Translator: Dj2203
Editor: Dj2203
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After dispelling Zhuang Tian’er’s psychological suggestion, Zhuang Li found several history books and local chronicles and flipped through them at an extremely fast pace.
This was a dynasty he knew nothing about; many of the figures in the history books had never existed in the world before. The emperor who ruled this country had only recently died, and the emperor who succeeded him was only three years old. He had not yet assumed personal rule and still needed the assistance of his ministers and the empress dowager.
Zhuang Li’s village was called Luoxia Village, which belonged to Bazhou. Bazhou was an important town near the capital and also the territory of Qi Wang.
Qi Wang was one of the regents, commanding an army of 800,000 and responsible for the security of the entire northern border, including the capital. If it weren’t for his presence guarding this territory, the three-year-old emperor would probably have been devoured alive by his ravenous brothers long ago.
Therefore, although the state called “Jin” appeared to belong to a young emperor, the real power was actually held by Qi Wang.
Qi Wang was strict in governing his army, selfless, brave and skilled in battle, and highly respected among the people.
Upon reading this passage, Zhuang Li briefly suspected that Qi Wang was his lover, but upon turning the page, he dismissed this suspicion.
Qi Wang was only 35 years old this year, but he already had an 18-year-old son. If you calculate it, he must have become a father when he was 17. This situation was not uncommon in ancient times; many people became fathers at the age of fourteen or fifteen.
Having a son meant having a wife, and having a wife meant having a harem full of concubines. Therefore, Zhuang Li immediately ruled out Qi Wang as a suspect.
According to local records, Qi Wang doted on his only son, keeping him by his side and personally teaching him from a young age. Over the years, he gradually transferred power to him, seemingly indicating his intention to retire.
The Empress Dowager also relied heavily on Qi Wang’s heir, often summoning him to the palace to accompany the young emperor.
In the past year, Qi Wang had become increasingly reclusive, and the entire Qi royal palace and even the court are under the control of the crown prince, who was the most sought-after figure in the Jin state.
So, could this Prince Qi be Ming? And what kind of trouble will he encounter? Zhuang Li closed the book, speculating as he did so.
The cheerful braying of Lu Dan drifted in from outside, interrupting Zhuang Li’s thoughts. He shook his head, smiled quietly, and then let the matter rest. What was the use of guessing whether it was true or not? He would know once he saw the real thing.
He walked to the bedside and woke Zhuang Jiuge with a gentle voice.
“Hmm, I fell asleep?” Zhuang Jiuge rubbed her eyes and sat up, then exclaimed sincerely, “Brother, I slept so well, I feel so light, like I could fly!”
He climbed out of bed and said excitedly, “Brother, I dreamed that I chased a jade rabbit to the moon palace, where the fairy Chang’e turned me into a seed and scattered me on the ground. I grew as fast as I could and eventually became the tallest and strongest tree in the forest.”
“When I bloom, the sky is filled with my petals; when I shake, all around me is the sound of my leaves rustling against each other, the whole forest is mine! I can look down on all the trees, because none of them are as tall as me! I stand with the blue sky above me and the earth beneath my feet, like a pillar supporting the heavens!”
Zhuang Jiuge stood on tiptoe, raised his right hand, and gestured a height. His once pale face now glowed with a rosy luster.
When he first met him, he was gloomy, hopeless, and cynical; but now, he was cheerful, lively, and carefree.
Just from taking a nap, this child had undergone such a huge transformation. 7480 was truly impressed by the host’s hypnosis skills. He just didn’t know whether his technique or Zhuang Tian’er’s golden finger was superior.
Zhuang Li listened quietly to his younger brother’s words, and only after his excitement subsided did he point to the pen, ink, paper, and inkstone and say, “Write a few words for me to see.”
Zhuang Jiuge’s rosy face immediately lost its color.
Zhuang Li casually suggested, “Try clenching your fists when you’re scared.”
Zhuang Jiuge quickly clenched his fists, and somehow instantly overcame the overwhelming fear. He walked firmly to the window and began to write, stroke by stroke.
The once terrible handwriting had now become elegant and beautiful, with a graceful and refined style. This scene not only made Zhuang Jiuge widen his eyes in disbelief, but even 7480 was stunned.
With only one stroke left, Zhuang Jiuge’s wrist began to tremble violently again. He was afraid that all of this was just an empty dream, and that when he woke up, he would still be that pitiful creature who trembled at the mere mention of a pen.
He quickly moved the brush away to prevent ink from staining the paper and ruining the character. Cold sweat beaded on his forehead, and tears of despair slowly welled up in his eyes.
He knew his illness couldn’t be easily cured.
Zhuang Li saw through his fear and said calmly, “Try clenching your fist.”
Zhuang Jiuge immediately clenched his left hand, which was resting on the table, into a fist.
And then a miracle happened once again. His inner fear and physical trembling vanished completely in an instant. At this moment, he was no longer the mortal Zhuang Jiuge, but a giant tree with its head reaching the blue sky and its feet firmly planted on the earth. The strong wind could not blow him down, the torrential rain could not break him; his stance was more stable than a rock!
He finished writing the last stroke cleanly and neatly and then began to write the next character. Each stroke was more determined and powerful than the last.
He wrote line after line, his left hand always clenched into a fist.
With the blessing of spiritual power, his handwriting made tremendous progress in just 35 minutes, transforming from elegant to majestic, from delicate to vigorous, like a dragon soaring and a phoenix ready to take flight. Even his style underwent a complete transformation.
The saying “one’s handwriting reflects one’s character” was certainly true here.
These handwritings revealed just how unbreakable Zhuang Jiuge’s state of mind was now.
7480: “…”
“Master, you still say you don’t know magic! You’ve practically turned Zhuang Jiuge into a completely different person!”
“This isn’t magic; it’s the effect of a mental anchor,” Zhuang Li explained.
“What is a mental anchor?” 7480 asked curiously, scratching his head.
“A mental anchor is a clue or marker that makes the subject make a certain association. When I hypnotized Zhuang Jiuge just now, I made him clench his fist tightly before he began to imagine the whole process of himself growing into a towering tree. Clenching his fist became the mental anchor that triggered this association.”
“When he awoke, every time he encounters difficulties, by clenching his fist, he would immediately associate himself with a giant tree, a tree that is indestructible, and thus he himself would become strong and courageous.”
“From now on, he will hypnotize himself without my help, simply by clenching his fist. He will become increasingly convinced that he is a giant tree, and this mental strength will help him grow into a strong and upright man.”
Zhuang Li smiled as he looked at Zhuang Jiuge’s upright back and said confidently, “He is naturally gifted. If he can develop his willpower, he will surely have a brilliant future.”
7480 opened the script and read about Zhuang Jiuge’s tragic ending. Looking at him now, he felt a deep sense of sympathy for the chosen one once again.
Why do the chosen ones of every small world have to run headlong into the host’s gun? Isn’t that just courting death? Once Zhuang Jiuge passes the imperial examination and becomes a high-ranking official, and once the host becomes famous throughout the world, Zhuang Tian’er’s fate will be dire!
Zhuang Jiuge practiced calligraphy with great enthusiasm. Whenever he recalled his unbearable past, he would clench his fist tightly and then muster all his fighting spirit. He felt that he was now a completely new life, and every inch of his skin and even every hair was full of power.
In the brief moment between dipping his brush in ink, he glanced at his elder brother, who was leaning against the window gazing at the magnificent sunset. A hint of doubt flashed in his eyes, but he said nothing.
His older brother will always be his older brother.
….
The two brothers, one practicing calligraphy and the other admiring the evening view, time passed by unnoticed.
As the sun set and the sky grew dim, the Zhuang family members pushed open the courtyard gate and walked in one after another. Leading them was Old Man Zhuang, whose face was etched with the marks of time, and whose spine was bent under the weight of daily labor.
Following behind Old Man Zhuang was a thin man with a hoe on his shoulder, a satisfied smile on his face, talking about this year’s harvest.
Standing beside him was a woman with delicate features, but her skin was tanned dark, and she was holding the hand of an eight or nine-year-old boy.
The boy turned around and cheerfully called out to his sister, and then Zhuang Tian’er and Grandma Zhuang came in.
“Look what this is! Today, Tian’er and I went to the mountains to dig for wild vegetables and found another rabbit!” Grandma Zhuang put down her basket and took out a rabbit from it.
Old Zhuang and the others quickly gathered around, stroking the rabbit’s plump flesh and laughing joyfully.
7480 whispered, “Master, look, Zhuang Tian’er has this kind of luck. She can find rabbits, pheasants, and ginseng just by walking on the street. This has nothing to do with hypnosis, right?”
“How could it be unrelated?” Zhuang Li chuckled lightly. “This rabbit is limp and completely dead, with a bloodstain on its neck, clearly killed by a hunter. Tell me, if the hunter killed the rabbit, why didn’t he take it away?”
7480 scratched his head and guessed, “Could it be that the hunter forgot?”
Zhuang Li: “…”
“Rabbit meat is edible, and rabbit skins can be collected and sold. Hunters make a living this way. Do you think he would forget his instinct to survive?” Zhuang Li shook his head and said, “He wouldn’t. So he deliberately left this rabbit, just waiting for Zhuang Tian’er to pick it up. Why do you think he would do that?”
7480 finally came to his senses and said with a sudden realization, “Because he’s been hypnotized by Zhuang Tian’er, so he always gives his prey to her. Master, am I right?”
Zhuang Li did not answer, but looked at Zhuang Jiuge and asked casually, “Xiao Jiu’er, have any of the hunters in the village shown any unusual behavior?”
Xiao Jiu’er? This was yet another unfamiliar name.
Zhuang Jiuge was taken aback for a moment, then pondered and said, “Uncle Liu is fine, there’s nothing unusual about him.”
“Has there been no change in his lifestyle? For example, a sharp drop in income, making it difficult to make ends meet or anything like that?” Zhuang Li prompted.
Zhuang Jiuge clapped his hands suddenly, “That’s right, that’s true! I once heard Uncle Liu complain that he’s been having bad luck in recent years, and he can’t find any prey when he goes into the mountains, often returning empty-handed. He also said that his family is almost struggling to make ends meet, and he wants to go deeper into the mountains to see if he can hunt more prey.”
“Our father often advised him not to take risks. There are packs of tigers and wolves in the deep mountains. If he goes there, he might not come back. I don’t know if he listened to our father.” Zhuang Jiuge became more and more worried as he spoke, his brows furrowing, and he could no longer continue practicing his calligraphy.
He was a very kind child.
Zhuang Li looked at Zhuang Tian’er, who was carrying a wild rabbit, and his eyes grew cold.
“System,” he asked sarcastically, “what exactly is Zhuang Tian’er? A koi fish or a bloodsucker?”
7480 replied quickly, “A bloodsucker, definitely a bloodsucker! Master, you must kill her!”
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