Emperor, who has endured ten thousand calamities, not understand the innate changes of the Dao?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Guan Zhong exhaled slightly, relieved: “If you’re not worried about the loss of Dao seedlings or the decline of talent, why are you so angry?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Don’t you get it?” Huchen glanced at him coldly. “There’s a saying: the flour seller hates the lime seller.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Once these Dao seedlings enter Qin’s army, how will I, a famed general of western Shu, stand out anymore?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Son of Heaven isn’t a bandit—he can’t just slaughter and bury endlessly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Balancing mercy and authority is a basic skill every ruler masters.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Yangyang Marquis has already shown Qin’s terrifying might across the Thirty-Six States; next, he’ll bestow favors to soothe the hearts of the western peoples.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The more Qin invests in Shu’s Dao seedlings, the less likely my future under the Yangyang Marquis will diminish.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But as Huchen himself said: the flour seller hates the lime seller.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Truthfully, lime only looks like flour—it doesn’t truly compete with flour.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Guan Lao Ya is simply narrow-minded—and he knows it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He knows it, but he doesn’t care.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because he only mutters complaints behind closed doors, to soothe himself—without ever changing his humility and deference before Zhonghua’s nobles.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Guan Zhong thought a moment, then understood his master’s tangled emotions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He nodded: “I truly understand now. No need to watch Master Qingsong—just watch for the Dao seedlings appearing outside the Prefect’s gate.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He walked out to the main hall’s entrance, waved over a sharp-witted servant, and whispered instructions...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Returning to the hall, he saw his master still sipping tea, and asked hesitantly: “Master, are you in such a hurry to find Master Qingsong?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I told you yesterday: in three or five days, the Yangyang Marquis will return to Tianmen or Luodu from Feixian Ferry.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Master Qingsong will surely appear then.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You’ll be traveling with the Marquis—how could you miss him?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Guan Huchen shook his head: “I’d rather find Qingsong before the Yangyang Marquis returns.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I can tell—Yu Yu looks down on me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The ‘Nine-Turn Bone-Transformation Pill’ in Qingsong’s hands can purify my bloodline, strengthen my sinews and bones, and elevate my Immortal Eyes beyond their current level.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yu Yu... that kid...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Guan Zhong’s forehead broke into sweat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even knowing his master was “Guan Lao Ya,” he never imagined he’d dare to mock the Yangyang Marquis so openly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not only did he use his name—he called him “that kid.” Isn’t it you who looks down on him, not the other way around?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Master, aren’t you overthinking? Immortal Eyes are such a great divine power—even immortals covet them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Anyone who awakens Immortal Eyes has at least the foundation of an immortal rank.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even if they die as ordinary mortals, the Underworld’s Yanjun  will recruit them, or enfeoff them as ghost deities, or send them to some immortal paradise to guard a great immortal’s estate... cough, I mean, serve as a great immortal’s advisor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That’s why ‘Thousand-Li Eyes’ is called the ‘Immortal Eyes.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Doesn’t the Yangyang Marquis understand the value of Thousand-Li Eyes to the Fire Crow Army?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>During the recent Thirty-Six States rebellion, your eyes saw every enemy plan before it unfolded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That’s how the Marquis swept through armies like wildfire,” Guan Zhong said, bewildered.\u003C\u002Fp>",1648,"2026-06-20T00:29:13.334Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","707bedcaef78f5636470988383bbd149e7c9a3a2931f25268c67822448ef7d90","if-you-will-not-reject-me-i-wish-to-bow-and-take-chapter-22","if-you-will-not-reject-me-i-wish-to-bow-and-take-chapter-20",840,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fif-you-will-not-reject-me-i-wish-to-bow-and-take-cover.jpg"]