Chapter 7 Qionglongzi did not speak of strange powers and supernatural phenomena; he had been influenced by the court since childhood…

In the inn, the young man asked a sincere question.

Upon hearing this, Jia Qianyang shook his head and chuckled, "Your Highness has not considered that, with nearly a century of war among the nations of the world, why is it that only this place has remained untouched? Is it merely because of its remote location, far removed from conflict?"

"Isn't it because nobody wants this place? Why waste troops?" Qin Yuqi's disdain was naturally revealed in his tone.

"No, no."

Qin Yuqi was merely stating a fact; he naturally knew that even the most desolate places had their uses. Among the lands recently incorporated into the Great Yong Dynasty, several were truly prosperous and developed. Given the resources, no regime would let go of any controllable territory. Land was like a chess piece; in the grand scheme of a dynasty, not using it and not having it were worlds apart.

Jia Qianyang took a sip of tea and continued, "Because the power in this world is far more than just soldiers and horses."

Jia Qianyang looked out the window. The huge, dark mountain shadows blocked this place from the outside world, leaving only the pitch-black night.

"Mortals think they know everything and are above all spirits, but in fact all things have their own power, but very few can see it."

"Over the years, it has never been the people of these villages who have defended the Liyue villages against foreign invasions, but rather some unseen forces."

Jia Qianyang's words sounded mysterious, and Qin Yuqi raised his eyes to sized up the person opposite him.

This imperial advisor's origins are unknown, but due to several prophecies of auspicious omens appearing in the world, he gained the emperor's great trust and quickly rose from obscurity to the position of imperial advisor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. There are even rumors that he has lived for hundreds of years and was born in the Great Zhou Dynasty.

Qin Yuqi always scoffed at these legends, believing they were nothing more than man-made omens. People fabricated auspicious signs to curry favor with the new dynasty and legitimize its rule, seeking personal gain in the process. In his position, he was intimately familiar with this tactic; only fools would believe in such divine intervention and auspicious omens.

He firmly believed that the previous Great Zhou Dynasty had perished precisely because of its witchcraft and evil practices. The people all pursued cultivation, neglecting their proper occupations and agriculture; the wealthy squandered their fortunes seeking elixirs of immortality, while the poor abandoned their children to retreat into seclusion and asceticism. It was an utterly foolish practice.

Qin Yuqi stared at Jia Qianyang's smooth face, wanting to see what kind of excuse he was going to use to deceive him. If it wasn't interesting enough, he would take this place in his own way.

On the smooth skin, a pair of jet-black eyes suddenly turned around.

Qin Yuqi's heart skipped a beat, a sudden, eerie feeling washing over him. Despite the room being filled with candlelight, his pupils were completely devoid of light; his eyes were like black holes, staring at people as if trying to suck them in. It wouldn't be easily noticed during the day, but in the dead of night, it was truly unsettling. Qin Yuqi instantly felt a chill run down his spine, and his expression instantly turned grim.

"Your Highness doesn't believe me?" Jia Qianyang squinted at him.

Qin Yuqi slowly shook his head, subtly shifting his gaze elsewhere.

Jia Qianyang touched the walking stick beside him; the dove-head tip was extremely smooth, clearly an old artifact. Jia Qianyang smiled mysteriously, then stood up and said, "Please follow me outside, Your Highness."

Outside, the night was deep, the stars in the sky were dim, and there were scattered lights under the huge shadow of the mountains in the distance, which were the homes of the Liyue Village. The cries of owls came from the dense forest nearby, which sounded particularly desolate in such a night.

Jia Qianyang ordered the guards at the door to bring him a bow and arrow, and then commanded them to shoot down the birds in the forest.

The woods were very close to the inn, and the calls of owls were almost right next to us.

For the warriors of Dayong, this was an extremely simple task. The guard in question was exceptionally skilled in archery, and Qin Yuqi remembered him. Dayong valued martial prowess; even those from humble backgrounds could rise to the rank of general through military merit, enjoying wealth, honor, and privilege. This man had distinguished himself from the many soldiers through his archery skills, earning him the opportunity to accompany them on this mission.

The guard with the bow stood quietly on the open ground, his eyes closed, his ears twitching slightly. After determining the direction from a certain angle, he quickly drew his bow and released the arrow.

Before the owl perched on the treetop could react, it fell from the tree.

Almost at the same moment the owl was shot, the guard was also struck by a tremendous force, his entire body thrown to the ground. As he struggled to his feet, he spat out a mouthful of blood, clearly indicating internal organ injury and bleeding.

Qin Yuqi stood there, stunned.

He watched helplessly as the guard's body was knocked away and fell to the ground; it happened in an instant, but he saw it clearly.

There was no one, no object, nothing that could exert any external force on him. What was even more shocking was that the owl flapped its wings a few times and then flew away. If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he would never have believed that it was a bird that had just been shot by an arrow.

No, the arrow didn't hit it at all. Just as it was about to pierce it, the arrow was stopped by an inexplicable force.

What Jia Qianyang referred to was an unseen force.

"Why...is this?"

Qin Yuqi asked, puzzled. He watched as the guard was dragged away. Medical conditions were limited when traveling, and with such severe injuries, there was no other way but to wait for death.

Jia Qianyang seemed to have anticipated what would happen. He simply stroked the dove-head on his cane, looked up at the sky, and said softly, "Your Highness, this time you must see things clearly."

Jia Qianyang raised his dove-shaped staff, and Qin Yuqi saw light flowing from the staff towards the dove's head. As the staff touched the ground, white specks of light shot out from the dove's head. The originally dim night sky rippled with light upon contact with these specks, like ripples spreading across a lake after a pebble has been thrown in. As the halo gradually spread, Qin Yuqi saw a huge, transparent dome, like a protective shield enveloping the land.

The halo was fleeting; almost instantly, the night sky returned to its original deep, dark state. Had Jia Qianyang not pointed it out, he wouldn't have noticed that brief flicker in the night sky.

Qin Yuqi remained stunned for a long time, staring intently at the night sky, hoping to discern some clue.

Confucius said, "I do not speak of strange phenomena, physical prowess, disorder, or spirits." From a young age, he was taught by great Confucian scholars in the court and had always scoffed at such heresies. But now, when these phenomena, which seemed like miracles, appeared before him, he began to waver.

The world seems to have changed.

In this world, he, raised with the teachings of Confucian ethics and laws, became a shallow and ignorant person.

Silence lingered for a long time.

Qin Yuqi was speechless, his gaze unconsciously drifting towards the distant lights. The houses at the foot of the mountain looked peaceful and serene, like any ordinary settlement within the Dayong territory.

Do the people here know what's above their heads? Does that white-haired girl know?

"Young master, young master..."

Someone pulled him back to reality, but it wasn't Jia Qianyang.

A person, soaking wet, was kneeling in front of him. The person had a mournful face and was none other than Seventeen, the servant who was quite good at pleasing him.

"Young master, I'm back."

"I will accept the punishment as Lord Jia has arranged, but... but that barbarian woman is really going too far..."

Qin Yuqi listened to the servant's account and learned that he had been asked by a girl named Yu to catch fish to compensate her. But for some reason, every time he was about to spear a fish, he would feel a sharp pain in his body beforehand, and in the end, after soaking in the water for a long time, he still hadn't caught the number she wanted. As it grew later, both of them became very angry. The girl complained that he wasn't catching fish properly, and he was furious that the girl was plotting against him behind his back.

Jia Qianyang and Qin Yuqi exchanged a glance and both understood the reason—no outsider could harm the living creatures here.

The servants, unaware of the strange occurrences, insisted that the barbarian woman had used some kind of sorcery behind their backs.

"Alright, I understand. You may leave." Qin Yuqi interrupted Seventeen's incessant rambling. He already knew about the unusual nature of this place beforehand, and this incident was merely another confirmation. However, judging from the girl's behavior, did she seem unaware of the truth? Or was she pretending?

Qin Yuqi's gaze sharpened slightly. If harming animals could bring about a backlash, then humans would be even more vulnerable. If they were all aware of the protection they were receiving, taking this place would indeed be extremely difficult. But if they were unaware, perhaps there were still ways to devise a plan.

Seeing that his master was no longer willing to listen, Seventeen was unwilling to let it go so easily, so he boldly added, "I am thick-skinned and can be fine with a little skin injury, but that barbarian woman is really arrogant and dares to spout nonsense, saying that she wants you, young master, to catch fish for her personally as compensation."

"Heh." Qin Yuqi sneered. Was it fun to provoke him time and time again? That disgusting, sticky feeling was stirred up again, as if it were real, like a shadow that wouldn't go away.

He'd never touch a fish again in his life!

A note from the author:

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