Chapter 2: The Unique Copy of the Dao De Jing!

The most important thing is the popularity and attention a super rocket brings—those are what attract a streamer the most!

"Alright, I'll try my best," Li Yan said, perked up and smiled at Ye Yun: "Daoist elder, your moves just now really opened my eyes…"

"Hold it, hold it. Let's go, I'll show you around the temple."

Ye Yun set the orange cat aside, stood up, and walked ahead.

Seeing that Ye Yun didn't want to talk about his skills, Li Yan could only linger behind him, planning to ask again when the chance came.

As they walked, Ye Yun narrated the temple's history to Li Yan; the temple is only a little over three hundred years old, yet it has endured countless hardships.

"The last time I went down the mountain was in the eighth year of the Republic, when people loved to talk about science and Western learning; many treated science as a scripture."

"The eighth year of the Republic? That's about a hundred years ago?"

"Just brag, keep bragging! I'm the last emperor of the braid!"

"Streamer, does this performance feel awkward to you?"

Li Yan's respect, sparked by Ye Yun's display of a supreme skill, vanished instantly; indeed, a man's words are deceitful ghosts.

"The twenty‑eighth year of the Republic? Daoist elder, you must be joking—you're only about twenty years old, right?"

Ye Yun glanced back at Li Yan: "Am I that young?"

Li Yan made a goofy face at Ye Yun, saying, "What do you mean, am I that young? You're already very young, aren't you?"

"Daoist elder, does your temple have any historical relics or the like?"

"Mostly, yes. In the east side annex's scripture repository, there's the Dao De Jing unique copy that the Han Xiaowen Emperor gave me, bearing the National Treasure Jade Seal—truly a priceless treasure!"

Li Yan's mouth twitched: "Do you know the Han Xiaowen Emperor Liu Heng?"

"Are you a two‑thousand‑year‑old old rice‑dumpling? Still hopping around?"

"Could you, Daoist elder, show it to me?" Li Yan didn't believe Ye Yun had seen the Han Emperor, but wanted to see if the relic was genuine.

Ye Yun readily nodded, led Li Yan into the east annex, and upon entering saw a mountain of ancient books filling the room; he carelessly dove into the piles and began rummaging.

"Hahaha, I want to see how long this streamer and this actor can keep acting!"

"Exactly, and it's a book from the Han Emperor? I'm studying archaeology; I can tell real from fake at a glance!"

Li Yan ignored the chat, took a rugged bamboo slip from Ye Yun's hand; the slip exuded an aura of countless years, its appearance and texture felt aged. Li Yan couldn't be sure it was a Western Han artifact, but it was certainly older than she was.

"The last person who came to me to see the Dao De Jing was a guy named Zhuge Liang. I advised him not to meddle in worldly affairs, but he wouldn't listen, left with the words 'My fate is my own, not heaven's,' and went. In the end, the Seven‑Star Borrow‑Life technique I taught him never got a chance to be used, and he died."

Li Yan seemed accustomed to Ye Yun's bragging, ignored his words, and carefully opened the bamboo slip.

When the slip was opened, a black‑red seal appeared; though the characters were a bit blurry, the eight small seal characters could be clearly identified.

"Mandated by Heaven! Everlasting longevity and health!"

"No way, it can't really be a Han Emperor relic, right? Is that archaeology guy still here? Come out and let Da Huo have a look!"

"Hehe, no need for that big brother to step in; I can already tell the authenticity!"

"If you think you can tell, say whether it's real or fake!"

"It's clearly fake! It reads 'Dao is not Dao, not constant Dao' on top; if it were authentic, it would have avoided the name taboo of Emperor Liu Heng, and in the Western Han it would have been altered to 'Dao is not Dao, very Dao'."

"Ahem, you're right, but I think this bamboo slip is ninety‑plus percent genuine!" A fellow viewer who claimed to study archaeology suddenly chimed in.

"I just captured a few screenshots for my teacher; he said it's likely genuine and was pulling me to go to the streamer right now!"

"WTF, who is your teacher? He sounds unreliable!" The rebutted netizen asked back, a bit unwillingly.

"Bullshit! My teacher is the archaeology titan Yun Changshan!"

"Sss… If Old Yun says it's probably genuine, it's likely ninety‑plus percent true!"

Li Yan noticed the on‑screen chat and suddenly worried that thieves might see the live stream and harm the Daozhang, so she quickly said goodbye: "Everyone, it seems these relics are genuine. In the interest of protecting them, we'll end today's broadcast here. See you next time!"

After ending the stream, Li Yan's excitement could no longer be contained; the bamboo slip she held, despite her injury, turned out to be a two‑thousand‑year‑old artifact!

"Calling it a national treasure would probably not be an exaggeration!"

"Daoist elder, here's the bamboo slip back to you; keep it safe! By the way, why is your scripture repository unlocked? Aren't you afraid of theft?"

"They're just a pile of junk; who would steal them? By the way, don't you want this copy of the Dao De Jing?" Ye Yun cast a suspicious glance at Li Yan. The last time a villager named Zhuge came, he cried and begged for the Dao De Jing to be given away—why doesn't this girl want it?

"Huh? This thing is too valuable; I can't even imagine owning it," Li Yan said honestly.

"Actually, you're thinking correctly, right?" Ye Yun smiled, looked into Li Yan's eyes, and suddenly felt his heart race; within his Dao Heart, a flash of insight seemed about to burst forth, as his Dao Heart, dormant for a thousand years, began to awaken.

"Fate?! This Dao De Jing and this girl? No! It feels like it's at the foot of the mountain! In the mortal world!"

"This sensation, just a hair's breadth away from being reached, feels like the earth‑binding force is about to dissipate; he is about to break his shackles and ascend like an Earth Immortal!"

Li Yan remained silent, her cheeks slightly flushed as she lowered her head; who wouldn't want this bamboo slip?

Although it's a national‑treasure‑level artifact, private trade doesn't usually reach criminal levels. Based on past auction records, even ordinary bamboo slips made from simple bamboo strips can fetch over a million; this one, in excellent condition and bearing the jade seal, could easily sell for tens of millions.

"It's not impossible to want it. I have a crucial fate that requires me to descend the mountain and walk the mortal world; I haven't gone down in nearly a hundred years. If you take me down and give me this scripture, I'll give it to you…" Ye Yun couldn't hide his excitement, saying that a hundred years have passed in the human realm, and to enter society one must adapt to local customs; having a guide would be nice.