Chapter 15: Creating a God

Upon entering the imperial palace, Ji Huo found officials hurrying back and forth everywhere. Each carried stacks of documents, their faces alight with excited smiles.

Judging by their enthusiasm for work, Ji Huo reckoned they would even willingly accept the infamous “zero-zero-seven” schedule. His former employer would probably have leaped out of bed at the sight.

Ji Huo did not walk with Master Wen. He went to the main hall first. Before he even entered, he heard a crowd shouting and cursing inside, their voices loud and heated.

Yet the moment Ji Huo stepped in, everyone stopped what they were doing and bowed to him.

“Greetings, Prince Qi.”

“Qi” sounded the same as “Qi,” and that was the title his elder brother had personally chosen. Ji Huo had no particular opinion on the matter. Let them call him whatever they liked. He hardly ever attended court anyway.

In addition, Little Brown Sugar had been made Princess Tangtang—a very fairy-tale-like title, indeed. The girl was delighted. Then she asked the eunuch who had come to proclaim the decree:

“Now that Little Brown Sugar is a princess, does that mean I can kill—”

Before she could finish, Qian Twenty-Three clapped a hand over her mouth, while the others hurriedly offered their thanks for the imperial favor.

And then there was his father, who had been elevated to Retired Emperor. No one had dared deliver the decree to him, however. The eunuch who had entered had been kicked right back out.

Still, it was ultimately a good thing. Thus, several commanders of the Flying Bear Army brought wine and drank with his father, though no one mentioned the matter at all.

Sometimes Ji Huo thought that the only people his father had once been unable to let go of were the former emperor, the Grand Preceptor, and his brothers in the Flying Bear Army.

Now the first two were gone, and all the civil and military officials of the former dynasty had been bundled away with them. The Flying Bear Army had also been handed over to Ji Huo.

In a sense, his father was now free of every burden.

Ji Huo entered the main hall and said, “No need for ceremony. Get back to whatever you were doing.”

“Yes, Prince Qi!” the officials replied in unison, bowing once more.

Ji Huo knew none of them. Some were officials from the provinces; some had never even held office before.

Many were dressed casually, without so much as an official robe. Yet after listening to their conversation for a while, Ji Huo could tell that every one of them possessed genuine ability.

He shrugged and looked around the hall. When he failed to find his elder brother, he went to the imperial study instead.

Master Wen was already there.

Two others were present as well. One was a middle-aged or elderly man with a square face and an air of refined learning. His name was Ning Fengxi. He was a leading scholar of the Confucian school and its current head.

The other was tall and slender, with a gaunt face and a thin mustache. His eyes were narrowed in a perpetual smile as he watched Master Wen and Ning Fengxi argue, saying little himself.

His name was Song Ping. Ji Huo knew nothing of his background. He had apparently been unknown before, though his elder brother had mentioned him once.

His elder brother wore a long robe of pale moon-white and was discussing some matter with the others. When he saw Ji Huo approach, he smiled.

“You’re here, Second Brother.”

The other three hurriedly bowed. Outside the imperial study, matters were different, but within it, proper etiquette still had to be observed.

Ji Huo nodded and said casually, “Elder Brother, I came to discuss something with you.”

Seeing his expression, Ji Junhong raised his brows. He dismissed the attendants, leaving only Master Wen and the other two men, then asked, “What is it?”

Ji Huo drew out the Bronze Bell and said solemnly, “I need to build temples throughout Great Qi. The Bronze Bell will serve as the sacred image, allowing the people to worship it and gather the power of incense.”

The moment he said this, everyone was startled.

His elder brother immediately nodded with a smile. “Good.”

Ning Fengxi sprang up at once in protest. “Your Majesty, such an undertaking would burden the people and—”

Before he could finish, Ji Junhong turned his gaze upon him. Ning Fengxi promptly swallowed the rest of his words, shrugged, and fell silent.

Master Wen, however, asked in puzzlement, “Prince Qi, is this the true purpose of the Bronze Bell?”

He had studied the object for a long time without discovering anything. It had also spent many years in Li Xiu’s possession, yet Li Xiu had never managed to unlock its secrets. Who could have imagined that Ji Huo would know how to use it the moment it fell into his hands?

Ji Huo gave a vague explanation. “That’s right. This object will be of great use in the future.”

His elder brother took out a map of Great Qi and asked, “Second Brother, what scale do you have in mind for these temples? How many will you need?”

Ji Huo spread out the map and carefully wrote with a brush:

“The temples need not be large. They need only be large enough for people to worship in them. Inscriptions like these must be carved around each temple.”

“One must be built in every prefecture, commandery, and county. In addition, the temples at these locations must be connected in a single line…”

The others stepped forward curiously to examine the diagram Ji Huo had drawn. Song Ping could not understand it at all; this was not his field.

Ning Fengxi and Master Wen both frowned, pondering the origin of the formation.

Ning Fengxi exclaimed in astonishment, “What an intricate grand formation. Each county and commandery serves as a smaller formation, and all of them are linked to the various prefectures and commanderies. In the end, the whole of Great Qi will be enveloped within it. And furthermore…”

He stopped there and gave Ji Huo an odd look.

Had Ji Huo not been the emperor’s own brother, and had the emperor not placed such complete trust in him, Ning Fengxi might already have shouted, “Traitor!”

No one knew what effect the formation would have. But if it were activated, the Bronze Bell in Ji Huo’s possession would serve as its core, and the entire realm of Great Qi would fall within his control.

Such a momentous matter was truly…

Master Wen continued calculating the formation’s possible effects. In the end, he gave up dejectedly, smiled bitterly, and cupped his hands.

“Prince Qi possesses extraordinary talent. I cannot compare.”

Ji Huo shrugged. “Don’t look at me. I only learned it just now, too.”

Master Wen continued, “But, Prince Qi, if my deductions are correct, then should we one day conquer the Liang Kingdom…”

“That’s right,” Ji Huo said without hesitation. “The same temples will then have to be established throughout Liang. The more territory we occupy, the more faith we can gather, and the stronger the formation’s effects will become.”

Both Master Wen and Ning Fengxi fell silent.

A formation this terrifying would naturally be a great boon to Great Qi if placed in the hands of someone trustworthy. But if it fell into the hands of an evil man, the consequences would be disastrous.

If Ji Junhong was now the emperor of Great Qi, bound to the realm as one with it, then the formation Ji Huo wished to establish would likewise bind him to the whole of Great Qi—without even exposing him to the backlash that came from sharing in the realm’s destiny.

Throughout history, anyone other than the emperor who attempted such a thing would likely have been dragged outside and beheaded on the spot.

Yet now, no one dared even ask whether the Bronze Bell ought to be surrendered to Great Qi.

Ji Junhong sat upon the imperial throne and waited quietly. He had only glanced at the formation diagram a few times before looking away; he could not understand it anyway.

“Have you finished discussing it?” Only after the others had stopped did he speak. “In that case, Minister Ning, this matter shall be entrusted to…”

He caught sight of Song Ping slightly raising his head.

Ji Junhong hesitated, then smiled and asked, “Brother Song, do you have a suggestion?”

Ji Huo also looked toward Song Ping. The man had not spoken a single word from beginning to end, and Ji Huo had no idea what his background was.

Song Ping cupped his hands. “May I ask, Prince Qi—how important is this formation?”

“It is extremely important.” Ji Huo nodded seriously.

Ji Junhong glanced at him in astonishment. From Ji Huo’s tone, he could sense an urgency and tension he had never heard from him before.

Even when they had fought that fox together, Ji Huo had not been so serious.

Ji Junhong narrowed his eyes. His previously relaxed posture on the imperial throne straightened, and he took another careful look at the formation diagram.

It seemed to be meant to defend against something.

Could it be that Second Brother had noticed it as well…?

A faint golden light flowed through Ji Junhong’s eyes. He might not understand formations, but he could identify things.

Song Ping asked again, “Regardless of the cost or the consequences?”

Before Ji Huo could answer, his elder brother said decisively, “Regardless of the cost. Regardless of the consequences.”

“Yes!” Master Wen, Ning Fengxi, and Song Ping cupped their hands together.

Only then did Song Ping reveal his idea. Before speaking, he deliberately stepped farther away.

“If that is the case, then if the people are asked to worship only this bronze artifact, I fear not many will come. Why not have them worship a statue of Prince Qi instead? The statue could depict Prince Qi holding the Bronze Bell. We can claim that a living shrine is being built to pray for Prince Qi’s blessings and to protect the people of the region.”

“With Prince Qi’s current reputation, the temples will surely be crowded.”

“If we spread the word discreetly as well, we should be able to gather a tremendous amount of faith in a short time.”

Deify him!

Ji Huo’s heart gave a start. He looked Song Ping up and down, suddenly convinced that the man was insane. Even Ji Huo himself had never dared go this far.

“Traitor! Your Majesty! Please have this Song Ping beheaded!”

Ning Fengxi finally managed to roar out the words. He had not dared say them to Ji Huo earlier, but now he had finally found his chance.

He had even taken off a shoe he had prepared in advance and hurled it viciously at Song Ping, carrying with it more than a little personal resentment. Song Ping, however, had been ready and nimbly dodged it.