Chapter 974 - Counterattack
Science education—this was the forte of dispatched personnel. Every person received science education training before deployment. As for teaching materials, they were mostly drawn from popular science books from the old timeline, primarily written in the 1950s and 60s. The Grand Library researchers believed that the scientific literacy of the general public in that era was only slightly higher than Ming commoners, making those materials most appropriate. As for One Hundred Thousand Whys and similar works, those required at least elementary school-level readers to comprehend.
He began by explaining why it rained, discussing water evaporation, cloud formation, and water condensation. Then he moved to positive and negative electrical charges in clouds, and finally explained how lightning formed.
This explanation was easy to grasp without being condescending, and it captivated Zhuang Yongling and the others, who had never before encountered natural science. Rain and thunder, clouds in the sky—these were the most ordinary everyday phenomena. People rarely stopped to consider "why things are this way." Young people brimmed with curiosity, yet these principles couldn't be found in books. Folk tradition spoke of Thunder Duke and Lightning Mother, but scholars generally dismissed such tales.
Zhang Yingchen's explanations were a revelation to them—quite novel. Though there was much they couldn't fully understand or found puzzling.
The moment he paused, Zhuang Yongling and the others eagerly threw out questions: Why does water evaporate? How can matter change form? Where does the "electrical charge" in clouds come from?
Zhang Yingchen thought: good heavens, they've leapt straight to the microscopic level—truly worthy of a future jinshi's foundations. Fortunately, the researchers had also discussed how to answer such questions, ultimately deciding to cite some ancient Chinese scholarship, particularly Mohist philosophy. Of course, whether Mozi's concept of "duan" amounted to atomic theory was itself debated in academia; the Grand Library researchers had merely borrowed it for "localization."
This theory was ultimately too profound. For children of only about ten who had only been exposed to the Thirteen Classics, it proved rather difficult to digest.
But clearly this theory had opened their eyes. Zhuang Yongling's face was full of excitement:
"The True One is truly brilliant!" He spoke with admiration. "Having the True One at our estate is truly our good fortune! This student wishes to seek the True One's guidance morning and evening."
"Why not?" Zhang Yingchen thought: corrupting you would be even better. Corrupting your fathers and uncles proves difficult, but corrupting you—this True One is quite confident about that. He smiled broadly and agreed.
Zhang Yingchen then produced a small science pamphlet from his robe—newly delivered from the Linqing Qiwei Station, a new compilation by the Grand Library titled Small Notes on Investigating Things. It contained bits of knowledge about astronomy, physics, chemistry, biology, and geography, intended for distribution as a kind of introductory science primer. A batch had recently been printed in Hangzhou.
"This is a rare book from overseas. You should treasure it and study it carefully."
"Thank you, True One!" The moment Zhuang Yongling received it, all three youths couldn't wait to huddle together and begin reading.
In a farmhouse outside Yizhou city, the main heads of the Nanwuliang Sect in this region had all gathered—every face showing expressions of grief for fallen comrades, or perhaps impending doom.
The Guardian Envoy who had descended upon the Yizhou branch altar like a fairy had vanished. Rumor had it she had been taken back to the main altar in Jinan for "punishment" due to "failure"—what would happen to her there was easy to imagine.
Several incense masters of the Yizhou branch who had cooperated with her remained among the crowd, each wearing an expression of fear. Others kept their distance.
The middle-aged man who had once received Min Zhanlian with such imposing manner was still forcing calm. He sneered: "His little tricks amount to nothing. Never mind the Patriarch—just one finger of any of the Four Great Guardians could crush him."
The crowd remained silent. What abilities the Patriarch and Guardians might possess was irrelevant to them right now. The bungled operation and potential retribution from above was what mattered. This Daoist Zhang was so formidable—what if he refused to let the matter rest and came after them? They had already heard about Zhang Yingchen's "thunder-bathing" magic. If he knew some Five Thunder Method or the like—one lightning bolt, and without immortal bodies, they would be instantly charred.
"Don't panic, everyone!" The middle-aged man kept trying to rally morale. "He's just one person—even if he's truly half-immortal, what can he do? Besides, he must be some heterodox demon with a few magic tricks to fool people."
He pointed at an incense master: "The Dadianzhang incense master is your subordinate, isn't he? Why hasn't he come? And what about the incense handlers?"
The other replied with a worried expression: "Reporting to the superior: Dadianzhang's... our incense masters and handlers inside have turned! Defected to that heretic! They've sold out all our people inside. The Zhuang family has now swept through Dadianzhang and their residence. Except for a few who refused to defect and escaped, everyone has become Daoist Zhang's followers..."
"Why didn't you report this earlier?!" The middle-aged man was furious.
"This humble one only just learned of it." The incense master trembled with fear.
The middle-aged man waved his hand. "Never mind! Quickly pass my orders to those who escaped: have them find out the heretic's movements!"
"Yes, yes—this humble one will go at once!"
"Where are Min Zhanlian and his people now?"
"Reporting to the superior, they packed up early this morning and headed for Linqing..." The proprietor of the Wang Family Inn was also an "incense handler." "This humble one advised them not to leave, but they wouldn't listen—"
"So you let them get away?" The altar master's expression immediately turned very dark.
"Yes, yes—this humble one couldn't stop them." Proprietor Wang was terrified. "But this humble one drugged their horses... Without the antidote by noon, the horses will collapse this afternoon..."
"Haha, excellent!" The altar master's face immediately brightened. "Well done!" He turned and ordered: "Immediately send word to all branch altars along the route—cut off their food supply. Send someone to 'persuade' them. They think they can just walk away without finishing the job? Not a chance!" The altar master sneered. "I'd like to see them escape!"
The meeting concluded. The altar master paced back to the rear room.
On the wall-side kang in the rear room sat the Guardian Envoy everyone believed had returned to the main altar.
The red-clad girl was no longer wearing red but plain blue cotton—looking like an ordinary country girl. Her face was pale, her manner distracted.
"The Soul-Searching Sword has fled. He moved fast." The altar master sighed. "We may be in serious trouble."
The Guardian Envoy frowned: "It's you who are in serious trouble. Wasn't killing that Daoist your idea?"
"Hmph. Don't act like you're not involved. The Soul-Searching Sword has fled. If there's nothing more for you here, why don't you return to Jinan Prefecture?" The altar master sneered. "We're grasshoppers on the same string—don't pretend otherwise!"
The Envoy's face alternated between green and white. Just as the altar master said, she dared not return to the main altar now. She had lost. She needed to somehow salvage something before facing the Patriarch and Guardians.
"What do you suggest?" Her tone had softened.
"The only solution is to kill Daoist Zhang..."
"Kill him?" The girl exclaimed. "Dozens of lightning bolts didn't kill him—how are we supposed to do it?"
"Since he won't die by thunder tribulation, he'll die by the sword." The altar master spoke viciously. "I refuse to believe he can repel blades!"
Invulnerability to weapons was a popular claim at the time, but those inside the sect knew it was just showmanship—not to be taken seriously.
The Envoy considered for a moment. Though uncertain in her heart, she still wanted to gamble.
If they could kill or seriously wound this Daoist Zhang, at least she would have something to present to the higher-ups.
"Fine! He has only some heterodox tricks. We'll prepare some filth to break his spells!" She nodded.
"Indeed. For this we'll have to trouble the Guardian—the Soul-Searching Sword is unreliable. In terms of martial arts locally, your skills are the highest." The middle-aged man said. "Of course, I'll dispatch all the local experts for you to command." He spoke fiercely, "At worst we swarm him. I want to see how many Five Thunder spells he can cast!"
"We need to force the Soul-Searching Sword back to help." The girl said. "His team is very strong. Let them lead the assault! Otherwise, if our casualties prove too heavy, that will be difficult to explain." She suddenly stood. "Get me a horse. I'm going after them immediately!"
"It hasn't been two hours since they left. In this heat, the horses won't run very fast. They should still be within Yizhou territory!"
Min Zhanlian didn't realize his horses had been tampered with until it was too late. When the last horse collapsed on the official road and was immediately swarmed by a crowd of starving refugees who reduced it to bones in moments, he finally recognized he had been too careless this time.
Despite all his precautions, he hadn't anticipated the other side tampering with his mounts. Even leaving Uncle He and others at the inn to watch over things, constantly monitoring the stable was simply impossible.
Now his party was stranded on the main road from Yizhou to Linqing. Without horses, trudging through the post-rainstorm mud—the road like a river—under the blazing sun and rising steam, even with their robust constitutions, they were soon exhausted from the trek. Worse still, they hadn't brought much food.
This was a disaster zone where almost no food could be purchased. And having left the Wang Family Inn hastily, they hadn't brought sufficient provisions—they had assumed that with fast horses, they could reach Linqing in just a few days. They hadn't expected the horses to fail.
Min Zhanlian silently cursed: these demon people. He understood of course that the other side wouldn't simply let him walk away, but he truly had no desire to tangle further with that eerie Daoist Zhang.
Just the sight of him being struck dozens of times by lightning without harm—Min Zhanlian already felt he lacked the courage to face such a man.
Even so, he remained deeply troubled. This time he had suffered a major loss of face. Not only had he failed to complete the killing, but his panicked flight, once word spread, would make him appear utterly disgraceful.
(End of Chapter)