Chapter 91: News from the Far East (Part 2)

“How did things get worse than the chaotic period after the collapse of the Old Empire?” Luckily, George had nothing in his mouth, or he would have spit it all out in one breath. At the same time, he pressed his following words deep inside his heart, ‘This is just like the late Qing Dynasty when the Manchu rulers were in charge. Especially the pirate slave raids; it really feels like the trafficking of coolies.’

“Nonsense! If it weren’t like this, I would have already settled in Tu Long long ago, why would I travel ten thousand miles to the Duchy of Nohan?” Wang Qinian put on a bitter face and started complaining, and by the end, the fingers he extended began to tremble, “Nowadays, except for slave traders, only large arms organizations go there to do business. Ordinary caravans never return once they go there. Also, for all these years, I have strictly kept my business dealings and never had any contact with such merchants. How could it be possible for me to collect these books and classics from there in such a short time!”

“You don’t need to speak in such a sarcastic tone, making it seem like I am deliberately making things difficult for you. I am not asking you to bring the things back within a year or two; you have plenty of time to plan carefully. As long as you are smart enough, even if you source goods from merchants of the Flying Dragon Empire, there will be no problem.” George began to gently guide Wang Qinian, aiming to shift his cognition and mindset in the direction he desired.

Wang Qinian lowered his head, stroking the goat beard on his chin with one hand, while the fingers of his other hand kept tapping on the counter. Although he was thinking, his inner irritation was clearly visible. This kind of behavior suggested that he must be feeling very conflicted inside.

Although George’s words were not perfect gems, they were reasonable and well-founded. Rationally speaking, Wang Qinian, who had lived nearly half a century, should be able to understand through his years of experience and mature way of thinking that George was right. The past events on the Eastern Continent could no longer affect his current life.

Emotionally, however, Wang Qinian found it hard to accept. As a young man, he was hunted down by those people all the way. It was only with the help of friends and family that he managed to escape by ship. Even powerful local families could not protect their members from the pursuit and blockade of those fanatical believers.

Later, after enduring hardships and relying on his own abilities and the network of relationships he built along the way, he finally managed to accumulate some wealth in a foreign land. However, due to the shadows of his youth, the threat from The East had always pressed down on Wang Qinian’s head. Until one day, someone suddenly told him that no one would spend such a huge price to cut off the roots just for a small person like him. Although he felt a sigh of relief deep in his heart, he wondered what was the point of living so cautiously for so many years? Was he just a self-righteous fool who worried unnecessarily? Outsiders would definitely find it hard to understand such a huge psychological gap.

In this clash between emotion and reason, Wang Qinian’s face changed color one after another. It turned from white to red, from red to purple, from purple to green, and then back to white. Finally, it seemed he had figured something out, and he finally let out a long breath.

“Then you will have to wait a while.” These seven short words were Wang Qinian’s final answer to George regarding this matter. It was an answer he had considered for a long time. By accepting this business deal from George, he also managed to save his face so he wouldn’t have to eat back his own words.

Of course, George understood that Wang Qinian was looking for a way out for himself, but since he had already agreed to the matter, he was not afraid of him changing his mind. With a bit of progress in his plan, George finally felt at ease. Naturally, he also changed to a relatively brighter smile and said to Wang Qinian, “It doesn’t matter, I can wait. The most important thing is to be able to get good things from Kalatu. Collecting books is not easy unless you truly understand the culture of that place. I do not trust the shopkeepers of the other imported goods stores. Perhaps we can discuss other matters with them, but regarding Kalatu, only you can make me feel at ease!”

Wang Qinian’s eyes spun around, and he said with a flattering smile, “Then I must be truly honored by your favor! But if you are in a hurry, there is no lack of faster methods. However—”

“What is this ‘however’? Just say it quickly.” George was no longer surprised by Wang Qinian’s deliberate pause to raise the price. Seeing the other person start acting as he used to, George was actually quite happy, at least it showed that the other person treated this as a different kind of business. As for George, he greatly admired this ability to quickly change his thinking and accept reality. At least in this aspect, George admitted he was not as good as him; this was a true realist, one whose faith would not collapse. If he were in the Soviet Union in the 1980s or 1990s, he would surely have thrived.

“If it is just collecting books about the ‘Dao’, there is indeed a great risk. But if you are also collecting books about the ‘Path of Enlightenment’, you can use your love for Eastern culture as an excuse to cover it up. Those who follow the ‘Path of Enlightenment’ love nothing more than spreading their cultural ideas.” As Wang Qinian spoke, he seemed to be unconsciously tapping the abacus with his hand, and then suddenly changed his tone, “However, for these ‘Path of Enlightenment’ books you receive at the same time, you will also have to buy them. To be honest, if you want to draw lessons for your own path, the knowledge and concepts of both sects can be somewhat useful.”

“Do you want me to share the risk and cost? Then you had better introduce the specific situations of these two sects to me first. Then I will decide whether to buy or not.” George still spoke to Wang Qinian with a smile on his face, but there was a hint of a fake smile that did not reach his eyes. He was clearly making it known that if he was not satisfied, all consequences would be on his own.

“You don’t even know their specific situations, yet you are willing to spend a huge price to buy books. Is it not better to spend that spare money to buy some spices or other things from me to improve your life?” Wang Qinian said this, and his chin almost dropped to the floor.

George waved his hand and lowered his voice, saying, “You don’t need to worry about that. Sometimes knowing more is not always better. There are many examples of curiosity killing the cat.”

“Unlike the people of the Western Continent, individually worshipping a specific deity is extremely rare in the Flying Dragon Empire. To put it in local terms, the people of the Flying Dragon Empire are all general believers. They believe in the vast pantheon of the Heavenly Court, composed of the Jade Emperor, the Nine Travelers, and other subordinate deities and spirits. In this belief system, the clergy are mostly honest and incorruptible officials or scholars who guide people to do good.” Wang Qinian took a sip from a tin water bottle he took from under the counter and continued, “The other religion of the Flying Dragon Empire is the ‘Dao’, or the ‘Path of Realization’ as the clergy of the ‘Path of Enlightenment’ call it. Originally, it was mainly popular in the central and southern provinces. Rather than being a true religion, it is more of a moral philosophy characterized by theology, animism, and metaphysics taken to the extreme. It emphasizes achieving the state of realizing oneself through specific spiritual cultivation rather than worshipping specific deities. Although they all value self-improvement and are powerful, their foundation among the common people is clearly not as deep as that of the ‘Path of Enlightenment’. Now, not only in the Flying Dragon Empire, but even the state religion of the Yamato Kingdom is a mutated version of the Flying Dragon Empire’s ‘Path of Enlightenment’. And in Sakura, although it is not the state religion, it is also a very common belief.”

“The ‘Path of Enlightenment’ is equivalent to a combination of Confucianism and Mahayana Buddhism in pre-transmigration China, while the ‘Path of Realization’ is equivalent to a combination of Daoism or the Daoist school and Theravada Buddhism. It seems that in this world, the Eastern sects are still quite distinct and have not reached the level of the later era where the three teachings merged!” George thought to himself, and then he tried to ask, “If that is the case, why are the practitioners of the ‘Path of Realization’ now finding it hard to establish themselves in the Flying Dragon Empire?”

Wang Qinian scratched the counter with his finger and muttered angrily, “Isn’t it because the Emperor of the Flying Dragon Empire issued an edict designating the ‘Path of Enlightenment’ as the only legal religion within the Flying Dragon Empire? At that time, the monks and sects of the ‘Path of Realization’ within the Flying Dragon Empire were brutally persecuted. Their temples were destroyed, their members and their families were hunted down, and they had little chance to even change their faith. If the ‘Path of Realization’ did not have powerful and mysterious practitioners, it would have long been wiped out by the Flying Dragon Empire’s state machinery and the members of the ‘Path of Enlightenment’.”

“Hiss! Are those practitioners already powerful enough to fight against the entire state machinery and the vast pantheon?” George sucked in a cold breath.

“If it weren’t for such reasons, would the ‘Path of Realization’ still exist? Although the official propaganda in the Flying Dragon Empire claims it is out of sympathy for their shared roots and unwillingness to drive them to extinction, the truth is that any family with some background knows. The clergy of the ‘Path of Enlightenment’ can no longer easily use the unique Divine Arts of the Jade Emperor and the Nine Travelers as they used to.” After a slight pause, Wang Qinian added even more emphasis, “The strongest among the practitioners, the ‘Three Heavenly Venerables’, have already put the Jade Emperor and the Nine Travelers into a long sleep. Although the three of them also suffered some injuries, compared to the opponent, it is negligible. If it were not for the subsequent backlash of the rules, making the cost of their interference in the Prime Material Plane too high, there would be nothing left for those people of the ‘Path of Enlightenment’ to do.”