Chapter 23: Huang Liang's Dream

  "God... Immortal?" Zhao Shu and the others heard Zhao Yan's words, all with disbelieving expressions, even feeling a bit absurd. Not to mention whether there are immortals in this world, even if they really exist, with Zhao Yan's previous behavior of doing evil, he would probably only invite the immortal's punishment, or even a heavenly thunderbolt!

  "Huh?" Thinking of being struck by lightning, Zhao Shu and others were shocked to look at Zhao Yan, because they all thought that Zhao Yan had indeed been struck by lightning before, could it be that the last time was really a punishment from the gods for Zhao Yan?

  Cao Ying's face changed dramatically, originally she had already suspected that Zhao Yan being struck by lightning on their wedding night was all because of her own wish to the heavens beforehand. However, she didn't really believe in the sayings about gods and immortals, even though her grandfather was called "Old Immortal" by others, Cao Ying knew that he was just an ordinary old man with profound knowledge and medical skills, who also needed to eat and drink like everyone else, not some kind of immortal. But now, Zhao Yan's matter had made her somewhat believe in the sayings about gods and immortals, and hearing Zhao Yan personally admit to encountering a god made Cao Ying even more convinced that this world probably really did have gods.

  Seeing the look on Zhao Shu and others' faces, Zhao Yan also guessed that they were thinking of his previous thunderbolt incident. He spread out his hands and said: "That's right, it was during the recent period when I was struck by lightning. Perhaps to outsiders, I just fainted for a moment, but to me, I don't know how many years passed, and I was even taken to a mysterious place by two Taoist priests disguised as gods."

  "An immortal? A fairy?" Zhao Xu's expression was also extremely excited, although he wasn't an emperor like Song Zhenzong who liked to pursue immortality, but he was very interested in the legend of fairies. Especially since his own son had actually seen a fairy, which made him even more convinced of the legend.

  "Third brother, what are the names of those two Taoist immortals and what do they look like?" Empress Gao asked with a suspicious expression on her face. She still didn't quite believe in Zhao Yan's encounter with the immortals, thinking it was too absurd.

  "They didn't mention their names, but one of the middle-aged Taoists was tall and majestic, with a face like jade, and three long whiskers under his chin. He wore a precious sword on his back, and another Taoist called him 'Hui Dao Ren'. When he said this, Zhao Yan deliberately paused as if thinking for a moment, then continued: "The other one was an old Taoist priest who wore a strange purple Taoist robe, and claimed to be an acquaintance of Emperor Taizong. He treated me with great kindness, but never mentioned his name."

  "Return to the Taoist! The purple Taoist robe!" Zhao Xun first exchanged a glance with Empress Gao, both of their eyes filled with uncontrollable shock. Huaidao Ren was an alias for Lü Dongbin, the Pure Yang True Man, but it wasn't widely known, and Zhao Yan hadn't studied or learned about it before, so it was normal that he didn't know. As for the purple-robed Taoist who had a past with Emperor Taizong, it was likely that legendary Chen Chuan Old Man who slept for a thousand years. He had once paid respects to Emperor Taizong and when he left, the emperor gave him a purple robe as a gift. Fewer people knew about this matter, and it was only recorded in some secret archives within the palace, which Zhao Yan wouldn't have known about before.

  "Yan'er, where did those two immortals take you, and what did they say?" Zhao Shu asked anxiously at this time. If he had previously been half-believing and half-doubting about Zhao Yan's encounter with the gods, now he believed more than half of it.

  The two immortals said nothing, but when they saw me, they sighed and called me a "foolish child". Then, with a single finger pointed at my forehead, I fell into a daze. When I came to, I found myself in a strange place where there were countries and people just like before, but the people there could manufacture huge iron birds called airplanes that could carry hundreds of people flying high up in the sky, they could also manufacture four-wheeled cars that could run thousands of miles on flat roads in one day, and they could use something called a mobile phone to communicate with each other even if they were separated by thousands of miles...

  Zhao Yan brought up many high-tech products from later generations, which seemed ordinary to him, but were almost unbelievable to Zhao Shu and other ancient people. They widened their eyes one by one, and even thought that Zhao Yan might have gone to the realm of the gods, because only legendary gods could explain the incredible things that came out of Zhao Yan's mouth.

  Finally, I settled down there and lived like an ordinary person, studying and working, without knowing how many years had passed. Suddenly one day, the two immortals appeared again, touched my forehead once more, and then I woke up. When I woke up, the first thing I saw was still Cao Ying in the bridal chamber, and the red candles in the bridal chamber hadn't burned much.

  Zhao Yan made a wry smile and shook his head. The explanation he came up with actually followed the pattern of "The Yellow Millet Dream". It's said that back then, Lü Dongbin had a dream like this and was transformed into an immortal by Tieguai Li. Moreover, Lü Dongbin liked to give people guidance through dreams, earning him the nickname "God of Guiding Dreams".

  When Zhao Yan described the experience in his dream so vividly, although there were many incredible places, it was absolutely impossible to be a lie, which made Zhao Shu and others also firmly believe in what Zhao Yan said. Unfortunately, they didn't know that those were all real experiences of Zhao Yan's previous life, as for the affairs of Lü Dongbin and Chen Tuan, they were things he saw in his later years.

  "Third brother, according to what you said, the place where you were sent by the two immortals should be the Immortal Realm, right?" Zhao Yun, who was lying on the bed, suddenly asked with a face full of longing. He was also very envious that his third brother could have such a good fortune, and he even had an impulse to give up his current identity and live in the world of Zhao Yan's dreams.

  "Big brother, that place is absolutely not the legendary fairyland!" Zhao Yan interrupted Zhao Yun's fantasy, lest they really get obsessed with seeking immortality. So he explained again, "Dad, big brother, the place I went to has many incredible magical powers, but the people there still have countries and armies, and wars will break out between nations due to interests. Ordinary people also have their own desires, and when they grow old, they will die, so they are absolutely not the legendary immortals."

  "War!" Zhao Shu's eyes lit up when he heard this, and he asked somewhat urgently, "Yan'er, what kind of weapons do the people there use in war? Their armor and swords must be more solid and sharp than ours, right?"

  For Zhao Xu's lack of imagination, Zhao Yan also secretly wiped away sweat, thinking about the wars of later generations, if someone put on armor and picked up a sword, they would probably be blown to pieces by the enemy before even leaving the military camp. However, this is not Zhao Xu's fault, as the limitations of his era restricted his vision, making it impossible for him to imagine the powerful weapons of later generations.

  "Dad, the people there don't wear armor or use swords when they fight. Instead, they use other more powerful weapons. The most common one is called a gun, not like the ones our army uses. This kind of gun can shoot bullets and kill enemies hundreds of steps away. Ordinary armor can't stop bullets at all. They also have cannons that can destroy a house with one shot, and even more advanced missiles that can wipe out an entire village with just one missile. And there's something even scarier - nuclear bombs. Just one nuclear bomb can destroy the whole city of Kaifeng, killing almost everyone, and for decades or even hundreds of years to come, the land will be uninhabitable, not suitable for human survival. Even if some people survive, their children born afterwards will mostly be deformed..."

  "Don't say that!" Zhao Yan was cut off by Zhao Shu's trembling voice before he could finish speaking. He really couldn't imagine that such a weapon existed in this world, and although he had only heard Zhao Yan describe it, it already made his hands and feet turn cold with fear. The two women beside him, Empress Gao and Cao Ying, were also frightened to the point of losing their composure, especially when they heard that even children born would be mutants, which made them feel an unspeakable terror towards the world in Zhao Yan's dream.

  However, Zhao Yan smiled self-deprecatingly and said: "Dad, the power of that nuclear bomb is strong, but it will not be used easily. The technology of this nuclear bomb is mastered by several major countries, each country has the ability to destroy the world, so no one dares to use it. As a result, an agreement was reached that everyone would not use nuclear bombs, otherwise they would all perish together. This also keeps the world in a state of relative peace, but unfortunately this peace is built on a weapon that can destroy the world, which is somewhat ironic."

  "Third brother, since you've lived in that world for so many years, would you be able to manufacture such nuclear bombs? If our Great Song has such a weapon while Liao and Western Xia don't, wouldn't we be invincible under the heavens!" What Zhao Yan didn't expect was that Zhao Xun, who was lying on the bed, suddenly sat up excitedly, his face burning with eagerness as he asked. Beside him, Zhao Shu also became excited upon hearing this, thinking about how the Great Song had suffered at the hands of Western Xia and Liao for so many years, and if they could turn things around with nuclear bombs, it was a thought that filled him with indescribable excitement.

  But Zhao Yan heard this and almost spat out a mouthful of old blood. Let him make nuclear bombs by himself? That's not as good as killing him, let alone he doesn't know how to make it, even if he does, where can he go to find the nuclear materials for him?

  "No way, nuclear bombs are too complicated, I've never touched one before!" Zhao Yan said, suppressing the urge to vomit blood.

  "What about those missiles and artillery, or even guns?" Zhao Yun asked with some discontent.

  "It's not a sure thing either!" Zhao Yan felt somewhat embarrassed, he knew the ordinary black powder formula and the principle of guns, but he also didn't have confidence that he could really make a gun, everything depended on the steel industry level of the Song Dynasty.

  "Zi'er, military equipment is a national treasure, how can it be easily shown to people? Third brother in that world was just an ordinary person, should be very difficult to come into contact with those weapons." Zhao Shu spoke up for Zhao Yan at this time, which made Zhao Yan look at his father gratefully, but what Zhao Shu said next almost made him vomit blood again.

  "Yan'er, you may not understand weapons, but can you build those big iron birds that fly or those cars that run thousands of miles a day? With these two things, our Great Song will be able to reach all corners and have an important impact on both military and economic affairs." Zhao Shu looked at Zhao Yan with full hope.

  "I won't." Zhao Yan felt like crying, ancient people didn't understand anything, with a gap of nearly a thousand years in between, and there was no way to explain it to them. Wanting to manufacture airplanes and cars was even less plausible than having him manufacture cannons and firearms.

  "What's that thing that can communicate from thousands of miles away?"

  "Nor will I!" Zhao Yan was so angry she wished she could dig a hole in the ground and bury herself.

  "This won't work and that won't either, what exactly did you learn in your dream world?" Empress Gao asked with some dissatisfaction.

  "I... I learned painting..." Zhao Yan covered her face and replied in a low, barely audible voice.