“That’s the right thing to do. We can’t act rashly, after all, that place is a den of dragons and tigers.” Xia Xueming nodded: “If we find out everything, what do you plan to do?”
"Let's talk first. If we can't reach an agreement... we'll resort to force," Ye Xingchen said coldly.
“Jinluo City is a den of iniquity. The three city lords are warlords with private armies of 10,000 men.” Xia Xueming said, “Including forces from all sides, there are about 5,000 men. The remaining 10,000 or so include serious criminals from all over the world.”
"There are also businessmen who go there to make ill-gotten gains with large sums of money. These people are involved in drug trafficking, human trafficking, fraud, and organ trafficking. It can be said that there are very few innocent people making a living in Jinluo City."
Xia Xueming slowly stood up and looked at the starry sky: "But there are innocent people among them, and no matter if they are heinous or not, these people are human lives."
"You practice medicine and do good deeds, which are already of immeasurable merit... If you really have murderous intent this time, can you... withstand the karmic consequences of 30,000 lives?"
"I've thought about this issue very seriously before," Ye Xingchen said. "No matter what the consequences are, I will take full responsibility. Evil people deserve to go to hell anyway. I'm just sending them on their way."
“Since you’ve made up your mind, I’ll support you no matter what.” Xia Xueming remained silent for a long time before letting out a slow sigh.
He hesitated for a moment, then, as if he had made up his mind, took out a tattered map and handed it to Ye Xingchen.
"What is this?" Ye Xingchen took the map from Xia Xueming's hand, somewhat hesitant.
This picture is only the size of two palms and is in a terrible state. It seems to have been drawn on some kind of ancient animal skin, but there is a mysterious power faintly visible on it.
Although the power depicted in the image is subtle, it contains boundless power of heaven and earth.
"You'll see once you open it," Xia Xueming said.
Ye Xingchen nodded and carefully opened the image.
The moment it opened, his pupils involuntarily contracted slightly.
The picture depicts mountains and rivers. Although it is very simple, almost a pattern drawn with just a few strokes, the power it contains makes Ye Xingchen feel extremely shocked.
The image was drawn from the blood of some ancient ferocious beast. Under Ye Xingchen's gaze, the curves that outlined the mountains and rivers began to flow slowly at that moment.
The crimson light converged and finally condensed at the very center of the image.
With a hum, a force shot into the sky, eventually condensing into several crooked characters in mid-air.
These characters are ancient seal script. Although Ye Xingchen did not recognize them, he understood their meaning.
"The Map of Mountains and Rivers and Their Fortune..."
Ye Xingchen quickly closed the drawing, then placed his hands on the stone table in the pavilion, his internal energy surging.
Just opening this picture took a huge amount of his strength, and the backlash from the power within it caused his entire body's energy to become disordered.
He calmed himself down, took a few breaths, and used the Tranquility Technique from the Supreme Jade Purity Dao Scripture to calm his surging aura.
"What did you see?" Xia Xueming asked.
“Power, the Heavenly Dao… and…” Ye Xingchen took a deep breath: “The murderous intent that can destroy the world, this diagram represents destruction.”
“That’s right, the Mountain and River Fortune Chart represents destruction,” Xia Xueming said slowly.
"What is the origin of this picture?" Ye Xingchen was in a state of shock because the power he saw in it was too overwhelming.
Moreover, this picture was only a fragment, less than one-thousandth of the whole picture, but even so, the power contained within it still shocked him immensely.
"Back then, King Wen was imprisoned by King Zhou for seven years. During those seven years, in addition to interpreting the hexagrams and divining good and bad fortune, and transforming the eight trigrams into sixty-four hexagrams, he also drew this picture, namely, the Mountain and River Fortune Chart," Xia Xueming said slowly.
"This map is based on the Classic of Mountains and Seas, and includes all the ancient places such as the Eight Desolations, the Nine Yin, and the Ten Absolutes."
"Because he was imprisoned at the time, never seeing the light of day, and was also grieving the loss of his son, he was filled with grief and resentment. Therefore, once this painting was created, it possessed the power to destroy the world."
"Afterwards, King Wen returned to Xiqi and suddenly realized that the map was too dangerous. If it fell into the hands of someone with ulterior motives, it would destroy the entire world and turn the human realm into a hell. So he ordered it to be destroyed."
"This fragment is only one-thousandth of the original image. It was unexpectedly preserved. A few years ago, I enjoyed reading ancient and modern books and obtained it by chance from an old book stall."
"Originally, I felt that the power contained in the picture was too great and should be destroyed, but then I felt that there is a reason why this incomplete picture has survived."
"Since you are determined to conquer the Western Territory today, I will give you this map. What you said is not wrong. Jinluo City is a place that harbors filth and evil people, and they should go to hell."
"Thank you, Grandpa." Ye Xingchen carefully put the diagram away. With this diagram in hand, he already had a clear understanding of the situation.
"But you must remember this: never let killing drive you to madness, or you will truly be doomed," Xia Xueming cautioned anxiously.
"I know what I'm doing. I won't use this map unless absolutely necessary." Ye Xingchen nodded solemnly.
"Good, it's good that you understand the reasoning." Xia Xueming nodded slowly. Ye Xingchen's attitude really reassured him a lot. He smiled and asked, "When do you plan to set off?"
"The sooner the better. I'll go scout ahead by myself first, without disturbing Ruochu and Qianyu," Ye Xingchen said.
“That won’t be a secret for long; the two of them are determined to help you,” Xia Xueming said.
"We'll keep it a secret for as long as we can," Ye Xingchen sighed.
His father's affairs were a private matter, and he didn't want to bother anyone with his personal matters.
"Okay, I'll do as you say." Xia Xueming nodded. "What if they really go?"
"Then I won't refuse," Ye Xingchen said with a slight smile. "Consider it something I owe them."
"Haha, then you'll owe them a huge favor, one you might never be able to repay in your lifetime." Xia Xueming laughed heartily, "They're both very good people, you absolutely mustn't let them down."
"I know, I... I'll try my best." Ye Xingchen was speechless.
"Well, it's good for the Ye family to have many more branches and leaves, but a woman's heart is like a needle at the bottom of the sea. You'll have a hard time dealing with it in the future," Xia Xueming laughed heartily.
Ye Xingchen and Xia Xueming drank until late at night, until they were both quite drunk.
He murmured to himself, "The past is gone, the old year is gone, I am in a daze whether I am awake or drunk..."
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