Shamoli strode out of the courtyard with his head held high, only to find neither sight nor sound of his bevy of lovely wives and concubines. The courtyard lay empty, save for a few withered leaves drooping on the ground and a middle-aged man standing near the stone chamber, quietly watching him.
"This humble one is Chen Donghe. Greetings, Your Majesty. My felicitations on Your Majesty's breakthrough into Qi Refinement."
Chen Donghe offered the soft congratulation. Being addressed as "Your Majesty" twice made Shamoli feel wonderfully gratified. He wagged his head in delight and swept his spiritual sense over the man. The fellow had a cultivation at the second layer of Qi Refinement. Shamoli had often seen him at Li Yuanxiu's side, though he had never known his name. Cupping his hands, he replied,
"Greetings, fellow Daoist."
Chen Donghe paid him no heed, however. Bowing respectfully, he said in a deep voice,
"Second Uncle, this is Shamoli."
Shamoli froze. Only then did he realize another figure had appeared before him. Cold sweat broke out instantly, dread gripping his heart.
The newcomer wore a simple grey robe. His brows were long and gentle, his bearing grand and far-reaching. Across his back hung a sword wrapped tightly in cloth, while another hung at his waist—a peculiar sight indeed. His cultivation was already at the ninth layer of Qi Refinement.
"Shamoli... greets... Senior..."
Shamoli knew at once that this man had to be the Li family's ancestor, Li Tongya. He dropped to one knee, clasping his fists, not daring to utter another word, his heart pounding with anxiety.
Li Tongya cast a glance at him and said softly,
"Condense your true essence and show me."
Taking a close look at the secret lightning true essence in Shamoli's palm, Li Tongya gave a slight nod. This Purple Lightning Secret Origin Method was indeed extraordinary. Its power was formidable, endowed with rare lightning power; no wonder the required Xuanyin lightning liquid was so difficult to harvest. Had Shamoli used pure heaven-and-earth spirit qi to step into Qi Refinement, he would likely have counted among the strongest in the early layers of Qi Refinement.
Li Tongya's spiritual sense lingered over Shamoli for a time before he finally spoke:
"Rise. We are sending you back to the Shanyue to be your king."
Though Shamoli had anticipated this, hearing it still filled him with uncontrollable excitement. He kowtowed several times against the ground, pouring out words of gratitude. When he finally looked up, Li Tongya's figure had already vanished.
Before Shamoli could regain his wits, several people strode briskly through the courtyard gate. Pinning him in place, they stripped him of his Eastlander garments and adorned him with beast bones and jade stones of various sizes. They took off the topknot crown he had worn in imitation of the Eastlanders and pulled out the jade hairpin. His long hair cascaded loose at once, restoring the guise of a Shanyue tribesman.
"This..."
The loose hair tickled Shamoli's neck and shoulders. Having stayed in Eastlander territory for so long, he had secretly grown to despise this wild, disheveled look. Extremely awkward, he could only offer a goofy chuckle.
Once he was fully dressed and adorned, he was escorted out of the courtyard. On the stone steps before him knelt a crowd of Shanyue people—the retinue the Li family had assembled for him. More than a dozen of them had been his companions during his years among the Eastlanders. Shamoli hurried down the steps and called out,
"You are all my right-hand men! Rise, please rise quickly!"
Shamoli blurted the words out without thinking, sounding not at all like a Shanyue king should sound. The crowd rose with strange expressions on their faces. Shamoli, oblivious or unbothered, beamed with delight as he parted the crowd, stepped onto the wooden footstool, and boarded a carriage drawn by two grand horses.
Flap...
Shamoli's banner was hoisted high. Surrounded by troops and horses, the procession moved majestically out of town.
Shamoli reclined inside the spacious carriage, listening to the clanking of weapons and the rhythmic thud of marching feet. He caressed the soft, comfortable fabric beneath him again and again, popped a fruit into his mouth, and curled his lips into a smile.
"Now this is living! What kind of wretched life was I living for the past few decades..."
Unexpectedly, the curtain rustled open with a snap, and an old man walked in. His beard and hair were stark white, his face thick with scowling flesh, and his round, wide eyes glared straight at Shamoli. Shamoli choked in fright, quickly straightening his posture, and put on an imposing air:
"Who might you be?"
The old man was at the peak of Embryonic Breathing, dressed in Eastlander attire. The bristles of his white beard twitched as the heavy flesh on his face relaxed. Speaking in an aged cadence, he said:
"Let it be known to Your Majesty: I was once part of the Shanyue tribe that occupied what is now Eastern Shanyue. Broken by Jianixi's eastward drive, I cast my lot with the Eastlanders. Later, I followed Duke Xiangping seven times in and out of the Shanyue lands, racking up distinguished service. It has now been twenty-one years."
"A rival of Jianixi?!"
Hearing the old man speak in such a grand tone, Shamoli was genuinely startled. A figure of Jianixi's stature was revered like a destined sovereign among the Shanyue; back then, Shamoli's own father had merely been a general under Jianixi. His attitude shifted to instant deference, and he asked respectfully,
"May I know Senior's name?"
"Ahui La!"
The old man grinned, baring a mouthful of yellow teeth. His eyes bored into Shamoli's face as he said slowly,
"Unworthy as I am, I have been honored with the post of Your Majesty's grand shaman-priest, to oversee the houses of hunting, shamanic medicine, and cultivation."
Shamoli stiffened. In Shanyue hierarchy, the grand shaman-priest held a status akin to a deputy king. Before Shamoli's backside had even warmed the throne, the Li family had already placed their people in position. It was deeply awkward, yet he dared not let it show. Forcing an eager smile, he said obsequiously,
"I shall rely heavily on the Shaman-Priest's assistance hereafter!"
"Naturally."
Watching Ahui La's neat, pinned-up hair, Shamoli squirmed uncomfortably. Unable to stand it any longer, he coiled his hair up and secured it with a jade chopstick from the table. Only then did he exhale a long breath and chuckle,
"I really cannot stand this barbaric look."
Ahui La let out a hearty laugh and raised his head with considerable pride. In all seriousness, he said,
"Eastlander etiquette is elaborate and intricate. Your Majesty still has much to learn!"
"Quite so!" Shamoli nodded with grave solemnity.
————
"Brother, have you settled on a way to govern these Shanyue lands?"
Li Yuanjiao stood upon the swaying carriage, gazing out toward the rugged mountain path in the distance. The carriage he and Li Yuanxiu rode was unlike Shamoli's; it was a chariot built for charging into battle. It offered a wide, unobstructed view, and the cold wind blew straight into their faces. Fortunately, both were immortal cultivators at the second layer of Embryonic Breathing, so the chill caused them no discomfort.
"Mm."
Li Yuanxiu gave a slight nod, resting an arm on the chariot's side rail, and said softly,
"The Shanyue commoners will be governed by Shamoli while we stand behind the scenes. State affairs will run according to established Shanyue custom, but every post concerning the immortal path will be held firmly by our people. Once Eastern Shanyue is conquered, we will immediately survey the land and measure the spirit fields.
"These spirit fields and spirit resources will naturally belong to our Li family, farmed and harvested by people we dispatch... Eastern Shanyue is vast; there are bound to be plenty of spirit fields."
Li Yuanjiao nodded and murmured,
"Our family's cultivators may not even be enough to go around. When the time comes, we will just have to select the most fertile spirit fields to cultivate first."
Li Yuanxiu smiled, casting a glance at Shamoli's carriage ahead, and replied,
"Eastern Shanyue has well over two hundred thousand people. How many Embryonic Breathing cultivators could such a population nurture? Even if they cannot fight in magical battles, there will be no issue putting them to work cultivating spirit fields. And even if these Shanyue people are inept at farming, send them east to live for a few years, and they will eagerly learn."
The two brothers exchanged a smile. Over the years, they had seen far too many Shanyue people who came east become enamored with the refined, luxurious life of the East. Of their own accord, they had donned Eastlander robes, fastened hair crowns, and learned to speak fluent Guanhua, holding Shanyue ways in even greater contempt than native Eastlanders did. Thus, the brothers possessed absolute confidence in transforming these people.
"'When barbarians enter among our Eastlanders, their customs shift and they become Eastlanders!'"
Li Yuanxiu chuckled, tapping the long sword in his grip, and lowered his voice:
"What one cannot attain only becomes all the more precious. Once we control Eastern Shanyue, we shall strictly restrict the Shanyue from moving east, forcing their nobles to sell everything they have just to catch a glimpse of the East. A top-down reverence for Eastlanders will sweep across the Shanyue, and in less than twenty years, they will be no different from Eastlanders!"
Chapter 179