They've all become top scholars in the imperial examinations, and you're telling me this i

What is written in Chapter 62 of the official documents?

"What does Master Yuan want with this Dragon Prince?" Chen Guangrui asked calmly.

Yuan Shoucheng looked at Chen Guangrui with a complicated expression, as if trying to determine whether he was genuinely unaware or feigning ignorance.

He sighed, his voice growing increasingly low, “He has a great karmic connection with my lineage… a great destiny! This is a verse left by our ancestor. It has to be him! This is related to the continuation of our lineage.”

A hint of urgency flashed in his eyes. "But ever since he was executed by the Jade Emperor for 'disobedience,' we have been secretly searching for a long time, trying to find the reincarnation of this Dragon Prince, but we haven't found a single clue. It's as if he disappeared into thin air."

"disappear?"

Chen Guangrui frowned slightly, his mind racing, guessing that this might be news that the Buddhist sect was deliberately blocking.

He remained silent for a moment, as if weighing his options. Finally, just as Yuan Shoucheng was about to lose his patience, Chen Guangrui raised his head, looked directly at him, and his gaze became extremely resolute.
"Master Yuan," his voice wasn't loud, but it carried an undeniable weight.

"You said you had no clues, but I... might actually have some."

"You have it?" Yuan Shoucheng reacted as if stung by a scorpion, taking a sudden step forward.
"Scholar Chen, this matter is of utmost importance, even affecting the survival of my sect! This is no joke! You...you mustn't be lying to me!"

His face was practically overflowing with skepticism. He had just witnessed Chen Guangrui's methods firsthand—having completely fooled the Old Dragon King—and now he suddenly claimed to have clues about the Third Prince of the West Sea? How could he possibly believe it? What if it was an elaborate trap…?

"Trying to fool you?"

Chen Guangrui smiled slightly. "Master Yuan, do you think I need to lie to you right now? Or rather, would deceiving you do me any good?"

Before Yuan Shoucheng could answer, he changed the subject, his tone carrying an undeniable pressure.
"How about we do a simple simulation?"

"First, you need to do me this favor,"

Chen Guangrui slapped the table.

“Tell me what was altered in that document. The Buddhist sect won’t find out that you leaked the secret anytime soon. They have too many things to do. This is a small matter, and they won’t be able to trace it back to you. By the time they do find out, you may have already used the clues I gave you to find the Third Prince of the West Sea Dragon King that you’ve been longing for.”

Chen Guangrui paused, looking at Yuan Shoucheng's changed face, and emphasized his tone.

"At that time, with your sect's last chance of survival in your hands, would you still be afraid of being retaliated against by the Buddhist sect?"

Yuan Shoucheng's Adam's apple bobbed, but he didn't make a sound.

"Secondly," Chen Guangrui said coldly, "if you don't help me now..."

He paused deliberately.

"Then I have no choice but to 'accidentally' reveal that you were looking for the dragon clan."

Chen Guangrui took a step forward: "Think about it, how will he treat you then?"

Yuan Shoucheng's expression changed completely, and fine beads of cold sweat appeared on his forehead.

This is coercion! But he has no choice.

"...Okay! Chen Guangrui!"

Yuan Shoucheng's voice seemed to be squeezed out from between his teeth, "You're ruthless! I hope you really have a clue, otherwise even if I die, I will..."

“Swear it!” Chen Guangrui coldly interrupted his venomous rage.

"I will tell you about the clues regarding the Third Prince of the West Sea Dragon King at the appropriate time. But today, regarding the secret of that document, you must swear to the heavens, on the very foundation of your sect's heritage, that the result calculated today cannot be false in the slightest. Otherwise, your sect will be exterminated, and your path to immortality will crumble! And I…"

Chen Guangrui raised three fingers, equally solemn.

"I, Chen Guangrui, also swear to Heaven that if Yuan Shoucheng helps me calculate today's divination, I will definitely tell him the clues about the Third Prince of the West Sea Dragon King, and I will never reveal to anyone that the cause and effect of today's events is due to you, Master Yuan. If I break this oath, may I be struck down by Heaven and Earth!"

Although the oath was stern, it also gave Yuan Shoucheng a vague guarantee.

Yuan Shoucheng glared menacingly at Chen Guangrui, his chest heaving violently. Finally, he gritted his teeth and swore an oath to the heavens with the most vicious curse. He was a fortune teller and believed in such curses and fate.

"It's not that I can't calculate the contents, but without any items related to the documents, I can't calculate it either."

Chen Guangrui nodded, "It's okay, I'm ready."

As he spoke, he took out a wooden box used for storing documents.

"Bring it!"

Yuan Shoucheng snatched the wooden box of documents from Chen Guangrui's hand with a fierce motion.

He placed the box on the table without opening it, and instead took out a specially made talisman. A ghostly blue flame ignited at his fingertips, instantly burning the talisman to ashes, which fell onto the wooden box.

He made hand seals, muttered incantations, and stared intently at the ashes with his cloudy eyes, as if trying to catch some invisible thread in the void.

Time passed slowly, and Yuan Shoucheng's expression grew increasingly solemn. Sweat streamed down his face, soaking his tattered Taoist robe.

Finally, he let out a long sigh, his taut shoulders slumping with exhaustion. He looked up at Chen Guangrui, his eyes filled with apprehension and an indescribable complex emotion.

"I've figured it out,"

Yuan Shoucheng's voice was hoarse with a hint of lingering fear.

"The changes were indeed minimal, almost to the point of being extremely minor. If this thing hadn't been changed only a few days ago and still retained a faint trace of cause and effect connected to the aura of that day, it would have been almost impossible to trace back."

He swallowed hard and said, word by word,

"What was erased and then restored was... the time in the winter of the second year of Wude, when Yin Kaishan's daughter, Yin Wenjiao, accompanied her father to the palace. The record shows that she stayed in the pavilion by the water in the rear garden for... a quarter of an hour. The description at that time was, 'Sitting in the pavilion, chatting and laughing.' The words that were changed were the last eight-character annotation."

Yuan Shoucheng looked at Chen Guangrui and slowly uttered those eight words.
"With a dignified and solemn appearance, he expounds the Buddhist teachings!"

"..."

Chen Guangrui fell silent. The surrounding noise seemed to vanish instantly, leaving only those eight words echoing repeatedly in his mind.

In the second year of the Wude era, Yin Wenjiao was about ten years old.

How old is this little girl? In the royal garden, she suddenly becomes "solemn and dignified" and even "preaches Buddhist principles" to others? Is this normal? It's very abnormal! This is not something a young noblewoman would do.

Buddhism! Buddhism again!
Chen Guangrui's eyes churned with thoughts, countless ideas flashing through his mind. But in the end, he said nothing, only nodding to Yuan Shoucheng.
"Thank you for your help, Master. I will remember your clue."

He ignored Yuan Shoucheng's complex and unreadable expression, turned around, and strode into the surging crowd in the West Market.

"Hey! I already told you, where's your lead?"

Chen Guangrui waved his hand, "Two Realms Mountain."

Yuan Shoucheng watched his retreating figure disappear, feeling as if all his strength had been drained from his body.
"Damn it, this kid's just trying to hook me!"

Meanwhile, a thousand miles away, on the Jing River.

The water was no longer calm; rumblings and thunder could be heard. In the crystal palace at the bottom of the river, the atmosphere was unusually heavy. The Jing River Dragon King sat high on the main throne, his sons and grandsons stood solemnly below him, along with some of his brothers.

"Thank you, brothers, for saving me."

As he spoke, he led the Dragon Kings, transformed into human form, and headed towards Chang'an.

Outside Chang'an city, in the local temple.

The local official was sipping tea when suddenly, as if sensing something or realizing something, his legs went weak and he collapsed to the ground.

(End of this chapter)