Chapter 99: Ji Chang Enters the Mansion, Old Huang Wants a Treasure

  And as for Huang Shiren, this scoundrel, when he and Daji were having a wild time together, the outside of the mansion was turned upside down.

  The first great general under Xi Bo Hou, Nan Gong Yu, attempted to assassinate the tyrant King Zhou's noble concubine Daji, but failed. This matter could be big or small; if it is made light of, as long as Huang Shiren and Su Hu let go, the matter will be settled, and it will be as if nothing happened. The king won't know about it, and Ji Chang's days will continue to be good.

  It's getting bigger, if Huang Shiren and Su Hu are holding on to it and making a fuss all the way to King Zhou, heh heh, even thinking about it with the back of my foot, I can understand what will happen when King Zhou is furious.

  Ji Chang's reputation was extremely high, and all the officials in the civil and military departments were protecting him. For Wen Zhong and others, it was not only undesirable for Xi Qi to have trouble, but also unbearable that this great merchant's world would be thrown into chaos because of this. On a personal level, Ji Chang was such a good earl, if he were to be taken away by Old Huang, it would truly be unworthy.

  Ji Chang wanted to go to Huang Shiren's mansion to discuss, and heard that Zhong and Bigan had already arrived early.

  A group of people sat in the courtyard, waiting until nightfall, and waited for several hours. Everyone's eyes were dizzy with golden stars, but they didn't see Huang Shiren's shadow. Many people couldn't bear it anymore.

  Even if it's King Zhou, he wouldn't have made these prime ministers, chancellors, grand masters, and the like wait for so long! Huang Shiren, what a big shot you are!

  When you've been holding it in for too long, your temper gets worse. When your temper is bad, it's easy to scold and curse, and once you start scolding and cursing, a fight is inevitable.

  First, Ji Chang complained about Huang Shiren's framing him, followed by Huang Feihu's helping. On the other side, Su Huo's heart ached for his son-in-law, and Hou Ye's temper was originally explosive. His own "daughter" had been insulted in front of him, how could he tolerate it? He grabbed Ji Chang's beard and beat him up. Su Huo took action, and Huang Feihu, who had the closest relationship with Ji Chang, naturally couldn't stand by and joined in. Wen Zhong, Bi Gan, Shang Rong, and others all went forward to mediate, but also got hit with many slaps and kicks. A group of officials were completely at odds with each other.

  When Huang Shiren arrived at the courtyard, he couldn't help but laugh.

  Ji Chang's eyes were like those of a panda, his beard was pulled out in patches, Su Hu had a blue nose and a swollen face, Huang Feihu's official uniform was torn to shreds, revealing three points, Wen Zhong and the others couldn't help but laugh and cry.

  "What a commotion. Don't mind me, you all continue." Huang Shiran sat down, raised his legs and smiled.

  He did this and everyone stopped fighting.

  "National Preceptor, give me a ruling! The Marquis of Ji Zhou has struck me! I am the Marquis of Xi Bo, how can I be treated like this?!" Ji Chang cried out.

  "Xī Bó Hóu, this matter is none of my business. If you feel wronged, go find the king to settle it." Huang Shi Ren said with a wicked smile.

  One sentence reminded Ji Chang.

  Forget it, for the sake of my great cause, I'll endure it.

  "Ji Chang knew the weight of the matter and said: 'National Master, this is all a misunderstanding. I don't know how you will handle it?'"

  "It's up to you how I'll deal with you." Huang Shiren looked up and down at Jichang, making him feel uneasy.

  "What does the national teacher mean by this?"

  "So, you and I will discuss this privately, how about that?" Huang Shiren stood up and put his arm around Ji Chang.

  "Success."

  The two of them walked shoulder to shoulder and back to back, in front of the crowd of civil and military officials, into the inner chamber, leaving Wen Zhong and others staring with their mouths agape.

  "My goodness, no matter how I look at it, it doesn't seem like discussing national affairs, but rather like dividing spoils among thieves."

  As soon as they entered the house, Huang Shiren closed the door and his smile disappeared. He sat down, his face twisted into a sinister scowl, completely restoring his original appearance of a mountain bandit, which made Ji Chang's heart skip a beat.

  Ji Chang is indeed very cunning, but after all, he has been dependent on others for food and clothing since childhood. Compared to Huang Shiren, who wears his brain on his waistband, Ji Chang can't even begin to compete. Without even discussing the matter, Ji Chang has already lost in terms of momentum.

  "Xī Bó Hóu, you've done a great job over these decades." Huáng Shì Rén said with a sarcastic tone.

  "Ha ha, the State Preceptor is overpraising me," said Ji Chang with a smile. "I, Ji Chang, have been loyal to King Zhou of Shang with all my heart, and have governed the country with benevolence and righteousness, which has earned me some small reputation."

  "Oh. But I don't think so." Huang Shiren chuckled and said, "You say you are loyal to the great merchant, but I heard that Xiqi has long been recruiting soldiers and buying horses, and now they have a strong army and are accumulating grain and fodder on a large scale, winning over the hearts of the people. I also heard that there is a rumor circulating in Xiqi that 'the phoenix sings on Mount Qi, and the great Zhou will rise again', which is said to have originated from your noble mansion. Furthermore, I heard that someone has been pulling strings in Chaoge, forming cliques and pursuing personal interests. Ah, yes, Wang Xia'er, the number one tailor in Chaoge, received an order for a dragon robe, which was also placed by someone from the west... Hehe, Lord Xi, wouldn't happen to be you?"

  These words made Ji Chang break out in a cold sweat.

  What's wrong with Huang Shiren, how can he be so ignorant!?

  "Hehe, the national teacher is joking." Ji Chang did not dare to answer directly, and smiled slightly, trying to cover it up.

  Bang! Huang Shiren slapped the table in front of him, sending it flying out, and the plates and bowls shattered. Ji Chang was so frightened that he almost slid off his chair.

  "Ha! You think you can deceive me, a cultivator? Your little tricks may fool others, but not me! Huang Shiren narrowed his eyes and pointed at Ji Chang's nose: "What a fame-seeking, ambitious scoundrel! As the national teacher, if I report your misdeeds to the king, along with that Nan Gong Yu's ghostly affair, do you think His Majesty will let you off?"

  Ji Chang stared at Huang Shiren, his face gloomy for a long time, then burst out laughing.

  This old thing, really worthy of the world's number one thick skin, can still laugh out loud, almost surpassing me. Seeing Ji Chang's performance, Old Huang also praised him a bit.

  "National Preceptor, since we are all intelligent people, let's open the window and speak frankly. What do you want?" Ji Chang knew that continuing to beat around the bush was completely unnecessary, so he got straight to the point.

  Good grief, if you'd said so earlier, it would have saved me a lot of breath!

  Huang Shiren plopped down on his butt, having long since made up his mind to swindle the old man out of his land.

  Ji Chang, the majestic Marquis of the West, was the richest man under heaven. He didn't think much of ordinary gold and silver, but he had long been eyeing something on Ji Chang's person with great desire.

  "I've long heard that the Marquis of Xi Bo has two things in his possession, which are extremely effective and can predict five hundred years ahead or behind. I wonder if this is true?" Huang Shi Ren said with a low voice and a smile.

  Ji Chang's face suddenly turned ashen upon hearing these words.

  This person, Ji Chang, is most famous for his heavenly and earthly divination skills that can move ghosts and gods. In the past, Fu Xi created the eight trigrams, fully grasping the numerical patterns of heaven and earth; this skill was unmatched even by the greatest sages in the immortal realm. Later, Fu Xi became one of the Three Sovereigns, and the eight trigrams spread among the people, with only Ji Chang being able to develop and glorify them between heaven and earth.

  This guy not only evolved the complex Bagua into sixty-four hexagrams, but also created a complete set of hexagram methods that surpassed Fu Xi, and the world's number one classic "I Ching" came from this.

  As the 222nd leader of the Tianji Pavilion in front of Mount Kongtong, Huang Shiran was extremely familiar with these ghostly affairs. Moreover, he knew a legend passed down from his ancestors, which was naturally related to Ji Chang.

  Think about it, what kind of person is Fuxi? This guy isn't even human, but a saint born when the sky and earth were first opened. He has infinite merit for teaching and transforming humanity. Later, a dragon horse emerged from the Yellow River and presented the river map to Fuxi. Fuxi used this to create the eight trigrams, spreading his virtue to all living things, and ultimately becoming one of the Three Sovereigns.

  What kind of goods is Ji Chang? An ordinary person, he has ability and can be compared to Fu Xi? Fu Xi didn't even come up with the 64 hexagrams, but he did, what does this show?

  It is said that this man has in his possession not only the He Map left behind by Fu Xi, but also the Luo Book left behind by Da Yu!

  What is the Luo Book? In the year of Yu's water control, he repeatedly failed. The gods and ghosts floated out of the Luo River, carrying the Luo Book on their backs, presenting it to Yu, who then used it to control the floodwaters, dividing them into nine states, establishing the nine chapters of great law, allowing humanity to survive.

  The Hetu is in charge of the regularity, and the Luoshu is in charge of the changes. This is because the Hetu implies the normal course of heaven's way, so Fuxi can teach and transform humanity, while the Luoshu contains the unusual changes of heaven's way, so Da Yu can deal with the unpredictable floods.

  Ji Chang obtained the River Chart, understood the Eight Trigrams, and also got the Luo Book, mastering its variations, so he could naturally deduce the sixty-four hexagrams.

  This is the Tianji Observatory's ancestral secret passed down through generations!

  Lao Huang, why bother plotting against Ji Chang? Isn't it all for the sake of the He Tu and Luo Shu?

  Why does Lao Huang want to get his hands on this River Map Book?

  Hello, the reason is simple, this Hetu Luoshu is one of the pre-heavenly spiritual treasures!

  Don't think that Fuxi and Da Yu casually picked up these two things, if it weren't for the heavenly way's transformation with a deliberate intention to bestow them, how would they have obtained them?

  This time, heh heh, Old Huang is determined to get his hands on this thing no matter what!

  Old Huang thought of this, and his mouth began to water.

  Ji Chang's heart sank to his anus.

  Fuxi was born in the west, and at that time Fuxi's hometown was within the Western Zhou. Ji Chang obtained the Hetu, which was a long time ago. As for the Luoshu, after Da Yu died, it was passed down to the Xia Dynasty. After the Xia Dynasty was destroyed by the Shang Dynasty, it was stored in the Temple of the Great King of Shang. Ji Chang also accidentally learned about it and cheated his way into getting it from the temple sacrifices.

  He is a clever man, who has spent decades studying and has recently felt that he has vaguely grasped the fundamentals. He was secretly pleased with himself, but today when Huang Shiren asked him for these two things, how could he not be anxious?

  The prosperity of Western Zhou today and the smoothness of his life are all due to these two treasures, which allow him to know things before they happen.

  "This is the family heirloom of the Western Qi, it absolutely cannot be given to this guy. Ji Chang put his heart at ease and smiled: 'National Master is joking, if you have taken a liking to my treasure, I will naturally offer it up.'"

  After finishing speaking, Ji Chang took out two things from his sleeve and placed them on the table.

  Lao Huang took a look, one was a white tortoise shell, and the other was a white divination stalk. These two things, people all over the world who know how to divine have them, but although Ji Chang's two items are not ordinary, they absolutely aren't the Hetu Luoshu.

  "Are you teasing me, Marquis of Xi Bo?" Huang Shiren knew that Ji Chang was slippery and didn't mince words: "I want two things from you, the Hetu and Luoshu. Not one less! If you give them to me, we'll talk nicely and I'll pretend I didn't see anything. But if you don't give them to me, well... sorry to say, tomorrow morning in the grand hall, with just a few words, not only will I wipe out your Ji clan's nine generations, but also turn Xiqi into ashes!"

  "Do you believe me when I say this, or don't you?"

  Lao Huang finished speaking, his big hand shook, and the fierce golden finger appeared in front of Ji Chang.

  "A decent person doesn't do shady things. That Nan Gong Yu is just being castrated by my precious, I don't mind, let you have a good time, what's the intention of the Marquis of Xi Bo?"

  Looking at the golden fingers, staring at this cheap person's face that was as cruel and ruthless as a murderer, Ji Chang felt that he might be in trouble this time. #### First update is here!