Chapter 70: Divine Stick

  "The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao; the name that can be named is not the eternal name. The Nameless is the origin of heaven and earth. The Named is the mother of all things. Therefore, always desireless, one observes its wonders; always desiring, one observes its manifestations. These two are the same in source but different in name. This sameness is called the Mystery. The Mystery of Mysteries is the gateway to all wonders. The Tao gives birth to One, One gives birth to Two, Two gives birth to Three, and Three gives birth to ten thousand things. Ten thousand things carry yin on their backs and yang in their arms, blending qi to create harmony. What people hate is being orphaned, childless, and without posterity, but kings and dukes consider these as titles of honor. Therefore, some things are increased by being diminished, and some things are diminished by being increased. What others teach, I also teach."

  The man on the stage was talking incessantly, while the elderly men below were nodding their heads and stroking their beards, listening with great interest. For a long time, no one paid attention to Long Fei and his companions. Although Long Fei didn't know what he was saying, some of the sentences sounded familiar. It seemed like they were from the "Tao Te Ching", which talked about the laws of nature and the universe, as well as the mindset for self-cultivation. The "Tao Te Ching" could be considered the first philosophical work of humanity since ancient times, predating European philosophies by several hundred years.

  "Clap, clap, clap..." Long Fei suddenly applauded. The sound was not loud originally, but in this quiet courtyard, it was exceptionally clear. The person on the stage, as well as the four elderly men below, and Zhuge Liang and Pang Tong all turned their heads to look at Long Fei. Long Fei took a step forward: "What a wonderful 'Dao gives birth to one, one gives birth to two, two gives birth to three, three gives birth to ten thousand things.' I dare ask, sir, what is Dao? What is one? What is two? What is three? What are the ten thousand things?"

  Everyone glared at Long Fei with anger, except for the person on stage who looked him up and down before turning to look at the old man who had brought Long Fei in. The old man nodded slightly. The person on stage smiled faintly: "According to your words, what is the Tao?"

  "The Way is natural, all things grow and live according to rules, the sun rises and sets, the four seasons come and go, all because of the Earth's regular rotation, this rotation is endless and never stops, so speaking of the Way is speaking of nature and rules!"

  "What is one?"

  Long Fei shook his head: "This is something to ask you, sir. What you said is so ingenious, how can a common person like me know these things? So I'm seeking your guidance."

  "That person smiled and said: 'One is the beginning of all things, everything in the world comes from one. The branches and leaves of the great tree that fills the sky are also grown from a single seed, and the small birds in the forest are hatched from individual eggs...'"

  "Wait a minute!" Long Fei interrupted: "In that case, it seems to make some sense. May I ask, Mr., which came first, the bird or the egg?"

  "It's the egg that comes first!" An old man in black clothes glared at Long Fei with an angry expression: "What Mr. Xu said, eggs are one, and all birds hatch from eggs! Of course, it's the egg that comes first!"

  Long Fei burst out laughing and immediately asked: "Where did the bird egg come from?"

  "Of course, bird eggs are laid by old birds..." Before he could finish his sentence, the old man in black was stunned. This question of which came first, the chicken or the egg, simply had no answer. If we were to explain it from an evolutionary perspective, it would be that some kind of variation occurred in the egg and a new species of animal, the chicken, hatched from it. But how could these old guys know anything about evolution?

  The rest of the old men also fell into contemplation. Long Fei secretly changed the subject, playing with several old guys in a circle, and he himself didn't speak, sitting next to him, sneaking a smile. Mr. Xu coughed loudly: "Tao Fa emphasizes following nature, whether it's the chicken or the egg first, Tao Fa says that birds come from eggs, eggs are born from birds, eggs and birds are born endlessly! There is no need to pursue these questions of who came first."

  After finishing speaking, Mr. Xu slowly stood up from the steps and walked towards Long Fei. Long Fei also stood up, and the two exchanged greetings. Mr. Xu stared blankly at Long Fei's face without saying a word. Long Fei felt strange in his heart, and just as he was at a loss for what to do, Mr. Xu said: "I, Xu Zuo, have seen countless people in my lifetime, but I have never seen such a strange appearance. Between your eyebrows, it is uncertain whether you are auspicious or evil, perhaps destined for great wealth and honor, or maybe doomed to die in a foreign land. It seems like you have the appearance of rising to greatness, yet also the fate of being impoverished and defeated. How strange!"

  "Sir! Is he the one we're looking for?" The old man in black was somewhat impatient.

  Xu Jue slightly shook his head and then hastily nodded: "It seems to be but also doesn't seem to be, this matter is of great importance, only the emperor can make a decision!"

  All four nodded. Zhuge Liang and Pang Tong hastily entered the house. Not long after, an elderly man with a white head and beard walked out. The old man was all in white from head to toe, with white hair, eyebrows, and beard, and his clothes and shoes were also all white. His face was ruddy, and he walked with a strong gait. He should be very old, but his waist was not bent and his back was not hunched, with his hands clasped behind his back. A gust of wind blew by, and the one-foot-long beard flew up, revealing a palm-sized dragon-patterned jade pendant on his chest. Dragon Flying Eye saw at a glance that it was indeed the mark of Hei Bing.

  Four old men and Xu Shao hastily knelt down on the ground, addressing him as "Your Majesty". The white-haired old man nodded slightly, ignoring the people kneeling on the ground, but cast a sharp gaze at Long Fei. His eyes were deep and piercing, making Long Fei's back feel cold. Dian Wei immediately took a step forward, standing beside Long Fei, pointing at the old man and shouting: "What are you doing? What's your name? Hurry up and say it! Otherwise, Uncle Dian won't let you off!"

  The old man with white hair snorted, his robe sleeves fluttering as he sent Wei Tian flying straight up into the air, over Long Fei's head and out of the courtyard wall, crashing to the ground outside. Long Fei immediately became vigilant - Wei Tian was a fierce warrior after all, yet this old man had effortlessly sent him flying from three zhang away; what kind of method did he use?! The martial arts moves in those novels were something Long Fei never believed in. He gave Huang Zhong a look, and Huang Zhong hastily went out to check on Wei Tian while he himself exchanged a glance with Zhao Yun, turning his body sideways to warily watch the old man.

  "You people who don't understand etiquette, this time it's just a small punishment. Left Shu Zhang, remember to discipline your subordinates more in the future!" The old man turned his head and ordered Xu Shao and others who were kneeling on the ground to get up.

  Xu Jue stood up and looked at the old man, who nodded. Xu Jue then said: "Left Prime Minister Long Fei, this is one of the four great elders of our Black Ice, Yu Ji Xian Chang!"

  Yu Ji? The Yu Ji who teased Sun Ce. Long Fei was a bit confused, Yu Ji at most could be considered a charlatan, or more politely put, a Jianghu technician, and yet he was one of the four great elders of Hei Bing. Looking at it this way, Hei Bing really did have all sorts of people from all walks of life. Xu Shao continued to introduce them: "These few individuals, Water Mirror Mr. Sima Hui, Pang De Gong, Zhuge Xuan, Huang Chengyan, these two young men, one is the Sleeping Dragon Zhuge Liang, who is Zhuge Xuan's nephew, and the other is the Phoenix Chick Pang Tong, who is Pang De Gong's nephew, all of whom are people from my Hei Bing."

  Long Fei was stunned, and others didn't know, but he was very clear. These people were all top-notch talents, helping Liu Bei seize Jingzhou and then entering Shu, establishing the Shuhan dynasty, which can be said to be a great achievement that cannot be ignored. However, they were all black ice people. Thinking of this, Long Fei's heart skipped a beat, no wonder Yu Ji risked his life to kill Sun Ce back then, just to prepare for Liu Bei to take down Jingzhou. If Sun Ce didn't die, Jingzhou would definitely belong to the Sun family, and naturally, there would be no Liu Bei. For Liu Bei, this group of people had gone to great lengths.

  Yu Ji said to Long Fei after Xu Shao finished speaking: "I heard that Sun Jian's jade seal is in your hands, take it out!"

  Long Fei looked at the few people, just about to speak. Suddenly, a loud shout was heard from outside, and the wooden door flew open. Dian Wei held his own double halberds, eyes wide with anger. Huang Zhong tightly hugged him, while Dian Wei shouted loudly: "Dare to ambush me! Come out and fight with Grandpa for 300 rounds!" Before he finished speaking, more than a dozen black-clad men rushed out from the front and back of the house, each covering their faces with black cloth, surrounding Dian Wei, Long Fei and others.

  Huang Zhong glanced at Long Fei. Long Fei nodded slightly. Huang Zhong pretended not to notice. Dian Wei charged towards Yu Ji with his twin halberds. The black-clad man hastily rushed out to block Yu Ji's path. Dian Wei didn't care if they were skilled in martial arts or not, and swung his iron halberds wildly, striking left and right with a whooshing sound. This group of black-clad men had decent martial skills, although they weren't as fierce as Dian Wei, but they were agile and coordinated, obviously well-trained.

  "General Long, stop at once!" Xu Shao hastily shouted.

  Jian Wei had already knocked down three or four people when Long Fei finally spoke up. Although he stopped his hand, Jian Wei's eyes were still fixed on Yu Ji, burning with anger. At this time, Yu Ji didn't use the same move again and retreated into the house under the protection of a group of people. Long Fei was even more certain that there must be some trick to Jian Wei's attack. Long Fei walked up to Jian Wei and said to Yu Ji and the others, "Alright, I do have the Jade Seal here, but if you want me to hand it over, what's in it for me?"

  "Despicable! You actually dare to negotiate with the guardian of the law! Don't forget, you are also a member of the Black Ice Sect!"

  "Haha!" Long Fei laughed and said: "Yes, I am a Black Ice Sect member. When we do things, there is always a reward. You did say you wanted to take the Jade Seal, but you didn't mention the price!"

  "How much?" Yuji asked.

  "What about Jingzhou?" Long Fei didn't hesitate: "The world is in chaos, I think Jingzhou is a good place, it can go north, south or west, such a strategic location, whoever gets it will have the possibility of being enfeoffed as a marquis or appointed as a general. As for me, I just want to be rich and content, give me Jingzhou and I'll hand over the Imperial Seal with both hands. Compared to the symbol of power, the Imperial Seal, Jingzhou is not a big deal!"

  "You dare to threaten us!" Yu Ji angrily said: "Do you know the power of Hei Bing? Since ancient times, those who threatened Hei Bing have never had a good outcome! Wang Mang is a very good example, if he can help him rise, he can also bring him down! The emperor is like this, let alone you."

  "It seems that it can't be discussed!" Long Fei shook his head: "If Hei Bing is like you guys, pretending to be mysterious and sinister, what do I have to fear? Believe it or not, I can let all of you die here right now!"

  "How dare you!" Pang De was furious, searching around and taking down a long sword from the back wall, drawing it out with a clang, pointing at Long Fei: "You dare to be unfavorable to the protector, I'll kill you!"

  "Then try it!" Long Fei suddenly took a step forward, before Pang De could react, he swung the dagger left and right, and Pang De's long sword was cut into three sections. Zhuge Xuan stared with wide eyes, pointing at Long Fei: "You are a descendant of the Jing family?" Sima Hui, Huang Chengyan, Xu Shao, even Yu Ji were shocked, staring at the blood-red dagger in Long Fei's hand, their mouths agape.