Chapter 1581 Extra: Master and Apprentice on the Top Lane (Part 1)
"It's Gongyang Yongye again... He's like a persistent ghost."
Yunda muttered a complaint under his breath.
Pointing to the mat, he said, "Since you've come to see me, please sit down. Let's have a good chat and catch up."
Wei Cheng froze halfway through his attempt to sit down.
Startled, she looked up and asked, "You remembered?"
Good heavens, did this twist of fate trigger Yunda to regain his past life memories? Gu Ziyi regained his memories because of his wife, which could be described as a loving couple, but Yunda regained his memories because of seeing himself? What do you call that? Just imagining it sends chills down his spine.
Wei Cheng cursed under his breath.
I can't help but suspect that there's something wrong with Yunda.
Yunda countered, "What should I remember?"
Wei Cheng: "..."
For a moment, he was unsure what Yunda meant. Could it be that Yunda was taking advantage of him being a skeleton without a brain and trying to trick him? Yunda stared at the two furtive flames in Wei Cheng's eyes and sneered, "Actually, it's easy to guess."
Wei Cheng remained silent.
“My teacher Yun Ce’s teacher and adoptive father is also named Yun Da, but I don’t actually have that name. It’s just that when I first condensed the Martial Tiger Talisman, this name appeared on it. Don’t you think this is too contrary to common sense?” The Martial Tiger Talisman/Wen Xin Huaya, the name that appears on it must be the owner’s. But Yun Da’s family name in this life is not Yun Da, but the name that appears is completely unfamiliar to him.
Wei Cheng became interested: "You've had your suspicions for a while now?"
"It would be strange not to have doubts, wouldn't it? My teacher is a 20th-rank Marquis, and the line of people wanting to become his apprentice could stretch from here all the way to the gates of the Phoenix Court. He is also a powerful Pillar General and a founding Duke. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that he is at the pinnacle of power... Even if my ancestral graves were to emit auspicious smoke and turn their skins bald, it would be very difficult for my descendants to be taken in as disciples by such a person and treated as their own children, right?"
Yun Da possessed a talent he was proud of, but he also knew that this talent wasn't enough to earn him such kindness from such a person. If Yun Ce wanted to, he only needed to make his voice heard, and the most talented individuals in the world would automatically become his disciples.
Therefore, there must be some twists and turns involved.
His doubts were answered very early on.
Unexpectedly, he learned that his teacher and several uncles were from the same school, and that Yun Da was the one who raised them; he had been used as a substitute. Yun Da was initially indignant upon reaching this conclusion, but reason allowed him to analyze other possibilities. Could a mere substitute really cause Yun Ce and the others to collectively lose their minds? Looking at his Martial Courage Tiger Talisman, Yun Da conceived an even bolder idea.
He might just be the real Yunda.
He is either Yunda himself or a reincarnation of Yunda.
Yunda: "Your appearance confirms my suspicions."
Wei Cheng was stunned.
Yun Da was able to read Wei Cheng's emotions from the flickering flames in his eyes without any instruction, and couldn't help but frown: "What do you mean by this reaction? It's as if I shouldn't have guessed these things."
This is questioning one's own mind.
Wei Cheng sighed, "That's exactly what I think."
Yunda: "..."
Instead of his usual emotional outburst, Yunda remained silent for a long time before asking in a voice only he could hear, "What kind of person was Yunda before? It seems... he wasn't a good person."
Wei Cheng chuckled upon hearing this: "What good people and bad people? In chaotic times, there are only the living and the dead, and there are also things like me who are neither living nor dead. He's a very stubborn guy who has spent his whole life insisting on doing what he believes is right, completely disregarding the lives of others. As long as he thinks it's something he should do, he will do it. To a flower bud like you, born in a peaceful era and raised in a stable environment, he can't be considered a good person, and to Kangguo, he might be extremely wicked."
Wei Cheng changed the subject: "But there's nothing wrong with wanting to live. Right and wrong, good and evil are just evaluations given by outsiders. A proud and arrogant show-off like Yun Da wouldn't care at all."
If anyone had a problem with him, he would send someone to argue with the King of Hell.
An old man who is autocratic, domineering, and likes to act high and mighty.
"I don't understand much of what he's saying."
Wei Cheng said irritably, "What I mean is that you don't need to care whether he's good or bad. People in chaotic times do everything to survive, and any means are allowed. There's no need to feel burdened."
Yunda: "...Oh, are you trying to comfort me?"
Wei Cheng: "..."
Yunda then asked, "What is a pretentious show-off?"
Wei Cheng said, "You'll know if you look in the mirror."
Yunda realized this wasn't a nice word and, enraged, retorted, "I'll break all 206 of your bones!"
Not long after—
Damn, another rank 20 Marquis!
What made Yunda even more ashamed and indignant was that Wei Cheng mentioned an unpleasant past event: "Gongyang Yongye told me that he won one of your trousers, right? Hahaha, it was freshly ripped off, and he said your buttocks were all white and tender, is that true?"
Yunda's curses nearly blew the roof off.
He disregarded all decorum and pounced on the person, intending to devour the bones raw.
In the end, it was Yun Ce who stepped in and stopped the farce.
"Lord Wei, please don't hold it against a child, considering his young age." Yun Da is, after all, still just a child.
"...Kid? What kid!" Wei Cheng struggled to snatch back the bone that was covered in his saliva, and then used the big bone to hit Yun Da on the head. "I was just teasing him a bit, and he can't even handle that? He's grabbing it and gnawing on it, is he a dog?"
Yun Ce chuckled and apologized.
They were also worried that Wei Cheng would send Yunda to reincarnation with a single slap.
After all, these old folks from the same era didn't have a very good relationship.
Yunda stubbornly stuck out his neck, his hands gripping his belt tightly, his face still flushed.
He was determined to protect his trousers!
No one can ever win a second one from him in this lifetime!
Wei Cheng waved his hand, indicating that he wouldn't hold it against him.
"I have other important business to attend to today."
"Please speak, my lord."
"What do I have to say to you? I'm here to see the tycoon."
Shen Tang remains the honorary Grand Master of the Mohist School, but the true Grand Master in charge is now Bei Qiu, whose name is known to all Mohist heroes, who admire his skills. Bei Qiu and other Mohist disciples under the Directorate of Works are Shen Tang's staunch supporters, and in recent years they have gradually expanded their influence beyond the imperial court.
The Mohist school held an extremely delicate position in Kangguo.
Instead of using Mohist doctrines to enter government service, they nearly monopolized the Directorate of Works (Jiangzuojian) and infiltrated the Ministry of Works through Mohist techniques. The Mohist school was involved in almost every public welfare project in recent years. The Mohists were highly respected among the people, and many joined their cult.
Its popularity among the people has reached a very high level.
Normally, this is when the various parties start fighting each other.
For the sake of continuation, and for the sake of legitimacy.
However, the current ruler is Shen Youli, a founding emperor who has absolute control over the court. She suppresses the most outstanding disciples of each temple to maintain the same stance, so the battleground of public opinion is basically maintained among the people, in places like teahouses and restaurants.
Aside from Mohist disciples, outsiders rarely refer to him as the Northern Giant. Wei Cheng's stance and attitude during this visit appear quite ambiguous.
Yun Ce quickly went through the process in his mind.
He nodded and said, "Zhoukou is still awake."
Yun Ce did not inquire about what Wei Cheng said to Bei Qiu.
He had little interest in what the temples or schools of thought said. Although he came from the Temple of Military Strategists, he felt a stronger sense of belonging to the Temple of Mohists. As long as Wei Cheng didn't try to sabotage things, sow discord, or incite hostility among the various temples in an attempt to overthrow the foundations of the Kang Kingdom, Yun Ce would generally not interfere with Wei Cheng's actions. After Wei Cheng left, Bei Qiu brought it up, and Yun Ce followed up with a question.
Bei Qiu said, "It's not because of the Temple."
Yun Ce asked in surprise, "No? Then what is it?"
"It's because of the child they adopted many years ago, I think his name is Wei Sheng? That child has been studying various temples lately."
To put it simply, this is Wei Sheng's homework.
As a parent, Wei Cheng had no choice but to run around pulling strings.
Yun Ce: "It wasn't easy."
Parents have it tough, and so do children.
As a physician, Qi Miao felt it was even more difficult for her. Her father, Qi Shan, had been bewitched by some cat, and Uncle Tan, who had just recovered, had joined the army of physicians studying the scriptures. He was burning the midnight oil every day. The only relatively normal guest, Yu Hai, could not stay long. Qi Shan had annual leave to relax, but Yu Hai had taken other leave to come and see the combination of Tan Qu and Zhen Ling.
With his holiday coming to an end, he returned to the royal court.
Qi Miao was naturally not idle either.
She then adopted a newborn baby, whose parents abandoned him for a bizarre reason: the baby's lanugo was too thick, which looked somewhat frightening, leading them to believe it was possessed by evil spirits. No matter how Qi Miao explained, the couple refused to keep the child. Qi Miao thought her mother-in-law, who had given birth before, might be able to explain, but to her surprise, she also adamantly refused to have the child.
Besides vernix caseosa, the jaundice was also quite severe.
Qi Miao could tell that they simply didn't want the child.
With a sigh, he signed the adoption contract with the family.
Qi Miao found the nearest orphanage and temporarily placed her child in its care. The orphanage had wet nurses who cared for infants. She calculated her vacation time and thought that by the end of her vacation, the child could be weaned and introduced to some complementary foods, at which point she could take the child back to the village to be raised. However, she did not expect to see an acquaintance at the orphanage.
"Wei Heng?"
She called out uncertainly.
Hearing the noise, the figure looked over from afar.
Qi Miao's face lit up with joy: "It really is Wei Heng."
She and Yu Zi hadn't seen each other for over a year.
I never expected to meet you here again.
Yu Zi was also surprised to see Qi Miao, but considering the latter's hobby of raising children, it was normal for her to be at the orphanage. Yu Zi temporarily put down what she was doing, quietly instructed the person beside her, and then came over to greet her. Upon asking, she learned that Qi Miao was indeed at the orphanage because of the children she had adopted, while Yu Zi's reason was somewhat convoluted.
There are two things about her.
One of them was presiding over the revision of the new criminal law.
She needs more relevant case files and information.
Another task was to run errands, reviewing a case reported by the local authorities. Kang Shi said there were a few things wrong with the case file, and since Yu Zi happened to be nearby, he handed the job over to her.
"Is the case related to the Salesian Bureau?"
Yu Zi was taken aback.
Qi Miao said, "If it's inconvenient to disclose, then I won't say."
“…No, it’s just that I don’t know how to say it.” Yu Zi and Qi Miao went to a nearby teahouse for a short rest. Yu Zi stared at the city’s main Taoist priest in a daze, then changed the subject, “I recently heard that someone in the Phoenix Court saw someone who looks a lot like… Zheng Xiuchi.”
Although Qi Miao was unaware that the topic had taken such a big leap, she still nodded and said, "It's not like him, that person is him, he's back."
Yu Zi said, "That's why I went to the orphanage."
Qi Miao: "Huh?"
Yu Zi smiled and said, "I recently had a dream in which I saw an old friend. I naively thought that I had heard news from him, so I came here to try my luck, which can also be considered as... resolving the long-standing worries in my heart."
"You saw him?"
Yu Zi shook her head: "No."
That was just a wild and unrestrained dream.
Zheng Yu wasn't on the Investiture of the Gods list, yet he was able to return because of Qi Miao's years of merit, precisely because Qi Miao, the recipient of those merits, harbored that expectation. Yu Zi didn't, not because she lacked merit, but because she didn't have that wish. In her view, the past was the past.
She let it go more than 20 years ago.
She has already started her new life.
She dreamt of an old friend appearing in her dream, which left her feeling dazed and wistful.
"I don't know why he entered my dream..."
Qi Miao said, "That was just a dream."
After sighing, Yu Zi swept away the dejection and gloom from her eyes. The mature and charming woman chuckled softly, her eyes revealing no regret: "I know it was just a baseless dream. The deceased is gone. It's just that I sometimes think of you and Zheng Xiuchi. I wonder if my choice wasn't firm enough, so we didn't have the chance to continue our relationship. Did he come to the dream to question me?"
Qi Miao didn't say anything at this moment.
She also knew that Yu Zi didn't need any comfort.
Yu Zi said, "There's no point in saying all this, so I'll stop now."
Qi Miaojian, seeing the unfamiliar young man standing in the shade on the street, said, "That's true, and besides, someone might burst into tears right here."
Yu Zi blushed slightly at the teasing: "It's not that serious."
Qi Miao: "There really is something going on."
Yu Zi frowned: "I just don't dislike them. My great-uncle is getting old, and he is now hoping day and night that I can get married and continue the Yu family line. When he has nothing to do, he likes to look at people he is satisfied with, but no matter how many he looks, I am not very satisfied with any of them."
Another important reason is that she is very busy.
Or rather, the Ministry of Justice is very busy.
Specifically, this manifests in the fact that while other department heads are taking annual leave and briefly leaving the center of power, Kang Jishou, as the head of the Ministry of Justice, hasn't even been able to take his full annual leave, let alone work six days a week. The territory of Kang Kingdom is vast, and the mental state of its citizens is incredibly abstract; there are only outrageous methods beyond human comprehension, and no bizarre crimes they won't commit…
As the second-in-command of the Ministry of Justice, Yu Zi shouldn't even think about taking a break.
Every time the Kang Kingdom revised or added new laws, the Ministry of Justice had to assist or oversee the process, seeking a balance that suited the current situation. For a while, Yu Zi was losing clumps of hair and suspected she was destined to die young. That damned Kang Jishou, knowing her situation, stubbornly refused to approve her leave application…
They adopted a posture of "if we're going to die, we'll die together."
Yu Zi was so tight she looked like a pretzel.
Where would I find the time to meet the talented young men arranged by my great-uncle?
This one also came over on its own initiative.
Make the most of any opportunity to get to know each other.
The people her great-uncle chose for Yu Zi were basically based on her preferences. The young man's current performance, while not exactly meeting Yu Zi's expectations, hadn't crossed any of her lines either. However, Yu Zi always felt something was missing; she didn't feel that youthful spark anymore…
I even felt extremely tired.
The thought of work made her feel powerless.
Qi Miao took her pulse, examined her for a moment, and then made a conclusion.
"Sigh, you should take some supplements; your kidneys are severely deficient."
"I have kidney deficiency due to work, and I need a vacation, not a tonic."
Medication only treats the symptoms, not the root cause!
Qi Miao: "Then I'm afraid I can't help you."
|ω`)
(End of this chapter)
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