Stranger Danger

“Of course it’s real. I never practice fraud.”

Very pleased with the crowd’s reactions, Xi Duoduo waved his hands and summoned a pearl into existence. It floated on the stage so that everyone could see it.

The pearl was about the size of a cat’s eye and sky blue in color. Round, smooth and flawless, it looked as if an infinite universe was held within its tiny confines, mysterious and profound.

Anyone could tell that the pearl was no ordinary object.

“There may be some who aren’t familiar with the Wenliang Pearl’s background, so allow me to give a brief introduction.”

Xi Duoduo began, “It was said that three thousand years ago, there existed a country named Xiliang to the southwest of the continent. Its founder and ruler was an extraordinary woman named Wenliang.”

“Wenliang was a gentlewoman of a literary family until a great tragedy destroyed it all in a single night. Wenliang was able to escape her family’s destruction, but as a gentlewoman, she simply wasn’t equipped with the tools to survive the harshness of the world. As a result, she fell into the jianghu and had to suffer all forms of humiliations just to survive another day.”

“By coincidence, Wenliang obtained a mysterious pearl that, as if by the hands of a god, transformed her into a wealthy businesswoman in just a matter of years. Not only that, she became quite the powerful warrioress as well.”

“It was a chaotic period, so countless people were destitute, homeless, and with no way to make a living. Wenliang may be a woman, but her breasts are bigger than any man’s in more ways than one. Armed with her wealth and status, she rescued the poor and downtrodden, made friends with the brave and good, and slowly built up her strength over time.”

“When she realized that the imperial court she served was rotten to its core, and the corrupted held all the power, she rose up in arms, gathered the strength of the people, and overturned the existing regime in just three days. She then named it Xiliang and called herself the Xiliang King.”

“During the first decade or two after she claimed the throne, Wenliang worked hard to govern her country and strengthen the people’s livelihood. She also opened her borders to all four seas to bolster the economy. As a result, Xiliang enjoyed a prosperous period, and the people were happy.”

“Unfortunately, Wenliang’s personality underwent a drastic change after she entered old age. She became moody, paranoid, and prone to jealousy. She constantly suspected that someone was aiming for her throne and pearl and killed countless innocents because of it. If the people held a gathering, she would suspect that a rebellion was brewing and order an execution. If her court subjects held a feast, she also suspected that they were plotting against her and killed them all. Even her own children weren’t free from her suspicion and were either disposed of or imprisoned.”

“For a time, there was no trust between king and subject, and no peace to be found among the people. They were so scared they didn’t even dare to talk to each other in the open.

Xi Duoduo paused for a moment before asking, “What do you think happened after that?”

No one answered him, so Xi Duoduo continued the story without a shred of embarrassment whatsoever, “Eventually, both Wenliang’s court subjects and her people reached a boiling point and rebelled against her. They broke into the palace and slew Wenliang.”

“However, that was not the end of the story. In three days after Wenliang’s death, three strange incidents occurred in Xiliang. On the first day, the rebels dug six feet into the ground in search of the mysterious pearl that won Wenliang her throne but was unable to find it anywhere. On the next day, Wenliang’s corpse suddenly vanished into thin air. On the third day, a rain of blood suddenly fell from the sky, and every man and woman in Xiliang transformed into a monster who only knew slaughter.”

“Xiliang had both come into existence and collapsed into ruins in three days, and it was all thanks to Wenliang. Wenliang herself had turned over a new leaf and died a horrible death because of her pearl. That is why those who came after decided to name it the Wenliang Pearl.”

“Despite its mysterious disappearance, the Wenliang Pearl continued to make an appearance here and there for the past three thousand years. Two thousand years ago, it fell into the possession of ‘Humanity’s Grace’ Wen Qianqiu two thousand years ago. A thousand years ago, ‘The Loathed and Praised’ Tang Jingcai became its new owner. Eight hundred years ago, it was owned by the so-called number one champion of Spring and Autumn, the ‘Dark Overlord’ Li Hentian. And three hundred years ago, it was owned by the ludicrously wealthy businessman ‘Millionaire’ Shen Wanjin...”

Li Hentian? The “Dark Overlord” Li Hentian?

Ye Qing was just enjoying the story when the name suddenly jolted him out of his daydream. He did not realize that the Wenliang Pearl was connected to the Dark Overlord.

Besides Li Hentian, everyone Xi Duoduo mentioned was an incredibly famous person in history as well.

For example, “Humanity’s Grace” Wen Qianqiu was also known as the Gentleman of Three. The three in his nickname referred to his appearance, his talent, and his martial arts.

It was said that Wen Qianqiu was gorgeous unlike anything the world had ever seen despite being a man. Words of compliments that were usually reserved for women were lavished on his person, and it was no exaggeration to say that countless men and women had fallen for him at first sight.

Besides that, Wen Qianqiu was exceedingly talented in all things civil. His talent in literature was unmatched, capable of composing poems at a whim and writing entire books and documents without pause. As if that wasn’t enough, he was well-versed in economics and medicine as well.

He was also a pinnacle warrior. It was said that his sword qi stretched as long as fifteen thousand kilometers, and the light of his sword could chill nineteen provinces. The number of people who could match him in the entire world could be counted on one hand.

Most people could not hope to become the pinnacle of even one way, but Wen Qianqiu had three to his name. That was why the people called him “Humanity’s Grace”.

“The Loathed and Praised” Tang Jingcai was the prime minister of the You Empire of the Mingshi Era. Tang Jingcai possessed a weak background but a talent few others possessed, but he was unable to score well in the imperial examination no matter how hard he worked. Later, he entered the service of the prince with the weakest position, Prince Mingshi as his advisor.

Acting as Prince Mingshi’s strategist, he employed all sorts of dark and cruel ways to pave the way for Prince Mingshi to claim the throne. Grateful for everything Tang Jingcai had done for him, Prince Mingshi made him his prime minister and a ruler of all except the emperor himself.

After becoming the prime minister, Tang Jingcai reformed the government and promoted methods to enrich the people and strengthen their military. In just a matter of years, the once weak and poor You Empire had become powerful and strong.

On the other hand, Tang Jingcai was a selfish, power hungry bastard. Not only did he form cliques for his personal interest, eliminated anyone who dared to defy him, and monopolized all the power for himself, he even killed Emperor Mingshi via poison and made the three-year-old prince the emperor. This allowed him to appoint himself the Emperor's Mentor. By holding the stupidly young emperor hostage, he was able to yank the Dukes around like dogs and rule the realm as he pleased.

Tang Jingcai’s merits were undeniable, but his sins were just as great. That was why he came to be known as “The Loathed and Praised”.

As for ‘Millionaire’ Shen Wanjin[1], now that was a name even the ordinary people were aware of. A legend in Chu, it was said that he had started from the very bottom and grinded his way up until he became the number one imperial merchant of Chu. He was so wealthy that he was also called the ‘Wealthiest of the Four’. Out of the four major countries, the wealthiest country in the world was Chu, and the wealthiest family in Chu was the Shen Clan. It should not need to be said how wealthy he was.

Wenliang, Wen Qianqiu, Tang Jingcai, Li Hentian, and Shen Wanjin were all one of a kind and a defining symbol of their era. Assuming that Xi Diudiu wasn’t lying, and they really all owned the Wenliang Pearl once upon a time, one could not help but wonder if their successes were connected to it.

“Are… Are you for real?”

Everyone’s breathing quickened when the realization struck them. Suddenly, the floating pearl on the stage seemed much, much more attractive than before.

“To tell you all the truth, we aren’t too sure if there is a connection between the Wenliang Pearl and those famous persons. After all, they are no longer in this world, and there is no concrete evidence to prove such a connection. It is simply something we deduced judging from existing historical records, official documents, and jianghu rumors.”

Xi Duoduo smiled. “It is up to you to decide whether it is the truth or not.”

“One more thing. The Wenliang Pearl was mentioned in ‘Identifying Truths’, and it is stated that the pearl possesses the power to transform one into a man among men, dragon among dragons… but at the price of a horrible end.”

“Identifying Truths” was a book authored by a jianghu warrior named Tian Xingzi, and Tian Xingzi was an exceptionally erudite man who specialized in identifying objects. The book described all sorts of ways to identify a certain object or treasure, and it was treated as a guiding principle by all appraisers who came after.

There were tons of existing copies of “Identifying Truths” all across the world, so Xi Duoduo couldn’t be lying about this part. There was no way he would sully his own reputation as a Hill Carrier for a joke either. This meant that Tian Xingzi must have seen the Wenliang Pearl and made such a remark.

Assuming that what Tian Xingzi said was true, then it would certainly explain the ups and downs of Wenliang, Wen Qianqiu, Tang Jingcai, Li Hentian and Shen Wanjin’s life.

At the beginning, they were all nobodies that no one gave a damn about. Later, they experienced a meteoric rise and became one of, if not the greatest person of their era. Unfortunately, none of them had met a good end.

1. Wanjin means Million Gold. Wanted to name him Million Gold Shen but it seems redudant with his moniker. ☜

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