Chapter 292 Is the aura of the World Destroyer different from that of ordinary people?
"Qin Qi killed Ke Heng, the World Destroyer, because he instigated the Southern Jing to attack the Zhou Kingdom, which resulted in the deaths of many people in the Zhou Kingdom. Dong Lan Xun killed Xin Wu, the World Destroyer, for the same reason."
With a flick of his sleeve, Sun Heng conjured a map of the ancient continent of Zhang Xuan on the table. When he touched the map of the Yan Kingdom, that section lit up.
"Xin Wu, a native of Nanjing, was one of the thirteen military strategists and a general of Nanjing. He killed many Yan soldiers in the Battle of Chishui."
The Battle of Chishui in the State of Yan appeared to be an internal strife among the vassal states of Yan, but in reality, the rebellious side had already been brought under the control of the Southern Jing.
"When the two armies of Chishui were fighting, Dong Lanxun revealed Xin Wu's identity on the battlefield, and at the same time, Xin Wu released a strange fire."
Sun Heng paused here and sighed, "Almost all the soldiers on the field died. Dong Lanxun controlled the timing of his move very well. The strange fire only burned all the soldiers on the field and did not harm the people in the city. Xin Wu died."
Mei Liangyu: "With the speed at which a strange fire can incinerate everything, does that sound possible?"
“That’s what your father accomplished,” Sun Heng said solemnly. “He found a way to identify the World Destroyer and also gained a deeper understanding of the power of the Strange Fire.”
No matter how you look at it, Mei Liangyu felt that Sun Heng was bluffing him.
Mei Liangyu said slowly, "Since he already knew how to identify the World Destroyer, why didn't he tell Shui Zhou the method? It's not that difficult, is it, even more difficult than the divination of the Fangji family?"
Sun Heng stared at him and said in a deep voice, "Your father protected the Yan Kingdom so much not only because the Donglan clan's ancestors were from the Yan Kingdom, but also because your mother was the eldest princess of the Yan Kingdom."
When Mei Liangyu heard about her parents from someone else for the first time, those fragmented memories surfaced in her mind.
Sun Heng said, "Because of the Battle of Chishui, too many soldiers of Yan died. The King of Yan did not dare to punish Nan Jing, but they had to give an explanation to the tens of thousands of soldiers who died. So they identified your father as the sinner, believing that he had the ability to save the soldiers of Yan, but let them die from the strange fire for his own selfish reasons."
These words reminded Mei Liangyu of the twisted, malicious face of the Prince of Yan when he was angry, and a hint of sarcasm flashed in his eyes.
"The Prince of Yan wanted to execute Dong Lanxun, and no one opposed it except for the Princess's faction. There was also a strong public demand for Dong Lanxun's execution."
Unaware of the behind-the-scenes manipulations in Nanjing, the people of Yan, who had lost their sons, husbands, fathers, and friends, needed a clear outlet for their immense anger and grief.
“Dong Lanxun had long anticipated this outcome, so he did not tell anyone the method to identify the destroyer. Shui Zhou needed the answer, so he had to keep him alive,” Sun Heng said. “The Yan Kingdom had long been infiltrated by various factions, so Shui Zhou’s sage went back and persuaded the rulers of various countries, thus saving Dong Lanxun.”
Mei Liangyu asked, "So what did he tell you in the end?"
Sun Heng remained silent for a moment, then shook his head and said, "He didn't have time."
Mei Liangyu's gaze turned slightly cold.
If Dong Lanxun had only targeted the strange fire, he might not have died, and he wouldn't have had so many enemies. But he got involved in the struggle between the six kingdoms and became a thorn in the side of many.
In this world, some people are obsessed and insane because of strange fire, while others don't care at all.
Sun Heng said, "The complex situation in Yan has made it impossible for Dong Lanxun to extricate himself. He has more and more enemies, and even a boat cannot protect him."
Mei Liangyu, however, asked with a keen sense, "You mean, his death has nothing to do with the Water Boat or the Strange Fire?"
Sun Heng stared at him intently and replied, "No."
Mei Liangyu, however, did not believe it.
Sun Heng wasn't in a hurry. He calmed down and said, "Now tell me, what is Dong Lanxun like in your memory?"
Mei Liangyu remained expressionless and said, "I don't know."
Sun Heng just watched him with great patience.
"At least the Dong Lanxun I remember isn't the complete him. Even a father can lie to his son, let alone you and me?" Mei Liangyu held his wine glass in both hands, leaning back in his chair with a languid posture. "You mean, my father knew how to identify the World Destroyer and used that to blackmail the Crossing Boat to protect himself?"
"Because he died before he could tell Shui Zhou this secret, so now you're protecting me because my father told me this secret, and now only I know it in this world?"
“That’s right.” Sun Heng nodded. “You may know more than just this. Your father left you many things to protect you.”
Mei Liangyu, holding a wine cup, said, "Well then, tell me how my father, my mother, my elder sister, and my elder brother died, and I will tell you how to identify the destroyer of the world."
Sun Heng was surprised that he would make such a request. When he mentioned the names of these people, Sun Heng knew that he did not remember them all.
Judging from Mei Liangyu's attitude towards Chang Gen the Sage, it should be clear that he did not recover all his memories.
Sun Heng had previously wondered if Mei Liangyu was pretending not to know, but now it seems that perhaps the person in front of him doesn't remember much.
“Your request is difficult to fulfill,” Sun Heng shook his head and refused, then changed his approach, “but you can ask who killed them, and perhaps you can get the answer.”
Mei Liangyu immediately thought of the Sage Chang Gen.
He asked directly, "Was it my master who killed them?"
Sun Heng said, "No."
Mei Liangyu listened and a smile curved her lips, a smile that was quite intriguing.
He raised his glass to his lips and took a sip. The sweet taste of the wine gave him a slightly tipsy feeling, but the coolness as it went down his throat made him even more alert.
He hadn't regained all his memories, so he couldn't determine what kind of person Dong Lanxun was or what decisions he would make.
Mei Liangyu doesn't remember his life before the age of fourteen, but he does remember the ten years he spent in Taiyi. He may not understand his parents from his memories, but he does understand the saints of Taiyi.
Sun Heng's words were a mixture of truth and falsehood, and should not be taken entirely at face value.
Old Sun said all this just to tell him: Your father was on Shui Zhou's side, your family was wiped out because of the strange fire, and your father even killed the destroyer of the world with his own hands.
Sun Heng first needed to control Mei Liangyu's stance, to make him understand Shui Zhou and stand on Shui Zhou's side.
But Mei Liangyu was a rebellious person who didn't like others controlling his thoughts and actions: "Then let's make a useful deal, otherwise you can't give me the answer I want, and I can't give you what you want."
Sun Heng pondered for a moment and asked, "What do you want?"
“I can tell you the relationship between the sea fire and the sea eye, as well as the location of the natural sea eye hidden underwater. Perhaps you will find something new in it,” Mei Liangyu said. “You must promise that my memory will not be erased by my master.”
While Sun Heng was still considering, Mei Liangyu calmly put down his wine cup and continued, "Old Sun, compared to the method of identifying the World Destroyer, you think the cause of my parents' death is more important, which is why you are unwilling to exchange these two things."
"The Water Boat is only for dealing with the Strange Fire; it will not participate in the conflicts between the six kingdoms," Sun Heng said.
Mei Liangyu scoffed, "No one can completely separate these two things and not get involved in the conflict between the six kingdoms? You can fool a three-year-old."
Sun Heng: "I know you won't believe it yet."
"You're unwilling to tell me simply because you're certain that once you tell me the truth, I will never give you the answer you want," Mei Liangyu said politely. "It seems that the relationship between my father and Shui Zhou isn't as good as you say."
Sun Heng did not deny it: "He did do a lot of things that Shui Zhou could not accept later."
"So there's no point in continuing this conversation. My master probably didn't give you much time. If I don't say anything, you won't get anything from this trip."
Mei Liangyu stared at Sun Heng and said, “If I tell you the location of the natural sea eye, you might be able to find the Eye of the Ruins. And the sea fire is infinitely close to the ability of the strange fire. It must have some kind of connection with the strange fire. You might even be able to find the connection with the destroyer of the world from it.”
"If you agree to my conditions, you will at least gain something."
Sun Heng: "We can already create artificial sea eyes and also replicate sea fire."
“Natural and man-made are always different,” Mei Liangyu retorted. “What use are these two things to you?”
Mei Liangyu looked at Sun Heng with a half-smile: "The Sea Eye is not enough to contend with the Strange Fire. The only one recorded to have swallowed the Strange Fire, the Eye of the Void, is also missing. As for the Sea Fire, do you intend to use this man-made fake to fight against the Strange Fire?"
Sun Heng rested one hand on the corner of the table, tapping his fingers lightly as if he were thinking. Although the current conversation seemed to be against him, the old man was not in a hurry. He even had time to pour himself a glass of fruit wine and take a couple of sips.
While waiting, Mei Liangyu appeared calm. He held the cup in one hand, his fingers lightly touching the rim, and took small sips every now and then.
After a long, silent contest between the two, Sun Heng opened his palm and used the Bagua Life Technique, causing a cluster of flames to ignite in his palm.
Sun Heng slowly opened his mouth and asked, "In the Eight Trigrams, what is the meaning of Li representing fire?"
Mei Liangyu paused for a moment, then replied, "Li represents the sun, the sun represents light, and when the sun is attached to the sky, the light floats in the air."
“Li means to attach or cling to.” Sun Heng gestured for him to look at the Li trigram in his palm, which represents fire. “When the sun hangs in the sky, it clings to the sky; when the fire of Li is bright, it needs something to cling to and burn.”
"Any flame in the world needs something to cling to in order to burn."
As soon as Sun Heng finished speaking, he flipped his palm over, and flames fell from his hand, burning along the table and chairs.
“Sea fire is attached to sea air,” Sun Heng’s face became obscured in the flickering flames, “and strange fire is attached to the destroyer of the world. What do you think is the difference between the two?”
Mei Liangyu stared at the flames burning on the table, separated from them by the long flames. In the leaping light, Mei Liangyu seemed to glimpse a burning world:
The flames of war ignited by the battle between the two armies during the siege of the capital; the fireworks lit by the three siblings gathered together on a summer night; the sword flames burning on the longsword dripping with blood.
In a daze, he remembered Gao Tianhao saying to him:
How can you start a fire if there's nothing inside?
The boy sat at a long table under a tree, carving a mechanical wooden device with a knife. Various parts and unfinished products were scattered all over the ground.
Gao Tianhao bent down and carefully picked up the items for him, then turned to look at the boy who was focused and serious: "You don't have any tools, how are you going to start a fire?"
"Wouldn't burning the five elements' energy ignite it?" the boy said without looking up. "Energy can transform into all things. You're a master of the Ghost Daoist school, and you still don't know how to use the Eight Trigrams to generate energy?"
Gao Tianhao returned to his side with a pile of mechanical wood in his arms: "No, no, people of the Ping Shu school can't manipulate the five elements, so how are we supposed to start a fire?"
The boy said blankly, "Get a tinderbox to light it."
Gao Tianhao sighed and said, "Fire needs something to exist. You need to prepare candles when you light a fire. Without something to rely on, there is no fire."
After he finished speaking, he muttered to himself, "I don't know when your father will come back. Sigh, you're so smart, why can't you think of an answer for your father?"
"What's the answer?" The boy finally looked up.
Seeing that he finally reacted, Gao Tianhao sat down next to him, picked up a piece of mechanical wood, and asked, "This is useless now, isn't it?"
The boy nodded.
Gao Tianhao then lit the mechanical wood and asked the boy, "How can we make the flames disappear without destroying the mechanical wood?"
The boy stared at him for a moment, his dark eyes silently conveying: Are you serious?
Gao Tianhao nodded seriously, holding the burning wooden contraption in front of the boy.
The boy blew out the fire from the contraption: "Isn't that enough?"
Gao Tianhao: "..."
He rekindled the fire, saying, "This method won't work; the fire won't go out."
The boy picked up another piece of wood, lit it in Gao Tianhao's hand, and then blew out the piece of wood in Gao Tianhao's hand. A hint of impatience appeared on his small face: "The fire isn't out, it's just moved. Is that okay now?"
Gao Tianhao stared into deep thought as he looked at the wooden mechanism that had been blown out.
After a moment, he sighed, "Anyone in the world could become this mechanical piece."
The different flames are fair; regardless of wealth or status, everyone has a chance to be chosen.
The boy, holding the burning wooden contraption in his hand, said, "A person skilled in martial arts can also do this. All people are manifestations of qi, which resides within each person's body. A person skilled in martial arts is themselves the tool to ignite the fire."
He held the mechanical wood in his hand and shook it slightly, which ignited all the mechanical wood scattered on the ground, and clusters of burning flames illuminated the darkness.
"Fire is attached to air, and when air is extinguished, fire is extinguished." The boy gazed into Gao Tianhao's somewhat dazed eyes through the bright firelight. "Perhaps this is the answer you've been looking for."
Gao Tianhao fell silent.
The fire extinguishes when the breath is extinguished, but the breath only extinguishes when a person dies.
He always believed that since fire was something that depended on, there was a way to separate it.
Mei Liangyu snapped out of her reverie, pulling her gaze away from the bright, warm memories of the firelight and back into the dark room, meeting Sun Heng's probing eyes: "What were you thinking about just now?"
“I have a question I’m curious about.” Mei Liangyu looked at Sun Heng thoughtfully: “If you became the destroyer of the world, what would you do?”
Sun Heng nodded and said, "Of course I would love to, and I will find a way to destroy it."
Mei Liangyu: "Have you ever considered using a different kind of fire to burn down the entire Xuan Gu Continent?"
Sun Heng frowned: "Of course not."
Mei Liangyu: "Then there will be world destroyers like you who don't want to burn the whole world."
Sun Heng smiled slightly and said, "In that case, those World Destroyers who have such ideas should cooperate with Shui Zhou to solve the problem of the Strange Fire together."
Mei Liangyu also laughed and said, "Would you believe that?"
With Bai Cheng as a cautionary tale, will the people of Shuizhou still believe it?
Who would dare to believe it so easily?
Sun Heng said, "That depends on the actual situation."
Mei Liangyu chuckled and said, "You should consider my proposal first."
"You haven't answered my question either," Sun Heng said unhurriedly. "What do you think is the difference between the two?"
“There is no difference,” Mei Liangyu said bluntly. “Fire is attached to air; all fires are the same.”
He dared to say this because he believed that Sun Heng already had a target he suspected, and that the one who would destroy the world could be identified by his aura.
Hearing the answer he wanted, Sun Heng stared intently at Mei Liangyu: "Then do you think the aura of the destroyer is different from that of ordinary people?"
Mei Liangyu raised an eyebrow and said slowly, "Then you'll have to ask the Destroyer. Didn't you discover a Destroyer in the Dan Kingdom before? Speaking of which, how did you find him?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com