The Empress's No.1 Lackey

Kuangfu Society's proxy?

Zhao Douan was genuinely startled when the middle-aged man introduced himself.

After Zhuang Xiaocheng had left, two successive Branch Leaders had failed miserably. Based on information gathered by the Imperial Court, there were currently no leaders among the rebels within the Capital.

Just overseen by senior society members from the city... Was that this person here?

Not officially titled as a Squad Leader, but actually in control as a proxy?

Could the State Preceptor of the Demon Path really have sent such a high-level fish straight to him... His style of operation, indeed, was just as Zhenbao had described, perverse and flamboyant... Well, if this middle-aged man wasn't lying.

Many thoughts flashed through his mind.

A cold smirk appeared on Zhao Douan's face:

"Listen to you? As far as I know, that Demon Path's best skill is to bewitch others with words, do you think I'd fall for that? Why shouldn't I just capture you and interrogate you slowly in the Imperial Prison?"

The clothes shopkeeper smiled slightly:

"Because the State Preceptor knows that with your abilities, you wouldn't fear mere words and miss the opportunity to talk with us. Moreover, it's just me here, not the State Preceptor, so what bewitchment could there be?"

Zhao Douan's gaze lingered on the man's bloodshot eyes.

Though he appeared amiable, that smile on his face always carried a hint of wickedness... clearly not quite normal!

Such details had not been mentioned at the minor court assembly.

Clearly, the abilities controlled by that Demon Path were far richer than what the court had known.

"Heh, your master behind the scenes guessed right, I do indeed want to hear what you have come to say," Zhao Douan suddenly smiled, then abruptly turned cold as he said:

"No more nonsense, speak, what did the Demon Path send you to do?"

The middle-aged man replied earnestly, "The State Preceptor would like you to abandon the dark and join the Kuangfu Society, to plan great endeavors together."

Zhao Douan was stunned, his first reaction was that he had heard wrong.

But seeing the other's earnest and sincere demeanor, a sense of absurdity washed over him.

He laughed, "Hah," and couldn't help but shift his sitting position, scoffing:

"Is it the Demon Path who's gone mad, or is it Zhuang Xiaocheng? Or perhaps all you rebels have lost your minds?"

Persuade to defect?

Abandon the dark for the light?

To have him join the Kuangfu Society?

Zhao Douan laughed in disbelief, just then, the water in the copper hot pot in front of him began to bubble.

He picked up the long chopsticks and put two pieces of jade-green cabbage leaves from the plate into the pot, his demeanor turning very natural:

"Why should I join you? Just because the court is becoming stronger day by day, and you are diminishing?"

The middle-aged clothes shopkeeper did not smile, but leaned slightly forward, still looking serious:

"Your Excellency finds it funny?"

"Isn't it funny?" Zhao Douan retorted.

The middle-aged rebel shook his head and sighed:

"It seems to me that Your Excellency is like the vegetables in this pot, only feeling the temperature and yet unaware that you will ultimately be just a meal in someone else's mouth."

He paused, then continued saying:

"Perhaps in your view, sir, you've been quite successful recently, your power in the court climbing steadily, repeatedly doing the Fake Emperor's bidding, overthrowing political enemies one by one, and beheading two from our Heavenly Gang in Kuangfu Society, and expecting a future as Prime Minister... But, sir, you're failing to see the woods for the trees, trapped in a plot without realizing it."

This statement had somewhat the nature of a street fortune-teller's intimidation.

Zhao Douan normally wouldn't care, but for some reason, he felt a bit of anticipation.

He held the long chopsticks, squinting his eyes, and asked with a smile:

"A plot? What plot have I fallen into? Let's hear it."

His demeanor, however, was like watching a performance.

Yet the middle-aged man seemed unconcerned and instead asked with a smile, "Have you ever read the 'Records of Leaving Buddha Country'?"

The 'Records of Leaving Buddha Country' was a very ancient book in this world, recording many stories of Buddhas from the Buddhist pantheon thousands of years ago.

It was considered mythology in this world, its early origins difficult to verify, but widely circulated, adapted into operas, and a classic tale among storytellers in teahouses.

Zhao Douan hadn't read the original but had heard some fragmented storytelling, which gave him a rudimentary understanding; he nodded his head.

The man continued:

"In 'Records of Leaving Buddha Country,' there is a story about several Buddhas in Buddha Country, with the highest World-Honored One ruling over them like a mortal emperor over the mortal world. And among the Buddhas, three were most powerful because each controlled a powerful Magic Artifact."

"The Zunwang Buddha held the prayer wheel, with a turn of its handle, the Buddhist scriptures within shone brightly, capable of reversing time and interfering with reincarnation."

"The Bao Guang Buddha held a blue lamp, the spark within capable of burning all three realms."

"Medicine Buddha holds the Seven-Colored Magic Conch, and when he blows it, he can make myriad creatures intoxicated and submissive."

He continued to narrate:

"The three great Buddhas, relying on the Magic Artifacts in their hands, gradually expanded their power in Buddha Country, stirring up storms, and even the Buddha himself could do nothing. The Buddha then wanted to retrieve the three Magic Artifacts, but was concerned that the three great Buddhas would not agree.

If he tried to take them by force, he feared that the three Buddhas might take the Magic Artifacts and turn to the Demon Path or leave Buddha Country to establish their own sects. In distress over how to retrieve the Magic Artifacts, the Buddha set a trap."

"He feigned seclusion and sleep, but secretly contacted a mortal named Moluo and taught him supreme Magic, guiding Moluo to invade Buddha Country.

Moluo, with a rebellious nature, entered Buddha Country and tore up the scriptures in the prayer wheels, blew out the flames on the blue lanterns, and stuffed the Seven-Colored Magic Conch with sand and dust to silence it... causing great chaos in Buddha Country."

Wait a minute... this story sounds vaguely familiar... Some Otherworld version of "Monkey King"?

...Zhao Douan gradually became engrossed and did not interrupt.

The middle-aged shopkeeper continued:

"Moluo caused great chaos in Buddha Country, and the three great Buddhas were also greatly troubled. At a critical moment, the Buddha emerged from seclusion, unable to contain his anger, suppressed Moluo with great Mana, and restored peace in Buddha Country.

He redrew the scriptures, repaired the prayer wheels, headed south to the fiery skies to borrow divine fire to rekindle the blue lanterns, and used the East Sea to clear the Seven-Colored Magic Conch...

Zunwang, Bao Guang, and Medicine Buddha were deeply grateful, and the Buddha, through this battle, faced no obstacles in reclaiming the three great Magic Artifacts."

He paused for a moment, then said earnestly:

"The trap laid by the Buddha was the 'Three Buddhas Offering Treasures Scheme,' and the strategy determined by the Buddha was indeed a legitimate and open plot. Many in later generations have imitated it."

"In years gone by, the General of Western Expedition led his troops who were short of provisions. To prevent unrest among the soldiers, he purposely had the food officers allocate small measures of food to the soldiers. The soldiers became furious, and in the heat of their collective anger, the general publicly executed the food officer, proclaiming that the cereal had been embezzled by this pest, and instantly the soldiers' rage was quelled."

"Going back further, when Emperor Ling divided the fiefs, to prevent the Royal Family Vassal Kings from gaining too much power, he enacted a decree to equally distribute the fiefdoms among the Vassal Kings' heirs, shifting what should have been a struggle between the Vassal Kings and the Emperor to a conflict among the Vassal Kings' heirs..."

"All this is no different from the 'Three Buddhas Offering Treasures Scheme.'"

The middle-aged man said all this in one breath.

Leaning forward, his hands supporting the corners of the table, and staring with those bloodshot eyes at Zhao Douan, who appeared thoughtful, his voice involuntarily grew louder:

"Sir, what do you think, how is your current situation different from the 'Three Buddhas Offering Treasures'?"

His voice carried an invisible power of Gu Huo:

"Now, the Fake Emperor rules, opposing the Eight Princes, but at the end of the day, the struggle between the Fake Emperor and the Eight Princes is still an internal conflict among the Imperial Family members.

Do you think, if the Fake Emperor's power grows and she secures her position on the throne, she will truly slaughter all the Eight Princes? No! She will not!

She will not commit such a great sin. She now proclaims that the Second Prince, Jian Wen, murdered his brothers and father, slaughtered his sisters, to ascend the throne under the guise of justice. How could she then slaughter her uncles and relatives and bear the eternal infamy?"

"But... the struggle with the Eight Princes is inevitable; thus, if the Fake Emperor is 'the Buddha,' and the Eight Princes are 'the three Buddhas,' then the Fake Emperor also needs to find a 'Moluo' to create chaos.

Openly, she will appeal to the Eight Princes emotionally, with respect as uncles, and address the Princely Heirs and Commandery Princesses as brothers and sisters, appearing peaceful and courteous, yet secretly she sends servants like you to fight and struggle...

For now, it is manageable, but once she secures her position and the Eight Princes no longer resist, when the Imperial Family reconciles,

then... guess, will the Fake Emperor publicly execute you, claiming you targeted the princes on your own, or claim you incited confusion? To maintain the warm relationships within the Imperial Family?"

The shopkeeper's speaking rate increased, and his eyes grew redder.

In the depths of his pupils, two swirling dark eyes glittered, radiating an invisible power,

Causing Zhao Douan, sitting across and listening, to unconsciously be convinced, to believe, to contemplate this possibility.

"Gurgle, gurgle..."

The copper pot on the table boiled again, forming large bubbles.

The white broth churned with tofu, vegetables, and the overcooked, pale rolls of mutton.

Zhao Douan snapped out of his trance, as if awakening from a dream, and looked across the copper pot.

The middle-aged shopkeeper had already sat up straight, holding his melon-skinned cap like a gentleman, with a mild and elegant smile on his face.

"Clap... clap... clap..."

Suddenly, the sound of Zhao Douan gently clapping resonated in the private room.

His hands softly clapping, his face showed an admiring expression, and he profoundly said:

"An excellent 'Three Buddhas Offering Treasures Scheme,' an excellent Gu Huo National Master, an excellent heart-searching debate. So, are these words taught to you by the Demon Path, spoken to confuse me into defecting and rebelling?"

The middle-aged man shook his head and said:

"Sir, you are mistaken, the National Master truly never confuses others."

"Oh?" Zhao Douan was genuinely surprised.

He listened as the middle-aged man earnestly explained:

"The National Master never confuses others; he merely brings out and amplifies the inherent desires and fears. We know there are people in the court who say that the Second Prince Jian Wen's coup was influenced by the National Master."

He snorted, as if to scoff at this idea, and shook his head:

"A fine excuse to shirk responsibility. But in reality, if the Second Prince had no thoughts of a coup or seizing power in his heart, the National Master could not have confused him. As the saying goes, confusion requires pre-existing thoughts; without desire, confusion cannot succeed."

"People resist what they don't want to hear and are inclined to listen to what they wish to hear."

"Thus, the Old Emperor wanted immortality, wished to hear that Magic could help him live forever, and when the National Master said he could help him, the Old Emperor believed him. That was all."

"So, you too fear being discarded by the Fake Emperor as an Abandoned Child, I am merely helping you voice it. How can that be called confusing you?"