Chapter 18: Heroes of the World, Who is the True Hero?
The rain intensified, with large raindrops pounding on the bricks and tiles of the Yellow Building with tremendous force, like a stampede of thousands of horses. Su Mengzhen pushed open the half-closed door, and just then, a pale white flash of lightning tore through the sky, followed by a deafening rumble of thunder that swept across Bianjing City, shaking the buildings.
The weather was terrible. Su Mengzhen looked into the room, and the scene inside was completely different from the boudoir he remembered. The light gauze curtains were all drawn back, revealing a spacious area. In the center of the room, there was only a plain ebony low table. On the table, a small stove was burning with blue flames, and on the stove, a ceramic pot sat, its spout slightly ajar, from which a faint white steam escaped, but without any strong smell. Xie Huailing sat on a futon beside the stove, dressed in white with black hair, her face bare and unadorned, her two vermilion dots appearing even more poignant in the sound of the rain.
Xie Huailing looked up and pointed to the futon opposite him: "Please sit down, Master."
Su Mengzhen closed the door, shutting out the howling wind and rain. The hem of his dark cloak was damp; he took it off and placed it aside, then sat down opposite her as instructed. The coolness of the futon seeped through the thin fabric of his clothes. His gaze swept over the earthenware pot on the stove; the only sounds in the air were the slightly burnt charcoal and a faint, almost imperceptible, cool aroma. The pot's lid was tightly shut, and the smell of wine was not noticeable.
"The rain came suddenly," Su Mengzhen said, her voice less sickly and more solemn, drawn by the solemn scene.
"The autumn rain is heavy, but it's also refreshing." Xie Huailing picked up another small pot by the stove and poured a cup of water for Su Mengzhen.
Su Mengzhen picked up her teacup and casually asked, "Did Miss Zhu Qi send these to you?"
“Of course,” Xie Huailing replied, pouring herself a drink as well. “She’s just sitting around doing nothing anyway, it’ll be easier for her if she’s busy. She’s an eighteen-year-old young lady, she really deserves some work to keep her occupied.”
Su Mengzhen disagreed, saying, "When you're in the martial world, you'll grow eventually, there's no need to rush."
Xie Huailing looked at him, and he always felt that her eyes were particularly bright at this moment. The sound of rain came in waves, but fortunately her voice was still clearly audible: "It is hard to believe what the Master said. I remember that when the Master was eighteen years old, he was already in charge of the overall situation of the Golden Wind and Fine Rain Pavilion. He was probably too busy to even have time to rest. Who knows, maybe Steward Yang is still holding a book and waiting now."
Su Mengzhen said casually, "There are many trivial matters in the building, and all sorts of things in the martial arts world are complicated. I'm used to it."
"That's true." Xie Huailing nodded, stroking the handle of the ceramic teapot on the stove. "This martial world seems lively, full of heroes and beauties, and quick revenge, but in reality it's a mess, full of chaos, making people feel annoyed and unable to sort things out."
A leaf named Jianghu floated lightly into this conversation.
Lightning roared, and in the firelight and flashes of lightning, Su Mengzhen's cold eyes seemed to ignite with a faint glimmer: "Chaos has existed since ancient times. In the imperial court there is infighting, and in the martial world there is conflict. The Six and a Half Hall and my Golden Wind and Fine Rain Pavilion are vying for supremacy in Bianjing, and although the Seven Saints of Misty Heaven are in decline, their influence still remains; and there are those demons and monsters who use the name of the martial world to do despicable things."
Xie Huailing picked up the thread: "Yes, it's a whole mess. Looking beyond Bianjing, to the west, Shi Guanyin is still at large, and to the east, the Thirteen Villains have vanished without a trace. As for the other forces, the Beggars' Sect can still protect itself, the 'Living God of Wealth' only cares about profit, the Emei Sect keeps its doors closed, and the Tang Clan is unable to distinguish between good and evil. They seem to have their own paths, but in reality, they are like a turbulent river, with mud and sand mixed together."
She paused briefly, then continued, "Among the outlaws of the martial world, there are those who fawn upon the powerful and wealthy, willingly becoming their lackeys, engaging in the trafficking of children, the murder of the innocent, and the forced prostitution of innocent women, treating human life as worthless. Colluding with each other, they have stirred up this Bianjing city, this entire Song Dynasty, like the water in this pot, seemingly calm, but beneath the surface, turbulent waves surge and undercurrents run deep. And all of this can only be traced back to its source."
Su Mengzhen understood perfectly: "The world is far away, and the imperial court is high."
"The high position of the court casts a shadow whenever it takes action. The chaos in the martial world stems not from the common people, but from the loss of morality in the court: when the ruler is not a ruler, the ministers are not ministers; when officials are not officials, the clerks are not clerks; when the law is not the law, the people are not the people. If the upper beam is not straight, how can the lower beam not be crooked?"
Her words were unhurried yet bold, laying bare a picture of collusion between power and money, the reversal of right and wrong, and the suffering of the people before Su Mengzhen, waiting for him to compose lyrics.
Having said this, Su Mengzhen picked up his pen: "Those who have students and friends all over the world are exploiting the people to satisfy their own desires, framing loyal officials, and running rampant in the court; those who hold military power and are supposed to guard the country do not think about defending the borders and protecting the people, but instead use military merits as a stepping stone to advancement, falsely reporting and claiming credits, and raising bandits to enhance their own power... I will never again see anyone who listens to one side and believes only one side, who has no talent and is full of talent but is not talented, and who wastes the country on painting."
Just then, Xie Huailing heard that the rain was almost unstoppable, the torrents were surging forward, and the water vapor was flowing in the shadows. He sighed softly: "The wicked run rampant, treating the common people as nothing; the heroes are helpless, either joining the evil or unable to stand alone. The chaos is like this autumn rain, falling incessantly, and I don't know when it will end."
“The rain will eventually stop.” Su Mengzhen glanced at the torrential rain outside the window, and there was a certain determination in her words. “The chaos will also come to an end. When the time comes, or perhaps when the season arrives.”
“Of course there will be an end.” Xie Huailing placed her hand on the lid of the pottery pot and pinched it with her slender fingers. “But it’s not about waiting for a time, it’s about waiting for a person.”
Her movements were unhurried and exceptionally solemn—it was strange that this person was Xie Huailing—as the wind and rain filled the building, and the conversation reached a climax, she lifted the lid of the pottery pot.
In an instant, a clear, rich aroma of wine, with a unique sweet and sour fruity fragrance, burst forth like a long-imprisoned dragon, filling the room. This aroma was unlike the strong, spicy notes of ordinary wines; it was fresh and lingering, carrying the slight astringency of rain-soaked plums and the mellow richness of early summer. It diluted the fishy smell of the wind and rain outside and the medicinal scent on Su Mengzhen's body, filling every inch of the space.
It also carries a grander meaning in this solemn setting; as time flows back several hundred years, it was also a day of thunder and lightning...
Green plum wine!
In the midst of this cold autumn rain, she actually brewed plum wine!
Su Mengzhen's heart was surging with barely suppressed emotion. Xie Huailing's foreshadowing was clear enough. What had she seen in him on the Yellow Tower that made him sit so composed today? He should be pondering this, but his overwhelming emotions and the circumstances left him no choice!
Xie Huailing took the wine pot and poured amber-colored wine into the empty cup in front of Su Mengzhen. The aroma of the wine filled the air, and the steam rose gently: "Waiting for someone who can be worthy of the title 'hero'."
He put down the wine pot and pointed directly at Su Mengzhen's eyes: "A man who can raise a call to action and have a large following, capable of cleansing the filth and restoring order to the land."
Boom—
A clap of thunder boomed outside the window, illuminating Su Mengzhen's face. His fingers, gripping the wine glass, tightened abruptly, his knuckles turning white and trembling, causing the clear liquid inside to swirl slightly.
He smelled the fragrance of plum wine, heard the thunderous roar, and understood the earth-shattering implications in Xie Huailing's words.
She wasn't chatting idly, nor was she complaining. The rain, the deliberately emptied room, the fireplace, the pot of plum wine—a rare find in late autumn—were all part of her carefully orchestrated plan. She was emulating the ancients; she wanted to—
Su Mengzhen's heart was struck hard by that thunderbolt. An unprecedented tremor rose from the depths of his soul, his blood seemed to be burning, and what surged within his frail lungs was no longer just pain, but also a boiling desire and throbbing. Ambition, ambition, the exposed secrets, the sudden arrival of immense expectations and scrutiny... all sorts of emotions clashed violently in his chest, almost bursting through his sickly, frail body, and he felt a wave of dizziness.
Is it that sentence? Is it that thought?
He took a deep breath, his surging blood no longer able to be suppressed, and looked intently at Xie Huailing: "Heroes are hard to find, rare even in thousands of years. Miss Xie, in your opinion, what kind of person in this world deserves the title of 'hero'?"
“Marquis Zhuge,” Su Mengzhen began by throwing out a heavyweight figure, “who holds the hereditary title of Marquis, commands the Six Doors and part of the Imperial Guards, possesses unfathomable martial arts skills, is unparalleled in loyalty and bravery, and has devoted himself to the country and its people for decades, his influence resounding in both the underworld and the legitimate world. Can such a person be considered a hero?”
Xie Huailing categorically denied it, saying, "Zhuge Liang is more than loyal and brave, but lacks vision. The emperor is no longer the ruler of the people. He has the ability to move mountains and fill seas, and the ambition to mend the sky and bathe the sun, but he is trapped in the cage of loyalty to the emperor. He knows that the emperor is incompetent and the ministers are treacherous, and the world is about to fall, but he can only make repairs and try his best to maintain it, and dare not cross the line. When the building is about to collapse, he clings to the pillar and guards the gate. In the end, he will be burned with the rotten wood. He is not a hero."
Su Mengzhen pondered for a moment, then cited another example: "What about Fang Juxia, who is 'a king in the south and a subject in the north'? His martial arts have reached a state of perfection, his reputation is unparalleled in the martial arts world, he is public-spirited and righteous, helping the weak and needy, and all the heroes of the world admire him. His chivalrous reputation is enough to command all heroes. Can such a person be considered a hero?"
Xie Huailing said, seemingly sarcastically, "An ancient sage once said, 'When one is in a high position in the court, one should worry about the people; when one is far from the court, one should worry about the ruler.' When one is far from the court, one is not concerned about the affairs of the court and therefore does not worry about the ruler; when one is in the court, one's worries are as light as a drop in the ocean and one does not worry about the people. One may save ten or a hundred people by acting chivalrously, but one cannot save the common people. One may possess the skills to slay dragons, but one is still just a carefree wanderer in the martial world, not a hero."
Thunder rumbled and rain poured outside the window, as if cheering on this shocking debate.
Su Mengzhen slowly leaned against the low table behind him, his face flushed even more deeply, a mixture of illness and overwhelming emotion. He gazed at the woman brewing wine before him, an unprecedented emptiness and turmoil churning within him. The flames didn't dance in the stove, but rather in his own chest. He let out a long sigh, questioning the vastness of heaven and earth:
"Zhuge Liang was not a hero, nor was Fang Xuanling. Miss Xie's vision is truly admirable. However, according to Miss Xie's words..."
In today's world, who is truly a hero?
As soon as he finished speaking, another unprecedentedly massive bolt of lightning tore through the sky, illuminating the dimly lit room. The dazzling light reflected the smile on Xie Huailing's face.
This was the first time Su Mengzhen had seen her smile.
Her smile was faint, the corners of her lips curving upwards in a shallow arc. She looked down on him, as if she held the world at her fingertips. But what truly moved him was the appreciation and expectation in her bright eyes, and what he saw in her eyes—his own expectation.
He seemed to have died once before. He saw a revolving lantern: the full moon of Mid-Autumn Festival, the underwater palace of Guanghan, the map of the Song Dynasty. All the blood in his body seemed to rush to his head, only to be poured back down to his limbs in the next instant. He realized, he fully understood the meaning behind that smile: the ambition and domineering spirit buried deep beneath his ailing bones, a dormant volcano, ignited by that smile, roaring wildly.
Su Mengzhen knew what she was going to say—
Amidst the thunder, lightning, wind, and rain, she raised her wine cup and whispered her words into his ear:
"Those who, in the future, will be able to survey the mountains and rivers, discuss the four directions, and look northward to the Yan and Yun regions—"
Her voice wasn't loud, but it had the power to command respect.
"Only the host can hear this."
silence.
A long silence permeated the air amidst the aroma of wine and the sound of wind and rain.
The lone peak hidden in Su Mengzhen's heart bursts forth from the water, and he finds his own voice: "I am honored by Miss Xie's kindness, but why me?"
Xie Huailing picked up the warm earthenware pot again and poured the plum wine into the almost untouched wine cup in front of him until it was full.
"Heroes of the world are indeed as numerous as carp crossing a river." Xie Huailing put down his wine pot and stated a truth he had long understood. "Although Bianjing is vast and the martial world is wide, the rumors from Zhu Qiqi, the files of the Golden Wind and Fine Rain Pavilion, and even the atmosphere inside and outside the pavilion these days are enough for me to get a glimpse of the whole picture of the martial world."
Her fingertips lightly touched the cold surfaces:
"There are many ruthless and decisive people. They are vicious and ruthless, with claws and teeth everywhere, sucking marrow from bones. However, their methods are limited to power struggles and territorial disputes. They only see the barbaric principle of the survival of the fittest and have no regard for the common people. This force is stained with the blood of innocents and will eventually be devoured by the blood, becoming despised by the world."
"There are those who are both loyal and righteous. But they cannot escape the cage drawn by the relationship between ruler and subject. Although they care about the code of chivalry, it is only the code of chivalry. They have never looked at the piles of white bones under the palace, nor have they thought about the root of the chaos in the chivalry. They are either trapped by the social order or bound by their feelings. With such a mindset, they are not worthy of the title of 'hero'."
“Only the Lord of the Tower is different.” Xie Huailing’s voice suddenly rose. “The Golden Wind and Fine Rain Tower, with loyalty and righteousness as its banner, gathers a group of brothers who still have passion and a sense of morality. The Lord of the Tower’s decisiveness in killing is a means, not an end; the Lord of the Tower’s cold-blooded calculation is for what he wants to protect, not for pure plunder or a blurring of right and wrong. This is the most fundamental difference between the Lord of the Tower and others—”
She paused slightly, her gaze sharp, looking into the deepest part of Su Mengzhen's soul, into the flame burning with pain and ambition:
"Beneath the lord's heroic spirit and ruthless exterior lies loyalty and righteousness. This loyalty is not blind loyalty to the ruler, but loyalty to the principles in the lord's heart, loyalty to the sworn brothers in the lord's troupe, and loyalty to the heavier responsibility on the lord's shoulders. Therefore, the lord's ambition is not an insatiable lust for power, but rather carries a sense of pain."
Su Mengzhen's body trembled almost imperceptibly.
"This pain is knowing it's impossible yet doing it anyway, knowing that what you care about in your heart cannot coexist with affection yet trying to catch the moon's reflection in the water. As long as this pain exists, you will never become like the rest of us, nor will you confine yourself to a self-imposed prison."
As she finished speaking, she finally picked up the untouched glass of plum wine in front of her, the liquid swirling gently.
"As for the pain that brings about..." she hesitated, then added, "a touch of weakness, or perhaps being held back by brotherly affection, which led to being harmed by thieves..."
Xie Huailing raised his wine glass to Su Mengzhen: "I am willing to lend a helping hand to the Lord of the Pavilion."
"I, Xie Huailing, fell from the highest heavens into this place, landing in the Heavenly Spring Pool of the Golden Wind and Fine Rain Pavilion—this was no accident. It was for this very reason."
Raise the glass even higher:
"Knights use martial arts to disrupt prohibitions, and scholars use literature to disrupt the law. I wish to entrust my body and wisdom to the master of the tower, so that he may sweep across the world, or usher in an era of peace, and point out the landscape and see the world."
He had no more worries or doubts. What was he waiting for? He knew the night the lake waters parted.
Su Mengzhen also raised her glass, her voice echoing in the room:
“I know your talent, your wisdom is as vast as the Eastern Sea, and you are unparalleled in the world. Since that is the case, I wish to treat you as an honored guest and present you with the host’s token.”
"With mutual trust, the world will be at your fingertips!"
Despite the dark and stormy weather, the vow has been made.
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Volume One ends. Strategist Xiao Xie has successfully ensnared his boss and is now in a prestigious position!
As for why she chose the poster, he certainly has flaws, but in the martial arts world, he's already considered a very heroic figure, which suits Ms. Xie's taste perfectly. As for the poster's emphasis on brotherhood, Ms. Xie doesn't see it as a problem; it's much easier to resolve than other things, putting her far ahead of her peers.
And this is a good thing, making it easier for her to discuss heroes over wine and trap them directly, so that she can get the maximum freedom and initiative in the future, without having to worry about being betrayed by the boss, being given unsolicited advice by the boss, or being given empty promises by the boss. She can also cheat the boss without any guilt (whistling) (Ms. Xie whistles without any guilt)
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