The Xiao family traced back their lives and sealed their souls so that they would not enter reincarnation.
The atmosphere in the hall paused slightly.
Fang Weian spoke in a steady tone, each word heavy with emotion: "Lord Lu, Marshal Lu's attitude...it's difficult for me to entrust the Xiao family to him."
Lu Hengyu looked at Lu Bingzhao's back as he left, said nothing, lowered his eyes and took a sip of tea.
He didn't argue, but just smiled and said, "Excuse me, General. So, you can choose who to be the Xiao family's vassal."
Fang Weian was silent. Whoever could protect the Xiao family would have to withstand the questioning of the court, the criticism of the generals, and even the suspicion of the new emperor.
It’s not that he doesn’t understand, but precisely because he understands, he no longer protects him—he can’t afford to do so.
He could not maintain order in the court, or keep the generals at ease, and he could not gain the emperor's trust and avoid arousing suspicion.
He could protect the vast southern border, but he could not protect a crumbling surname.
Fang Weian raised his eyes and looked at the important official of the new dynasty in front of him, who had a gentle expression and spoke slowly.
The world was not settled, and the border areas were not pacified, but Qin Chengxu was willing to let this person come to the southern border in person - in order to reassure Fang Wei'an.
Why did Qin Chengxun take the risk of sending this person? Qin Chengxun told him:
This peace agreement is final. This written agreement is serious.
Fang Weian saw and heard it clearly.
He finally spoke, his tone calm but more sincere than before: "How about handing it all over to the Imperial City and you?"
He entrusted the life of this clan to this man, and handed the last blood of the old dynasty from the protection of southern Xinjiang to the hands of the new emperor.
But the royal family, like a leech, once again dragged the prince he wanted to protect into the abyss.
The Xiao family secretly set up a trap to kill the envoy of the new dynasty.
Qin Chengxiu was furious. He would not leave any room for this extraordinary man.
The emperor did not set up three divisions, did not question the master and the servant, and did not listen to arguments.
The new emperor, who had fought hundreds of battles in his life and had never been defeated, knew clearly who Fang Weian was protecting and for whom he was protecting the Yuan Dynasty royal family.
Qin Chengxu only issued a cold order: "Killing someone means paying with one's life. This has been the case since ancient times."
Qin Chengxu killed one person, and he wanted to kill more than 300 people in the Xiao family.
In this chaotic world, the mandate of heaven has collapsed and the rules of etiquette are dead.
Whoever has the army and the power of life and death is the truth itself.
The words of those with strong military power are always the truth.
The emissary was dressed in brocade, his brows sharp as a knife, and his tone was cold: "Fang Weian, you promised His Majesty that day that if Xiao Dingyuan knew about the ambush and murder, you would never cover it up. Now, the evidence is irrefutable, are you going to break your promise again?"
They didn't come to discuss things with Fang Weian.
Lu Bingzhao's hand was firmly on the sword, his aura was sharp and his murderous intent was as frosty.
He spoke word by word, "Fang Weian. Today, I will bring back his head. If you dare to attack, we will razed Southern Xinjiang to the ground."
The air seemed stagnant.
Fang Weian stood in the central military tent.
He slowly raised his head and looked at his prince, the snow in his eyes still lingering.
For a moment, he even wanted to kill Lu Bingzhao in front of him.
But after this bloody road, there are piles of bones and disaster for the people.
He had no choice; His Highness had already told him his path.
To safeguard the country’s peace and the people’s well-being is not the well-being of one person.
Fang Weian lifted his robe and knelt down, just like he had knelt countless times before.
But this time, he didn't dare to look at the other person again.
He pressed his head firmly against the bluestone bricks, as if to press both loyalty and treason into the earth veins.
He said, "I...send it to Your Highness."
In that sea of consciousness, the gray-robed Yanshi's eyes suddenly became confused.
——Is that really an enemy?
Old scenes suddenly reappeared, familiar, unfamiliar, fictitious, and pieced together, surging like a tide.
The voice that invaded his sea of consciousness sounded, teasing like a knife: "You think you are Xiao Dingyuan, but the real Xiao Dingyuan has always been protective of Fang Wei'an."
The voice became more sarcastic: "Your so-called hatred is nothing more than a story pieced together from historical records, anecdotes, and street stories."
Fang Cun's voice was dark: "You are just a product of your past lives. You listen to what others say and forcibly bear the hatred that does not exist. Don't you think you are pathetic?"
The voice came from all directions in the sea of consciousness, like a sigh rising from the abyss beneath the feet:
"You are just a product of retrospective birth."
Pressing forward step by step, like a nail driving into the heart:
"He is Xiao Dingyuan. Then who are you?"
The gray-robed Yanshi's pupils suddenly shrank, a trace of confusion in his eyes. He subconsciously opened his mouth and refuted it harshly: "Nonsense! It's all fake! It's all an illusion! Do you think I believe it?"
But after he had spoken, he paused. He couldn't say who that "I" was.
Fang Cun's voice slowly faded, like a nightmare looming over him: "Of course you will believe it. This is your own technique."
The gray-robed Yanshi's figure was floating up and down, as if his entire body was being swallowed by the magic circle.
Fang Cun appeared in his sea of consciousness and said, "The fact that I can invade here means that your sea of consciousness is about to collapse."
Fang Cun looked at him and said softly, "A hundred years have passed. Xiao Dingyuan's soul has been shattered by the Resurrection Technique."
"These days, Second Master and I have cleared out all the remaining souls like you. Aside from Junior Master, you are the last one left."
His voice was low, but it seemed to fall on the soul, and every word was like a knife: "Don't you want to know who you are?"
The gray-robed Yanshi's eyes became increasingly confused, and it seemed as if countless phantoms were tearing at his soul sea.
He shook his head, but he could no longer tell whether the emotion in his heart was anger, fear, hatred, or - he had already believed it.
Fang Xingfei is good at taking advantage of others' misfortunes.
Fang Xingfei took a step forward, his body ablaze with flames like hellfire. "He's wavering, his sea of consciousness is unstable. I can kill him."
Fang Cun, however, broke his usual habit and tried to persuade him again.
Fang Cun looked at him calmly, his eyes filled with a distant and indifferent pity. "Existence is meaningful only when someone cares about it. You were trapped in the sea of consciousness by the backlash of your own magic, and no one even came to save you. Don't you think you are pathetic?"
The voice was like an echo rising from the depths of the sea of consciousness, stripping away the last obsession bit by bit.
Fang Cun slowly stepped forward, his voice low, "One last chance. Senior, stay here and I'll help you return to your origin. Otherwise, you will take your so-called hatred with you and be annihilated in the illusion you have woven."
The gray-robed Yanshi fell silent.
Who will come to save him?
He recalled that he had set up an array in Fang Mansion and witnessed with his own eyes those who were trapped in the sea of consciousness being awakened one by one by their friends and relatives.
And what about him? No one.
The "memories" he recalled were nothing but castles in the air, his hatred had no foundation, and even the meaning of his existence was shaky.
What Fang Cun is obsessed with right now is nothing more than a backup.
Then who is he?
The gray-robed Yanshi's eyes paused slightly, like a snowy peak about to collapse, finally losing its support at the last moment.
He seemed to have finally figured it out, and also seemed to not want to think about anything anymore.
He suddenly had the answer, his voice as low as the wind: "...Fu Yan. His name is Fu Yan, he doesn't like this name because I gave it to him. Your uncle-master has never been a quiet retainer."
"I can detach the unfused secondary consciousness, but after that, I won't be able to control him. Whether he wants to stay or not is up to him."
In Fang Cun's palm, the mysterious formation quietly unfolded, like the silent flow of the night, and a gentle halo spread out like water waves.
The next moment, Yanshi's consciousness dissipated like dust and was stripped away by the formation without a trace left.
Like the light of a stream flowing backwards, the lost soul swirls, condenses, and returns to its origin in the chaos.
Spots of light appeared. Memories lost over the past century, like fragments, slowly came back together.
In a trance, he saw the object of his revenge for a hundred years standing in front of him.
Fang Weian said in a depressed tone: "Your Highness's soul consciousness, is it still lacking?"
He looked at 'himself' and patted the other's shoulder soothingly: "It's okay, there's only the last part left."
The Xiao family traced back their lives, sealed their souls, and did not enter the cycle of reincarnation.
For hundreds of years, he has someone to accompany him and will not be reincarnated.
····
Fang Cun raised his palm slightly, and the remaining soul consciousness floated between the light and shadow.
He wrapped it with a mysterious formation and slowly placed it into a craftsman's device that looked like a clear glass cup.
The soul light sank into the lamp, as if it had stopped and was sleeping.
Fang Cun lowered his eyes, a smile on his lips, but his eyes were deep: "Little Master, don't you want to go back?"
There was silence in the cup.
Fang Cun raised his eyebrows: "Junior Master, I have cleaned up. There is no Xiao Dingyuan anymore, only you. I don't like your name, change it."
The light in the glass cup flickered slightly, like a faint response.
Fang Cun chuckled softly, "I've pretty much finished studying the tracing of life technique I mentioned last time. But there are four things I still don't understand. Would you like to take a look together this time?"
The light in the lamp flashed twice, probably a rejection.
Fang Cun was silent for a moment, then changed his tone: "Then let's go get you a new shell first?"
This time, the light in the lamp flickered only for a moment, clearly confirming it.
The young man raised his eyebrows and tutted, "It's a bit troublesome..."
He smiled and jokingly said, "How about making a mud one first?"
The light in the lamp suddenly flashed twice, a firm refusal.
The setting sun fell to the end of the battlefield, illuminating the sky and the earth with a pale red.
A hundred years of time is but a ripple in the dust.
The old soul is like a dream, rising and falling with a thought.
Those who have the same origin have taken different paths.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
