149 4.60 (End)

Maybe because Da Gong finally came back, it was like a curse was broken. Slowly but surely as time passed Tang Muxin and the others realised they had started aging normally again. However even if they aged, there was little pain or illness in their life. 

It could be the best blessing they could ask for after leading such a long fulfilling life.

Pan Shuchun slapped her knee and laughed when they discussed their realisations, "Finally! I was getting sick of eating your eighty something year old dog food bah!"

Tang Muxin and Duan Mengyao: "…Well." (,,¬_¬,,),,U_U,,)

Yan Huizhong sneers, touching the calloused hand of his husband intimately, "You're lucky we were kind enough to feed you anything ah."

Ye Cheng laughs as Pan Shuchun and Yan Huizhong descend into another petty argument. Even after all these years they were still the same as ever. 

Knowing that it was nearing the end, while there was some reluctance at the thought of parting with everyone, they all were satisfied with the lives they have lived. So everyone all decided to spend their last days just like they had started.

On a long journey, just travelling. 

They also invited the emperor as well, after all it would be too cruel to leave him behind and they had gotten closer to the emperor as another fellow long-lived person. Jia Hyson, not forgetting the side quest he had previously accepted, which was choosing the next emperor to lead the country, volunteered to help the emperor with his decision using [Karmic Insight].

By now the original princes had long left the world and a whole new batch of potential emperors stood nervously in the hall awaiting their verdict. Because of Jin Bao, Father dragon had done a lot of 'charity work' nourishing the country with spiritual energy and bringing the previous vitality back to life. Therefore there was a great amount of respect and reverence to dragons that previously, was more superficial when Jia Hyson first transmigrated here.

The emperor nervously sits on the throne with great anticipation, he was probably even more eager to see Jia Hyson make a decision than the princes.

Jia Hyson didn't blame him, if he had to govern a country for over half a century he would be ready to push a baby donkey into his position and kill anyone who protests his decision to be honest.

Bebe: '…Why not use a normal human baby?'

Jia Hyson: 'Dramatics~' JazzHands.gif

Bebe: 눈_눈 Well, fair enough. 

Activating [Karmic Insight] he looks at the princes. He wasn't surprised to see their strong auras filled with bright colors with very little murkiness. Maybe because the emperor really had very little to do other than work and work, he had began to be more hands on in raising the princes. While he wasn't warm and intimate due to not just his position but also the fact that the pain would be worse when they died before him, he treated them all like a teacher treats his students. 

At first the ministers protested but after some thought they quickly accepted it. 

The old emperor was so adapt and capable now the ministers feared that he would soon realise that these spicy chicken ministers' workloads had been slowly decreasing over time, secretly just push it onto the emperor who is so fast at finishing his duties. The emperor who at heart was still a little bit of a silly white rabbit, was too used to hard work and had long associated his job to a long time sitting on the desk. Even if he works more efficiently, he doesn't notice how strange it is that he doesn't finish any quicker. 

The biggest fear of the ministers and officials now is that the emperor will grow bored, have an epiphany and realise the workload he has is a bit not right, compare it to last years amount, the year before, and then proceed to fire half the government in rage. 

…Therefore they who originally protested, immediately changed face and offered their own sons to also be taught under the great emperor, saying his wiseness knows no bounds and he should spread his knowledge to stabilise the country. 

Emperor: Very good. This emperor daddy is pleased with the loyalty of our servants. We haven't fed you well for nothing. 

Ministers and officials: Hehehehehehhe and so our salted fish lives continue.

Since the emperor taught various generations of royalty, Pan Shuchun and Tang Muxin, these modern transmigrators also couldn't help but join in and bring their family babies along too. 

Of course when some people were involved in one thing, the rest of the group also followed in on the fun, after all they were all rather bored. Even Ye Cheng and Yan Huizhong who usually visited to capital for a few months every year would play-*cough*-help teach the children when they were there. Jia Hyson would also occasionally pop in to gloat at the little radishes working hard. 

Therefore other than some teachers who taught the basic foundation, the princes' teachers were:

A super emperor who is used to undertaking an excessively large amount of reading documentation. A super doctor slash assassin who also helped lead the army. A super businesswoman who not only is knowledgeable with the trends, controlling public opinion and also controls 90% of all major businesses. A fierce general who had protected the country countless times. The emperor's sadistic and sly only son who was extremely adapt at scheming and politics. And a playful dragon. 

In short, x generations of royalty were abused and tossed around to hell and back under the tutelage of these behemoths. It created previously unprecedented scenes of many princes hoping to death that the emperor will not die in their generation and they have to take over the mantle thanks to their preconceived ideas of how an emperor lives now.

Prince A: "Wuwuwu Emperor Grandpa I can't finish reading twenty pages in a night! This is inhumane!"

Emperor: "Ah? But I have to read at least sixty reports a night. Each report can be at least ten, fifteen, thirty pages!"

Prince A: '…' So??? That just means you're inhuman. Don't drag this baby into it!

Prince B: "Teacher Tang I can't do it anymore! My legs are sore, my feet are swollen! I don't want to run laps anymore!!!"

Teacher Tang Muxin: "As an emperor, you must always be in good health to reassure not just the servants but the entire country. Besides, you see the emperor running around the palace, he's so busy. If you become emperor you'll need to do the same ah."

Prince B: "No… isn't emperor grandpa chasing the dragon around like a child and running away from the Minister of Rites who wants to talk to him about something boring again?"

Teacher Tang Muxin: "…Isn't this still being busy? Never mind. If you can interpret the ten lines of Sun Tzu's Art Of War I will give you, you can stop running. If you can't we will practice archery for an hour."

Prince B: QAQ

Prince C: "Teacher Pan, please let this prince rest. My head hurts, I don't understand what is the point of this inflation thing? Why are all the prices rising? Who is demanding everything? Teacher Pan can't we just let the servants do this tedious work?"

Teacher Pan Shuchun: "Aiyah don't you see how diligent your emperor grandpa is? Do you think all those papers he is reading is about what he's going to eat tonight? No, money rules the world and economics runs society! Do you want to become a terrible emperor who can't even keep track of the treasury and can only rely on others? Now come, come, I will also teach you about this new thing me and your emperor grandpa is trying to implement called 'banking'."

Prince C: "…oh." I can feel my brain spasming. 

Prince A: "King Yan, I really don't think I'm going to be emperor, there's really no need to teach me this…"

King Yan Huizhong: "Hah, are you stupid? Even if you aren't the emperor you are still a prince! You have to maintain your emperor grandpa's face, besides who knows when that old man will keel over ah- don't look so horrified, tsk. Anyway foreign diplomacy is very important and you always need to consider your etiquette and also consider the foreign visitor's feelings as well. We will start with the customs of serving tea, recognising tea, and talking about tea. Now there are seven types of chinese tea, we shall first explore the history, varieties, meanings, growing process of green tea- stop slouching!"

Prince A: "…Well." LostTheWillToLive.jpeg

Prince B: "Teacher Duan, this prince already exercised with teach Tang the other day so-"

Teacher Duan Mengyao: "I've killed more than two hundred trained enemy soldiers."

Prince B: "…Okay." CryingTearsOfBlood.jpeg

Prince C: "Uh, Teacher Ye, I really don't think this is important to being an emperor."

Teacher Ye Cheng: "Nonsense, learning about taking care of animals will teach you about empathy and patience. It is also a stress reliever. An emperor is very busy and will encounter a lot of things and make many decisions that will inevitably hurt someone, whether it is the heart of the emperor himself or the heart of the people. Your emperor grandpa looks very strong but the truth is he's made a lot of choices that have worn down his soul."

Prince C: "Teacher Ye, the goat is eating my hair."

Teacher Ye Cheng: "And that's a small price to pay for keeping your soul intact."

Prince C: "I don't think that's correct and Teacher Ye I rather the goat take my soul than my hair please."

Teacher Ye Cheng: :)

Prince C: "…" My hair. ಥ_ಥ

Prince A, B and C: "Dragon Jin can we not-"

Jia Hyson: "You are the little princes that might become the next emperor someday. As an emperor you must… um… anyway, I'll give you two minutes to run and hide from me. If I don't find you during the next hour we will take a three day break and play around, but if I find you, I get to pick who will specially teach you for five straight days while you wear whatever I want you to wear."

Prince A, B and C: "…" Fuck this guy is the worst out of all of them! Also why the fuck do we still think he looks so cute!? (ノ,,,ಠ益ಠ,,)ノ彡┻━┻,,,ಠ益ಠ,,)ノ彡┻━┻,,,ಠ益ಠ,,)ノ彡┻━┻

And of course, when Da Gong came back… well… it could be said the latest generation was just especially pitiful ah. 

In the end, after such caring training, the shadows in the little and big princes hearts over the years have always become the word 'emperor'. When people ask about their ambitions to be the next emperor they will scream silently in their hearts- They don't want it, they really don't want it. 

Even the most naturally ambitious children were directly frightened to tears when they saw their emperor grandpa's office. Emperor grandpa was also so 'kindhearted'- four times a year he will gather some of the princelings to act as 'intern' emperor so they can all get a taste of power for a few weeks.

Emperor: Ah, I am so fair and just now. Even if they can't be emperor they can at least have the experience of ruling. 

Princes: N-no, such an experience- we really don't need it!

It should be known that five or six educated princelings of varying ages could barely finish one day's paperwork of the unknowingly workaholic emperor. And the pressure of making decisions that will effect the country, even with four other brothers to help decide with you, was enough to make them tremble a little. 

The poor sons of royal birth were half-traumatised and every year they made sure to go to the temple to sincerely pray for emperor grandpa's good health. Please! Don't let emperor grandpa down At least not in this generation! 

Then when the princes grow up, become kings* and produce their own sons they immediately change their face and show unprecedented enthusiasm. "Look, hey, the emperor is so old, you need to train hard, maybe you'll be the next emperor ah! Your father had dreamed to be emperor but, alas, he is too filial and could only wait patiently and now it's too late. This father hopes you do your best in the lessons and shoulder your father's hopes and dreams! You are your father's pride and joy! Refuel!"

*Generally after the fight for the throne, the winner is the emperor, and the surviving losers become appointed as kings. Because of the unique situation, the princes will just become kings once they pass a certain age.

Little prince sons: O-okay!!! I will go make father proud!!! (,,0ᴗ0,,)/✧

Evil prince fathers: Hahahahahhaha. 

Little princess daughters: My father is so strange, not dignified and handsome like uncle prince A, B and C.

Wives of the princes: …Silly girls, the older princes are even stranger than your father ah. The previous generation was experimented and subjected with various 'teaching methods' after all. 

Still, no banquet in the world goes on forever*. Now that it was decided that the emperor was finally abdicating and the end of his life was near, there were many in the palace who really felt the sky was falling. 

*Roughly means: All good things must come to an end.

Ministers and officials: My salted fish work life…

Princes: My salted fish prince life…

Kings: LMAO. Later losers.

Later on many kings secretly had a sack thrown over their heads and were beaten by various angry princes and ministers, but that's another story for another day. 

When you plant melons and you will harvest melons; and when you plant beans and you will harvest beans*. This tyrannical education they all received wasn't just traumatising, it also undeniably shaped everyone to have a decent nature, and high capabilities. While it was inevitable a lot of strange and eccentric personalities were developed, because there wasn't so much pressure, nobody experienced half as much intrigue as Yan Huizhong's generation.

There was less scheming and generally everyone was allowed to explore and pursue their own interests happily. Plus, with the renewed rise of dragon worship nobody was interested in incurring too much bad karma for themselves with unnecessary trouble and even the concubines and wives in the backyard were very buddhist**.

*There are consequences to the actions one makes. Reaping what you sow. You teach a kid about fishing they become a fisherman that sort of thing.

**Describes the behaviour as above troubles, very zen, when someone picks a fight with them they will play peacemaker and shrug it off. Also can also be they aren't interested in the material, low ambition, go with flow.

Brothers were no longer enemies and concubines became good sisters as Tang Muxin and Pan Shuchun started a Women's group which allowed many ladies to come and express grievances and troubles, inciting higher empathy and comradely between woman as well as support those who have been abused. While it wasn't perfect, and there were still many dark places and darker hearts, the palace had become a much more stable and refreshing place to live. 

It made the emperor a little emotional. The imperial family in his mind, could not be considered a real family. Everyone back then had daggers behind their backs and poison in their mouths. But now, seeing this generation of princes looking at each other, glancing back and forth in tacit understanding, he felt moved. 

The emperor always knew a good country is one that is stable and united. While it was good to fight, serious infighting was detrimental, especially with hostile neighbours waiting to take a piece of their fatty meat. 

Did he do a good job with his own sons? Of course he didn't. Some say he did better than others some said he did significantly worse. Parenting is hard, running a country is hard, raising an heir is also hard. He had only one life, there was not enough time to realise and change his mistakes, to understand the problems and to figure out how to best rectify them and implement these plans. 

But now he has lived a life over several lifetimes long, things were different now and an old oyster will yield pearls. If he has not learned and changed and improved during this time then he might as well have returned his brain to his mother and apologise for wasting it. 

Even though people believe living a comfortable life is like drinking poisoned wine,* the emperor felt that living a life full of anxiety, paranoia and strictness is also not much better. Tang Muxin and Pan Shuchun were full of many modern ideas and he respected them a lot. While he didn't agree with some ideas, he carefully considered and thought through a lot of their very controversial pitches.

*Lulled into laziness and indifference by comfortable living.

The matter of teaching the princes to be decent humans without compromising ability and the qualifications to be an emperor was one that took a lot of thought and effort. As an emperor himself, he knew better than anyone else that living like royalty, having such power, it wasn't enough to have the same education as a normal person. Tang Muxin, Pan Shuchun, and also Jia Hyson had many modern thoughts on educational practices but it was true that a lot of it was too tame and soft for the current era. In the end this unique spartan education was what was decided. 

With their longer lifespans, it was easy for others to rely on them blindly, unwilling to improve themselves as they hold onto the golden thighs, especially the princes who used to be motivated to work hard through their ambitions for power. Without that ambition it was hard not to turn into a lazy rice bug*. However that sort of peace was only good in the short term and was indeed a poisonous wine in disguise. That is why it was important to prevent people from being complacent. 

With this education they firmly shake the young prince's lazy hearts, letting them know exactly the amount of hardship an emperor must endure for his people. Even if they don't become emperor they will respect the crown, appreciate the work, and at the same time fear for the emperor's health. 

With special attention to ideological lessons as well, most will cultivate a sense of sensibility and responsibility, whether its to the commoners, to the emperor or to themselves- choosing to undertake some of the burden and working to help in their own ways. Whether through agriculture, reforms, literature, the art of war or technological innovation, they were not restrained in their choices. As long as they had the attitude of wanting to help, wanting to shoulder a little bit more, how could the emperor not be happy?

Therefore while there were a few unattractive colours here and there, all the eligible princes had strong auras indicating good character and karma. 

But that didn't necessarily correlate to their potential as an emperor, it just insured that if any of them were the emperor, everyone could be confident they wouldn't change their faces and become useless, waste tyrants. Which is really the bare minimum of what you want in a person leading an entire country… not that it stops some countries ah. ¯_(ツ)_/¯

However it's impossible to completely confirm something like this, not at anyone's level to be honest. Even a god can be disappointed in the people they choose to vouch for much less lesser people. There is nothing quite as unfathomable as the changes of the human heart. 

[Karmic Insight] foretells if people are on a good path or not but it's of course not perfect. The more Jia Hyson uses it the more adept he was but at the same time the more he became aware of the flaws.

For example is someone reaches out to take a glass of water and their aura turns bleak it predicts something bad will definitely happen if they take the water. If they take the water and their aura fluctuates it means they are thinking of various paths with the water and depending on what they do with it they will either experience something bad or something good. 

To continue on this scenario, it could be a case of if they drink it and it's poisoned they will die, but if they take it to throw onto the floor they will be okay. But maybe it's the opposite way round as well and maybe the water is perfectly fine to drink but by throwing the water you offend someone and get beaten half to death. As long as they're indecisive, Jia Hyson can only say there's a chance of encountering bad fortune when taking the water but cannot confidently say anything else. 

The further away the future, the more indecisive one becomes thinking of it, and also the more unpredictable and inaccurate this 'fortune telling' skill of his can be. Still a general idea is better than no idea at least. 

Jia Hyson opens his mouth and suddenly commands, "Whatever you do, don't think about what would you do when you become the emperor!"

Everyone: …

Immediately everyone's auras changed. Some of the prince's colors became rather tepid and bland, some became a bit dark, one became absolutely pitch black, which was quite a shock to see. 

However with darkness, there was also light, conversely, there princes whose auras shined, glowed, and changed colours, from plain calm blues to a bright energetic yellow or orange, dark forest greens to metallic calm light blue hues, and a few that actually looked like their auras were shimmering with gold and silver speckles. 

The latter ones were the ones Jia Hyson was more interested in, after all it didn't take an art genius to understand gold and silver were the colours most associated to wealth, prosperity, luck and so on. Essentially if you had gold in your aura you would definitely have a chance to be a winner in life as long as you don't squander it with stupid decisions and actions. The more gold in your aura the better the chances. Silver was also good and was essentially the equivalent of the second male lead, to the golden aura male lead. 

Of course it was impossible to carefully look at all these auras so quickly, and this trick only worked for a short while before everyone who listened to the inexplicable reverse psychology got their thoughts sorted out again. 

Jia Hyson could have interviewed them one by one, but the most instinctive thought is really the most accurate in this case. As said before the future is unpredictable, and so are people's hearts. Just because someone says they'll work hard and be an astronaut doesn't mean they would do it in the end, so judging through questioning wasn't good at all, not to mention they could easily be lying or their thoughts could wonder which would skew Jia Hyson's predictions further. 

Hence he came up with such a method. Unfortunately the flaw was obvious, but it was also easily remedied thanks to Bebe who immediately took a photograph. Bebe's camera could not only take normal high definition photos but also it was possible to take photos through its host's eyes too. After all it was like a spiritual being that can live inside it's host mind, such a thing was not too hard to do, it was just systems prefer to have a more omniscient viewpoint. 

Looking at the holographic image presented in front of him, Jia Hyson's eyes squinted as he looks at everyone closely. What is interesting is that with [Karmic Insight] he saw not just the princes but also the surrounding servants and people's aura in the photograph. Tang Muxin had a faint silver aura which made sense since she still was more inclined to following than leading, Duan Mengyao had a surprising sprinkle of gold, Yan Huizhong…. his aura became quite bleak which indicated that he definitely could not handle the great power of the emperor.

Well, that wasn't unexpected either. ╮(╯∀╰)╭

Yan Huizhong: …

What was surprising was Ye Cheng and Pan Shuchun had a rather bold streak of gold in their auras, like a bright comet amidst the fluctuating colours of their aura. This suggested they would actually become quite suitable for this role but most likely they would experience a lot of changes and probably quite a bit of hardship which makes sense given their lack of specific training, and lack of qualifications in regards to becoming the emperor. 

Finally Jia Hyson's eyes land on Da Gong who was sitting by the side during the process and falls silent at the bright blaze of dazzling silver and gold aura surrounding him. He can't help but glance constantly at the Da Gong in the photo and the Da Gong in reality. It must be the other was still thinking about how he would live as an emperor because the aura was still just as domineering as in the photo.

Jia Hyson: Huh. 

Well. He wasn't really surprised honestly.

After all, the male lead halo he had been given for this mission… 

Was what he had passed onto Da Gong before he left to reincarnate.

Yes, knowing that the other was planning to leave, Jia Hyson barely hesitated before using the male lead halo meant to help him pick the future emperor. In fact he had already been contemplating using it on Da Gong even beforehand in hopes the halo could help him find a miracle cure to his body. 

There was no logical reasoning to use up such a good thing, well, there was some, but he knew it all boiled down to his own selfish desperation in making that choice. Jia Hyson knew the other had a plan. And it wasn't like he didn't trust him. But no matter how smart Da Gong was or how unfathomable the powers of these Bipolar Prince pieces were, there was always the saying 'man proposes and god disposes*'. 

*Even the best and most carefully planned things can be ruined by chance/act of god/bad luck.

He just wanted to give his rooster every chance to succeed and come back.

But he didn't want him to come back and take the mantle of emperor either.

After seeing the emperor live his life, Jia Hyson had re-confirmed multiple times what he already knew in his heart a long time ago.

Being the emperor fucking kind of sucks. 

Ignoring the absolute power thing, ignoring how the palace has slowly improved over time, objectively, there's a lot of responsibility, pressure, nagging, and intrigue in this job. 

Having to sign documents, read papers, check the treasury, listen to the reports in court is already a nightmare enough, but there's also reputation and virtue to consider as well. If there's corruption, even if the emperor isn't aware of it he will be blamed by the victims, if there's raised taxes the emperor cannot live lavishly lest he be criticised as a greedy ruler, if there's a drought, the emperor must have done bad things…

In short, it was unreasonably stressful if you wanted to do a good job.

Not to mention how lonely it is. You can't be too close to your sons or they will literally die. You can't ignore your sons or they will literally die. Daughters are easier to manage in a way, you can be closer to some but the favourites still risk the problem of dying or being used by others. In fact, it's much easier to kill them off because they were girls. Plus if you do their marriages wrong then people may get offended, upset, and alliances might be affected as well. 

How could he have the heart to push Da Gong to do such a pitted job??

The princes lining up to be pushed into said pitted job: '…'

Jia Hyson had no intention to restrain his wild village rooster under a golden crown. Therefore after a short pause, his eyes drifted away from Da Gong to the other princes again.

Da Gong who wasn't aware of his thoughts puffed up his chest smugly. Hehe, even when faced with so many younger men, his little worm only has eyes for him. 

Well, Da Gong smiles victoriously, it makes sense, after all, those vapid pretty boys only have their youth as their advantage. 

The intelligent handsome royal princes who only have youth as their advantage: '…' Can't believe they had so much knowledge beaten into them just so they can be disdained like this.

In the end, Jia Hyson chose two princes. Mainly because the current emperor had really raised the bar too high and it was impossible for a single prince to take over and there not to be any dissatisfaction. 

It was like expecting a wooden beam to take over the job of a concrete beam. If nobody complained or felt the wooden beam wasn't completely and utterly inadequate in comparison to the concrete beam then that could only mean this was an alternate alien universe where everyone loves flimsy and flammable housing structures. 

The point is, it was impossible to feel safe with this change. 

One was a descendent of the third prince and the other was a descendent of the crown prince. It was a little ironic. In the end the most ambitious princes back then, their decedents almost effortlessly got the title they vyed for… and they weren't even that pleased about it. In fact their reactions could be summarised like this-

Descendent of the third prince: I fucking- fuck-fuck- fuck-

Descendent of the crown prince: Hello darkness my old friend. :,)

Of course, Jia Hyson also made sure that these two will not suffer too badly. When he undertook this side mission he not only gained the male lead halo but also two helpful supporting lead halos. This is what he intends to gift to them during their coronation event.

From his understanding, this was purely the supporting male leads such as the best friend, the good brother, the supportive family member and so on, there was no pit other than maybe having a classic case of unrequited love. Knowing there was also a vicious supporting lead halo, and cannon fodder halo, completely assured Jia Hyson that this supporting lead halo was really good to use for this sort of context. 

Once bequeathed to the future emperors at the very least Jia Hyson is more confident in the stability of the country. Plus, two helpful supporting male leads will also not fight each other and become sworn enemies either. Not to mention the halo is inherited to some extent similar to how the dragon's blessing worked beforehand. This directly eliminates the biggest threat of infighting between dual emperor lineages, albeit temporarily. However that was really the best he could do, and Jia Hyson could accept that. 

Once everything was decided, the emperor who also had a sudden sense of anxiety after years of responsibility still thought it was best to watch over the little emperor's for a bit as a temporary advisor. Only after seeing nothing too bad has been done can he rest at ease. Tang Muxin and the rest were very supportive and also offered to watch and make sure the other brothers and kings were okay with this change, checking if any were dissatisfied and their general attitudes. They would also do a bit of training for them during the time as well, since everyone will be affected by this new change, it was good for them to also prepare.

Little emperors: "Heh." If we have to suffer, you all will be dragged down with us!

Brothers to the little emperors and the kings: "…" So in the end we're still going to kiss the salted fish life goodbye huh.

Once the meeting was adjourned everyone got ready to leave.

However, after some thought, Jia Hyson paused and flew back to the emperor, shrinking to his smaller dragon form and blinked cutely at him. Even after spending many years with Jia Hyson and seeing father dragon around, the emperor was still very weak to dragons. "Emperor uncle~ Can I ask for a favour?"

"Of course, of course," The emperor pets and strokes the small dragon as fast as he can as he blindly agrees, knowing that, thanks to the possessive Da Gong, he did not often get such a good opportunity to cuddle the little dragon. "If it's still in my power I'm happy to allow it."

Hearing that Jia Hyson becomes very excited and leans up to whisper what he wanted into the other's ear.

As the emperor listened to Jia Hyson's words, the emperor's silly smile fades and he glances at Da Gong before his expression becomes subtle. "Jin Bao you aren't going to-"

[Cutie Beam!]

Emperor: Well, the kid was cute so it's fine. 

Besides, it's not going to be his problem anymore ah. ╮(╯∀╰)╭

Future emperors: We have a foreboding feeling. 

….

"Oh god yes!" Jia Hyson throws his head back and gasps as Da Gong slowly lifts his smaller body up before ruthlessly slamming the other back down on his hard cock. Jia Hyson's two dicks bounced wildly at the intensity, pre-cum splattering everywhere, tarnishing the elaborate flooring.

Da Gong leans back on the dragon throne, his back slick with sweat pressed uncomfortably against the carvings which made him grimace slightly.

Unlike European royalty where their thrones are full of cushioning, the dragon throne generally had only a cushion to sit on and the back of the chair was covered in ornate and majestic dragon carvings that, while very impressive visually to look at, were hardly enjoyable to sit naked on. It was no wonder the emperor often wore a lot of elaborate layering robes ah. 

However, Jia Hyson who was riding Da Gong happily, coquettishly asked if they could swap positions so he can be fucked directly on the throne. 

"Absolutely not." Da Gong immediately denies thinking of how sore his back is right now. "You will get hurt, can't bear it."

"Ahah," Jia Hyson laughs breathily, his rooster was simply so cute! "Don't worry, my skin is soft but it's durable. Even if I get some bruises it will be worth it!"

"No," Da Gong firmly rejects, after some thought he reiterates, "You can bear it but I can't bear it."

Jia Hyson pouts a little. He wanted to protest a bit more, after all, he shouldn't be injured what with his dragon constitution. At worst maybe he will be a bit uncomfortable. But isn't a bit of discomfort completely worth getting to sit on the emperor's dragon throne, and get completely and utterly ravished on top of it? Ah, ah, it was so exciting just thinking about it!! (」,,,> ♡ <,,)」< p>

However, after seeing Da Gong being so concerned over the slightest grievance he could experience, Jia Hyson didn't have the heart to do so and nodded obediently. After all, he will travel to many worlds in the future, he's sure he'll get another opportunity like this eventually ah. 

Bebe: …Some hosts strive to earn enough points to go back to their old lives, some hosts strive for greatness, some strive to self-educate. Bebe's host strives to get fucked on various insane places in their bucket list. 눈_눈 

While Jia Hyson was still slightly disappointed it was undeniable his heart was filled with sweet warmth. Aiyah, how can there be such a considerate man like this?

Not only was he considerate, but Da Gong was also perceptive. Noticing his little worm was a bit dissatisfied, Da Gong's calculative brain quickly comes up with a solution. After all, he doesn't want his baby's body to hurt but he also wanted to prevent the heart from aching too. 

"How about… I take you in my mouth while you sit there instead?" That way there's no pain for his little worm's back. 

Jia Hyson turns his head and stares at him.

Fuck. Who knew everyone was looking for the perfect man, but it turned out the perfect man was a rooster all along. 

Twisting his back, Jia Hyson flexibly wraps an arm around Da Gong's neck to hug him closer and kisses him fiercely.

"You're the best Da Gong!" He exclaims excitedly before kissing him again with even more enthusiasm. Da Gong dotingly kisses back as he resumes thrusting in and out of his little worm's sloppy hole, his movements quick and vigorous, stimulated when he saw his little worm so happy and pleased. The animal in him preens at how good he was at satisfying his mate's happiness. 

After a few rounds satisfying Da Gong's thirst, Jia Hyson then got to experience what it was like to sit on the famed dragon throne. With his legs spread wide open, the handsome expanse of naked muscle that is Da Gong's back as he kneeled in front of him and between his legs, was a sight to see coupled with the large and lavish background of the royal court. 

Da Gong, on his knees, looked upward and reached to hold one of the straining erections of his little worm. Unlike his own cock, Jin Bao's dick was really much cuter, a pale pink that became a deeper colour at the tip when it got very excited. It was very pretty. The prettiest little worms of his little worm. 

…To be honest, while he would never tell the other, the rooster in Da Gong always salivates a little seeing them. (,,☉⊝☉,,)

Ever since Jin Bao demonstrated oral sex on him, he had always been very interested in reciprocating- and not entirely for unselfish reasons.

Da Gong: Looks really… really tasty. Heavybreathingfatcat.gif

Jia Hyson: (」゜ロ゜)」What is this sudden feeling of concern that I'm suddenly overcome by. 

Bebe: Oh how the turns have tabled. 

…

Under the sad eyes of the new emperors and old royal court, the old emperor happily patted his thighs, stood up and left the palace to travel with Tang Muxin and the others. Later on the new emperors will continue teaching their children in accordance to the same way they had grown up.

While they no longer had any OP people who could overwhelm everyone with their abilities and strength, their fellow brothers and uncles who were not only highly-skilled, great people in their own rights, but had also developed highly sadistic tendencies, were more than happy to step into the shoes of and be a 'devil teacher'. For the sake of the country of course. And for the sake of uh, their cute emperors. And also… um.. for the sake of the future princes too!

It was said that for the next two hundred years the royal family had become not only the most united and capable but also the most pitiful. There were many, many recorded documents of the daily lives of the royal princes' childhoods, and these educational techniques which had been lost at one point, soon came back and were integrated into modern schooling to some extent. 

It is undetermined whether the modern-day students of this world hated or pitied this wretched royal family more. 

…..

The rest of the years for Tang Muxin, Duan Mengyao, Ye Cheng, Yan Huizhong, Pan Shuchun and the old emperor was filled with a relaxed and carefree mood. They traveled east to west, north to south, all with a devil may care attitude, enjoying each day one step at a time. Sometimes they will find a nice place, stay for a few months, and sometimes only stay for two or three days. 

Everyone was friendly and close, and they were all also extremely rich and powerful. Basically there was very little inconveniences. In fact, because of Tang Muxin and the old emperor who was heavily blessed by fortune, and Jin Bao, the literally dragon of fortune, it could be said their trip was full of extraordinary memories. 

The rare rainbow butterfly orchid that is said to only come every three generations unexpectedly bloomed when they reached the Butterfly Orchid Village. 

A passing flock of beautiful sunset peacocks that were like regular peacocks but with the colourings of sunset, making them so valued by poachers they had nearly become extinct long ago, took their carriage as a resting spot.

Even in the middle of a hot, dry summer they were treated with a heavy rain when they went to find the beautiful diamond lotus lake that can only show it's true form during a storm.

In short, any- 'if you're lucky you will see blah blah blah,' they managed to see it all. Maybe not immediately but generally before they leave the area they would have seen it. Pan Shuchun took great pleasure in recording their journey down, knowing in the future they will harbour the jealousy of all tourists everywhere. 

While they had begun to age, it still took them a long time to finally reach the end of their journey.

The first to go was the old emperor, he was the oldest out of all of them and it made sense. Everyone could clearly see his vitality dwindling and they all immediately paused their plans to visit the next area and set back to visit the capital again. By then at least forty years had passed. While the emperors Jia Hyson had appointed haven't left their seats yet, they were already at the age where they had to seriously consider the matter of heirs.

Once they reached the palace, the emperor was carried to the tomb where his wife and child was. He requested to let him stay here till his last breath. The emperor gave them a bittersweet smile, "After all I am too impatient, I just want to tell my beloved and little one all about this trip. I'm sure they will be envious to death hah."

Everyone wiped their tears and agreed.

The emperor was buried alongside his family two days later.

The next to go was Yan Huizhong who was the least healthy out of all of them. He went peacefully in his sleep with a smile. Ye Cheng cried and laughed, calling him a selfish man to the end. Cutting a lock of his hair he shoved it into the other's cold hands before cutting off a lock of Yan Huizhong's for himself. 

"It's so he can find me later," Ye Cheng sighs. Both of them had agreed to this beforehand. That way when being cremated, they will still have a piece of each other after death. 

They continued their travels, the only difference was that Ye Cheng carefully carried a bottle of ashes where they went as well.

Finally, it was Duan Mengyao's turn, and it was clear Tang Muxin was not too far behind. Seeing them weakening everyone chose to go back, after all those two also had their own plans.

Reaching the place they had met, what was once a simple town had become a large and lively city. Here they had bought a house to live in once their children had grown up. They had lived there for a long time and this is where they wanted to rest as well, in hopes that maybe in their next lives they can meet here again too.

Everyone had their own little superstitions, but in face of death and separation, it felt much less scary to hold onto a small belief as comfort. 

Everyone helped clean up the house, making sure it was clean and they all enjoyed a simple life for a few weeks. 

Until one morning, Tang Muxin and Duan Mengyao never arrived to the dining room for breakfast. They both had died in each other's arms, peacefully in their sleep.

Ye Cheng was both sad and a little envious, touching the glass bottle full of ashes hanging by his side subconsciously.

After the funeral Ye Cheng, Pan Shuchun, Da Gong and Jin Bao were a little at a loss. In the end they returned to the capital to re-experience life in the palace. They were treated extremely well and they indulged in the luxury happily, supplemented by good food and the top-grade treatment of the ancient 1%. However, this wasn't enough to stop the flow of time passing.

When Ye Cheng felt his time coming they went back to his home to his village where he and Yan Huizhong had lived. They had already determined the place to scatter their ashes, over the highest hill overlooking the village above. Clutching the bottle in his hands, Ye Cheng weakly kisses it as he sits on the hill he would soon be flying off from, the view beautiful as the sun slowly sets. "Let's go see even more wonderful things, my prince."

Da Gong scattered Ye Cheng's ashes. He only felt it was right for him to do so. After all the man was many things to him, but all those things can simply be summarised as family.

Jia Hyson scattered Yan Huizhong's ashes by his side. Silently he blesses the pair just like he had done many times before now.

The day after they scattered the ashes Pan Shuchun had sat the pair down and told her she was leaving.

"I rather you always remember me to be beautiful." She sighs, "I don't fear dying alone, don't we all die alone? I just hope that nobody sees my unsightly corpse ah." Even though her words were very callous the fear and sadness in her eyes could not be hidden. Still, after some hesitation they respected her opinion and let her go.

When Pan Shuchun left the pair, she took out her contacts, revealing her heterochromatic black and silver eyes that were filled with unshed tears, "Well," She smiles bittersweetly as she looks up at the sky, "It really has been an interesting life. I hope I get something just as eventful the next time hah."

…

Now only, Da Gong and Jia Hyson lived life wantonly and simply. Picking up their friends' interests they continued to travel and enjoy themselves. Even if they felt a bit sad, their mutual affection was still enough to warm their increasingly old hearts.

When Jia Hyson reunited with Da Gong, he had been in this world for roughly eighty or so years, and when the emperor passed away Jia Hyson had been in this world for about one hundred and twenty years. Maybe because his birth was unique or maybe because of the blessings of the dragon and careful supplementation of spiritual energy since birth, Da Gong who was nearing sixty at the time still looked like he was in his early thirties. 

Between the emperor's death and Pan Shuchun leaving it was another fifty years or so in between. Da Gong was about ninety and he had the appearance of a fit sixty year old man. Jia Hyson realised that even though the other was going to be long lived, it would not be as exaggerated as Tang Muxin and the others, filling Jia Hyson with anxiety and dread.

They spent everyday together, whether it was adventuring, finding good food, playing around or simply spending weeks lazing around and just enjoying each other's company. Sometimes Jia Hyson would feel a bit bored but his lover always knew how to coax him and take him out to play. 

Conversely, Jia Hyson also accommodated Da Gong with his interests, helping him build a home from scratch just the two of us, a little nest just for them, as well as indulging in his other 'rooster tendencies' that occasionally showed its head. It wasn't that hard really, Jia Hyson found it cute and endearing, especially when Da Gong became so embarrassed about some of them, like the mating dance he instinctively did during a particularly warm spring. 

However good times will always end, and time stops for no man or rooster.

"Did I keep my promise this time?" Da Gong whispers as he weakly clasps Jia Hyson's hand, Jia Hyson's smooth skin directly contrasting to the wrinkles covering the once strong hand.

"En…" Jia Hyson sniffles but forces himself to show a toothy smile, trying not to cry, however it can't be helped and soon two wet tear trials drip down his cheeks.

Da Gong's eyes were not very good now but he still could tell as if by instinct. With a trembling hand, he raises his arm and does his best to wipe away the tears from his little worm's face. The pressure of his touch was weak and was more like he was smudging the tears into the skin instead of wiping them away but Jia Hyson didn't care at all and was only distressed by his love. 

Quickly he takes the other's hand with his own and helps him wipe the tears away before he pushes the wrinkled hand against his soft, wet cheek, nuzzling against it before pressing a long kiss onto Da Gong's palm before gently kissing his fingers almost reverently. "Thank you for coming back, thank you for wiping my tears again."

"Tsk," Da Gong smiles, "Little worm, it's a pity and a blessing to not be able to follow you to wherever you go after this… I want to see you again soon." 

Jia Hyson's lips trembled slightly. He's only gone through a few lifetimes but the pain of having people he was fond of leave before him was still just as painful. Not only has the misery hasn't faded but his personal opinions were more or less unshaken too. He didn't believe that if Da Gong really died and reincarnated into a new life in another world he would recognise himself, would immediately feel that inexplicable 'connection' of love that transcends time and space.

He doesn't understand how the shards work, what it means when he collects the pieces, it is an unknown that makes him uncomfortable to think further into. 

But seeing those silver eyes tiredly but warmly staring at him with such simple happiness, Jia Hyson swallows his own thoughts down and maintains his smile to the best of his ability, "You will ah, don't worry."

"Good… that's… love you…"

Jia Hyson opens his mouth, then closes it. His heart trembles and finally he whispers tentatively, "I.. love you too." 

Da Gong couldn't hear it.

Jia Hyson wasn't sure if he regretted taking so long to say it or not. He could only comfort himself in thinking that the other must know.

Closing his eyes he wipes his own tears and gives Da Gong one last kiss.

….

"It seems I can finally go." Chef Wen laughs hoarsely, his disciples stand around him with sad and slightly fearful eyes. 

His disciples were babies or young children abandoned at the bottom of the mountain that he picked up when he looked for ingredients for his small restaurant. Most of them were women, but some were men with some sort of disability or defect. There was one healthy young boy and his baby brother who had been left there due to complicated family affairs, but they were in the rarity. 

Chef Wen had brought them in and raised them over the years. He taught them basic reading, writing and cooking. If they showed interest in things like painting which he himself wasn't familiar with, he would at least provide them with the materials to explore themselves. Once they reach twelve years old, they were given a choice to leave or stay in the mountain. If they leave they can only visit the restaurant as customers but they will never be part of the mountain again. 

This was a bit ruthless but Chef Wen who had always been a bit paranoid thanks to his work in the palace, had become incredibly untrusting after finding out Da Gong's side effect of the plan. Chef Wen really felt like his trust was eaten by a dog, no, a rooster, once he figured out he really couldn't die until Da Gong came back and also died. 

The yin and yang shards were both codependent and independent. At the very least both must be present in the same world, though not necessarily at the same time. For example a yang shard could be a fly, and a yin shard could be an old tree. The tree of course would have been born hundreds of years before the fly, and the fly would only live a brief period and die before the tree. As long as they both were present in the world at the same time, or at least they're life and death in the world were only separated between a few years, the balance is considered maintained. 

Chef Wen was a chef. He is witty and shrewd but his intelligence was not actually as high as he liked it to be. He could create his form of spiritual absorption after years of research and hard work. He has talent but it is not so exaggerated. His counterpart however had much higher brain power. Maybe when Da Gong was just a smart rooster Chef Wen could match him but the moment the rooster awakened his awareness the IQ went up five levels and then broke the level cap. 

Confused by the situation, and moved by Da Gong's logical words and threats, as well as pressured by the time limit of someone finding them and all sorts of various factors impeded his ability to think and judge clearly. He accepted the logical food for thought not knowing he was being fed bullshit instead, resulting in this state where he couldn't live or die.

Ah, even thinking about it made him so angry.

"Remember… to make all the meat dishes chicken for my funeral banquet." He grits his teeth and hoarsely orders them, before he finally lost the strength to move. 

"Teacher!"

"Teacher Wen!"

"Wu… don't worry teacher, we will make your favourite braised rooster for you!"

As his eyes darkened the last thing he saw was being surrounded by his sobbing disciples. Chef Wen figured that it wasn't such a bad way to go. 

At the very least, thanks to the damned ritual, he won't be bonded to that psychopath rooster again in his next life ah. 

…

..

.

Somewhere, in another safe space:

"Hello little host~ Welcome to the Good Brother System. I am System 7350. You are currently here in your safe space."

"???"