The group of several hundred people, including monks, believers, businessmen, nobles, and ordinary people, were convinced that the individual in the Qin royal family was Shakyamuni Buddha reborn. The vision at his birth, a mirror of the one recorded in their Buddhist scriptures, was all the proof they needed. They believed he had returned to save all living beings once more. Driven by this conviction, they traveled from faraway India, Sindhu, and Tianzhu to verify the truth and pay homage to their Buddha. As their large pilgrimage group headed towards Xianyang, the capital of Qin, their anticipation grew with every step.
A New Revelation
In Huayang Palace, Ying Zichu and Lu Buwei were a mix of curiosity and confusion. "My son, the God Taiyi, has something new for me?" Ying Zichu wondered aloud. He was excited, but also a little apprehensive. Could his son's new invention rival the success of the waterwheel? The two men entered the palace, under the silent, watchful eyes of maids, guards, and spies.
They found Zane sitting cross-legged on the bed. A moment of an indescribable, otherworldly aura filled the room, but it vanished as quickly as it appeared. Zane, who had just returned from his meditative Tianxin state, wasted no time. "This time," he said, "I'm going to teach you something called paper." As he spoke, he picked up a crude brush and began to write on a bamboo slip, drawing the production process on the ground. He even took the time to improve the brush itself, something that would later be credited to Meng Tian. To make the invention more complete, he also included the process for printing.
Ying Zichu and Lu Buwei listened in shock. As a shrewd businessman, Lu Buwei knew better than anyone what paper and printing meant. The brush was a minor improvement, but paper and printing were nothing short of a "saint's skill," a great invention that would benefit all people and dwarf the importance of the waterwheel. He could already imagine the immense wealth and power these inventions would bring. The cumbersome bamboo slips would become obsolete. The awe in his eyes grew, mixed with a hint of fear. How could a child, barely over one year old, create something that an ordinary person couldn't even dream of in a lifetime? "As expected of a god," he muttered, now fully convinced of Zane's divine nature. Ying Zichu was equally amazed, his pride soaring.
After Zane finished, Ying Zichu and Lu Buwei discussed how to handle the new inventions. Ying Zichu then picked up Zane and left, instructing the guards to send skilled craftsmen to the palace. "Those mortals are not worthy of seeing my son's divine face!" he said. Soon, a dozen craftsmen, and a few spies, were sent to the palace. They were stunned when they saw the detailed drawings on the floor and the instructions for making paper and printing on the bamboo slips. The sheer ingenuity of it all left them speechless.
The World Reacts
The news of the new inventions quickly spread through Xianyang. Xunzi and his disciples, who were just packing their bags to leave Qin, were shocked. "Paper, printing, improved brushes?" Li Si asked. "What are these things?" They were curious but also highly skeptical. Xunzi decided to wait. "We'll wait a little longer. Let's finish looking at these things before we leave," he said. Li Si, a showman at heart, laughed and said, "I want to see what good things the Qin royal family can come up with this time." He didn't believe that Ying Zichu could produce something so significant, and his students shared his amusement and disdain.
The news reached the other states, and their monarchs were also curious. Some were skeptical, believing Ying Zichu's actions were foolish. Others, who had spies in Huayang Palace, were shocked by the reports but dared not believe them. They thought Ying Zichu was simply orchestrating a masterful ruse.
In Handan, Zhao State, Ying Zheng heard the news and frowned. "What is going on?" he wondered. The consistent news of his brother's divine-like inventions was both confusing and frustrating.
After two months, the group of several hundred people from India finally arrived outside Xianyang. They were exhausted but filled with anticipation. The people of Qin pointed and stared at them. "Who are these people? They're dressed in strange clothes," they whispered. But the monks and believers ignored them, their eyes fixed on the city, their hearts filled with a zealous enthusiasm to meet the Buddha reborn.