My Dreams Connect to Ancient Times-Chapter 150 - 13: Lu Zi Says

Ancient Luoyang, a city stretching for a thousand miles, was the most magnificent metropolis in the Human World.

Its walls were impossibly high. The Celestial Son sat enthroned within, and it was also home to Great Virtues like Lu Zi.

On the bluestone roads, vendors and porters hawked their wares. An old man carrying sticks of candied fruit swayed along, while children laughed and chased one another, some singing nursery rhymes. It was a scene of peace and tranquility.

"Did you hear?"

A woman with a grey cloth wrapped around her head clucked her tongue and said,

"The fighting between the Qi Kingdom and the Qin Kingdom is getting fiercer. I just heard from the storyteller that things in the Sui Region are brutal. There have been city massacres!"

"Really?"

Another person asked in astonishment.

"A massacre... Surely not?"

"Who knows? I heard the Sui Region angered Qi, and the Duke of the Qi Kingdom was furious. He defied pressure from Qin and massacred city after city..."

Before she could finish, the woman suddenly fell silent. A nobleman on a tall horse had appeared beside her without anyone noticing. He swung his whip down, splitting the woman’s skin and sending her to the ground, where she writhed and begged for mercy.

"How dare you gossip about such matters?" The nobleman wore the attire of the Qi Kingdom, his voice cold. "You deserve to be beaten."

Saying this, he raised his whip high again, about to strike once more.

The clamor on the long street suddenly died down. The nobleman, his whip raised, looked over in surprise, his expression changing slightly.

At the corner of the street, the Eighty-One Armors advanced slowly. Solemn and stern, each held a blade and a shield. Their Heavy Armor radiated an aura of iron and Slaughter as they surrounded a majestic young man in a long robe.

The commoners bowed one by one, lowering their heads and crying out in a mix of reverence and fear:

"Lu Zi!" 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

Who in this age didn’t know? There was a Great Virtue in the Guardian Storage Room known as Lu Zi, personally granted the protection of the Eighty-One Armors by the Celestial Son!

Amidst the cries of "Lu Zi," the majestic young man strode forward, the Eighty-One Armors flanking him.

"What is the meaning of this?"

Lu Zi asked with a frown.

The nobleman on the tall horse sheepishly lowered his whip. After a moment’s hesitation, he leaped down from his mount and cupped his hands in a salute.

"Lu Zi, you may not be aware, but this woman was speaking recklessly about the affairs of my Qi Kingdom. That is why I..."

"Are the people not allowed to speak?" the young man asked lightly, his gaze profound. "If the people are forbidden to speak of it, then it is something the powerful should not be doing... What has happened in the Qi Region?"

A Historian in his retinue silently inscribed this sentence.

The nobleman opened his mouth but did not answer.

Lu Xuan frowned. He gently helped the woman to her feet. With a slight movement of his fingers, a surge of Primordial Qi enveloped her wound. The whip mark healed, and the pain vanished completely.

The woman hurriedly bowed in thanks.

"Just now, what were you discussing?" Lu Xuan asked kindly.

The woman glanced at the nobleman beside her, hesitated for a moment, but then honestly repeated what they had been discussing, not daring to add any embellishments.

As Lu Xuan listened, his brow furrowed.

’Massacres in the Sui Region? And more than one city?’

’How could this be?’

’If I recall correctly, Senior Brother Zhang went with that Duke Huan of Qi to attack the Sui Region...’

He thought for a moment, then looked over and asked kindly again,

"In these rumors, is there any mention of the name Zhang Ling?"

The woman froze for a second, stammered for a moment, then nodded.

"I... I think I heard the storyteller mention him before. Said he was... said he was a vanguard general of the Qi Kingdom, exceptionally brave and all that. But I haven’t heard the name recently."

Lu Xuan frowned and nodded, then gave the woman another gentle nod.

"I understand now. Thank you."

Overwhelmed by the unexpected favor, the woman bowed and quietly retreated to the side.

Lu Xuan then turned his gaze back to the nobleman from the Qi Region and said calmly,

"As an aristocrat, how could you commit such an act in the street before a crowd?"

The nobleman was also a young man. Though fearful, he was still indignant and couldn’t help but retort,

"She’s just a commoner. Why can’t she be beaten?"

Lu Xuan’s expression remained calm, but his tone had become sterner.

"The people are human. How can they be divided into noble and base?"

The nobleman glanced at the Eighty-One Armors, who reeked of iron and Slaughter. He was afraid, but still mustered the courage to reply,

"The commoners are insignificant, and we are noble. This has been the way since ancient times. The masses provide for us, and we protect the masses. What is wrong with punishing them occasionally?"

Lu Xuan gave him a deep look, shook his head, and said lightly,

"You consider yourself a noble and see the people as base and insignificant. Do you not know that the will of the people is like a great river, and those who hold power are but boats upon it? The water can carry the boat, but it can also capsize it!"

The nobleman opened his mouth, wanting to say something more, but in the end, said nothing.

Lu Xuan shook his head. Seeing that the young man still didn’t understand, he was disappointed but didn’t intend to say more. He simply took the whip from the nobleman’s hand and, as the youth stared in a daze, swung it down.

The nobleman fell to the ground, screaming in agony.

"You raise your whip against the people, so I can raise my whip against you. You know pain, and so do the people. Why would you impose upon them what you yourself do not desire?"

The nobleman’s skin was split open. He prostrated on the ground, begging for mercy and promising he would never dare again.

Lu Xuan tossed the whip aside, gently stroked the head of the large horse nearby, and left in disappointment.

The Eighty-One Armors turned in unison, following and attending him. Wherever they passed, commoners bowed, and aristocrats made way, all addressing him as "Lu Zi" with the utmost respect.

And the Historian at his side faithfully recorded the day’s events.

[Lu Zi walked the streets, accompanied by the Eighty-One Armors. He came upon an aristocrat whipping a commoner. Lu Zi stopped him and asked for the reason.]

[The aristocrat said: I am noble; the people are base.]

[Lu Zi said: The ruler is the boat; the common people are the water. The water can carry the boat, but it can also capsize it.]

[When he finished speaking, Lu Zi took the whip and struck the aristocrat, then said: You know pain, and so do the people. Why would you impose upon them what you yourself do not desire?]