When Bai Lihong saw his uncle go to the barrel, he quickly followed.

He could just barely see a smaller wooden basin inside.

He was almost the same size as the barrel, and stood on tiptoe to find that it was full of ice!

The ice inside the wooden basin was crystal clear, reflecting the dumbfounded expression on his face.

The child’s eyes immediately widened, and there was thinly-veiled surprise on Qin Xiao’s face as well.

Chu Jiubian watched Qin Xiao’s expression with interest. What was he feeling?

He’d thought this person was able to completely conceal his feelings, but it seemed he was still young and inexperienced. Hadn’t he still revealed a hint of emotion?

Sensing his gaze from the side, Qin Xiao looked away from the basin of ice.

There was an unspeakable emotion in his dark eyes as he looked straight into Chu Jiubian’s.

Chu Jiubian stood at 1.83 meters, which was considered tall among men, but Qin Xiao was half a head taller than him, putting him at around 1.9 meters.

In this situation, his height advantage and fierce aura instantly brought a heavy sense of oppression over Chu Jiubian.

Chu Jiubian didn’t avert his gaze, but raised his eyes slightly to give him a thought-provoking smile. He asked: “Lord Ning-wang, is this a fun thing?”

Before Qin Xiao could respond, a clear childish voice came from below: “Fun!”

Bai Lihong gripped the edge of the barrel with his small hands, standing on tiptoe with great effort. He looked up at the two “giants” beside him and said excitedly: “Chu Jiubian, you have so much ice, ah! It feels so cool!”

Children were not as heat-resistant as adults, and the summer heat was at its peak these days. It was true that Bai Lihong couldn’t sleep at night due to the heat, but he didn’t cry because of it.

Seeing such a large piece of ice now, he couldn’t help reaching out to touch it – but his arms were too short.

The child chattered on about how satisfied he was with this “toy,” but he was an intelligent boy, and when he noticed the strange atmosphere between the two adults, he fell silent.

Qin Xiao lightly twisted the ring on his thumb. A smile appeared in his eyes, and in an instant, the tense atmosphere between the two of them dissipated.

“It’s fun.” Qin Xiao’s slightly low voice held a smile. “It’s really fun.”

Chu Jiubian was quite satisfied with this answer, and said: “This should be able to relieve your worries, but what about what you promised me?”

Qin Xiao smoothly agreed: “This palace is Jiu-gongzi’s home, and he may do whatever he wants.”

“Jiu-gongzi?” Chu Jiubian’s eyelid twitched slightly. What a silly name.

Qin Xiao smiled and said: “Jiu-gongzi’s reputation has spread throughout the entire capital nowadays, and even those who curse me are fewer. This lord must thank you.”

Although the Qin family was prestigious and had a good reputation among the common people, ever since he killed all those spies in front of Shenwu Gate for three days and three nights, more people had been scolding him than praising him.

Especially those powerful families, who criticized him behind his back for being cruel and ruthless and having evil ambitions.

But now, these people were attempting every means to get close to the “immortal” Chu Jiubian, and didn’t even have time to curse Qin Xiao.

Chu Jiubian guessed what was going on and said: “If Lord Ning-wang really wants to thank me, why not do me another favor?”

It would be even better if he could go out of the palace again. He wondered if the scenery in ancient times was the same as the sets he had acted on.

“It’s dangerous outside the palace,” Qin Xiao exaggerated. “Perhaps when this lord is free one day, I’ll take you out for a walk?”

This meant he still intended to keep an eye on him. But being able to freely move around the palace was still a big improvement.

Chu Jiubian was just testing the waters, and since his words had no results, he didn’t argue with him.

When the other party went silent, Qin Xiao thought for a moment and said: “Three days. I’ll take you out in three days.”

This time, Chu Jiubian was genuinely surprised. He sent the other party a suspicious look. Was Qin Xiao so easy to deal with?

He was probably going to get cheated again.

Changing the subject, Qin Xiao bowed with a rare solemn expression and said: “Asking the Young Master to help me make ice.”

With no further discussion, Chu Jiubian had someone hand over the ice-making method. He had no intention of keeping it to himself, and said bluntly: “I told you I’d provide you a way. I don’t go back on my word.” Unlike Qin Xiao, who’d lost a bet and refused to pay up.

Qin Xiao bowed again without hesitation: “Then on behalf of the common people and His Majesty, thank you, Young Master.”

Although the elite nowadays had cellars for storing ice, none of them were in the capital, and the closest ones were in the outskirts.

The roads were difficult to travel, and the weather was so hot that most of the ice would have melted by the time it was transported to the capital.

Now that Qin Xiao had this ice-making method, it would be much easier to just make it and sell it in the capital. Those elites were not short of money, and never cut corners when it came to making their lives comfortable. This ice-selling business was bound to be extremely profitable.

The issue of the empty treasury would naturally be solved.

Chu Jiubian hadn’t expected Qin Xiao to give him such sincere thanks, and especially hadn’t expected him to add “on behalf of the common people and His Majesty.”

How could a treacherous villain be so upright?

Perhaps he was planning to take the majority of the ice-making profits.

But this had nothing to do with Chu Jiubian. His only goal was to ensure his freedom.

He had originally planned to tell Qin Xiao about how to use saltpeter to make tinderboxes and fireworks, but there was no need to rush. If Qin Xiao really did what he said and took him out of the palace in three days, it wouldn’t be too late to tell him about it then. He could just treat it as another business deal.

“Take out that basin of ice first. I’ll teach you how to make it,” Chu Jiubian told Qin Xiao.

Eunuch Hong had known that Qin Xiao had something to discuss with Chu Jiubian, so he led Xiao Xiangzi and the others to guard outside the main house. At present, there were only the two adults and one three-year-old emperor in the room.

Chu Jiubian didn’t want to do the work, and the young emperor couldn’t do it, so that just left Qin Xiao.

He didn’t drag his feet. After Chu Jiubian spoke, he immediately took out the basin of ice and set it on the floor.

Bai Lihong couldn’t reach it before, but now he could finally touch it and get a better look.

“Chu Jiubian, can I touch this ice?” The little boy squatted beside the ice basin, looking over pitifully with his head tilted upwards.

“This is a gift for Your Majesty,” Chu Jiubian said.

Bai Lihong immediately gave a white-toothed smile: “Thank you, Chu Jiubian!”

“Your Majesty is too polite.” Chu Jiubian wanted to reach out and pat the little boy’s head. He was such a cute kid, but when he grew up, he would be resolute and decisive. He didn’t know how Qin Xiao could have raised such a person.

Bai Lihong reached out with his little hand to carefully touch the ice. With a shiver, he quickly withdrew his hand and pressed it against his chubby face.

That little face, which had previously been red from the heat, felt cool and comfortable.

Bai Lihong’s face lit up after tasting this sweetness, and he repeated the action again and again to cool down his face.

Nearby, Chu Jiubian had already instructed Qin Xiao to pour the remaining saltpeter into another wooden barrel filled with water, and then to stir it with a wooden stick. 

When the stirring was almost done, he filled a smaller basin with water and carefully placed it inside the wooden barrel, ensuring that it was surrounded by the water.

“Like this?” Qin Xiao asked.

Chu Jiubian nodded: “Just like this.”

Qin Xiao was somewhat flummoxed.

How had nobody ever discovered such a simple thing?

He had just touched the saltpeter water, and it was a little cold. If those people from the Imperial Hospital ever accidentally dropped saltpeter into water, wouldn’t they discover the same thing?

Had there never been such an accident, or did those people just not use their brains?

Chu Jiubian saw through his thoughts practically at a glance and said: “This method is simple, but the prerequisite is that the saltpeter must be purified.”

“Purified?” Qin Xiao had noticed that the saltpeter here with Chu Jiubian was different from what he had seen before, but he’d thought it was just finely ground.

“Xiao Xiangzi and the others know how to do it, so just ask them.”

“Okay.” Qin Xiao lowered his eyes to look at the basin in front of him. The water inside hadn’t changed much.

“How long does it take?” he asked.

“If it’s fast, a few quarters of an hour. If it’s slow, a half hour more than that.” Qin Xiao nodded. This was much faster than he had expected.

“This saltpeter is truly miraculous,” he said.

“It has more uses than just this,” Chu Jiubian said intentionally.

Qin Xiao turned his head to find the young man giving him a faint smile.

Qin Xiao smiled back.

It seemed he would have to wait and see what other uses saltpeter had in the future.

Bai Lihong saw that they had concluded their business, and that he finally had a chance to interrupt them. He quickly stood up and walked in front of Chu Jiubian, then looked up and asked: “Chu Jiubian, have you met my mother?”

Chu Jiubian was stunned. He crouched down to give him his full attention: “Your mother?”

“Yeah.” Bai Lihong’s eyes were full of anticipation. “My mother went to heaven and became an immortal. Have you seen her?”

He had never met anyone who could make ice, so Chu Jiubian must be a god!

Qin Xiao lowered his eyes toward his nephew’s little round head. He started to say something, but stopped.

He then glanced at Chu Jiunbian, somewhat curious about what this “god” would say.

Chu Jiubian thought of the description of the empress in the original novel. She was an intelligent, courageous, gentle woman.

“I’ve never seen her,” Chu Jiubian said.

The young emperor looked visibly disappointed.

“But I’ve heard of her,” Chu Jiubian continued.

Bai Lihong was stunned.

“She is very strong, and she must want you to be as brave and strong as she is.”

These were not Chu Jiubian’s words, but the dying thoughts of the empress in the novel. She hoped that her child would grow up to be a wise and upright ruler who would create a prosperous era for the Great Ning Dynasty.

Bai Lihong’s eyes suddenly reddened, but he forced himself to hold back his tears.

“I remember. Mother said that people should be brave.” 

[Congratulations, Host! Your accumulated Faith Value has exceeded 100 points. The Divine Realm function is now open. You may enter and invite a Believer at any time.]

Chu Jiubian’s heart skipped a beat.

Just before Qin Xiao and the young emperor arrived, the score was at 98 and hadn’t increased in a while, but now it had actually exceeded 100.

The Divine Realm and Space functions were calculated based on the accumulated points, and Chu Jiubian had previously consumed 1.5 points. In other words, he had just gained another .5 points, which caused the accumulated value to reach 100.

He looked at the young emperor in front of him who had already fought back his tears, and knew where that .5 points came from.

What a good boy, he thought.

Time passed little by little. The three people in the room didn’t speak as the water in the basin gradually cooled and turned into ice.

Qin Xiao stood by and watched the water turn into ice with his own eyes. It would be a lie to say he wasn’t shaken.

Once the ice slowly solidified, he reached out and touched it lightly.

His fingertips trembled at the cold sensation.

He looked at Chu Jiubian with deep and unfathomable eyes, his thoughts unknown.

Chu Jiubian had long been eager to enter the Divine Realm. When their eyes met, he said at once: “If there is nothing else, My Lord should have his own business to take care of, right?”

He was driving him away.

Qin Xiao chuckled, and without further ado, he took the young emperor away from Yaotai Residence.

The two basins of ice were naturally not taken from the room, but Xiao Yinzi and Xiao Jinzi, who knew the process of purifying saltpeter, were taken away.

After they left, Xiao Xiangzi, Shui Qing, and Shui Yun went into the main house to perform their duties.

It went without saying how shocked they were to see the two basins of ice. Chu Jiubian had already hidden in the bedroom, and after instructing that he should not be disturbed, he eagerly lay down on the bed and opened the System interface.

The [Divine Realm] section, which had been greyed-out before, was now lit up. Chu Jiubian clicked on it without hesitation.

In an instant, a sensation of dizziness and weightlessness spread throughout his body. It took him a few seconds to regain control, and his feet seemed to step onto solid ground.

He steadied himself and slowly opened his eyes.

A vague white mist lingered around him, slowly swirling, and it was difficult for him to tell whether this was reality or a dream.

[Hello, Host. The Divine Realm has been opened. In the Divine Realm, you and your Believers exist as a form of consciousness, while your bodies remain in their original three-dimentional space and appear to be asleep.]

[As the one true god in the Divine Realm, you have the right to make changes to all objects. To ensure your privacy, you can also choose to change your appearance.]

The System was straightforward and businesslike, never rambling as it briefly explained the functions of the Divine Realm.

The one true god.

Chu Jiubian chewed over these words. His thoughts moved, and the white mist around him dissipated in a flash to be replaced by a pure white space with no visible boundaries.

There was nothing in this space except the ground beneath his feet.

When looking forward, back, left, right, or upward, he could only see the space extending out endlessly.

The was the original appearance of the Divine Realm.

The corners of Chu Jiubian’s lips curved up, and he turned to look behind him.

The empty white space shook, and several towering jade pillars with dragons coiled around them abruptly rose from the ground to stand on both sides of the space. They extended upward until a white mist appeared, shrouding the endless space overhead.

Spots of golden light appeared and moved leisurely within the white mist. One could see the indistinct silhouettes of huge buildings hidden within it, such as pavilions and palaces with upturned eaves. Faintly, one seemed to hear the low cries of dragons and phoenixes.

As Chu Jiubian stepped forward, white jade steps appeared under his feet, extending to the left and right until they vanished into the mist with no end in sight.

After twenty-seven steps, Chu Jiubian came to a stop, and a new piece of ground extended under his feet.

A wide, thick white jade chair slowly took shape here, with a high, straight back and wide armrests.

Chu Jiubian took a couple of steps forward, turned around, and sat down on the chair.

Simultaneously, his clothes transformed into the same incredibly gorgeous ones he’d transmigrated in. 

He sat casually on the chair and crossed his legs. The jewels and beads on his boots made soft clinking sounds, and the chair adjusted itself to best fit his body shape.

Looking down from this angle, a white jade table had appeared beneath the twenty-seven steps. There was nothing on the table, but a wide chair sat behind it facing Chu Jiubian.

This was a seat for Believers, and there was only one at the moment.

A wisp of white mist poured down from the sky, faintly blurring the long table like a gauze curtain. Hazy red plum blossoms swayed within it, and there seemed to be a faint fragrance of plums as the misty curtain was lifted by a steady breeze.

Were someone to sit at that long table, they would see the faint, blurry outline of the jade steps behind the curtain, extending slowly upward like a ladder to heaven.

But from Chu Jiubian’s position, he could clearly see the situation below.

The Believers logically shouldn’t be able to see Chu Jiubian behind the curtain, but just in case, he stretched out his hand and a bronze half mask appeared in his palm.

He put the mask on and called up the System again: “How do I connect to Believers?”

[The System Card Library has been updated. Please draw a card to select.]

Hadn’t it said he could bring in anyone he wanted?

Chu Jiubian frowned. Drawing cards wasn’t exactly reliable.

Perhaps because it was within the System space, the System directly placed the cards into the void in front of Chu Jiubian – a total of six.

[Asking Host to extract keywords.]

Chu Jiubian understood that when drawing a card, one must first select a keyword, and then choose a person associated with that keyword to become a Believer.

It was just that there were no words written on the cards, so he could only click on one at random. The other five were immediately retracted by the System.

Two traditional Chinese characters gradually coalesced on the remaining card: “Armed Forces.”

Chu Jiubian raised his eyebrows.

He’d gotten lucky, ah. What he currently lacked was the ability to protect himself. If he had his own armed forces, he could be more confident in his dealings with Qin Xiao.

[Keyword confirmed. Currently selecting qualified Believers for Host.]

[Selection completed. Four character cards are reserved. Please make a selection.]

The System’s requirements for selecting Believers were very complex, so Chu Jiubian didn’t expect to have very many people to choose from. Right now, having four was good enough.

The keyword card was taken back, and four new cards appeared in front of him.

Unlike the previous blind selection, the four cards in front of him revealed the name, identity, and armed forces represented by the “reserved Believers.”

Chu Jiubian glanced over them.

[Pingxi-wang Bai Lizheng. Age 35. Fifth Uncle of Emperor Bai Lihong, with a fief located in Sichuan. Armed forces consist of 50,000 Sichuan troops.]

[Anhuai-wang Bai Liming. Age 18. Cousin of Emperor Bai Lihong (son of the emperor’s fourth uncle). Armed forces consist of 30,000 Henan troops.]

[Mobei Army Commander Jiang Shuoye. Age 25. Grandson of Lord Zhenbei, whose family is in decline. Armed forces consist of 80,000 Mobei troops. (Recommended!)]

Chu Jiubian found the word “recommended” in the brackets a little funny.

Was this the System’s selfish motives?

But compared to the two previous Imperial relatives, the commander of the Mobei Army with 80,000 troops was indeed more suitable. His strength seemed to be much higher than the other two.

But the Northern Desert was so far away from the capital. If something really did happen to Chu Jiubian, it was difficult to say whether the other party could make it there in time.

He was temporarily undecided.

Then he looked at the last card, and his expression went blank.

The card read: [Ning-wang Qin Xiao. Age 25. Armed forces consist of 50,000 elite Qin Army soldiers and 10,000 *****. (Not recommended!)]

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Chapter 10 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 12