112. Ying Gua
Shang Changheng drove Miaoyuan and Zhu Lezhi away, saying that if they were not allowed to follow, there would be no room for mediation. He did not even wait until the next day, but left the small town with Qingling that night, apparently heading east.
Late at night, on the street, Zhu Lezhi was squatting and Miao Yuan was standing next to her.
"What should I do now?" Zhu Lezhi held his chin and sighed, "Actually, my father has urged me to go back a long time ago. The situation in the country is not peaceful, but I just feel uneasy."
There are too many grudges and hatreds in the martial arts world. Sometimes a dispute between two juniors can lead to a bloody fight between two masters, and the methods of killing in the underworld are mostly strange and bizarre. But this year, people from abroad have also been involved. Whether in the martial arts world or the court, there are undercurrents, which seems like a harbinger of chaos.
"He said the cause and effect have been resolved." Miao Yuan lowered his eyebrows, "Did you see it?"
"No." Zhu Lezhi was silent for a while, then took a deep breath, "I don't believe they will return to Lincang, and I don't believe the truth is really over. I have to follow them."
Miao Yuan looked down at her in surprise and frowned suddenly, "Do you know something?"
"Yes." Zhu Lezhi looked up. She was still young, just a little girl, but her brows were firm. "Do you know why I appeared in Lincang?"
Before Miao Yuan could speak, Zhu Lezhi said, "My father's divination indicated a glimmer of hope. That glimmer of hope was in the east, which was also a very ominous sign of escaping death. My father almost risked his life to interpret this divination, and that glimmer of hope was for the person who was supposed to die but still remained in the world of the living. I followed the divination all the way to Lincang and found out... the young master of the Qing family. But the evil spirit in Zhanlong Mountain is too strong, so I dare not go."
After a long while, Miao Yuan finally murmured, "So that's how it is."
Zhu Lezhi was not following Shang Changheng, but Qingling. As expected, Qingling was dragged into the fight for the throne because of the young man named Aji, and even killed the powerful Prince Jing Zhu Yanzhang.
The struggle for succession in every dynasty has always been bloody. If that divination is correct here, then it has been resolved now.
"But I still can't figure it out." Zhu Lezhi learned from Shang Changheng and Qingling that the fight between the Yinxing outside the country and the Daxia inside the country was closely related to the people around the prince of the vassal state, and now the position of crown prince can only be Zhu Hongxu. It's useless to let them make a fuss. She asked, "It's just a fight for the crown prince, why do you want to provoke a fight between the Yinxing?"
Miao Yuan also looked at her, "So... you feel it's not over yet."
"What if this hexagram doesn't indicate a fight for the throne?" Zhu Lezhi's voice trembled a little, "What if... what if someone is unwilling to see the old dynasty fall, and if Qingling is the only ray of hope, then the omen of great misfortune in the hexagram... could it be...?"
She didn't say the name.
And both of them already understood.
What if the real disaster is the evil spirit that is obsessed with finding the past?
Zhu Lezhi stood up suddenly and was about to leave.
Miao Yuan immediately grabbed her arm and said in a deep voice: "What do you want to do?"
"Send the message home." Zhu Lezhi said firmly, "I don't believe Shang Changheng will do nothing. He is the King of Xiang of the Great Zhou. Whether he has really let it go or not, there is a place he will definitely go to."
Miao Yuan looked at her, "So you are going to——"
"Luyuan."
Outside the carriage, Shang Changheng embraced Qingling, caressing his cheek again and again, and whispered, "Let's go to Luyuan. I want to go home and visit."
Luyuan was a city in the Great Zhou Dynasty back then, but today's Luzhou actually houses many towns. The Luyuan that Shang Changheng mentioned is the ancient city of Lucheng, the center of Luzhou.
Qing Ling knelt down and leaned against his chest, looking at the dim road in the night, and said softly: "Can you tell me now? Who was that person in your karma?"
"Shang Changjun." Shang Changheng said lightly, "He learned a lot from Qing Jie and survived until now by taking over other people's bodies."
Possess the body.
This means that Shang Changjun is already a demon that cannot be reincarnated.
Qing Ling was stunned for a long while before he said, "I thought it would be a member of the Qing family."
No wonder he needed the bronze talisman to conceal his identity. The man named Fang Yi was actually Emperor Ling of Zhou who should have died a thousand years ago.
"I didn't expect it to be him." Shang Changheng laughed, as if talking about something that had nothing to do with him. "In the second year after he ascended the throne, the Great Zhou no longer had the strength to fight. The enemy was not only the Dongyi, but also the whole world. We were forced to retreat outside Luyuan City and could only defend the capital. Senior Sister died in the battle at that time. I didn't see it with my own eyes, but Senior Sister's health was not good in those days. She fought desperately. I don't know how many hidden injuries she had accumulated over the years. She was defeated on the battlefield... and died under the swords. That night I wanted to see her again."
There is a hint of regret at the end of the sentence.
Qing Ling knew that he was finally getting closer to the truth about Shang Changheng's death.
On the day Wei Qingxia died in battle, an accident occurred that prevented Shang Changheng from seeing her for the last time.
"Shang Changjun arrived at the military tent, and I drank the wine he handed over." Shang Changheng seemed to let out a low sigh, and the distant memory blew away with the wind for a thousand years -
A thousand years ago, outside Luyuan City, corpses were everywhere and the land was soaked in blood.
In the military tent outside the city, Shang Changheng was still in his military uniform, with new and old scars on his face. The sharp sword that was unsheathed looked like a broken blade covered in dust. He was wrapped in dirty heavy armor, as if he was barely holding on with the heavy armor.
He had really reached his limit, just like the crumbling Great Zhou, about to collapse in the bloody frost blade.
Shang Changjun, who opened the military tent and walked in, was wrapped in a cloak. It was still early in winter, but he was full of coldness and his face was pale without a trace of blood.
Ever since Shang Changheng retreated to Luyuan, perhaps because the two brothers did not have a close tacit understanding, the battle reports were handed to them by others, and they had never met each other.
"Brother." Shang Changjun smiled and put the food box in his hand on the small table in the military tent. He casually pushed the pile of documents to the ground and said with his head down: "I was very young when you left home. I have long forgotten what you looked like. When I see you today, you are similar to what I thought."
"You shouldn't come here." Shang Changheng also looked at his blood brother. They didn't have any brotherly love to talk about, and in this situation, they couldn't just hug each other and cry.
"What should or shouldn't you do?" Shang Changjun took out two plates of small dishes. They were not exquisite. Even if he was the emperor of the Great Zhou, it was not his turn to enjoy the fine clothes and delicious food at this time. He picked up the wine pot and poured wine. "It has come to this point. Brother, if you don't come, I am afraid I will not see you alive again."
He turned around and raised his glass to Shang Changheng, "Have a drink for you, King Xiang."
Shang Changheng clearly saw the resentment and madness in his eyes at that time, but under the cover of the chaotic times, no matter what expression Shang Changjun showed, it was not surprising. He did not say anything, nor did he refuse. He picked up the glass of wine and drank it in one gulp.
“Your Highness—” Hou Su rashly opened the military tent and was stunned when he saw Shang Changjun. The two brothers looked nothing alike. He looked at Shang Changheng, “This…?”
"This is..." Shang Changheng just opened his mouth, and saw Shang Changjun waving at him, so he didn't continue talking, and just asked: "What's the matter?"
Hou Su said, "It's General Wei. The body has been taken care of. We can't have a grand funeral now, but fortunately this is Luyuan. We can bury General Wei in the place where we have been guarding for a month. I want you to go and take another look at her."
"Got it." Shang Changheng said without any expression of sadness or joy, "Go ahead."
Hou Su said "Oh" and turned away.
Shang Changjun held the wine in his hand, covered his lips and coughed a few times, and even the wine in his hand spilled onto his sleeves.
"You should go back too." Shang Changheng walked up to him, brushed past him, and put the empty wine cup back.
When he turned around again, Shang Changjun didn't leave. He just looked at him with a mocking smile, then lowered his eyebrows and said softly, "Where can we go back to, brother? Our home is going to be gone."
The two brothers were silent for a long time.
Until Shang Changheng's rock-like figure suddenly shook, he was at a loss for a moment, then he seemed to have figured something out, and looked over with an expression of disbelief, "You..."
As he staggered and fell, his mind blurting out, Shang Changjun finally said softly, "I'm sorry, I don't want the ending He has set for the Great Zhou, for you and me."
Emperor Ling of Zhou, who should have died in the fire in the imperial city of the Great Zhou, and King Xiang of Zhou, who should have died on the battlefield, might have been remembered in history for their unyielding spirit, but that was not what Shang Changjun wanted. The fire also burned away all records about the period before the fall of the Great Zhou.
After Shang Changheng lost consciousness, this memory also disappeared. Qingling, who witnessed everything, knew that this was not the end of the story.
Sure enough, the world spun around and the scene became distorted, and finally Qing Ling found himself standing in... an underground palace.
This is definitely not a palace or building. It is surrounded by blue bricks and bronze candlesticks extend from the walls. Most importantly, in this square space, there is a magic circle carved on the ground. Scarlet blood is flowing in the magic circle. There are nine women around the coffin. A tube taken from some unknown animal is inserted in their arms. The blood in the magic circle comes from there.
And one of them was Lan Ying'er, whom Qingling had met once before.
Her abdomen was swollen and her whole body had turned pale due to blood loss. They were all conscious and crying, but no one pulled out the blood tube.
Qingling approached tremblingly and took a look into the coffin.
…It turned out to be Shang Changheng.
His body was covered with scarlet lines and there was a reddish-brown talisman on his forehead. Pitch-black chains were wrapped around his limbs and neck, locking him tightly in the coffin. He was clearly dead, but Qing Ling could feel that the soul trapped in this dead body was collapsing and screaming miserably.
They are refining corpses.
Qing Ling reached out his hand with trembling fingertips and gently touched Shang Changheng's cheek, "Changheng..."
It was a cold body, without any temperature.
Suddenly, footsteps were heard behind him. Qingling turned around and saw Shang Changjun walking down the long steps. He was still wrapped in a cloak and his face was as white as snow. Beside him was an old man who was so frail that he needed to use a cane, and behind him were a group of women and servants. Qingling suddenly understood what they were going to do.
Shang Changjun walked to the coffin and cut his finger with a dagger. Blood dripped onto the talisman paper pasted on Shang Changheng's forehead. The talisman was dyed this color by the blood.
"Stop... Stop!" Qing Ling wanted to push Shang Changjun away, but he failed. In a flash, he realized that he could not change anything.
He thought sadly that this was the past, a foregone conclusion.
But suddenly there was a fierce sound of weapons clashing outside. Shang Changjun frowned and looked up. Qingling also turned around and saw a figure rushing down the long steps as fast as lightning, holding two swords, with bloodshot eyes - it was Hou Su!
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