Chapter 180: Eternal Hatred Between Heaven and Earth
Xie Huailing's initial plan was to play sand table military exercises, but later he found it troublesome and didn't want to touch the sand himself, so he changed his mind and started with Go.
However, the game's medium changed, but she still adhered to her original concept, incorporating military drills into the game and establishing its overall framework. In this way, although there would inevitably be winners and losers, and the game revolved around the two players, Wuqing, sitting face-to-face with Lin Shiyin, was not actually Lin Shiyin's opponent. After the game was completed, Xie Huailing would not modify it further. Wuqing's opponent was the game itself, and Lin Shiyin was merely a facilitator of the gameplay.
To quickly familiarize herself with the game, Lin Shiyin played for several days straight, until she was dizzy and exhausted. Only then did she memorize every detail to ensure she wouldn't make any mistakes. She took out the two boxes of chess pieces again and introduced them to Wuqing: "The black pieces are for attack, and the white pieces are for defense. The head constable is only responsible for this part of the white pieces; I'll handle the rest."
She then used a small knife to simply carve out the territories and city walls on the chessboard, and then placed the pieces one by one, explaining the background of the entire game to Wuqing. Wuqing quickly understood; in Xie Huailing's words, this was a Go-style sandbox simulation game. Under the premise of following the game's background setting, he would act as a city-defending general, protecting his country and preventing foreign countries from breaching the city gates (she hadn't forgotten her simulation management skills after all).
However, because he needs to follow the game's background setting, Wuqing will also be influenced by the court during the game's process. His decisions may be rejected by the "Emperor" and "court officials." If he cannot be persuaded by rolling dice, his decisions will be suppressed, and the game may also end with him being dismissed from his post.
After hearing the rules, Wuqing anticipated that his actions in the game would be restricted in many ways, and everything that happened after the game officially started confirmed that his prediction was correct.
This was indeed a game that could not be won, with both external and internal troubles becoming fully tangible. Knowing the background and having made preparations, Wuqing chose to train his troops first, as his forces were insufficient to resist, let alone counterattack. However, even this move was rejected by the "court" after Lin Shiyin rolled the dice once.
The Emperor saw no need for war. In his view, the world was at peace and the nation was at its peak; why wage war again, only to waste lives and resources? He even comforted Wuqing, telling him not to worry too much.
Wuqing had nothing to say; he had a strange sense of déjà vu.
So he could only keep preparing within the maximum range of his movement, waiting for the plot in the game five years later, when Kuroko would invade from the south. However, the story didn't turn out the way he expected.
What he received was not a move from the black pieces, but a betrayal from the "Emperor." The "Emperor" probably had no self-awareness whatsoever. He decided to join forces with the black pieces to attack the third country, which was only marked on the board. What followed was an unsurprisingly unsuccessful start, followed by pleading for help. His own weakness, corruption, and incompetence were fully exposed to the black pieces.
After calmly recounting this part of the story, Lin Shiyin began to draw on the chessboard again. The territories of the three sides gradually began to change, and Wuqing's heart also became heavy.
He had a vague premonition of something.
What followed was predictable. During these years of "cooperation," no matter how much Wuqing remonstrated or what actions he took, nothing could be changed under the incompetence of the "emperor." Finally, as the three parties merged into two, the invasion finally arrived.
The emperor abdicated in fear, and another incompetent ruler took the throne. What could he change? Nothing. Lin Shiyin picked up the white pieces scattered around the chessboard and threw them into the box.
It was as if the box was bottomless, the white pieces were swallowed up and crushed, and the echoes were so low. Lin Shiyin said, "Bones are everywhere, nine out of ten houses are empty, the mountains and rivers are broken, families are ruined and the country is lost, countless people have committed suicide, and the river has stopped flowing... Chief Constable, you have lost."
She flipped open another sheet of paper and said, "Regarding this outcome, Chief Constable, would you like to hear about the casualties?"
“...No need,” Wuqing said.
His expression was far from relaxed. If he still couldn't understand who Xie Huailing was alluding to, then he shouldn't stay in Bianjing any longer. His gaze fixed on Lin Shiyin's face, hoping to see something, but Lin Shiyin just kept her head down, refusing to lift her face. So he asked her, "Miss Xie, did you leave me any message about this game?"
Feigning shyness is a very useful thing. With her hair covering half of Lin Shiyin's face, she hid her gaze and said, "There is a saying. Miss Xie said that this game has, and only has, one way to win. If the Chief Constable wants to know, he can ask her."
"Did she have anything else to say?"
“No, Miss Xie said the Chief Constable is a smart man,” Lin Shiyin said softly. “But, I have something else to say.”
She smiled almost imperceptibly, still not looking up, her eyes empty, like puddles beneath the pavilion, indicating that her thoughts were not on what was before her. Lin Shiyin may not have been quick-witted enough to keenly perceive everything; she only possessed a sensitivity to the melancholy of autumn and spring. However, sometimes, being sensitive enough was very useful. She had a vague premonition about things that others had not told her, and she also understood better what kind of words, what kind of sorrow, were most moving and most hurtful.
Lin Shiyin said, "The game was made by Miss Xie, but the words in the game were not only written by Miss Xie. My maternal grandfather also made some modifications."
Wuqing was startled as she continued speaking.
"The chief constable examined my cousin's health and said that if he didn't want to have any lingering illness, he would need to rest. But the chief constable probably doesn't know that even if my cousin did have a lingering illness, he would still be the healthiest person in the family."
He felt as if he had been struck on the head, his mind buzzing. Lin Shiyin didn't look up, but he could see her tears, tears that seemed to be on the verge of falling, light as a feather, yet heavy as a thousand pounds if they were to touch the ground.
"Since my aunt passed away a few years ago, my uncle's health has been declining. My eldest cousin was sent to work in the capital and worked day and night, and he also fell seriously ill while on duty. My maternal grandfather was the same. Since he was young, he had worked hard day and night for decades, and he could be described as devoted to his work. As a result, he developed health problems. In recent years, he has been able to take care of himself and recuperate. In fact, Zhuge Shenhou should know about these things and have seen them."
"As for the other families, each of them only has one son. My family... my father died in office at a young age, and my mother followed him, leaving me all alone. So I often think, what would happen if Miss Xie and the Divine Marquis's Mansion didn't exist, and my cousin died in the alley?"
Wuqing lost his voice. His fingertips ached, and his throat was blocked. He couldn't speak, and he couldn't answer Lin Shiyin's question. No one could answer Lin Shiyin's question, and the person most qualified to answer had long since chosen to ignore him.
He could no longer ask. Although the Divine Marquis's Mansion had done him a favor in the matter of Li Xunhuan, he could no longer ask.
But Lin Shiyin did not shed a tear.
She will no longer shed tears.
"That's all I have to say." She swallowed back her tears and told him everything. In the end, it all came down to a choice. Everyone made their own choice, accepted their own fate, and then tried to escape their own fate. "I hope you'll forgive my blunder, Chief Constable."
But what is there to laugh at? It is all endless hatred, the hatred of the rolling Yangtze River, the eternal hatred of heaven and earth.
Ruthless heard the river's sound. He realized he was powerless.
.
Upon returning to Jin Feng Xi Yu Lou, Xie Huailing's first action was to seek out Yang Wuxie. In a sense, her wish had been fulfilled; Yang Wuxie had temporarily become her subordinate. The price for this dream coming true was that Su Mengzhen's workload had been combined with hers, and was even trending towards doubling. Before she and Yang Wuxie could even have a proper half-hour conversation, someone from Bai Feifei's place arrived.
The person sent to fetch her said, "Miss, Vice Master Bai wants you to come over quickly. She says there's something extremely urgent that you must handle."
Bai Feifei rarely said that anything absolutely required Xie Huailing's help; after all, she was someone who wouldn't admit defeat. So there was only one possibility: Bai Feifei didn't want to do it, or perhaps she just wanted to dump it on Xie Huailing. Hearing this, Xie Huailing had a bad feeling. She asked what it was, and the girl who had called her smiled apologetically, only saying that Bai Feifei hadn't said.
But she still had to go. If Xie Huailing didn't go, Bai Feifei would come to kill her. She didn't think anything would really stump her, so she made an appointment with Yang Wuxie to come over after dealing with Bai Feifei's matter.
After walking a few steps, from the brothel to the vicinity of Bai Feifei's residence, and then up a few more steps, Bai Feifei, leaning against the wall with her arms crossed and her displeasure evident, appeared before him.
Xie Huailing realized who Bai Feifei had brought back and wanted to say something sarcastic, but before she could speak, Bai Feifei looked over. Then, without giving Xie Huailing a chance to speak, she launched into a tirade, saying bluntly, "Why haven't you dealt with him yet? Now you're grabbing me and saying you want to come back with me. Are you happy about that?"
Judging from her expression, she was indeed not in a good mood. However, Bai Feifei disapproved of too many people around Xie Huailing. Even if Xie Huailing had a general guess, she still had to ask sincerely, "Which one?"
Bai Feifei probably wanted to roll her eyes, but she barely managed to hold back and still softened towards her: "Who else could it be? You should be glad he contacted me and didn't bring him back. But he insisted that I pass on a message to you—"
Her disdain was palpable, the unspoken message being that she wanted to call him a lunatic again: "'I heard Miss Xie is getting married, and I congratulate her here. I wonder what kind of wedding gift Miss Xie would like? You can come and talk to me in person. Or perhaps I need to prepare a gift for two, that's fine too, Miss Xie can ask me for it in person.'"
It's so easily recognizable.
If someone else had said that, it would probably have been a threat, but since it's Gong Jiu, it can only be the literal meaning.
Xie Huailing asked, "Do I really want to see him?"
Bai Feifei sneered: "You're asking me? Why didn't you just torture him to death or kill him back then?"
Xie Huailing hesitated and remained silent. This silence wasn't because she couldn't speak, but rather it was another way of answering her question. Bai Feifei also read the answer in this unspoken reply, and after the deafening pause, she felt even more disgusted.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com