Chapter 1269: One Battle Secures the Southwest (Part 6) [Seeking Monthly Tickets]
Cui Hui was much more soft-hearted than she thought.
All the old grievances turned into sighs in front of his mother's funeral hall.
She forced herself to look down at him, despite her exhaustion.
Her father, whom she remembered as always gentle and refined, a scholar with an air of elegance, had grown old. She had already lost one of her closest blood relatives, and if anything happened to the remaining one, she feared she would spend the rest of her life in regret. Cui Hui said, "Before Mother passed away... she left you a message. She said that she didn't harbor much hatred for you about what happened back then, but only resented the cruel twists of fate."
I hate this world where ordinary people can hardly live a peaceful life.
Cui Xiao didn't react to her words, and Cui Hui didn't care whether he could hear her or not: "Mother also said that she also had her faults against you. If it weren't for the fact that your father had no children and was too obsessed, you might not have gotten involved in those messy things."
How could someone whose ancestors were bandits be a good person?
By the time of Ah Weng's generation, the world had become even more chaotic.
Raising sons is difficult enough, and the old man only had one daughter, his wife, making the continuation of the bloodline extremely challenging. Perhaps by divine intervention, he unexpectedly adopted a child son-in-law, who happened to possess the cultivation talent usually reserved for high-ranking figures. The old man couldn't help but harbor other thoughts. If this son-in-law could rise above his station, wouldn't the Cui family's past be erased?
So that future generations can live with dignity, instead of continuing to live in the deep mountains and forests, living in constant fear like rats.
Over time, this became a major worry for the old man.
And the father also agreed with Ah Weng's plan.
As time passed, Cui Hui also tried to understand his parents' predicament.
Before her death, the mother also tried to help her daughter resolve her inner conflicts.
Some things cannot be entirely blamed on filial piety and brotherly love.
He felt nothing while staying in the village, but once he left, the stark realities of background, status, talent, and connections forced him to confront them. The gap was simply too vast, so vast that the person he cherished had become trash despised by everyone else.
Putting everything else aside, just the thought of his children getting married in the future, and his in-laws ruining his bloodline over this, drives him crazy.
His elder sister deserved a title and official rank, and his children should inherit official titles. This branch of the Cui family could then bring glory to their family, completely shedding their bandit origins, and no one would dare to mock them anymore. However, he had never imagined that this path would come at such a high price. How could he not hate Qi Yuanliang for interfering? How could he not hate himself for being the executioner?
Cui Xiao listened to her daughter's retelling with a blank expression.
He gave a weak, mocking laugh: "She has no choice but to blame herself."
At least this time, it's their fault.
Cui Hui didn't understand the implied meaning, but he didn't delve into it either.
The son brought Cui Xiao a bowl of warm water and sighed, "The temple has limited resources. Father, drink some warm water to soothe your throat first. Don't make yourself too disheveled, or Mother will be uneasy when she passes away."
Cui Xiao silently finished his drink.
He handed the wooden bowl back and finally saw his son's face clearly.
The son felt uncomfortable under his father's gaze. Touching his face, which was oily from not washing it for two days, the fat under his fingertips bulged, forcefully stretching his once handsome features, making him look more than one size larger: "Isn't this... middle-aged weight gain?"
He squatted down next to his elderly father, his single body equivalent to two of the latter's.
Making clothes requires a lot of fabric throughout the year.
Cui Xiao looked away, his expression hard to describe, and said in a hoarse voice, "It's not easy for your mother to still acknowledge you."
Ke Wu likes beautiful colors, so how could his older sister not have the same hobby?
His son was an exquisitely beautiful child from birth, and remained so from infancy to adolescence. He thought his youthful beauty would last forever, but unexpectedly, he had become so unkempt in middle age. The son turned to look at the coffin, his lips twitching slightly: "A mother doesn't dislike her son for being ugly, does she?"
It's not like we'll disown him just because he's gained weight.
To be honest, during holidays and family reunions, his mother was indeed closer to his children and the two bears, speaking to him concisely, but he thought it was because of his maturity and composure. His parents and children were all getting old; it wouldn't be appropriate to hug and cuddle like before.
Cui Xiao looked at the coffin: "They'll complain."
My older sister once said she wouldn't like a child if he was too ugly.
The son grumbled indignantly, "That must have been a joke."
The more I talked, the less confident I became.
In his youth, he was a handsome young man in the surrounding villages, but his life was too comfortable, and he couldn't control his eating. In just six months, his cheeks became more than two sizes rounder, and his jawline became clearly defined. He then ran away from home. That year, during the Mid-Autumn Festival family banquet, his mother came from the nunnery to reunite with him. When she saw him, her eyes widened, and her expression seemed to have a thousand words to say, but in the end, she didn't say anything.
Looking back now, I guess it wasn't anything nice to say.
He pouted as he had when he was a child, about to make a few excuses—he was middle-aged, and his children would be able to start their own families in a couple of years, so it didn't matter if he was a little chubby or a little ugly. He didn't need to be a live-in son-in-law, as long as his wife didn't mind—but before he could even begin his defense, he saw his father look away.
son:"……"
Cui Zhi: "..."
Ke Wu's fondness for color is not necessarily entirely his mother-in-law's fault.
Before keeping vigil, Cui Xiao had some things to take care of.
For example, waiting for news at the foot of the mountain.
"If I don't return for a long time, I'm afraid there will be misunderstandings, disturbing my sister's final moments of peace." Cui Xiao bent down to pick up the dusty sword fan and patted it off. He closed his eyes and then opened them again. If you ignored his red and swollen eyes, you could no longer see any obvious sadness on his face.
Cui Zhi stood up and followed, saying, "I'll see my father-in-law off."
Cui Xiao looked at Cui Zhi, who had followed him, and sneered.
"You've got some nerve."
Cui Zhi also frankly stated, "My mother's seven-day mourning period has not yet passed."
If the other party is truly shameless and tries to sabotage him while he's escorting him down the mountain, Cui Zhi will have no choice but to accept his bad luck. The father-in-law and son-in-law remained silent the entire way. Cui Zhi stopped a few miles from the Eternal Life Cult members. His face remained calm, but he was cautiously observing them.
The believers in immortality are mostly a mob.
What do rabble know about military strategy and tactics?
Everywhere you go, it's like a locust swarm has swept through, leaving a scene of utter devastation.
A small group of scattered sands can hardly amount to anything.
But this one is different.
It's clear from his position that he's been trained. Even if he can't compare to a battle-hardened regular army, he's still far superior to a disorganized mob that fights alone. This is probably largely due to his father-in-law.
As Cui Zhi was pondering, his father-in-law appeared.
They dressed in mourning attire, and all bright colors were removed.
Cui Xiaodao: "The matter is settled, let's go."
There was another moment of silence as they climbed the mountain.
Cui Zhi secretly observed his father-in-law out of the corner of his eye, inwardly marveling at the man's resilient spirit. If the person lying in the coffin were Ke Wu, he feared he would find it difficult to regain his composure in a short time. Not only did his father-in-law calm down, but he also kept the important matter in mind and went out to give instructions.
He can understand the other person, but in Ke Wu's eyes, that would probably be seen as heartless.
Before long, the night was still and quiet.
Cui Zhi and his brother-in-law kept vigil for their father-in-law.
Cui Xiao glanced at his son: "What are you doing here?"
The son nearly choked, and said indignantly, "Even if things have changed for me, Father shouldn't complain about me in front of Mother. I was just worried that you would cry your eyes out again... Your good intentions have been taken for granted. One day Mother will come to me in my dreams and tell her all about you!"
Cui Xiaodao: "It's an eyesore."
The son was so angry that the veins on his forehead bulged.
But he still didn't do the thing of just walking away.
Even if someone has to leave, it should be his father!
Cui Zhi: "..."
Cui Xiao looked at the offering table and murmured, "It won't happen again."
No one in this world could make him cry like this.
The seventh night after her death seemed exceptionally long. Cui Xiao kept glancing outside, hoping a gust of wind would bring news of her, but unfortunately, there was no wind all night until dawn. Two days prior, Cui Zhi had chosen an auspicious burial site on the mountain and even ordered people to dig the grave.
"Time is of the essence; we'll repair my mother's grave another day."
The coffin was carried down for burial, and fresh soil was used to cover the grave until the coffin was completely covered.
Cui Xiao arranged the offerings and stared blankly at the unengraved tombstone for a long time: "Sister, I won't keep you waiting too long."
Because of some business at the temple, Cui Hui descended the mountain ahead of time.
After everything was taken care of, she waited and waited, but only her brother arrived.
"Where are Father and Zhishan?"
"Didn't your brother-in-law and the others arrive right after you?"
Cui Hui shook his head: "No."
"There's only one path up the mountain. I've been here the whole time and haven't seen anyone come down..." As he spoke, he considered going back up the mountain to look for him. He knew his father; apart from his eldest brother, he had never approved of anyone else as his sister's husband. "Would Father take this opportunity to act all high and mighty with my brother-in-law? With his personality..."
He seemed to want to speak but then stopped, and then wanted to speak again.
My father served as my grandfather's deputy for several years, so no matter how much he learned about poetry, literature, and philosophy, he could not completely rid himself of the bandit's plundering and tyrannical nature. My brother-in-law is going to suffer an undeserved disaster.
Cui Hui's face turned cold: "I doubt he would dare!"
That's what they say, but their actions speak louder than words.
The siblings went back up the mountain and searched around.
Apart from the newly renovated solitary grave on the mountaintop, they found nothing else. The two searched carefully again and finally found a lost jade pendant in an inconspicuous corner. He swallowed nervously, his hands trembling: "My brother-in-law's jade pendant?"
Young men from prominent families used jade ornaments to restrain themselves and would not easily part with them.
Moreover, he was the elder brother-in-law of a prominent family.
Besides the jade pendant, the two searched for other clues.
"This fan...has writing on it?"
The knife fan belonged to their father.
At first, I thought my father left the knife fan to keep my mother company, so I didn't look at it carefully when I checked it. I just discovered that there were words written on it, while the knife fan was blank before: "What did it say?"
"Borrow... Cui Zhishan...for a moment?"
At this moment, the wind on the mountaintop was somewhat noisy.
The foxtail grass near the new grave swayed gently.
Cui Zhi knew that his father-in-law might use underhanded tactics against him, but he didn't expect the underhanded tactics to come so quickly and be so shameless!
"A sneak attack is against the principles of a gentleman..."
What's more, they are father-in-law and son-in-law!
Cui Zhi considered himself a seasoned veteran of many storms, but this scene was truly unexpected! Cui Xiao had ambushed him from behind, half-carrying, half-dragging him down the mountain right in front of his brother-in-law. Cui Zhi tried to call for help, but his Danfu was sealed, and his throat was blocked by literary energy, rendering him unable to speak—the opponent's [Silence and Voice Seizure] technique was too skilled, so skilled that it was activated instantly, catching him completely off guard!
Cui Xiao scoffed, "Foolish! Warfare is based on deception. Do I need to give you advance notice before I deal with you? Wouldn't that be foolish?"
Does Cui Zhi himself believe what he said?
Cui Zhi genuinely didn't believe it; he just wanted to remind his father-in-law to have some shame. Before descending the mountain, he remained composed. The only way down was guarded, and his own men were among them, including several skilled martial artists. Cui Xiao couldn't take him away.
"Isn't your father-in-law afraid that this will hurt Ke Wu's feelings?"
"Out with the old, in with the new. You've already divorced her, why is she heartbroken for you?" Cui Xiao was unyielding and even stabbed his son-in-law in the back. Then, in a fit of kindness, he reminded Cui Zhi, "Don't expect your men to come to your rescue."
At first, Cui Zhi thought that Cui Xiao was an inside man in the mountains, which was why he could act so recklessly. But when he saw his father-in-law swaggering over several checkpoints and wooden stakes with the "Chasing the Wind and Stepping on the Scenery" technique without the guards noticing, Cui Zhi's calm face finally cracked.
"...Moreover, you are the head of the Cui clan of Qi State, a confidant of the King of Qi State. I don't need to elaborate on your importance. If we hadn't met, so be it. But now that we have, how can we leave empty-handed?"
Cui Zhi was so angry at his words that he laughed.
The seventh day after his mother-in-law's death had just passed when Cui Xiaohou kidnapped her.
Is this something a human being could do?
Cui Zhi, the head of the Cui family and the head of the Southwest branch, never dreamed that he would fall into the hands of the enemy in this way.
Cui Xiao brought back a big fish.
Why are you back so soon?
Cui Xiao's old friend was surprised to see him.
"And who is this young man?"
“My former son-in-law, Cui Zhi, the head of the Cui family.”
Old friend: "Really???"
Cui Xiao sneered: "It's true."
Cui Zhi was so angry he laughed.
His father-in-law was abandoned by his wife and disliked by his children, and there was a reason for it! It was entirely his own fault!
The old friend frowned: "There's no point in catching it and keeping it here."
After all, he is Cui Xiao's son-in-law; he can't be sacrificed to the lord as a sacrifice.
Cui Xiao: "How could it be useless? As long as they're locked up, the Cui family won't have anyone to keep things under control. How many obstacles will they avoid causing us?"
They can be sold for a good price later.
The old friend nodded thoughtfully: "That's true."
Since Cui Zhi cannot be killed, he can only be kept under guard, and this difficult task is left to Cui Xiao. However, he still has to say something to Cui Xiao: "Anyway, the war situation is not important. If there is something going on at home, take care of your family first. I can spare you seven or eight days, no matter how long it takes."
Cui Xiao's face darkened: "No need."
He added, "Send someone to the mountain to fetch the medicinal herbs."
Cui Zhi was almost shocked by his shamelessness.
"My father-in-law took my people, and now he wants the Cui family's medicine?"
Cui Xiao neither confirmed nor denied this.
He ordered his men to take Cui Zhi away and keep him under strict guard.
After everyone left, he coughed up a mouthful of almost blackish-red blood, his face turning deathly pale. His friend grabbed his wrist and helped him up, then panicked, exclaiming, "Cui Shanxiao, what happened to your meridians and dantian...?"
Not only that, but even the heart meridian is damaged.
This pulse doesn't look like a sign of longevity at all; it's more like...
"Did someone hurt you?"
Cui Xiao withdrew his hand and coughed, saying, "It's just self-inflicted injury."
When his friend thought about why Cui Xiao had gone up the mountain overnight, he swallowed back the words of advice he wanted to give, because Cui Xiao couldn't bear to see others pity him.
"Turn your eyes away!"
His old friend wouldn't let him be willful: "Medical practitioners can cure it."
Cui Xiao changed the subject: "It's just a minor internal injury, why bother the medical department? Things have come to this point, it's not worth delaying the opportunity over such trivial matters. Cui Zhishan is in our hands, whether it's to restrain the Cui family or to incite internal strife within the Cui family, it will be very effective. The lord doesn't have much time, and the southwestern continent is not worth wasting time on."
(ˇˇ)…
I went shopping today and paid with cash for the first time in three or four years. The shopkeeper gave me 64 yuan in change and four coins. I thought it was a dime and was about to say he'd given me the wrong amount. But then he said that's how you get one yuan now. _(:з」∠)_
I remember a one-yuan coin not being this small; the luster makes it look like a ten-cent coin from before.
They all thought they had received counterfeit money when they received it.
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