Danger is also an opportunity
The atmosphere inside the hall suddenly became strange and eerie.
Ah Qiu remembered that his original purpose in coming here was to ask Lord Liyang if he was the one who had repeatedly helped the Divine Hound Camp.
But when the facts were laid bare before her, she was at a loss for how to face them.
She paused for a moment before saying, "Thank you for following us all the way into the Divine Mastiff camp and for helping us. If it weren't for that, you wouldn't have been injured."
The sword strike he received from Xie Lang was not enough to injure him. It must have been because the previous fierce battle and arduous journey had exhausted most of his strength, leaving him so vulnerable.
Upon hearing her words, Lord Liyang's expression seemed rather unpleasant. He turned away without showing any emotion to straighten his clothes, saying indifferently, "It's alright."
A Qiu couldn't help but ask, "What's wrong with you? Sometimes I feel like your martial arts are so high that they're almost inhuman, and other times they seem... utterly vulnerable. I've never seen such an evil technique before."
Lord Liyang's expression darkened further, and he simply stopped answering.
Seeing that he remained silent for a long time, A Qiu realized that she might have said something wrong, and stammered, "That's not what I meant, nor did I say that you're not human. I... I was just curious. With your martial arts skills being so inconsistent, wouldn't you easily get injured if you fought someone?"
Lord Liyang finally spoke, "I'm not as useless as you think."
A Qiu was taken aback, completely not expecting him to understand it from this perspective. He stammered, "You move like the wind in the Divine Mastiff Camp, and your moves are as swift as thunder. Who would dare to think you're useless?"
She paused, then couldn't help but ask, "May I take your pulse?"
Lord Liyang snorted and said, "What are you calling me? I'm not sick."
A Qiu said earnestly, "I want to know what your situation is, even whether you are a human or a ghost. I have never heard of someone becoming like you by practicing martial arts."
Lord Liyang immediately waved his hand, swatting away her groping hand, and said in an unfriendly tone, "Stop making trouble. Otherwise..."
After thinking it over, he realized there was nothing else he could do to deal with her, so he said seriously, "If you have nothing else to do, you can leave now."
A Qiu recalled that when they faced each other in this abandoned palace in Liyang before, he had never shown such disdain for her and dismissed her like this. She suddenly realized that he was injured and probably didn't want her to see him in such a weak state.
She paused for a moment, then said, "Actually, I have another request to make."
Lord Liyang's tone softened slightly as he asked, "What is it?"
A Qiu met his gaze and said, "Could you also participate in the performance of 'Shao' and 'Wu' this time? You are a senior, and your familiarity with 'Shao' and 'Wu' is probably unmatched in the world."
This time, Lord Liyang didn't, as usual, readily suggest that she marry him as collateral. His gaze was lowered, clearly indicating he was genuinely considering her request. After a moment, he asked, "Why did you make this request of me?"
At this moment, A-Qiu had a strange intuition that his previous frequent requests for her to marry him were probably not genuine. This was because he had helped her so much along the way, yet had never mentioned marriage again. For example, just now, when she brought up the same request again, he seemed genuinely considering it, without giving her any thought about the consequences.
She suddenly realized that she had developed an unusual sense of trust in the person in front of her.
She tried to remain calm as she replied, "Actually, it's because I lack confidence and assurance."
The gaze beneath the mask of Lord Liyang shifted, becoming unpredictably sharper, gentler, or a combination of both. His tone grew slightly more serious as he slowly asked, "What do you mean by lacking confidence?"
Under his gaze, A Qiu seemed to receive a different kind of encouragement and boldly said, "This time, in rehearsing 'Shao' and 'Wu', my opponent is another master of mine, Wan Qiqing, the master of Lanling Hall. He is a national master in music theory, while I am not actually good at music theory. Although everything seems to be ready now, I do not have the confidence to win."
She added, “This isn’t just a simple dance contest. The Northern Qiang will likely send a large army to press in, ostensibly for peace talks, but in reality, war could break out at any moment. And the situation in the court right now,” she said wearily, “you probably already know most of it. His Majesty’s current condition is such that even you have advised him to abdicate; Xiao Pei’s father has just passed away, and she’s struggling to manage the Jianzhang Army on her own. The court is currently in charge of Consort Chen and Lady Pei, but I have a feeling they each have their own agendas, and there’s more to it than meets the eye. In short…”
She sighed and said, "There's just no one like my master, Gu Yi, to take charge. People's hearts are bound to waver, and they don't know who to look up to. Even I feel uneasy."
This was the first time she had opened her heart to anyone. In truth, although her trip to the Divine Mastiff Camp had won over the hearts of the people, she still felt a lingering fear when she thought about it.
Managing a country is not a simple assassination attempt; a slight misstep can lead to the downfall of the nation. During Gu Yi's reign, he and Xie Lang worked closely together to stabilize the internal and external situation. However, now that neither of them can play their role effectively, and with the Northern Qiang eyeing the country covetously, Dayan has fallen into its greatest crisis since its founding.
Surprisingly, Lord Liyang did not mock her or say a word; he simply watched her quietly.
His eyes held a profound and indescribable tenderness.
In this silent moment, A-Qiu could feel his understanding.
A moment later, she heard him ask, "Do you... no longer want to do it?"
The content of his statement was extremely ordinary. But A-Qiu sensed something unusual in his tone.
He wasn't just asking for her thoughts; he was more like seriously considering how to extricate her from the situation if she decided against it.
The sudden sense of surprise made her heart tremble slightly.
Only someone who understands her deeply and has the ability to uphold the world would speak to her in this way. And such people are few and far between in the world today.
But she immediately thought of something: Lord Liyang was probably one of the few people who could influence the fate of the world. Otherwise, Xie Lang wouldn't have come here back then to make that agreement with him to become the ruler of the world.
Moreover, Lord Liyang actually did it for him.
A Qiu closed her eyes, thought seriously for a moment, and then opened them. But the question she asked was something that even Lord Liyang had not expected.
She asked, "Did my master Gu Yi also emerge from the chaos of a collapsing empire to pacify the world, step by step, in this way?"
Her question was a confirmation that Lord Liyang was well aware of Gu Yi's past.
If Lord Liyang had personally witnessed and participated in Xie Lang's rise, then he could not possibly have been unaware of the history of Gu Yi wielding his sword to pacify the world.
Lord Liyang was taken aback by her question. He hadn't expected to hear her mention Gu Yi's name. After a moment, he said, "The situation back then was only worse than it is now."
A-Qiu blinked her eyes and asked curiously, "How bad is it?"
She had never heard Gu Yi mention these things. No one else would have told her either. She never expected that she would learn of Gu Yi's past from an outsider, Lord Liyang.
Lord Liyang said, “Your current situation is nothing more than a group of dragons without a leader. Although the foundation established by the Southern Dynasty over the past ten years is not deep, it can still be considered united. The previous generation of Flying Phoenixes, such as Consort Chen, Mu Huaying, and Sikong Zhao, have all stood the test in terms of loyalty and ability. The current generation of Pei Yu and Fan Liancheng are also responsible and capable people. The only problem is that the successive deaths of Pei Yuanli and Zhao Lingying have indeed dealt a significant blow to the central government of the Southern Dynasty. The power vacuum created by Gu Yi’s departure is certainly a test, but it is also an opportunity for you to stand out and quickly gain prestige.”
He emphasized, “Precisely because there is no leader at this moment, if you seize the opportunity to step forward and take charge of the overall situation, you can replace your master and gain the prestige of being the number one person in the Southern Dynasty. And you did just that, and you could even say you did it extremely well. Think about it, if Gu Yi were still alive, you would always be in his shadow, and you would never have become an indispensable figure so quickly and gained the recognition of the court and the military.”
A-Qiu listened blankly to his clear, insightful, and penetrating analysis, and for a moment she couldn't help but feel a little dazed.
For her, meeting face-to-face like this, and speaking frankly without any concealment, seemed like something that had only happened a long time ago.
She said in a daze, "From the perspective of building personal prestige, what the Divine Lord said is indeed an opportunity. I only need to win against the Northern Qiang in the upcoming round to win the hearts of the court and the people, and then fill the vacuum left by my master's departure."
Lord Liyang said understandingly, “Crisis has always been an opportunity for individuals to make achievements and rise rapidly. Because in times of crisis, everyone hopes that heroes will appear to save people from suffering and help them out of danger. In peaceful times, promotion can only be based on seniority, and one has to wait slowly for endless years.”
A Qiu said, "I was a complete stranger to the Divine Lord before, so why does he seem so eager for me to gain power in the Southern Dynasty?"
Lord Liyang gave her a deep look without making it obvious, and said, "Perhaps it's because you are Gu Yi's disciple. You need to gain power and prestige because you need to use this prestige to command the future Northern Expedition. If your achievements and prestige are insufficient, you will not be able to unite the hearts of the people of the Southern Dynasty."
A Qiu finally met his gaze and asked, "Are you very familiar with my Master Gu Yi?"
Upon hearing this, Lord Liyang looked at her deeply once more, sighed, and finally replied, "His situation back then was far worse than yours. He was surrounded by enemies. He chose Xie Lang and the Flying Phoenix Guards behind him, and instructed him to contact and support the powerful clans of the Xie family. As for the political infighting and the elimination of rebels, he handled them all himself. In addition, we should thank the former Grand Chancellor Shangguan Jin for winning the crossing of the Yangtze River in the seventh year of the Xining era. Therefore, in recent years, at least the Southern Dynasty only needed to deal with internal troubles and did not have to face the crisis of foreign invasion."
As A-Qiu listened to his detailed account, it was as if she had witnessed it herself, and her voice was filled with boundless emotion. She couldn't help but ask, "Were you also... here during those years?"
Lord Liyang was slightly taken aback by her question, his expression dark and unreadable. After a moment, he replied, "Yes. I am a cripple and can only stay here, never seeing the light of day."
His words didn't sound particularly desolate, but A Qiu's heart trembled slightly upon hearing them.
She could now guess a thing or two. This deity was probably in a similar situation to Chu Yuanyi, perhaps also poisoned or suffering from some kind of illness, which was why his power was intermittent and could not be maintained stably.
Therefore, they were unable to personally participate in the conquests that led to the change of dynasties.
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