Chapter 31: The Power Of Will

It was noon, lunchtime.

Ding Suian was not in a hurry to find Jiang Xuan to retrieve the manuscript; he went to the front yard to eat first.

Since the An Squad moved into Diying Garden, their meals have been supplied directly by the Huguai Garden’s private kitchen, and the Soldiers’ food standards have clearly improved.

They never lacked good food like beef and mutton for any meal.

Today, they even sent over a roasted deer leg.

The entire An Squad had never eaten such a delicacy, usually reserved for nobles, in their lives.

“Boss, Boss, come quickly and eat what you need to replenish! We saved this deer penis for you!”

“Do I, this old man, still need replenishing?”

Ding Suian reverted to his rough demeanor in front of his brothers, picked up the deer penis, and examined it, saying, “It’s just so-so. It’s not as magnificent as mine.”

“I don’t believe it! Why don’t you let us take a look and compare? Only then will the brothers be convinced!”

“Scram!”

“Hahaha”

It was obvious that everyone was in high spirits.

What made them happy wasn’t just the deer leg. The biggest reason was that the little chubby fellow in luxurious silk robes had come this morning, looking crestfallen, to apologize to Hu Jiangjiu.

The nation adhered to the virtue of Fire, hence the military uniforms were red.

They were often contemptuously called ‘grunt’.

A few days ago, the Du Family’s female relatives forcefully entered the back residence, daring to insult and fight the Soldier despite the huge disparity in physique and strength, which fully showed the inherent contempt the nobles of Great Wu held for ‘grunts’.

It was only the reputation of the ‘Dragon Guard Army’, the Emperor’s personal troops, that instilled in them a slight ‘fear’ of consequences.

But the scene this morning made these rough men feel a long-lost sense of respect.

Although this ‘respect’ had been beaten out of them by Squad Leader Ding.

Before Ding Suian arrived, Hu Jiangjiu might have already received instructions from everyone. Seeing Wang Xigui and Chest Hair constantly winking at him, he took out the handful of broken silver from his bosom, carefully separated most of it, and handed it over, chuckling honestly, “If it weren’t for Brother Sui’an, I wouldn’t have gotten a single coin. Let’s split this silver between us.”

Ding Suian naturally noticed the atmosphere. After looking around, he laughed and scolded, “Scram, scram, scram! Do I lack this little bit of silver? Keep it safe and use it to honor your parents.”

After the meal.

Ding Suian walked out of Diying Garden and sauntered over to the Moon Gate of Huguai Garden.

Gongye Ni, who was standing guard there, raised his arm in a crisp chest-high military salute. Ding Suian waved his hand, and the stiff, formal Gongye Ni then lowered his arm and stood at attention.

“Any abnormalities?”

Ding Suian peered into the courtyard. He was thinking about how to coax Jiang Xuan out to reclaim the manuscript.

Everyone knows that writing is very hard work!

Especially for someone like Ding Suian, who does it as a side job.

Losing a manuscript for nothing is more painful than losing a wife!

“None!”

Gongye Ni was extremely concise.

Ding Suian took out a piece of roasted venison wrapped in oiled paper from his pocket and handed it to Gongye Ni, “We had venison today, and the brothers saved a piece for you.”

Those dogs would go crazy when they saw food; why would they remember to save him a piece?

Gongye Ni understood instantly. It must have been Squad Leader Ding who, upon seeing the rare food, snatched a piece for him from the mouths of the An Squad dogs.

Gongye Ni forced a hint of a smile onto his chiseled, square face to show his gratitude.

“Why are you crying? Is one piece of meat really worth that?”

.

The smile instantly vanished.

While Ding Suian was gazing, he saw Jiang Xuan sneaking out from the depths of Huguai Garden. When Jiang Xuan saw him from afar, he wasn’t afraid; he even started running excitedly.

“Uh…”

As soon as Jiang Xuan ran out of the Moon Gate, Ding Suian grabbed him by the collar and dragged him aside. “Cold-Faced Gentleman, you dare to deliver yourself right to my door? Where is my manuscript?”

Jiang Xuan waved his hand dramatically and exclaimed excitedly, “Aiya! Your little brother knew that such magnificent writing must have been composed by you, Brother! This piece is written with world-shattering beauty and imposing grandeur. The literary world of Great Wu is saved!”

.

Damn it, this kid can brag even better than I can!

Sensing that Ding Suian had loosened his collar, Jiang Xuan crept closer, wearing a fawning expression. His normally handsome face was utterly ruined, turning into that of a sycophantic official. “Brother, I have a plan that can make a fortune!”

“Don’t lean in so close!”

Ding Suian raised his hand and pushed Jiang Xuan’s sycophantic face away slightly. “Tell me about it.”

“Print this book!”

I thought it was some brilliant scheme. That’s it?

“You say that easily. Illegally printing books means sixty strokes of the rod and banishment eight hundred *li*.”

“Who said illegally printing it!” Jiang Xuan puffed out his chest, smugly wiped his nose, and said, “Your little brother is unworthy, but I am sworn brothers with the son of Director Liu of the Ministry of Rites’ Bureau of Book Supervision.”

The Bureau of Book Supervision is precisely the organization in Great Wu responsible for managing the printing and auditing of books.

The two siblings of the Jiang Family are practically NPCs who dropped from the sky!

Ding Suian immediately grew interested, but after thinking for a moment, he said, “I haven’t finished writing the story yet.”

“Ah?”

The look of disappointment on Jiang Xuan’s face flashed and vanished. He rolled his eyes and became excited again. “It’s even better if it’s not finished! We can split one book into ten volumes to sell. If one book sells for one tael of silver, splitting it into ten volumes, each only needs to sell for 0.15 taels of silver, and we’ll earn an extra 0.5 taels when it’s complete.”

“Splitting one book into ten volumes, won’t they be too thin?”

“What’s there to fear! Use the largest font, and add an erotic illustration every two pages. Won’t that be enough to make 170 or 180 pages? Be sure to leave a cliffhanger at the end of each volume—the kind that makes the reader jump up and down. For example, the text ends with: ‘Ximen Da-guanren stripped Jinlian completely naked and lunged forward. To know what happens next, please read the next volume…’

.

Ding Suian tilted his head, watching the spittle-flying Jiang Xuan, and thought to himself: He’s also a cliffhanger dog!

Eh?

Why did I use the word ‘also’?

The next day, the twenty-fifth of the twelfth lunar month.

Diying Garden, Halberd Hall.

Jiang Yuan sat quietly in the main hall, unable to stop glancing curiously into the inner room. As agreed, she had brought the list of books concerning the Three Teachings.

But what puzzled her was that her younger brother, who had absolutely refused to come yesterday, had actively urged her to hurry over this morning.

After arriving, Jiang Xuan and Ding Suian went into the inner room and had been whispering for a long time without coming out.

Next door, separated by a curtain.

Jiang Xuan brushed off the thin two pages of text and said, “Brother, your speed is unacceptable! I estimate I’ll return to the capital in mid-first month, so you must let me take at least 100,000 characters of the manuscript, right?”

“Stop rushing me, I’m a part-timer!”

“Brother, that’s where you’re wrong! If you want to make money, how can you be afraid of hard work? In a twelve-hour day, besides duty, sleeping, and eating, you can squeeze out at least six hours to write, right?”

“I have my own rhythm. You transcribe the manuscript once and leave the original with me.”

After giving his instructions, Ding Suian lifted the curtain and walked into the main hall.

The quiet Jiang Yuan immediately stood up and performed a graceful salute. Seeing only Ding Suian, she asked doubtfully, “Where is Diminutive for Jiang Xuan?”

“I saw he was idle, so I assigned him homework: copying moral essays.”

Ding Suian certainly couldn’t tell her sister that he was encouraging Jiang Xuan to transcribe erotic literature.

Jiang Yuan was deeply shocked. Their father was constantly away, and their mother doted on him, making her brother unruly. When he was home, let alone actively copying, he found it annoying even to glance at a book.

Yet, she hadn’t expected that after coming to her Maternal Aunt’s place, he would be so obedient to Squad Leader Ding.

Jiang Yuan performed another salute and softly said, “Thank you, Brother Ding, for instructing Diminutive for Jiang Xuan.”

“You have far too many formalities.” Ding Suian smiled, picked up the book list Jiang Yuan had written on the table, and felt a headache coming on after one look.

The book list was densely covered with book titles, filling an entire page. A quick count revealed at least a few dozen volumes.

The classics of the Three Teachings were already difficult to understand. How long would it take to chew through them one by one?

And that didn’t even count the historical records.

But if he didn’t read them, he couldn’t perfect his world view.

After thinking, Ding Suian put down the book list and asked directly, “Miss Jiang, how many Realms are there in the Cultivation of the State Religion?”

Jiang Yuan parted her lips slightly: “Vitality, Enlightenment, Silent Sound Realm.”

Ding Suian waited for her to continue, but after waiting a long time, there was nothing more. He asked in surprise, “That’s it?”

“That’s it.”

“What is the Silent Sound Realm?”

“The greatest sound is Silent Sound Realm. Upon reaching this Realm, Literature Cultivators do not need to speak, and Law Cultivators do not need instruments; with a single thought, Divine Abilities manifest.”

“A few days ago, I met a villain at Jintai Temple who could control people’s minds simply by reciting, ‘A gentleman is reserved but not contentious.'”

“According to Brother Ding, the villain likely used the Heart-Disturbing Command. When facing an enemy, it can disrupt minds, sap morale, and delay thought processes. The opposite is the Array-Urging Command, which can make one’s side clear-minded and boost fighting spirit. Both are Indoctrination Divine Abilities.”

“What Realm can such Divine Abilities be learned in?”

“One can Cultivate them in the Enlightenment Realm.”

“Besides the Heart-Disturbing Command and the Array-Urging Command, does the State Religion have other Divine Abilities?”

. Jiang Yuan looked up at Ding Suian, then cautiously checked outside the door, confirming there were no eavesdroppers, and only then, after some hesitation, said, “Brother Ding, actually, the three Realms of Vitality, Enlightenment, and Silent Sound Realm were originally the Cultivation Realms of the Confucian School.”

Ding Suian was slightly surprised but knew he was hearing genuine secrets of the nation’s upper echelon, so he signaled for Jiang Yuan to continue.

“It is said that Confucian Cultivators were divided into eight Realms, but after The Ren-Chen Confucian Rebellion, the Rites Sect replaced Confucianism. Only the first three Realms remain, and no one knows how to Cultivate beyond that. As for the other Divine Abilities of the State Religion, one must achieve perfection in the Silent Sound Realm, enter the Three Sages Palace, and become a Green-Robed Cultivator before being able to Cultivate them.”

Jiang Yuan paused, and her already small, kitten-like voice dropped even lower. “As far as I know, the State Religion’s Divine Abilities don’t seem to be very related to the Realm; they are only related to the Power Of Will.”

“What exactly is the Power Of Will?”

“The power of faith and will. The more followers there are, and the more devout their faith and will, the stronger the Divine Ability.”

Thanks to reader: King Slayer, for the tip of over 5,000 coins~