This time, he planned carefully for the ten-year deadline, so that he wouldn't have to go into hiding and lose his home like last time after leaving the secret realm.
He donated money to Taoist temples in various places, and even donated talisman paper. In just a few years, he became a nationally renowned philanthropist.
The ten-year period has come to an end.
This time, he was extremely well prepared. The people disappeared from all over the country and from all directions, and there was no connection between them. Although the government found that these people had all asked for talismans at Taoist temples, others who asked for talismans did not disappear, so it was clear that it was not the Taoist temples' fault. Even though the government forcibly investigated and shut down several Taoist temples in order to solve the case, most of the other cases remained unsolved no matter how they were investigated.
This time, no one suspected him.
He lived peacefully through the years, experiencing several dynasties.
In prosperous times, he was a carefree wealthy man.
In a chaotic world, he roamed freely in the mountains, oblivious to the changing times outside.
In this way, he established the vast Song family, as if he had escaped the Three Realms and Five Elements and was no longer bound by worldly constraints.
He observes the world with a detached eye, finding the histories of each dynasty strikingly similar. The power struggles and schemes remain the same, and even in modern times, the emphasis on democracy and equality is nothing more than a more glamorous and attractive package in his eyes.
He dismissed it with disdain, yet admitted that he had been influenced, most notably by his unwillingness to submit to that god, that great man.
He was a figure at the pinnacle of every dynasty, and in this era that values openness, he is even more renowned: historian, archaeologist, and honorary director of a museum.
For others, history requires poring over ancient texts; for him, he *is* history.
To be so prominent yet still have to be subservient to others is always a source of resentment.
He still remembers that sentence: Generation after generation, sons and grandsons are entrusted with the mandate of the original.
He coveted that divine power, yet he also feared that god.
He planted a small curse on Song Cheng in the hope that Song Cheng could escape the slavery of the gods, but he also hoped that Song Cheng could gain divine power in the escape. He was conflicted.
With this batch of people sent in, the total number of 100,000 was reached. His period of enslavement was almost over, and his death was imminent.
I'm so unwilling to accept this!
He didn't even live to be a thousand years old.
The important figure had stopped paying attention to him, and he hadn't entered the secret realm for a long time.
However, none of that matters now.
Our enemies have come knocking.
He needed to brace himself and deal with the situation. In this society governed by the rule of law, ordinary people could do nothing to him, but cultivators could bring down the Song family. He couldn't let his vast Song empire, which he had painstakingly built, perish.
"Knock knock!"
A knock came at the door.
"Go in!" Song Qushan said casually without opening his eyes.
The door opened, and a person walked in.
"Sir, the handwriting analysis results are in."
"How so?"
"Based on the texture of the photocopy paper, it can be seen that it was written in blood on a strip of cloth. According to the direction of the writing, it means that the young master was lying on the ground at the time, and both of his hands were injured. He was probably coerced at the time."
"Hmm!" Song Qushan closed his eyes. He should have known better than to expect that Song Cheng was probably in grave danger.
"Sir, there's one more thing. Security reviewed the surveillance footage again and found a strange woman in the footage outside the courtyard." As he spoke, the man respectfully placed a photograph on the table.
Song Qushan glanced at the photo; it showed a woman making a V-sign at a security camera—a blatant provocation.
His heart skipped a beat, and his intuition told him: It was her!
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