Qin Jue didn’t understand. In the past, he had only learned about the ‘Lunar Mansions’ from his instructor. Could it be that constellations were also categorized as a type of astrological phenomenon?
Xie Lin Lang explained, “Constellations are the same as Lunar Mansions, both being a way to categorize areas of the sky, just with a different name. For instance, the stars I’m pointing to you right now make up the constellation called Cetus.”
“What’s a Cetus?”
“It’s the legendary fish that appears in the book Erya: Yi*. With its humongous size rivaling that of a whale, it rules the ocean* and swallows boats entirely! Because of how big it is, it has been acknowledged as a part of the sky!
*尔雅翼 Erya: Yi: The first extant Chinese dictionary.
*横海 Héng hǎi: means to cross the ocean, but sometimes 横 can mean not having to listen to what anyone else says.
Do you see that bright star over there? That’s the Cetus’ tail. Looking East of the tail is its nose, and by connecting the few blinking stars along the nose together, you will be able to see its head!
Perhaps this all seems a little abstract for you. But no worries, when you are a bit older, I will take you to the Southern Sea and show you just how big the legendary fishes that rule the ocean and swallow boats are!”
Her words shook up Qin Jue’s heart. What had appeared as randomly ordered stars at first instantaneously formed the shape of a giant fish in front of his eyes. So the fish was so big that the gods had no choice but to adorn it in the sky? He has never heard of anyone explaining it like this before.
When he read about the recordings of the giant fish when he was little, he thought it was all fake. But as it turned out, there were such fishes that ruled the ocean and swallowed boats whole? Just how big must their sizes be…
Seeing his expression becoming focused and fascinated, Xie Lin Lang pursed her lips and laughed. Then, she continued, with slight trouble in her tone.
“But it’s a pity. If you want to see the giant fish, you would need to pass through the Ze Nation in the Southeast. Since the Ze Nation resides by the sea, they are proficient in shipbuilding. Not only can the ships they make be used to travel across the ocean for commerce, but they can also be used for naval warfare!
They have already annexed a couple of small countries in their surroundings enough to demonstrate that their ambitions are as big as the whale, big enough to swallow boats!
Furthermore, our Qin Nation and the Ze Nation share two large rivers. What do you think will happen if the time ever comes that the Ze Nation finishes annexing all of the countries in their area, turns around then starts coming for the Qin Nation? If the two nations battle on aquatic waters, who do you think will sink and who will swim?”
Qin Jue’s expression gradually became grave and he turned to look at Xie Lin Lang.
Xie Lin Lang smiled, then pointed in the Southwest direction, her finger swiping slowly across the sky.
“Do you see that? That is the Hydra constellation. But this snake is not just any ordinary snake. Rather, legend has it that this Ba snake was the snake that could swallow an elephant*!
*巴蛇吞象 Bā shé tūn xiàng: it is part of Chinese mythology that the Ba snake swallowed an elephant whole and the elephant bones were only spat out after three years.
Look at those five stars. They show the Ba snake’s head perking upright. Behind it, is its long coiling body. Generally speaking, snakes will have their heads perked up when they’re ready to attack. So currently, the snake is concealing itself, observing its target, and waiting for the right moment to attack.
Because I had been curious, I went to the Zhao Nation in the Southwest to look for the Ba snake. Although I wasn’t able to find it, I witnessed first-hand the way people hunted the gigantic snakes over there.
I saw the initially slow-moving python suddenly become as quick as lightning in a split second. It bit into the goat, quickly strangling it to death, and using its not-so-thick body, swallowed the goat whole!
This is similar to the way that the people of the Zhao Nation fought their battles. They take advantage of the terrain around them; they are flexible and adapting, usually not moving unless they have to, but fatal once they do!
What do you think will happen when the Zhao Nation starts an attack on the Qin Nation, while the battlefield is set inside the wild woods and mountains of the West River? How much certainty does the Qin Nation have over being able to maintain this sole barrier between the two countries?”
Hearing this, Qin Jue took a serious look at that ‘Hydra’ constellation. This constellation was only surrounded by darkness and dim stars, making it seem like it truly was a big elongated snake with its head raised and body curled up amongst the grass. As if it was eyeing the territories of the Central Plain like a tiger eyeing its prey, with its eyes full of hunger and desire to plunder.
Lastly, Xie Lin Lang moved her finger towards the Northwest direction, speaking faintly, “That constellation is named Saggitarius. When you look at it from here, doesn’t it seem like a person with the top half of its body in the form of a human and the bottom half of its body in the form of a horse pulling its bow?
I’m sure when you were in school, your teachers have told you about the Northern territories’ nomadic clans’ horseback riding skills. Since childhood, they spend their life on horseback. And like this Sagittarius Constellation, they are one with the horses, becoming invincible once they are on horseback!
Since they’ve been having civil wars for more than a decade, you probably haven’t had the opportunity to experience their power. And during the half-year that I went to the North for disaster relief, I heard that there lived a fierce general that had already conquered many tribes, annexing the majority of the North’s power!
If, one day, he manages to conquer and unify the North, do you think he will take his horseback army and come straight for the Central Plains?”
After just a few words from Xie Lin Lang, Qin Jue’s thoughts had become extremely alarmed. It wasn’t until a gust of mountain wind blew past that he felt his back freeze up and realized his whole body was covered in a cold sweat.
All of the things she said would never have been taught by the most knowledgeable highest tutor in the imperial palace, nor would it ever be taught by the martial arts master who has been traveling widely throughout the land for more than a decade.
The highest tutor would only tell him that the Qin Nation was the strongest nation on the planet. Because of their strong soldiers and sturdy horses, their populous and affluent citizens, all of the nearby countries would not dare to offend them!
As a sage who has experienced many things in his lifetime, seeing that Qin Jue couldn’t practice martial arts, the martial arts master instead would tell him about his experiences and tales that he had heard during his travels.
Then, the martial arts master would tell him that although the Qin Nation was wealthy, there still remained people that were starving on the streets. If the Qin Nation truly wanted to become a strong nation, it still had a long way to go.
Yet, if Qin Jue asked about the other nations, he would only sneer and look down upon them, calling them merely barbarians that weren’t worth mentioning.
As a result, all of the things Xie Lin Lang had spoken about tonight were completely new to him. He didn’t know what the whale looked like, nor did he know how a snake could swallow prey a few times its size, and even more so had he ever seen a soldier that had become one with their horses!
On one hand, he could be completely doubtful of what Xie Lin Lang had said tonight. But one thing was clear. Xie Lin Lang would never lie to him.
Seeing him lower his gaze deep in thought, Xie Lin Lang smiled lightly.
“Truthfully, you don’t have to be so worried. I can safely say that the Qin Nation will still be stable for at least the next couple of years.
There’s no other intention in me telling you all of these things right now. I just want you to know that revenge is necessary to go after, but your vision shouldn’t only be focused on the fringe of hatred and vengeance. But rather, you should be viewing the limitless boundaries and the overarching structure of the world!”
Her words completely shook up Qin Jue’s heart! As a Crown Prince, being the Son of Heaven*, the education he had received while growing up was that he needed to rule as an emperor of the world and create peace in all directions!
*People in the monarchy are sometimes called the Son of Heaven to show their status as the ‘chosen ones’ compared to regular people.
But in truth, how vast was the world and how far did the directions go? No one had ever told him this and he also only had a vague idea about it as well.
(This translation was brought to you by LeafInBloom on Patreon and Sleepy Translations.)
Just now, as Xie Lin Lang sat on the peak of the mountain, effortlessly pointing at the stars and helping him become familiar with the setups of the world, he finally realized just how big the world was, how small the person considered to be ‘Son of Heaven’ was, how short a person’s life was, and how vast the world outside of human reach was.
Thinking this, he took in a very deep breath. The chilly mountain wind soaked into his heart, clearing up his mind and purifying his soul.
The Chi that would have needed careful attention to be cultivated suddenly ‘raised’ by a large margin*.
*This is because Qin Jue gained a deeper understanding of the world.
He found out that he could almost imagine the setup of the world that Xie Lin Lang was talking about, as well as beginning to understand why the martial arts master had always been telling him that it was important for a person to have sight on the bigger picture.
When his vision was solely fixated on vengeance, vengeance would make up who he was as a whole. Hatred will cause him to be stronger, but it will cause his path to continuously be filled with thorns. The farther he goes, the more painful and narrower his path will be.
The reason for all of Xie Lin Lang’s efforts was to help him escape from that mindset, to tell him that he can take advantage and toy with his hatred, but not to let the hatred take advantage of him.
Previously, it was him who overlooked Xie Lin Lang’s abilities. But at this point in time, he really had an impulse to call her ‘ShiFu’!