Chapter 169: I Do Not Wish To

"Virtuous brother, would you be willing to serve as the new Prime Minister of Beigan?"

"With power over the court and the field, below one person, above ten thousand."

"I can guarantee you, as long as you do not commit a grave error, I will certainly not fail you."

Li Long spoke these words with genuine sincerity, and with the two so close, Ren Yidao could feel his earnestness.

This emperor, who appeared to follow the Dao on the surface but was lonely in secret, truly hoped that Ren Yidao could stay by his side.

Ren Yidao fell silent.

He did not ask the question, "Why me?" again.

Li Long had already made it very clear; he did not care who Ren Yidao was, nor what forces stood behind him.

He did not care about any of it.

Even if Ren Yidao had his own secret ambitions, or things he wanted to achieve by utilizing this position.

He did not care about that either.

All Li Long hoped for was someone he could chat with easily.

Nothing more than that.

It must be said, this was an olive branch very difficult to refuse.

Not because the terms were so good, but because the person offering the olive branch was truly doing it very well.

If a ruler treats me as a man of national caliber, I must repay him as a man of national caliber.

Being valued so highly, I believe there are not many people whose hearts would feel anger.

The Marquis Zhuge, who was visited three times in his thatched cottage by Imperial Uncle Liu, once also said:

"Thus, a scholar dies for one who knows him, a girl adorns herself for one who delights in her, a horse gallops for one who spurs it, and a god becomes enlightened for one who understands him."

Especially the last line, "a god becomes enlightened for one who understands him," was particularly fitting for the current situation.

Ren Yidao was a disciple of the Divine Path Sect, and what he cultivated was the transformation into a Dao God, hoping for the unity of man and god.

He was extremely sensitive to the expectations of others.

He could feel that when Li Long expected this, there were truly no other hidden agendas.

For anyone, especially given the suspicious nature of an emperor, this was truly rare and commendable.

Moreover, compared to his daughter—who kept making empty promises and harbored evil intentions toward Huhu—the terms Li Long offered were undeniably high.

Comparing the two, the difference was immediately clear.

Li Fengyao was not yet the emperor, after all; he could not compare to the generosity of the terms Li Long offered, nor was he as reliable.

For a moment, Ren Yidao was indeed somewhat tempted.

Why not just agree and sit in this position of Prime Minister of the dynasty?

With such terms, even if he were to resign voluntarily in the future, Li Long would likely not hinder him much.

A super-high salary, premium treatment, the title of Imperial Brother, freedom of person, coming and going as he pleased... there might truly be no better job position in this world.

But...

"Apologies, Brother Long, Ren still cannot agree to you."

Ren Yidao held his wine cup in one hand and slowly rose from the steps.

He raised his hand to press down toward Li Long, signaling him not to be agitated yet, and to wait for him to finish speaking.

"Ren has two reasons."

"First, I am a person who cultivates the Dao."

This point was different from the reason he had previously told Li Qiushui.

"Brother Long, although we are both practitioners, our Daos are different, and our methods of cultivation also have their distinctions."

"Your Dao can be cultivated by oneself alone, ignoring the evaluations of outsiders, sitting in a dead-end seclusion for hundreds of years."

"But I cannot; it is not because my aptitude is insufficient, but because our Dao Techniques are different."

Hearing this, Li Long's previously tightly knit brows loosened slightly.

He somewhat understood what Ren Yidao meant, and muttered to himself:

"Divine Path Sect..."

The youth nodded calmly; this was something everyone in the world knew, and there was no need to hide it.

"Correct, the Secret Technique of my Divine Path Sect cultivates the Spirit Transformation Dao, taking the will of all living beings to forge a transcendent body."

"Although the thoughts of the world are weak, when gathered together, their influence on our cultivation is extremely great and cannot be easily touched."

"It is like pulling chestnuts from the fire; any slight movement could cause one to set oneself on fire and suffer a backlash."

Incense is like poison.

As someone who had lived through the internet age, Ren Yidao knew very well the true side of public opinion.

It was truly a double-edged sword that could harm both others and oneself.

Someone could explode in popularity overnight and be known by the whole world.

Someone could fall overnight and be cursed by the whole world.

Yesterday they were the "brother" of countless people, and tomorrow they could become a heinous villain.

Good deeds could become bad deeds in the mouths of the world, and villains could become great philanthropists after being spread a few times.

Truth and falsehood, falsehood and truth—it was hard to distinguish even a fraction.

This was a Pandora's box he absolutely could not touch at the moment.

"What if I, the Emperor, personally issue an order to have Daoist Temples dedicated to you built throughout Beigan?"

Li Long interrupted Ren Yidao's words and offered another solution.

"Let the Imperial Court lead the way to guide the mouths of the world; if there are those who intentionally cause trouble, just kill them all."

Li Long said this as a matter of course, speaking with ease and naturalness.

"You are a bit too extreme, always wanting to chop people's heads off."

However, having spent a long time with the Li Family, Ren Yidao had gradually become somewhat immune to this.

It was a case of being so accustomed to it that it no longer seemed strange.

Ren Yidao also got to experience for once what it meant for the Emperor's grace to be vast, and what it was like to have a domineering CEO fall in love with him...

Although he was moved in his Heart, Ren Yidao still shook his head and sighed:

"It is not that I cannot, but that I am unwilling."

"Although I could very likely use the Incense of mortals to break through in a very short time, it also carries great risks."

Right, from the very beginning, this matter was not about whether he could do it, but whether he was willing to do it.

"What's more, if I rely entirely on the help of others, what kind of Divine Path am I cultivating?"

Looking Li Long calmly in the eye, Ren Yidao spoke softly:

"I am unwilling."

I can ascend on my own; there is no need for the help of others.

Although he did not say it explicitly, Ren Yidao believed that Li Long could understand his meaning.

Because they were both cultivators.

"As for the second point... Heh."

After finishing the most serious part, Ren Yidao sat back down in his previous position, looked up at the dome of the great hall, and said softly:

"I am unwilling to be your subject."

"There is a distinction between ruler and subject; even if I, Ren, am confident, once I truly become this Prime Minister, I fear our relationship will change."

"Compared to a majestic Emperor Li Long, I, Ren, would rather you always remain Brother Long."

"Moreover, Brother Long, what you need is a friend who is disrespectful to you, not a subordinate who bows to you."

"Therefore, I am unwilling."

After Ren Yidao finished speaking, the great hall fell into a long silence.

The two sat side by side, but neither continued to speak.

It was not until a long while later that Li Long slowly exhaled and sighed:

"I never thought that even with me taking action personally, I would end up with such an outcome, heh."

Hearing Li Long's self-deprecating chuckle, Ren Yidao also began to laugh.

He knew that Li Long had already accepted it.

Li Long also had his pride; having been rejected like this, the matter was considered completely settled, and it would likely not be brought up again in the future.

Turning his head to look at the relaxed youth, Li Long gave a soft snort.

He could tell that while Ren Yidao's words just now were not lies, they were definitely not the full reason.

Nine parts truth, one part hidden.

However, what exactly he was hiding—was it important?

It was no longer important.