After carefully questioning Liu Bolun, Du Chengfeng finally understood what had happened during the ten days he had been in seclusion.

On the first day of his retreat, Qian Jin died. This inevitably led to speculation. The governor’s office had considered coming over to demand an explanation, but intimidated by Du Chengfeng’s terrifying martial prowess, they dared not stir up trouble. After thinking it over, the magistrate of Yizhou City could only send someone to ask the Jibei refugees at the old barracks, trying to understand what was going on.

To say they were asking the refugees was actually to have these refugees inquire of Du Chengfeng, which was a roundabout way to maintain everyone’s basic dignity.

But how would the Jibei refugees understand this?

When someone suddenly came and said the governor was dead, and asked if they were planning a rebellion, the folks from Jibei were left in confusion.

Were they really going to rebel?

It didn’t seem to have come to that, did it? Although they were currently displaced and life was a bit tight, for now everyone had settled down and naturally looked forward to a bright future. As for Du Chengfeng, they knew him well. They understood that, like them, he was just an ordinary man trying to get by. Expecting him to lead a rebellion was beyond imagination.

Nevertheless, the governor of Yizhou was indeed dead, his body shoveled into a coffin, and the funeral banquet laid out.

After finishing the meal, the villagers could only turn to Yang Old Man and Liu Bolun, considered the two brightest in the group: a clan elder from a wealthy family and a retired official. Surely, they had clearer insights into this matter— Naturally, for such a significant issue, it was necessary to consult Yang Old Man first, as he was one of their own from Jibei.

Yet, when they found Yang Old Man, they discovered that the normally calm elder was more agitated than they were.

"So that’s how it is, that’s how it is... No wonder the warrior came to Yang Family Fort. It turns out the ancestors are manifesting, they want our Yang family to rise once more! To follow the dragon again!"

Shivering, Yang Old Man ran out to gather the Yang family members, preparing to discuss important matters.

It was the first time the villagers saw someone able to move a wheelchair so fast, as if flying over the ground, they couldn’t even see the wheels clearly.

Clearly, though they didn’t understand why, Yang Old Man had gone mad with excitement.

Thus, the villagers turned to Liu Bolun, this man from Yanzhou, to see what he thought.

Fortunately, although Liu Bolun was a drunkard, he wasn’t mad. Even in his drunken state, he answered them quite coherently.

"I don’t know much about this matter, but I’d advise against going to Du Chengfeng’s place for now... It’s for your safety, considering there truly are some dangers there these days."

This was the truth and explained why Du Chengfeng needed to find a place. Once Liu Bolun pointed out that Du Chengfeng’s blade sharpening was the so-called "mystical of mystical" state, Du Chengfeng went into seclusion to ponder it. Although such a state was beneficial for Du himself, it might not be for others.

For example, if Du Chengfeng inadvertently triggered the Flaming Blade, the five-zhang-long strike would certainly pose a major safety hazard if it hit anything.

Thus, for the villagers’ safety, Liu Bolun remembered well, even when drunk, not to let others approach rashly.

"He is researching the truth of power."

Considering the villagers didn’t understand what Evil Qi was or what "mystical of mystical" meant, Liu Bolun used a euphemism.

"He is contemplating where his power comes from, give him some time, alright?"

But who could have foreseen, once he said this, the villagers were in an uproar.

The truth of power, they couldn’t grasp, but when it came to who wielded the greatest power, they knew— As everyone knows, all lands under heaven belong to the king, and the supreme power is the emperor. Of course, whether the emperor could fight, they hadn’t seen, but they knew at least an emperor’s word could doom a village.

This undoubtedly exemplifies power; the emperor is certainly the most powerful.

As for the truth of power... isn’t it the way of becoming an emperor?

With this preconceived idea, it was understandable what power origins meant — simply how to ascend the throne, where to start— Clearly, no matter when, rebellion is the first step to becoming an emperor.

Thinking in this way, Qian Jin’s death also made sense.

All connected, everything matched.

Even when a sobered-up Liu Bolun realized something was amiss and attempted to rectify it, it was too late.

"Got your point! We completely understand now!"

No matter how Liu Bolun stated the facts and reasoned, the villagers from Jibei no longer believed, convinced they had grasped the kernel of Liu’s words and found the correct answer.

And Liu Bolun’s earnest attempts to mitigate the situation, in their view, seemed more like a reminder to keep things hush-hush and discreet.

For a great undertaking, secrecy was paramount, something frequently mentioned in storytelling books. Since Mr. Liu kindly pointed this out, they would obviously heed his advice— In the storytelling books, if they were the righteous rebels, then this knowledgeable Mr. Liu would be their military advisor.

Of course, not everyone wanted to be this kind of rebel, most were unwilling to partake in this endeavor.

But did they have a choice?

These villagers from Jibei were merely inexperienced but certainly not foolish. Journeying from Jibei to Yizhou, they were already tied to Du Chengfeng’s fate— If Du Chengfeng’s uprising failed, they would undoubtedly be implicated and punished, as in the eyes of outsiders, they were a single entity.

Not joining the rebellion meant certain death if Du Chengfeng failed, but joining meant at worst dying in battle. Yet as Yang Old Man said, winning would grant them the merits of following the dragon.

"Then the answer is clear, they choose to follow you."

Saying this, Liu Bolun grabbed a pork hock and took a bite.

"I know what you’re going to say, but it’s really not my problem... I only figured out later that rather than needing an answer, they needed someone to help them accept reality."

Saying this, Liu Bolun pointed to the table full of dishes in front of them.

"This is the reality: Qian Jin’s funeral has already happened, and the truth no longer matters. Whether you killed Qian Jin or not, the court plans to use military force to lecture you... unless you can bring Qian Jin back to life."

"This..."

Du Chengfeng was speechless for a long time.

Could it be possible?

After all, there’s this nonsensical claim that a strong will can change reality. In other words, perhaps he might really find a way to resurrect someone—but obviously, up until now, he hadn’t heard of anyone who could truly bring the dead back to life, and such figures have never appeared in legends or rumors.

Moreover, Qian Jin’s death was somewhat too abstract, with all his bones shattered and his entire body turned into minced meat. Even the best doctor probably couldn’t put such a mess together.

What kind of strong will would you need to piece this mess into a living Qian Jin?

Du Chengfeng didn’t know, he only knew that he probably couldn’t do it.

After all, in these ten days, he had already conducted various tests on himself, knowing very well that he was extremely worried that due to Liu Bolun’s revelation, his abilities would suddenly fail—after all, this so-called "mysterious" thing, seemed like magic to Du Chengfeng. Once someone uncovers the trick, even he wouldn’t believe in it. Could this thing still work?

As for the result of the experiments...

They did work.

After all, these abilities were his own, even verified in battle and life, and using them was as natural as eating or drinking—would anyone doubt their ability to eat or drink?

But conversely, he couldn’t do some more absurd things, such as bringing the dead back to life; that was something he absolutely couldn’t handle, as he fundamentally didn’t believe the dead could be resurrected.

However, the issue was stuck here, unless Qian Jin could be revived; otherwise, even if everyone at the Governor’s Mansion could confirm he hadn’t been there that day, the troops of the Southern Chen Dynasty would not believe it.

Like Liu Bolun said, the truth no longer matters, as the troops of the Southern Chen Dynasty were not here to investigate a case. They were just here to suppress the rebellion.

Investigating a case might require the truth, but for rebellion, a location was enough.

"Hey, who did I offend?"

Du Chengfeng suddenly felt a bit lost.

If you say he really did something, like killing Qi Jinshan, he’d admit it, but now he obviously did nothing and yet was being wrongfully accused; this is unreasonable. Really unreasonable.

"Since it’s unreasonable, then I can only reason properly."

Saying this, Du Chengfeng clenched his fist.

"As long as I move them with my sincerity, they should be able to understand me."

"That’s true."

Liu Bolun, still chewing on the Four Joy Meatballs, nodded repeatedly.

"So how do you plan to fight?"

"With the halberd... no, I mean, with my sincerity."

Du Chengfeng put down the halberd he had just picked up.

"I mean, as long as I speak well and explain things clearly, they will definitely understand me, right?"

"In theory... yes."

Hearing Du Chengfeng say this, Liu Bolun was suddenly stunned.

Not just in theory, practically it should be the same. Explaining things clearly and doing things according to the truth should be how it is in this big Chen. This was how it was taught when he studied the sages’ books at the Imperial Academy—so when did even he start feeling that the truth didn’t matter?

"So did you... really kill him?"

"I really didn’t."

Du Chengfeng spoke truthfully.

"You saw me in seclusion, I didn’t go out these days, let alone you’ve seen me in action before. If it were really me, the body would be split in two, or at most, burned to ashes."

"This... sigh."

With a sigh, Liu Bolun picked up the wine jar and continued drinking heavily.

However, no matter how drunk Liu Bolun got, the imperial army to suppress the rebellion arrived as scheduled.

Facing the rebellion in Yizhou City, the court sent only three people from the assembly.