After the Great Dao died

Chapter 1 Divine Chamber

"The emperor was tyrannical, imposing exorbitant taxes, even on chickens and pigs, squeezing every last penny. He forced the common people to sell their children and wives, leaving countless starving corpses in the fields; the houses were like hanging bells, and the streets echoed with cries of anguish. He still drove the people like cattle and sheep, and forced them to work like dogs and horses. He issued an edict to all the prefectures, ordering the construction of the Grand Canal. Iron shackles and chains bound the flesh and blood of the people; the whips whistled, driving the common people to the Yellow Springs."

"In two years, forty-nine canals were built! Mountains were dug and valleys filled, and the graves of countless people were destroyed; dikes were breached and rivers were cut off, and the fields and houses of thousands of villages were ruined. The able-bodied died with shovels and picks, and the old and weak perished in the wind and frost. Thirty million wronged souls cried out in the long night, and white bones were exposed in the wilderness for ninety thousand miles. The river water turned red, all of which was the blood and tears of the people; the soil and stones were all smelly, which was the very marrow of the common people."

……

Someone was chanting softly, and the sound kept reaching Chen Lingxi's ears.

Chen Lingxi opened her eyes, enduring the excruciating pain in her internal organs.

"Not dead yet." Chen Lingxi took a deep breath, the blood crust on her lips was pulled painfully.

What comes into view is an earthen wall.

Chen Lingxi endured the excruciating pain and turned her head slightly, where she saw several simple wooden beds and a few rough pottery bowls and plates piled up in the corner.

The house was dark and damp, seemingly never seeing sunlight, and with it being winter, the room was extremely cold.

But he didn't have time to feel disgusted by the "reverse-facing room"; he only managed to shout in a hoarse voice, "Liu Changle, do you want to die?!"

On the other bed, Liu Changle was curled up, his face pale and his body thin.

He turned his head, licked his lips which were also covered in blood scabs, and his eyes seemed very deep.

"Lingxi! You and I were born into official families and were scholars. We studied the classics for more than ten years. You even had official titles and honors. You were once full of vigor and glory."

"Just because of that woman's words about 'listening to the mirror,' the sage believed them falsely, causing our family to be ruined and forcing us to be trapped in this back room as slaves..."

Liu Changle was panting heavily, seemingly suppressing his own pain as well: "The world has changed drastically, the sages are incompetent, and even this famous [Baosu Marquis's Mansion] has villains causing trouble!"

The master spends all his time cultivating Taoism and neglects the affairs of the household!

The eldest son was tyrannical by nature; his beatings left no one unscathed, and his steps were filled with mute slaves!

The second young lady was cold and indifferent, showing no compassion or pity whatsoever.

"If the sage is without virtue, then the people under his rule will naturally be without virtue as well. I think this manifesto of Xiao Changlu's uprising is extremely well written!"

"If he marches into Gyeonggi Province, neither of us will have to suffer as drug slaves!"

Liu Changle spoke at length, his eyes remaining deep throughout.

Chen Lingxi remained silent, then sat up and looked around.

There were four beds, but now only the two of them are there.

"It seems that Zhou Hu and Zhu Luanwen did not survive the effects of this medicine and have died."

Chen Ling took a deep breath.

"But how many more days do Liu Changle and I have left to live?"

Chen Ling closed her eyes, feeling excruciating pain all over her body.

"After living in a daze for over a decade, when my memories of Earth from my past life reawakened, I found myself trapped in a predicament. How hateful!"

creak!

With a piercing sound, the door was suddenly pushed open.

Then a man who looked to be about twenty-three or twenty-four years old walked into the house.

He wore a small black velvet cap, with a piece of flawless white Hetian jade inlaid in the center, and a dark blue silk robe. His face was fair and clean, and his eyes were long and narrow, yet they looked like those of a venomous snake.

"You two are still alive, you're incredibly lucky!"

The man chuckled and tossed over several packets of medicinal herbs: "These are tonics bestowed by Steward Zhao. Take some tonics to help you recover. You two don't need to work these next few days; just focus on resting and recuperating."

"Your house stinks horribly."

As he spoke, he retreated and walked away, muttering curses under his breath: "Three doses of medicine, and two people died. Scholars are so pampered. Too bad you don't have the life of nobles!"

Liu Changle straightened up and snorted coldly, "That Wang Kong is truly a dog relying on his master's power!"

As he spoke, he insisted on getting up to decoct the two packets of medicine, then helped Chen Lingxi up and fed him the medicine.

"Lingxi! I have been having dreams lately, in which I see a long river hanging above my head. That river is like a white rainbow piercing the sun, with water vapor stretching across the sky. When it flows, silver mountains collapse and snow peaks crumble."

Vast and mighty, like a million heavenly soldiers, marching swiftly with gags in their mouths; surging and turbulent, like the earth's axis overturning, the very fabric of the universe trembling.

"You've read books on dream interpretation. Wait until you're fully recovered before you interpret my dream!"

The two were trapped together in the Marquis's mansion, which was like a prison, and could be considered close friends who had been through thick and thin together.

Liu Changle didn't even take the medicine.

"My condition is much better than yours, so it seems I don't need to take any medicine. I'll leave all these tonics for you."

Chen Lingxi shook her head: "You should also drink a dose as soon as possible. This tonic is quite effective. After each trial, this tonic helps you recover faster."

Zhao, the steward, is going to Kyoto to make purchases and will be back in five days at most!

If we don't take good care of our health, we'll have to undergo drug trials again, and the chances of survival will be slim!

Liu Changle's eyes were deep as he shook his head and said, "I don't need it. That medicine... won't kill me."

Chen Ling thought about it and didn't try to persuade her further.

"There must be many secrets hidden on Liu Changle."

"That wicked woman's 'Mirror Listening Technique' may indeed have some mystery. She divined the powerful and influential families of the Great Li Dynasty, saying that many of them would bring chaos to the dynasty... My mother's family was one of them, and even my Chen family was implicated!"

Chen Lingxi thought of her parents in this world, and a wave of sorrow washed over her.

He regained his memory in just two years.

With memories of two lifetimes intertwined, he is both a modern person who has traveled to this place and a member of the Chen family who has lived for nineteen years in the Great Li Dynasty.

The Chen family was raided and wiped out; his father and mother, who had raised him, both died as a result.

She was forced into servitude as a government slave and then assigned by the Ministry of Justice to the Yuanjiang Prefecture of Jingji State [the residence of the Marquis of Baosu], becoming a mere household slave...

I've suffered a lot over the past two years!

Chen Lingxi was lost in thought, but her eyes remained resolute.

"There is still a chance to escape."

He closed his eyes, his consciousness sinking into his mind.

A glimmer of light seemed to appear in my mind.

As Chen Ling focused her attention, the light suddenly flickered and then unfolded.

Chen Lingxi sensed the scene in the light and suddenly froze!

"This [divine chamber] has changed so much!"

"Is it because of that medicine?"

He wasn't sure, but he didn't have time to think about it too much.

At this moment, his attention was entirely focused on that [divine chamber]!

—It looked like a small regional model, much like the community model in the sales center of my previous life.

What surprised Chen Lingxi was that... inside this [Divine Chamber], one could see buildings rising one after another, like a giant dragon raising its head!

At the southernmost end stands the majestic gate of the Marquis's mansion, its door studs arranged like golden beads; to the north are, in order, the Yin'an Courtyard, the rear courtyard, the sleeping quarters, and finally, the northernmost inverted building.

There are also side courtyards and wing rooms symmetrically arranged in the east, west, south, and north directions, forming a series of enclosed courtyards.

Passing the dormitory, you will find the back garden, where a pool of clear water is shaped like a crescent moon, and the artificial mountain made of Taihu stones is exquisite and translucent!

"This is the residence of Marquis Baosu!"

Chen Lingxi suddenly realized: "It's not just the Baosu Marquis's residence! It's also the streets outside the residence, the woodlands, and the Yuan River!"

Upon closer inspection, he realized that the very center of the shrine was the north courtyard's rear building where he was located!

"The Divine Chamber, centered on where I am, is approximately 300 zhang wide and 300 zhang wide in scale! It encompasses the Baosu Marquis's residence, as well as parts of the streets and the Yuan River!"

Chen Ling's eyes brightened slightly.

And that glimmer of light above the [divine chamber] seemed to be connected to his mind.

We're waiting for him to give us his orders!

But the intense pain caused his mental chamber to shatter abruptly.

The pain made it difficult for him to concentrate.

Before dusk, the snow had already begun to fall.

There was no stove in the back room, and the wooden bed was as hard as frozen soil.

He lay on his back, and his internal organs began to ache again. The pain spread warmly, silently confronting the thin layer of frost on the quilt, making it impossible for him to concentrate.

The locust tree outside the window was so thin it was just skin and bones; snowflakes pattered against its branches.

The snow fell thicker and thicker.

Finally, when the last bit of dark blue light in the world was swallowed up, he suddenly felt a little calmer.

Because he finally overcame the pain, refocused his attention, and entered the [Divine Chamber]!

In the empty chamber, tadpole-shaped characters shimmering with golden light appeared and disappeared.

"There is hope."