No sooner had Ye Chutang inserted a silver needle into Sun Chu's Baihui acupoint than he opened his eyes.
"What did you wake me up for?"
Ye Chutang pulled the needle from Sun Chu's head and nodded.
"The Imperial Astronomical Bureau has arrived in Dayang Town. They want to see you."
Sun Chu sat up, pointing at himself with uncertainty. "The Imperial Astronomical Bureau wants to see me? Why?"
"Because they've discovered that a general star has descended upon the world, and they came on imperial orders to find him. You might be that star."
He understood the meaning of "general star" all too well.
With a wary expression, he asked, "If I am the general star, will the emperor want me dead?"
Ye Chutang made a throat-slitting gesture.
"Even if you're not, that bastard emperor would rather kill the innocent than let a possibility slip."
"That's absolutely insane. I'm not meeting that damn Imperial Astronomical Bureau!"
"The Bureau isn't loyal to the emperor. Even if you are the general star, they won't tell him. But whether you see him or not is your call."
Hearing this, Sun Chu stroked his chin.
"Is the Bureau really accurate with fortune-telling?"
"Of course. The Imperial Astronomical Bureau is among the top echelons of the mystical arts tradition."
"Then I'll go and ask about my wealth."
Ye Chutang: "..."
"You're already richer than entire nations, with wealth that could last several lifetimes. Why do you need so much money?"
Sun Chu got out of bed to put on his shoes. "Making money is my joy."
Although money was now just a string of numbers to him, he wanted those numbers to grow steadily and consistently.
Ye Chutang looked at the money-obsessed Sun Chu and teased, "Maybe you should ask about your romance too?"
Sun Chu stopped at the door, a look of disgust on his face. "I haven't had my fun yet. No marriage for me."
Marrying so young in ancient times—he just couldn't accept it!
Luckily, the Boundless Sect, to keep its disciples focused on studying military strategy, promoted late marriage, late childbirth, and monogamy.
The sect was practically the perfect sanctuary tailor-made for him!
Ye Chutang led Sun Chu to a rest room.
Jie Yi's gaze fell upon Sun Chu.
Sun Chu allowed Jie Yi to scrutinize him without a hint of intimidation.
After transmigrating into this alternate ancient kingdom of Beichen, he had immediately sought out a renowned monk in hopes of returning to the modern world. The monk saw that he was a reanimated corpse but, far from being frightened, said it was his destiny. He performed a ritual, completely fusing Sun Chu's soul with his new body and altering his fate.
Stranded in this wretched ancient time, Sun Chu would vanish in both soul and body if he died.
Furious, he had beaten the monk mercilessly and flipped him two middle fingers.
Though the monk's actions were infuriating, they solved the major problem of his non-original identity.
So he asked Jie Yi bluntly, "What did the Imperial Astronomical Bureau see?"
With just one glance, Jie Yi could tell that Sun Chu's fate had been altered—but nothing more.
"May I see the young master's palm, sir?"
Sun Chu walked over to Jie Yi and sat down beside him, extending his hand.
"Go ahead. Let me feel the Bureau's skill."
Unlike his distant demeanor with Ye Chutang, Jie Yi treated Sun Chu more casually. He grabbed Sun Chu's four fingers with his right hand and traced the three main lines on his palm from end to end with the pads of his left index, middle, and ring fingers.
A dense, ticklish sensation spread through Sun Chu's hand.
He tried to pull away, but Jie Yi held firm.
"You old geezer, you're not some pervert, are you?"
Jie Yi's face flushed bright red at Sun Chu's words, and he coughed lightly.
"Young master, please don't misunderstand. I was just reading the three lines."
The three lines were the earth line, the human line, and the heaven line—corresponding to life, wisdom, and emotion.
"And what did you find?"
Jie Yi didn't answer Sun Chu's question. Instead, he asked for his birth date and time.
Sun Chu jerked his hand back, his face filled with caution.
"I've traveled these lands for years and seen plenty of mystical arts practitioners use their skills to harm others. You're not plotting with that bastard emperor to kill me with my birth info, are you?"
Ye Chutang slapped Sun Chu on the back of the head.
"Master Jie is an upright man. Don't talk nonsense."
Sun Chu rubbed his aching head and protested, "Don't hit the head! It makes you stupid."
Then, obediently, he recited his birth info.
He was young, just nineteen, born on the Double Ninth Festival.
After hearing it and combining it with Sun Chu's palm and facial features, Jie Yi recounted his past in detail—including the life-threatening crisis three years prior and his capture a year ago.
"Nine is the greatest Yang number, so you survived. Your fate has been rewritten. The road ahead is smooth, and you'll achieve great things."
Sun Chu recalled a similar comment from the monk.
"The reason I strengthened your soul is that by living, you can save many people."
Though he didn't fully understand, he believed in karma. After making money, he often spent it on good deeds.
Thinking of this, he asked Jie Yi curiously, "What kind of great things?"
"Heaven's secrets cannot be revealed."
"I hate you fortune-tellers the most! You always say half the story, deliberately keeping me in suspense. You might as well say nothing at all."
Jie Yi didn't mind Sun Chu's rudeness and smiled faintly.
"The more you know, the more constrained you become. That isn't always a good thing."
Moreover, fate was not set in stone. The environment, other people, and one's own choices all influenced it.
Sun Chu nodded in agreement. "The path is walked by oneself, not calculated by others."
Then, grinning mischievously, he asked, "So, how's my wealth luck?"
"Venus lines mixed with tiger lines—wealth from all directions."
Jie Yi's words made Sun Chu overjoyed.
"I'll take your word for it."
"But you'll still face a major life-or-death crisis. A noble benefactor will help you through it."
Hearing this, Sun Chu's heart tightened.
"When is this crisis? Who is the benefactor?"
He had finally adapted to life in ancient times, living freely and comfortably. The last thing he wanted was to die.
"I cannot say."
Jie Yi stood up. "I've imposed on your time today. May we meet again if fate allows."
Sun Chu quickly stood to block him. "How can you leave after saying only half? You can't go until you explain!"
This was a matter of life and death—he had to know.
Jie Yi looked at Sun Chu calmly, saying nothing.
"Speak! Cat got your tongue?"
After a long pause.
Jie Yi finally spoke. "If you ever set foot on a battlefield, be careful."
With that, he pushed Sun Chu's arm aside and left.
Qi Yanzhou saw him off.
Outside Dayang Town, he asked Jie Yi, "Master Jie, is Sun Chu the general star?"
Jie Yi didn't answer directly. "Things are as people make them."
"Traveling alone is dangerous, Master. Shall I arrange some escorts for you?"
"No need. Tongzhou is only half a month's ride from here, and my martial arts are enough to protect myself."
Qi Yanzhou didn't insist. "How will you report to the emperor, Master Jie?"
Jie Yi and his shadow guard had arrived on horseback. He mounted his horse and laughed. "From now on, the man named Jie Yi no longer exists in this world. There's nothing to report."
Qi Yanzhou understood the implication: the Imperial Astronomical Bureau and the shadow guard had been killed and burned by Jie Yi himself.
"I'll cover for you, Master. What are your plans now?"
"To hide from the world and await a time of peace and clarity."
With that, Jie Yi cracked his whip, and his horse galloped away.
Qi Yanzhou watched his retreating figure and murmured with conviction, "We will live to see that peace."
As night fell, the National Protection Army led Zhao Meng's men back to Dayang Town.
Two thousand had set out; only half returned.
Farm families in the countryside could hardly make it to town more than once every ten days or so. Only villagers from three settlements had visited the town within the past five days.
The Guardian Army, based on the size of the villages and the number of residents, stationed a thousand soldiers there to keep watch over the people.
Since they knew nothing about medicine, they simply distributed medicinal herbs to each household and ordered everyone to stay in a single room while fumigating with herbal smoke.
The herbal smoke helped prevent epidemic disease and was harmless.
After Ye Chutang understood the situation, she said, “I’ll go to the villages tomorrow and bring the infected villagers back to town for treatment, so that we can manage them more easily.”
That was why Zhao Chengyu had been so careful when poisoning people—he had confined the epidemic to Dayang Town alone.
At most, within seven days, the plague could be completely resolved.
Once Qi Yanzhou sent Zhao Meng’s men away, he said to Ye Chutang, “I’ll go with you tomorrow.”
Ye Chutang agreed, then turned to Han Chong.
“The epidemic in town is now under control. Arrange for everyone to rest in shifts; otherwise, they won’t be able to hold up physically.”
“Yes, Madam Qi.”
After Han Chong replied, he brought up the Zhao family.
“Zhao Mingxu insists on taking the late Zhao Qingshu to Dingzhou for burial. How should we handle this?”
The Zhao family was merely under house arrest, so they were allowed to make reasonable requests.
After thinking it over, Qi Yanzhou said, “Let Zhao Mingxu take Zhao Qingshu to Dingzhou first. The rest of the Zhao family can follow the exile convoy a little later.”
Han Chong found this plan acceptable.
“Alright. I’ll have Wu Chenggang take four men to escort Zhao Mingxu and Zhao Qingshu’s remains to Dingzhou.”
Zhao Mingxu now had nothing left; there was little chance he could cause any trouble.
The next day, Zhao Mingxu and Ye Chutang left Dayang Town together.
One was heading to Dingzhou with a thin coffin; the other was going to the nearby villages.
The villages were not far from Dayang Town—only about a quarter of an hour by horse.
Though Ye Chutang was pregnant, short rides on horseback posed no problem.
In a single morning, she had visited all three villages.
Two of them had no infected villagers at all.
In the third village, the infected family lived at a remote corner of the settlement and rarely interacted with the others.
All six members of that household were brought to Dayang Town and placed in a cellar.
Five days later, all the townspeople infected by the plague had been cured.
While the people cheered joyfully, Zhao Chengyu died of severe injuries and the epidemic.
When he died, he was bony, covered in filth, like a stinking bug rotting in a cesspit.
Ye Chutang told Qi Yanzhou to cut off Zhao Chengyu’s head and preserve it with medicinal solution.
“Send it to the capital as a Mid-Autumn gift for the emperor,” she said.
Qi Yanzhou smiled and pinched Ye Chutang’s nose.
“An excellent idea.”
Then he looked toward the capital, his eyes icy and cold.
“It takes about six or seven days to ride at top speed from Dayang Town to the capital. My men should have already received my orders.”
The implication was clear: the emperor and Eunuch De’s good days were about to come to an end.
As Qi Yanzhou had expected, his men left in the capital had already received the letter sent by Nan Xiao.
He had four trusted subordinates.
Dong Ying, an expert in light-footed martial arts, had gone ahead to Tianshan Commandery right after Qi Yanzhou decided to request exile.
Xi Ze, skilled in medicine, had previously gone to Jiangnan for disaster relief and was now on the road to find a shaman from the Southern Border.
Nan Xiao, a master of martial arts, had been following the exile convoy all along, secretly protecting the Qi family.
Bei Ning, who handled intelligence, stayed in the capital to report on the situation there at any time.
When Nan Xiao’s letter reached Bei Ning, she was so furious she wanted to send word to their insider in the palace and start a rebellion immediately.
But since Qi Yanzhou hadn’t issued such an order, she only dared to think about it.
She sent messages to brothels, taverns, tea houses—any place suitable for spreading news.
Within half a day, the truth about the Dayang Town plague had spread far and wide.
“Is the emperor insane? He wanted to burn down a whole city just to destroy the Qi family!”
“First colluding with enemy spies, then the body-double scheme, and now using a plague to harm people!”
“What the emperor wants to destroy isn’t just the Qi family or one city’s people—it’s the entire Beichen kingdom!”
“I can’t imagine what would have happened if three plagues had broken out at once. Who would have survived?”
“Thank goodness Miss Ye’s medical skills were so effective in controlling the plague. I hope the Qi family starts their rebellion soon!”
Ever since Qi Yanzhou challenged imperial authority and revealed his intention to rebel, the people no longer held back their criticisms of the royal family.
The capital was filled with discontent toward the emperor.
If Qi Yanzhou raised his banner in rebellion, no one knew how many people would flock to his side.
At that moment, inside the imperial palace.
The emperor lay on his dragon bed in the sleeping quarters, his face pale as paper, anxiety written all over it.
Earlier, he had vomited blood from anger after reading Qi Yanzhou’s memorial about planning rebellion, but he had barely recovered some strength.
Now, learning that the “city-burning plan” had failed, he nearly fainted again.
“Why is the Qi family so fortunate? Not only do they escape every danger, but they also turn the blame on me!”
“Has my destiny as emperor run its course? Is the Beichen kingdom’s throne about to fall into the hands of the Qi family?”
“De, my dear minister, we are in this together. You must think of some solution.”
“If the Qi family gains power, we’ll either be torn apart by five horses or sliced to death by slow execution!”
Listening to the emperor’s nonstop ranting, Eunuch De’s face showed increasing impatience.
“Shut up!”
Ever since the emperor took to his sickbed, it had become even clearer to him that his imperial position was already a hollow title.
Eunuch De had strengthened his grip on both the palace and the court, completely sidelining the emperor.
The emperor fell silent in embarrassment, then suddenly stopped feeling so anxious.
After all, Eunuch De wouldn’t just sit and wait for death—he only had to wait and watch the outcome.
After hesitating for a long time, Eunuch De turned to the emperor.
“Your Majesty, how about issuing another edict of self-blame, then abdicate in favor of the Second Prince, and become a carefree Grand Emperor?”
The emperor raised his head and looked at Eunuch De, refusing without a second thought.
“Impossible!”
Although he had little real power left, occupying the throne of the supreme ruler allowed him to enjoy glory and privileges.
If he abdicated, forget about enjoying anything—he probably wouldn’t live much longer!
Thinking this, he sneered, “Have you forgotten? The state seal hasn’t been found yet. How can you abdicate?”
Just as the emperor finished speaking, a eunuch burst into the bedchamber in panic.
“Chief Eunuch, Your Majesty! An urgent dispatch from eight hundred li has arrived!”
The emperor and Eunuch De both guessed it was from Bingzhou and said in unison, “Present it.”
The memorial was quickly handed to Eunuch De.
When he opened and read it, his face turned indescribably ugly. He flung the document at the emperor.
“That deposed crown prince has grown quite capable—he’s helping the Qi family and betraying us!
And what of the Northwest Garrison Army in Bingzhou? They were once loyalists to the emperor, but now they’ve defected!”
The sharp corner of the memorial struck the emperor’s forehead, cutting him and drawing blood.
He grunted in pain, pressing one hand to his wound while opening the memorial with the other to read it carefully.
Before he could finish, he passed out.
Eunuch De thought the emperor had simply fainted from rage.
“Useless piece of trash!”
But as soon as he finished cursing, he noticed the emperor’s forehead wound turning a deep purple, and his face changed instantly.
“The memorial is poisoned!”
