nycdaug #491 - Let's discuss
#491 - Let's discuss
When Lu Jing first saw Han Shanke emerge from the peach, he was quite excited.
The reason he stayed tonight was because he didn't believe Han Shanke had died just like that. After all, he needed Han Shanke to help him suppress the expansion of his secret power.
So, even though he had just witnessed Han Shanke's bizarre entrance, Lu Jing's excitement outweighed his shock and anger.
But as that excitement faded, he gradually regained his composure.
Han Shanke was clearly prepared tonight. He had created such a commotion in the vegetable garden, with giant trees growing wildly and a 'Peach Boy' appearance. This couldn't have been a whim; it must have taken a long time to prepare.
However, in their previous interactions, this guy hadn't revealed any signs of this.
In Lu Jing's eyes, and in the eyes of others, he was just a madman obsessed with alchemy.
If he didn't have a guilty conscience, Han Shanke wouldn't have needed to pretend all this time.
He even let everyone mistakenly believe that he was dead. Marquis Xiaohou even erected a tombstone for him, but he secretly grew out of a tree.
Moreover, if Lu Jing hadn't seen Han Shanke's 'ascension' process, it would have been one thing. But now that he had seen it, Lu Jing could conclude that his so-called method of immortality was either related to a strange object or a peculiar item.
Lu Jing was more inclined towards the latter.
Although because the era was too long ago, no one can now say exactly how many strange objects are in the academy, but if there was one that could bring the dead back to life and grant immortality, such a powerful strange object couldn't have gone unnoticed, and it couldn't have been casually thrown into the academy by some senior.
Considering Han Shanke's involvement in the orthodox struggle and Dongxuan Zhenren, who shared his stance, whose disciples had refined themselves into peculiar items.
Lu Jing naturally had reason to suspect that Han Shanke, seeing no hope for immortality, had ultimately chosen this route as a roundabout way to achieve his goals.
And most importantly, Lu Jing raised his head and said to Han Shanke, "You can leave the academy now, can't you?"
Han Shanke was slightly surprised to hear this, seemingly not expecting Lu Jing to react so quickly.
He had originally planned to continue using the poison formula to dangle Lu Jing along, hoping to subdue him without a fight. But hearing Lu Jing ask this question, Han Shanke knew that his plan for tonight probably wouldn't go so smoothly.
However, now that things had come to this, there was no point in him hiding it any longer, so he simply admitted, "That's right. The paper figures in Mirror Lake Valley are restricted by a strange object. As long as we are alive, we can't leave the academy. But now, I have died once, so naturally I am no longer restricted by that thing."
"Speaking of which, I've lived in this valley for forty years. It's time to go out and take a look," Han Shanke said with emotion.
"But didn't you voluntarily enter this valley back then, even sacrificing your throne and everything else you possessed? Is there anything outside that can attract you now?"
"You don't understand," Han Shanke said. "It's only after losing something that you realize how precious it is. When I was the emperor, I ate delicacies every day and was surrounded by beauties, so I found fine food and beautiful women tasteless, and I only thought about immortality."
"Without the things that I once had at my fingertips, living a cramped and lonely life every day, what use is it to live longer? It's like a turtle in the water, even if it can live for thousands of years, it can only eat mud at the bottom of the river."
"So I turned around and begged the then Deputy Director of the Directorate of Celestial Observation to let me go back, but he told me that he had warned me before that there was no turning back once I chose to feign death, which meant completely giving up everything I possessed."
"Now, a new master has taken the throne, and the Directorate of Celestial Observation has promised not to interfere in the struggle for imperial power, so he will definitely not let me out. Moreover, even if he agreed, he couldn't do it with that strange object there."
"Hearing him say this, I suddenly felt dizzy. It wasn't until that moment that I realized how stupid I had been, giving up everything that everyone couldn't get in a lifetime for a illusory goal, and now I have fallen to the point where I don't even have freedom."
"Being in this ghostly place every day is no different from being in prison, but as that person warned me, I have already made a choice, so I can only grit my teeth and bear the consequences of this choice."
"I cried and made a fuss, but it didn't work. I even thought about ending my life, but when it came to the point, I was a little reluctant, so I could only live a muddled life."
"Because I had too much free time every day, I had to pick up the alchemy that I had abandoned before because of impatience and continue to refine my immortality elixir."
"Anyway, time always passes faster when you have something to do. Although I never managed to refine an elixir that could truly make people immortal after taking it, I did accidentally refine some good things."
"It's a pity that I died, and I don't know who will benefit from those elixirs I refined before," Han Shanke said casually, and then continued to talk about his past.
"Although I myself no longer have such great expectations for immortality, because I am so crazy about alchemy, it has left an impression on others that I am obsessed with immortality, especially after everyone who knows about my affairs has died, everyone seems to think that I am a strange person who only knows how to refine elixirs and doesn't compete with the world."
"But I still can't forget my name and those past events like most people in this valley. I waited for forty years before I got this opportunity, so I must leave the academy tonight. Look, can we make a deal?"
Han Shanke was as polite as ever. "I admit that I have been a little neglectful of your affairs because I have been busy with my own ascension, but as long as you don't stop me and give me some more time, I can definitely refine the poison elixir you want."