"Great Chanyu, when faced with matters, one may consult the State Preceptor."
Although Murong Kang, the Zhongjie Army's Zhonghou of the Great Yan Kingdom, had disarmed himself and was performing the ritual of being led by a sheep, Emperor Yan Murong Xi still hesitated. Thus, Empress Murong Qing reminded him.
Upon hearing this, Murong Xi finally felt relieved and repeatedly agreed.
The northern nomadic tribes believed in shamanism. Whether it was state affairs, military matters, or civil affairs, when they were undecided, they would consult the shaman priest, who would predict the future and divine fortune or misfortune.
.........
"Great Yanzhi, am I getting old?" Murong Xi panted, sweat pouring down his face. Suddenly, he let out a wry smile and asked Murong Qing.
Emperor Yan Murong Xi, accompanied by the Empress, arrived at the back mountain of the imperial city, Wanling Mountain.
Even though Murong Xi was the Emperor of the Great Yan Kingdom, he could not ride a horse or a carriage and had to walk up the mountain. Therefore, Murong Xi, with the support of four guards, or rather, half-supported and half-carried, managed to ascend Wanling Mountain.
Murong Xi was excessively obese and had long indulged in wine and women, thus he was panting like a cow and drenched in sweat, his face as pale as a sheet of white paper.
"Great Chanyu is in the prime of his life, how can you speak of old age?" Murong Qing supported Murong Xi and said calmly.
"Great Yanzhi, you speak insincerely. I am old, old..." Murong Xi smiled, then mustered his spirits, and with Murong Qing's support, he almost shuffled step by step towards the wooden house where the State Preceptor of the Great Yan Kingdom resided.
The Grand Priest of the Great Yan Kingdom was already waiting at the entrance. Despite his short stature, he stood as imposing as a mountain.
"Nephew Xi pays respects to the State Preceptor!"
The Grand Priest's family had been shaman priests for four generations. In terms of seniority, the Grand Priest was indeed Murong Xi's uncle. Therefore, Murong Xi paid his respects with the courtesy of a nephew to his uncle.
"Enter," the Grand Priest said, glancing at Murong Xi expressionlessly.
Thus, Murong Xi and Murong Qing followed the Grand Priest into the wooden house. Their servants, maids, and guards all remained outside the door.
"Great Chanyu's complexion is not good," the Grand Priest said, looking at Murong Xi inside the wooden house.
"Yes, State Preceptor..." Murong Xi said with an embarrassed smile, "State affairs are complex, hence..."
"Hence you have come here today," the Grand Priest nodded and took out a bottle of medicine, handing it to Murong Xi. "The spirit of the tree is within the tree, the spirit of mountains and waters is between the mountains and waters, and the spirit of man is within your abdomen. The spirit within your abdomen is eager to break free. This medicine can temporarily restrain the spirit within your abdomen. However, Great Chanyu, this is not a long-term solution. You should stay away from women, wine, and meat, cultivate your character, and that is the long-term solution."
The spirit within his abdomen might leap out of his body at any day, and he would be finished...
"Thank you, State Preceptor..." If anyone else had given him such advice, Murong Xi would have become angry and exploded, but hearing the Grand Priest say this, Murong Xi had no temper at all. Not only that, he was somewhat pleased and moved. He solemnly accepted the medicine bottle, handed it to Murong Qing, and thanked him.
"Great Chanyu has come today regarding Zhou Fugui, hasn't he?" the Grand Priest asked afterwards.
"It is precisely this Han man," Murong Xi nodded.
To insignificant figures like Zhou Fugui, in the minds of Murong Xi and others, they were like ants and their lives would not have mattered. However, at this moment, Zhou Fugui's affairs had involved Murong Bole, Murong Fu, the Grand Consort, the Empress, and so on. It had involved almost all the nobles of the Great Yan Kingdom. It was said that pulling out a radish would bring out the roots, but pulling out the radish of Zhou Fugui had almost uprooted the foundation of the Great Yan Kingdom...
"Han man?" The Grand Priest sneered upon hearing this and said, "This person appears Han but is not, appears of the kingdom but is not, is neither righteous nor evil, or can be said to be both righteous and evil."
The kingdom was the barbarians. After the Xianbei people entered the Central Plains, they were not allowed to be called "barbarians." The Xianbei people called themselves the people of the kingdom. Appearing of the kingdom but not of the kingdom meant appearing Han but not Han.
"Appears Han but is not, appears of the kingdom but is not?" Murong Xi took a while to come to his senses and asked, "Does he have his own clan bloodline?"
The Grand Priest shook his head without answering.
"What does the State Preceptor mean?" Murong Xi asked again.
"He who disrupts the world, and he who pacifies the world!" After a long pause, the Grand Priest finally replied.
"State Preceptor, you..." Murong Xi pondered for a long time and then asked, "Should I kill him now?"
"He cannot be killed. Killing him might incur heavenly wrath and bring disaster!" the Grand Priest replied in a panic.
.........
With a clang, the heavy iron gate of Pijin City opened. Zhou Fugui, dressed in a simple blue coarse cloth robe, walked out of the iron gate.
The sunlight outside Pijin City was exceptionally dazzling. However, Zhou Fugui, who had been imprisoned for several months, squinted his eyes and looked up at the sky, feeling as if he had lived through another lifetime.
"We congratulate General Zhou!" A group of Yan officials, jailers, and yamen runners from Pijin City saw him off. Many of them had fawning smiles on their faces.
Zhou Fugui, for killing over two hundred people, had been imprisoned in Pijin City for several months. Finally, the matter had reached a conclusion. Emperor Yan Murong Xi decreed that Zhou Fugui had committed murder but had also rendered meritorious service in suppressing the rebellion. Therefore, he was spared the death penalty, stripped of all his official positions, and exiled to the northern border to guard it. The place of exile was Xue Lin City, in the northernmost part of the Great Yan Kingdom.
Xue Lin City was the extreme northern region of the Great Yan Kingdom, a place of hardship and cold, with snow throughout the year. Not only were the conditions extremely harsh, but it was also frequently raided by northern barbarians. Guards there were constantly on duty and constantly fighting barbarians. Therefore, those sent to Xue Lin City to guard the border almost always remained there forever, sleeping beneath the solid ice and thick snow.
However, even so, for the current Zhou Fugui, wasn't this the best outcome? No matter what, Zhou Fugui could continue to live, to linger on in the world until he slept beneath the ice and snow of Xue Lin City.
At the same time, Zhou Fugui was the first person in many years to walk out of Pijin City alive on his own legs. Coupled with Zhou Fugui's various rumors, the Empress Dowager and the Princess, the Princess's sisters, and so on... therefore, the Yan officials, jailers, and yamen runners of Pijin City respectfully saw him off. Of course, some were fawning, some were jealous, and of course, there were a very few who were genuinely happy for Zhou Fugui.
"Heh heh, thank..." Zhou Fugui cupped his hands in thanks, but before he could finish speaking, the iron gate of Pijin City made a sound again, and a group of people rushed out.
"Haha, Battalion Commander, hahahaha!"
"Brother Fugui, wuwuwu..."
"To see the Battalion Commander again, we have no regrets even if we die today!"
These people were Xu Mancang, Suo Dacheng, Pan Guigui, Li Qing, Yi Jisheng, Yang Xinhong, Wu Tianqi, Hu Yuan, Wei Liang, Wei the Blind, Chen Kunkun, Hong Wei, Hu Tieniu, and others, Zhou Fugui's fellow villagers and friends. In the eyes of the Yan officials, they were Zhou Fugui's accomplices and subordinates.
Because they were considered Zhou Fugui's accomplices and subordinates, none of them escaped. Even Li Qing and Pan Guigui, who had not participated in the slaughter of the Duan family manor, were arrested and imprisoned in Pijin City.
Emperor Yan Murong Xi's benevolent decree pardoned Zhou Fugui from the death penalty, as well as his accomplices and subordinates. They were all also exiled to Xue Lin City, and they would be escorted by officials to Xue Lin City in a month. However, within this month, Murong Xi also graciously permitted Zhou Fugui and his companions to reunite with their families.
Zhou Fugui and his group thus became the first group of people to leave Pijin City in many years...
The fellow villagers and friends had also suffered greatly in prison. After being released, they seemed to have forgotten their injuries and crowded around Zhou Fugui affectionately.
"Brothers, it is my fault, Zhou, for implicating you all in this prison disaster!" Zhou Fugui was extremely excited to see his fellow villagers and friends, his voice even choked with emotion.
After the slaughter of the Duan family manor, Zhou Fugui had driven them away, trying to bear all the blame himself. But Zhou Fugui now thought that his idea at the time was too naive. Zhou Fugui and his fellow villagers and friends were already bound together; if Zhou Fugui was executed, none of them would escape, including their families.
But now it was better, the rain had cleared and a rainbow had appeared.
Zhou Fugui had known in prison that Xu Mancang and his fellow villagers and friends had also been imprisoned, but he could only worry, unable to do anything.
"Alas, Brother Fugui, you speak too formally, it chills our brothers' hearts!" Xu Mancang pretended to be angry, glared, and said.
"Haha, Brother Mancang speaks the truth!" Suo Dacheng laughed heartily, "Battalion Commander, you said it yourself: share blessings and endure hardships together. If we don't endure hardships together, what kind of brothers are we?"
Xu Mancang and Suo Dacheng, this pair of dark-skinned, robust men, seemed unchanged after being imprisoned; where they were dark, they were still dark, and where they were stout, they were still stout...
"Battalion Commander, Battalion Commander..." Chen Kunkun, a fellow villager, squeezed forward and said excitedly, "Today's banquet is to be hosted by you, and you must let your brothers drink their fill!"
Chen Kunkun was not yet twenty years old. At the age of sixteen, he followed Zhou Fugui and others on an expedition to Jiangnan. The battlefield was perilous, and it was a near-death experience. After finally returning home, he was implicated by Zhou Fugui and imprisoned.
Chen Kunkun was not like Xu Mancang and Suo Dacheng. His face was pale now, and his body was thin, clearly having suffered a lot in prison.
"Exactly, exactly!"
"Today's banquet hosted by the Battalion Commander is unavoidable."
"Let's go, let's go, let's go eat and drink now!"
The group of fellow villagers and friends, unlike Zhou Fugui, who had a mother and daughters, or sisters, had not drunk a drop of alcohol or tasted any meat for months. At this moment, their mouths were watering with desire, and they clamored loudly.
"Get out of the way, quickly get out of the way, you bunch of heartless fellows..." Pan Guigui, even after months in prison, had not changed his sarcastic demeanor, and it was likely he would never change. Seeing this, he said sarcastically, "You don't miss home, but the Battalion Commander does, especially that woman from Jiangnan... right? Battalion Commander..."
"Hahahaha!"
Pan Guigui winked and spoke sarcastically, how could everyone not understand his meaning? So they all burst into loud laughter.
"You old ghost..." Zhou Fugui cursed with a smile, then suddenly noticed Wei the Blind lifting the hem of his robe and hurriedly asked, "Wei the Blind, what are you doing?"
"This humble physician wants to see if the Battalion Commander is missing any items..." Wei the Blind replied solemnly.
"Hahahaha!" The crowd burst into laughter again, and the laughter was exceptionally strange.