A Century of History
Bai Shi then smiled apologetically at the others, saying, "If we really talk about achievements, Miss Qiu is a rising star, and naturally cannot compare to the merits you have accumulated since the beginning of the Great Yan Dynasty. However, most women are ignorant of and have no interest in war and battle, but Miss Qiu, with her exceptional talent and beauty, graceful dance, and who rose from obscurity to the Emperor overnight, and who is also a typical example of resisting tyranny, is someone we people in remote areas talk about with great interest and regard as a legend."
He snorted coldly again and said, "Historically, the central aristocratic families have always exerted considerable control and oppression over local powerful families, fearing that they might be outmaneuvered. Therefore, although the people from the Southwest are spectators in this matter, they are still on the side of the Marquis of Guannei. We don't think he did anything wrong by coming to the capital to avenge his father."
A Qiu was dumbfounded, completely unaware that he had such a glorious image in this remote southwestern border region.
Gongye Fusu smiled at Gu Yi and said, "Your Excellency has a worthy successor, so you can rest assured."
Bai Shi then remembered Gu Yi and immediately said apologetically, "Bai Shi, a junior of the Zhuyou Sect, greets the Young Master!"
Gu Yi removed his bamboo hat, and since there were no outsiders present, there was no need for secrecy. He asked, "Back in the palace, I knew the siblings Qi Luo and Qi Shang. Which of their disciples are you?"
When Bai Shi saw Gu Yi's appearance, she was also taken aback, but she immediately bowed again and said, "This disciple is a disciple of the Great Wizard Qi Luo, and the Great Wizard Qi Shang is my senior master." When she stood up, her expression became solemn, and she said, "This disciple has come for my master and senior master. The two of them have always been traveling around, their whereabouts unknown, but in the past year, they have suddenly lost contact. This disciple remembered that they mentioned in their letters that they would most likely be going to the Hidden World Sect recently, so I came to the Hidden World Sect to look for them, but when I arrived here, I found that the Hidden World Sect had also undergone a great change."
Gu Yi said, "You suspect that their disappearance is related to Li Wujiu's entry into the life-or-death trial?"
Bai Shi said, "This disciple is merely speculating. At present, all affairs of the Hidden World Sect are being handled by Miss Xiao, who comes from a prestigious family in the north. Although my master and senior master are not martial artists, our sect... still has some uses in the imperial court. I am worried..."
Gongye Fusu interrupted, "You're worried that if Miss Xiao dares to control even her master, then your master and senior master are probably already under her control as well."
Although Bai Shi had this speculation, he dared not say it outright. He could only bow again and say, "Now that the Junior Tutor and Patriarch Gongye are here, that would be wonderful. I beg you two to make a decision for my Zhuyou Sect."
Seeing that she was a lone, frail woman who knew no martial arts, yet had traveled thousands of miles from Wuzhong to the southwest to infiltrate the Hidden Sect, all for the safety of her elders, A Qiu could say that she had shown great courage and responsibility. No wonder she would show longing and admiration whenever she talked about Zhao Lingying and A Qiu's deeds, since they were practically kindred spirits.
Gu Yi said indifferently, "Li Wujiu was not controlled by Xiao Yu, but entered the life-or-death trial voluntarily. As for your master and senior uncle, they are old friends of mine. Now that I am here, I will definitely investigate the matter thoroughly."
As the group talked, they arrived deep in the Dawan Mountains, at the foot of Baiyun Mountain, where a picturesque and ethereal landscape unfolded before their eyes.
A waterfall, like a white ribbon, plunges straight down from the cliff, falling onto the mountainside and transforming into a stream, covered with green moss and aquatic plants, lush and verdant, with occasional golden scales swimming among them, shimmering and sparkling.
A strangely shaped boulder stands atop a mountain not far away, and at this moment, sunlight shines through layers of clouds onto it, making it dazzlingly white.
Gu Yi became extremely silent after entering this place.
Every blade of grass and every tree before him reminded him of those long-forgotten and distant memories of his first steps into the world.
"A desolate mountain path, a lonely stream bank. Birds chirp often, but no one else is around. A gentle wind blows on my face, snow piles up on my body. I never see the sun, I never know spring."
Everything in this deep valley was exactly the same as when he broke out of the pass fifty years ago. Flowers bloomed and withered, grass withered and flourished, spring came and autumn went, but he would probably never see the person who had come to greet him again.
As Gu Yi crossed the stream, he couldn't help but look down at his reflection.
His white hair was as white as snow, and his gray eyes were eerily beautiful. Many years had passed since their last meeting, and upon returning to this place, he still retained that inhuman, otherworldly appearance. But a century had passed since then.
He then recalled the question Bai Shi had asked earlier.
What is the threshold between life and death?
He replied that the threshold of life and death is the final hurdle for practitioners, because it contains the practitioner's aspirations in this life.
Whether it's Lie Changkong, Gongye Fusu, or Bai Shi, none of them would have the question, "What is the purpose of this life?" because their cultivation in martial arts, incense, and witchcraft has not reached that level.
It is a state of mind that can only be realized after the heavy shackles attached to the human heart have been removed.
This is not a problem, but the achievement of a person who has devoted their entire life to a single, desperate struggle.
The reason why Li Wujiu was forced into a life-or-death situation by Xiao Chang'an was that the moment he used his life's cultivation to transform into a prophecy of destiny and cast it into the unknown future, he was essentially no longer alive.
All that remains is a shed flesh and a remnant of his divine consciousness. If he does not immediately go into seclusion, he will collapse and die in three days.
Li Wujiu shouldn't have supported Gu Yi in such an extreme way. He had long since transcended worldly affairs, living like a true human being.
Li Wujiu's experience of entering the life-or-death barrier was different from his.
Throughout history, those who enter the gate of life and death and fail to break through it will not be able to leave in this life. Whether they achieve enlightenment still depends on their own awakening, because the seed of enlightenment is still "the desire of the self".
But Li Wujiu was different. He was betting on someone else's achievements, on Gu Yi's achievements.
Only someone like him, who is completely selfless, can let go so freely, drifting through the vastness of nature without joy or fear.
This means that if Gu Yi has not yet fulfilled Li Wujiu's wish to unify the north and the world by the time Li Wujiu's life ends, then Li Wujiu's prophecy will be considered a failure, and he will pass away in seclusion.
Ah Qiu's voice rang out softly, pulling him back to reality at just the right moment: "Back then, what was your wish when you entered the life-or-death situation?"
Ah Qiu had asked him a similar question last night. At that time, she asked, "How did your master trick you into joining this treacherous scheme?"
He replied, "I don't remember."
It's been so long that I really don't remember, but I also know that it wasn't a very pleasant memory.
People will only deliberately forget painful and sad past events.
But when he stepped into the place where Li Wujiu was currently in seclusion, many memories came flooding back, and some past events suddenly became clear and transparent.
He stroked the three large characters "Asking the Heavens Stone" carved on the strangely shaped boulder with his hand, and said, word by word, "I wish to see a peaceful world, enlightened people, and a world of great harmony."
What happened a hundred or two hundred years ago seems like a past life, a tug-of-war between chaos and darkness.
He grew up in the palace and received instruction from the late king. The white-haired, scholarly imperial tutor taught him, word by word, the way of being a ruler and the art of self-cultivation.
He was exceptionally intelligent, kind-hearted, and skilled in medicine. All the teachers who had taught him praised him, saying that he was destined to be a wise ruler and a sage king of the world.
He truly understood the teachings of sages and saints. When he recited them, each word seemed to radiate light, emerging in his heart and flowing into his mind, causing light to surge everywhere.
The other princes could barely memorize the texts after repeated readings, and could also use a line or two appropriately after being taught by their teachers and tutors. Only he, when the scriptures came to life, truly understood every word and sentence, and wholeheartedly agreed that the roles of ruler and subject, father and son, husband and wife, and friends should each have their own place and that loyalty, trustworthiness, propriety, righteousness, filial piety, and brotherly love are the proper order in the world.
But when he left the academy, he discovered that the world he faced was not as described in the book.
Those serving in the inner palace were distinguished by rank, but this had nothing to do with virtue or talent; rather, it was about their ability to manipulate situations, muddy the waters, shirk responsibility, and curry favor with the powerful. Meanwhile, the high-ranking officials in the outer court were all busy cultivating their own territories and factions, vying for power, and constantly scheming against each other. The fate of the nation and its people was, most of the time, merely an excuse used by these individuals to mask their own desires and attack their rivals.
Even the Empress Dowager, who often taught her concubines to be virtuous, gentle, and obedient, was still most concerned about how to win the Emperor's heart and suppress dissidents. And the Emperor, who was very dignified and solemn in front of him, was still most concerned about the way of checks and balances and rewards and punishments after court. How to use or even create conflicts to ensure that power was in his own hands was the most important thing.
The so-called divine artifacts of mountains and rivers, and the living beings of heaven and earth, might be theoretically important to those in the imperial court, but in practice, they cared far less about their own promotions and rewards. As for the emperor treating his ministers with trust and ministers serving their lord with loyalty, those were simply nonexistent. He had seen ministers flattering and fawning upon his father, but he had never seen a minister genuinely and wholeheartedly love and respect his father.
If that's the case, the person sitting in that seat must be very lonely, right?
For him, this was a world torn apart by contradictions. On one side was the radiant and harmonious atmosphere of the ancient Yao and Shun era in books, and on the other side was the chaotic and ignorant darkness of reality.
He once asked the imperial tutor why the reality was so different from the sages' descriptions of the flourishing of benevolent rule. And in such a world, how should one be a ruler?
From a worldly perspective, my father was undoubtedly successful. During his reign, he brought imperial power to its zenith and the empire's territory and prestige to their fullest extent.
However, his ministers were all suspicious of each other and attacked one another, while the harem, filled with beautiful women, was also filled with jealousy and resentment, with each woman slandering the other. Each purge accelerated the concentration of power, and the tension between people reached its peak.
The aged imperial tutor looked at him with deep, unfathomable eyes and said, "Don't ask how a monarch should act; ask yourself how your heart desires to act."
So, on the day he turned twenty, he sat in the Listening to the Rain Pavilion on the highest peak of the palace, gazing at the masses of people at the pinnacle of power for three days and three nights.
During these three days, he watched as palace servants came in an endless stream to serve cups and plates, perform songs and dances, and fill the wine pool with fragrance, singing praises and creating an atmosphere of peace and prosperity.
He watched as the officials of the previous dynasty swarmed in like fish crossing a river, and scattered like birds and beasts when they left court. In the end, he realized that what he saw was the saying from Lao Tzu: "The world is bustling, all for profit; the world is bustling, all for profit."
"The palace gates open to the heavens, and the officials of all nations bow before the emperor." In his childhood, he was captivated by the glorious empire created by his father. But now, at the age of twenty, he has begun to see the shadows behind this prosperity and the oppressive atmosphere of impending doom.
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