Chapter 41: A Bizarre Worldline (Part I)

Yun Zheng’s sudden, out-of-the-blue question caught both lackeys off guard. The timid one stammered for a moment, too terrified to utter a word. The other, however, was quick to answer: "King Yang has not yet declared himself Emperor."

"Not yet? Does that mean he intends to?"

The lackey said with an arrogant air, "And what if he does? Everyone in Guizhou knows that King Yang is destined by Heaven; his rise to imperial power is already set in stone. I take it you are outsiders? Hearing that our young master carries the surname Tian, do you still not understand his connection to King Yang?"

As he spoke, the lackey’s face was filled with the reflected pride of someone related to royalty.

Yun Zheng sneered, "It’s nothing more than your young master’s sister being a concubine to Yang Yinglong!"

With that, he signaled to An Miaotong. In the next heartbeat, a flash of brilliant, icy steel cut through the air. The lackey collapsed, rolling on the ground while clutching a shoulder spurting blood; beside him lay a severed arm, hacked off at the root.

Seeing Yun Zheng’s murderous aura, the monk stepped forward, intending to intervene, yet he hesitated. From the very beginning, Yun Zheng had not spoken a single word to him, leaving the honest monk at a loss for how to start a conversation.

The monk thought to himself, *Amitabha, the narrative seems a bit off. In all the stories, shouldn't a righteous hero, upon encountering injustice, first offer comforting words to the victims and to fellow travelers like me who share a sense of justice? This man doesn't look like a wandering hero; he looks more like a murderous demon from the Asura realm.*

In reality, Yun Zheng was only twenty-two, while the monk was twenty-four. Yet, despite Yun Zheng’s youthful, fair-skinned appearance, seven years of brutal warfare had imbued him with such a sharp, decisive killing intent that the monk had subconsciously treated him as an elder.

The three chieftains were also deeply unsettled. The Yang Yinglong in this illusion was clearly far more powerful than the one in reality. Could they still believe that Yun Zheng could perform a miracle?

Admittedly, Yun Zheng had toyed with Chen Yuchong like a cat with a mouse—though the Wusa chieftain had previously referred to Chen Yuchong as a "small pawn," that was only in comparison to the mastermind behind the rebellion. In truth, Chen Yuchong had managed the Chishui territory for six years with absolute control and had even established a direct line of communication with Shao Jiechun, the Right Administration Commissioner of Sichuan; his capabilities were clearly superior to those of the three chieftains.

However, a figure of Yang Yinglong’s stature was on par with the true high-level officials of the Ming Dynasty’s southwestern theater, such as Zhu Xieyuan and Qin Liangyu. And the Yang Yinglong of this world posed a threat no less significant than An Bangyan, the regent of Shuixi and one of the primary instigators of the She-An Rebellion. To neutralize such a threat within a hundred days? It was easier said than done.

Moreover, this illusion was permeated from start to finish with an impenetrable, eerie fog. The three chieftains still could not grasp the internal logic of this reality. What they saw and heard often gave them the feeling that a normal person’s soul had been forcibly crammed into the mind of a lunatic. Many events, when taken in isolation, seemed perfectly normal, but when viewed together, they became completely incomprehensible.

Yet, as they looked at Yun Zheng, the young assistant general’s expression remained steadfast, as if everything were entirely within his grasp.

Yun Zheng’s interrogation did not cease. He had Jin Kaijia drag away the screaming, rolling lackey and select a "lucky contestant" from the remaining group. Jin Kaijia pointed to one of them and grinned hideously, "You were the one waving that iron rod and shouting the loudest, weren't you? You seem quite lively. Shall we have a little chat?"

The questioning continued. Yun Zheng focused primarily on Yang Yinglong—his territories, his industries, his deeds, and his level of martial cultivation. Occasionally, he would ask about the Tian family’s influence in Tongren Prefecture, but even then, he would inevitably steer the questions back to their relationship with Yang Yinglong.

Even the honest monk began to realize what was happening: *This official keeps bringing everything back to Yang Yinglong. Clearly, he is here for Yang Yinglong. Could he be a high-ranking member of the Embroidered Uniform Guard sent by the imperial court, or perhaps a young military genius from the Ming army?*

If the monk could figure this out, the sycophantic lackeys certainly could, too. Suddenly, they all felt as if they had fallen into an ice cellar, cursing themselves for not checking the calendar before leaving the house that day.

At that moment, Yun Zheng suddenly asked the monk, "Are you a monk from Mount Fanjing?"

The Yongshun chieftain thought to himself: *How could that be? If he were just some wandering monk, that would be one thing, but for a monk from Mount Fanjing to be beaten publicly at the foot of the mountain—that would be absurd.*

The monk, however, was startled and replied, "I did indeed take my vows at the holy site of Mount Fanjing in my youth. But many years ago, the evil scoundrel Yang Yinglong pressured the holy site, forcing them to dismiss a large number of young novices. Since then, I have had to fast and pray on my own, living as a wandering monk."

The Wumeng chieftain suddenly understood and explained to his two companions, "It seems that Yang Yinglong suppressed the local power of Mount Fanjing to assist his Tian-surnamed concubine, allowing the Tian family to dominate everything in Tongren Prefecture."

The Wusa chieftain mused, "The Yang Yinglong of reality wouldn't be capable of such absolute dominance in Tongren Prefecture."

In reality, Yang Yinglong did indeed have a concubine named Tian, whom he doted upon so much that he had even murdered his own legal wife and mother-in-law for her sake. Of course, that was the popular rumor; the truth was that the concubine was a direct descendant of the Tian chieftain clan of Sizhou, which had once been counted among the Four Great Chieftain Clans of Guizhou, alongside the Yangs of Bozhou, the Ans of Shuixi, and the Songs of Shuidong.

Although the Sizhou Tian clan had been stripped of their hereditary titles during the early Ming Dynasty by the Yongle Emperor through the policy of replacing native chieftains with imperial officials, and their power had been severely crippled by the Ming military, their roots remained. Despite losing their official status, the Sizhou Tian clan still controlled the underworld of Tongren Prefecture from the shadows.

In Yun Zheng’s words, they had transformed from a noble family into a mafia. That a direct descendant of the Tian clan would now take pride in being a concubine to Yang Yinglong was truly lamentable.

Yun Zheng’s mind raced: *Combining the intelligence provided by these lackeys, it is clear that while the Yang Yinglong of this world is powerful, he is far from being the "destined ruler." Even if the Bozhou Rebellion he launched in this world could rival the scale of the She-An Rebellion decades later, he could not possibly succeed in the middle of the Wanli reign. The problem must lie within the Ming Dynasty itself.*

As he pondered this, a spoiled aristocrat riding a tall steed appeared, leading over a hundred lackeys armed with white wooden clubs, charging toward Yun Zheng’s group with murderous intent. Although Jin Kaijia had not let a single lackey escape, there were clearly other informants in the crowd who had summoned the power behind them.