The Book Sage walked up to the portrait, looked at it, and sighed softly.
"Did you know that the entire Li Clan has returned to the Imperial Dynasty, yet left Li Wudi alone to guard Desolate Demon Pass?" Before Su Mo could ask anything, the Book Sage spoke first.
Su Mo shook his head. He truly did not know.
He had wondered about this question before.
After all, with the entire Li Clan leaving, there was no need to leave a Heavenly Prodigy with Emperor Throne Incense to guard Desolate Demon Pass alone.
It defied common sense. Even if they truly could not rest easy about the border passes, they should have sent a clan member of another surname, or several people to take turns defending Desolate Demon Pass.
That way, they would not have wasted a Heavenly Prodigy of the Li Clan by trapping him in this border pass.
The Book Sage looked at the portrait bearing the character "Li" and slowly shook his head. "Because Li Wudi's surname was Li!"
"Only someone surnamed Li guarding the border pass could preserve the Li Clan's fortune here..."
Su Mo froze. "Why?"
Instead of answering Su Mo directly, the Book Sage asked, "Do you know what fortune is?"
Su Mo shook his head. "I don't."
The Book Sage slowly began to explain. "Fortune may sound ethereal, but it is actually quite simple to understand."
"What we call fortune is, in truth, 'incense'!"
"Fortune rises and falls with the thoughts of all living beings..."
At these words, Su Mo's thoughts immediately fell into turmoil. He... seemed to have guessed why the Li Clan's fortune had suddenly vanished.
Looking at Su Mo in his flowing white robes, the Book Sage pondered for a moment, then began to recount the story.
"In the ages