Chapter 476

After Zhang Qiu went to work at the embassy, Harry spent several relatively dull days until one day in mid-August, when she happily told him, “I have a relative who’s a consul here in London—he invited you to visit the embassy. I think it’d be fun—he’s a weirdo.”

“Your relative?” Harry showed a flicker of interest, but not much, “Is he a wizard too?”

“Yes, technically he’s my distant cousin’s uncle, but outside the five degrees of kinship,” Zhang Qiu said with a suppressed laugh, “I suspect he was driven out of the country. You’d crack up if you heard him speak.”

“Alright,” Harry said, following the logic that idle hands invite boredom, “I’ll go meet him.”

As for how Harry gained entry to the embassy, though he himself held no position at the Guofang Force, during the signing of the Super-Wizard Powers Treaty, the Guofang Force had already passed the “Merlin Accord” and granted him the honorary rank of General—making this, technically, a modest official visit. When Harry learned of this, he hoped it wouldn’t disrupt the Prime Minister’s strategy toward Europe.

Soon, under Zhang Qiu’s guidance, Harry met the elderly man named Zhang Mingyuan—thin, his face deeply lined, his sparse beard tied at the ends with a small copper coin, and most strikingly, a faint red vertical scar centered on his forehead, clearly an old wound from his youth.

“Young friend, rare to see you—truly, the younger generation is formidable,” Zhang Mingyuan warmly shook Harry’s hand, “I heard you’re the heir to the Tian Gang Armor—what a rarity. Your ancestors must have been from Shenzhou…”

Harry instantly understood why Zhang Qiu had laughed earlier. He could only force a polite expression and murmured, “Please, sit down, old sir.”

“Good, good. Young friend, I heard you and our little Qiu are betrothed—you’re practically family. Let me tell you the truth of this world, don’t let those barbarian lies fool you!”

Harry politely nodded along, but secretly glanced at Zhang Qiu—sure enough, she and another girl sat at a nearby table, pointing and whispering, stifling giggles.

“Though humanity now thrives across the world, in ancient times, countless races coexisted. Had it not been for the Demon-Wizard Cataclysm, we’d still be living under the rule of the Yao Court…”

He gripped Harry’s hand and launched into a long, incomprehensible tale of the Honghuang era. Finally, Harry summarized for him: “So you’re saying ancient Tianchao was once ruled by intelligent magical creatures? Are you certain it was all kinds of animals—not just spirits or something else?”

“Not just ancient Tianchao—the whole world!” Zhang Mingyuan shouted, eyes wide. “The evidence is right before everyone’s eyes: even many Muggles now realize the world wasn’t always fragmented—it was once one single continent. It was Gonggong who smashed Buzhou Mountain, causing heaven to tilt northwest and earth to sink southeast, shattering the Honghuang. Then Nüwa repaired the sky, the sages restructured heaven and earth, and divided the shattered Honghuang into the Four Great Continents, giving rise to the world as we know it.”

“That’s true,” Harry nodded. He’d heard this theory before, but it was so ancient—long before even dinosaurs existed.

“Alas, though humanity now prospers, we’ve been scattered across the world. Judging by your demeanor, you’ve clearly lost your records—what a tragedy,” Zhang Mingyuan lamented, “Losing techniques can be rebuilt, but forgetting your roots is an insult to our ancestors.”

“Young friend, now that you know the truth of the world, why not return with me to our homeland and pay homage to the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors? Reclaim your ancestral lineage!”

Harry struggled to pull his hand free, but the old man’s grip was astonishingly strong. He turned to Zhang Qiu for help.

“Uncle, no need to rush, no need to rush,” Zhang Qiu hurried over to help Harry escape, “He’s got other matters. When he has time, I’ll bring him back…”

Amid the old man’s confused gaze, Harry smiled awkwardly and left, muttering, “Your uncle’s theories are utterly outrageous—I nearly jumped out of my skin.”

“Yes, I was shocked too the first time I heard them,” Zhang Qiu said, pulling him away, “Probably because of Avalon, many believe it’s the real Avalon returned, so some back home have started digging through their myths, and wizards are straining to prove every legend is true.”

“I think he’s just pretending to be mad,” another girl joined them. Zhang Qiu introduced her: “This is my new friend, Lin Shuanghe.”

Harry smiled politely at her and listened.

“The older generation of hardliners are obsessed with conquering the world through myth—they’ve gone to great lengths to revive the Honghuang legends to legitimize their claims,” Lin Shuanghe said seriously. “The newer generation scoffs at such nonsense. We focus more pragmatically on how to achieve simple, effective expansion before Xuan Jun emerges from seclusion.”

“What about the conservatives?”

“There’s only one conservative in the whole country—your Master.”

But Harry felt it was too hasty to dismiss the Honghuang myths as mere propaganda for legitimacy. He asked cautiously, “Could any of this be true? Could there have been a supercivilization in ancient times? Don’t Xuan Jun and Donald Fontroy both have archaeological discoveries?”

“I believe the existence of a supercivilization is undeniable,” Zhang Qiu nodded seriously. “It may have been a civilization created jointly by wizards and Muggles after the secrecy laws were broken—my Master has unearthed many artifacts from it: both magical techniques and Muggle technologies. But it has nothing to do with the Honghuang legends.”

“Even if Honghuang were real, it makes no sense that only records survived while all the techniques vanished. Everything we have now began developing from the Zhaozong era,” Lin Shuanghe said logically. “Perhaps many of our techniques drew inspiration from Xuan Jun’s discoveries, but they also rely heavily on research and practice from the Institute of Reason.”

“By the way, Xuan Jun first proposed seizing Yingzhou after he proposed the steam engine and built iron ships. Back then, casualties were heavy. By the second landing, Muggle technology alone had far surpassed their expectations. I wonder if lifting the secrecy law could spark a new military revolution.” As she spoke, Lin Shuanghe kept glancing at Harry, clearly trying to extract information from him.

But she was doomed to disappointment—the Guofang Force had never contacted him, and the Prime Minister had merely sent a personal congratulatory note on his engagement to Zhang Qiu, without mentioning anything she might care about.

“By the way, when you invaded Yingzhou, did you even bother fabricating a casus belli?” Harry asked.

“They attacked us first—for years. Even the Hongwu Dynasty recorded it,” Zhang Qiu said fairly. “With such deep grudges, it was easy.”

“Unlike now. After so many years of isolation, we feel like drawing our swords and staring blankly around—now it’s whoever attacks us, we attack back,” Lin Shuanghe added.

“But if you’re planning limited military expansion during Xuan Jun’s seclusion,” Harry turned the tables, “you can’t retaliate against everyone. If Yanayev marched south, that’d be worth discussing—but if some tiny European nation sent a single ship to harass your borders, would you really send troops halfway across the world to punish them?”

“Precisely. So figuring out how to frame the countries we actually want to attack as aggressors is a delicate operation.”

Harry began pondering which nation Tianchao might target. It was a hard question for him—he knew nothing of East Asian geography. But by reverse logic, since Lin Shuanghe and Zhang Mingyuan hadn’t summoned him randomly, what they wanted must relate to Britain—either a northward move against Yanayev, or a push toward the Ganges.

Once he understood, he decided to end this conversation—sharp-edged but meaningless.

“If you’re targeting the Indian subcontinent, I think it has nothing to do with us. First, they’re already independent. Second, even if we pretended to propose plans, they wouldn’t cooperate—they still lean toward Yanayev,” Harry said helplessly. “And since independence, Britain has no capacity to project power into Asia—unless they hitch a ride with Bai Gong. But clearly, you have no intention of crossing the Pacific to fight them, do you?”

Lin Shuanghe was startled—she hadn’t expected Harry to react so quickly. She took a moment to mask her emotion, then said awkwardly, “But isn’t he still part of the Commonwealth? What about other Commonwealth nations, like Australia?”

"Miss Lin, given that Xuan Jun could appear at any moment, I believe your adventurous plan won't involve overseas operations. It's more practical to seize whatever land you can than to chase after a distant island you may never fully control. That's point one. Point two: Britain's high command is focused entirely on Europe and Yanayev—they won't get involved in this mess. We have zero interests in Asia. That's point two. And finally, my base remains in the magical world—I have little influence over Muggle policy. Talking to me is pointless."

Zhang Qiu shrugged. “See? I told you—don’t expect people to be fools. Trying to persuade Harry here is useless. Just send an envoy to die in their house.”