EES - Chapter 33
Chapter 33
Several Shadow Guards who had been following covertly nearby went down and retrieved the man from the water.
The condition of Liu Guanglin, once pulled ashore, could only be described as dire. The powder applied to mask his wounds had washed away during his time submerged, exposing pale, raw flesh beneath. Worse still, his arm was broken, and the previous fracture had failed to heal properly.
It was truly wretched. Once the Poem Thief dissipated, the immediate threat was gone, but he had left behind a thoroughly ruined mess for the original host.
"How is he?" An Lin asked.
"He still breathes, Your Majesty."
"Then all is well." An Lin gave a slight nod. "Send him to the Imperial Medical Bureau for treatment."
The Shadow Guards obeyed, lifting Liu Guanglin away swiftly until they vanished from sight. Before they disappeared completely, however, An Lin managed to cast a glance at the status panel hovering above the original host's head.
[Liu Guanglin | Governance: 50 | Military: 22 | Learning: 65 | Martial Strength: 19 | Politics: 55 | Management: 32 | Ambition: 5 | Loyalty: 15 | Prestige: -5000]
Apart from the negative Prestige, every other stat fell within the normal range for a Palace Examination Graduate. In other words, even without the Poem Thief memorizing exam papers for him, he would have passed on his own merit.
To An Lin, a ruler who wore two different faces depending on whether she faced high or low stats (a rather cynical emperor, by any measure), these unremarkable numbers were hardly impressive. They barely scraped by. Yet his willingness to leap from a high tower, deliberately breaking his leg to trap the Poem Thief in a dead end, and then decisively dragging the usurper into mutual destruction, did earn a measure of respect from her.
Perhaps he could still be put to good use.
After returning to the palace, An Lin listened to reports describing how, following the conclusion of the Authorship Disputation at the University Square, many who had previously spread rumors now hurried to apologize to her favored minister, Qiancai. Halfway through the briefing, Song Ling requested an audience, so An Lin granted her entry.
An Lin could roughly guess what Song Ling wanted to discuss. Likely, the moment the original Liu Guanglin reclaimed control of his body during the disputation, coupled with his confession, had given Song Ling a clue. Sure enough, after performing her obeisances, Song Ling said exactly that: "Your Majesty, I suspect the original owner of Liu Guanglin's body is still alive! The person who appeared during the disputation may very well be the one Liu Guanglin originally displaced!"
An Lin: Mm, I know.
"But the switch in control seems unstable. In the end, that Poem Thief transmigrator suppressed the original host again, seized dominance, and afterward, no one knows where Liu Guanglin went. He wouldn't have fled Qiong'an, would he?!" Song Ling remained deeply anxious. Holding strong doubts about the Poem Thief's character, she suspected he might have seen his reputation ruined in Xuan and decided to flee to another state to stage a comeback and alter history. Her urgency was palpable. After speaking, she looked at An Lin with pleading eyes, hoping the wise and martial Emperor would realize this immediately and dispatch men to capture Liu Guanglin.
An Lin paused briefly, deciding to leave the matter to the transmigrators and their original hosts to sort out themselves. With casual indifference, she replied, "Liu Guanglin is currently at the Imperial Medical Bureau. If you wish to know anything, you may go ask him yourself."
Song Ling: ...?
Th-The Imperial Medical Bureau?
Wait, how did that suddenly come into play?
Had she missed an entire season of plot developments along the way?
Confused and full of questions, Song Ling left the study and visited the Imperial Medical Bureau. True enough, she found Liu Guanglin there, receiving treatment.
However, seeing Liu Guanglin at the bureau, she almost didn't recognize him.
What happened to him? Was he beaten up with a sack over his head right after leaving the University? Who dared do what she had always wanted to do but never had the chance?
Yet the Liu Guanglin before her, bearing a calm and weary expression, did not curse her out or glare with resentment like the Poem Thief had. Instead, after the guiding medicine boy told him, "Miss Song has come to see you," he turned slightly with minimal movement and offered a brief nod. "Miss Song."
Song Ling blinked in surprise. "You're...? You're not that Liu Guanglin, are you?"
"Could it be the person whose body was taken? Have you reclaimed it?"
Liu Guanglin's expression faltered slightly.
Though he said nothing, his face revealed everything.
And frankly, the Poem Thief likely lacked the acting skill to pull off such a complete shift in demeanor and temperament.
Seeing this Liu Guanglin's look of disgust when she mentioned the Poem Thief, Song Ling felt a touch of complicated emotion.
While hearing this news was certainly satisfying, Song Ling also empathized with her own situation. After all, her only common ground with that Poem Thief transmigrator was that they were both transmigrators.
Song Ling did not know if the original host of her body was still present. Sometimes, in the quiet of night, thinking of her family and friends in the modern world, or remembering the original host's relatives whom she now feared to approach, she couldn't help but whisper to herself:
"Can you hear my voice? Can you answer me now?"
"If you can't reply for some reason, could you give me some other sign? Like hooking your pinky, or blinking twice?"
"Uh, if those won't work, maybe try visiting me in a dream?"
"...."
This cycle repeated endlessly, yet Song Ling never received a response from the original host. Thus, she could never be certain whether the original owner still resided within her body.
Still, compared to that shameless Liu Guanglin, Song Ling believed she at least possessed basic morality. She hadn't abused the body, had strived to control her actions to avoid damaging the original host's reputation, and had even revealed her identity to the Emperor early on. If she ever returned to her own world and the original host came back, the fallout wouldn't be too severe.
With that thought, Song Ling felt somewhat reassured.
...
Compared to the Poem Thief's fierce survival instinct, the original Liu Guanglin seemed to lack it entirely. It was as if all his vitality had been exhausted the moment he chose mutual destruction with the transmigrator. Though most of his injuries had healed, his overall condition showed little improvement.
When An Lin received the physicians' report, she specifically went to check on him. She also noticed the Prestige value above Liu Guanglin's head, which had already dipped into negative numbers. As news of the University Square disputation spread, it continued to plummet, now reaching -7241.
Pity. As word spread further, the prestige would likely drop even more. Regardless, he was still a subject of Xuan. Standing at the entrance of the Imperial Medical Bureau, An Lin observed for a moment before stepping inside. The Director of the bureau was the first to notice her. He hastily set down the herbs in his hands, rose, and performed his obeisances. "Your servant greets Your Majesty!" Others quickly followed suit.
"Carry on with your duties. We are just passing by to take a look." An Lin waved her hand, signaling them to rise, and walked toward the bed where Liu Guanglin still lay.
Startled back to awareness by the surrounding greetings, Liu Guanglin shook off his daze and struggled to sit up to pay his respects. "This humble one greets Your Majesty."
An Lin timely stopped him from bowing fully and began directly. "We are already aware of what has happened to you."
Liu Guanglin's eyes widened in shock.
"Such incidents are not unprecedented. You have narrowly escaped death." An Lin offered a faint smile. "The spirit that seized your body has now departed, though your reputation has been tarnished by its actions. Naturally, We do not wish to see innocent people suffer for this. Therefore, if you wish to change your name and surname, We can grant you a new household registration."
"...This humble one thanks Your Majesty for your profound grace." Liu Guanglin bowed his head in gratitude, but his face showed little joy. He remained calm and weary.
An Lin was hardly surprised, her smile unchanged. "If you prefer not to change your surname and wish to return home to care for your parents, you may also alter your appearance slightly and claim to be a distant cousin of 'Liu Guanglin'."
This time, Liu Guanglin hesitated upon hearing this.
"I..."
He forgot even to use his humble self-reference. A look of pained retreat crossed his face, and he slowly shook his head.
The one who had occupied his body had committed such shameful acts, swindling his parents out of the money they had painstakingly saved over the years... Moreover, he no longer had any reputation or scholarly degree to his name. Returning would only bring gossip and scorn from the realm to his parents. They might even be told, "So Liu Guanglin is your son? How did you raise a child like that?"
...How could he possibly face his parents' disappointed gaze?
The same Liu Guanglin who had dared to choose mutual destruction with the body-snatcher now proved too weak to even contemplate this possibility.
An Lin saw through his hesitation and asked gently, "Liu Guanglin, do you have concerns? Why not tell Us where your home is?"
"This humble one... resides in Qiaoshan Village, Shaochuan County, Zhaozhou Prefecture. There is a pear tree at our gate." Meeting the young emperor's gentle gaze, a faint, hidden hope stirred in his heart, which had been filled with retreat.
"Very well. We understand. Rest and recover properly at the Imperial Medical Bureau for now." An Lin noted the location, patted Liu Guanglin's shoulder where the bandages had been removed, and nearly offered a pep talk, telling him that "no obstacle is insurmountable."
Upon returning, An Lin used her resources to locate his home and observe quietly. She saw a couple sitting on their threshold by moonlight, eating dinner. Mid-meal, Liu Guanglin's mother sighed with a worried expression. "Husband, our son has been away taking the Imperial Examination for so long. Why hasn't he returned? Not even a letter? Whether he passed or failed, there should be some news. Other examinees from our county have been back for ages..."
Liu Guanglin's father remained silent for a moment. "Perhaps delayed on the road."
"Sigh, really. If we don't hear from him soon, we'll have to figure out a way to go to Qiong'an and look for him... Could something have happened? Our son is alone in Qiong'an, unfamiliar with the place. If trouble strikes, there's no one to look after him..." Liu Guanglin's mother grew increasingly restless as she pondered.
Liu Guanglin's parents were still unaware that the transmigrator had swindled their money. They simply assumed their son had taken the funds to attend the examinations, and their hearts remained fixed on their son, whom they had not heard from in a long time.
A few days later, An Lin arranged for Liu Guanglin to be informed of his parents' well-being. Upon hearing the news, he laughed and cried simultaneously, tears streaming down his face. After his tears subsided, he finally regained his will to live and began to cooperate earnestly with his treatment.
Once his injuries had mostly healed, he specifically requested an audience with An Lin.
"Have you decided on a new name?" An Lin asked.
"I have." Liu Guanglin bowed his head. "From now on, this humble one shall be called Liu Bushi."
An Lin was somewhat surprised. "What is the meaning behind choosing this name?"
Choosing "Bushi" (Unknown/Unrecognized) stood in sharp contrast to his current status as a name known to all under heaven.
"After Your Majesty rescued me from the water, I was briefly conscious for a short while. Among the several men who carried me to the Imperial Medical Bureau, I recognized the voice of one of them." Liu Guanglin spoke calmly. "Later, I remembered that during the period when 'he' was captured and interrogated, one of the interrogators shared that exact voice."
An Lin tapped her finger lightly on the memorial resting on her desk. She did not deny it, but mused thoughtfully, "So you were present during the interrogation all along?"
Liu Guanglin... no, he was now Liu Bushi. He nodded.
An Lin frowned slightly. "But how does that connect to your new name?"
"This humble one dares to speculate that perhaps Your Majesty did not offer me only two choices." Liu Bushi answered neither humbly nor arrogantly. "But Liu Guanglin's reputation is already in ruins, leaving him with nothing else to offer Your Majesty. All I can think of is... perhaps Your Majesty will require a Liu Bushi whom no one knows."
...Good heavens!
An Lin hadn't even decided how or where to use Liu Bushi yet, and he had already mapped out his own future through sheer deduction?
And it seemed he was aiming for the shadows. Not bad, actually quite fitting. Of course, someone like Liu Bushi wouldn't serve as a frontline Shadow Guard. With a Martial Strength of only 19, and lacking the ability to bypass limits and improve rapidly like her Empress Avatar, his obvious suitability lay within the intelligence division of the Shadow Guard.
Though she wouldn't need the intelligence branch immediately, since her goal was to avert the Peril of National Ruin within five years, friction with other states was inevitable. Training him now would mean he'd be ready precisely when needed!
Ahem. I do like such proactive people!
Thus, when Liu Bushi returned to his hometown to visit his parents, An Lin procured a few rudimentary textbooks for learning foreign languages from the Shadow Guard department, intending them as gifts for her future subordinate.
However, regarding restoring Liu Guanglin's reputation, it wasn't entirely impossible. After all, this was an age steeped in feudal superstition. Commoners held strong beliefs in spirits and ghosts, and many scholars did as well.
Yet An Lin ultimately rejected the idea of announcing that Liu Guanglin had been possessed by a ghost, thereby excusing his vile actions.
Setting aside the impact such a sudden reversal would have on the imperial court's credibility (having just exposed Liu Guanglin's crimes at the disputation only to immediately claim, "It was a ghost possessing him, so none of that applies to the current Liu Guanglin") even in ancient times, An Lin had no intention of promoting superstition, let alone having the state officially validate it.
If they established a precedent of Liu Guanglin being ghost-possessed, what would happen if future criminals claimed possession, acted convincingly, and tried to evade punishment? How would that be adjudicated?
An Lin could discern the truth, but how would the local prefectural offices or the Court of Judicial Review know? Were they expected to consider supernatural possibilities for every single case?
Therefore, the court must absolutely not legitimize tales of spirits and ghosts.
Under these circumstances, the simplest course of action with the least collateral damage was to allow Liu Guanglin to change his appearance and vanish into obscurity under a new name.
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