Chapter 82: Pitiable, Sad, and Ridiculous

Half a year passed.

Lu Yuan had not only accumulated his Luck Power to nearly two hundred again.

His progress in mastering the ten Earthly Fiend Arts had increased across the board, especially for Ingestion and Guidance, which he practiced most frequently; his progress in these was already over halfway.

At this rate, in a few more months, these two Earthly Fiend Arts would be able to advance to the next level.

According to the annotations in the Heavenly Book, after the Ingestion Technique advanced, the efficiency of converting essence and energy would be greatly improved; after the Guidance Technique advanced, his cultivation and mastery of steps like Refining Essence into Qi and Refining Qi into Spirit would also become more profound, both of which could indirectly improve his cultivation efficiency.

"And I almost forgot."

Lu Yuan took a plain-looking leather pouch no larger than a palm from his bosom, then formed a seal with one hand and whispered:

"Mount Sumeru in a mustard seed, obey the command with haste!"

Hum.

The True Qi within his body was consumed rapidly, and the clear radiance of his Dharma Power poured into the leather pouch like a rainbow.

Not until more than half of his total Dharma Power was consumed did he stop the casting, then he tucked the leather pouch back into his inner garment.

This item was naturally a Storage Bag that Lu Yuan had created himself using the Pot Heaven Art, which he had named the Pot Heaven Bag.

The interior of this bag had been opened up by his Dharma Power into a space seven feet square, and it could last for a full seven days.

After seven days, he only needed to replenish it with one casting of the Pot Heaven Art to maintain the Mount Sumeru in a mustard seed effect of the leather bag.

Although it was slightly troublesome, such storage effectiveness was far, far stronger than at the beginning, and it could be officially put into use.

Like now.

He had already packed his bronze alchemy furnace, alchemy materials, and most of his belongings, such as gold and silver treasures, into the Pot Heaven Bag to carry with him, which was incredibly convenient.

"With nearly one hundred wisps of True Qi, I can prepare to move to another place to plan for big things next."

Having experienced a full half-year of peaceful life, Lu Yuan felt a slight sense of emotion.

The goals he had set previously were basically completed, and it was time for him to move his nest, leave the small pond of Fengyang Prefecture, and head to a broader world to stretch his limbs and seize Qi Luck.

However, in the thirty-six provinces of the Jin Dynasty, there were many large and prosperous cities like Tianjing, Jinjin, Modu, Jiangnan, and those in the Coastal regions; he hadn't yet decided where his next stop would be.

Also, regarding Li Junxian, as his disciple who had received his guidance and cultivation for over a year of unforgettable time, he needed to find a suitable reason; he could not leave without saying goodbye.

And just at this moment.

Outside the room, Xu Dahu's voice rang out:

"A Yuan, are you up yet?"

Lu Yuan immediately got out of bed and pushed the door open to go out, seeing the other person arrive at the door and ask mysteriously:

"How about it, Junior Brother? Are we going out today? Have you thought about what birthday gift to buy for Master?"

Lu Yuan did not fall for it at all and laughed: "Senior Brother, you still have no clue, so you came to me to scout for military intelligence, right?"

"You brat."

Xu Dahu felt a bit awkward and said with some annoyance:

"Who told Erhu that guy to prepare a birthday gift that was the same as my idea, and he snatched it first? There's only half a month left until the day; it's really worrying!"

Lu Yuan asked curiously:

"What did Second Senior Brother prepare?"

Xu Dahu said indignantly:

"Master is very fond of He Pingsheng, a poet from the previous dynasty who died for his country. That brat Erhu doesn't know where he got an authentic piece of this person's poetry; Master will definitely love it!"

Lu Yuan, however, laughed:

"The Jin Dynasty burned books and destroyed records on a large scale in its early years and promoted literary inquisitions. Second Senior Brother must have spent a great deal of energy and time searching for the authentic work of this poet from the previous dynasty; it is only right that Master likes it."

Xu Dahu would not give up:

"What about you? You have always been cleverer than Erhu; surely you have some ideas, right? Tell me quickly so I can use it for reference."

Lu Yuan pondered for a moment:

"I remember Master suffers from hidden ailments; what kind of hidden ailments are they?"

Upon hearing this, Xu Dahu shook his head immediately and sighed:

"Junior Brother, are you thinking of seeking medical treatment to cure the old wounds on Master's body? It's useless. Master himself knows medicine, and over these years, he has long since seen all the famous doctors in several developed provincial capitals. Even Uncle Lin's medical skills are no less than those so-called famous doctors, but the result is that there is no way.

Although Master has never said it, according to our inquiries and understanding, he seems to have injured his heart pulse and even his kidney essence in his early years, which has become a stubborn disease that is almost impossible to cure. It is said that there is a chief imperial physician in the palace who specializes in treating and extending the life of the Undying Demon Empress who might have a way, but..."

The chief imperial physician in the palace who treated and extended the life of the Undying Demon Empress was clearly not someone others could hire. Lu Yuan's gaze flickered:

"So that's how it is..."

In half a month, it would be Li Junxian's fiftieth birthday.

Regardless of what plans or intentions he had, he, as a disciple, had to finish celebrating the big birthday for him first.

Especially regarding the birthday gift, ordinary gifts were meaningless in his view; it would be better to find a way to cure the hidden wounds on Li Junxian's body and extend his life, which could also be considered a thanks and repayment for the care and teaching he had received over the past year or so.

Although it sounded like Li Junxian had visited famous doctors everywhere and failed to cure the hidden ailments on his body, which seemed very tricky.

But to him, who had mastered 【Medicine】, it was not a difficult matter.

Even in the "Shenxian Fue Danshi Lianyao Fa," there were prescriptions for great pills that could cure various diseases and injuries.

With an idea already in his mind, Lu Yuan feigned thought:

"In that case, I don't know what gift to prepare either. How about we go to the streets to places like antique shops and treasure pavilions to look around more? Maybe I'll have an idea then."

Xu Dahu nodded: "Good, let's tidy up and go."

And so.

After washing up and eating.

The two of them went out of Boxiyuan together, heading to some antique and pawn shops in the city that specialized in rare and valuable items, inquiring and searching everywhere.

Fengyang Prefecture was, after all, the capital of a province, and there were many rare items circulating here, such as imported goods like pocket watches, Western-style table clocks, and music boxes that had spread over from Shenluo.

In places like the black market and ghost market, there were also all kinds of antiques and curiosities of dubious origin, with it being hard to tell the real from the fake.

However, after walking around for a while.

There were indeed a few rare items from the Holy Roman Powers that made Xu Dahu quite interested, but he hesitated, worried that Li Junxian would dislike these Western trinkets.

In fact, given his personality, he would have preferred to just have a golden longevity peach crafted to give as a gift; it would be both impressive and practical.

However, although he was now the Hall Master of the North Hall of the Qinglong Gang, his monthly allowance plus bonuses amounted to no more than one hundred Silver Yuan, and in the half a year he had been in office, he had only saved a few hundred Silver Yuan; with such meager savings, wanting to have a golden longevity peach made was truly a bit of a stretch.

And while Lu Yuan, who was by his side, had money, it was of unknown origin and could not be borrowed, and as a "dog-headed strategist," he hadn't offered any constructive advice, so after wandering for an entire morning, the two of them were still empty-handed.

The two left an antique shop, preparing to go look elsewhere.

But suddenly, the bustling, lively street ahead became chaotic and noisy, drawing their attention.

Lu Yuan looked toward the sound and saw two half-grown youths on the street holding a stack of rough paper that looked like newspapers, shouting loudly:

"Extra! Extra!"

"Over a month ago, the Jin Navy was unfortunately defeated in the Yellow Sea, and the entire army was wiped out!"

"Subsequently, the Sunlight Country landed in Lushun, raping, looting, and massacring over thirty thousand of our dynasty's soldiers and civilians; their crimes are monstrous!"

"The Japanese thieves have issued a state letter demanding that our dynasty cede the Liaodong Peninsula and the Ryukyu Bay Islands, open trading ports, and pay an indemnity of two hundred million Silver Yuan."

Amidst the shouting, many literate scholars in the vicinity crowded around to purchase them, and after reading the small newspapers in their hands, they were filled with righteous indignation and cursed repeatedly.

Hearing this hawking, Lu Yuan and Xu Dahu both had their expressions tighten, and they immediately went up to squeeze through the crowd, spending two copper coins to buy a copy of the small newspaper.

They unfolded the small newspaper and began to scan it with their eyes.

Fengyang Prefecture was located inland, where news from the common people was relatively blocked, but every month there were various small newspapers transmitted from the coastal cities, which were printed by bookstores and sold in the city; this was considered the only channel for the common people to understand the outside world and even national affairs.

Of course, most of the bottom-tier commoners were illiterate, and those who spent money to buy small newspapers were basically scholars and families with substantial means.

And at this moment, the small newspaper in Lu Yuan's hand was very rough in both material and printed handwriting, but the content was shocking.

The general content was that the Sunlight Country, located in the East Sea islands, had brazenly occupied Dawan and the Ryukyu Islands three months ago, subsequently invaded the Jin Dynasty's vassal state of Goryeo, and used Goryeo as a springboard to plot for the territory of the Liaodong Peninsula.

The Sunlight Country was a tiny nation, and for the past thousand years, it had been a vassal state to the various dynasties of the Shenzhou land, paying tribute and acknowledging allegiance.

But ever since the Western Holy Roman Powers rose strongly through the Industrial Revolution, the Great Jin had remained closed off, dreaming the spring and autumn dreams of a Celestial Empire;

While the Sunlight Country, with its narrow territory, scarce resources, and poverty, quickly began to learn from the Holy Roman Powers to carry out self-reform, gradually developing industry and even steam machinery; its level of casting Firearm and Cannon improved by leaps and bounds, and later it could even independently build Iron-Clad Giant Ship, with its national strength growing increasingly powerful.

And while this country reformed and grew strong, the Jin Dynasty remained corrupt and decayed; over these years, it had been repeatedly defeated in conflicts with the Holy Roman Powers and the northern Sha'e Empire, suffering from constant internal troubles and external threats.

Therefore, the ambition of the Sunlight Country was born, and it increasingly coveted this vast and fertile land of Shenzhou, and now it had brazenly launched an invasion.

Regarding this, the Jin Dynasty was naturally incomparably furious, and at the first opportunity, it dispatched the Jin Navy New Army, which had only been organized for less than two years, to meet the invading army of the Sunlight Country.

However, the Sunlight Country had strong national power and had been planning for a long time, while the Jin Dynasty had rushed into battle; moreover, its industry and technology had started far too late, and the weapons, equipment, Firearm, Cannon, and Iron-Clad Giant Ship self-manufactured by the New Army were all a generation behind in every aspect.

And naval warfare was a competition of strong ships and powerful guns; Martial Arts had no place to be used. Therefore, in this battle, the newly established Jin Navy New Army, despite fighting bravely, still suffered a crushing defeat at sea and was completely wiped out, with all warships destroyed and sunk.

After the New Army was defeated, the Jin Dynasty no longer had any naval power to block the Sunlight Country, and the invading army took the opportunity to land on the Liaodong Peninsula and massacred the thirty thousand soldiers and civilians stationed in Lushun.

Under such a heaven-shaking change, the civil and military officials of the Jin Dynasty were partly surging with public opinion and partly terrified, proposing peace negotiations.

And the actual controller of the Great Jin, the Empress Dowager Xici, who had been ruling from behind the curtain for seventy years, also supported this proposal.

However, faced with the Jin Dynasty's forced peace, the Sunlight Country, as the victor, opened its mouth like a lion, not only demanding that the Jin Dynasty cede the Liaodong Peninsula and the Ryukyu Bay Islands, but also a war indemnity of two hundred million Silver Yuan!

Such a demand could be called wolfish ambition, but the Jin Dynasty was currently in intense debate, and the peace faction had the upper hand, seemingly with a tendency to agree.

"Unreasonable, this is truly unreasonable!"

"Losing to the Sha'e Empire and the Holy Roman Powers is one thing, but the Sunlight Country is a mere tiny place, its territory not even as large as one of our provinces, and decades ago it was still paying tribute to us; how could it be like this!"

"The imperial court spent hundreds of millions of Silver Yuan to buy warships, imitate new weapons and equipment, and the New Army that was trained actually lost its first battle; what are those ministers in the imperial court doing!"

"Two hundred million Silver Yuan; how much more of the people's fat and blood will the imperial court have to scrape from below to make it up? If such a treaty is agreed to, then the dignity of the nation will be completely lost!"

Many literate scholars around were beating their chests and stamping their feet, extremely angry, and some poor commoners nearby also curiously crowded over to ask, then echoed and cursed along.

After reading the small newspaper, Xu Dahu's face was ugly, and he crushed the paper into powder: "It truly infuriates me!"

Lu Yuan, however, finished reading with a calm expression, shook his head and said: "Let's go, Senior Brother."

As a transmigrator, he had a sense of déjà vu regarding these events.

The Sunlight Empire had long coveted the land of the Jin Dynasty and its vassal states, especially after the behemoth that was the Jin Dynasty had been defeated successively by the Holy Roman Powers and the Sha'e Empire over the years, its ambition could no longer be suppressed, and it had taken this step.

If nothing unexpected happened, the Jin Dynasty would most likely agree to the conditions of the Sunlight Country and sign this treaty that humiliated the nation and forfeited its sovereignty.

Because the wiped-out New Army was the Jin Dynasty's strongest naval force; without a fleet to block them, from now on the Sunlight Country could drive straight in from the sea and bombard many important coastal cities; no one could bear such serious consequences.

The Jin Dynasty was originally a foreign race that had usurped the state; even though its national strength was now declining and it was corrupt from top to bottom, it had never forgotten to secretly guard against all Han people, fearing that its rule would be overthrown, and it had neither the courage nor the ability to fight a total war with the Sunlight Country.

The demon empress Xici even once had a famous saying: "Better to give to friendly nations than to domestic slaves"; this sentence was not a joke.

At this moment, with the sale of the small newspapers, public indignation was everywhere on the street, and even peddlers and porters were discussing this matter, filled with righteous anger.

Nowadays, the Jin Dynasty was corrupt, and the common people were in deep water; most of them wished the imperial court would collapse immediately, and there was only resentment, not to mention any loyalty to the monarch or patriotism.

And the only reason they were so indignant was that once the Jin Dynasty agreed to such a treaty that humiliated the nation and forfeited its sovereignty, the two hundred million Silver Yuan indemnity would inevitably be pressed onto the heads of all the bottom-tier commoners, making their already difficult lives even worse.

Under the news, the street was bustling with noise and angry clamor, and Lu Yuan and Xu Dahu had no heart to wander anymore, so they immediately returned to the Boxiyuan.

And at this time, small newspapers had already been sold here; even though it was mealtime, the hot-blooded Wrestler in the garden had no heart to eat, and they were all holding small newspapers in twos and threes, discussing and cursing with righteous indignation.

The two did not stop them and went straight to Li Junxian's small courtyard.

Then they saw that Li Junxian was currently lying on a grandmaster chair holding a small newspaper, his expression somewhat silent and somewhat sorrowful:

Xu Erhu was comforting him by his side: "Master, please don't get so angry that you ruin your health; it's not worth it."

Lu Yuan and Xu Dahu looked at each other and immediately understood the situation, then stepped forward to offer comfort.

"Self-proclaimed as the Celestial Empire, yet beaten into such a state of lost dignity by a tiny country; what kind of humiliation is this?"

Having long since held no hope for the Jin Dynasty, Li Junxian sighed with a livid face:

"The wind and rain are rocking the boat, the mansion is about to collapse; now, in this land of Shenzhou, whether it be lions, tigers, jackals, wolves, or wild dogs, anyone can come to trample it, anyone can come to tear off a piece; pitiful, sad, and laughable."

(End of chapter)