Elder Sun Kang’s voice echoed through the grand hall.
He stared straight at Ying Ziye, eyes bloodshot.
“Those green flames—surely they cannot be fake!”
As soon as the words fell, several other Confucian officials stepped out from the ranks and stood behind him.
“Elder Sun is right!”
“The so-called ‘barbarians’ may be false, but can heavenly fire also be false?”
“This is the fire of the underworld—a warning from the Netherworld to the ruler of mankind!”
“If His Majesty insists on going against Heaven’s will, disaster will surely follow!”
One accusation after another fell like hailstones upon the throne.
The morale that had just surged after the “parading of the so-called sea ghosts” instantly collapsed again.
The ministers began whispering among themselves, fear creeping back onto their faces.
Yes.
The people may be fake.
But what about the fire?
That eerie green flame, drifting against the wind across the sea—many fishermen had seen it with their own eyes.
Ying Zheng’s expression darkened.
He did not believe in ghosts or gods.
But even he could not explain what that green flame truly was.
His gaze slowly shifted downward—toward his son, who was calmly stacking bamboo slips into a tower.
Ying Ziye seemed to notice everyone looking at him.
He stopped what he was doing.
Then he yawned lazily, looking like he had just woken up.
“So noisy.”
He stood up and rubbed his eyes.
“Isn’t it just a green fire?”
“Big deal.”
He walked up to Sun Kang with his short little steps and looked up at him.
“Old man, have you ever seen a dead person fart?”
Sun Kang froze.
The entire court froze.
A dead person… fart?
What kind of outrageous nonsense was that?!
“You insolent brat! You—”
Sun Kang trembled with rage, his beard shaking.
But Ying Ziye ignored him completely and ran toward Ying Zheng.
“Father.”
“Lend me the palace for a bit. I’ll show these bumpkins a little trick.”
Ying Zheng looked at his son’s confident eyes.
He nodded.
“Granted.”
Ying Ziye grinned.
He called out toward the guards outside.
“Go, bring me a cart of bones.”
“Preferably cow bones that have been left for years—hard ones.”
He thought for a moment.
“And also bring some of those white stones left from iron smelting in the workshop.”
The guards obeyed and left.
The atmosphere in the hall turned strange.
Bones and stones… what was he planning to do?
Sun Kang let out a cold laugh.
“Playing tricks and deception!”
“Old man will see what nonsense you can produce!”
Soon, a large iron pot, a pile of yellowed animal bones, and a basket of strange-smelling white stones were brought into the hall.
A fire was lit under the pot.
Ying Ziye rolled up his sleeves, revealing his small white arms.
He picked up a large bone and hammered it into pieces with a small hammer—bang bang bang.
Then he tossed the broken bones into the pot and added water, beginning to boil them.
His movements were so skilled it looked like he was cooking soup.
The officials exchanged confused looks.
Was the Ninth Prince… hungry?
Was he about to drink soup in front of the entire court?
After boiling for a while, he added the white stones.
The water began bubbling strangely, releasing a sharp, pungent smell.
Ying Ziye didn’t care.
He stirred slowly with a long iron ladle, humming a little tune.
After a while, he ordered the water poured out.
At the bottom of the pot, a sticky white residue remained.
He had it carefully scraped out onto a porcelain plate, then slowly dried over low heat.
The entire process looked like casual cooking.
Finally, the sticky substance turned into a dry white powder.
Ying Ziye nodded in satisfaction.
He lifted the plate.
Everyone held their breath.
Sun Kang stared at the plain white powder with disdain.
“Tricks and illusions!”
Ying Ziye smiled.
Then he gently blew on it.
A tiny amount of the white powder scattered into the air.
The moment it touched the air—
“Whoosh!”
A ghostly green flame ignited out of nowhere!
It burned silently, floating in midair like a spirit from hell itself.
“AH!!”
A timid court official screamed and fainted on the spot.
“Ghost! Ghost fire!”
“Sorcery! This is sorcery!”
“Protect His Majesty! Protect His Majesty!”
The entire palace hall instantly descended into chaos.
Officials scattered in panic like mice seeing a cat.
Some hid behind the dragon-patterned pillars, only daring to peek out.
Others scrambled under the desks, crawling on all fours.
Sun Kang and the Confucian scholars behind him were so terrified they collapsed onto the ground, faces pale, trembling uncontrollably.
A foul stench spread from Sun Kang’s robes.
He had wet himself.
At the center of the chaos—
Ying Ziye calmly extended his small hand and caught the floating “ghost fire” in his palm.
The green flame flickered in his hand.
It illuminated his childish face in alternating light and shadow.
As if he were playing with a strange new toy.
“Look.”
His voice, reinforced by inner force, clearly reached everyone’s ears.
“This is the so-called fire of the underworld?”
He walked step by step toward the collapsed Sun Kang, still holding the flame.
The officials watched in horror.
As if the real demon walking out of hell was not the flame—
But him.
“This thing is called phosphorus.”
His tone was casual, yet full of certainty.
“It exists inside bones.”
“When people die and are buried, as the bones decay, this substance escapes.”
He casually tossed the flame in his hand.
“So those so-called ghost fires in the wilderness…”
He grinned, revealing small white teeth.
“…are not ghosts at all.”
“They’re just dead bones… letting out a fart.”
“Understand?”
“Pfft.”
Wang Jian couldn’t help it—he laughed out loud.
Dead bones… farting?
What an absolutely brutal analogy.
The generals tried desperately to hold back their laughter, faces turning red.
Meanwhile, the civil officials—especially the Confucian scholars—were flushed with shame and rage.
The “divine omen” they worshipped…
Had become, in the Ninth Prince’s words, a fart.
Sun Kang lay on the ground, trembling as he pointed at Ying Ziye, lips shaking.
“You… you… spreading heretical lies!”
“Oh?”
Ying Ziye lifted his eyelids lazily.
With a casual flick of his hand—
The green flame in his palm flew out like a lump of mucus and landed directly on Sun Kang’s robe.
Whoosh!
The flame instantly flared up.
“AHHH!!”
Sun Kang let out a pig-like scream.
He rolled wildly on the ground, desperately trying to extinguish the fire.
But the flame clung to him like a curse, refusing to go out.
“Help! Help me!”
“Your Majesty! Save me!”
Ying Ziye clicked his tongue.
“Useless.”
He casually waved to the guards.
“Pour water on him.”
Splash!
A bucket of water was dumped over Sun Kang’s head.
Sizzle.
A faint sound.
The terrifying “ghost fire” was instantly extinguished.
Only a blackened burn mark remained on his robe.
Soaked, gasping, Sun Kang lay on the ground like a drowned chicken.
Ying Ziye walked over and nudged him with his foot.
“See that?”
“Water can extinguish ghost fire.”
“Doesn’t that mean the water of Great Qin’s rivers is more powerful than your so-called gods?”
The entire hall stared in silence.
An eight-year-old child had used a pile of bones and a simple trick…
To completely crush the dignity of the Confucian scholars.
“Hahahahaha!”
“Hahahahahaha!!”
On the dragon throne, Ying Zheng finally burst into loud laughter.
A laugh filled with satisfaction and disdain.
He stepped down from the throne and stepped onto the wet patch beside Sun Kang.
Pointing at the pale-faced scholars, he thundered:
“A group of useless fools who only know how to read dead books!”
“You claim you can govern the empire, yet you speak to me of ghosts and gods!”
“And now a simple trick has frightened you into this state!”
His gaze swept across the hall.
“Let it be known!”
“From this day forward, anyone who dares utter the word ‘ghost’ or speak of ‘heavenly punishment’ in court…”
“Will be dragged out and thrown into this ‘phosphorus fire’ to be properly roasted!”
“Let me see whether your gods will come save you!”
“Your Majesty is wise!!!”
The generals knelt in unison, voices shaking the hall.
The sound roared like thunder.
The chains of superstition were completely shattered.
At that moment—
“REPORT!!”
A sweat-drenched craftsman stumbled into the hall.
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