Chapter 51: Yun Taikang

"That is not a novel," Liu Jing retorted, casting aside all thoughts of the beauty about to emerge from her bath.

"The Chronicles of the Qin Dynasty" was indeed not a novel. It was a historical work he had written based on the memories of the second-generation ancestral heir, supplemented by extensive research into pre-Qin historical materials.

True history had long since been buried in the dust of time, making his compiled work appear rather surreal to the uninitiated.

Taking the State of Qin as its perspective, the book spanned from the enfeoffment of Feizi of Qin by the King of Zhou to the ultimate downfall of the Qin Empire. It drew upon a wealth of citations, weaving together the politics of the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, the Hundred Schools of Thought, local customs and folklore, geographical culture, ritual systems, and much more.

The book comprised five volumes. The first volume, titled *The Enfeoffment*, began with the founding ancestor Feizi raising horses for the King of Zhou and concluded with Duke Zhuang of Qin.

The second volume, *The Hegemon*, commenced with Duke Xiang of Qin dispatching troops to escort King Ping of Zhou's eastward migration, earning him the title of feudal lord, and ended with Duke Mu of Qin establishing hegemony over the Western Rong and ranking among the "Five Hegemons of the Spring and Autumn Period."

The third volume, *The King*, stretched from the dawn of the Warring States period to the ascension of King Huiwen, Ying Si.

The fourth volume, *Unification*, started with King Huiwen of Qin conquering the states of Ba and Shu, and culminated in King Zheng of Qin subjugating the other six states.

The fifth volume, *All Under Heaven*, followed Ying Si's descendant—Emperor Shi Huang—from his coronation through the collapse of the Qin Empire.

Liu Jing was most familiar with and proficient in the fourth volume and the earlier part of the fifth, as the second-generation heir had been an eyewitness to that era of history. Yet, the memories were not the main focus; they served merely as reference points, for he had no desire to be labeled a fabricator of history.

The first three volumes relied on the heir's memories combined with historical records.

The latter half of the fifth volume was based purely on historical literature, as even the young heir had never lived through those final days.

This was a colossal undertaking. Liu Jing was currently writing the fourth volume, which he knew best, and had just completed the introduction.

For the first section of the fourth volume, focusing on King Huiwen of Qin, he had already written fifty chapters, each spanning two to three thousand words, and was nearing its completion.

He intended to publish this work on the internet to test the waters and gauge public reception.

Buying a laptop was primarily for this very purpose of writing. He loathed even writing school assignments by hand, let alone churning out thousands of characters manually—that would be sheer torture.

Typing on a computer was far more comfortable than writing by hand. The rat-a-tat clatter of the keyboard as lines of text materialized on the screen was a sensation he deeply enjoyed.

"Netizens, without me, Yun Taikang, holding sway across the BBS, you must be feeling awfully lonely. Too bad I can't access domestic networks from here. See you in three months!"

Liu Jing muttered to himself while deftly booting up the machine.

The internet in this era was still in its infancy, with very few users—fewer than one hundred thousand people nationwide had internet access.

The dial-up ports of ChinaNet in Yandu could only support two thousand simultaneous users, though there weren't even that many people online in the entire city.

Yun Taikang was his online handle on the BBS and the pen name he was about to adopt.

Having been introduced to the internet in October, he had already made a prominent name for himself on the BBS in just over a month.

No one on the other side of the screen knew whether they were chatting with a human or a dog, nor could anyone have guessed that Yun Taikang—the one who "commanded the rivers and mountains, penned stirring prose, and regarded the powerful lords of yesteryear as mere dirt"—was actually an eight-year-old child.

Here, past history mattered not; gains and losses were uncounted; success and failure were irrelevant; status and background were disregarded; poverty and wealth were unspoken...

"Wooden Head, what are we going to do for the Lunar New Year?" Zhang Min asked, her hair dried and dressed neatly as she stepped out of the bathroom.

Now that Liu Jing's eighth birthday had passed, she consciously began to mind her appearance; walking around draped only in a bath towel felt far too frivolous.

"We'll wing it," Liu Jing glanced over at her. She was wearing a silk nightgown that looked exceptionally smooth.

"Would you like me to keep you company?" Zhang Min sat down behind Liu Jing.

"You guys don't need to worry about me. Growing a year older with the New Year, what is there to even celebrate?" Liu Jing's expression turned gloomy. Having grown up in an orphanage, he held a complicated emotional complex regarding the New Year.

Zhang Min leaned over to peer at the computer screen, faint wisps of fragrance lingering around Liu Jing's nose. "Wooden Head, this novel of yours is written so chaotically. It's not nearly as readable as Louis Cha's works."

"This is history, not a novel," Liu Jing pushed Zhang Min's head away, repeating himself for the umpteenth time.

"Pfft! As if I'm an illiterate," Zhang Min scoffed, completely unconvinced.

With such a great beauty hovering around and disturbing him, Liu Jing lost all inspiration.

He closed the laptop. "Sister Min, what did you come to America for? I borrowed all that money from you; you surely aren't here to play debt collector, are you? Once my fifth-year signing bonus comes through, I'll pay you back immediately. Rest assured, I won't run away."

Zhang Min curled her lips. "I'm not worried about you running off. In fact, I'd prefer it if you couldn't pay me back, so that..."

She trailed off, unable to finish the sentence.

What she had originally wanted to say was: *Then you can spend a lifetime paying me back.* But a quick flash of thought told her that sounded entirely inappropriate.

Her fair face flushed crimson, and she mentally cursed herself for her wild imagination. *Ahem, aren't I just worried that you'll be lonely spending the New Year by yourself? I happen to have nothing better to do anyway. Where is isn't celebrating the New Year?*

Over the years, she had made numerous investments—buying real estate, opening several shops, and taking a stake in Boss Chen's company—leaving her with less than twenty million yuan in her bank account.

Yet when Liu Jing asked to borrow money, aside from retaining enough for daily living expenses and business operations, she had handed over every last cent.

"I won't be lonely even by myself," Liu Jing pursed his lips.

Zhang Min chuckled inwardly. The little fellow certainly had a stubborn mouth. "Tomorrow I'll rent a short-term apartment. We can't possibly spend the New Year holed up in a hotel. Spruce yourself up properly; Sis will keep you company this year."

"What about your family?" Liu Jing hesitated.

"In my heart, you are my family," Zhang Min said with a complex look in her eyes.

A wave of warmth washed over Liu Jing. He hopped down from his chair, fetched something from the cabinet, and handed it to Zhang Min. "I have a gift for you. I made this with my own hands. It's not worth much money, but you can play with it."

"What is this?" Zhang Min asked, smiling brightly. This was the first gift she had ever received from Liu Jing.

"A Luoban Box."

"A Luoban Box?" Zhang Min looked puzzled.

"The prop department's tools were quite complete, so when I had some free time, I made a few Luoban boxes. This is a puzzle box with internal mechanisms invented by Luoban in ancient times to store important items. Opening it requires a specific technique. Without knowing where the mechanism is hidden, the box is nearly impossible to open," Liu Jing explained.

"Nearly impossible to open, which means it *can* be opened. I'll just grab a hammer and smash it open." Zhang Min fiddled with it for a moment, failing to find the trick, and grew eager to try the brute-force approach.

Liu Jing gave a deadpan stare. "If you smash the box open, the gift inside will be ruined as well."

"No big deal, you can just make me another one," Zhang Min said dismissively.

Liu Jing rolled his eyes. She didn't have a single romantic bone in her body; no wonder she got dumped by her ex. Look at the new guy she found—sending flowers today, taking her to fancy restaurants tomorrow. That guy even publicly stated he wouldn't film movies produced by Yongsheng. Now *that* was how you handled a man.

After studying it for two minutes, Zhang Min lost her patience.

She gripped the box and shook it wildly. A small wooden block flew out, striking her right between the eyebrows, and the box finally sprang open.

She let out a cry of pain, rubbing her forehead. "You little wooden head, actually hiding a concealed weapon in the box! You're even more wicked than Zhao Min!"

"How old are you, and you have zero patience? You've got fast hands, alright—I literally just turned around for a second. That hit your forehead; if it had hit your nose or eyes, you'd be injured for sure," Liu Jing scolded.

"Well, it didn't hit my nose or eyes," she brushed it off carelessly. Opening the box, she found a glowing blue fish-dragon pendant resting quietly inside.

"What a pity," Liu Jing sighed. This wasteful woman had managed to snap off one of the fish-dragon's whiskers.

"Ooh! Wooden Head, where are the other Luoban boxes? I promise I'll open them properly this time!" Zhang Min clasped her hands together with an expectant look on her face.