Chapter 1621 IF Scenario: What If There Was No Shen Tang (Part 2)

"Gong Su? Gong Su? You're finally awake..."

As the sound gradually became clearer, Qin Li's consciousness also awoke from the darkness. Opening his eyes, he saw not the familiar bestowed residence, but his old home from decades ago. He sat up, rubbing his forehead, which felt so heavy it felt like it was about to explode, and followed the sound to Zhao Feng.

"The greater good?"

Qin Li's voice was so hoarse that he could barely make a sound.

It took him a while to adjust. As he got out of bed, he said, "I can't drink like this anymore. If Qi Yuanliang hadn't been stirring things up last night, I wouldn't have ended up like this... Dayi, did I behave inappropriately while I was drunk last night?"

After asking, he realized that Zhao Feng had gotten drunk earlier than him.

It started as a drinking contest between military officers, but later several civil officials who also enjoyed drinking joined in. As they drank more, they inevitably attracted hostility. Qin Li, worried that Zhao Feng would be at a disadvantage under the combined attack of Wu Xian's group, and with Qi Yuanliang, always eager to stir up trouble, even though he didn't usually drink, couldn't resist taking some drinks for Zhao Feng. Then they played drinking games…

My memories of what happened after that are a bit hazy.

Looking back, Qin Li felt that something was off.

His alcohol tolerance wasn't particularly high, but he was, after all, a scholar with a refined taste; it was impossible for him to be knocked out by such a small amount of alcohol. He couldn't help but suspect that the wine had been tampered with. When he woke up from his hangover this time, he not only felt weak and powerless in his limbs, but also had a feeling of tightness in his chest that he couldn't shake off.

"The greater good?"

Qin Li tried to get up but was too exhausted to sit back down on the bed.

With great effort, I turned my sluggish brain and realized something was wrong.

Zhao Feng: "Gongsu, you didn't drink last night?"

Qin Li took the damp cloth offered and wiped his face. The cool, moist touch refreshed him considerably. However, the moment the cloth touched his cheek, the strange sensation intensified. The cloth was rough and old; although odorless, its texture was noticeably less soft and gentle on the skin than cotton, and certainly not as delicate and smooth as silk…

He stared blankly at the cloth in his hand.

The blurry images he had just seen upon waking quickly became clear in his mind, playing out countless times in a loop. He didn't even know when Zhao Feng had squatted down beside him or cast a concerned glance at him. He was like a petrified statue, and it took him a long time to remember that he could still breathe: "Gong Su, Gong Su, are you delirious or something?"

Qin Li contracted the plague and had a high fever for several days.

Despite Zhao Feng and others' best efforts, they were unable to bring his body temperature down.

Scholars rarely fall ill, but when they do, it can be fatal. Their illnesses come on suddenly and fiercely, and with limited medical resources, Qin Li was on the verge of death. He and the others took turns watching over him, and by divine intervention, his high fever finally subsided at dawn.

Zhao Feng lowered his voice, afraid of startling Qin Li.

Do you remember what happened before you got sick?

Then, Qin Li stared at him with an expression Zhao Feng couldn't understand at all, unblinking, until her eyes suddenly reddened and hot tears rolled down her cheeks. This sight startled Zhao Feng, who jumped up: "Oh no, oh no..."

He hurriedly ran outside.

"Good filial piety, good filial piety——"

Among them, Cui Xiao was the one with the best pharmacology skills, but even he was only a mediocre practitioner, only slightly better than Barefoot Ling.

Cui Xiao also worked non-stop for several days.

As the epidemic spread, even the scholars of Wenxin fell ill and collapsed. How could the ordinary people in their profession escape unscathed? One's condition had just improved when another succumbed to the burden. Perhaps even the spirit of the scholar could affect him; Cui Xiao remained unharmed, and most of the care fell on his shoulders. He had only slept for a short while when Zhao Feng roughly pulled him awake. Cui Xiao exclaimed in horror, "Gongsu is gone..."

Cui Xiao's voice abruptly stopped.

He discovered something even more terrifying than Qin Li's death from illness.

The destruction of his kingdom and his escape, the constant hardships and pawning of his family fortune—none of these things could elicit much outward emotion from Qin Li. Yet, a serious illness actually brought tears of joy to his eyes, as if he had survived a catastrophe. Haha, Gong Su has finally shown some semblance of normal humanity, unlike that clay sculpture.

"What's the panic? This person is perfectly fine."

"You call this perfectly fine?"

Cui Xiaodao: "Isn't it a good thing that the person has woken up?"

He was terrified; he thought Qin Li was dead.

Zhao Feng couldn't explain it to him clearly, and he was so anxious that he paced around in circles.

But soon Cui Xiao joined the commotion, because Qin Li suddenly asked him how much he had drunk the night before, why they were there, and whether they were teasing him with their colleagues. Qin Li, asking these strange questions, was quite unfamiliar; beneath his seemingly calm and restrained exterior lay a torrent of emotions about to erupt. Cui Xiao's wrist ached from Qin Li's grip, but he dared not make a move at this moment…

Qin Li's current state is quite abnormal.

However, Cui Xiao still answered them one by one with good temper.

Qin Li hadn't drunk any alcohol, and there wasn't a trace of it on him. With basic necessities like food, drink, and shelter already a problem, where would he find spare money to buy alcohol or surplus grain to brew it? As for entertainment, that was utterly absurd. To tease or mock a terminally ill patient—wasn't that just plain crazy?

Even when the group jokes around, they never make fun of Qin Li.

Qin Li's personality is not something to be trifled with.

"My lord..."

"Did Gong Su have a nightmare about the late emperor?"

That tone? Qin Li has never liked that fellow clansman who was the ruler of a fallen kingdom, so why is he starting to miss him after a serious illness?

“Chen Youli”.

"...Shen Youli?" Cui Xiao asked Zhao Feng, who had followed Qin Li the longest, with his eyes, whether the latter had heard of this name.

Judging from his name, he doesn't seem like a man.

Just as he finished his internal monologue, Qin Li's dark eyes began to light up.

"Qi Yuanliang...do you still remember him?"

"Qi Yuan... Liang? Who is that?"

After a few words, Qin Li suddenly let go of her hand with a broken expression. He staggered backward unconsciously, his heels hitting the edge of the bed. He lost his balance and fell onto the bed, his chest heaving violently, as if he had fallen into some kind of extreme fear.

He muttered to himself, "No, how could this be..."

Is this a dream?

Am I trapped in a nightmare?

Qin Li forced himself to calm down.

Zhao Feng and Cui Xiao exchanged a glance. Both of them were quite frightened by Qin Li's abnormal condition and suspected that his high fever over the past few days had caused the problem.

"Gong Su..."

"I'm fine, I was just startled by the nightmare."

Qin Li endured the discomfort of his throat churning and spasming, and tried to respond in a hoarse and weak voice. Seeing that the two did not believe him, he forced a light laugh to reassure them. The familiar reaction reassured Zhao Feng and the other man slightly: "The medicine is boiling on the stove, I'll go get it for you."

After a serious illness, my taste buds became dulled.

Qin Li couldn't tell how bad the medicine tasted.

Having regained some strength, he made an excuse that he needed to go for a walk, and was thus granted permission to step outside. As he personally felt the real, warm touch of the sunlight on his skin, he remained outwardly calm, but inwardly he was plunged into unprecedented confusion and panic.

Could there be such a realistic dream in the world?

I'm afraid someone is pulling strings behind the scenes.

Taking the opportunity, Qin Li observed his surroundings, trying to find a flaw in this nightmare. However, no matter how many incantations he secretly used to dispel the illusion, the surrounding environment remained unchanged, as if he had truly returned to decades ago. Suppressing his anxiety, Qin Li walked to the water's edge and looked down at his reflection. In the water, his face was weary, haggard, and lost.

He couldn't remember the last time he'd dressed so shabbily and poorly. Thinking of this, he raised his hand to look at his fingers. These hands weren't the clean, delicate ones he knew; his nails were a bit long, probably hadn't been trimmed in seven or eight days, and his fingers lacked the marks left by years of wearing various rings. He reached into his robes, but couldn't find the familiar, cold seal of the Duke.

Yes—

These things shouldn't be happening to someone his age.

Qin Li sat cross-legged on the stream rock with his eyes closed.

He mobilized the spiritual energy of his Danfu Palace in an attempt to communicate with the illusory world.

After a long while, he opened his eyes and murmured, "I can't untie it..."

This nightmare was so realistic, it was flawless.

As darkness fell, a dark figure gradually approached him in the distance—it was Zhao Feng. Seeing that Qin Li hadn't returned for a long time, he worried that something might have happened to him on the way, and had come looking for him: "Gong Su?"

Qin Li: "I was so engrossed in my cultivation that I forgot the time."

Zhao Feng breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this, but couldn't help but worry and nag, "I said cultivation is not something that can be accomplished in a day. You've just recovered from your fever, and your body is still weak. What if you run into illness while you're outside?"

Qin Li calmly stood up: "Let's go back."

My mind is constantly searching for distant memories from decades ago.

It wasn't until he saw the still-young Zhao Wei that he was fairly certain of the time period he was in: "Why is Dawei here too?"

Zhao Feng asked in bewilderment, "Who is Dawei?"

Qin Li: "..."

He had overlooked the fact that at this point, he hadn't even met Wu Xian yet, let alone gone to Tianhai with him. Zhao Wei hadn't met the Xu family boy, so naturally she wouldn't have the name "Dawei," a name she would despise for a lifetime. Qin Li pursed his lips, deliberately glossing over the matter.

However, those who have followed him all these years are not fools.

They knew Qin Li all too well in his youth, and no matter how hard Qin Li tried decades later, he could never perfectly imitate himself. Before long, Cui Xiao and the others cornered him, demanding an explanation. Cui Xiao and the others stared at him: "If you don't want to talk, you don't have to."

They didn't doubt that Qin Li was a fake.

Firstly, there was no benefit in impersonating Qin Li. They were just refugees without a place to stay; aside from a few able-bodied men and women, the rest were mostly elderly and weak. How much could they possibly gain by impersonating the leader of such a group? Secondly, Qin Li looked too much like Qin Li, and they were very familiar with him, though his emotions seemed off. They were more inclined to believe that Qin Li had encountered some kind of accident.

Qin Li asked, "Do you all trust me?"

Zhao Feng retorted, "What kind of talk is that?"

If we don't trust Young Master Qin, who else can we trust?

"Then, let me tell you a story."

The group exchanged glances, but no one interrupted.

Qin Li's story was short, but it was a fantasy to them: "Are you saying that we are all people in an illusion?"

I suspect so.

“I firmly believe it is not.” Cui Xiaoyan said seriously, “No one’s illusion can show the details of countless people’s lives, but I, he, and they, we are sure that our memories are complete.”

Zhao Feng nodded vigorously.

"Yeah, yeah."

He looked at Qin Li with growing concern.

Young Master Qin is truly suffering from hysteria due to a high fever.

The others did the same, but Cui Xiao did not rush to make a judgment. Instead, he asked Qin Li a few questions: "Since Gong Su said so, you must know a lot of things. I'll ask, and you answer."

Verifying authenticity is very simple.

A dream world can construct a scenario extremely close to reality, and even allow the person involved to actively ignore anything amiss, but it cannot recreate every detail of society or the real social relationships of every individual. It's enough for both sides to exchange information.

Cui Xiaoping had a low profile and didn't like to talk about his past or family with others. If the future Qin Li described was true, then he knew not only about the future official structure and personnel arrangements, but also some information about his family.

He waited confidently for Qin Li to contradict himself.

Can--

It was he who felt his spirits plummet to rock bottom.

Qin Li knew far too much information; he not only knew that Cui Xiao's daughter was named Cui Hui, but also that she was in love with Cui Zhi, a member of the local Cui family, in the far southwest, and that she should already have a child. Cui Xiao's wife lived a secluded life in a nunnery, devoted to Buddhism.

He could even pinpoint the year his wife died.

"If you don't believe it, you can ask around to verify it."

Cui Xiao sighed and shook his head.

"Where are we even located right now to meet those conditions?"

If what Qin Li said is true, his wife and children are currently safe and sound, and there are still several years before Cui Hui and Cui Zhi divorce, so there's no need to rush to see them. On the contrary, Qin Li's group is injured, sick, and the elderly, weak, and disabled are left without care, which could lead to heavy casualties.

They couldn't possibly survive until the turning point Qin Li mentioned.

Cui Xiao then asked several more questions about Kangguo, from institutional details to personnel transfers, and even Kangguo's laws. Qin Li was naturally familiar with these matters, able to cite the source and examples for each article, explaining when it was established, revised, why it was revised, and what the legal basis was—leaving no detail overlooked. Cui Xiao and the others listened intently and became convinced. They had no choice but to believe it; it was practically irrefutable evidence.

"Gong Su, have you ever considered that you went back to the past?" This is not an illusion, and they are not fake. Qin Li did not lie either. After eliminating all the impossibilities, there is only one answer left: Qin Li got drunk at the victory celebration banquet and died in his drunken stupor, returning to the present decades ago.

Qin Li: "..."

Cui Xiao comforted him, "Don't look so sad. Even though you've worked hard for decades, it's all over in one day. But you have the advantage of being a prophet. Can't some avoidable mistakes be corrected?"

Zhao Fengdao said, "That's right, if that's really the case, then let's skip Tianhai and save one of my brothers from getting into trouble."

Qin Li: "..."

He still couldn't believe the facts before his eyes.

However, after ten days to half a month, he became completely obedient.

Whether it was a false illusion or a real return to decades ago, he couldn't stand by and watch his people continue to suffer. However, having abandoned the idea of ​​submitting to Wu Xian, Qin Li decided to take his chosen people to a secluded place to live in seclusion, to settle down and wait for the right opportunity.

"Although I am not as proficient in farming as Lingde, I have read all the agricultural books she wrote. It shouldn't be difficult for non-agricultural temple disciples to use other spiritual words to take shortcuts, settle down, and make a living." Qin Li chose to change his approach.

Make sure the person is settled first, then you can contact your future colleagues.

Qin Li recalled the movie he had watched not long ago.

A raging fire erupted from the calm lake of my heart.

Who said that the Lord led the evil gang smoothly, and that being with them in Kangguo was a bumpy and difficult journey?

this time--

So he became the one who brought all his possessions to join Yuan Cong.

I will not let the Lord suffer so much.

|ω`)

When the victims of the poisonous mushroom and wine awoke, their first reaction was to suspect they had been tricked; their second was to suspect they had traveled back in time; their third was to think they could use the prophet's abilities to build up their strength and resources; and their fourth was to calculate the time and go to their master once they had accumulated enough, and then—

Where did such a big guy go?