Chapter 577 [Three Updates] 577

Liu Che made his decision and didn't want to waste any more time on the matter. He asked directly, "What kind of prayer lantern did you make? What does it look like?"

Liu Tan laughed and said, "You can't show it to Father yet. You have to wait until tonight to see it."

Liu Che tapped his forehead and said, "Another new thing. Well, we're going to the Star Picking Terrace tonight, so let's go together."

Liu Tan was a little surprised: "Father, haven't you seen enough of the stars?"

Liu Che said, "I won't look at the stars today."

Liu Tan seemed to realize something: "What is that? Isn't it another sacrifice?"

Liu Che said, "You made me some kind of prayer lantern, which is perfect to go with their sacrificial dance in southern Xinjiang."

Liu Tan followed Liu Che's gaze. Nan Wu made eye contact with Liu Tan for a moment before looking away and bowing properly.

Liu Tan raised an eyebrow: "Sacrificial dance? What is it for?"

The Southern Witch lowered her head and said, "This dance is used to pray to the heavens for longevity. This dance is a prayer dance unique to the Luoyue people and is very effective. I present it specially for His Majesty the Emperor."

Luoyue? Liu Tan pondered, thinking it must be one of the Baiyue tribes.

To be honest, this was the first time Liu Tan knew about the tribe that Nan Wu came from. Before, he heard others call him either Nanman or Wu from Baiyue, and no one cared which tribe he came from.

However, there are few historical records about Luoyue, but the original Jiaozhi Kingdom was actually the Jiaozhi tribe of Luoyue. When Luoyue was at its most powerful, it included many tribes such as the Jiaozhi tribe, Zhuyuan tribe, Wuning tribe, Fulu tribe, Yueshang tribe, Ninghai tribe, Yangquan tribe, Luhai tribe, Wuding tribe, Huaihuan tribe, Wenlang tribe, Jiuzhen tribe, Pingwen tribe, Xinxing tribe, and Jiude tribe (Note 1).

But now that the Jiaozhi tribe has become the Jiaozhi Kingdom, no one knows how many other tribes are left.

Now even their witches are trying to be Liu Che's male favorites. I think the glory of the past is no longer there.

Liu Tan looked at him and asked, "I heard that most people in your tribe live long lives?"

Nan Wu immediately said, "That's right. Not only will you live a long life, but you will also have an eternal youthful appearance."

Liu Tan asked curiously, "What's the maximum lifespan?"

Nan Wu said, "The oldest person in our tribe once lived to be four hundred years old."

Four hundred years? Enough for the rise and fall of a dynasty.

Liu Tan smiled immediately, then asked, "Why can't you die?"

Nan Wu wanted to nod, but suddenly remembered the rumors that the King of the Northern Territory was scheming and could not be easily approached, otherwise he would be easily deceived. So he asked cautiously, "Your Highness, what do you mean..."

Liu Tan asked, "Will you die if you're stabbed?"

Nan Wu looked up at him in horror and stammered, "This...this...will...still die."

Liu Tan felt a little regretful: "Oh, I thought I could be immortal, neither old nor dead."

Nan Wu gave Liu Che a pitiful look and said, "What we pray to heaven for is the natural life span... This... this external injury is not... not included in it."

Liu Che had a smile on his face but didn't say anything, and his expression seemed somewhat unfathomable.

Seeing that he didn't get an answer from Liu Che, Nan Wu didn't dare to say anything more, let alone look at Liu Tan. He could only keep his head down, and it looked like Liu Tan was bullying him.

Liu Che turned his head and looked at his son, with some thoughts in his mind.

Since arriving in the Han Dynasty, Nan Wu has always been aloof towards outsiders, and even when facing himself, he still has a cold and mysterious air.

But ever since his son returned to the palace, the cold and mysterious aura of Nan Wu seemed to have disappeared.

This feeling was not very obvious before, but today they were in the same room. Except for the moment when he was panicked, Nan Wu didn't dare to look at his son from beginning to end. Could it be that he noticed something?

If this is true, Liu Che would find this Nanwu quite interesting.

Ordinary mortal eyes cannot see his son's "true identity".

Liu Tan said with some disappointment, "It's just the natural lifespan. If you get sick or encounter an accident, what will happen? Your gods are not very effective."

Nan Wu was startled again and gritted his teeth and said, "Your Highness must not disrespect the gods."

Liu Tan said lightly, "Even if I worship gods, I won't worship yours. He won't bless me anyway. Oh, by the way, you speak elegant language quite well. How long have you been learning it?"

Nan Wu said, "I haven't been learning it for long."

Liu Tan was slightly surprised and turned to Liu Che and said, "It seems this person is truly gifted. Ah Xuan is already one of the smartest people I've ever met. He studied Chinese characters very hard back then, and even now he still doesn't understand many of the classics. However, Nan Wu speaks in the same way as a Han Chinese person. It's truly remarkable."

Liu Che nodded: "That's true."

Nan Wu said hurriedly, "I... I've been learning since I was chosen to become a witch. It's just that I've only been a witch for a short time, so I said it wasn't long."

Liu Tan asked quietly, "What about your previous Great Wizard?"

Nan Wu glanced at him inexplicably and said, "Of course, he is going to serve the God."

Liu Tan asked, "How long did he live?"

Nan Wu said cautiously, "He is the one with the longest lifespan in my clan."

Liu Tan nodded. "He lived so long, yet he chose his successor only before he died. How hasty."

Nan Wu felt that there was something wrong and couldn't help but say, "To become a great witch, one must be spiritual. Not everyone can do it."

Liu Ran chuckled and asked, "So you're the only suitable candidate in four hundred years? Isn't your tribe a bit too pitiful?"

The Southern Witch became increasingly unsure of what the Northern King was going to do, so she had no choice but to remain silent.

Liu Tan leaned over Liu Che's desk and said, "Okay, stop hiding. Tell me, how old are you this year?"

Nan Wu was a little puzzled: "Fifteen years old."

Liu Tan laughed and said, "Fifteen? Should we add a digit in front of it?"

Without waiting for Nan Wu's reply, he turned to Liu Che and said sternly, "Father, the people of their clan all live long lives. The previous Great Witch lived for over four hundred years, and they only had one heir. I suspect... you're just a young straw."

Well, the old cow eats the young grass.

Liu Che's expression...actually didn't change much, but Liu Tan was closer to him, and he was also someone who knew Liu Che relatively well. After seeing that Liu Che's eyes had changed from indifferent to vigilant, he turned his head and held back his laughter.

As soon as he turned around, he saw Nan Wu, who also looked terrified. Nan Wu couldn't help but say, "No, I... I'm really only this big."

Liu Che patted Liu Tan on the back and said, "Get up. It's so embarrassing to sit and stand like this."

Liu Tan had no choice but to sit up and said, "I'm hungry. Do you provide food?"

Liu Che said with a smile: "Your food is indispensable."

He turned around and looked at Bu Fan, who understood and immediately asked someone to serve the meal.

Nan Wu, who was sitting below, seemed quite restless. He wanted to argue, but the emperor and his son had already started discussing what to eat for dinner, and it seemed that the topic had already passed.

He thought bitterly: Master is right, this King of the North is indeed a variable.

No one knows how much impact Liu Tan's joking words had on Liu Che. At least it seems that Liu Che didn't think anything of it and didn't cancel his evening schedule.

As it was getting dark, Liu Tan had the Kongming lanterns moved to the Zhaixing Terrace while turning to Liu Che and saying, "Father, have them leave the gate open. The palace gates will be locked again soon."

Liu Che glanced at him and said, "There's no room for you in my bedroom, is there?"

Liu Tan said calmly, "For the sake of my father's reputation, I'd better go back. Otherwise, rumors will spread that my father is hiding a beautiful woman of unknown origin."

Liu Che burst out laughing and patted Liu Tan on the shoulder, saying, "Alright, they were just praising your good looks."

Liu Tan looked at Liu Che quietly and said, "But the problem is that once the rumor gets out, there's no guarantee it will be twisted into anything."

The Liu family has always been rather unscrupulous when it comes to relationships between men and women, and between men. The emperor's branch is more restrained because they receive more attention.

For example, the backyards of the princes in various places were simply a mess, with all kinds of monsters running wild. There were brothers and sisters, concubines with their fathers, concubines with their sons, and so on. These were all recorded. As for the father-daughter and father-son relationships that were not recorded, as far as Liu Tan knew, there were also some.

But this kind of thing... he thought it would be better not to record it, as it would simply destroy one's worldview.

So when this kind of thing happens in later generations, people would at most think that the emperor and his son were a little too close, and there was nothing wrong with it.

But in this day and age, there are people who actually believe it!

Liu Che thought about it and ordered people to stay at the palace gate. At the same time, he said with emotion: "You are grown up and don't like to be close to your father anymore."

Liu Tan: ???

He was already fourteen when he returned to the palace, and they weren't close then. Why should they be close to each other now that he's twenty!

He glanced at Nan Wu who was sitting below and said, "Your Highness is also worried that he might disturb your father's leisure time."

It is hard to say how much of Nanwu's sacrificial dance is for prayer and how much is for other purposes.

Liu Che's expression twisted for a moment, and without saying anything else, he dragged his son to the side hall to have a meal.

After dinner, the group arrived at the Star Picking Terrace. Liu Tan turned to look at Nan Wu and asked, "Is there any time limit for your thing?"

Fearing further complications, Nan Wu immediately said, "Now that the stars are shining, it's the best time."

After Liu Tan asked about the process, he silently took a step back.

Liu Che sat on the Star Picking Terrace and asked, "Aren't you coming?"

Liu Tan laughed and said, "If the gods in heaven really respond, then the life span that Nan Wu prayed for will have to be shared with my son. So let's just forget it."

Liu Che looked at him deeply and said nothing more.

Liu Tan looked at the Southern Witch and found that when he said he was dancing, he really was dancing, without even any music - there wasn't even a musician.

However, he soon discovered that Nan Wu was wearing jade bells under his tight black robe. The jade bells were revealed and made crisp sounds when he moved his hands and feet.

Liu Tan was a little surprised, and he had a hunch that this Nan Wu might really have something special. He didn't see Nan Wu change his clothes or anything, so he thought these bells were originally on his body.

But just now, while he was walking, these bells didn't make any sound. I don't know how he did it.

Liu Tan ignored the ringing sounds as he thought about this, but after a while, he felt his eyelids getting heavy and he wanted to take a nap right there.

At this moment, he seemed to see a man in white clothes appear in front of him and asked him with a smile: "I heard that you are an atheist?"