The more you believe me, the more real it becomes.

Chapter 101 Obsession
On the banks of the Mi River, King Anqing was in a sorry state because of Du Yuan.

But now, amidst the expectations of the people, he has regained that confidence that he is destined for greatness.

In particular, not only did Master Gufeng assert that he was destined for greatness, but even the newly arrived Master Liaochen said that his destiny was sealed. With both Buddhism and Taoism confirming this, how could he not be extremely proud and elated?
In his moment of triumph, he suddenly remembered Du Yuan.

What he remembered was not the astonishing ability that rendered him, a prince, completely helpless, but the heart-wrenching pain of his imperial dream shattering when he was stopped.

He remembered clearly that he was only one step away from the dragon throne, almost touching it, but that hateful Taoist priest pulled him back into the narrow carriage.

The frustration and unease of falling short of expectations still haunt me to this day.

Taking a deep breath and suppressing the unease surging in his heart, King Anqing turned to the old monk Liaochen beside him, forcing a smile at the corner of his mouth:
"Master, do you mean it has to be tonight?"

The old monk standing on the riverbank even saw the footprints he had made there the night before.

He chuckled and said:

"Exactly."

"And it has to be at the fourth watch?" King Anqing's question carried a barely perceptible tension.

The old monk continued to nod and smile:

"That's right, it must be at the fourth watch of the night, when you reach the middle of this river, and then Your Highness must cut your palm and drip a drop of blood into the Mi River!"

A sudden, inexplicable sense of unease gripped Anqing Wang's heart, and he asked urgently:
"Master, it's not that I don't believe in you, it's just that the fourth watch of the night is rather unlucky."

The aura above his head, which was gradually transforming into a dragon with the blessing of the people of Qingzhou, was also tightly bound and pulled towards the Mi River by countless scarlet energies rising from it.

It was about to touch the surface of the Mi River.

Therefore, this fate erupted with its greatest struggle, suddenly rising upwards and roaring endlessly.

It was magnificent, yet it was filled with fear.

Amidst the clamor, even Du Yuan, who had already reached the foot of Pinglan Mountain, heard that terrified and unwilling dragon's roar.

From afar, one could see a phantom golden dragon with only two claws and no visible horns struggling frantically on the surface of the Mi River.

Even though it kept tearing away the crimson aura that was coiling around it, it could not break free. It could not even leave the Mi River, let alone soar into the sky.

This made Du Yuan stop and watch.

Seeing that Prince Anqing seemed about to back down, the old monk by the riverbank suddenly became solemn, and his voice turned deep:
"Your Highness, the path to victory is already before us; how can we retreat?"

The restlessness in Anqing Wang's heart grew wildly like weeds, and his dragon-like aura also raised its head to the sky, as if it could break through its scarlet body and return to the world at any moment.

"I really feel that something is amiss!"

The old monk's expression grew increasingly solemn:
"Wrong? What could be wrong?! Your Highness, please look!"

He pointed to the scarlet, churning river surface and said:
"The Mi River is red because countless people in the southwest have suffered calamity, and their overwhelming grievances have turned into red mist, which is coming from the north! What they seek is none other than Your Highness, the one destined by Heaven. They are begging you to use the blood of the true dragon to cure the resentment and afflictions of these millions of people!"

Seeing that Prince Anqing still had doubts, the old monk Liaochen changed the subject, his tone carrying a knowing smile:
"Four o'clock, four o'clock, Your Highness, isn't what you fear the 'four' being a homophone for 'death'? That's right, that's why we must come at four o'clock, and at the crowing of the rooster! Because they are the wronged souls who died in calamity!"

At this point, the old monk walked up to King Anqing and said:

"Your Highness, please take another look around!"

King Anqing looked in the direction of the sound. He saw that in the distance, besides the heavily armored soldiers, a dense crowd of Qingzhou people who had come after hearing the news had gathered, their heads thronging and all craning their necks in anticipation.

When Anqing Wang's gaze swept over them, the crowd, like wheat waves swept by a strong wind, all lowered their heads in unison.

"The people of Qingzhou are all looking to you now," the voice said seductively. "Don't you want to rise up and call upon the masses to follow?" The voice boomed like thunder! King Anqing's eyes instantly turned bloodshot!
The scene from the day more than a decade ago when the feudal lords were weakened suddenly crashed into my mind—

At that time, he had lost all power and stood like a prisoner beneath the imperial city, along with many other members of the royal family and vassal kings. Meanwhile, the surrounding populace prostrated themselves on the ground, shouting hoarsely at his younger brother who had seized the throne by chance:
Long live! Long live! Long live forever!

The voice seemed to have traveled through time, returning to his ears from more than a decade ago.

This time, however, he felt he wasn't standing blankly beneath the city walls, gazing at his seemingly unreachable younger brother. Instead, he was standing atop the imperial city.

He is revered by all people!
King Anqing took a deep breath, his chest heaving violently, and the last vestiges of doubt in his heart were completely burned away. He said sternly:

"Rest assured, Master, I will certainly follow your instructions! I only ask that you remain by my side and support me through thick and thin afterward!"

The old monk Liaochen immediately put his palms together and smiled.

His almost dragon-like destiny, which was about to transform into a dragon, was dragged directly into the Mi River with a mournful cry.

Although it hasn't completely disappeared yet, it's only a matter of time.

Du Yuan shook her head repeatedly at this sight.

Although I already knew what would happen to this person, I didn't expect that there would be no trouble at all.

Is the fate of all people in the world always in the hands of such people?
With a sigh, Du Yuan began to climb the steps.

No one goes to worship at the temple of the Duke of Pinglan anymore, but Pinglan Mountain is not deserted.

There were plenty of tourists enjoying the spring scenery and woodcutters gathering firewood.

Therefore, the road leading up the mountain was well-maintained and clean, with the stone steps as smooth as if wiped dry.

Du Yuan walked very slowly, but her speed was by no means slow.

After all, the ability to shrink the distance is really useful.

The only thing that exceeded Du Yuan's expectations was that the temple of Duke Pinglan was really hard to find.

He originally thought that the temple of Pinglan Gong should be located beside the mountain road.

After searching around and asking passersby, I finally found out.

When Emperor Taizu founded the country, he took office as the first governor of Qingzhou. In order to permanently extinguish the incense offerings of Duke Pinglan, he simply built a new mountain road and abandoned the old road that originally led directly to the temple of Duke Pinglan.

This is why the Pinglan Temple fell into disrepair and was almost completely abandoned.

Even after asking several passersby, Du Yuan was somewhat surprised that the woman by the riverbank knew so much about Duke Pinglan.

Fortunately, since they were people who had been to this mountain before, after asking around, a kind passerby pointed out the location of the Pinglan Temple.

Following the trail, Du Yuan indeed found an old mountain path almost entirely covered by fallen leaves and weeds, with only a shallow white path remaining in the center.

Pinglan Gong lived almost two hundred years ago, and this road should have been abandoned for more than a hundred years. I didn't expect it to still be passable.

After exclaiming in surprise, Du Yuan also saw the temple of Duke Pinglan at the end of the path.

It was very large and magnificent, at least when it was still intact.

Even though it has been in ruins for a century, one can still see the deep longing of the people of the past.

(End of this chapter)