After Transmigration: Building a Kingdom in Turbulent Times-Chapter 903 - 889: Guo Pu

Guo Pu is someone who understands the times well. After being captured—no, after being invited to Jianye—he remained quiet, neither noisy nor disruptive, carrying the demeanor of a renowned scholar.

Wang Dun personally led him to meet King Langya and before meeting, ordered him to predict King Langya’s fate.

Guo Pu glanced at Wang Dun’s sword and, being very compliant, agreed to it.

Upon seeing King Langya, Guo Pu’s usually calm demeanor broke. He looked up and down at him in surprise and then, after a moment, stiffly turned his neck to look back at Wang Dun, his expression somewhat peculiar.

Wang Dun watched him coldly.

Guo Pu returned his gaze indifferently.

The hand inside his sleeve kept calculating. After finishing, he didn’t quite believe it, so he took out a turtle shell to divine, and after some time, he sighed, saying, "The Great King carries the Mandate of Heaven."

Wang Dun’s eyes lit up; he immediately turned to look at Wang Dao and then laughed aloud: "Congratulations, Great King! Congratulations!"

King Langya was confused, not understanding the riddle Wang Dun and his brother were playing.

Wang Dun enthusiastically introduced Guo Pu to him, "Great King, this is Guo Jingchun, a master of Taoist numerology."

King Langya apparently had heard of Guo Pu, and upon hearing this, his eyes brightened even further upon recalling Guo Pu’s words about the Mandate of Heaven, indicating with a smile to the seat next to him, "Sir, please sit down quickly."

If he is destined, does that mean that the new emperor in Yan State will soon...

King Langya’s eyes gleamed with excitement, Wang Dun was also very excited, but only Wang Dao stood calmly to the side, his gaze wandering among the three.

What he said about the Mandate of Heaven was different from what Wang Dun was talking about.

After a comprehensive comparison, he found that Zhao Hanzhang seemed more suited to be the ruler of this world; he believed each person was a gift from Heaven.

At this time, Heaven sent forth a Zhao Hanzhang, allowing her to gradually grasp great power, surely because she was useful.

Originally, he thought Zhao Hanzhang ruling as a woman would lead to a cruel struggle in the future, she would have all that she possessed snatched away, just like Gou Xi.

He believed King Langya was a good candidate for this.

It seems the Great Jin has fallen under a spell, where every powerful minister would undergo transformations upon reaching the emperor’s side.

Prince East Sea was like this, Gou Xi was like this, Zhao Hanzhang would be like this too, perhaps?

And the reason he was confident King Langya would not be like this, firstly because he was on good terms with King Langya, having known him for several decades, he trusted his character; secondly, because Wang Dao believed he would not become like Prince East Sea or Gou Xi, he would always be clear-headed and judiciously support King Langya...

In essence, Wang Dao still believed in himself.

But in recent times, King Langya tasted the pleasures at the peak of power and had already changed.

After cooperating more deeply, King Langya realized Wang Dao wasn’t as strong-willed as before, while Wang Dao discovered King Langya also carried the Sima family’s characteristic foolishness—forgetting oneself once attaining power.

And Zhao Hanzhang, who is still combating the Xiongnu and Jiehu invasions, is too dazzling, so dazzling that Wang Dao began to doubt his choices.

If Zhao Hanzhang remains so wise and clear-minded, the great fragmentation and struggle he envisioned wouldn’t occur, then all his current deeds might turn him into a historical sinner?

Indeed, Wang Dao placed family interests first, choosing King Langya to keep Mrs. Wang’s family invincible, but... this doesn’t mean he intends to egg on chaos for the whole world.

Since the Yellow Turban Rebellion, it has now been over a hundred years; the world has been chaotic for over a hundred years. Although briefly unified, power wasn’t concentrated, with local forces still strong, the court found it difficult to have complete control.

Wang Dao remains a young man with ideals and ambitions; he wants to keep Mrs. Wang invincible but also wants to achieve unparalleled merits—a great unification!

Seeing King Langya and Wang Dun looking pleased, Wang Dao frowned and remained silent.

Perhaps Guo Pu’s conclusion overly excited King Langya, he directly asked, "Do you know when the Mandate of Heaven will be fulfilled?"

Guo Pu didn’t reply.

Wang Dun’s face darkened, his hand resting on the sword hilt, he said coldly, "The Great King is asking you a question, answer it!"

Guo Pu pursed his lips and replied irritably, "At any time, as long as King Langya is willing."

King Langya was startled and hastily asked, "What do you mean? The new emperor in the Central Plains is still in place, how can the Mandate of Heaven be on me?"

Guo Pu lifted his eyes to glance at him, the world was already in chaos, anyone who stepped forward could proclaim themselves king or emperor, who cared about this?

Guo Pu said, "Forgive my limited skill, I cannot predict, but indeed the Mandate of Heaven is upon the Great King." 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

King Langya hesitated for a long time, still gritted his teeth and asked, "What about Zhao Hanzhang?"

Guo Pu said, "I have never seen Zhao Hanzhang, I don’t know."

King Langya’s heart felt like it was burning, he asked urgently, "Could you divine from a portrait?"

Guo Pu shook his head calmly, "A portrait cannot compare to a real person. Face-reading peers into one’s soul and future through their appearance; what use is an ink-drawn outline?"

King Langya then decided to send Guo Pu for a meeting with Zhao Hanzhang, promising Guo Pu, "As long as you make this trip, I will bestow you with the position of General."

Guo Pu: ...Thank you, but I do not need it.

Guo Pu only smiled without speaking, King Langya assumed he had accepted the condition, and immediately added escort arrangements to send him to the Northern Land to meet Zhao Hanzhang.

King Langya did not expect Guo Pu would escape; given that the Mandate of Heaven was upon him, Guo Pu was barely capable of reaping the benefits, with such a grand opportunity, why would he run away?

But in reality, once he left Jianye, Guo Pu began plotting to escape; with some effort over two days, he exploited an opportunity and indeed escaped successfully.

Upon escaping, Guo Pu stood in a crossroads, pondering where he should go.

Jiangdong and Nan Hui were out of reach, Wang Dun was domineering, and King Langya wasn’t kind-hearted either. If he returned, he would certainly be captured again, next time luck wouldn’t be so good.

The Northern Land... there’s fighting now, it seems dangerous.

Reflecting internally, Guo Pu decided to head to Shu Land.

He heard that the Shu Land was suffering from refugee disasters, with rampant banditry, but it’s still better than the all-out war in the Northern Land.

Guo Pu turned around to head west, habitually extracting a turtle shell to divine his path. He assumed the hexagrams would align with his wishes as they had before, but when the shell hit the ground, his brow twitched.

Guo Pu’s smile slowly faded; he bent down to pick up the turtle shell. This time, he sincerely bowed before casting, and upon seeing the hexagram, he expressionlessly picked up the turtle shell.

He rubbed it briefly but ultimately didn’t cast a third time.

As they say, things shouldn’t be done thrice, he’d already cast twice, indicating the fate was so; casting again would merely waste his merit.

Guo Pu turned around with a sigh, resigned himself to heading toward Northern Land.

The hexagram indicated his vitality lay in the North, not the West.

Guo Pu truly believed in the hexagrams, considering them accurate.

Though cunning, he never lied during divination, after all, it conveys Heaven’s will, how could one lie?

Thus, King Langya indeed has the Mandate of Heaven upon him, except, he is destined to die, and the time of death is near;

And his relationship with Wang Dun is quite special; it involves love and mutual destruction.

Their countenances suggest that King Langya will die by Wang Dun’s hand, or Wang Dun will die by King Langya’s;

Thus Guo Pu only spoke half-truths, leaving the lethal portion unsaid.

Besides, they didn’t ask.

Heaven doesn’t allow him to lie but permits him to stay silent.

Alas, what’s the situation up north now, Shi Le has surrendered, Zhao Hanzhang should soon expel the Xiongnu, right?

In this way, it may not be so dangerous.

Guo Pu mumbled internally, while heading northward, burdened with thoughts.