Shangshu Lang

"Hey, hey, Li Fan, are you busy right now?"

"I'm busy, what's wrong now? Get to the point."

Li Fan was digging a ditch in the epiphyllum forest of Li Family Village. He washed the mountain of heads with elixir, sealed them with talismans, wrapped them in medicinal mud, put them in yellow cloth, and then affixed two sword talismans. He then grabbed the heads by their hair and planted them one by one on the ridges of the field.

There are a total of 343 heads here, piled up as high as a small mountain. They are all Tai Su seeds who were fortunate enough to listen to the first lecture of his Tai Su public course outside Sanyuan City during the day and then 'entered a dream'.

Li Fan personally preached and guided them, touching the heads of each destined person. He selected those who could still barely maintain their humanity and took them as Outer Sect Disciple. That night, he used the secret method of planting heads to bring them back to Mo Mountain for reincarnation. They would grow into human form in about ten or twenty years.

Of course, what's planted doesn't have to be all human heads; heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and the like will do. The key is that a Non-Thing core is formed and can house a human soul. This way, as long as those Non-Thing parts that have been severely corrupted by evil energy and are seriously deformed are removed in time, they can be planted as 'primordial seeds', greatly increasing the survival rate of the transformation method. Moreover, the cut-off parts can be used as fertilizer, which is similar to Jiao Water in principle.

Incidentally, these Tai Su seeds were arranged according to the sword formation star positions that Li Fan had stolen from Magu Mountain. This could be considered as a precaution against the evil deeds of those old Xuanmen sects, and it also served as an upgrade to the security of Li Family Village.

Judging from the results of this general election, it's not yet time to preach to the masses. There are still too few seeds of true destiny. The probability of an ordinary person passing the tribulation is probably between nine out of ten and one out of a hundred. Of course, this time, because Li Fan personally preached the way, he could touch their head and give them a boost, helping them to rectify their Dao heart, so the success rate was greatly increased to fifty-fifty.

But time is running out. Events like yesterday's "burning of the three walls" resulted in at least tens of thousands of deaths and injuries, but in chaotic times, that's nothing. It probably wouldn't even make the cut in the historian's writings. Such things will only increase in the future.

Li Fan couldn't possibly go through everyone's heads one by one. Although he disdained the old Xuanmen's character, it seemed that for now, he could only teach them the Tai Su inheritance and let the Daoist Tradition spread.

"Oh, it's nothing serious. Did you tamper with the clone prosthetics at the fish farm?"

"Hmm, they were sent to the Grand Tutor to be his son. What's wrong? You don't have many fish fry. Do you need to check the accounts? Deduct it from my records."

"It's not a problem with the fish fry. You cut in line for production without adjusting other equipment settings, so the fish farm used a custom-made brain implant for the prosthetic body..."

"Oh, so what happened? Do we need to switch the clone back?"

"It's too late. Our network monitoring system just alerted us; they discovered a hacker link has entered the company's subnet. You'd better check what happened. Of course, don't shut it down immediately; just erase any memory of the fishing grounds. After all, it's currently our only customer, and we even gave it a free 'meat machine' insurance policy for our opening celebration—one-year replacement and three-year repair. We'll compensate them for any damage."

"... Okay, I'll go take a look."

Li Fan was also at a loss. Why were those hackers on the other side of the door so restless? But the mood system had detected it in time, so it shouldn't be a big problem. At worst, he could just knock them out and tie them up again.

After setting up the sword formation, Li Fan leaped to the Three Walls again at dawn to visit the Zhang family's residence.

After all, she was the wife of the Grand Tutor, and the Central Guard had specially arranged for its elite imperial guards to protect her in layers upon layers. The riots of last night had no effect on her at all.

As an envoy of Yu Hou and Li Country, a friend of the Zhang Family, and Ping'er's savior, it was only natural for Li Fan to come and check on the safety of the Grand Tutor's wife. A steward immediately came out to greet him.

"Lord Yu is overthinking it. It's just some petty thieves from the Demonic Sect trying to cause trouble in the Jingji. Our Three Palaces have a large army stationed here, so we have nothing to fear from these small fry."

"So it was just a few petty thieves setting fire, then I'm relieved." Upon seeing Madam Zhang, Li Fan suddenly had a thought, and he secretly realized the cause and effect. "Oh, so this is the Yuhou Mansion that you purchased? I'm truly unworthy of such an honor!"

Madam Zhang smiled and said, "What are you saying? If you hadn't saved Ping'er, I wouldn't know what to do. These are just a small token of my appreciation, they won't cost much, I'm just glad that Marquis Yu is satisfied."

Li Fan followed up, "I wonder how An Yang Hou is doing lately? How is his recovery going? Perhaps I could take another look at him?"

Madam Zhang was grateful. "That would be perfect. Actually, I was just about to ask Marquis Yu for advice. Ping'er has changed so much lately that I hardly recognize him."

Li Fan was startled. "Has something gone wrong? Could it be that it has been possessed by a demon? Has its body gone out of control?"

Madam Zhang shook her head and smiled, "That's not true. I had someone examine her, Ping'er is perfectly fine."

This kid used to be a complete playboy, spending his days chasing after women and never changing his ways despite being taught a lesson. But after this ordeal, he's started studying diligently. I wonder if it's just a temporary change of heart or if he's really learned something new.

You've had someone examine him? And he's fine? He's practically turned into a fish! He's got a chip in his brain! Is he blind??

Just as Li Fan was about to speak, a voice outside the door suddenly laughed.

"Having survived such a calamity, good fortune is sure to follow. Perhaps the An Yang Hou has turned his luck around and gained enlightenment through a divine intervention. Madam, do not worry."

Li Fan looked up and exclaimed, "Oh, it's you, Cloud Person!"

Madam Zhang laughed and said, "Lan Shuo is joking. Yu Hou, let me introduce you. This is a descendant of the Yi Yang Hou. He has achieved great success in his studies of Daoism at Mount Song and is now the Shangshu Lang's right-hand man. He is currently a Gentleman of the Palace and has been granted the Guan Nei Hou Marquis of Guannei. Among all the noble sons in Tianshi Yuan, no one can match him in terms of Daoist learning and talent."

Another Marquis within the Guan Nei Hou? Why does the Grand Tutor like bestowing such titles upon his trusted Guan Nei Hou? No need for the emperor's seal, huh? He's quite the smooth talker, isn't he? Looks like Guan Nei Hou is really quite common these days...

Li Fan quickly searched his mind for keywords, recalling the powerful family heads he had visited before, and swiftly confirmed the man's identity.

Okay, so this is a second-generation, no, several generations back. He's a member of the Fu Family, the Yi Yang Hou. The Fu family is a powerful clan that has been passed down through generations in the Ancient Immortal Palace. Their ability to choose sides is considerable. Shangshu Lang of the Imperial Secretariat—well, after all, the current Minister of the Imperial Secretariat is his uncle. As for the head of the Fu family, he's probably just a paid intern...

Tsk tsk, another powerful clan, another Mount Song, and secretly, a true disciple of Magu Mountain —this is the kind of person born on the podium, isn't it? The Grand Tutor has truly gathered a vast network of powerful clans, his subordinates are overflowing with talent, and his influence is deeply entrenched...

Li Fan also gave a fake smile and agreed.

"So it's Shangshu Lang, Minister Shang, I've heard so much about you. Hmm? Shangshu Lang, what's wrong? You look very pale. Are you injured?"

Fu Lanshuo also gave a fake smile,

"To be honest, Lord Yu, the Nightgaunt, and I was so frightened that I couldn't sleep well all night! What brings you here to see Ping'er? Oh, Ping'er is my nephew. I'm too weak to help him, but thankfully you came to my rescue. I haven't thanked you yet!"

Bah! You scion of a powerful clan, you're faking your own sect's existence with the Xuanmen, stealing from your own family and kidnapping your own nephew! You have the nerve to do that?! So eager to climb the social ladder, huh?!

"You're being too polite, Shangshu Lang. I'm sworn brothers with Chongyang Hou, and Ping'er is my nephew. It's all just what I should do!"

The two exchanged fake smiles, each seeing through the other's true nature, each harboring their own schemes.

Madam Zhang was quite happy, as if she felt that her good-for-nothing youngest son had suddenly become enlightened and had two highly accomplished elder brothers to look after him. She was very gratified and immediately arranged for them to visit Ping'er together.

However, with this Shangshu Lang accompanying him, Li Fan couldn't easily use his methods, so he pretended to check the An Yang Hou's physical condition and took his pulse.

Fu Lanshuo smiled and said from the side,

"Ping'er, this Marquis Yu is your savior. He was a rare master at the time, and his skills far surpass mine. If you feel unwell, just tell me."

"Yes, thank you so much for saving my life."

Li Fan also realized that the AI personality and memories he had set for the 'Ping'er' clone had clearly been replaced. It was now obviously being directly manipulated by the hackers on the other side of the 'gate'. To put it bluntly, this was already a 'transmigrator'!

However, he noticed that this 'Ping'er' seemed to have been targeted by someone using a primordial spirit technique, probably by the Shangshu Lang. The method was so crude that it almost burned out the machine's system, which is why the hacker personally logged in.

However, no matter how powerful the hacker on the other side of the door was, he was still only a mortal with the mental strength of a human. So Li Fan didn't show any emotion, casually patted 'Ping'er's' head, erased and reconstructed its memories, and put a bunch of magical puppets inside. Then he glanced at Fu Lanshuo.

Do you remember who kidnapped you?

Sima Ping paused, then shook his head. "I'm feeling groggy, I really can't remember."

Fu Lanshuo said earnestly, "It must have been the work of the demonic cult members who wreaked havoc in the Three Realms last night. They were probably poisoned by the Yuan Shen Technique. These people probably wanted to use this opportunity to blackmail the Grand Tutor. But Ping'er, don't worry, the demonic cult's conspiracy has been thwarted by us. You can rest and recuperate."

Sima Ping mumbled, "I feel great, but my cultivation progresses slowly. I wonder why?"

Seeing that Fu Lanshuo was lingering and wouldn't leave, Li Fan knew that the other party, a master of the Xuanmen sect, had long seen through Sima Ping's Daoist form. He didn't hide anything and spoke frankly.

"Actually, when I found you, your physical body had already been devoured by the extraterrestrial demons. I only managed to retrieve a wisp of your soul. In the rush, I couldn't find anyone to help you dissolve your body, so I found a carp for you to possess and be reborn. That's why you are now a carp-human, and naturally you can't cultivate human Cultivation Method."

Sima Ping and Fu Lanshuo were both completely dumbfounded.

"Hiss—can even a wisp of a remnant soul be reincarnated?!"

"No, a carp? Why don't you just give me a dog?"

"Oh, this is the first time I've heard of such a request. But if you insist, human-dog harmony should be achievable. It might even be simpler than with a carp."

"No way! Is that even possible??"

Li Fan shrugged, took a scroll from his pocket, and gave it to him.

"Our Ink Bamboo Mountain has evolved the Way of Primordial Simplicity. There is nothing we cannot do, only things we cannot imagine. Young people, open your minds and embrace this glorious evolution."

"Well, the Tai Chi Way is outdated. If An Yang Hou interested in becoming a dog, I have a scroll of <Yuan Shi> for you to study. Since you have this opportunity, would Shangshu Lang like to take a look and become a dog together?"

Just as Sima Ping was about to take a look, Fu Lanshuo dramatically leaped away and hid behind the outer wall of the courtyard. So Sima Ping swallowed hard and carefully put away <Yuan Shi>.

"I'll think about it some more..."

Li Fan let him do as he pleased. Anyway, with the memory alteration and the insertion of seventeen or eighteen more magical puppets, the client probably couldn't even remember his own name anymore. The system could even trace his location in reverse. Whether it was brain-taxing or being thrown out as a scapegoat by the company later, it was all a matter of snapping his fingers.

So he casually wrote out a few calming prescriptions and gave some fish feed, instructing the Zhang Family steward to administer them to An Yang Hou. Li Fan then walked out of the courtyard with his hands behind his back and smiled at Fu Lanshuo.

"So the Shangshu Lang really is a deity cultivating Daoism on Mount Song?"

Fu Lanshuo chuckled awkwardly, "Ink Bamboo Mountain's skills are indeed extraordinary, unheard of and unprecedented."

Li Fan shrugged. "Want to learn? I'll teach you."

Fu Lanshuo's smile faded, and he solemnly cupped his hands in greeting, "I wouldn't dare. Although I aspire to glimpse the Void Abyss, my current meager cultivation is insufficient to even begin to understand the Dao. Please allow me to come back and seek your guidance again in a while."

"..." Li Fan looked at him and suddenly asked, "I've heard that the Fu family and the various clans of Tianshi have been friends for generations, working together as one and the other. I wonder what the Guan Nei Hou of Guannei is hoping to gain by taking such good care of the An Yang Hou? What will the Grand Tutor think if he finds out?"

Fu Lanshuo smiled but did not answer, giving the same polite smile as the Lieutenant General.

Seeing that these people from the Central Plains were all incredibly tight-lipped and he couldn't get a single word out of them, Li Fan nodded with the same smile.

"The Central Plains are indeed vast and rich in resources, and the Jingji is teeming with hidden talents. I won't disturb Shangshu Lang An Yang Hou's rest any longer. By the way, would you like to come with me to see Yuhou Mansion?"

Fu Lanshuo smiled and said, "I was frightened by the Demonic Sect the other day. I fear that I may be ambushed by its remnants. I will stay here temporarily to take care of Ping'er, Lord Yu."

Seeing how wary the other party was, Li Fan didn't waste any more time. He exchanged a few polite words with Madam Zhang, assuring her that An Yang Hou was healthy and in excellent condition, and received another round of thanks in return.

So when he left the Zhang residence, the steward's caravan carried a pile of gold and silver utensils, food, clothing, and daily necessities, and servants and laborers delivered them to the newly built Yuhou Mansion.

It really is newly built, because this Immortal Palace was originally commissioned by a wealthy family in the Three Realms from the Zhang Family. However, this family may have lived close to Yangxiang Marquis, and they were caught in the Immortal Palace crossfire and wiped out. The whole family fell from the sky, crashed into a sea of fire, and were smashed to pieces, leaving no trace of their remains. So, the commissioned mansion was given to Li Fan as a favor.

By this time, the entire Flying Immortal Palace had been renovated to the level of a Marquis of Duting. The main gate consisted of five pavilions and towers, the main hall had seven rooms, with marble railings made of green jade, glazed screens, and a coral throne. There were nine rooms on each side, seven shrines and altars, and seven palaces in the rear building. All the main gates, pavilions, and palaces were covered with green jade glazed tiles. The main hall had seven kinds of roof ornaments and ridge ornaments, and sixty-three door nails arranged in nine vertical and seven horizontal rows. The other buildings and side halls were covered with barrel tiles. There were also flower gardens, pavilions, rockeries, and gardens, which probably covered about one hundred acres.

Hmm, they just changed the plaque to "Yu Duting Marquis's Residence," and handed it over without a second thought. What a gluttonous tycoon!

However, given their immense wealth, why do they prefer to bestow titles and rewards upon newly powerful clans and skilled warriors from distant lands, yet fail to mobilize any manpower to organize disaster relief, build soup kitchens and refugee camps, or engage in any vanity projects? Is it an inability? Or an disdain?

On the one hand, he was indifferent to the lives and deaths of the common people, while on the other hand, he generously distributed money and bestowed countless rewards, going to great lengths to win over most of the Immortal Palace and a small portion of the mystical sect cultivators to serve him. This was the Grand Tutor's regime.

Li Fan realized that the Grand Tutor, and perhaps the powerful clans that had held power in the Three Palaces throughout history, were merely Confucianists in name only, hypocritical and sanctimonious. They weren't reading the Analects at all, but rather the Six Secret Teachings.

As the saying goes, Heaven has its seasons, and Earth has its resources. Those who can share these with others are benevolent. Where there is benevolence, the world will submit.

Ordinary people fear death and rejoice in life; they cherish virtue and seek profit. That which can generate profit is the Way; where the Way resides, the world will follow.

If you use bait to catch fish, the fish can be killed; if you use rewards to attract people, the people can be exhausted; if you use your family to take over a country, the country can be destroyed; if you use your country to take over the world, the world can be conquered.

If a person, an ordinary citizen, has no value whatsoever in being courted or lured, then there is naturally no need to consider them.

The world is vast, yet some people still have nowhere to belong; this is probably the reason why.

Li Fan stood at the entrance of the Marquis's residence for a moment, then waved to the steward.

"What are your orders, Lord Marquis?"

"Do you have a union here?"

"Union?"

"Oh, don't take it personally. What I mean is that since Sanyuan is so badly damaged, you'll have to do river engineering and civil construction to rebuild the city, right? Someone has to do that work, right? I heard that there used to be a group of skilled craftsmen in Sanyuan. Are they still around? And what about the common people? Are there any guilds that organize laborers for the construction?"

The manager frowned, sensing that this matter was not simple. However, he was aware of it nonetheless.

"Civil engineering and water conservancy are under the jurisdiction of the Minister of Works, but Yangxiang Marquis just finished..."

Of course, this is a minor matter. The Minister of Works also has a Chief Clerk, Clerks, Clerks and Imperial Attendants under him, who are in charge of government affairs. As for the specific projects, they should have been carried out by the local corvée laborers assigned by the clerks of the various departments.

However, as you know, the land under the emperor's nose is now dominated by powerful clans and their slaves. Where would there be people to perform corvée labor? Therefore, the court usually pays for the construction work, which is then contracted out to the merchant firms of each clan. I wonder, Your Excellency, you are...?"

"I see, that's how it is. As the Marquis of Yu in the imperial court, I don't even have a proper job right now. How can I live up to the Grand Tutor's appreciation and cultivation?"

It just so happens that the Sikong Mansion has suffered heavy losses of its core members, while the civil engineering of my Ink Bamboo Mountain is the best in the world. I see that the Sanyuan has been beaten to a pulp by the Demonic Sect and is in dire need of repair. To put it bluntly, I want the project of rebuilding the Wang Jing, and it would be best if it could be done legitimately.

Of course, I'm not saying I want to be a high-ranking official right away, but could you also give me a position? The rank doesn't matter, as long as I'm in charge. Tell me, is there any room for maneuver?

The steward of the Zhang Family immediately understood. "Oh, oh, as expected of the Marquis, you are indeed an expert in civil engineering. You saw the real lucrative post at a glance. Rest assured, I will definitely convey your message to the master. The Chief Clerk of the Minister of Works is, after all, a thousand-stone official, which may be a bit troublesome, but the Assistant Clerk of the Minister of Works is just a matter of a word from the Grand Tutor. You can rest assured!"

"Alright, it's yours now. Here, take this Golden hairpin. You can also help with the household expenses. Use the extra money to treat everyone to drinks."

"Thank you, Lord Marquis!"