The little fox looked distressed, with two new bumps on its body, filled with a pile of books. It asked Ji Xiang with confusion:
"Grand-Ancestor, aren't we leaving Shuntian now?"
"No, we still need to find someone to custom-make some new magical artifacts for us."
Ji Xiang replied.
The little fox's expression turned curious: "New... magical artifacts?"
In its small mind, images of treasures from storybooks surfaced: flying divine swords, magical brushes that turned inanimate objects into reality, the golden lasso of the Ox King...
"I know, I know!"
The little fox became excited. "Those magical artifacts are all written about in 'Journey to the West'! The Ruyi Jingu Bang weighs thirteen thousand five hundred catties, the chainmail golden armor, the phoenix-feathered golden-crowned helmet, the nine-toothed rake, the Jin Jin Jin three hoops, the Yin Yang Two Qi Bottle, the Three-Pointed Double-Edged Spear, the随心铁杆兵, the Five-Colored Immortal Robe, the Banana Fan, the Eight Trigrams Furnace..."
"Grand-Ancestor, is the person you're looking for a great immortal who can make these magical artifacts... ah... is it...?"
Mid-sentence, its voice suddenly became smaller. Ji Xiang, covered in firearms and books, had lowered his head and was staring at the little fox.
"When did you read 'Journey to the West'?"
"Just... just in the Longde Hall... you all went to fight the Jurchens, and I saw His Majesty put a book on the table, so I secretly read it..."
"Little Fox Ten! You have time to read 'Journey to the West' but no time to draw talismans? Is this your attitude towards learning!"
Ji Xiang's tone suddenly became eerie. The little fox, like a child caught reading extracurricular books, broke out in a cold sweat, its face turning pale.
"I... I only read a couple of glances. I read quite fast, I didn't even finish the plot..."
It didn't finish because it was afraid you would come back from outside.
To get by, the little fox immediately brought up a matter.
"Grand-Ancestor, you don't know, but it seems that during the reign of Emperor Jiajing... he once searched for the original manuscript of 'Journey to the West' but couldn't find it. He also read it over and over and made annotations."
"This is what I heard from Fox Long."
As expected, the little fox saw Ji Xiang frown and ponder upon hearing this tidbit of gossip.
The little fox didn't know what its Grand-Ancestor was thinking.
We don't know either, and we don't dare to ask. We just hug our little banners tightly.
Ji Xiang, meanwhile, was thinking that this news precisely matched what Liu Mengyin had said before – that Elder Lei Xuan had once searched for the original manuscript of a book and strongly supported Liu Mengyin's writing endeavors... It turned out to be 'Journey to the West'.
The predecessor of 'Journey to the West', 'Journey to the West Pinghua', existed in the late Yuan and early Ming dynasties, and classic content such as Wei Zheng beheading the dragon and Xuanzang's journey to the west, and the fight in Chechi Kingdom were already present. The complete 'Journey to the West' was compiled and supplemented by Wu Cheng'en in the Jiajing era by collecting materials.
It was said to be a very popular book back then... so popular that people piggybacked on its success and wrote 'Journey to the East' and 'Journey to the South'...
"Hmm! Interesting?"
Ji Xiang suddenly paused.
This was a bit strange!
Liu Mengyin's desire to write novels about gods and ghosts was affirmed by Elder Lei Xuan, and it was supported by Emperor Jiajing.
Emperor Jiajing did not find the original manuscript of 'Journey to the West'.
On the Korean battlefield, Japanese sorcery transformed illusory book spirits into real ones, combining them with Western magic.
Emperor Wanli, influenced by the events on the Korean battlefield and threatened by Emperor Jiajing, began writing under dual terror.
These clues seemed to have some connection. Could it be that Emperor Jiajing was guiding Emperor Wanli to heavily rely on Liu Mengyin for writing?
"This, not finding 'Journey to the West', so he made Emperor Wanli write a substitute?"
Emperor Wanli: I'm writing, I'm writing.
Damn it, is this 'Those Things About the Ming Dynasty'!
"I don't understand, but at least for now, Emperor Jiajing cannot have any impact on Emperor Wanli, as the writing progress is only zero percent."
Ji Xiang was not too worried about this. After all, writing books in this era took decades to complete. Emperors couldn't write drafts every day. Even if they hired ghostwriters, the time would not be less than five or six years.
Moreover, if a ghostwriter was hired, the wishes would belong to the ghostwriter, not Emperor Wanli. Just having a naming right would be useless, so the work would ultimately have to be done by himself.
Furthermore, Emperor Jiajing was tricked by himself and is now being chased like a dog in the Inner Mountains and Rivers. He probably doesn't have the time to manage Emperor Wanli's affairs. The hidden dangers within the capital of the Great Ming have temporarily been resolved.
However, the next step is for various places to bloom, which is the major event that those in the Inner Mountains and Rivers are planning. Various rebellions and uprisings are likely to appear soon, especially since the Little Ice Age is also approaching.
This is the cycle of the Heavenly Dao, not subject to human will, only obeying the arrangements of "Heaven."
Lost in thought, Ji Xiang and the little fox arrived at Zhao Shizhen's residence.
Zhao Shizhen had served as the Chief Clerk of the Court of State Ceremonial for eighteen years. This position mainly involved managing seals and reviewing ceremonial matters. Only one person was appointed, and it did not hold great power. Last year, he was finally promoted from the eighth rank to the seventh rank, but he was still a minor official with a low salary. After all, his money was all spent on research. Officials with no hope of promotion often achieved success in other areas.
Therefore, his residence was located at the border of the inner and outer cities, lodging in an alley. He did not own his own property. Although he had little money, his place of residence, if placed in later generations, would be considered one of the vigilant residents of Chaoyang...
Now, there was no work at the Court of State Ceremonial either. The Wanli era was a period of severe slacking among officials. Except for the Ministry of Personnel, which had almost no holidays, other officials had about three days off per month. However, Emperor Wanli himself did not attend court to work, and others stopped attending morning court altogether. Slacking? That was considered actively working...
Upon arriving at Zhao Shizhen's residence, the door looked like an old employee, appearing weathered and vicissitudinous. Ji Xiang didn't dare to knock, letting the little fox do it, fearing that if he touched it, the door panel would be dismantled.
Knock, knock, knock!
The little fox knocked on the door and shouted: "The Great Ming Daoist Record Office, the Grand Master of True Daoism and the Great Master of the North Pole Benevolent Might, has come to visit Master Zhao."
Soon, there was movement from inside the door. Someone spoke. Zhao Shizhen's wife opened the door in the small courtyard. There were no servants in the house. The custom for Ming Dynasty women not to show their faces was limited to wealthy families. The Old Zhao family clearly did not have the means for that.
When the woman saw the little fox, her eyes lit up slightly. When she saw Ji Xiang, she was startled, as Ji Xiang was covered in firearms. She thought he had come to break down the door.
Hearing that Ji Xiang had come to visit Zhao Shizhen, she asked Ji Xiang to wait, saying her husband was talking to someone inside.
"Someone from the Daoist Record Office? I don't know them."
Zhao Shizhen came out from the house and walked into the dilapidated courtyard, accompanied by a bearded foreigner.
Seeing Ji Xiang's robe, he was greatly surprised. Such robes were only worn by Zhang Tianshi when he guarded the gate in the past, but some parts were different, and the person in front of him was covered in firearms!
Zhao Shizhen was also startled and took two or three steps back.
He dared not neglect, and asked strangely:
"This appearance... may I ask who you are...?"
Minor officials of the seventh or eighth rank did not have the right to attend the court at Fengtian Gate, so they did not recognize Ji Xiang at all.
Ji Xiang smiled slightly: "This humble Daoist heard from Master Zhang that you are currently making some useful magical artifacts? This humble Daoist would like to offer some suggestions and also ask you to specially manufacture one for me."
After speaking, he patted the firearms on his body, making a dull thudding sound.