The Monk

"New Mohist Studies? Interesting. It must contain some startling insights, breaking free from the shackles of existing Mohist thought. Otherwise, it's just following in others' footsteps and can't be called 'new.'" Ju Beichen planned to find the book and read it when he got back.

Heavenly Lion King laughed and said, "It's ultimately just School of Fiction, not to be taken seriously. I only read it for amusement. But my niece is very fond of it, regarding it as gospel and praising it highly. She says she must meet the author someday."

Ju Beichen thought for a moment and guessed, "Is it Princess Red Hawk?"

"It's Red Hawk. Lately, she's been quoting a lot from the book, and one line in particular I agree with—'War is a continuation of politics.'"

Ju Beichen pondered the text for a moment, then nodded and said, "Concise and to the point, it succinctly captures the essence of war in a single sentence. This novel is indeed remarkable."

"Because they cannot obtain the benefits they want politically, they have no choice but to resort to violence and seek benefits through war. Conversely, if they could achieve their goals through political means, there would be no need to start a war."

Heavenly Lion King glanced at the chessboard, which was on the verge of collapse, and casually tousled it. Then, lowering his voice, he said, "I did not do anything to the former crown prince, because my true purpose was to ensure his safe return."

He deliberately emphasized the word "former," Ju Beichen felt as if a thunderbolt had struck his mind. His expression changed drastically, and he stood up in a daze.

The current Emperor of Li State is merely a member of a collateral branch of the royal family. Because they couldn't find any bloodline of Shenzong, they had no choice but to select someone from a collateral branch to ascend the throne and stabilize the situation. However, once Shenzong's son returns to the south, the situation will likely become unstable again—even if Shenzong's son has no interest in the throne, many people will still try to exploit his identity!

Ju Beichen stirred his aura and was about to transform into light and leave, determined to stop Mu Wu from rescuing people and not let the son of the Shenzong Sect return!

As the Grand Tutor of the Li State, he had served five emperors. The only one he truly respected was his great-grandfather who had promoted and given him important positions. Now, his true purpose was the country, not any particular emperor. As long as it was beneficial to the country, he would not hesitate to kill the former crown prince.

However, the Heavenly Lion King seemed to have anticipated Ju Beichen's actions and blocked his path in advance. With a wave of his hands, his immense Yuan Power compressed the atmosphere, burned matter, and created Hundun. The surrounding space was constantly distorted under the pressure of his fist, forming a cage that trapped Ju Beichen.

"Grand Tutor, I have played chess with you here for five days, and I do not ask for the same reward. I only hope that you can stay and play chess with me for one more day." Heavenly Lion King laughed loudly.

Get out of the way!

Ju Beichen pressed his left hand forward with his five fingers forming a seal, as if pinching stars. The sky suddenly darkened, turning from day to night. Aurora flashed by, like a meteor shower, violently smashing through the distorted spatial barrier with the force of a violent descent, scattering the Hundun.

"Radiant flames, divine essence transforms into fire!"

With his right hand forming another hand seal, fiery dragons Blink in the void, their temperature reaching thousands of degrees, comparable to the surface of the sun. The moment they appeared, they evaporated the snow on Jade Pillar Peak and lunged at the Heavenly Lion King.

"Ghost Curtain Spanning the Heavens!"

The Heavenly Lion King remained calm and composed. Dark and malevolent energy emanated from his body, enveloping the entire mountain peak and completely isolating it from the outside world. The Fiery Dragon, upon colliding with the ghostly curtain, vanished without a sound, as if it had sunk into the sea.

"Grand Tutor, you yourself said that once a move is made, there is no going back. In this game, I have lost a step in terms of war, but I have won a step in terms of politics. Let's wait and see who will have the last laugh."

Chapter 193 Monk

"It feels like things went too smoothly; they just snatched the person out so easily?"

Only after they had run out of Haojing City and confirmed that there were no pursuers did Si Ming and his group slow down and stop using their lightness skills to travel.

Before taking action, Si Ming had considered various dangerous scenarios, such as the former crown prince not existing at all, or the Barbarian Hu sending someone to impersonate him, or many axemen lying in ambush around the residence, using the breaking of a cup as a signal to chop everyone into mincemeat.

None of this happened. They stormed in and rescued the person without incident. Although there were two experts monitoring them, it was all within their plan and they handled the situation smoothly. Later, during their escape from Haojing City, everyone's attention was drawn to the battle between the Spirit Transformation stage experts, and no one noticed Si Ming and his group.

He Qichang squinted and said, "Isn't it good if everything goes smoothly? Do you only feel happy when something unexpected happens?"

"But it's going too smoothly. It gives me the feeling that we're acting out a pre-designed routine." Si Ming felt like he'd become a Virgo, feeling conflicted. "Murong Qing, what do you think?"

"I also feel there's something strange about this. Perhaps there are clues we've overlooked?"

Murong Qing also found it suspicious, but it was ultimately just a gut feeling that there might be some kind of conspiracy. If asked to produce evidence or explain what the conspiracy was, she couldn't give a clear answer.

Si Ming racked his brains, but it was still a tangled mess; he couldn't find the initial thread. He couldn't help but sigh, "Although I've said it before, I still have to say it: our team lacks a wise man."

Although both he and Murong Qing were intelligent, their intelligence was closer to calmness, resourcefulness, and adaptability than to strategic planning and scheming. To use a character from Romance of the Three Kingdoms as an analogy, like Zhao Yun, no one thought he was stupid or careless, but Zhao Yun was still very different from strategists like Zhuge Liang and Guo Jia.

Unable to find a solution, it ultimately came to nothing.

"He does look somewhat like someone from my family; it seems he really is my cousin." Murong Qing scrutinized the boy's appearance, lost in thought. However, when she saw the boy's hair, she frowned. "A rat's tail, that's Barbarian Hu hairstyle. If my brother had that kind of hair, my father would probably slap him to death."

He Qichang glanced at it and pursed his lips, saying, "Indeed, it's too ugly."

The "money-tail" hairstyle is not the yin-yang hairstyle seen in Qing Dynasty dramas that Si Ming watched in his previous life. It involves shaving the front half of the hair and braiding the back half into a large, thick braid. This was a change made by the director to cater to the audience's aesthetic sense. This hairstyle did not appear until the late Qing Dynasty.

A true "money rat tail" hairstyle involves shaving off most of the surrounding hair, leaving only a small tuft in the middle shaped like a coin. The hair in the center is then braided and hangs down like a rat's tail. The hair should be just thick enough to pass through the square hole of a coin to be considered acceptable.

The traditional hairstyle of the Huaxia people is a tall crown and a wide belt, which can be seen in the attire of Tang Guoqiang in the TV series Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

No matter how distorted or exaggerated, the public's aesthetic sense is ultimately normal; they know what is beautiful and what is ugly, just like a baby who, even before walking, knows what smells good and what smells bad, and will cry loudly when he smells excrement.

The "money-tail" hairstyle was so ugly that even though the people of the Qing Dynasty were deeply influenced by the prevailing ideology, they could not accept this aesthetic. Therefore, as time went by, they gradually changed their hairstyles to make them more attractive, which led to the emergence of the "yin-yang" hairstyle in the late Qing Dynasty.

Although the Li State was oppressed by the Barbarian Hu at this time, the orthodox Huaxia culture was not limited to Confucian School. Although the various schools of thought had different ideas, they all shared the same cultural origin, including language and aesthetics. Therefore, the Barbarian Hu did not dare to forcibly promote the shaving of heads and changing of clothes, for fear of provoking military intervention from other countries.

On the other hand, although Confucian School has declined, it is only one of the Hundred Schools of Thought and cannot represent all of Huaxia civilization. The backbone of Li State Huaxia people has not been broken, and they still have great powers to rely on—the military strength of the Su State, Germany, and Nation of Valor is still superior to that of the Li State.

Therefore, nowadays, no one dares to shamelessly proclaim that "the money-tailed rat is an elegant policy of the new dynasty; the tall hat and wide belt are actually the ugly rules of a doomed country." Such boasting may please the Barbarian Hu, but it offends the other schools of thought, and they might not see the sun rise the next day. In particular, the heroes of the Mohist School, who are chivalrous and righteous, have done many things like traveling thousands of miles to take the enemy's head.

Murong Qing defended him, saying, "He's just a child; he has no choice. When he goes to the South, he'll naturally know what kind of attire is considered beautiful."

Just then, a voice came from ahead. "Amitābha Buddha, please wait, esteemed benefactors."

The crowd looked in the direction of the sound and saw a Buddhist School disciple dressed in monk's robes standing in front of them with his palms raised. He was about thirty years old and had a strong and capable air about him. He was facing away from the sun, and the sunlight shone on his smooth head, creating a slight reflection.

Murong Qing frowned and asked, "Why is the Buddhist blocking our way?"

"This humble monk, Xunan, has come specifically for this child." The monk pointed to the boy on Si Ming's shoulder.

He Qichang said to Si Ming, "Alright, the unexpected thing you wanted has happened. Are you satisfied now?"

Seeing He Qichang's hand on the hilt of the sword, looking eager to try, Si Ming said, "Mingming, you're the one who's most satisfied."

"That's right, the fight just now wasn't satisfying at all!"