Chapter 351: Why Do You Look So Familiar (Part 4) [Two-in-One]
Zhang He was an ordinary-looking man.
It's not exactly ugly, but it's not exactly beautiful either.
At most, one could say that he has regular features and a decent temperament, which would be considered below average among ordinary people, but within the literary and scholarly community, he would definitely be considered a drag on the overall level.
Kang Shi once thought he wasn't good-looking enough, which made him prejudiced against him and he didn't consider joining Zhang He's side. He was a self-righteous person who was obsessed with looks.
At first glance, Kang Shi seems to be going too far. If you don't like someone, just don't like them. Why attack them based on their appearance?
In fact, this is not an isolated case.
That's just the general environment.
Before the fall of the Xin Kingdom, in selecting talents, in addition to the overt assessment of family background, character, ability, and literary talent, there was also a hidden but not negligible standard—appearance!
A handsome face makes it easy to gain access to the emperor's court.
It's difficult to be selected if you're not good-looking.
For example, there's that unlucky kid, Zhang He.
Despite his humble origins, he was still the son of a collateral branch of a declining clan, barely meeting the threshold for aristocratic status. His background was acceptable, and with his above-average literary talent and outstanding character and abilities, it shouldn't have been difficult for him to be selected for officialdom.
It's practically a sure thing.
Unfortunately, she was not good-looking and stumbled three times in the hidden aspect of "appearance"—participating in the selection three times and being rejected each time.
Zhang He was naturally unwilling to live like this forever.
So he took a different approach, relying on his superb medical skills to enter the Imperial Medical Bureau of Xin Kingdom. In just a few years, he rose to the position of Imperial Physician, firmly securing his position as the head of the bureau. When the time was right, with the king's trust, he could smoothly complete his transition.
Medicine was not Zhang He's ultimate pursuit.
However, he disappeared suddenly before he could truly become famous, and there were even rumors that he had been secretly executed.
Amidst the chaos of infighting among the northwestern kingdoms, no one would really care about the whereabouts of a mere imperial physician.
In addition, the Xin Kingdom soon fell into a state of internal and external troubles, and was utterly defeated by the Geng Kingdom army led by Zheng Qiao, leaving them with no chance to fight back. Naturally, no one stepped forward to investigate the relationship between the former Imperial Physician Zhang He and Lingzhou Yi Ru Zhang He.
Zhang He has been living a pretty comfortable life these past few years.
He was not only revered as a living deity by the people of Lingzhou Yiru, but also received high-level treatment such as being enshrined in a shrine and having his statue worshipped.
Now, this living deity was looking at Shen Tang with an extremely complex, inquisitive, and suspicious gaze, as if trying to see someone through her. Seeing that he didn't answer, Shen Tang asked again, "Why is Lord Zhang looking at me like that?"
She asked the question calmly, but her heart was pounding.
Could it be that Zhang He had actually seen him before?
Does he know his background and origins?
As someone with amnesia, Shen Tang's biggest fear is encountering so-called "acquaintances," because it's hard to tell whether they are friends or foes.
Gong Xichou, standing to the side, also noticed Zhang He's lapse in composure and narrowed his eyes. He covered his mouth with his fist and coughed casually, but to Zhang He, it sounded like a thunderclap, instantly snapping him back to reality.
Zhang He's face turned slightly pale, and his churning breath subsided in an instant.
A slight blush appeared on her deathly pale face.
"It's alright, it's alright. Please step back and don't be rude to our distinguished guest. I was just surprised that the young man's appearance resembled that of an old friend, and I lost my composure for a moment. Please forgive me, young man."
He raised his hand to stop the hidden guard from drawing his sword.
"Everyone, step back!"
The guard replied, "Yes."
Zhang He said apologetically, "I'm sorry to have startled you both."
Shen Tang didn't seem to care, only asking, "Does it look very similar?"
The similarity was so striking that even someone as experienced as him would show such a discomfiture, remaining so shocked that he couldn't recover for a long time.
At the same time, Shen Tang calmed down a little.
Her current appearance is a disguise by Yuan Liang based on her original appearance, and it differs somewhat from her original appearance.
If they are extremely similar, it must be a coincidence.
How many people in the world are similar?
Not surprising.
Zhang He smiled slightly and said, "They are not very similar, but they are similar in spirit. At first glance, you might mistake one for the other, but upon closer inspection, you will know that they are two different people. However, I have never seen the Wenxin Huaban on your waist before, and it is as clear and transparent as crystal glass."
In the blink of an eye, Zhang He's expression returned to normal, showing no sign of discomposure—perhaps due to his years of dealing with medicine and patients, or perhaps due to proper care, his brows were imbued with an indescribable compassion, making him approachable to all.
He gives off a similar vibe to Gu Ren.
Both of them have an inherent "good person" aura, and can give people an initial good impression that is above average at first glance.
Shen Tang: "Is this color very rare?"
She looked down at the monogram.
My fingers rubbed the slightly cool surface.
Zhang He stroked his beard: "Very few."
All the literary monograms and martial tallies he had seen were colored, but none were as clear and colorless as Shen Tang's. Because of its rarity, it left a deep impression.
“We share such rare colors, and we even bear a striking resemblance, which suggests a deep connection between me and that gentleman. I wonder where he is now? If possible, I would like to pay him a visit; perhaps we can become kindred spirits,” Shen Tang probed.
Upon hearing the word "confidant," Gong Xiqiu glanced sideways, but Shen Tang's attention was entirely on Zhang He, and she didn't notice him.
To everyone's surprise, Zhang He shook his head regretfully.
"That person is gone."
"Gone? You mean that person is... I'm sorry, I didn't mean to touch on your painful memories..."
Zhang He said nonchalantly, "It's alright."
The "old friend" he mentioned wasn't really an "old friend"; the term was just a casual excuse he used.
Zhang He looked at Shen Tang and reminisced casually, "...When I saw 'him,' he was already in his coffin, his eyes closed, his skin white with a rosy tinge, and except for the lack of chest movement, he was as lifelike as a living person. It's a pity he died so young..."
Shen Tang felt a chill creeping over her for no apparent reason.
When Zhang He spoke of this "old friend," his expression didn't seem like he was reminiscing about a deceased person, but rather like he was longing for some rare treasure, which inexplicably displeased her. She frowned, wondering where this feeling came from. Just then, she heard Gong Xi Chou speak again.
"The person you're talking about seems to have some recollection of me."
For some reason, Gong Xichou's face was cold and gloomy, as if covered with a layer of freezing frost, and there was also a faint layer of killing intent.
"May I ask your honorable surname, sir?" Zhang He asked.
Seeing Gong Xichou's obvious emotional change, Zhang He's gaze swept past Shen Tang and landed on Gong Xichou, ignoring the latter's threatening warning. At this moment, he noticed the inconspicuous snake pattern on Gong Xichou's collar, and his pupils contracted.
The muscles beneath his clothes involuntarily tensed up.
The guards, seeing this, became wary.
If Gong Xichou and his companion make any malicious moves, they will be met with a deadly siege by these guards!
Gong Xichou sneered at his reaction.
"Seeing this clan crest, don't you think you're wasting your breath asking this question? What do you think my surname should be!"
Zhang He exhaled a breath of stale air: "Gongxi."
He rarely mentioned those two words, as they were difficult to pronounce.
But I had already memorized them perfectly in my mind.
Gong Xichou sneered, "It's kind of you to still remember."
This time, it was Shen Tang's turn to watch the show.
I was curious about the history of their feud.
Ignoring Gongxi Chou's malice, Zhang He sighed and said, "Young Master Gongxi, have come to seek revenge today? I have heard of the Gongxi clan's plight and deeply regretted the fate of nobles, but the annihilation of the Gongxi clan has nothing to do with me..."
He wasn't lying.
It really has nothing to do with him.
He understood Gongxi Chou's urgency to avenge his clan and sympathized with him, but it was better to target the right enemy. Even if Zhang He had the ability, as the Imperial Physician of Xin State at the time, he couldn't possibly extend his reach to the Gongxi clan, who were living in seclusion within Geng State…
His hands aren't that long.
Even when seeking revenge, there should be a basic principle to follow.
"Who said I came here seeking revenge?"
Gong Xichou raised an eyebrow. If he had come seeking revenge, he should have attacked the moment they met. Could these useless guards in the shadows possibly stop him? Whether they attacked or not would only make the difference between Zhang He surviving a few breaths and him surviving a dozen or so.
Now it was Zhang He's turn to be surprised.
They weren't here for revenge after all?
"Then what is the purpose of Gongxi Langjun's actions?"
Gong Xiqiu coldly asked him, "A sacred object of our clan."
Zhang He: "A sacred object?"
Shen Tang asked curiously, "A sacred object?"
Gongxi Chou's sacred object is in Zhang He's hands?
But the confusion on Zhang He's face didn't seem fake.
He shook his head and said, "I do not possess any sacred artifacts of the Gongxi tribe. If Gongxi Langjun is looking for sacred artifacts, he should seek them out from the Geng Kingdom."
Because Shen Tang was present, Zhang He gave a pointed hint.
The people from Geng State were the main culprits in the extermination of the Gongxi clan. Even if they possessed sacred artifacts, those people should have already looted them.
As for who exactly...
Zhang He was unaware of this.
They were nothing more than a few nobles from the Geng Kingdom.
A common man is innocent, but possessing a treasure is a crime.
It's all because the treasures in the hands of the Gongxi clan were too tempting, and the Geng Kingdom was ambitious. Since the Gongxi clan refused to cooperate, they resorted to murder and robbery. That's just how the world works.
The Gongxi clan is just one extremely common example.
Upon hearing Zhang He's reply, Gongxi Chou slammed his right fist into the ground, leaving a dent, and angrily said, "How come it's not in your hands? Weren't you just now smugly referring to him as an 'old friend'?"
While observing the situation, Shen Tang expressed that she needed Gu Chi. Without Gu Chi, she wouldn't even understand what was going on—that the old friend Zhang He, who looked so much like her, was a sacred object of the Gongxi clan.
What's going on here?
Zhang He clearly hadn't expected this either.
"That's... a sacred object of your clan?" she asked in surprise.
Gong Xi Chou said coldly, "What's wrong with the sacred artifacts that my clan guards in the holy land? I've investigated thoroughly. On the day our clan was wiped out, those bastards not only looted the holy land to be buried with us, but they also dug up the sacred artifacts from the ground... Later, they were betrayed by an insider planted by the Xin Kingdom in the Geng Kingdom. The Wu Kingdom's records of Gu worms and the sacred artifacts were smuggled into the Xin Kingdom and passed through your hands!"
Zhang He was the last link he could trace.
In order to become powerful, the Geng Kingdom exterminated the Gongxi clan.
Xin State stole peaches and planted an inside agent to steal research from Geng State. He then handed the research over to Zhang He, the Imperial Physician of the Medical Bureau, who led Xin State's skilled physicians and talented individuals from the common people to study the Gu worms in an attempt to cultivate the true Gu worms of Wu State.
Everyone knows the scourge caused by the Gu worms of the Wu Kingdom.
But people cannot resist its charm.
Imagine something that could grant ordinary people strength comparable to mid-to-high-level martial artists, allowing them to effortlessly acquire overwhelming power. Which ruler wouldn't be tempted? As for ordinary people, they'd just have to sacrifice themselves.
I wouldn't feel bad about sacrificing so much.
Once the world is at peace, we can encourage the common people to recuperate and have more children. How many people wouldn't want that?
Zhang He: "..."
Gong Xichou's words were laced with ruthlessness: "Where is the sacred object?"
Zhang He: "..."
He was thinking.
Think about how to answer so that you won't get killed by Gong Xichou.
"I had no idea that it was the sacred object of the Gongxi clan." Upon suddenly learning the truth, Zhang He's expression was indescribable. "Not only me, but all the nobles from both countries involved in this matter unanimously believed that the Gongxi clan's sacred object was the Wu Kingdom's Gu worm. And that coffin and the person inside were thought to be a young boy from the Gongxi clan who died young, and were..."
"What happened to you?"
Gong Xiqiu pressed for answers.
Zhang He said, "They've been buried."
Gongxi Chou then asked, "Where is it buried?"
Judging from his eagerness, he seemed to want to grab a hoe right now, dig out the coffin, and carry it away overnight.
Zhang He was stumped and said, "But..."
Shen Tang felt that the word "coffin" appeared rather frequently, and couldn't help but secretly strain his ears to listen carefully.
"But it was dug up by tomb raiders."
Gong Xiqiu was slightly angry: "...Do you think I would believe that?"
Zhang He forced a smile.
"I know it sounds ridiculous, but—"
But it's perfectly normal to carefully analyze the logic.
The corpse was not old, about eleven or twelve years old, and looked as if it were still alive. It was speculated that the Gongxi clan used some kind of Gu worm to keep the deceased as if they were still alive. Similar records also exist in the Gongxi clan's collection of books, and there are more than one example.
So, everyone guessed that the deceased was a member of the Gongxi clan who had died young. Is there a problem with that? Absolutely not.
Is an ordinary member of the tribe so rare?
The bodies of the Gongxi clan are in the hands of both countries.
The coffin looked simple and unadorned, but the workmanship was just so-so.
It has no research value whatsoever.
So, adhering to the belief that burial brings peace, the burial was hastily carried out. Little did they expect that this scene of burial under the starry night would be witnessed by tomb raiders nearby. They assumed it was the remains of some noble or high-ranking official, and the coffin was dug up and taken away within two days…
Is it worthless to recover a worthless coffin and a worthless corpse that have been dug up by tomb raiders?
No.
Zhang He's impression of the corpse was particularly profound because of that extremely rare transparent monogram.
Upon hearing this explanation, Gong Xichou's face turned as black as soot, and he almost gritted his teeth: "Our clan practices cremation! After a clansman's death, he must be cremated and disappear into the flames!"
Their clan believes that the destruction of the physical body is merely the shedding of a skin, and that this skin must be burned so that the soul can be guided by the gods to another world. Burying the soul in a coffin is a unique exception within the entire clan! Are they blind???
Zhang He: "..."
Shen Tang: "..."
Gongxi Chou was so angry that he laughed instead, his tone sarcastic and mocking.
"Before you plundered and seized everything, didn't you even bother to investigate the customs of the Gongxi clan? All you did was send a useless piece of trash to seduce and steal secrets. As soon as you found out where the holy land was, you sent troops to attack without a second thought. You just plundered all that useless stuff, took it back and treated it like a treasure, and ended up with a bunch of useless trash? You're truly useless!"
Zhang He: "..."
Gong Xiqiu said, "The epidemics in Tianhai, Heyin, and Shangnan are all related to this. Do you know that?"
Shen Tang had a vague sense of déjà vu, as if she were witnessing a melon seed being eaten by someone else, but according to Gong Xi Chou and the others, the Gong Xi clan had been wiped out many years ago. The loss of the sacred artifact occurred shortly after that, and the corpse was indeed a corpse…
She's a living, breathing person.
ヾ(■_■)
I have appendicitis and have had three large IV drips. I'm typing on my phone while receiving the IV tonight. Sigh, I still need three more days of IVs. I hope it gets better. I really don't want to have surgery. Today I saw a post in a group chat about a panicked red horse spotted at the town bank.
P.S.: There will be double monthly passes for three days at the end of the month. You know what I mean, right?
(End of this chapter)
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