The previous Xia Dynasty, blessed by the heavens, ruled for six hundred years.
In its final years, its emperors were indulgent and extravagant, neglecting the affairs of state. Taxes grew heavier, exhausting the people until the roads were littered with the starved.
It was an age of chaos. Demons and heretics ran rampant, the flames of war engulfed the land, and banners of rebellion rose from all corners.
The last emperor, Jiang Gen, ascended the throne with the ambition to govern well and bring peace to the nation, but the empire was already rotten to the core, beyond saving.
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The Li Clan of Luozhou, seizing the opportune moment with favorable conditions and popular support, conquered the land by force, establishing the Great Jin Dynasty we know today.
As for the last bloodline of the Xia Dynasty, they were displaced in the new era. Initially, they harbored ambitions of restoring their nation, but they gradually faded from sight, disappearing into the river of history.
For the past century, the Imperial Court has paid no mind to the Xia Dynasty's Jiang Clan. They were even removed from the Zhu Xie List, which hangs in the Panlong Garden of the Imperial Capital.
Perhaps the court wished to avoid being depicted by scholars and literati as ruthless tyrants who would exterminate a fallen lineage.
As for the former Jiang Clan, there had been no news of them for nearly a hundred years. Many in the court would jest in their leisure that the line had surely died out, its heritage severed.
But the truth was...
They were hidden here, in this Peach Blossom Land!
Anyone else would have been ecstatic. Reporting the Jiang Clan's hiding place to the provincial government would earn them a thousand pieces of gold and a marquisate over ten thousand households—a lifetime of wealth and glory.
But Pei Su merely smiled, only slightly surprised.
As for exterminating them on behalf of the Imperial Li Family...
What good would that do him?
Although the Pei Family had served as high officials for generations and was deeply entrenched in the Imperial Court, and he, Pei Su, had been showered with imperial favor since childhood...
...he didn't have a single loyal thought in his heart.
This wasn't just because he was on his second life, but also because... this was how the ancient, thousand-year-old Pei Family had educated him since he was a boy.
And as for those poor scholars and purist faction members at the Imperial Academy, who droned on all day about loyalty to the Emperor, serving the nation, and repaying imperial grace...
Pei Su let out a cold sneer.
Loyalty to the Emperor, loyalty to the Emperor!
The current Emperor has been in seclusion on Kongtong Mountain for twenty years, the Crown Prince has been stripped of his power, and the Empress rules from behind a curtain. All the power of the court has fallen into the hands of a woman with a different surname.
He hadn't seen many scholars willing to die a righteous death for the weakened Li Imperial Family...
Pei Su calmed his mind and turned his gaze back to the distant peach grove.
He then entered Nirvanic Obscurity once more and silently followed, moving like a swan's feather, swift as a shooting star.
******
When Zhao Lan came to his senses again, he found himself lying on a wooden chair. He was surrounded by bamboo houses and a flowing stream, a scene of pure and harmonious tranquility.
He quickly sat up and saw a handmaiden hurrying away, shouting, "Your Highness, he's awake! He's awake!"
The next moment, Zhao Lan saw that dreamlike figure again, slowly walking toward him. New chapters come out on g.com first.
It's... it's her!
It wasn't a dream. Such a beautiful girl... she really exists...
Zhao Lan, having just woken up, was once again stupefied by the girl's beauty.
Not until the girl stood before him and handed him a fragrant medicinal pill.
"You've been unconscious for four hours. Here! This is a Seven-Wonder Pill. It will help you recover from your injuries."
The girl wore a moon-white long dress, over which was draped a light-orange cloak that shimmered with a noble luster. Her long hair cascaded down, like a river of obsidian stars.
She wore no makeup, yet she was already a peerless beauty.
"Thank you! Thank you, fairy sister..."
Zhao Lan scrambled to his feet, took the pill, his voice trembling with nervousness.
"I, Zhao Lan, can never repay your great kindness. From now on, I am willing to serve you, to do anything you ask with all my heart."
The girl was taken aback and took a small step back.
"That won't be necessary. Just focus on your recovery. Once you're healed, leave Die Meng Valley and don't mention this place to anyone."
Zhao Lan wanted to say more, but he saw the girl turn and walk away.
He took a deep breath of her lingering scent on the wind, his soul soaring to the clouds.
How could it be? How could someone in this world be so beautiful?
Liu Zhi of the Liu family, with her bright features and skill with cosmetics, was considered one of the top beauties in Lin'an County. But compared to the girl before him, she was like a plain green leaf, utterly devoid of brilliance.
It made sense. That Liu Zhi had a venomous heart, and her face reflected her nature. How could she ever compare to the fairy sister before him?
How laughable that he had been so infatuated with Liu Zhi before. He must have been out of his mind!
Liu Zhi! Pei Su!
Just you two wait!
When I've recovered and gathered my strength, I will surely avenge today's humiliation!
Zhao Lan suppressed his anger and swallowed the pill in his hand. As expected, he felt a cool energy spread throughout his body, and his injuries began to slowly heal.
Looking at his grievous injuries, Zhao Lan couldn't help but grit his teeth.
"How is this possible! How could the Heir of Northern Marquis injure me so severely with a single palm strike? He must have used some devious, unorthodox technique!"
He refused to believe it!
Ever since he reached the Xuan Yuan Realm two years ago, he had often fought and defeated peers of higher cultivation. Although the Heir of Northern Marquis was famous throughout the land, he could accept being defeated by him, but how could it be...
...with just a single palm strike?!
Zhao Lan took a deep breath, sat cross-legged, and circulated his energy, sinking his qi into his dantian.
An hour later, he felt that his injuries were mostly healed.
"What terrifyingly effective medicine!"
For that girl to give such a divine medicine to him... could it be that she... felt something... for him?
Ahem!
Zhao Lan immediately shook off the distracting thought and looked around, his heart filled with questions.
Where exactly was this place...?
In the distance, indigo mountains were wreathed in mist and clouds, their peaks layered like a painting.
Nearby were scattered bamboo houses with pink bricks and green tiles, complementing the bamboo and peach groves, creating a scene like a paradise on earth.
He only knew that the area outside the peach grove was a hidden place his Xiao Bo had stumbled upon by chance. He never knew people actually lived here. He hadn't expected to find a smaller Peach Blossom Land hidden within the Peach Blossom Land...
Zhao Lan had a decent eye for things. He could sense that several of the resting old men and women in the distance were faintly exuding an aura he dared not provoke.
This village definitely had experts on par with his Xiao Bo, and more than one of them...
Suddenly, Zhao Lan saw an old woman walking toward him.
She was dressed in brocade, her hair was gray, and her frame was thin, but her steps were steady.
"What is your name?"
The old woman's voice was frigid, her eyes glinting with a cold, scrutinizing light.
"This junior is Zhao Lan."
Zhao Lan didn't dare to be disrespectful. He cupped his hands and lowered his gaze.
Behind the old woman stood several other elders and middle-aged men in armor, all sizing Zhao Lan up with their eyes.
The old woman snorted coldly.
"For more than ten years, you and that sloppy old man have often lingered outside the Tao Yao Formation. We have watched you with cold indifference, and our patience has reached its limit..."
She flicked her sleeve.
"Leave as soon as your injuries are healed. Do not reveal a single thing about this place, and never come back!"
An old man leaning on a cane stepped forward, his eyes sharp as a hawk's.
"Her Highness has a pure heart, as untainted as snow. She is untouched by the ways of the world and knows not of good and evil. She would save even a wounded beast, so you need not harbor any foolish ideas."
Zhao Lan could feel the veiled hostility in their eyes, but he was helpless and could only say:
"Rest assured, seniors. This junior will leave as soon as he is healed and will not cause any more trouble."
It seemed no one here welcomed him. Perhaps only that fairy sister was willing to accept him.
Zhao Lan sighed inwardly as a thought suddenly occurred to him.
If only that girl could leave with him, to travel the world together. How wonderful that would be!
PS: ①【Zhu Xie List】: Famed throughout the land because of the inscription by the former head of the Imperial Academy, Zhou Hanzhang: "Hung for all the world to see, to purge all demons and monsters." It hangs on the vermilion walls of Panlong Garden in the Imperial Capital and includes all the most vicious and evil criminals in the mortal realm. Every year at the spring equinox, countless observers flock from all corners of the land to see it.
②【Tao Yao Formation】: One of the profound and mysterious formations hidden by the Jiang Clan of the Xia Dynasty.
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