Chapter 1441: The New Successor (Part 2) [Requesting Monthly Tickets]
When Jiang Sheng arrived, Shen Tang was staring blankly at something.
It was a white scroll with gold trim.
Surely she didn't draw it herself in her spare time?
"My lord, there were unusual celestial phenomena just now..."
Before Jiang Sheng could finish speaking, Shen Tang waved her hand to indicate that she knew about it, and casually put the scroll aside: "I know, it's nothing."
Despite talking to Jiang Sheng, his gaze remained fixed on the painting.
This detail piqued Jiang Sheng's curiosity: "Is it a new work by the Lord?"
Shen Tang shook her head, her brows furrowing slightly like ripples on a lake: "This thing just appeared out of thin air in my hand... I'm still figuring out what it is."
Jiang Sheng said warily, "How can we touch unfamiliar things?"
Things of unknown origin should be kept far away; who knows if this is an enemy plot? Jiang Sheng wished he could shield Shen Tang behind him, separating her from this strange object. Shen Tang smiled and said, "You've arrived just in time, shall we open it together?"
Jiang Sheng: "...Do I still need to open it?"
Shen Tang wasn't worried because her intuition told her everything was alright, but this reason clearly couldn't convince Jiang Sheng. Just then, Gu Chi and Ji Moqiu arrived one after the other. Shen Tang's teasing gaze fell on Gu Chi's face, and she asked with a smile, "Finished digesting?"
Gu Chi said, "Those oranges don't keep you full."
As he spoke, Gu Chi's attention was also drawn to the platinum scroll on the table. He had a vague guess in his mind, but he still wanted to ask.
What is this?
Shen Tang said, "I also want to know, and I was just about to open it, but I'm worried that its origin is unclear and it might contain some hidden dangers."
Gu Chi suggested, "Then let me open it on behalf of Your Majesty?"
Shen Tang naturally wouldn't refuse.
Gu Chi picked up the scroll. Its surface felt smooth and cool to the touch, like a piece of jade, yet its texture and luster clearly indicated it was made of fine fabric. He observed it discreetly and discovered that the back of the scroll wasn't pure white; it also had raised patterns of similar colors. These patterns depicted mountains, rivers, lakes, seas, the sun, moon, and stars. He carefully unwrapped it, and as the scroll unfolded, he discovered large areas of gold lettering on the paper.
It doesn't look glaring; in fact, it's surrounded by a faint glow.
"These words are floating on the paper?"
Gu Chi's finger passed through the golden light, his expression one of surprise.
Jiang Sheng leaned closer to examine it carefully: "It does look like writing, but I don't remember where I saw writing like this..."
It's not the kind of text you'd expect; it's more like a jigsaw puzzle.
He then asked other people if they had seen it.
Gu Chi didn't recognize her either, and Shen Tang seemed to be deep in thought.
She said, "I seem to have some recollection of it, but I can't remember."
The fact that she had a vague recollection meant that Shen Tang had encountered this person before. She searched her memory for a long time, convinced that this familiarity didn't originate from the last decade or so, but perhaps from a much more distant past. With this in mind, she pinned her hopes on Ji Moqiu: "Does the High Priest know him?"
The high priest's face showed a hint of longing.
"Yes, I recognize it. This script is only used within our tribe."
"The Gongxi clan?"
The high priest's smile faded slightly: "Not this one."
It is that ethnic group that has long since disappeared into the annals of history.
Jiang Sheng spared some attention for the two of them, keenly noticing something strange about Ji Moqiu's conversation. Did Ji Moqiu belong to any other "clan" besides the Gongxi clan? However, the most important thing right now was to find out what was written on it.
Ji Moqiu was willing to help with this.
As soon as I opened my mouth, I found my throat tight and I couldn't make a sound.
He tried twice, but could only shake his head and apologize. The young man looked dejected: "I can't say. It seems the secrets of heaven are not yet ripe. The contents above will not affect Your Highness. It doesn't matter whether you know it or not."
Being controlled by "He" means not even having the right to speak freely.
We can't even reveal such simple information to His Highness.
Jiang Sheng changed his question: "Judging from the order and length of these texts, they don't seem to be poems or spiritual pronouncements. Are they a list?"
Ji Moqiu nodded, indicating that this information could be revealed.
He simply couldn't reveal who was on the list.
This painting is also strange.
Despite being only as thick as an arm, it shouldn't be very long when fully unfolded. But this thing is long enough to circle the entire tent, and Gu Chi still has a large section unrolled. The scroll isn't filled with names either; the text section is only fifteen feet long, the rest is blank. Is that the list is inherently that long, or are there parts that haven't been filled in yet?
Jiang Sheng, with his sharp eyes, noticed a wisp of golden mist quietly appearing at the end.
The golden mist thickened, stretching and twisting to create new content.
Shen Tang: "So the list is still updated in real time?"
Gu Chi then asked, "Who is the newcomer?"
Ji Moqiu carefully examined the person and said, "A stranger, I don't know him."
but--
He added a sentence.
"I do know who wrote this person down."
"who?"
"My younger brother."
Gu Chi and the other two noticed that these unfamiliar characters contained many repeated "characters." These repeated "characters" were smaller than the surrounding characters, and their layout was denser and lower. Upon discovering this detail, Gu Chi began searching for similarities, his expression strange as he noticed that certain patterns appeared with remarkably high frequency. Besides this, there was another little secret! Gu Chi glanced out of the corner of his eye at his master, who was leaning slightly forward.
As the master approached the scroll, some of the text shifted, subtly shifting in the opposite direction from the master.
These words—
They actually reacted?
Gu Chi's lips twitched slightly.
He was about 80% sure of the meaning represented by those words.
It's definitely either Shen Tang or Shen Youli!
Just moments after the new names appeared, Gu Chi noticed the list had been updated again. The first few words of the "Notes" below the new names were very familiar. Gu Chi secretly rubbed his chin.
Based on in-depth analysis of existing intelligence, the so-called "Investiture of the Gods" list has two versions: one for the living and one for the dead. This list is updated in real time, meaning that currently only the deceased are listed, while the living are still alive. Isn't writing the dead on the list another implication of killing people and stuffing them into the list? With the ruler right beside her, who could possibly use her name to kill and secure a place on the list?
That is, the Lord's manifestation in the outside world.
It's all fictitious and baseless.
The only one who could have killed someone and secured a promotion around the same time as Gong Xi Chou was Zi Xu, who was building up his influence in the central region. To confirm his guess, Gu Chi quietly tugged at Shen Tang's sleeve. He leaned close to the minister and whispered, "Did Zi Xu participate in the battle?"
Shen Tang's expression was strange: "Hmm."
Gu Chi asked again, "Did you kill someone?"
Shen Tang said, "I just killed a guard..."
She paused suspiciously, her eyes darting around until her gaze fell on the two newly appeared names on the scroll. Zixu's business strategy in the central region differed from Kangguo's; his style was closer to Wuguo's. To put it simply, no infrastructure, just action!
Attack the target with the fastest speed.
Gather those that can be gathered together, and kill those that cannot.
Their speed in conquering cities and seizing territory was extremely rapid.
Even if they painstakingly conquer a city, rest briefly, and then leave, only to have the enemy retake the captured territory the very next day, they wouldn't care. Many factions couldn't fathom what these people were up to; what were they after?
Money, women, territory...
You should at least get one, right?
In the end, they didn't want anything.
They didn't plunder wealth, didn't plunder women, and seemed to purely enjoy the process of besieging cities, smashing walls, and killing—aside from the defending generals and soldiers, the highest mortality rate was among the wealthy and powerful families within each city. On several occasions, they even used family genealogies to carry out these killings.
Headless corpses hung in front of every house.
The head was carelessly discarded on the ground.
Some naive children even picked them up and used them as balls.
This ruthless style has made everyone in the central region feel insecure.
From the outside, this young force seems too crazy.
It bites people everywhere like a mad dog, and it even kills people!
Their aggressive style even drew criticism from their ally, the Kingdom of Qu.
This move doesn't seem like conquering the world; it looks more like someone's lost their mind and courting death. In the blink of an eye, they've made countless enemies—is this a sustainable strategy? The Allied forces in the central region have diverted troops to suppress them, but their pursuit can't even keep up with the speed at which Zixu is destroying their base.
Shen Tang blinked: "...Is this a murder list?"
Gu Chi felt that was about right.
Leaving aside the lucky ones who might survive and make the list in the future, isn't this five-foot-long, constantly updated list now just a murder list? Gu Chi mischievously tugged at Shen Tang's sleeve, gesturing for her to move closer to a few of the names: "Try it."
Shen Tang watched silently as the golden name drifted away.
It's said to have drifted far, but it hasn't actually gone that far.
These names seemed to be confined to a restricted area, impossible to cross. Curiosity piqued, Shen Tang deliberately traced the name with her finger, watching it dart about within the invisible confines. After a while, a guess formed in her mind: "Did I kill him?"
The golden name fell silent.
Shen Tang understood: "Wow, the battle record list."
Gu Chi: "..."
Well, that's one way to put it.
Shen Tang rested her chin on her hand: "I just don't know which enemy it is."
She was also in a playful mood, deliberately running her finger across the long list. Most of the names either avoided her or didn't react, but a few hesitated for a moment and moved closer to Shen Tang's fingertip. Shen Tang's almond-shaped eyes widened, and she leaned forward slightly, her nose almost touching the name: "Goodness, does this reaction mean that the name owner and I are on good terms?"
She became increasingly curious about the identity of the person who owned the name.
"Who killed you? Come, tell me!" Just because of their unusual reaction, they deserved her special attention.
These words, of course, cannot speak.
Shen Tang could only turn to Ji Mo Qiu for help.
Asking indirectly, "Do I know this person?"
Ji Moqiu pondered their past: "Yes, we know each other."
"Male or female?"
"A man."
How old are you?
He died at the age of forty-something.
"Scholar or warrior?"
"Scholar".
Shen Tang asked again, "Where are you from?"
They started announcing place names one by one. At first, Ji Moqiu would patiently respond, but after guessing a few places, he was forced into silence. Shen Tang almost laughed in anger: "You're such a privileged dog, banning people every day. Don't you have any shame at all?"
These are things she was bound to find out sooner or later.
What difference does it make whether you find out sooner or later?
Shen Tang cursed twice, then pointed to the names nearby, which floated up and comically curled up like a pupa. Seeing that Shen Tang didn't understand, it curled up again. Gu Chi's expression was complicated: "Is it bowing?"
This conjecture is quite abstract.
What's even more abstract is that they were actually bowing.
"It can't be..."
Gu Chi mouthed the words.
Shen Tang crossed her arms and looked at the scroll: "Possibly."
The world was indeed developing in a direction she couldn't understand, which gave Shen Tang a real headache. Adhering to the principle of avoiding internal strife whenever possible, Shen Tang cursed the heavens a few times, which made her feel a little better: "Never mind that for now, just roll it up and put it away."
It's just a list.
Just as Gu Chi reached out to touch it, a gentle breeze swept around the top of the scroll, seemingly blowing away some kind of restriction.
Then, the four witnessed an unforgettable scene.
A bunch of names floating up and down suddenly stopped, and the next second they realized what was happening, and chaos erupted on the spot. The golden name that had been bowing and scraping just moments before even doing so made a smooth slide, casually tearing off a stroke from some unknown character along the way, and charging off in one direction with fierce momentum. Besides it, another group of names came over to start a fight.
The name that was targeted in the group seemed to have no "character affinity." It had just been overwhelmed by this group of strange names when other names nearby joined in the melee, and all those who tried to come to its rescue were stopped.
The fighting started from the southwest corner of the painting and moved to the northeast corner.
Broken strokes flew haphazardly across the scroll.
Some names were clearly hiding their heads to avoid an unexpected disaster.
The entire painting was engulfed in chaos.
Shen Tang: "...Isn't this more exciting than fighting a war?"
Gu Chi grumbled quietly, "How can this not be considered a war?"
Shen Tang didn't know the details of the guaranteed admission process, but she guessed that many of those people were her enemies. The thought of these enemies tearing each other apart on that small scroll filled her with pleasure. She clicked her tongue and said, "Battles between two armies often involve tens of millions of people, and this is only a few?"
She still has to work hard to make things more lively up there.
Those who could be recommended for admission were recommended.
Shen Tang noticed that most of these names had actively joined the melee, while a few, who looked refined and weak, struggled to navigate the "battlefield," fearing that one wrong move would result in them being dismantled and used as weapons by another name. They huddled in a corner of the painting, looking pitiful.
One of these names stands out the most.
Shen Tang discovered that it had also removed the strokes that someone had lost, and it stood out with a domineering air, blocking the outermost part of these names.
The name is small and gives a strong sense of security.
Shen Tang was about to get a closer look.
An unfamiliar name jumped up in the middle of the chaos.
It didn't jump very high, maybe a finger's width above the sky, but what made Shen Tang recognize its identity was its next move. It took some unfortunate stroke from someone's calligraphy and used it as a bow and arrow, a swift, full moon, and shot straight at Shen Tang's eyes. Shen Tang chose to close her eyes.
The stroke of the brush twitched on my eyelid, bounced off, and landed on the scroll.
Shen Tang asked softly, "...Is her surname Yuan?"
No, she didn't kill that person either.
Ji Moqiu: "..."
It wasn't the only one that was aggressive towards Shen Tang.
A few more emerged from the chaos, their names riding on strokes resembling the base of a rocking horse, charging fearlessly towards her. Shen Tang stared for a moment, then asked herself, "What we're seeing are names; are the parts they've disassembled actually limbs?"
If that's the case, the scene is indeed too bloody.
She stared at the name that still wanted to draw its bow and said to it, "Find someone to call Shengmei over here."
Yang Ying's archery skills were also quite good.
Gu Chi asked, "Is Your Majesty certain that it is Shengmei?"
If there's no single most suitable option, then choose the one that's relatively suitable.
Shen Tang did not consider Zhao Wei or Lu Ji. Lu Ji was not good at archery and rarely used weapons other than heavy hammers. As for Zhao Wei, she did not take Zhao Feng and Qin Li into consideration because of them.
P.S.: I almost forgot that Thorns has also started a new book.
Song of Thorns: Ancient Infrastructure Novel "Chronicles of Qin" - After traveling through time with ibuprofen, the protagonist encounters the seriously ill King of Qin.
P.S.: The female lead for this year's new book has been named.
Zhang Yang, courtesy name Boyuan (≧ｗ≦)
PPPS: There's still some activity fund left. I'll open another monthly pass post tomorrow and set a participation threshold (otherwise, they'll all be snatched up by the red envelope square).
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