Chapter 403: The Scale

Hearing Liu Jin's cryptic words, An Ziyang's brows locked tight.

If Zhu Zai were not present, he would have killed Liu Jin directly.

There is a saying that "the boss's boss is not my boss." Li Miao cared about Zhu Zai, and An Ziyang cared about Li Miao, but that did not mean An Ziyang necessarily cared about Zhu Zai, let alone Zhu Yijing, who was one step removed.

Whether Zhu Yijing lived or died, he truly did not care.

If anything, he felt it would be better if he were dead.

Zhu Zai was old and had only this one son, Zhu Yijing. Once the situation stabilized, Li Miao would certainly push Zhu Zai to a higher position... then, when Zhu Zai passed away, who would succeed him?

Li Miao certainly wouldn't compete with Zhu Yijing; An Ziyang knew Li Miao had no desire to be Emperor. If someone else took the burden of those matters for him, he would only be pleased.

But what if Zhu Yijing died?

At this thought, An Ziyang glanced behind him without moving a muscle. This glance happened to cross paths with Zhu Zai's gaze.

An Ziyang shuddered.

"Right. The Old Garrison Commander has managed the Embroidered Uniform Guard for decades and has interrogated more prisoners than the Garrison Commander himself. He has already seen through my intentions... Forget it. I am the Garrison Commander's subordinate; this is his family matter, and I should not interfere."

"The Old Garrison Commander is not a muddled man, and his feelings for the Garrison Commander are genuine. He will not make a choice detrimental to the Garrison Commander. This kind of matter is best left for him to decide."

Having figured this out, An Ziyang threw Liu Jin in front of Zhu Zai.

Zhu Zai looked at Liu Jin for a moment and said hoarsely.

"Eunuch Liu, if you want to force me to make a choice, you must at least explain the options clearly before I can choose."

Liu Jin said calmly and indistinctly.

"Yes, Lord Zhu."

"Do you know the root of Yingzhou's founding?"

"At the very beginning, An Qisheng did not found Yingzhou for the sake of longevity, but to force someone to appear so that he could meet that person. Today, his collusion with me to attempt to usurp the imperial court was for the same purpose."

"He wants to see his master—the Old Man of the River."

Zhu Zai frowned.

"Founding Yingzhou, usurping the imperial court."

"What does this have to do with the Old Man of the River?"

Liu Jin was already dying; he only had two clones left. As the number of his clones dwindled, his life also entered a countdown, and he had no time left to play games.

So he said candidly.

"Everyone is like a dragon."

Zhu Zai was stunned for a moment.

"What do you mean, everyone is like a dragon?"

Liu Jin suddenly laughed; this was the first time he had laughed.

"Master Zhu, what is the foundation of the Yingzhou heritage?"

"Bone structure can be inherited, and cultivation realms can be passed down, which is why the Zheng clan can produce as many Heaven-men as the entire Wu Lin combined."

"The so-called Yingzhou is just an alchemy room established by An Qisheng to create more Heaven-men. The so-called longevity and the accumulation of nature-cultivation are merely byproducts."

"As for why this would involve the Old Man of the River... Master Zhu, do you still remember the cultivation art that His Majesty practiced? That art which utilizes the nature-cultivation of all Heaven-men in the world, that art of unknown origin."

"The Silent Radiance was already lost a thousand years ago; how could it suddenly appear at the founding of the dynasty? At that time, the Realized Person Zhang Sanfeng had long since passed away, and there wasn't even a Heaven-man who had unified the three paths in the Wu Lin. Who could have produced a manual for the Silent Radiance cultivation method?"

"For a thousand years, the Realized Person Zhang Sanfeng and the Venerable Bodhidharma both cultivated their nature-cultivation to perfection, but why did they not pass down their nature-cultivation methods, and why did they suddenly disappear?"

Zhu Zai's thoughts raced.

Suddenly, he was jolted awake.

Everything connected.

Ji Tianrui had once told Li Miao that the person who gave the cultivation art to the Jianwen Emperor might also not wish for Heaven-men to appear in the world. Ji Tianrui's plotting and instigation regarding the imperial mausoleum was to break the court's shackles on the Wu Lin, allowing more Heaven-men to emerge and forcing him to reveal himself.

An Qisheng's goal and methods were the same as hers.

That person who did not wish for Heaven-men to appear, that person who gave the cultivation art to the Jianwen Emperor, that person who gave the Profound Observation art to An Qisheng a thousand years ago, was the same person.

The Old Man of the River.

The disappearance of the Realized Person Zhang Sanfeng and the Venerable Bodhidharma, the reason they did not pass down their nature-cultivation methods, and the root cause of the three nature-cultivation paths gradually vanishing over the millennium... all vaguely focused on this person.

He did not wish for Heaven-men to appear, so the nature-cultivation methods were lost.

He did not wish for Heaven-men to appear, so the most outstanding masters of both the Buddhist and Daoist schools over the past millennium disappeared, leaving only their traditions and descendants, but no inheritance.

He did not wish for Heaven-men to appear, so An Qisheng spent a thousand years, harming dozens of generations of his own descendants, and colluding with Liu Jin to attempt to usurp the court... all of this was just to make more Heaven-men appear, so that he would be forced to show himself and meet with An Qisheng.

In a trance, Zhu Zai seemed to see a massive shadow standing above the firmament, looking down upon all living beings.