In a sudden Zhu Su remembered his father. The first time when he established the Ming Empire and drafted laws of the country, the emperor issued orders for all future Ming emperor candidates not to invade other countries just for fulfilling their greed. War, for him, not only would deplete national assets and sacrifice the lives of soldiers, but would also ruin other countries and caused misery to the people in the countries they conquered.
"The leaders in ancient times, and also in other countries nowadays, always measure the greatness of their countries based on the size of the area they conquer. Genghis Khan, Kublai Khan, Han Wudi, Tang Taizong * ... they indeed became respected all around, but that was only on the surface... Actually, the people of the country they conquered hated them. We will only be perceived as a conqueror nation. Therefore, we must be different from them. Our focus is to prosper our own country. If non-urgent, do not fight. We will be able to contribute more to this world than they do," The emperor explained.
For a moment, Zhu Su firmly believed that his father was a great, wise leader. It was a way of thinking the emperors of the previous dynasties would never think about. Nevertheless, the emperor dared to break down primordial principles and traditions, thus strived to realize it.
Ah... but what is he doing now? Suspecting, torturing, and even executing innocent people... including me and my father-in-law. So how will he be remembered by future generations? Is it still the same as his expectations?
"Cleanse your heart from hatred first. Only then you can fulfill your dreams, and become a medical expert."
Zhu Su looked heavenward. He really heard that reverberating shout. But he saw nobody! Wu Qi and Hu Nayin seemingly heard nothing, they were still focusing on their meal.
"Is there something wrong, Your Highness?" Realizing Zhu Su was getting disturbed, Wu Qi immediately asked.
"Uhmm... It was likely an old man was shouting just now... But did I mishear, huh?..."
"Your Highness, there's a rumor that "something" often appears in a sudden here..." Hu Nayin chimed in.
"Geez? What the hell is it?!" Wu Qi seemed frightened.
"Yeah, that's it, the one who doesn't own physical form. Ghost!"
Wu Qi was really pale now. "Awww, Nayin! Don't make me shudder!"
Hu Nayin burst to laugh. "Hahaha! So you are afraid of ghosts?" She mocked.
"Of course! Don't say you aren't!"
"You know, it's noon now. The sun is overhead, no ghost will appear. Of course I'm not scared!"
"Hey, maybe we have to stay overnight in this mountain! We are looking for Xie Wang's den, not to merely searching for herbs and then you can go home immediately!"
Wu Qi's words made Hu Nayin start to tremble. "Ah... I forget that..."
"Well, you're still boasting like that earlier, but now you're also afraid, right?" Wu Qi turned to mock back.
"I'm not afraid! I have made my mind to follow His Highness, I'm afraid of nothing! Even if a tiger appears, I'll be unafraid!" Hu Nayin said firmly.
"Tiger is frightening if it really appears, don't you know..." Wu Qi said.
"Uh... You're freaking me out..." Hu Nayin had fingers touch each other, she looked nervous.
Zhu Su stared at both of his followers whom were almost in the same age. Gosh, they are just like little children and so immature. Is it safe to bring them with me?...
"You've often climbed Mount Laojun, then you can't be afraid of those kinds of stuff, right?" Wu Qi asked again.
"To tell the truth, I just approach the area near the foot of the mountain."
"I notice, there are a lot of medicinal plants here." Zhu Su changed the topic. "Much better than those in Kaifeng." He chose to care nothing about his childish team. He stood up, soon got busy observing flowers and leaves.
"Chishao (red peony) is better here... and the same with Danggui (angelica)..." Zhu Su was now staring at the flowers of those two medicinal plants. "All of the medicinal plants in Yunnan are better than those in the Central Plain!... What is this? I've never seen it before..."
Zhu Su was now holding a white flower that looked like a trumpet. The flower should be very beautiful, regrettably it had not bloomed yet.
Hu Nayin soon approached Zhu Su. "That is Manduoluohua (datura). Its flower blooms only in the afternoon, before night. The flower is indeed very beautiful. And when I hold it, it gives me a pleasant sensation," Hu Nayin explained.
"There are so many Manduoluohua here?" Besides the white datura flower in his palm, Zhu Su found that datura flowers with other colors were surrounding him. "Not only white, it also has red color."
Zhu Su took a deep breath. He should not waste time observing plants here, whereas he had to continue his way to search for Xie Wang's headquarters. Now their energy had been refilled after resting and eating. He asked Wu Qi and Hu Nayin, "Have you had enough rest?"
Both of them nodded. "Yes, Your Highness."
"Alright. Let's continue our journey."
...
* Four of them are the well-known emperors in history. Genghis Khan was the founder and first Great Khan and Emperor of the Mongol Empire which became the largest contiguous empire in history after his death. Kublai Khan founded the Yuan dynasty in China as a conquest dynasty in 1271, and ruled as the first Yuan emperor until his death in 1294. Han Wudi was the emperor of Han Dynasty whose reign resulted in a vast territorial expansion and the development of a strong and centralized state resulting from his governmental reorganization, including his promotion of Confucian doctrines. Tang Taizong was the emperor from Tang Dynasty, he is typically considered to be one of the greatest emperors in China's history and henceforth, his reign became regarded as the exemplary model against which all future emperors were measured. (Wikipedia)