Niao Ni
Chapter 633: Three's Company
Fan Xian and the young Emperor of Northern Qi pushed Si Gu Jian, quietly leaving the Great Green Tree and walking along the long straight road into the most prosperous streets of Dongyi City. The travelers who had been resting under the tree had long been startled and scattered, slowly spreading what they had seen to many people's ears.
At this time, not many people had yet realized who this disabled man sitting in a wheelchair was. Si Gu Jian was the deity of Dongyi City, and naturally few mortals had seen him. The pedestrians on the street only thought that the combination of these three people was a bit strange. Two very handsome young men were pushing a disabled man in a wheelchair, and they didn't seem to be merchants coming to buy or sell goods, nor did they seem to be tourists who had come admiringly.
Fan Xian ignored the gazes around him and quietly pushed the wheelchair, his eyes naturally falling on Si Gu Jian's shoulders and the back of his head, carefully recalling the Grandmaster realm he had felt under the Great Green Tree a moment ago.
He was a person who loved to learn. When he escorted Xiao En back to Northern Qi, he did not forget to ask Xiao En about state affairs along the way. Although the relationship between him and Si Gu Jian was hard to define in terms of gratitude or enmity, and was extremely complex and delicate, since this Grandmaster was willing to reveal this realm to him and give him a chance to comprehend it, he certainly would not miss it.
Even if Si Gu Jian's actions hid a dangerous murderous intent, Fan Xian was still unwilling to miss it. Perhaps only for this one day in Dongyi City, he was willing to regard Si Gu Jian as his true teacher.
Among the three, only the young Emperor of Northern Qi was in a somewhat awkward situation. She seemed to be Si Gu Jian's guest, but in reality, she was just a hostage in Fan Xian's hands, and now she seemed like a pure companion. She could not understand the silent communication between Si Gu Jian and Fan Xian, and could only watch silently and helplessly.
After leaving the Great Green Tree, Si Gu Jian never mentioned those mysterious words again, and Fan Xian no longer seriously asked him for guidance. The two of them seemed to have forgotten what they had said before, what they wanted to do, and just walked around Dongyi City quietly and freely, walking amidst the gazes and whispers of the surrounding pedestrians.
As Si Gu Jian said, many things can only be understood intuitively and cannot be conveyed in words, so there was no point in saying more.
After walking for a while, Fan Xian perhaps noticed the young Emperor's discomfort, smiled slightly and glanced at her, and said a few words softly. A very forced smile appeared on the young Emperor's cold face.
Si Gu Jian took the two juniors to some dilapidated buildings, which were the places where the Ye family had risen to prominence many years ago, but now they had long been repurposed. The people who lived inside probably couldn't imagine that the number one merchant in the world had once lived in these rooms.
Fan Xian knew what Si Gu Jian wanted to tell him, what he wanted to influence him, but he remained silent until he finally reached the former site of the Ye family's glass workshop. Then he softly asked, "After you became the guardian of Dongyi City, why did Ye Qingmei... my mother, leave with Uncle Wu Zhu?"
Fan Xian knew that period of history. After Ye Qingmei and Wu Zhu left Dongyi City, they did not enter the surrounding small states, but somehow found a path between the south of Dongyi City and the north of Danzhou City, a path in the barren primeval forest, between steep cliffs, and went directly to Danzhou.
That path was like a sheep's intestine, like a heavenly staircase, extremely difficult to walk, but it was still a path. Three years ago, during the Great Dong Mountain affair, Yan Xiaoyi used this path to secretly surround Great Dong Mountain with five thousand personal soldiers. Afterwards, both the Qing Kingdom and Dongyi naturally devoted boundless enthusiasm and vigilance to this secret passage, and both sides deployed heavy troops at both ends of the path.
Fan Xian did not care about this path; he only cared about why Ye Qingmei left Dongyi City back then. Because on the beach in Danzhou, Ye Qingmei met His Majesty the Emperor, his father, and that old fellow Chen Pingping, and from then on began the glorious career of the "Gang of Four" of the Southern Qing.
"I had just occupied the City Lord's Mansion at that time, and the Sword Hermitage had just opened." Si Gu Jian said coldly while sitting in the wheelchair, but in his indifferent words, there was some barely restrained anger. "But your mother's departure had nothing to do with whether I was strong or not; it only had to do with whether Dongyi City was strong or not… Her heart was very big. What she wanted to do had to rely on a more powerful force to spread out across this world."
Si Gu Jian turned his head and glanced at Fan Xian, saying in a cold voice, "And in her opinion, the strength of Dongyi City was not enough to support her ideas."
Fan Xian silently pushed the wheelchair, understanding what was going on in his heart. Since Ye Qingmei chose the present world and involvement in Dongyi City because she pitied the suffering of the people, then this idealistic woman, who had once radiated infinite light, would definitely find ways to make this matter more perfect.
Although Dongyi City was located on the coast and gathered the wealth of the world, this place was only a subordinate territory of the Great Wei back then, and its position on the mainland was not very prominent. The most important thing was that the people in Dongyi City made a living by being merchants. They were more than clever, but a little lacking in perseverance. If they wanted to create a grand situation and use their own ideas to influence the entire world, Dongyi City was undoubtedly not a good choice.
"Why didn't she go to Northern Qi? Hmm, which was the Great Wei back then." At this time, the silent young Emperor of Northern Qi suddenly interjected, causing Fan Xian and Si Gu Jian to look at her at the same time. She sighed helplessly and said, "I can't be a mute for a day."
The reason why the young Emperor couldn't help but ask this question was very simple. Before hearing today's story, as the Emperor of Northern Qi, she had already had a very deep understanding of the number one Ye family in the world in her childhood, and she even had a faint admiration for that woman surnamed Ye. Later, after taking over the government, she single-handedly colluded with the Jiangnan Internal Treasury of the Southern Qing, and she knew how much influence that Internal Treasury would have on a country.
So she was very regretful and curious as to why Ye Qingmei didn't go to the Great Wei back then, which was now her country. If she had gone back then, perhaps Fan Xian would have been born in the capital, perhaps Northern Qi wouldn't be having such a difficult time today. Of course, the biggest possibility was that there would be no such person as Fan Xian in the world.
Fan Xian smiled and explained before Si Gu Jian could, "Back then, the Great Wei ruled the entire continent and was the most concentrated place of feudal and corrupt forces. Although it is said that the revolution should go to the most difficult place, it is very unrealistic to operate in practice. At that time, the Southern Qing had been fighting against the Western Hu for many years, and the national situation had just begun to show signs of emerging, but it was only occupying a corner and was not very eye-catching. In addition, the people of Qing were open-minded and bold, and more easily accepted new things. So my mother's choice of the Southern Qing was not unexpected."
After saying this, the young Emperor frowned and shook her head unhappily, thinking to herself, "What nonsense is this? How come I understand every word clearly, but I don't know what he's talking about when they're put together?"
Si Gu Jian glanced at Fan Xian and said, "That's the reason why she left Dongyi City and went to the Southern Qing… Humph, she thought that the young master of the Southern Qing would obediently listen to her, and that when the Southern Qing unified the world, it would be the time for her to transform the world… Who would have thought that the young master would eventually become a true dragon in the world, how could he tolerate someone riding on his back?"
The Grandmaster laughed uncontrollably at the end, with a hint of pleasure in his laughter. Fan Xian felt a slight anger in his heart and stared at him coldly.
Si Gu Jian didn't care about his gaze at all and added indifferently, "When I was young, I tasted countless joys and sorrows in the world, and almost lost my life several times. I don't know how many of the servants and wet nurses who raised me died. So, once I had great power and my swordsmanship was just starting to take shape, when I entered the City Lord's Mansion, I decided to kill people for revenge, but your mother stopped me."
"However, since your mother left my Dongyi City and went to the Southern Qing, I could naturally let go and kill people." Si Gu Jian lowered his head slightly and said, "In one night, I slaughtered more than a hundred people in the mansion. In one night, my aura was greatly disturbed, and my realm began to form."
"Of course, after that incident, your mother and I broke off all correspondence and became strangers." Si Gu Jian gently patted the armrest of the wheelchair, his words full of emotion, resentment, and sharpness.
Fan Xian said sarcastically, "Don't tell me that things are still so cliché, you wouldn't be one of my mother's admirers, would you?"
Si Gu Jian said mockingly, "Even if she is beautiful and capable, in my eyes, she is still the little girl under the Great Green Tree. I have no interest in perverted things."
"In my life, I only love the sword in my hand."
……
……
There is no point in talking more when opinions differ. Fan Xian could clearly feel the resentment that had been accumulating in Si Gu Jian's chest for a long time, perhaps a feeling of loneliness after being abandoned, or perhaps this Grandmaster had seen Ye Qingmei's heartbreaking ending and was powerless to change anything.
Si Gu Jian went to the Southern Qing Palace three times to assassinate Emperor Qing, but he returned gracefully because of the aura released by the Grandmaster-level master who never showed up in the palace. Because he couldn't risk his life, his life represented the lives of countless people in Dongyi City, but he still went to the Southern Qing. This alone proved his strength.
Why did Si Gu Jian want to assassinate Emperor Qing? In the past, people may have thought that under the coercion of the Southern Qing, Dongyi City was like a bird's nest in the storm, which could be destroyed at any time. Therefore, this Grandmaster who used the sword tried to use his personal strength to change the course of history.
But after hearing so many stories today and seeing so many traces of Ye Qingmei left in Dongyi City, a different thought suddenly arose in Fan Xian's mind. Perhaps Si Gu Jian wanted to assassinate Emperor Qing only because he was angry that Emperor Qing had not protected Ye Qingmei.
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The three people gradually became silent again. Fan Xian couldn't possibly thank Si Gu Jian for assassinating his old man the Emperor. The young Emperor couldn't possibly say to herself, "I had a very happy time playing today." Si Gu Jian's expression also became a bit awe-inspiring, and neither of them dared to disturb him.
The wheelchair rolled on the streets of Dongyi City, creaking and rattling, very clear and crisp, seeming to be able to travel along the long street to the harbor at the end, and even to the ships at sea, and then be carried by these ships to other strange places in the world.
Fan Xian suddenly raised his head, with a clear light flashing in his eyes, scanning the surroundings. What awakened him from his contemplation was the clear, almost terrifying creaking sound beneath him. It was daytime, and according to his observations in the past two days, it should be the most lively time in Dongyi City. The merchants selling goods, the travelers from afar, and the tourists would be crowded here and make a lot of noise. Why was it so quiet around now, that even the creaking sound of the wheelchair could be heard so far away?
He looked at the scene in front of him, took a deep breath, his face turning slightly pale, and his heart was extremely shocked. The young Emperor of Northern Qi, who was pushing the wheelchair beside him at the same time, also changed her face slightly. Although she had seen this scene countless times in her life, she still felt extremely horrified when she suddenly encountered it today.
The street was empty, without a single person, not even a scrap of paper. There were only green stone slabs, pieced together one by one to the distance.
All the merchants and travelers were crowded under the eaves on both sides of the street, kneeling on the ground, prostrating motionless in the middle of the spotless street.
The young Emperor knew that these foreign people were not worshipping her, but only the Grandmaster in the wheelchair. She couldn't help but look at Si Gu Jian's shoulders with questioning eyes. Only now did she realize that Si Gu Jian's position in the hearts of the people of Dongyi City was far more lofty than that of an Emperor.
Without military suppression, without any opening, all the people just voluntarily prostrated on the ground, paying their respects to Si Gu Jian in the wheelchair, as if watching the god in their hearts slowly walk to the end of the street.
Everyone in the world knew that this Grandmaster was dying. Not many people in Dongyi City had seen the true face of this Grandmaster, but in the past two years, they had inevitably been uneasy.
Especially today, when they really saw the Grandmaster in the wheelchair, an endless sadness arose in the hearts of the people of Dongyi City. They knew that it was this disabled man in the wheelchair who had protected their wealth, their freedom, and the peace of their homes for decades with the sword in his hand.
A sense of shame even arose in their hearts. They felt that living under the protection of Sword Saint for so many years was such a shameful thing. Sword Saint was tired and old.
The deity was gradually aging and would eventually perish, just like the sun across the street, which would eventually sink into endless darkness.
……
……
It seemed that the fleeting moment under the Great Green Tree had finally spread, alarming the people in the entire Dongyi City. They knew that Sword Saint had finally left the Hermitage and come among them, so they prostrated on the ground, feeling sad, making this final farewell and expressing their gratitude.
Looking at this scene, Fan Xian felt a subtle doubt in his heart. Why did these people know that the person in the wheelchair was Si Gu Jian? Before he could think about it, he had already felt the powerful aura emanating from Si Gu Jian's thin body, an aura that rejected people thousands of miles away, an aura of absolute coldness and ruthlessness.
An aura that was completely incompatible with the sad appearance of the people prostrating on both sides of this long street.
Fan Xian was silent, knowing that this Grandmaster was giving him a second lesson, not with words, but with actions, with this shocking and sad scene on the long street, telling himself that to enter the Grandmaster realm, one had to not only take off one's clothes, but also abandon one's emotions.
Not without emotion, Si Gu Jian's feelings for this great city were probably so deep that he acted so cold and ruthless, somewhat disdainful of the emotions invested by the people in the world.
"Emotions are very precious, but they are also very cheap." Si Gu Jian said his first sentence on the long street. "If you have feelings for something, you must not be controlled by those feelings."
"And that is your mother's biggest problem."
Fan Xian and the young Emperor of Northern Qi were thoughtful, pushing the wheelchair forward amidst the gazes of all the people, the creaking sound of the wheelchair becoming louder and louder, more and more piercing.
Then the wheelchair stopped in front of a magnificent building, which was the City Lord's Mansion that Fan Xian had visited yesterday.
"What are we doing here?" Fan Xian asked respectfully.
Si Gu Jian said in a hoarse voice, "I just want to go home… and then teach you the last lesson, killing people."