Niao Ni
Chapter 571 Like a Waterfall into the Sea, Like a Mountain Approaching the Sun
At this moment, however, the ancient temple's old eaves on the mountaintop, after being struck by this storm, had become a scene of devastation, a heap of rubble, with mud and stones flying everywhere, a truly wretched sight. The rain first gave it a thorough washing, and then swiftly flowed down the mountain, forming sections of pure white waterfalls on the jade-like cliffs.
In the waterfalls, there was occasionally a trace of extremely faint crimson. The mountaintop, on the other hand, gradually became clean, without even a hint of a bloody smell remaining—was such a scene caused by the might of nature, or by the earth-shattering battle of grandmasters?
In truth, it was the might of nature. The firmament above the summit of Great Dong Mountain was gradually revealing its true face. Those thick, dark clouds were blown by the strong wind, moving at a speed that could be observed with the naked eye, rapidly heading towards the inland sky in the west. A patch of clear, bright light once again descended on the mountaintop, descending upon the strongest person in the world standing at the edge of the cliff.
He was the most powerful person in the world, without equal.
No one dared to call him by his name, because he was the Emperor of the Qing Kingdom, the most powerful country in the world. He was the famed general who had led the army on three northern expeditions, utterly shattering the Great Wei Dynasty and completely changing the shape of the world's map. He was the one who had wielded the art of imperial governance most thoroughly, the most forbearing, and the most resilient of schemers.
These three identities alone were enough to call him the number one person in the world, not to mention that the siege on Great Dong Mountain today had ultimately revealed his last identity.
The most mysterious of the Four Grandmasters of the world, the old monster who was rumored to have been confined to the Qing Palace all along. When Si Gu Jian entered Kyoto alone with his sword, he was forced back by the overbearing force released by the imperial palace, indirectly confirming his existence as a Grandmaster.
It was none other than the Emperor of the Qing Kingdom.
This was the Emperor's final trump card. Fan Xian had racked his brains, unable to understand the basis for His Majesty's overwhelming confidence and naturally revealed aura. Many people had speculated about the Emperor's trump card. Fan Xian had guessed the Ye family at the final moment, but he could never have guessed that the card turned over would so boldly display the words "Grandmaster."
……
……
Hong Si Xiang was just a decoy, a flagpole extending from the rear of the imperial palace, gently swaying in the dark wind of the night, attracting the attention of all the wise men. Without a doubt, this old eunuch was also a strongman of this era, otherwise, he could not have killed that Hu assassin with a single palm strike at the Suspended Temple, but a crippled person, after all, finds it difficult to reach the peak of the Heavenly Way.
In order to kill Ku He and Si Gu Jian in one fell swoop, the Qing Emperor and Eunuch Hong had painstakingly and cautiously crafted this grand play for a full twenty years!
At this time, the old Eunuch Hong had gloriously completed his mission of twenty years, turning into a sky full of blood mist, washed away by the rainstorm, cleansed by the clear wind, falling into the white waterfall and then into the East Sea, entering the humid air in the forest, and nourishing the earth. His life essence, blood, and flesh had all merged into the beautiful rivers and mountains of the Qing Kingdom, never to be separated again.
Looking at the middle-aged man wearing a bright yellow dragon robe, the people who had survived by chance were plunged into endless shock. It seemed as if everyone's throats were gripped by invisible hands, unable to make a sound.
Without a doubt, the truth revealed on the summit of Great Dong Mountain today was the most thrilling and earth-shattering news since the sudden death of that Miss Ye twenty years ago.
The buzzing sound of the bells coming from the ancient temple ruins gradually weakened and subsided.
Beside the large tree root, which had been shattered into countless pieces of bark, Ku He, the North Qi's State Preceptor, whose coarse linen clothes were completely torn, gazed quietly at the Qing Kingdom's Emperor at the edge of the cliff with clear, deep eyes. The violent and overbearing true energy in his body finally subsided with the cessation of the bell sounds. However, he was clear that his internal organs and thirteen major meridians had been invaded by this true energy, turning into a chaotic mess.
Even the Divine Temple could not save him.
Having understood reality, he immediately accepted it. The dignity and state of mind of a grandmaster allowed Grandmaster Ku He's expression to be very calm. He looked at the Qing Emperor, sighed softly, his eyes seeing through everything. Everyone had been defeated, defeated by the opponent's twenty years of forbearance and disguise.
This was an extremely terrifying and admirable opponent. To be able to endure for so long without letting anyone smell a thing was even more shocking than the truth that the Qing Emperor was a Grandmaster, and it caused Ku He to feel respect.
At this moment, Ku He couldn't help but recall the several conversations he had with the Empress Dowager and Emperor before leaving Shangjing. At that time, his grandson had shown some ominous signs, but Ku He had still come without hesitation because he and Si Gu Jian had made ample preparations.
However, these two grandmasters had not anticipated the Emperor's… move!
"All schemes and calculations, but to lose your life..." Ku He sighed softly, a smile of acceptance appearing on his face. He couldn't help but utter the words recorded by Fan Xian in his books. If it came to perseverance and forbearance, among the thousands of people in this world, no one's mind could be stronger than the Qing Emperor's. Losing to such an opponent, although he felt a trace of worry for his home country, Qi, Grandmaster Ku He had no regrets.
……
……
At the instant the Emperor made his move, Wu Zhu, who had clenched and then released the iron rod three times, finally completely loosened his grip on the iron rod and placed his hands behind his back. The black cloth on his face fluttered in the Dong Mountain wind and rain. During the grandmaster battle, all the people on the mountaintop knelt on the ground, expressing their awe with trembling bodies. Only he stood there indifferently, even somewhat woodenly, coldly observing everything.
Ku He sat by the tree, Si Gu Jian echoed in the bells, Wu Zhu slightly tilted his head, and on his usually expressionless face, the corners of his lips still couldn't help but twitch slightly.
The fact that the Emperor was a grandmaster was bound to bring shock to the entire world. However, Wu Zhu merely tilted his head, looking at the Emperor through the black cloth as if looking at a very strange object, not regarding him as the sun in the sky.
At this moment, Wu Zhu seemed to remember something, but then seemed to forget it immediately. His brow furrowed with rare intensity, recalling some of the things Chen Ping Ping had said. After the assassination at the Suspended Temple, Chen Ping Ping had said with a smile that he had prepared a show for Wu Zhu to watch, but he had not seen it.
What show? The show of the Emperor transforming into a grandmaster? It seemed that the secrets unknown to the whole world had ultimately been guessed by the Emperor's closest old cripple. But why did he want Wu Zhu to watch this show?
Wu Zhu began to think. He had many questions to ask the Emperor, but for a moment, he didn't know where to start. There were so many threads, but he couldn't find the one to pull. Moreover, Great Dong Mountain was not truly peaceful at this time. Ku He and Si Gu Jian had suffered severe injuries, but after all, they had not died. Given the Emperor's nature, now that he had revealed his final trump card, he would naturally not leave any loose ends.
Therefore, Wu Zhu interrupted his thoughts and gently took a step forward.
His step caused everyone in the field to feel a trace of fear and horror. Although no one knew who this mysterious figure in black was, the attitude of the previous grandmasters had already indicated that he was also an unparalleled master of the grandmaster level. In the current situation, if he suddenly attacked, perhaps the Four Grandmasters, including the Emperor, would fall in a pool of blood.
But Wu Zhu did not attack. He just quietly looked at the Emperor.
What truly stirred was deep within the ancient temple, at the end of the ruins, the yellow cloth covering Si Gu Jian. The yellow cloth suddenly moved, as if someone was trying to stand up under it!
With a broken arm and having suffered a Wang Dao punch that had shattered his body, could Si Gu Jian still stand up? Could it be that the body of a grandmaster had truly exceeded the realm of mortals!
The Emperor's eyes narrowed as he looked towards that spot. Everyone followed His Majesty's gaze, including Ku He. However, the State Preceptor only smiled wryly.
The yellow cloth was torn open with force, and a young man covered in blood crawled out from under it. He coughed while tearing the yellow cloth into strips. His face was full of determination and composure. Although covered in blood, there was not a trace of panic. Although he coughed incessantly, he did not interrupt the movements of his hands.
So many eyes on the summit of Great Dong Mountain were watching him, especially those powerful figures who were far beyond the realm of mortals, but he seemed to be unable to feel it at all, only lowering his head and moving. He was not Si Gu Jian. He was Si Gu Jian's close disciple, Wang Shisan Lang.
Shisan Lang would do whatever he set his mind to, and never cared about how others would see it or how others would try to stop him. Therefore, as a disciple of the Sword Hut, he had followed Fan Xian's orders and resisted the rebellious army at the mountain gate. He had been sent flying dozens of feet by Ye Liuyun with a single strike, but he had still bravely climbed to the mountaintop.
He was preparing to continue completing his mission, but he saw his benefactor being hacked off his right arm and knocked to the ground.
So he stood up, tore open the yellow cloth, and carried his severely injured master on his back, tying him tightly to his body with those strips of cloth. With a "pah" sound, his right hand chopped off a fallen, thin beam, grasped it in his hand, walked out of the ancient temple door, and faced everyone on the mountaintop.
Si Gu Jian lay on his disciple's back, his chest and abdomen had been struck with a terrible hole, blood dripping onto Wang Shisan Lang's body, and then onto the ground.
There was a desolate smile on his face, but it was filled with immense joy, because he was on his most beloved disciple.
Wang Shisan Lang, covered in blood, carried his master, also covered in blood. The yellow strips of cloth were instantly dyed scarlet red. He held the thin wooden beam in his hand, there was not a trace of fear on his face, but he stared fiercely at the middle-aged man wearing the dragon robe.
The meaning was simple. He wanted to carry Si Gu Jian down the mountain. Who would dare to stop him?
……
……
In the mouths of later storytellers, this siege on Great Dong Mountain, which had shocked the world and affected future generations, was full of too many changes and killings. The people involved were all the most respected figures in the world, so telling the story was particularly exciting and thrilling, and even telling it for three days and three nights could not be finished.
However, what was told in these three days and three nights was basically only what had happened within one second. In this one second, the Qing Emperor made a sudden move, Ye Liuyun was severely injured, and Ku He and Si Gu Jian were left with no way to survive.
All the storytellers had forgotten a relatively small character, Wang Shisan Lang, partly because they did not know the truth at the end of the Dong Mountain siege, and partly because at that time, Shisan Lang was only an inconspicuous character compared to these grandmasters.
Although the Qing Emperor had consumed a great deal of energy and true essence, with the realm of a grandmaster, it would be an easy task to kill Wang Shisan Lang at this time.
But Wang Shisan Lang, this small character, was still not afraid, staring blankly and fiercely into the Qing Emperor's eyes, tightly gripping the thin beam in his hand, as if in the next moment, he would use the wooden stick he had picked up from the ground to give the Qing Emperor a muffled blow.
Ye Liuyun, with a large wound in his abdomen, sat cross-legged not far from the Qing Emperor, healing his injuries. Watching this scene, he couldn't help but reveal a smile full of admiration, sighing, "What a fine young man."
Ku He, sitting cross-legged beside the broken tree, his bitter smile gradually became brighter. He wondered if he was thinking of his own true close disciple, the naturally harmonious Haitang Duoduo, smiling and praising, "The country brings forth talents from generation to generation, the Heavenly Way changes, and this is the reason."
The Qing Emperor calmly looked at this unfamiliar young man, and after a long while, he smiled slightly. Then he gently moved a step to the side, giving Wang Shisan Lang, who was carrying Si Gu Jian on his back, a path. In the dignity of an Emperor, in the position of a Grandmaster, he actually gave Shisan Lang a path!
The dying Si Gu Jian struggled to open his eyes, glanced at the Emperor, some blood foam seeping from his lips, and the violent intention was still in his weak voice: "How is my disciple?"
"Master, don't speak."
Wang Shisan Lang coaxed his master like coaxing a child. He did not choose to go down the mountain immediately after the Qing Emperor unexpectedly made way, but in everyone's astonished gazes, he walked to the Qing Emperor's side, lowered his body, and picked up something. He picked it up so naturally, as if the radiant Qing Emperor of today did not exist.
What he picked up was Si Gu Jian's severed right arm, and that ordinary sword.
Wang Shisan Lang carried Si Gu Jian on his back, holding a severed arm and a sword in one hand, and using the thin beam as the green pennant he was used to carrying in the other hand. He disappeared on the stone path of Great Dong Mountain.
A moment later, the faint sound of Si Gu Jian's mad singing and crying, and a violent and sorrowful laughter, echoed in the valley for a long time.
……
……
The Emperor could have killed Shisan Lang but did not, not because he cherished talent, but because he knew the relationship between this young man and An Zhi. Si Gu Jian, both crying and laughing, also knew this. The dying grandmaster, at the last moment, also wanted to see if the Qing Kingdom's Emperor would make any mistakes.
The Emperor did not make a mistake. He did not need to prematurely eliminate the future of Dongyi City, causing himself to lose the support of the Qing Kingdom's future. Although Wang Shisan Lang's resolute state of mind moved him somewhat, he still did not take this young man to heart.
He was as confident as ever, arrogantly confident, and after today, no one dared not to submit to this confidence.
The Emperor knew that Si Gu Jian was doomed to die. He knew the kind of damage that a full-force Wang Dao punch would bring. Even if Si Gu Jian could linger for a while, what was a grandmaster with a broken arm, severely injured and bedridden?
Of course, this was still not enough to explain why he had made way, because with his nature, all enemies should be eliminated first at the best time, and Fan Xian was not the real reason he considered.
The real reason the Emperor did not strike was because Wu Zhu had taken a step forward.
……
……
Si Gu Jian left, and Ku He also left. He drifted away. The North Qi's State Preceptor drifted away, going to his homeland, painfully waiting for the torment of the last few days of his life. Two of the world's Four Grandmasters were gone after this battle. The balance of power between the three sides had finally undergone earth-shattering changes. The greatest obstacle to the Qing Kingdom's unification of the world no longer existed from now on.
Not until Ku He had also left the summit of Great Dong Mountain did Wu Zhu slowly withdraw the foot he had stepped forward, withdrawing his silent threat.
At this time, only Wu Zhu in the whole world dared to threaten the Qing Kingdom's Emperor.
The Qing Emperor looked at him calmly and gently, and said, "Old Wu, I need an explanation from you."
In front of Wu Zhu, His Majesty the Emperor naturally called him Old Wu, and naturally did not use "朕" (zhen, imperial "I") to refer to himself.
Wu Zhu slowly lowered his head, and after a long while, he said, "I don't like it."
Yes, this blind grandmaster had been recuperating on the summit of Great Dong Mountain for more than a year. He seemed to have remembered something, his words had become more and more numerous, his expressions had become richer and richer, he was becoming more and more like a normal person, and he was beginning to have some emotions that ordinary people should have, such as like and dislike.
It was just that his emotions were expressed relatively extremely, which was not compatible with the coldness on his face at this time. If he didn't like it, he didn't like it. He didn't care about the great cause of unifying the world, he didn't care about the shocking situation you had created for twenty years. If it was something I didn't like, you shouldn't do it.
"Young Master asked me to protect your safety." Wu Zhu raised his head, looking at the Emperor through the black cloth, and said, "You are safe now."
He had not called Fan Xian Young Master for some time.
The Qing Emperor's expression was calm, and he did not show a trace of anger. He knew that Old Wu had some old friendship with Si Gu Jian when he and Ye Qingmei were in Dongyi City, and as for Ku He, he also knew that the Fan family's Miss was now under Ku He's tutelage.
However, those two grandmasters were already crippled and would die soon. The Qing Emperor was not worried about anything. He looked at Wu Zhu calmly and said, "Old Wu, come back to Kyoto with me."
Wu Zhu lowered his head and thought for a while, then raised his head and said, "I remembered some things, but I didn't remember that you were that person."
That person was naturally the one who had practiced the upper and lower volumes of the nameless gong诀 in the past. When Fan Xian was young, Wu Zhu had told him about it, but he did not remember who had practiced it. Today, he remembered that it was the Qing Kingdom's Emperor.
The black cloth on Wu Zhu's face was particularly straight: "Goodbye."
Wu Zhu said this last sentence of goodbye to Ye Liuyun, who was sitting cross-legged and healing his injuries. After saying this, he held the iron rod at his waist with one hand and walked calmly towards the stone steps, beginning to descend the mountain. He did not say a word more to the Emperor, nor did he say goodbye to the ancient temple he had lived in for more than a year. He disappeared on the stone steps again.
……
……
Everyone had left, and only the Emperor was standing on the mountaintop. Today, Ku He and Si Gu Jian were bound to die, the great plan of many years had been realized, and the grand ambition of unifying the world was about to begin. However, the Emperor's face did not show much joy. He just stood quietly, welcoming the sun in the sky and the slightly wet sea breeze, appearing somewhat lonely and desolate.
The higher one is, the colder it gets. Now it was difficult to find someone in the world who could stand shoulder to shoulder with him. Anyone, at this moment, would have some strange emotions.
However, these emotions did not last long.
Many of the people who had survived on the mountaintop were alive. Most of the officials who had accompanied the sacrifice to the heavens were still alive, and most of the Qing Temple's priests had also survived. Although the grandmaster battle was incomparably mysterious, it was controlled within a perfect range with extraordinary power, except for the last Wang punch, and those crushed temples.
Until this moment, the people on the mountaintop had broken free from their shock. Although they could not see clearly with their eyesight what had happened in that instant, why Si Gu Jian's sword was about to pierce His Majesty's body, and then Si Gu Jian's body was knocked away like a piece of waste stone.
But they at least knew one fact. His Majesty the Emperor had won, and he had won exceptionally thoroughly. All schemes and tricks were so vulnerable in the face of His Majesty's strength. The Qing Kingdom's future would be like the red sun in the sky above the mountaintop at this time, never to sink.
Their faces were filled with tears and ecstasy as they knelt on the ground, shouting "Long live the Emperor!"
In the shouts of "Long live," His Majesty the Emperor was calm and unmoved. He said softly to Eunuch Yao, who was the first to stand up, "Notify the foot of the mountain, begin… the action."
"Notify the Dean, begin the operation."
"Yes."
"Issue a secret decree to Yanjing, ordering Mei Zhili to temporarily take charge of political affairs. The Western Great Camp is pressing towards the Song border. Order General Shi Fei to secretly take the previous edict to Cangzhou's Northern Expedition Camp and accept the Northern Expedition Army."
"Yes."
"Notify Xue Qing, and order him to choose several capable officials and go to Luo Zhou… Tell him that I will be waiting for him in Hou Yongzhi's mansion."
"Yes."
The Emperor was not at all blinded by today's great victory, but calmly issued orders one after another. The message to Chen Pingping had to be the earliest, and the Northern Expedition Army had to be controlled. As for Dongshan Road…
Eunuch Yao nodded in agreement, but his heart was cold. If Dongshan Road was unaware of such a dangerous thing as besieging Great Dong Mountain, it would be absolutely impossible. It was likely that Governor Hou had already colluded with the Eldest Princess.
It seemed that the first governor to die a violent death since the founding of the Qing Kingdom was going to fall on Hou Yongzhi, and the entire Dongshan Road was likely to be blood-washed by His Majesty from top to bottom. No wonder His Majesty had ordered Xue Qing to send good officials from Jiangnan, regardless of the distance.
Having arranged all this in an extremely calm and methodical manner, the Qing Emperor finally breathed a sigh of relief, smiled self-deprecatingly, shook his head, and then walked to Ye Liuyun's side, bowing respectfully: "Thank you for your hard work, Uncle Liuyun."
Before Ye Liuyun could return the salute, he had already straightened up, staring blankly at the ground in the field that had long been washed clean. Hong Si Xiang had died there, but no trace had been left. For a lofty goal, many people had offered their lives, either voluntarily or involuntarily.
Eunuch Hong deserved the Qing Emperor's salute.
The field was a mess, but the inner court had prepared many things. Eunuch Yao led those officials whose legs were still trembling, carrying out some items from the side rooms that had not collapsed, and began to copy and seal. His Majesty's Imperial Seal had been taken away by Little Fan, but His Majesty's personal seal was still there. Since it was a secret decree, the personal seal was naturally more effective.
After the initial rain, Dong Mountain welcomed the sun. Several white doves cooed and flew away from the mountaintop, circled a few times in the blue sky, and flew to all directions of the Qing Kingdom. However, what they carried was not the news of the flood receding, nor the intention of peace, but the transmission of the powerful monarch's will.
The flat summit of Great Dong Mountain, which had been calm until this moment, suddenly let out a loud boom. It did not stir up any sand or stones, but it did stir up some splashes of water. A stretch of land in the middle of the entire mountaintop actually sank three feet downward, as if a god had struck it with a hammer!
The true effect of the Grandmaster Battle had only revealed its terror and horror at this moment. The true essence formed by the interaction of real forces, penetrating into the world, had actually collided with nature head-on, changing the shape of the earth.
The Emperor did not look at the large pit, but raised his head, watching the white doves fly in the sky, gradually flying farther and farther away, his face calm, and incomparably confident.
……
……
(The foreshadowing of the Emperor being a Grandmaster was in many places earlier. This is a pit I have been holding for a year, so please don't say that I came up with the idea on a whim and blindly opened the golden finger. The Emperor set up this situation, moving his intention after his first northern expedition, and determining the situation after the third northern expedition, but he always needed an opportunity, so he gave the Eldest Princess this opportunity, and his sister did not disappoint him… The Emperor used many years for this situation, and I used more than a year to write this situation. Everyone is a hardworking person… The Emperor first appeared in the Qing Temple, and the book explained his strength. He was hiding it. He did not hide it from the Ye family in the entire world because he needed Ye Liuyun. Smiling and bowing is not counted in the word count. Everyone, have a happy weekend, because I had a very happy time writing these past two days.)