Chapter 561: So, There Must Be War

However, his captors stated they needed to act before Fu Shanyue returned to the inn.

The identity of the Chiyan Crown Prince still made the higher-ups somewhat wary. After all, relations between Chiyan and Lingxu City had been tense recently, and the true culprit behind the massacre of demon citizens from various countries pointed to high-ranking officials in Lingxu City. Therefore, the Demon Emperor probably didn't want to add fuel to the fire.

But how long could this apprehension last? Or rather, how long would their patience hold out? It was hard to say.

He Lingchuan knew he had to quickly dispel Bai Ziqi's suspicions, even if only temporarily. However, at least tonight he could enjoy a good night's sleep.

The Soul Realm, Chipa Plateau.

He Lingchuan turned his head and sneezed.

Was someone talking about him behind his back, or had too much pepper been put on the roasted lamb?

"Let me do it," Shao Jian said, taking the pepper shaker from him. He took out a knife and made a couple more cuts on the lamb leg. "When it comes to roasting lamb, if I claim to be second, no one dares claim to be first."

Having been displaced and exiled for over a decade, he had spent most of his time in the wilderness.

He Lingchuan sat back down on the log and noticed a red, round signet ring on Shao Jian's ring finger. The ring face, unlike those of other merchants, wasn't inlaid with precious stones or jade, but rather engraved with patterns and text. "Your ring is quite unusual," he remarked.

"This?" Shao Jian glanced at his finger. "I once traveled west for business and saw that the wealthy nobles there all wore such signet rings. To seal something, they just had to make a fist and press down. It was very convenient, so I had one made similarly."

He extended his hand to show He Lingchuan, who said, "Is this pattern a conch shell?"

"Exactly. The first merchant guild I founded was called the Red Conch Guild," Shao Jian said with a smile. "We handled transportation at the seaports."

He looked at He Lingchuan and said, "Now that the Xiji Plain has also been taken by Panlong City, you should consider traveling south if you get the chance. Life by the sea is completely different from our inland life."

He Lingchuan specifically pointed to the dried goods Shao Jian had bought. "When the time comes, we'll stew mountain delicacies and seafood together."

"Precisely," Shao Jian chuckled. He had specifically come to the Chipa Plateau to buy dried red mushrooms from a particular farm, claiming their quality was far superior to what city shops sold. What was the word again? Authentic.

His beloved daughter loved red mushroom soup and had specifically asked him to bring back more. Just for that, Shao Jian, a doting father to an extreme, was willing to travel an extra fifty *li*, with He Lingchuan accompanying him as his guard.

The journey was long and night fell quickly, so the two simply stayed in the farmer's barn. They also bought a black goat from the owners for dinner, grilling the meat and boiling the bones for soup.

The little girl wasn't wrong to love it; red mushrooms and lamb soup were a perfect match. When these dried mushrooms were rehydrated and stewed with meat, the soup was clear and reddish, looking especially warming. Although a little oil floated on the surface, it was refreshing and not greasy, carrying the unique aroma of mountain delicacies.

He Lingchuan ladled out a bowl of soup for Shao Jian. "How old is your daughter?"

"She's seven now," Shao Jian said, his eyes full of a smile when he spoke of his daughter. "She's very mischievous, not a bit ladylike, and can still climb trees and jump on horses."

Once he started, he couldn't stop talking.

It turned out that ten years ago, he passed through a small city, fell in love with a woman, and they soon married. Two years later, they had a daughter.

Shao Jian carried the burden of national vengeance and family hatred, having spent half his life in exile, lamenting day and night. However, after having a daughter, his world regained its colors.

He even showed He Lingchuan the talisman at his waist.

It was made of red string, somewhat rough and clumsy, yet it was handmade by his beloved daughter. He traveled far and wide, never going a day without wearing it.

He Lingchuan smiled. "What's her name?"

"Shao Yingying, her nickname is Yanzi. Let me tell you, there's no truer joy in the world than the happiness of family," Shao Jian said, turning the lamb again. "That's why I truly admire Brother Zhong; he can do what others cannot."

If it were him, he would absolutely never sacrifice his own daughter; he would rather take her place. At this, he sighed with emotion.

He Lingchuan smiled. There were all kinds of fathers in the world.

However, he still followed Shao Jian's line of thought. "Mr. Shao is also remarkable. From now on, you will face the gods alone."

Shao Jian laughed heartily. "Last year, I took my Yingying to the West Street temple fair in Linhe City. Yingying loved the sticky rice cakes there, and I bought them for her every time I came home. A fortune teller read my palm and face, and even wrote a fourteen-character prophecy, stuffing it into a gourd: *Sing wildly and drink freely, light of body and free of care; seek no peace from wind and rain.* Ha-ha, he said I would wander aimlessly my whole life and have a difficult end. Yingying cried for several nights after she understood."

He shook his head. "This is my destiny, and I accept it. But I hope Yingying lives a peaceful and smooth life, and doesn't follow in my footsteps."

He Lingchuan said softly, "Then you'll have to stay away from her." Shao Jian glanced at him, saying bitterly, "Yes, that's exactly it."

He closed his eyes and let out a long sigh, then changed the subject. "I see that both Brother Zhong and General Hong are keen to mentor you. Work hard; you have a lot of potential, young man."

Over the past few days, he and He Lingchuan had grown accustomed to each other's company. "Me?" He Lingchuan smiled sheepishly. "I'm just a small soldier."

"To be able to enter the Gange Hall, and to hear us discuss the Dragon Punishment Pillar, you're no ordinary soldier," Shao Jian said, carving off a piece of lamb for him. "I observe that you are kindhearted and act with discretion; these are excellent qualities."

"Kindhearted too?" Only in the Soul Realm had anyone ever praised him like that. In reality, both friends and foes described him as cunning and manipulative.

He Lingchuan tasted the roasted lamb. The outer layer of charred skin was crispy, and with one bite, the tender meat inside burst with juice.

Shao Jian's cooking skills truly surpassed his by a mile.

"Of course. Be kind to others, make more friends and fewer enemies, and your path will broaden in the future," Shao Jian said, repositioning the lamb and taking a sip of hot soup from his bowl. "Those who achieve great things don't necessarily need to be sharp-edged or unyielding. What does it matter if you're flexible, as long as you achieve your goals?"

"Brother Zhong and I once studied together in Lingxu City. I saw him at the Imperial Academy debating with the scholars, leaving them speechless. At the time, I greatly admired his knowledge and character, feeling he was valiant and clear-headed, standing apart from the world. But now, looking back after so many years of turmoil, I realize that Brother Zhong's rigid honesty was destined to cause him trouble in the imperial court. Otherwise, why would he have been sent to the Panlong Wasteland later on?"

"Don't learn that from him." Both he and He Lingchuan had finished half a bowl of lamb soup. "As long as you have grand ambitions and unyielding perseverance, what does it matter if you are humble and yielding, or even suffer some humiliation to achieve your goals? These are merely means to an end; the final result is what truly matters, isn't it?"

After having a daughter, Shao Jian's heart had softened considerably. Seeing a promising junior like He Lingchuan, he couldn't help but offer earnest advice.

Accompanying Shao Jian, He Lingchuan gained more insights into Beijia. This knowledge came from a direct participant and was difficult to obtain from books. However, Shao Jian absolutely refused to mention Yuanguo. Several times, He Lingchuan subtly tried to steer the conversation toward it, but Shao Jian always diverted him. The name seemed to be a curse and a taboo for him, not to be touched.

He Lingchuan could only choose relatively safe topics, such as: "Mr. Wu, what kind of temperament does the Demon Emperor truly have? Does he really obey the gods?"

"The current Demon Emperor is a strategist of great vision. For two hundred years of his reign, Beijia has not fallen."

He Lingchuan poked the bonfire. "Just maintaining Beijia's stability, can that be called great vision?"

It was currently the seventeenth year of Panlong Era, and Beijia's second Demon Emperor was still on the throne. By He Lingchuan's own time, this emperor would be referred to by the Beijian people as the 'Former Emperor.'

"Such a vast territory, such a complex national situation, and centuries of accumulating old problems and decay," Shao Jian said, cutting another piece of lamb and chewing it slowly. "Governing a country is incredibly difficult, like reaching for the heavens. To maintain a large nation without its collapse is already an immense challenge. Look at the human nations around us: the longest last little over a hundred years, the shortest just seven or eight, before dynasties change and they are annexed."

However, his intention was not to praise the destroyer of his own family, so he changed his tone:

"But these so-called Demon Emperors, Demon Kings, and so-called National Preceptors—they are all murderers, and traitors to humanity!"

He Lingchuan's eyes shifted. "Traitors?"

"The Demon Emperors' ancestors were powerful demon immortals who steadfastly and fearlessly resisted the gods' invasion, pressing forward even if it meant sacrificing their lives," Shao Jian said coldly. "Who would have thought that their descendants, two thousand years later, would defect to the enemy, willingly becoming pawns for the gods and harming the common people!"

"What else but traitors are they? They've completely shamed their ancestors!" The last sentence he uttered turned into a vehement exclamation.

He Lingchuan was speechless for a moment. Two thousand years was an incredibly long time; oceans could turn into mulberry fields, let alone human affairs change.

Moreover, over six hundred years ago, Beijia's founding Demon Emperor also faced a situation where the demon race was weak and pushed to the brink by humans, with no space left to survive, forcing him to seek external aid.

At that time, the primary conflict was already between humans and demons. How could the Demon Emperor of that era fight alongside immortals, like his ancient predecessors?

He Lingchuan asked further, "Empress Mitian said that the gods have been consuming the demonic energy of this world. I also heard at the Immortal Inquiries Hall that the human realm and the divine realm have a reciprocal relationship: the more nightmare energy they draw, the more our world's spiritual energy becomes depleted. Do Beijia's Demon Emperors and Demon Kings know about this?"

Shao Jian was greatly surprised. "The Immortal Inquiries Hall teaches this?" He had also attended lectures there and knew they were open to the public. Was Panlong City revealing such secrets to its citizens?

"Yes, they did," He Lingchuan said, lying without batting an eyelid, even adding a sincere smile.

"Of course, Beijia's high-ranking officials know," Shao Jian said, the firelight flickering in his eyes. "The divine realm's resources are depleted; the gods must draw energy for their survival from the human realm. Once the essential origin present within all living beings overflows, it becomes nightmare energy! Demons and humans contain abundant spiritual essence, and humans, in particular, are numerous, making them the best source of this essence."

"But as people age naturally, demonic energy also dissipates and returns to the world. So it turns out that Tianshengzi's deduction was indeed correct. He Lingchuan whispered, "So there must be war?"

"Only war can quickly harvest the lives of young adults, like reaping the freshest chives."