Chapter 524: Sun

Zhan Lang shook off his daze, hearing this his eyes lit up instantly: "Lao Da, you're too cunning!"

How can this person talk like that?

Cheng Shuili glanced at him, then continued: "Iron Curtain wants to tie us down with a single agreement—too simplistic. We signed the non-aggression pact to buy time and steady the north and south wings. But that doesn't mean we must cripple ourselves, giving up any chance to restrain the opponent."

She paused, looking at Zhan Lang: "Over at the Permafrost Wasteland, do you have any channels to contact them?"

Zhan Lang pondered a moment: "We've made a few trades before, not close, but getting a message across is definitely not difficult."

"Alright, you handle this." Cheng Shuili said, "No need to spell it out; just let them know Black Feather, though hindered by the agreement from giving direct aid, respects their cause against Iron Curtain. The rest, let them figure it out."

"Understood." Zhan Lang nodded, then asked, "What about Holy Flame over there? The preaching conditions are indeed thorny, and their attitude remains firm."

Cheng Shuili didn't answer right away, but countered: "Zhan Lang, you say in our Dong Da Qu, how many people are highly prestigious?"

Zhan Lang hesitated, then spoke cautiously: "If we talk about official identities from the old world Long Guo, I and Qing Ping Le count. If we talk about the influence of current faction leaders, Lao Da, you are unquestionably deserving. Besides that… only Qing Qing has given a single kiss."

"So you guess, who does Holy Flame want?" Cheng Shuili looked at him.

Zhan Lang fell silent for a moment, then spoke with difficulty: "I'm afraid… it's either me or Qing Ping Le."

Cheng Shuili nodded: "In the old world, Long Guo had the most people; the former Long Guo Da Qu was also the most populous region. Now with the division into four great regions—east, west, south, north—the Dong Da Qu naturally has the most people."

They now want to use your and Qing Ping Le's official identities to endorse their so-called doctrine. A legitimate Long Guo official participating in their Holy Fire Festival, speaking face-to-face with their missionaries— for Holy Flame, this is probably a far more glorious victory than capturing cities and seizing territory.

Zhan Lang clenched his fists: "They're just using the pretext of preaching to spread their ideas in our Dong Da Qu, brainwashing our people! This condition absolutely cannot be accepted!"

Cheng Shuili didn't directly agree, she asked: "What exactly did Holy Flame say? When is the Holy Fire Festival they want to hold?"

"This coming Sunday; Sunday is a monthly rest day, they consider it auspicious. After signing the agreement, they want us to send people over; on the day of the Holy Fire Festival, our people will need to cooperate with them in preaching within Dong Da Qu."

Zhan Lang said, then suddenly grew angry: "I previously thought we were just sending our people over to cooperate with the process, but now I realize they want to first brainwash the person we send over, then send that person back to brainwash others!"

Cheng Shuili smiled, with a hint of inscrutable meaning: "We still have to agree, but who goes, what they do there, and how we explain it afterward—these are all negotiable."

"Lao Da, what you mean is…"

"Let Qing Ping Le go." Cheng Shuili said.

Zhan Lang exclaimed in shock: "Lao Da!"

Cheng Shuili raised her hand to stop him: "But not as an authority figure of Dong Da Qu going to flatter Holy Flame, rather as an inheritor of Long Guo civilization, going to Nan Da Qu to inspect, exchange, and spread the Dao."

She paused word by word: "They want to spread their faith; why can't we spread our Dao?"

Zhan Lang stood frozen.

Cheng Shuili looked at him, voice gentle yet firm: "Over five thousand years, how many foreign beliefs have entered Long Guo, but in the end, haven't they all been tinged with Long Guo's colors? Holy Flame wants to preach in Dong Da Qu—fine, then let them first listen to how Long Guo people view heaven and earth, all things, and moral principles."

I've heard that Qing Ping Le was a doctorate at the Literary Academy, right? Only later did she pass the civil service exam. Her wealth of knowledge can't be used for fighting, so let's use it in this war without gunfire.

Tell Holy Flame, we can send people, conditions can be negotiated. But preaching must be two-way, time equal, setting same standard. Their missionaries give a talk, Qing Ping Le also gives a talk. If they dare let Dong Da Qu people hear their doctrine, they must prepare for our people to listen to Long Guo's thousand-year civilization.

Zhan Lang's breathing grew rapid.

He knew Qing Ping Le was a Literary Academy doctorate, but he had never thought of doing this.

Zhan Lang suddenly understood: the young Wuya Lao Da before him was unlike any faction leader he had ever seen.

Others consider victory or defeat, immediate gains and losses, the survival of their faction.

Whereas Wuya considers something far more distant and vast…

Upon realizing that their Lao Da harbored the idea of annexing all the great regions, Zhan Lang felt he was like those ancient ministers who followed a wise ruler.

At this moment, he finally understood why those ministers in the novels he'd read before were so excited.

When a person realizes they are doing something extremely great, they cannot stay calm.

Zhan Lang clenched his fist, then relaxed, relaxed again, then clenched again.

He recalled the sunrises he had seen as a youth at the border outpost.

At the easternmost point of the border, dawn breaks earliest; when the snow-capped peaks are gilded gold, behind them still lies deep night.

The old squad leader said, "This place is great—the sun starts shining from here."

Later the old squad leader was gone, the outpost gone, the border line gone, and everyone ended up in this godforsaken place.

Zhan Lang thought he would never see a sunrise again in his lifetime.

But at this moment, Wuya casually saying "spread our Dao," Zhan Lang seemed to see a sun rising from behind her.

This world is completely different from the one we originally inhabited; perhaps everyone will die in the next disaster.

But at this moment, Zhan Lang sincerely felt that the journey to this point, the scenery he'd seen, was not bad; no matter what the final outcome, he wants to follow Cheng Shuili to see it.

Zhan Lang didn't say those words out loud.

He just stood there, looking at Cheng Shuili, thousands of words churning in his throat, finally swallowing them all back.

Some words need not be spoken.

Cheng Shuili waited a few breaths, seeing he had nothing more to add, she withdrew her gaze, tone as usual: "Just let Qing Ping Le know; no need to persuade, she'll agree."

"How does Lao Da know?" Zhan Lang asked.

Cheng Shuili said offhand: "In the previous world, books were precious, and the reasoning inside them precious. Now these things cannot be found anywhere in the world; only she has them in her mind. If something happened to her, they might be lost forever. Now that there are those willing to listen and to transmit, she naturally longs for it."

Zhan Lang stared, then gave a bitter smile.

"Yeah, with Qing Ping Le's personality, who needs persuasion?"