Chapter 187: A Brink of Life and Death
After Su Mengzhen fell asleep, it was as if she took something with her. The summer that was coming to an end was gradually being permeated by the breath of autumn. In another half month, or in another ten days, it would no longer be summer, but autumn.
Xie Huailing watched Su Mengzhen fall asleep that day, and unusually, she pulled the blanket up for him. His thin face was right in front of her; she could poke him without him resisting, and she certainly wouldn't press him down and hurt his neck. But instead, she lost even more interest. After glancing at him a few times, she closed the door and left.
Even without someone to keep an eye on all day, Xie Huailing's busy schedule remained unchanged. The weather gradually cooled down, just as the vibrant colors of summer would wither and fade in the cold wind. She moved her office to Bai Feifei's bedroom. Since Bai Feifei couldn't chat with her often, she talked more with Bai Feifei's maid. Zhu Qiqi also frequently came to keep her company. Although she couldn't offer much help, she had at least learned not to cause her any trouble. Turning pages or writing in her book was still somewhat useful.
Five or six days passed by like flowing water, just as she had always lived like this.
However, that's not the case. Matters concerning the Seven Saints of the Lost Heaven must have a result, and the letter from the Divine Marquis's Mansion will eventually arrive.
This letter was shorter than any he had ever written before; ruthlessness had left him with nothing more to say in words. After repeated confirmations, he must have written each word with extremely complex emotions and with the utmost caution, agreeing on the time and place for their meeting at the end of the final game.
Xie Huailing knew even more that this might also be a trap, and that she was indeed carrying out this plan.
However, there was nothing to be afraid of. Xie Huailing agreed to the time and place chosen by Wuqing. Apart from the maid and coachman, he would not bring anyone with him and did not want anyone to follow him.
If Zhu Qiqi hadn't persisted in pestering Xie Huailing after hearing about this, practically ready to make a scene in front of her and hang herself if Xie Huailing refused to go pick her up—so that if anything happened to Xie Huailing, she could at least die with him—and only after such a dramatic outburst did Xie Huailing finally agree to her suggestion; otherwise, Xie Huailing would have returned alone.
We've digressed, so let's get straight to the waterside pavilion, where the water is calm.
This place is naturally not the same as the one we met last time. This place is near Jinming Pond, not the Bian River. The pavilions and terraces here are also more exquisite. High-ranking officials and dignitaries often come and go, and literati and poets inscribe poems here. But since this place has been chosen, there will be no one else here except for the people of Jinfeng Xiyu Tower and Shenhou Mansion. The pavilions and terraces await the changing winds and clouds.
After getting off the carriage, Xie Huailing saw the ruthless swordsman in front of the gate. He led Xie Huailing inside, remaining silent. Xie Huailing asked the maid to wait in the carriage and went in alone.
Silence. Only the silence of footsteps remained, followed by her own breathing. Xie Huailing walked through the corridor, doors closing one after another behind her. Each door represented the end of a world. She had no way back, nor would she ever turn back. Her figure shifted again, and a half-open door appeared before her.
Without a moment's hesitation, Xie Huailing naturally pushed open the door. She was supposed to do this anyway. Should she be afraid just because she was alone?
It was what she had calculated, it was what she deserved. The heavier the downpour, the stronger the wind, what was there to fear?
First, she saw a screen embroidered with lush green bamboo, clusters upon clusters covering the surface with hardly any blank space. The only gaps were visible between the bamboo, making it difficult to even peek out. Then she saw a young man sitting at a table, his clothes simpler than usual, his eyes lowered and his expression dignified, just like a green bamboo. Only when she approached did the young man raise his gaze. He seemed unwilling to look at her, yet he still wanted to see her.
Is it agonizing? Probably, but even agonizing can't control one's reason. Who knows? One might even be lamenting the cruel twist of fate.
Xie Huailing didn't bother to greet her and sat down when she saw an empty seat. Wuqing probably didn't expect that she would actually dare to come alone. After waiting for a while and not seeing anyone else, he finally looked at her face.
"Miss Xie," Wuqing said, "the game is over."
Xie Huailing responded calmly. Only now was she truly being honest with everyone. Everything she had done, and everything that Jin Feng Xi Yu Lou had done, was laid bare before the Divine Marquis's Mansion. What she had obtained from Wang Yunmeng had also been thoroughly investigated in the past few days, causing the atmosphere to become increasingly tense and suffocating.
"The chief constable truly lives up to his title; it's rare that he wasn't wrong about the rumors," she praised.
Ruthless yet her heart sank, as if there were no bottom to her heart. Even so, she still had to ask: "There are countless paths in the world, why did Jin Feng Xi Yu Lou choose this one?"
Xie Huailing turned his head, glanced sideways, and cast a sharp, piercing gaze, repeating, "Are there countless paths in the world?"
She categorically denied it: "There are never countless paths in the world. What does the Chief Constable think a path is?"
"First, let's talk about the farmers. Their roads are merely paths between fields, one end connecting to thatched roofs, the other to rented land. They toil all day long, barely able to rest until dusk, yet their path never changes. Next, let's talk about the merchants. Their roads are thirty miles of blue stone paths from the east to the west of the city. They travel back and forth from dawn till dusk, their backs eventually breaking. The charcoal seller freezes to death by the roadside, still worrying that the price of charcoal will be low and hoping for colder weather. As for the boatmen, their roads are merely a single tow rope. If they go forward, they die from exhaustion; if they go backward, they are swallowed by the turbulent current, ultimately having no way to survive... All living beings under heaven, day after day, are no different."
"For them, there are countless paths in the world, and there is no other way to go."
"As for the Golden Wind and Fine Rain Pavilion, which was born from the support of the Jianghu brothers, how could it be willing to let the people suffer? The Yanyun region is difficult to recover. Even if there are countless paths in the world in front of the Golden Wind and Fine Rain Pavilion, the Golden Wind and Fine Rain Pavilion only has one path to take."
A lump formed in Wuqing's throat, and he felt a bitter taste rising within him. He couldn't utter a thousand words, and could only say, "The road is made by walking. The right path may be difficult, but it is not a dead end. Why take such a risky step?"
After hearing his words, Xie Huailing laughed. All the smiles Wuqing saw from her were so unfriendly, and so clearly visible on Tianpa Shuiyu's face, as if heaven and earth wanted him to see this smile, and thus could not bear the weight of this smile.
She said, "The word 'although' used by the chief constable is wonderful. I wonder if 'although' refers to the hardship of Cai Jing controlling the government and the exploitation of the people, or the hardship of the empty treasury and the soldiers who are loyal to the country but have no food, or the hardship of the disaster being not reported, the whitewashing of the situation, the famine victims exchanging children to eat, and the hardship of watching the emperor carry out large-scale construction projects and only love calligraphy and painting?"
His speech remained unhurried, yet it could be as sharp as a knife, stabbing at the heartless. Every word carried blood, blood that even the innocent had to shed. Or was it that being born into such an era was itself a sin?
"The chief constable has been in the Divine Constable's Office for many years. He has seen far more wrongful convictions and unsolved cases than I have, who only returned from beyond the Great Wall last year. Therefore, there are some things that I feel are unnecessary to say. If we cannot raise our voices, the righteous path will not only be difficult to follow, but the righteous path in the chief constable's heart will be nearly extinct and hopeless."
The fingers on the armrest tightened, clenched into a fist slowly and mercilessly, and then relaxed.
He understands everything, of course he understands everything.
Wuqing felt pain; his mind was the most delicate, and he was the most easily saddened: "But to rise up in rebellion would shake the very foundation of the nation, and to change the flag and the regime would harm the people."
"Undermining the foundation of the nation?" Xie Huailing scoffed, a flash of hatred crossing his eyes before rising in his heart. "May I ask, Chief Constable, when you speak of the foundation of the nation, do you mean the person on the dragon throne, the bloodsuckers crawling all over this capital city of Bianjing, or the millions upon millions of breathing citizens of the Great Song Dynasty?"
"During the Yuanyou era, the struggle between the old and new parties led to daily attacks in the court. In Hebei, famine was rampant, and the roads were lined with bones. Since the Chongning era, the tribute of flowers and stones has been carried out throughout the southeast, causing deep resentment among the people. When Fang La of Muzhou raised his arms, 100,000 people responded. Was it because these people were born rebellious and wanted to rebel, or because they could not survive?"
"In the end, throughout history, as long as the people have a grain of rice and a mouthful of food to eat, they can continue to live on in a wretched manner. Why would they have to go down such a dead end? It is said that the foundation of the country is being shaken, but what foundation of the Song Dynasty can be shaken?!"
His cold gaze fell upon her without a word.
Xie Huailing, however, wanted to continue.
Xie Huailing will never be speechless.
"The chief constable may think that Golden Wind and Fine Rain Pavilion holds the title of the leader of the righteous path in the martial arts world, and my cousin is a model of chivalry. We should not take such a risky move. But if we don't plan it, who will?"
"Or should we wait until the likes of Cai Jing hollow out the court, until the Liao and Jin dynasties grow stronger and more ambitious, until one day the flames of war reach the gates of Bianjing, until the people of the world resort to cannibalism, until nine out of ten houses are empty and there are hardly any young men left, until the country is destroyed, the family is ruined, and the land is lost, becoming a disgrace for a thousand years? When that day comes, will Zhuge Liang lead his entire mansion to kneel before the palace gates and remonstrate to the death, or will he take his sword and go to the battlefield to kill more enemy soldiers and fulfill the name of 'loyalty and martyrdom'?"
"You—" Hearing that series of interrogations, Wuqing choked and was about to speak.
"What about me?" Xie Huailing interrupted him. "I'm too radical, too cruel, and my thinking is too ruthless. It's completely different from what you used to think. But Chief Constable, you may think the future can't get any worse, but it will get worse. You have hope, but despair is even more hopeful. And, Chief Constable, have you ever thought about why someone like me is the one sitting here, telling you all this?"
She smiled extremely gently, a smile that vanished like the first rays of spring sunshine, carrying an endless sense of "however, however." Even the most ruthless person would find their emotions contained in that smile. And as that smile faded into the west, it turned out to be just a sliver of the afterglow before dusk.
"Because those who are good enough are all dead, and those who are not pessimistic enough and still want to be loyal have graves overgrown with weeds... The survivors are either mute or I am the only one, only me."
Xie Huailing slowly got up and walked past Wuqing, even holding the teacup on the table for him. He didn't even realize that the teacup was about to fall.
Xie Huailing walked to the window and looked out.
"Chief Constable, neither of us are three-year-old children. Today, I will speak frankly and without reservation. These words may be harsh, but they are from the bottom of my heart. The corrupt officials in the world are endless, and the Divine Marquis's Mansion can never catch or kill them all. If the corrupt officials on the dragon throne are not removed, disasters will only increase. The world of the Great Song Dynasty is already rotten to the point of collapse."
"There are never countless roads in the world. For some, there are thousands of roads, but for most, there is only one road."
The bamboo on the screen is like a pair of green swords, countless green swords piercing the room, between the two people, hanging in the balance.
"The path chosen by Jin Feng Xi Yu Lou is already the best and most suitable one. If the Chief Constable still thinks it is a wrong path, he can make a decision. I did not bring 'Tian Yun Wu Hua Mian' today, nor did I bring anyone else. With the Chief Constable's hidden weapons, killing me would be a piece of cake."
After saying that, Xie Huailing turned around and stretched out her hand. Her wrist was empty; the bracelet that had once held her so tightly against the heartless woman was nowhere to be seen.
The ruthlessness only made me feel more powerless.
Unmoving and indifferent.
He didn't even dare to look at her. He thought of many things: Li Taifu's health, Li Yuan's situation, the villains in the martial arts world, Cai Jing's actions, the emperor's incompetence, the people who kowtowed to him endlessly just because he had given them a bowl of hot porridge, and Lin Shiyin's tears.
If, if Xie Huailing also had a tear, if at this moment, it fell on him, who could bear it all together?
He couldn't distinguish between good and evil, let alone right and wrong. The world is not simply black and white, and he had always understood that.
Xie Huailing lowered his sleeves and slowly said, "If the Chief Constable cannot make a decision, then Zhuge Shenhou can make it. Please, Shenhou."
She looked at the screen. She wasn't skilled in martial arts, but from the moment she entered the room, she knew there was someone there; she knew there would be someone there even before she came. She had already promised Wuqing a question, or done something for him, so this wasn't surprising.
Zhuge Zheng didn't come out. He sighed.
“Miss Xie.” Zhuge Zhengwo’s voice was not loud, but deep, as if he did not want to startle her, so it did not come out suddenly. “No one will kill you today.”
He said, "No one will touch you today, so continue."
This was already an answer. He disapproved of Xie Huailing's actions, but it was not something Zhuge Zheng would do to have the Divine Marquis's Mansion take action against Xie Huailing. Therefore, he let Xie Huailing continue, knowing that Xie Huailing still had something to say, about why Xie Huailing set up this scheme and why he proactively informed the Divine Marquis's Mansion of everyone.
This is also a compromise. Zhuge Zhengwo may understand everything, and he understands her thoughts at this moment, but today, facing Xie Huailing, he is willing to listen to her continue.
Xie Huailing looked at the screen and said, "The Divine Marquis's Mansion is unwilling to kill me, but it may not necessarily approve of me either. Since this stalemate is difficult to break, why don't we invite Divine Marquis Zhuge to make a bet with me? Let's discuss right and wrong again and see if the path chosen by Golden Wind and Fine Rain Pavilion is the best one. I bet it is, and Divine Marquis Zhuge bets it isn't. If Divine Marquis loses the bet, he can stand on the side of Golden Wind and Fine Rain Pavilion or simply leave this matter alone. If Golden Wind and Fine Rain Pavilion loses, then we will never mention this matter again. However, these are not the stakes, but only the outcome. There are other stakes to be made."
Zhuge Zhengwo's words, though spoken from behind the screen, were as clear as if he were speaking to her face to face: "Before we gamble, I'd like to hear from Miss Xie what the stakes are?"
"The stakes have been set," Xie Huailing murmured, as if reciting something predestined. "Depending on our rights and wrongs, the stakes will rise and fall. The stakes are—"
With a flick of his finger, Wuqing knocked the teacup to the ground, shattering it into pieces. The boiling water was scalding hot, but he was oblivious to it, his mind in turmoil. Behind the screen, Zhuge Zhengwo remained silent. Despite his formidable martial arts skills, he was startled and gasped, a sound that could be heard by everyone.
Xie Huailing said: "—300,000 lives."
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According to my timeline, Fang La's story hadn't happened yet at this point; it's my modification and personal interpretation.
And 300,000 is actually a conservative estimate.
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