Si-Yuan-Bai

006 Si-Yuan-Bai

Most of the content that automatically appeared in the Life Book was mundane daily information, presumably recorded by his past life.

As for the supernatural information, it was likely the Life Book's revelations to him.

At night, while Ming Shu slept, he would enter this mysterious space where the Life Book resided, studying it while also studying his own spiritual body—or rather, his soul.

He wasn't sure if he could now be considered a supernatural being, going by the terms from his past-life memories.

Just now, listening to Old Zhao's conversation with Chong Li and Ren Yuan, the information he'd gathered was that a martial artist's combat power was only good for bullying ordinary folk.

With the help of a Sky-Toppling Observatory sorcerer, Ren Yuan—only a Third-tier Martial Artist at the [Meridian Circulation and Qi Condensation Realm]—could, by activating the demonic spirit within him, gain the ability to crush Fourth- and Fifth-tier Martial Artists in a short time.

As for Chong Li, she was a Third-tier [Star Condensation Realm] sorcerer, with the profession of Demon Hunter. Ming Shu didn't have the specifics yet, so he just recorded this for now.

Both sides needed rest. After a simple verification of the agreed-upon code and a check of each other's tokens to confirm identities, they each settled down to sleep.

Ren Yuan, in particular, had only activated his demonic spirit's power a day ago and fought a bloody battle. He'd been traveling nonstop and was utterly exhausted. He leaned against a large tree, sat down, and fell into a deep sleep.

His snoring was like thunder.

Old Zhao took the first watch, sitting cross-legged to circulate his internal energy. Little Zhao was already very tired, but the snoring kept him awake.

Chong Li also entered a meditative state through sitting cultivation, focusing her mind. This ability really made Little Zhao envious.

The most infuriating thing was the seemingly carefree youth beside him. Ming Shu was asleep—truly asleep—lying right next to him, making Little Zhao burn with jealousy.

Ming Shu was actually using the Life Book's special function to gather his spiritual body into it, shutting out external distractions.

Blocking out most of the noise.

The next morning, the five of them formed a new squad and continued eastward. They'd already been traveling for seven or eight days, leaving the Great Jin Royal Capital and racing east all the way. Previously, Ming Shu had been lying down pretending to sleep, so he hadn't seen the scenery along the way.

Now he could act normally; there was no need to keep up the pretense. But he also didn't want to seem too mature, just like when he was in the Cold Palace.

He kept up a dazed and clueless appearance. He still showed little interest in most things.

Although he really wanted to learn other martial arts from Old Zhao, it wasn't suitable during the journey. He also wanted to ask Chong Li about cultivation, but unfortunately, they weren't familiar with each other yet.

On the other hand, the big guy Ren Yuan was very straightforward. The Qingtian Gate had trained him, so he was willing to give his life for them.

When the Qingtian Gate ordered him to escort this squad, he rushed over without stopping.

No hesitation.

His only flaw was his enormous appetite. The food he'd brought himself was gone after two meals.

As for the remaining supplies on Old Zhao's side, it looked like they wouldn't last two more days.

Little Zhao, Chong Li, and Ming Shu didn't eat much. Old Zhao had originally thought they could make it to the next decent-sized town.

In a place with more people, they could buy plenty of travel supplies.

Now they had to start worrying about food for the day after tomorrow.

Chong Li didn't talk much. Among the five, Little Zhao had the best social skills.

He quickly got chummy with Ren Yuan.

With five people and three horses, they found a carpenter in a village along the way, had a new carriage built, and switched to using two horses to pull it.

That would be more efficient.

Chong Li, being a woman, could also stay inside the carriage.

In the village, Old Zhao traded with a wealthy household for some grain, ensuring they could make it to the next town.

Ren Yuan rode his own horse, taking on the tasks of scouting and hunting.

Old Zhao personally taught Little Zhao how to drive the carriage.

Chong Li and Ming Shu rested inside the carriage.

Logically speaking, Ming Shu was now a cripple. He couldn't figure out why Old Zhao and the others would go to such trouble to escort him east.

Of the princes exiled to the frontier, fewer than half even made it to their destination alive, and of those, probably less than half survived a full year.

Of course, most of these were exiled for specific reasons, while many others were simply going through the motions of being demoted from royalty to commoners.

Ming Shu was somewhere in between. Originally, he was being exiled, but the new emperor had declared a general amnesty, leaving him in a gray area. On top of that, some big shots were pulling strings behind the scenes, giving him a lot of room to survive.

Among the imperial clan, aside from the few at the top, the living conditions for the rest were brutally harsh.

Not much better than an ordinary family's life, really. Most of the minor Bai Clan branches across the land were descended from the imperial clan, and they were just working for the royal family.

It just goes to show that every living being has their own hardships.

Chong Li spoke very little, only occasionally exchanging cryptic remarks with Old Zhao that the other three couldn't understand.

For example, Old Zhao asked, "Is this the only path we can take?"

Chong Li replied, "Grasses and trees see a hundred years of new rain and dew; carriages and books span ten thousand miles of old rivers and mountains."

Later, Old Zhao asked her, "Can we avoid this calamity?"

Chong Li thought for a long time before saying, "When fortune comes, wealth and rank are all due to fate; when luck departs, poverty and lowliness also have their reasons."

It seemed sorcerers could tell fortunes too. Well, wasn't the Sky-Toppling Observatory in charge of observing the stars and calculating the emperor's fate?

The Sky-Toppling Observatory, with its thousand-year legacy, ought to be formidable enough. If even they are preparing an escape route, unwilling to be buried alongside the imperial clan, then the great calamity and chaos ahead must be truly dire.

And where would he himself go from here?

Only after gaining two bodyguards, putting a safe distance between themselves and the Imperial Capital Region, and ensuring the last batch of assassins had been thoroughly dealt with, did Old Zhao gradually confirm that they had escaped danger.

The pursuers behind them certainly couldn't catch up now. As for whether other crises lay ahead, that was beyond what an old eunuch like him could calculate.

Chong Li, only at the third rank of the Sorcerer path, clearly couldn't figure it out either. As a cast-off disciple of the Sky-Toppling Observatory, she was bound to play a key role in the Observatory Master's schemes.

From the gilded halls of the court to the distant rivers and lakes, the pawns of every faction were moving with increasing frequency.

Old Zhao had labored for years deep within the palace, only to make himself a qualified pawn.

That alone had saved both his own life and Little Zhao's. And Ming Shu had pulled through by sheer grit. Who knew if the Observatory Master hadn't secretly pulled some strings to arrange this whole situation?

As he gradually relaxed, Old Zhao finally had the energy to urge Little Zhao to practice martial arts. Ming Shu simply watched from the side, stealing lessons by observation.

In the end, it was confirmed: his physical constitution simply couldn't cultivate the Martial Dao. Born frail, and having endured three or four years in the Cold Palace, even swallowing that Immortal Pill couldn't change that.

Little Zhao, on the other hand, truly had talent. Old Zhao had picked him out from among dozens or even a hundred young eunuchs, and he had survived the Cold Palace all the way through.

Talent, luck, insight, intelligence, resilience—every condition marked him as an excellent seedling.

The youth formally confirmed his new name with Old Zhao, taking the surname Zhang from his maternal uncle's family, while keeping the given name Ming Shu.

This was the first time he had publicly announced his new name. After all, his original name had already been banned by the Imperial Clan Court.

Perhaps the registers in the Imperial Clan Court, refined by immortal means, could remotely determine the life or death of imperial clan members. But over a thousand years, the imperial clan had grown increasingly vast.

Even during the Grand Ancestor's lifetime, this problem had erupted once. In his later years, he established the system of conversion among the Si, Yuan, and Bai surnames. The Imperial Clan Court's registers would only retain the names of the Si clan, along with those of high-ranking officials from the Yuan and Bai clans.

These were essentially secret histories, but Old Zhao had lived long and knew many secrets. If not for this rebellion being so massive that it collapsed most of the palace's systems and opened up loopholes everywhere, Old Zhao would never have been able to slip away.

Only the dead could keep secrets!

Chong Li also reassured him and Ming Shu: the Sky-Toppling Observatory would cover up many key details. As long as the last ambush hadn't gone wrong, any further pursuit would be virtually impossible.

Ming Shu's records at the Imperial Clan Court were certainly severed. The small fief in Donghai Prefecture was far away, with the emperor far out of reach—no one would disturb them for ten years.

It was hard to imagine what kind of mind and vision a man like the Observatory Master possessed, laying plans across the realm in units of a hundred years.

With the old emperor's restraints gone, the new emperor had no choice but to rely on the Sky-Toppling Observatory's power. This gave the Observatory Master even more room to maneuver.

Though Chong Li said nothing, both Old Zhao and Ming Shu suddenly understood, catching a key piece of information.

The imperial clan wouldn't last much longer. The entire realm was about to descend into chaos.

Along the way, every village they passed had fortified itself for self-defense. The signs were everywhere.