Where Immortals Once Walked

Chapter 416: A Closer Look at Beijia’s Past

“So in these four hundred-plus years, Beijia itself hasn’t exactly been peaceful?”

“Mm-hm.” Sun Fuling nodded. “There have been wars large and small, within the vassal states and between them, and that’s not even counting day-to-day clashes, friction, and simmering grudges. Look, when Beijia was founded, there were only twelve vassal monster states. At one point, the number rose to seventeen. That means that there was both splintering and annexation. Now, it’s back to twelve again.”

“Twelve?” He Lingchuan’s heart thumped. It was the seventeenth year on the Panlong Calendary right now, and Beijia had twelve monster kings. But in his time, which was more than a century later, there were thirteen monster kings. In other words, an extra one had appeared over the following hundred years.

With that thought lodged in his chest, he asked, “If it’s been that chaotic inside, how hasn’t Beijia collapsed? Our own motherland, West Luo, is currently being torn apart by feudal lords carving it up. It’s a complete mess.”

Sun Fuling smiled and said, “Maybe after being in chaos for a few hundred years, they’ve gotten really good at it?”

“...” Chaotic but unbroken, I guess that really is a kind of skill.

“Alright, no more jokes. The Beijia Monster Emperor’s authority is something no one within their empire can shake. That’s very different from other enfeoffed systems, ours in West Luo included.” Sun Fuling coughed softly. “No matter how turbulent Beijia gets internally, no matter how viciously the monster kings fight, once the monster emperor issues an order, none dare disobey.”

She then continued, “I remember that 120 years ago, the State of Xuluo and the State of Baixiang, both of vassal monster states, were fighting a full-blown war. Then, Beijia suddenly launched a campaign against the State of Yu. At soon as the campaign was launched, Xuluo and Baixiang stopped their war immediately. Each state sent seven thousand troops to accompany the monster emperor, and the Xuluo Monster King even sent his own son. The funniest part is that those two forces were placed in the same unit. A month earlier, they had been killing each other with red eyes, both sides suffering many casualties, and then they were forced to eat together, live together, and sleep under the same roof.”

He Lingchuan could not help but ask, “And that worked? Nothing happened?”

“Oh, things happened. The records say internal brawls and private duels killed or injured more than a hundred,” Sun Fuling said serenely. “But on the surface, those two armies still had to fight side by side against the enemy. After the campaign ended, the monster emperor returned to the capital. The monster kings withdrew their troops, too. And Xuluo and Baixiang went right back to finishing the war they had paused.”

“That’s just... downright absurd.” He Lingchuan exhaled slowly. Normally, when regional lords grew strong, or rebellions flared, it was because central authority had weakened. It was typically a straightforward tug-of-war. However, the Beijia Monster Emperor clutched supreme power in his fist and never loosened it. The monster kings could tear each other apart below him, yet he sat steady as a fisherman watching his line. No one could slip out of his palm.

He Lingchuan then asked, “Other states can’t do it because the monster emperor’s authority comes from the gods?”

“Of course.” Sun Fuling nodded without hesitation. “You could say Beijia’s founding emperor was a genius in his own right, turning a tiny state into a dominant empire, using a monster body to rule tens of millions of humans. But in the end, it was the gods who forged the greatest unitive force for him. Otherwise, how could those ten-odd monster kings under him have possibly allowed him to wield them like they were his arms and fingers?”

Over the past two thousand years, monsters had declined and been driven into deep mountains and wild forests for a reason. Yet, when it came down to individual combat strength, how could humans possibly compare to them? The paramount discrepancy was that monsters lacked unity.

“Which is why Beijia reveres the gods so intensely, as a state.” Sun Fuling’s gaze drifted.

They’re worshiping the very foundation of their state.

Of course, it might also simply be what the gods demand. Otherwise, why would gods help an emperor rule Beijia? Just out of kindness?

“But other states could worship gods too, so why can’t they become a second Beijia?”

“That question has been asked for a long time, and no one has a definitive answer. The fact in front of us is that whether it’s a person or a state, those who revere gods often seem to gain hope of victory during the process, but in the end, almost none of them end well, the only exception being Beijia.” Sun Fuling then added softly, “My personal guess? The problem lies with the gods. They probably aren’t a single unified whole. We know nothing about how they’re organized or how they communicate. And like the hypothesis you mentioned earlier, that the formation of imperial nectar is tied to the death of gods... I suspect that their internal structure isn’t a solid block either.”

“Then what do the gods get from Beijia?”

Sun Fuling paused, startled for the briefest instant. She swirled the wine in her cup. “For two to three thousand years, the shadows of gods have threaded through every change in the mortal realm. Tell me, what do you think they want?”

He Lingchuan thought carefully, then shook his head. “I don’t know.”

After the Great Catastrophe of Heaven and Earth, the gods had left the mortal realm. By all logic, they should not have anything to do with this world anymore. Yet He Lingchuan could always feel their presence, whether it be from Sun Fuping or Hong Xiangqian, and even all the way to the Beijia Empire that he had just stepped into in the real world.

The influence of the gods was everywhere.

“If we could find the answer, then maybe we could explain why they’d help the monster emperor in the first place.”

At that moment, the sound of beating wings came from above. A figure dropped down and landed on the low wall.

It was an old acquaintance of He Lingchuan’s, the sparrowhawk.

He Lingchuan asked, “What are you doing here?”

“Resting.” The sparrowhawk stared straight at the braised beef on the table. “I’m starving.”

He Lingchuan scowled. “Aren’t there enough magpies in this city for you?”

“I’m sick of them.” Plucking feathers before every meal was tiring. Sometimes it wanted something ready-made. “I’ve been flying around your place a lot. Otherwise, the fish in your vat would’ve been gone already.”

So it’s here to claim credit.

Sun Fuling picked off a small slice of beef and tossed it. The sparrowhawk snapped it out of the air precisely and threw back its head to swallow.

It ate too fast to taste anything. Then it opened its beak a little.

It wants more?

He Lingchuan waved a piece of roast chicken in front of it. “Tell me first, what big things have happened in the city lately?”

“Nothing in the city. But outside the city? Plenty,” the sparrowhawk said, hopping down and inching toward the chicken step by step.

Once a bird of prey was on the ground, its waddling gait was not that different from a goose strolling down the street.

Sun Fuling watched it pant with its beak open, which showed that it really was quite exhausted, and ladled it a bowl of water. “You’ve flown a long time. Drink first.”

The sparrowhawk gulped greedily, letting Sun Fuling stroke the feathers along its back.

“Three days ago, the ruler of the State of West Ji died. I just came back from West Ji. I already reported the news to Commander Zhong.”

“The State of West Ji?” He Lingchuan frowned. “The one blocking the eastern end of the Panlong Wasteland?”

“Yes.” Sun Fuling picked up smoothly. “Ten years ago, West Ji was still West Luo territory. Then the Changhou people seized it and proclaimed their own State of West Ji. The leader of the Changhou, who had then also become the monarch of the State of West Ji, had some ability. But it seems his lifespan wasn’t long enough, and his heirs don’t look impressive.”

Hero or tyrant, it did not matter; conquering land meant nothing if you did not live long enough to hold it.

“How can you tell his heirs aren’t impressive?” asked He Lingchuan. As someone from the future, he already knew how West Ji would end.

“The State of West Ji’s surroundings are unstable. A monarch’s death is exactly the kind of event that sparks upheaval. If his sons were smart and sharp, they would have concealed the death of their father and bought time to secure the succession. But if the news was discovered immediately, then I’d say that West Ji is in trouble.” Sun Fuling then asked the sparrowhawk, “Who inherits the throne?”

“The third son, Huyan Zhao.”

He Lingchuan turned to Sun Fuling and asked, “What do you think? Will Panlong City seize this chance?”

“Why ask me?” Sun Fuling’s lips curved into a smile. “You should ask Commander Zhong.”

The sparrowhawk pecked at He Lingchuan’s trouser leg with its sharp beak. In exchange, it received a chunk of roast chicken. It half-closed its eyes and savored it.

Mm. Not bad.

“Oh, right, I brought you something.” He Lingchuan washed his hands, then pulled a booklet from his robe and handed it to her. “Take a look and see if you like it.”

“Records...on Worshipping the Gods[1]?” Sun Fuling’s eyes lit up. She took it and flipped a few pages, then flipped faster and faster. “This is the late-life journal of the Beijia Monster Emperor, Wu Chen. Where did you find this?”

“Bought it from an out-of-town merchant,” He Lingchuan said, coughing lightly. “It’s for you.”

After arriving in Fufeng City, he had Second Boss Shi scour the city for it. The monster emperor’s journal had plenty of copied versions among Beijia’s upper nobility, so he had guessed that Fufeng City might have one.

Last time at Spirit-Nurturing Isle, Sun Fuling had mentioned she wanted this record.

Sun Fuling looked delighted and immediately began reading. But after only a few more pages, she made a soft sound of surprise. “This handwriting... It looks like yours.”

“Uh, I copied it.” He could not bring physical copies into the dreamscape, so he had had to memorize the whole thing and then write it out by hand once he entered the dreamscape. Fortunately, his cognition had grown strong enough that memorizing a three-thousand-character “short essay” was not too hard anymore. “The original was falling apart. Flakes came off every time you turned a page. Copying it was honestly easier... Is my handwriting ugly?”

“It’s not ugly.” Sun Fuling smiled warmly. “I like it very much. Thank you!”

They looked at each other without speaking, yet it felt as though everything had already been said.

The sparrowhawk stretched its neck cautiously and stole a slice of beef from the platter, trying not to make a sound.

But the meat dragged an empty wine cup with it.

Chrrk!

The sound was sharp and jarring.

Sun Fuling lowered her eyes to look at it. The sparrowhawk hunched its neck, beef still clamped in its beak, caught between swallowing and not swallowing.

He Lingchuan cleared his throat and changed the subject, “Beijia’s been running this system for over four hundred years. Hasn’t any monster state ever tried to resist?”

“In the last four centuries, at least seventeen or eighteen kingslayers have ascended to power on their own, but because the gods refused to recognize them or grant them investiture, they tried to break away from Beijia and found independent states,” Sun Fuling said, lifting her cup and taking a small sip. “Without exception, they all failed.”

“Lingxu City’s army is too strong, and more than ten monster states follow it into war. Ten against one, sometimes more. Those kingslayers had no chance. After that, for two or three hundred years, everyone behaved. No one dared casually challenge the authority of heavenly gods and the monster emperor.” She then said, eyes drifting, “Until a little over twenty years ago, when an exception appeared again.” She spoke evenly, as if reciting a lesson. “Until a little over twenty years ago, when an exception appeared again.”

“Oh?” He always liked exceptions.

“The new monarch of one of the twelve monster states, the State of Yuān[2], refused divine investiture and insisted on seceding from Beijia. At that time, three monster states inside Beijia were already locked in a chaotic war, and they couldn’t respond to Lingxu City quickly. Lingxu City mobilized forces three times, and all three times, Yuān defeated them. The monster emperor was furious and ordered a statewide assault. Even so, Yuān held out for more than three years before it finally fell.”

“This Yuān seems to have quite the backbone,” He Lingchuan said, intrigued. “Are there books in the Literature Pavilion about those battles?”

“Very few,” Sun Fuling admitted with a soft sigh. “Beijia is far from us, and it happened only a little over twenty years ago. The Panlong Wasteland has also been besieged for more than ten years.”

1. This was actually first mentioned in Chapter 289. ☜

2. This is different from the State of Yuan that He Lingchuan is originally from, as you might have presumed from the addition of an accent mark. ☜