Gamers Are Fierce

I'm going to be contrary!

As the saying goes, 'professionals are rivals.' One charlatan who can babble mystically and fool people is quite enough. When two show up at once, their roles overlap, making it quite dull.

The Ape Man paid no attention to Bai Yongyan's contrarian stance. It hung its head low for a long while before suddenly lifting it, its eyes filled with confusion.

"Hey, hey, hey? Can you hear me speaking?"

Bai Yongyan waved his hand, asking again, "Who did you just say died? Who awoke?"

"Did I say that?" The Ape Man looked bewildered. "I can't remember..."

He just said it, and he's forgotten? Does he have Alzheimer's disease? Bai Yongyan thought.

Bai Yongyan said earnestly, "Yes, not only did you say it, but you also promised to help me obtain tens of thousands in gold, endless silver, and millions of grand residences, to help me become the foremost merchant in the world."

The guests were rendered Speechless. Seriously tampering with what others had said—that was really something of him.

But then again, the Ape Man is an Auspicious Beast; it wouldn't be so easily deceived...

"Really?" The Ape Man looked at Bai Yongyan in surprise and said, "Alright, let me think about where I can get that much gold..."

It actually believed him!!

The guests almost spat out their wine. Many cast doubtful glances toward the monk from Annam.

How come the Auspicious Beast you brought seems so unreliable?

The old monk from Annam closed his eyes, his mind focused, completely ignoring the onlookers' gazes. He muttered under his breath as if reciting scriptures.

The Shu King was also somewhat Speechless. After some thought, he spoke again, "Since you are skilled in numerology and Yi, divination and casting lots, why not deduce the workings of Yin and Yang and the five elements? Calculate how the world's floods, droughts, and locust plagues can be quelled."

"Quelled?"

The Ape Man shook its head. "For decades, the human world has grown colder.

"In The North Land, years of decline bring fierce cold, enough to crack glue and make fingers drop off.

"In the Central Plains, the heavens freeze and the earth seals; forests turn frigid, and caves become starkly silent.

"Even the South Ridge, perennially hot, has seen September snow.

"The North Land's severe cold, combined with no rainfall, means insufficient winter snow. Wheat cannot survive the winter; all of it dies, turning fertile land barren.

"With the climate arid, land scorched for thousands of miles, locusts swarming, and plagues rampant—this is the fate decreed for the next ten, or even twenty, years, a fate beyond human power to alter."

Hearing the Ape Man's words, the faces of everyone present, including the Shu King, turned grim. Although they were all nobles indulging in extravagance and revelry, even within their lavish homes, they heard news of the worsening situation.

As the saying goes, "Better to be a dog in times of peace than a human in times of chaos." No one wanted their current life of opulence to be mercilessly shattered by Natural Disasters.

Bai Yongyan swirled the wine cup in his hand, his expression impassive.

The 'fate' mentioned by the Ape Man is probably the Little Ice Age.

In the real world, a Little Ice Age causes global temperatures to plummet, drastically reducing food production and leading to an exponential decline in population. During the late Ming Dynasty, considered an era of extreme brutality and chaos, the population plummeted from 120 million to 50 million. This was despite the life-saving introduction of crops like potatoes and sweet potatoes from the Americas. The three Little Ice Ages preceding the end of the Ming Dynasty could each wipe out as much as four-fifths of the population at the time. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that nine out of ten households were left empty, with only one in ten surviving. Compared to such a turbulent era, where human lives were as insignificant as grass in the wind, the real-world Mexico would seem like a paradise on Earth.

"Besides Natural Disasters, there are also man-made calamities."

The Ape Man stated indifferently, "Today, the gentry families own vast tracts of land, interconnected for miles, leaving the common folk with not even enough ground to stand a pole. They must endure oppressive taxes that suck them dry to the bone, the devastation of floods, droughts, and locusts, and the terror of wars waged between the Fan Towns.

"Outside Lvzhou, one would witness people bartering children for food and dismembering corpses for firewood. Along the roadsides, humans are butchered like pigs and dogs—disemboweled, hearts gouged out, their bodies carved up for consumption.

"White bones lie exposed in the wilds, and for a thousand miles, no cock crows. Heaven and Earth are shrouded in perpetual twilight, demons prowl in broad daylight—it is little different from hell."

The Shu King's face flushed red, yet the Ape Man continued speaking with detached calm, "Internally, court factions engage in internecine struggles, and Eunuchs usurp power. Externally, Military Warlords carve up territories, their branches stronger than the trunk.

"Above, the Son of Heaven is muddle-headed and incompetent, his court officials venal and corrupt. Below, the gentry exploit the commoners in the countryside, annexing their lands.

"Mere demons are but an inconsequential itch, like flea and lice infestations."

"The dynasty, both within and without, is like a teetering pile of rotting corpses, emanating an unbearable stench. Yet, because pulling one strand can unravel the whole, all that can be done is to patch and mend, barely maintaining the facade. It is truly a deep-seated malady, difficult to cure, a decline too advanced to reverse."

"What nonsense!" a Eunuch standing behind Yu Qingqiu angrily retorted. "Our dynasty has the Cultivators of Longhu Mountain safeguarding its Dragon Veins and its destiny, and we have the Martial Guardsmen who patrol the realm hunting down demons. How could there be signs of national collapse due to rampant evil?"

"Heh, the rise and fall of a nation has never had anything to do with Cultivators or demons."

The Ape Man sneered. "The previous dynasty also had Longhu Mountain and its Martial Guardsmen. In those days, the pursuit of immortality and the Dao was rampant, and the number of Cultivators far exceeded that of today.

"At its zenith, the previous dynasty even possessed Artifact Battleships. These vessels floated high in the sky, obscuring the sun, seemingly limitless and vast, filled with heavily armored Cultivators. They scoured the world for great fiends and colossal demons, dragging them from their lairs to be cast into the Demon Refining Caverns as fuel.

"Yet, even such a mighty dynasty collapsed in an instant. The armories, once full of weapons, saw their contents used by various Military Warlords to slaughter one another. The Artifact Battleships, left without maintenance, devolved into scrap metal, only fit to be dismantled and melted down to forge common Soldier Armor.

"The horrors of war left nine out of ten homes empty. Yet, the Cultivators of Longhu Mountain remained secluded in their deep mountain retreats, indifferent to the mortal world's suffering. They merely waited for the warring factions and Rebel Armies to produce a final victor who would establish a new dynasty. Only then would they deign to emerge, just as they had for a thousand years, to comfortably assume their position as the state religion under the new regime."

For some reason, the Ape Man became particularly emotional when speaking about Longhu Mountain.

"HUFF..."

The Ape Man's chest heaved. It expelled a sharp breath, quelling its indignation before continuing, "Although Longhu Mountain is selfish and self-serving, that is not the crux of the problem.

"If the reigning Son of Heaven possessed exceptional talent, capable of untangling these complex, deep-seated problems, appointing virtuous and capable officials, and methodically pursuing reforms while carefully planning the nation's restructuring; then after several generations of such enlightened rulers, even if they could not immediately turn the tide against overwhelming disaster or rescue the collapsing edifice of state, they might still manage to preserve the imperial line. They could potentially endure the decades-long harsh winter and achieve an era of renaissance.

"Unfortunately..."