In the Crown Kingdom in the Peace Province in the Jasmine City, Zixin Quon, the emperor of the Chinese Empire, has been informed by his four cousins (Guang Quon, Jinjing Quon, Shirong Jinhai and Bingwen Jinhai) who are the four kings of the four kingdoms that his magic can be nullified. They told him the stories of the four messengers whom they killed after realizing that they can nullify the magic of Zixin by the Islamic Incantation. Furthermore, they sent Zixin the samples of golden taels that the messengers converted to stones. Moreover, Xiaosheng Deming, the king of the Crown Kingdom, reported to Zixin that he killed a suspicious magician who accused Zixin of producing counterfeit money. In addition, the five chief army leaders of the five kingdoms also reported to their kings the visits of the five messengers whom they killed for accusing Zixin of producing counterfeit money. The five kings, in turn, reported these incidents to Zixin. Zixin blamed the five kings and the five chief army leaders for their haste in killing the ten messengers and he told them that they should have kept them captives for thorough and detailed investigations.

Now Zixin realized that his magic is not kept a secret anymore. It is known to many people and he conjectured that there is a spy or a group of spies who leaked the secret of his occult magic to outsiders. Since the ten messengers who accused Zixin of producing counterfeit money worked according to one plan with unified style and method, Zixin conjectured that these ten messengers work for Yueliang Jian. Zixin felt deeply depressed and frustrated to know that his occult magic can be nullified by the Islamic Incantation. But until now, Zixin believes that his magic can be partially nullified. In other words, only money that is subjected to the Islamic Incantation can be restored to its original form and shape (stones). Since the effect of magic nullification is partial and localized, there is no need to worry so much because Zixin can keep things in control.

The Dream of Liling

The loss of the ten friends of Yueliang had brought deep sadness, sorrow and grief to Yueliang and his team. However, a Muslim is patient when calamities befall him/her and he/she knows that even if falsehood wins some battles, it will certainly lose the final battle. Truth always wins the final battle against falsehood. Tonight, Liling Heng, Yueliang's sweetheart, saw a dream during her sleep. She saw a cobra approaching her with the intention of biting her. Liling unsheathed her sword and chopped the cobra's head by a single strike. Liling felt that this dream is special and must be shared with Yueliang. After Liling shared her dream with Yueliang, Yueliang told her that she must share her dream with Mohammad Azzumurrud, the Arab and Muslim Koran memorizer, because he is very skilled at dream interpretation. When Liling shared her dream with Mohammad, Mohammad said: “The skill of dream interpretation is a gift from Allah to the true followers of the Prophets of Allah. Dear Liling, your dream is auspicious. I conjecture that you will be the one who will nullify the magic of Zixin and bring it to an end. The cobra symbolizes the magic of Zixin and cutting the head of a snake means eradicating evil by uprooting its source. In Arabic we have an eloquent verse of poetry:

إن كنت شهماً فأتبع رأسها الذنبا

لا تقطعن ذنب الأفعى و ترسلها

Do not chop the tail of a snake and let it go free; if you are chivalrous, let its head follow its tail (i.e. chop its head after chopping its tail).

Dear Liling, I hope, by the Will of Allah, you will be the one to terminate the magic of Zixin.” Liling was very happy to hear this beautiful dream interpretation and she thanked Mohammad deeply and said: “Thank you so much, dear Mohammad. I hope Allah will grant me the power to nullify the magic of Zixin and bring it to a complete end.”

Liling started to think about her dream and how she might make it come true. She finally got a brilliant idea inside her head where she said: “Instead of reciting the Islamic Incantation on money generated by the magical stick of Zixin, why do not I recite the Islamic Incantation on the magical stick of Zixin directly? The magical stick of Zixin represents the head of the snake that I saw in my dream. All the counterfeit money generated by the magic of Zixin emanates from the magical stick. Perhaps if I recite the Islamic Incantation on the magical stick of Zixin, I will nullify its effect and it will no longer work. In other words, reciting the Islamic Incantation on the magical stick of Zixin might make it lose its magical power and return to its normal state. If Zixin no longer can generate money by his magical stick, he will be forced to the wall.” Liling liked the idea she got very much and she shared it with Yueliang, Taiyang, Junjie, Mohammad and the rest of her friends and they all liked the idea and commended it. Mohammad said: “You are brilliant, Liling. As you concluded, the head of the cobra you saw in your dream indeed symbolizes the magical stick of Zixin and chopping its head symbolizes reciting the Islamic Incantation on it. I greatly admire your interpretation that I could not reach directly.” Yueliang said: “But how will Liling reach the magical stick of Zixin? There is a vast distance and the road is paved with difficulties.” Liling said: “I hope that Allah will make the road easy for me for reaching the magical stick of Zixin. Islam teaches us to utilize the available means and put our trust in Allah. Allah is with us and He will make us victorious; we just need to be patient and diligent.” Taiyang said: “I admire your wisdom, Liling. I hope success will be your companion all the way.”

Liling and Mei Enter the Imperial Palace

Junjie Song, the Imperial Minister of Intelligence of the deposed government, received an urgent news from the Jasmine City in the Crown Kingdom in the Peace Province which states that Zixin will be hosting a contest for maids in order to choose the best maids of his Imperial Palace. The contest will take place after three months from now. Therefore, Junjie saw in this contest the greatest opportunity for Liling to enter the Imperial Palace in her quest to recite the Islamic Incantation on the magical stick of Zixin. Junjie informed Yueliang and the rest of his friends about this contest. Liling agreed with Junjie that this is a unique chance that she must utilize to the fullest in high hopes that she enters the Imperial Palace and recite the Islamic Incantation on the magical stick of Zixin in the right time. The team of friends prepared themselves to travel to the Jasmine City under the auspices of the Ministry of Intelligence of the deposed government. After a long travel, they arrived to a protected house in the suburbs of the Jasmine City. The Ministry of Intelligence of the deposed government trained Liling and Mei Shun well for their upcoming task and provide them with fake identities to conceal their true identities and family and friend associations. Liling's fake name is Ai Xiaobo and Mei's fake name is Shi Yanlin. When the contest organized by the Imperial Palace started, Liling and Mei were two of the applicants. The contest simply consists of a room with diverse articles of furniture that are scattered on purpose in a very cluttered and disorganized manner. The task assigned to each contestant is to organize and tidy up the room in the best possible way according to her skills and taste. Liling and Mei have an exalted taste in housekeeping activities because they are clever tailors. Liling and Mei organized and tidied up the rooms in their respective turns in an attractive and elegant fashion. As a result, they both achieved high scores and were selected as successful applicants who will have the privilege of joining the Imperial Palace with the job title: The Honorable Maids of the Imperial Palace. Liling and Mei were extremely happy to join the Imperial Palace after their excellent performance in the contest.

Liling and Mei Seize the Opportunity

After Liling and Mei entered the Imperial Palace, they received thorough training with a long list of must-have and nice-to-have activities. They were assigned different shifts and sometimes they are assigned the same shift and can work together. Until now, Liling and Mei have not entered the bedroom of Zixin for cleaning and tidying it up. When Zixin does not need his magical stick, he leaves it in his bedroom in a special box and he lays the box in a secret compartment hidden in the wall. This secret compartment can be opened and closed by pulling one particular ornamental rope dangling from one of the bedroom's walls. The bedroom of Zixin is very spacious and has plenty of ornamental ropes dangling from the walls. The vast majority of the maids of the palace do not know about this secret compartment including Liling and Mei. Only Zixin, his wife and a few maids know about this secret compartment. Today, Liling is assigned cleaning and tidying up the bedroom of Zixin for the first time in her career and Mei is not with her this time. There are certain protocols for cleaning and tidying up the bedroom of Zixin. For example, the door of the bedroom is guarded by four maids and they inspect whomsoever enters and leaves the bedroom. Also, exactly two maids are assigned the task of cleaning and tidying up the bedroom every day and these maids are changed frequently based on a variable schedule. Liling entered the bedroom of Zixin with another maid and she started to explore the bedroom while cleaning and tidying up in high hopes that she finds the magical stick of Zixin. Liling failed to find the magical stick of Zixin this time. The next time, Mei was assigned the task of cleaning and tidying up the bedroom of Zixin and she also failed to find the magical stick of Zixin.

After three months, Liling and Mei were both assigned the task of cleaning and tidying up the bedroom of Zixin and this was the first time they will enter the room together. Liling and Mei agreed that Liling will clean and tidy up the bedroom while Mei will search the bedroom for the magical stick of Zixin. Mei started to search everything in the bedroom but to no avail. Then, she started to lift everything in the bedroom but she could not find anything. After that, she started to pull everything in the room including all the ornamental ropes on the walls. When Mei pulled the relevant ornamental rope dangling from the wall that is responsible for opening the secret compartment in the wall, the secret compartment opened. Both Liling and Mei were dazzled and astonished to see the secret compartment in the wall opening. They directly rushed toward the box containing the magical stick of Zixin and opened it and they finally saw the magical stick of Zixin for the first time. Since a lot of time was consumed searching for the magical stick, they had no time in this time slot to recite the Islamic Incantation on the magical stick and therefore they must wait for another time slot when they are both assigned the task of cleaning and tidying up the bedroom. Mei remembered well which ornamental rope dangling from the wall is responsible for opening the secret compartment in the wall. She pulled that rope again and the secret compartment was closed as it was originally. Both Liling and Mei completed the task in the bedroom and exited the bedroom as usual. They became very happy to know where Zixin hides his magical stick. They are now one step far from fulfilling their mission of reciting the Islamic Incantation on the magical stick of Zixin. In the subsequent weeks, both Liling and Mei were not assigned the same time slot together to clean the tidy up the bedroom of Zixin. Sometimes, Liling is assigned this task along with another maid and sometimes Mei is assigned this task along with another maid. Liling and Mei were craving for the time when they both will be assigned the same time slot for cleaning and tidying up the bedroom of Zixin so that they recite the Islamic Incantation on the magical stick in private without being noticed by other maids. This is essential for ensuring their safety, security and privacy. If Zixin discovers that they are spies for Yueliang, their lives would be jeopardized. One time, Liling and Mei were both assigned to clean and tidy up the bedroom of Zixin in the same time slot but unfortunately, when they opened the secret compartment, they did not find the magical stick of Zixin in the box because on that day Zixin took his magical stick with him for converting stones to gold.

After three months, Liling and Mei were again assigned the task of cleaning and tidying up the bedroom of Zixin together in the same time slot. They entered the bedroom, opened the secret compartment and found the magical stick of Zixin in the box. This was the historic moment they were both waiting for since a long time. It is now time to recite the Islamic Incantation on the magical stick of Zixin. Liling agreed with Mei that Mei will clean and tidy up the bedroom while Liling will recite the Islamic Incantation on the magical stick of Zixin. Before reciting the Islamic Incantation, Liling started to remember all the noble people who have lost their lives because of Zixin. She remembered the Imperial Family, the emperor and the empress, the uncles, the aunts and the cousins of Yueliang and Taiyang. Liling also remembered her ten friends at the Merlin School who became Koran memorizers and were killed when they were sent as messengers to the five kings and the five chief army leaders. Liling then supplicated Allah as follows: “O Allah, make me nullify the magic of Zixin by your Will and Power. O Allah, make my cobra dream come true. O Allah, nothing in the Heavens or on Earth can frustrate or escape You; You are All-Knowing, All-Powerful.” After that, Liling held the magical stick with her two hands, raised it to the level of her mouth and started to recite the Islamic Incantation on it while weeping because of humbleness and humility. She was weeping for feeling the beauty, the majesty and the perfection of the miraculous Speech of Allah (the Holy Koran). Liling recited the Islamic Incantation on the magical stick of Zixin exactly as Mohammad Azzumurrud taught her. When Liling finished the Islamic Incantation, she returned the magical stick to the box and pulled the ornamental rope dangling from the wall to close the secret compartment as it was initially. She wiped her tears and exited the bedroom with Mei hoping that magical stick of Zixin will no longer work and no longer will convert stones to gold.

The Impact of Liling's Islamic Incantation

Allah, with His Supreme Generosity, has responded to the invocations of Liling. Allah said in the Holy Koran: “And when My slaves ask you (O Muhammad) concerning Me, then (answer them), I am indeed near (to them by My Knowledge). I respond to the invocations of the supplicant when he calls on Me (without any mediator or intercessor). So let them obey Me and believe in Me, so that they may be led aright. (186)” [THK: S 2: V 186]. After Liling finished her Islamic Incantation on the magical stick, Allah has nullified the magical stick of Zixin and caused it to return to its normal state as a normal stick without any magical power or effect. Not only has Allah nullified the magical stick of Zixin, Allah also nullified all the magic of Zixin from the beginning to the end. In other words, Allah has completely and exhaustively converted every gold produced by the magical stick of Zixin to stones. Billions of golden taels have now become stones while preserving the shape and form of golden taels. Xiulan Yongnian, the current empress, was sitting with her close maids and assistants chatting and laughing. After Liling's Islamic Incantation, Xiulan suddenly found her jewelry that she is wearing converted from gold to stones while preserving its shape and form. Also, the jewelry that Xiulan gifted her maids and assistants previously are now all converted to stones while preserving its shape and form. This collection of jewelry that belongs to Xiulan and her maids and assistants includes golden necklaces, bracelets, rings, earrings, crowns, etc that were previously manufactured by gold produced from the magic of Zixin (stones converted to gold). When Xiulan and her maids and assistants saw that the jewelry they are wearing are all converted from gold to stones, they drowned in wonder, awe, fear and panic. Xiulan said: “What happened?! Why our jewelry are converted to stones?!” Then Xiulan, her maids and assistants started to inspect the jewelry of one another. Every article of jewelry is now a stone maintaining its shape and form.

Xiulan, her maids and assistants rushed to Zixin to inform him about this great incident. When they entered to meet Zixin in the main Imperial Hall, Zixin saw Xiulan, her maids and assistants wearing jewelry made of stones so he suspected that someone might have recited the Islamic Incantation on this collection of jewelry. Xiulan said to Zixin in private: “Zixin, do you remember the jewelry that you gifted me and my maids and assistants that were produced by your magical stick? They are all now converted to stones. What could have gone wrong? Can your magic be nullified, undone or reversed?” Zixin said: “Recently, I have been informed that my magic can be nullified by the Islamic Incantation. Did anyone in the palace recited the Islamic Incantation on your jewelry?” Xiulan said: “No, no one recited the Islamic Incantation on our jewelry. We were sitting together and suddenly all our jewelry were converted to stones.” Zixin then rushed to his bedroom to grab his magical stick and test its effect. He held his magical stick and touched some stones with it and nothing happened. The magical stick no longer converts stones to gold. Zixin touched the jewelry of Xiulan with his magical stick and nothing happened. The jewelry remained stones even after being touched by the magical stick. Zixin was extremely puzzled, perplexed, frustrated and fearful. He said: “The magical stick no longer works! Why?! What has changed?!” Zixin then returned to the main Imperial Hall and he started to think about the possibilities of his magical stick and magic being nullified. He knows that the Islamic Incantation can nullify his magic but he did not expect that the Islamic Incantation has been recited on his magical stick.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

The Chinese cities were in great turmoil, riot and perplexity. After Liling's Islamic Incantation, billions of golden taels are now converted to stones while preserving their shape and form. Money produced by the magic of Zixin were circulated and used across every Chinese city and now after the grand nullification of the magic of Zixin, this money have all become counterfeit money (stony taels and not golden taels). This caused great and gargantuan profits and losses to different people. Buyers who bought things with counterfeit money have profited while sellers who sold things by receiving counterfeit money have lost. A myriad of fights, quarrels and problems emerged between buyers and sellers. Sellers would come to buyers claiming that the golden taels they received from buyers have been converted to stones while buyers would claim that they paid the due costs with true golden taels and they are unaware why their golden taels have been converted to stony taels. Here are five stories that shed light on the great troubles caused by the grand nullification of the magic on Zixin and its impact on ordinary people.

Story 1: One brother bought a land from his sister. The brother paid his sister 100000 golden taels for the land. The sister counted the golden taels and they were perfect. After the sister returned to her home and opened the pouch of money again, she found stony taels, not golden taels. The sister was perplexed, confused, fearful and frustrated. She talked with her brother about this issue and her brother claimed that he already gave her true golden taels. A great rift happened between the brother and his sister as a consequence.

Story 2: A sister bought the jewelry of her sister and paid her 10000 golden taels. After the selling sister returned to her home, she opened the pouch of money and found 10000 stony taels. She was perplexed and confused and she returned to her sister to discuss the issue with her. The buying sister claimed that she gave her true golden taels and she is not responsible for what happened. Also, a remarkable rift has happened between the two sisters.

Story 3: A buyer bought a house from a seller with 200000 golden taels. When the seller returned to his house and wanted to count the money again, he opened the pouch of money and he found stony taels instead of golden taels. He was greatly perplexed and frustrated. He returned to the buyer and argued with him. They both quarreled and fought one another and the seller ultimately killed the buyer.

Story 4: A tenant paid his rental fee of a house at 2000 golden taels per month. When the landlord returned to his house and wanted to count the money again, he found stony taels instead of golden taels. He was greatly perplexed and frustrated. He returned to the tenant and quarreled with him. The landlord expelled the tenant from the rented house and the tenant became very angry with the landlord so he killed the landlord.

Story 5: Certain government employees received their salaries and when they returned home happy with their salaries, they opened their money pouches and found stony taels instead of golden taels. They returned with great anger to protest against the government and ask for true golden taels.

These stories represent a small sample of the turmoil and perplexity that happened in the Chinese Empire as a consequence of the grand nullification of the magic of Zixin. As Zixin was thinking about what could have gone wrong with regards to his magical stick and the jewelry of his wife and her maids and assistants, the news about the turmoil, the riot and the perplexity in the Jasmine City arrived to him requiring his attention. After hearing multiple stories about golden taels being converted to stones and becoming stony taels, Zixin realized that his magic is nullified with a retroactive effect. In other words, he realized that all the money he generated in the past by his magical stick are now restored their original shape and form (stony taels instead of golden taels). This added great frustration, gloom and despair to Zixin. While Zixin was drowning in negative emotions and feelings, he said to himself: “Could it be that the maids who entered my bedroom today made something odd that nullified my magic?!” Zixin then asked the chief master of the maids: “Who entered my bedroom today?” The chief master of the maids said: “Today, the schedule states that two maids, Ai Xiaobo (Liling) and Shi Yanlin (Mei), are assigned the task of cleaning and tidying up your bedroom. They entered the bedroom and finished the task on time as usual.” Then Zixin summoned Liling and Mei and said to them: “What have you done in my bedroom today?” Liling and Mei said: “Your Majesty, we cleaned and tidied up your bedroom as usual.” Zixin said: “Did you touch this stick?” and Zixin showed them his magical stick. Liling and Mei said: “No, your Majesty, this is the first time we see this stick.” Zixin ordered his assistants to keep Liling and Mei in custody for further investigation. Liling and Mei are now in prison waiting for their unknown fate to be revealed as time passes.

Yueliang, Taiyang, Junjie and their friends (Mohammad, Cong, Ju, Guotin, Baozhai and Ji) received the news about the turmoil, the riot and the perplexity in the Jasmine City after golden taels of a myriad of people were converted to stony taels. Yueliang said: “It must be that Liling succeeded in reciting the Islamic Incantation on the magical stick of Zixin.” Taiyang said: “I did not expect that Allah will nullify the magic of Zixin from its beginning to its end. I only conjectured that Allah will disable the magical stick of Zixin if Liling or Mei recites the Islamic Incantation on it.” Mohammad said: “Allah took retribution from Zixin for his heinous acts. I also did not expect that Allah will nullify the magic of Zixin completely and exhaustively. We must thank Allah for bestowing on us such a great victory.” Baozhai said: “I thank Allah for His boundless generosity. To be honest, I am very worried about the safety of Liling and Mei. What if Zixin discovers what they did to nullify his magic?” Guotin said: “Our happiness for the nullification of the magic of Zixin is accompanied by equal worry about the safety of Liling and Mei.” Taiyang said: “The safety of Liling and Mei is our top priority. But we have to act cautiously and not rashly.”

Taiyang then suggested that the Ministry of Intelligence of the deposed government starts disseminating the information about the truth and the reality of the magic of Zixin and the explanation behind the conversion of golden taels to stony taels for a myriad of Chinese citizens. Therefore, members of the Ministry of Intelligence of the deposed government started to hang a myriad of papers on public bulletin boards in the markets detailing the explanation about the magic of Zixin and the nullification of this magic. Part of what they said on these papers was: “Zixin is a magician and he discovered an occult magic technique to convert stones to gold and he generated a massive amount of golden taels by his magic as a result. Yueliang, the Crown Prince of the deposed government, and his friends found a technique that nullify the magic of Zixin and now all counterfeit golden taels are restored to their original substance (stony taels). Ally with the Crown Prince of the deposed government, Yueliang Jian, against Zixin, the traitor, the perfidious and the cunning.” A myriad of people have read these advertisements and started to talk about Zixin and Yueliang. When the news of these papers arrived to Zixin, he realized that it is Yueliang who was behind the nullification of his magic. Therefore, he ordered his soldiers to remove the papers hung on public bulletin boards by Yueliang and hang new papers by Zixin which state that: “Yueliang is a magician who converted your true golden taels to stony taels. Zixin and his government is working hard to restore your stony taels to golden taels again.” Hundreds of these papers were hung on public bulletin boards and people started to read them and talk about them. Moreover, the content of this advertisement was proclaimed orally in large gatherings of people.

People are now greatly divided between two mutually exclusive options: Option 1) believe Yueliang's claim that Zixin is the magician who discovered an occult magic technique that converts stones to gold and that Yueliang found a counter technique that nullified the magic of Zixin. Option 2) believe Zixin's claim that Yueliang is a magician who converted true golden taels to stony taels and that Zixin is working hard with his government to find a counter technique that nullify the magic of Yueliang and convert stony taels back to golden taels. The vast majority of people believed Yueliang's claim because they know the past of Zixin and Yueliang. Zixin used to be a magician in the past while Yueliang never practiced magic before, to the best of their knowledge. Some superficial and gullible people believed Zixin's claim because he is the man currently in power and because Zixin gave them hope that their stony taels can be converted to golden taels again.

Liling and Mei under Torture

Zixin ordered his soldiers to subject Liling and Mei to severe torture so that they confess what they did in his bedroom. Zixin suspects Liling and Mei but he has no proof against them. Zixin considers Liling and Mei omens of his bad luck and he correlates the nullification of his magic with them. Therefore, Zixin wanted to vent his anger on Liling and Mei. Liling and Mei were tortured harshly over the period of one month. They bled heavily and lost all their power. Zixin could not get any information from them except that they are Muslims because they maintained their prayers despite their miserable state and abounding wounds. When Zixin realized that Liling and Mei are Muslims, that strengthened his conjecture that they know the Islamic Incantation and somehow they nullified his magic using the Islamic Incantation. Zixin increased the intensity of torture for Liling and Mei but they rejected to reveal any information to him and they remained patient. When Zixin despaired of Liling and Mei, he ordered his soldiers to execute them in public.

Lijuan Shanyuan, the female spy planted in the Imperial Palace by the Ministry of Intelligence of the deposed government, shared the news about Liling and Mei with the Ministry of Intelligence and this ministry shared the news with Yueliang, Taiyang and Junjie in turn. Yueliang and Junjie agreed that they must prevent the murder of Liling and Mei at any cost even if they pay their lives a price for that. On the specified day for the execution of Liling and Mei, Yueliang, Taiyang, Junjie, Mohammad and their friends along with a military unit from the Ministry of Intelligence of the deposed government moved to an area near the execution platform and hid. When Liling and Mei were brought on the execution platform and people gathered to see them executed, Yueliang, Taiyang, Junjie, Mohammad, their friends and the military unit approached the gathering of people and mingled with them. When Zixin's soldiers read the execution verdict, and prepared to execute Liling and Mei, Yueliang, Junjie and the rest of their team prepared to interrupt the execution. When the soldiers lifted their hands with their swords to execute Liling and Mei, Yueliang and Junjie jumped high from the crowd and threw shurikens (star knives) at the soldiers committing the execution. The soldiers were killed instantly. Then Yueliang and Junjie and the rest of their team moved to the execution platform and fought with the rest of the soldiers and killed them all. Yueliang freed Liling from the chains and Junjie freed his wife, Mei, from the chains as well. Then Yueliang carried Liling and Junjie carried Mei and they fled under the protection of their military team. People were astonished to see Liling and Mei rescued in the last moment and they did not know that Yueliang and Junjie were their saviors. Yueliang, Taiyang, Junjie, Liling, Mei, Mohammad, their friends and the military unit moved to a secure place in the suburbs of the Jasmine City and hid. Liling thanked Yueliang deeply for saving her and Mei thanked her husband, Junjie, for saving her as well. They also thanked all the heroes from their friends and the military unit.

Zixin was extremely angry to know that Liling and Mei were saved and his soldiers were killed in public. He punished the police department in charge of the execution of Liling and Mei for their failure to take the required precautions to prevent any hostile attacks on their team.

The Five Kings and the Five Chief Army Leaders

The five kings of the five kingdoms saw that all the money they saved from their salaries received from Zixin have now become stones and the money they own are now stony taels instead of golden taels. They all regretted the murder of the messengers who warned them that Zixin is paying them counterfeit money. Little did they expect that the magic of Zixin can be nullified on a massive scale from its beginning to its end. They thought the messengers can only nullify small samples of money and no one can nullify the magic completely and exhaustively with a retroactive effect. The five kings now feel that they must stay loyal to Zixin even if he was paying them counterfeit money. They share the same destiny as Zixin and they must remain one party against Yueliang.

The five chief army leaders of the five kingdoms also realized that the messengers they killed were truthful and that Zixin is paying them and their soldiers counterfeit money. All their money are now stony taels instead of golden taels. The soldiers panicked greatly to see their money lose its value completely. Soldiers of Zixin were of three categories: 1) those who save more than what they spend. 2) those who spend more than what they save. 3) those who spend equally to what they save. Categories 1 and 3 suffered the most from the nullification of the magic of Zixin because all their savings have evaporated by now. Great turmoil, riot and protest among the soldiers arose for the conversion of their golden taels to stony taels. The chief army leaders received the imperial edict from Zixin that they should tell their soldiers that Yueliang utilized magic to convert their golden taels to stony taels and that Zixin is working hard to nullify the magic of Yueliang. When the chief army leaders proclaimed the imperial edict of Zixin to their soldiers to appease them, superficial and gullible soldiers believed the claim of Zixin. However, there was one general who refused to believe the claim of Zixin and this general was Guozhi Hop, the Deputy Leader of the Army of the Crown Kingdom. Guozhi was the one who spoke with Shu Qianfan before her execution and she told him that she works for Yueliang and she is not a magician but a Koran memorizer. Guozhi started to weep when he remembered Shu and how she was killed despite being a truthful and innocent messenger. Guozhi was extremely angry with his leader, General Enlai Bojing, the chief army leader of the Crown Kingdom. He believed Shu that Zixin is the magician who converts stones to gold and produces counterfeit golden taels with his magic. Therefore, to prevent the misguidance of the soldiers by Zixin's false claim, Guozhi assassinated his leader, General Enlai Bojing, and announced his defection from the army of Zixin in addition to rendering his allegiance to Yueliang. Guozhi told the soldiers that Zixin is a liar and that Yueliang is truthful and he explained to them the fact that Zixin is a magician who produces gold from stones and that Yueliang knows a counter technique to nullify the magic of Zixin. He also mentioned to them how Shu was killed unjustly because she could nullify the magic of Zixin by her Islamic Incantation. The majority of the soldiers of the army of the Crown Kingdom believed Guozhi and agreed to work under his command. They all defected from the army of Zixin and fled to the mountains of the suburbs of the Jasmine City. The minority of the army stayed loyal to Zixin and refused to defect from his army. Not only has Guozhi defected from the army of Zixin, he also incited one of his best friends in the army of the Star Kingdom to defect as well. Guozhi sent a secret message to his best friend, General Zimo Bambang who is the Deputy Leader of the Army of the Star Kingdom, to inform him that Zixin is a liar and he paid them counterfeit money and that Yueliang is truthful and he knows a counter technique to nullify the magic of Zixin. Guozhi incited Zimo to defect from the army of Zixin and join the army of Yueliang. Zimo remembered messenger Daiyu Chaoxiang and how she sincerely warned them that Zixin is deceiving them and paying them counterfeit money. He remembered how his leader ordered to kill Daiyu and how Daiyu courageously resisted the soldiers and killed two of them. Zimo believed Guozhi and Daiyu and similarly, he killed his leader who ordered to kill Daiyu and announced his defection from the army of Zixin and asked the soldiers to follow him. More than half the army of the Star Kingdom believed Zimo and defected from the army of Zixin and fled to the suburbs of the Flower City, the capital of the Star Kingdom, and rendered their allegiance to Yueliang. The rest of the army chose to stay loyal to Zixin and they believed him.

The Austerity Measures

Zixin tried to repeat the procedure he initially used to infuse his stick with its magical power of turning stones to gold but the procedure failed and his stick no longer converts stones to gold. Zixin also repeated the procedure on numerous new sticks and none of these sticks could convert stones to gold. Zixin reached the point of despair and he realized that there is no way for now to have a magical stick that converts stones to gold and that his old magical stick is a bygone era. Zixin was filled with anger and rage against Yueliang who forced Zixin into the tightest corner after nullifying his magic completely and exhaustively.

Zixin is now in a deep crisis. Before his magic nullification, he used to pay his ministers, soldiers and workers triple the ordinary salaries that were paid during the reign of Emperor Wei Jian. Now Zixin must issue an imperial edict with a huge budget cut to adapt to the new situation (post magic nullification era). Therefore, Zixin decided to reduce the salaries of his ministers, soldiers and workers to half the ordinary wage that was during the reign of Emperor Wei Jian. In other words, the new wage of every minister, solider and worker will be divided by six. For instance, if a minister receives a salary of 60000 golden taels in the pre-magic nullification era, he/she would now receive only 10000 golden taels in the post magic nullification era. The new imperial edict of budget cuts angered, frustrated and agitated the ministers, soldiers and workers of Zixin. They now doubt Zixin's power and influence because of his failure to keep his promises and ensure the luxurious life for them. This sowed great distrust between Zixin and those who work for him. Many ministers, soldiers and workers decided to defect from the government of Zixin and ally with Yueliang against Zixin after the imperial edict of budget cuts. Zixin's regret, pain and anguish intensified as he sees more and more of his subjects defecting from his government and joining Yueliang.

From now on, Zixin has to resort to and use true raw gold from goldmines to generate golden taels and pay the expenses of running his government. Previously, Zixin was relying solely on his magical stick to generate golden taels and he used to hoard true raw gold from goldmines in a secure storage area in the Ministry of Finance. Zixin must now rely on this hoarded raw gold to pay the expenses of operating his government. However, to make matters the worst for Zixin, Yueliang organized a military operation at one night to attack the secure storage area of raw gold in the Ministry of Finance and Yueliang's soldiers managed to transfer all the raw gold in this secure storage area to a hidden house in the suburbs of the Jasmine City which is under the watchful eye of the Ministry of Intelligence of the deposed government. When Zixin knew about this military operation and its results, his sadness, grief, pain, anguish, and regret intensified tremendously. Zixin has now to use the last option to pay his government employees which the tax income. The treasury of Zixin's government will no longer enjoy a gargantuan money supply. The gift of the magical stick of Zixin has become a curse overnight. Little did Zixin expect that he would face such a challenging situation in case his magical stick is disabled and all the money generated by his magical stick would restore its original state as being stones. Fate always has wonders and unexpected outcomes that surprise everyone. A wise person must always consider both the best case scenario and the worst case scenario and prepare plans for both scenarios.