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

Chapter 282 Jiayou (3k)

Seeing the bloodstains on his chest, the man, covered in sweat, pulled open his inner garment and was horrified to see the torn flesh beneath.

The wife was sobbing uncontrollably, and the man was pale and at a loss.

After trembling for a long time, the man finally spoke to his wife:

"Tomorrow morning, I will leave the city to find that gentleman!"

"Sir? What sir?"

The man wiped away his cold sweat and said:

"Actually, I've been keeping something from you. I told you a lie to get this gold. But before I could even finish it, a gentleman in a teahouse outside the city caught me red-handed, saying..."

After a difficult swallowing motion, the man finally spoke:

"He also said that if I remained obstinate, it would be difficult to save me."

The wife immediately cursed:
"You were blinded by greed before, how come you still don't realize your mistake after meeting a master?! Are you trying to kill both of us?"

The man didn't argue; he just hung his head in frustration.
-
On that same night, in the ancestral temple of the Yakushi family, the old imperial uncle who had been stationed there since the time of Emperor Shenzong, the father of the current emperor Yakushi Yuan, and during the reigns of the previous two emperors, had been suffering from insomnia for some unknown reason.

The renowned physicians of the Imperial Medical Academy took turns treating him, but ultimately they were helpless.

He thought tonight would be just as restless, but to his surprise, he fell into a deep sleep as soon as he touched the headboard.

In his dream, he was still in the ancestral temple of the Medicine Master's family, but the daylight was no longer in the dead of night, but rather the bright sunshine.

Such a scene should have been filled with yang energy, making one feel no fear. But for some reason, he felt as cold as winter inside the ancestral temple.

He looked around, but there was no sign of any attendants or even the imperial guards who were on duty to protect the ancestral temple all day long—he was all alone in the huge ancestral temple!
The old imperial uncle was in a panic, calling out to those around him repeatedly, desperate to find someone alive. But all around was deathly silent, and there was no response whatsoever.

After a long pause, he involuntarily retreated into the depths of the ancestral temple, wanting only to find some peace and quiet next to the memorial tablets of the previous emperors of the Yaoshi family.

To his surprise, the moment he stepped inside, he was horrified – all the thousand-plus lamps that should have burned eternally, symbolizing the prefectures and counties of the land, had run out of oil!
"Who? Who did this? How dare they!"

Even when the traitor Gao Huan held power, such a disaster had never occurred! The old imperial uncle was so angry that he trembled all over and could not contain his rage.

These ever-burning lamps were originally a rule established by the founding emperor, Taizu. Taizu once said:

"If a prefecture or county is lost, a lamp is extinguished; if a territory is expanded, a new lamp is added."

Thus, he could discern whether future rulers were incompetent and ruined the country or managed to revive it by observing the flickering of the lamp.

But now, the more than a thousand ever-burning lamps that symbolized the glory of the Pharmacist Clan have all been extinguished!

What does this signify? Does it mean that their pharmacist family's empire is about to be completely destroyed?

"Asshole! What a bastard!"

The current emperor is a great ruler, and although the court occasionally faces difficulties, the overall situation remains prosperous.

How dare a thief do such a thing in the ancestral temple! It's clearly an attempt to sow discord between the emperor and the imperial family!

In a fit of rage, the old imperial uncle turned to leave the ancestral temple—he was the most senior member of the imperial family and was in charge of guarding the temple. Now that such a catastrophic event had occurred, how could he shirk his responsibility?

We must first go to the Emperor to apologize, and after the guilt is cleared up, we will drag out those audacious beasts and cut off their heads to offer as a sacrifice to the lamp!

But as soon as he stepped out of the ancestral temple gate, he was so horrified by the sight before him that he stood frozen in place:

Before my eyes, the sky suddenly darkened, sandstorms raged, and everything above and below was shrouded in gloom.

Before long, the palace wall in front of them exploded with a loud bang, bricks and stones flew everywhere, and dust billowed into the sky. The sound of the collapse shook the ground, as if the sky had fallen and the earth had caved in!

"W-What's going on?!"

The old imperial uncle could hardly believe his eyes.

Just then, amidst the billowing dust, a figure slowly emerged—the person was walking backwards with their back to him.

His clothes were faintly visible in the dust and mist, and every step he took was eerily strange.

"Who...who are you?!"

The old imperial uncle was, after all, a veteran member of the imperial family who had served six dynasties and had seen many storms. Even in this seemingly apocalyptic situation, he still managed to keep his composure, though his voice could no longer conceal the tremor in it.

"This is the imperial ancestral temple, right under the emperor's nose! If you are a demon, why don't you retreat at once! If you are a deity, why do you destroy my ancestral temple and disrupt my state?!"

The person walking backwards did not answer immediately, but let out a long, drawn-out sigh, a voice that was old and familiar:
"It's fine if the pharmacist doesn't recognize me, after all, I only met his father when I was a child. But you, you clearly have seen me before, why don't you recognize me?"

The old imperial uncle's heart skipped a beat. That voice... that voice was so familiar!
He hurriedly rubbed his eyes and then stared at the figure that had always turned its back—the pattern of the robe and the outline of the figure gradually overlapped with the appearance of the founding emperor in the past!
This startled him so much that his lips trembled, and he asked uncertainly in a trembling voice, "Great-Great Ancestor?!"

"You unfilial son, at least you still recognize me!"

As the words fell, the figure took a few more steps closer. Wherever his feet trod, the blue bricks cracked, the eaves tiles fell in a flurry, and even the surrounding trees were uprooted and collapsed with a crash. This scene truly lived up to the phrase "the mountains and rivers are in turmoil."

The old imperial uncle was so frightened that his legs went weak and he almost knelt on the ground, but he still forced himself to speak and defend himself:
"Grand Ancestor! Why are you doing this? We have clearly protected your empire! Even Gao Huan, who tyrannized the government, was executed by the Emperor, his bones were ground to dust, his entire clan was wiped out, and all his followers were exterminated!"

He was filled with bewilderment—if the Emperor Taizu had manifested his anger when Gao Huan was in power and the country was on the verge of collapse, he could understand; but now that the country was reviving and the traitor had been eliminated, why did the Emperor Taizu still have to come with such a devastating force?

The voice sighed even more:
“I know what you’re thinking, and I have no choice but to accept this. It’s not that I want to hold you accountable. You did a good job, you’re a good kid. Pharmacist Yuan did a good job too, even better than me.”

"But this world is no longer the world we know!"

Seeing that the founding emperor had not come to reprimand them, the old imperial uncle felt somewhat relieved.

But his expression immediately changed again:
"Grand Ancestor, what do you mean?"

"Having come to this point, don't you understand yet?" The voice suddenly rose, like a thunderclap striking the ancestral temple. "My family's kingdom is about to be lost!"

The old imperial uncle felt a "buzz" in his head, and his whole body froze on the spot.
The figure of the patriarch of the pharmacist family had slowly moved in front of him.

He still didn't turn around, leaving only a familiar back view for the terrified old royal uncle.

"Grand Ancestor, hasn't the southwest been pacified?"

If there were any potential crises for the imperial court right now, he could only think of the southwest.

But Emperor Taizu shook his head repeatedly:
"The Southwest has never been a matter of national disaster. Although you have always been there for us old folks, you should also know what is being said outside!"

The old imperial uncle was instantly stunned and said:

Are gods, demons, and monsters really rampaging outside?

Although he remained at the ancestral temple, he still managed to hear all the rumors and gossip circulating throughout the land.

Since we've never seen it, we can't believe it.

"That's why I said the world has changed, and my family of pharmacists is about to be lost!"

The old imperial uncle crawled a few steps on his knees, hastily knelt down, his voice filled with barely concealed fear and pleading:
"Please, Your Majesty, show us the way! The empire you built must not be lost!"

The Yakushi clan's rule has only lasted for six generations. How could they be willing to let it end like this? If the imperial family were weak and the emperor was incompetent, that would be one thing; but now, they have just hoped for a period of revival. How could they allow it to be overthrown like this!

This sense of unwillingness and urgency was shared by the founder of the Yakushi clan at this moment.

So the Emperor Taizu slowly said, "I know, I know everything. It has not been easy for you to get to where you are today from the hands of the Gao family."

"The ruler was not a ruler destined to bring about the downfall of the country, nor were the ministers ministers destined to bring about the downfall of the country, yet the fate of the country's demise was sealed just like that—this was never meant to be!"

The founding emperor raised his hand, pointing his fingertip to the still-cracking landscape before him, and said:

"The collapse of the mountains and rivers seems to be ordained by Heaven, but there is always a chance for change in the affairs of the world! I have given up all the blessings left behind to find a glimmer of hope for you."

"You must memorize every single word I'm about to say! Remember, I can only come here once."

As mentioned earlier, he shared the same thoughts as the old imperial uncle: if future emperors were incompetent and foolish, he could accept the fate of the country's demise; but since that was not the case now, he would fight, seize, and take back the world of the Medicine Master Clan from the brink of ruin!
Upon hearing this "glimmer of hope," the old imperial uncle hurriedly crawled to the feet of the founding emperor and kowtowed heavily, saying:

"Please enlighten us, Your Majesty!"

The founding emperor, still with his back to him as if he could never turn around, slowly spoke:
"Our dynasty has encountered an unprecedented variable. Even I, who have long since passed away, have been fortunate enough to appear here thanks to this variable."

"And that's why I also saw a sword, a sword that was meant to slay Yakushi-ga!

He paused, then changed the subject, adding a glimmer of hope:
"But at the same time, I also saw someone, who should be the only one who can save my pharmacist family's empire."

"Great Ancestor! Who exactly is that person?"

The old imperial uncle suddenly looked up, his eyes filled with urgency.

Emperor Taizu shook his head bitterly:

"I can't see through him, I can't see clearly, and I can't make out his appearance. I can only vaguely see that he is holding a sword in his hand."

"Furthermore, he seems to have sank into the dust, hiding among the masses."

"But, Great Ancestor, how are we supposed to find it? And what will we do even if we find it?"

The old imperial uncle was almost dumbfounded; there was simply no way to start!

Although the imperial court forbade people from possessing weapons, due to the existence of powerful clans, there were still countless people who openly carried swords.

Therefore, the founding emperor of his family, the pharmacist, said to him again:
"I know that, which is why what I gave up in exchange for wasn't these things. What I gained was a name for my nation!"

"You must remember, after you wake up from this dream, you must call upon Yakushi-gami and change the country's name to 'Jiayou'!"

(End of this chapter)