"Is the West Wilderness going to be destroyed?" In the South Li Palace, Mang You was laughing heartily with the generals. "This is truly madness."
Facing the mockery, Li Qinglin maintained his smile. "This world is not just made up of South Li and West Wilderness. There are many powerful nations in the Central Lands, far stronger than either of us. It seems you barbarians have forgotten that."
The generals of West Wilderness continued to laugh, but Mang You began to realize something, and his smile slowly faded.
Li Qinglin spoke slowly, as if teaching a subordinate.
"Our southern region has a complicated landscape and rough roads. If a great nation from the Central Lands wants to invade, the journey is difficult, and transporting supplies is a hassle. Even if they expend manpower and resources to conquer us, they can only rule from afar, and with scarce resources, it’s not worth it.
There have been great nations at our gates before, and when we offered to be their vassals, they let us govern ourselves and pay tribute. When that great nation fell, we in South Li remained, becoming an independent state again. This is the foundation of South Li’s survival for a thousand years."
At this point, Li Qinglin looked at Mang You with pity. "You barbarians have only just risen in the last century, with a thin culture and shallow history. You probably don’t understand this and genuinely think that stronger nations don’t exist?"
Mang You didn’t get angry; his expression grew serious. "Are you... colluding with the great nations of the Central Lands?"
"The north is now the Qian Kingdom," Li Qinglin said, resting his hand on the armrest of the dragon chair, smiling leisurely. "A month ago, I sent envoys to pay tribute... well, not exactly tribute, I am still the king of South Li, and the Qian Kingdom even sent gifts to show their goodwill."
"I never expected you, Li Qinglin, to willingly lower yourself to be a vassal!"
"So you are just a general, while I am a king," Li Qinglin replied calmly. "Politics doesn’t care about face; it only cares about results."
"And the result is that the Qian Kingdom hasn’t sent a single soldier to protect you?"
"I wish they would come... but the journey is difficult, and with this winter storm, they can’t send a large army. If they send a few thousand elite troops to defend me, they simply don’t want to, and that’s understandable." Li Qinglin smiled. "But there are other ways... They may not want to guard the city, but sending a vanguard to point their swords at West Wilderness changes the situation. Conquering a nation is something we both find interesting, and the emperor of Qian Kingdom is certainly interested too."
Mang You’s expression changed dramatically. "You border generals are indeed scheming to keep us trapped in South Li!"
"Of course it’s a scheme. Do you think I, Li Qinglin, would be such a foolish ruler that no one would pledge loyalty to me? It’s obvious that it’s not normal for everyone to defect and lead the way. Mang Zhan is brainless, but you, Mang You, are not?" Li Qinglin laughed. "Now the entire West Wilderness is mobilizing troops to invade South Li, while they are empty-handed. Who knows what the thousands of vanguard troops from Da Qian will achieve..."
The faces of the West Wilderness generals changed.
Mang You said sharply, "You’re just spreading fear. If that’s the case, why don’t you let the Li Huo army defend this city, instead of sending them all to Hengshan County, leaving yourself here to wait for death?"
Li Qinglin shook his head regretfully. "If that were the case, you would retreat and push back the Qian troops, or perhaps even go to pay tribute, and the situation would remain unchanged. Next year, they would come back again. What would be the use of that? I want a permanent solution, to completely settle this situation."
Before he finished speaking, a rain of arrows suddenly fell from the sky, hitting all the soldiers Mang You had stationed outside the palace gate, turning them into porcupines. The palace gate seemed to have some mechanism and slammed shut with a bang.
At the same time, a great fire erupted in the palace, spreading so quickly that there was hardly any time to react. The entire square was engulfed in flames, including Li Qinglin and Mang You, who were instantly swallowed by the flames.
Li Qinglin laughed loudly in the raging fire. "Your strongest blood warriors and seasoned generals from West Wilderness will all die here. The fate of West Wilderness is lost. South Li has only lost a foolish ruler, but the princess and the elite Li Huo troops are all safe. As long as she’s not foolish, it will be your West Wilderness that is destroyed, not my South Li!"
The West Wilderness army didn’t care what he was saying; they were in chaos, pushing toward the palace gate. How could they break through in such a short time?
Mang You felt a chill all over.
Even if Da Qian sent troops to help him defend the city, Li Qinglin would probably refuse. He was clearly using himself as bait, sacrificing his own life, turning the South Li palace into a grave, dragging the entire fate of West Wilderness down with him!
In a fit of rage, he roared and swung his giant axe at Li Qinglin with all his might.
Li Qinglin blocked it with his spear, and both were engulfed in flames.
"I never had much time left to live. To have so many brave warriors from West Wilderness accompany me in death is not a bad thing."
In the midst of the fierce flames, Li Qinglin’s expression was calm, as if he couldn’t feel the pain of the fire burning him. "I forgot to tell you, this fire is your East Huazi’s blazing formation. When you were collecting the blazing stones, the people of South Li were filled with resentment. Now it is being used well, not wasting the sacrifices of the people of South Li."
No one paid him any mind; the fire quickly spread to everyone, and all were rolling on the ground in agony, their screams drowning out Li Qinglin’s words.
Mang You dropped his axe, rolling on the ground in pain, using his last strength to point at Li Qinglin. "Since you ascended the throne, have you been foolishly cultivating? Was it all a scheme?"
Li Qinglin silently leaned on his spear, closing his eyes. "No, back then... it was real."
"Boom!" The palace collapsed, and the flames lit up the sky.
...
Ming He quietly watched the firelight above Li Huo City, remembering the conversation he had with Li Qinglin a few days ago.
"Didn’t you want to tell Qing Jun about your plans?"
"If Qing Jun knows, she won’t agree. She would insist on going down with Li Huo City, and that would be troublesome."
"Then... I told you about the origins of the jade pendant. Why haven’t you sent anyone to search for it, instead giving the jade pendant to Qing Jun?"
Li Qinglin stared at the carved dragon on the beam, and after a long time, he slowly said, "I was once worried and shaken. I wanted power and longevity... but I’m not as great as I once imagined. When I realized I couldn’t cultivate even a trace of immortal energy using Qin Yi’s methods, I became extremely irritable, scolding my concubines and whipping palace servants—perhaps I’m just an ordinary person, with a potential for tyranny."
Ming He quietly watched him, not responding.
"But Daoist, people are strange... One day, I suddenly woke up, and it was clearer than ever... I realized that not only was I beyond saving, but South Li was also beyond saving; it has rotted to the core... If we had a few years to slowly turn things around, there might be a chance, but West Wilderness won’t give us that time. They won’t even wait for spring; this winter will surely bring a thunderous surprise attack."
Ming He continued to listen quietly.
"In such a short time, even if Qing Jun were to put in the effort, South Li wouldn’t survive this calamity. The previous ambitions were merely self-deception." Li Qinglin smiled. "So what should we do? Wait for West Wilderness to invade, and after a heroic battle, be destroyed, becoming a few lines of sorrow in history?"
Ming He finally spoke. "What I asked was, why don’t you seek the owner of the jade pendant, instead of asking about your national policy?"
"Because I don’t want to search anymore." Li Qinglin smiled. "If I die, then I die. Who can escape death? I’ve found out what my true intention is."
"What is it?"
"No matter how many achievements I make, in the end, it’s just a handful of dirt and a few feet of grave. Since that’s the case, why did I want those achievements in the first place?"
Ming He shook his head. "I have never understood why you seek those achievements."
Li Qinglin’s gaze became strange. "Daoist, your sect is extraordinary; perhaps some can achieve longevity? But to survive in a cave, hidden from the world, unknown to others. Compared to being recorded in history and admired for generations... who truly achieves immortality?"
Ming He was taken aback and fell silent.
"Everyone has their own aspirations; this question probably has no answer." Li Qinglin laughed again. "Qing Jun loves to seek immortality. If one day she can break free from the shackles of South Li, that jade pendant will be her guide, and I won’t use it. But Daoist, when you see Qin Yi in the future, please tell him something for me."
"Please say."
"Well... he is a friend worth having. I feel bad for troubling him with this journey."
Ming He asked in surprise, "Is that it?"
"No... I once told him that I would rather believe the Great Sage is dead than accept that the Monkey King sits cross-legged and achieves immortality as a Buddha." Li Qinglin said slowly. "Please tell my friend that although I was once shaken, I ultimately did it."
Looking at the towering flames, Ming He recalled the divination he had made when he first met Li Qinglin at Zhang Family Village.
The dragon fights in the wild, its blood dark yellow.
He was not fighting East Huazi, nor even West Wilderness. From beginning to end, he was fighting against immortality.
(End of Chapter)