The midsummer of the Xuantian Continent was probably the most unbearable season of the year. During the day, the sun was scorching hot and shining on the body. Waves of heat rose from the ground, as if the entire world had become a big steamer. All living beings in this world were like buns in a steamer. Once they were cooked and thoroughly boiled, they could be released from the steamer.
The wind seemed to be hiding from this unbearable summer. In a day, there were only a few times when one saw it. Sometimes, as one looked forward to it, a gust of wind would blow, but it would make one's heart dry. Not only did it not feel better, but it also made one feel a lot more uncomfortable.
After a whole day, night finally fell. The stars rose into the sky, and the moon and the sun finally switched positions. Looking at the flashing dark blue starry sky seemed to calm his heart a lot. Even the hot feeling seemed to have disappeared a lot, allowing his tired mind to relax a lot.
Lying on his grandfather's lap, Jiu Xuan smelled the smoke. It was slightly pungent, but the smell seemed to be able to soothe one's soul. As he smelled it, Jiu Xuan couldn't help but feel a little dazed. He felt his eyelids fighting. He pointed at a star in the sky and asked in a daze,"Grandpa, what star is that?”
The old man looked up at the sky, his white hair shining slightly under the moonlight. He said,"That star, that star is amazing.”Looking at his grandfather's beard, Jiu Xuan couldn't help but reach out to scratch it.
As he spoke, the old man seemed to have fallen into some kind of memory. He raised his head slightly and looked at the sky. His eyes emitted an indescribable divine light, and the expression on his face changed slightly. Jiu Xuan shook his grandfather and said,""Grandpa, Grandpa, what's wrong?”
Looking at the concerned Jiu Xuan, the old man smiled and said,"Grandpa is fine. He just thought of some things in the past and was a little distracted.”As he spoke, he touched Jiu Xuan's head and felt his grandfather's palm caressing his forehead. Jiu Xuan closed his eyes slightly and said,"Grandpa, are there really immortals in this world?”
The old man thought for a moment and slowly said,""Of course there are immortals in this world. Your grandfather even saw immortals when I was young.”Upon hearing this, Jiu Xuan suddenly became angry. He sat up on the old man's lap and asked,""Grandpa, are those immortals like the legends? They can support the heavens and the earth, have three heads and six arms, and can call the wind and summon the rain?”
Jiu Xuan did not hear the second half of the old man's words because he was thinking about the immortals flying on their swords. For some reason, a yearning rose in his heart. He seemed to have seen that scene before, as if in a dream, or as if he had experienced it before. As he thought about it, he fell asleep.
The old man looked at Jiu Xuan sleeping soundly, and a smile appeared on his wrinkled face. He subconsciously reached out and gently patted Jiu Xuan's back, as if this would make him sleep more peacefully.
The old man narrowed his eyes and looked at the light in the sky that was not considered dazzling but was extremely bright. A trace of fear appeared on his face as he muttered,"Could it be that the prophecy back then was true?”He rubbed Jiu Xuan's head worriedly, lowered his body, and kissed Jiu Xuan's forehead. He muttered to himself,""I'm afraid the world is about to fall into chaos. I wonder what the fate of our grandfather and grandson will be like.”
In an unknown valley, an old Daoist in a Taoist robe was closing his eyes as if he was calculating something. After a while, his tightly shut eyes suddenly opened, but his eyebrows were tightly knitted together. He muttered,"This heavenly secret is indeed extremely obscure. No matter what I calculate, it seems like I'm fishing in troubled waters. It seems that chaos is really about to break out in this world. It's another tribulation of all living beings. I wonder who will be the one to take the lead this time.”At this point, he shook his head and said in a self-deprecating manner,"What does this have to do with me?"
After a while, the entire world returned to its original state. The planet that was crashing towards the continent seemed to have disappeared in the sky without a sound. The people who were kneeling on the ground were celebrating their so-called survival from the disaster. However, they did not know that the so-called disaster had not yet begun.
After a while, Jiu Xuan slowly said,""Grandpa, why did the Crape Myrtle Star disappear?”When the old man heard this question, he couldn't help but be stunned. He thought for a moment and said softly,"That star is probably tired and has gone to sleep. It's getting late, so we should go back to sleep.”Although he still had some doubts in his heart, he felt as if a ray of light had just streaked across the sky. Although he had some guesses in his heart, he had not seen it with his own eyes. Hearing the old man's words, Jiu Xuan could only follow him home obediently.
It was late at night, and the time had unknowingly arrived at midnight. Most people had already met the Duke of Zhou in their dreams, but there were also some people who were very excited. Their eyes were red, and they were talking about something in high spirits. They looked like crazy rabbits, which made people feel frightened.
In a heavily guarded palace, a group of people were plotting something. A young man in linen clothes said to the others,"Pass on the order of the Venerable One. From today onwards, your tribute will be increased by three times.”The rest of the people discussed animatedly when they heard this. A middle-aged man dressed in dragon robes said to the youth,"Emissary, three times is too much. Can it be less?”
The young man narrowed his eyes and looked at him. He snorted coldly and said,"I've seen that you've been sitting on the throne for a long time. Do you want someone to help you sit?”The middle-aged man broke out in a cold sweat when he heard this. He hurriedly said,"No, no, that's not what I meant, emissary. We will definitely pay the tribute on time.”The young man nodded his head in satisfaction and did not say anything else. He rose up in the wind and floated towards the horizon. He looked like a legendary immortal.
Looking at the youth disappearing into the horizon, the middle-aged man vented his anger on the remaining people. He pointed at this group of people and scolded,"You only know how to scheme against each other every day. Now that the Venerable One wants three times the amount of offerings, do you have any good ideas? If you can't think of anything today, then you don't have to leave this Lifire Great Hall!”
Upon hearing this, the officials who were originally whispering to each other became silent. Staring at the emperor whose face was red from anger, they couldn't help but lower their heads even lower, wishing they could bury them in their chests. For a moment, the atmosphere in the Lifire Great Hall became extremely stifling.
Just as the ministers were about to suffocate, an uncomfortable voice sounded. He said,"Your Majesty, this old servant has a good plan, but I don't know if I should say it.”They looked at the personal eunuch that they had originally hated, but now, he didn't seem so annoying anymore.
The Emperor glanced at him and said coldly,""If you want to raise taxes, you don't have to say anything.”Hearing this, the emperor's personal eunuch laughed dryly and said,"Your Majesty, increasing taxes will undoubtedly make the people resist. This old servant naturally won't let you do such a thing as destroying the city walls. However, if we want to hand over the offerings, we still have to start from the people.”
The Emperor looked at him doubtfully, indicating for him to continue. He hesitated for a moment and continued,"Of course we can't just rob like this, but we can pretend to be bandits and rob those remote villages. As long as we do it secretly, there shouldn't be any problems in the short term.”The officials were momentarily unable to react when they heard these words. They did not even know what to say at this moment. After all, this kind of thought was too frightening.
The Emperor looked at the sky outside the door with a complicated expression. He slowly closed his eyes and sighed helplessly,"Fate is unpredictable, and the world is unfair. You can't blame me for this. If you want to blame someone, blame us for being the relatively weaker side. If you want to hate someone, then hate this detestable Heaven.”
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