Overkill
That is a clear-cut plan, like Jing Ke's assassination attempt on the King of Qin.
In a typical assassination attempt, the enemy is in the open while we are in the dark. Whether the attack succeeds or not, the assassin is immediately dispersed. Since the enemy is unaware of the assassin's origins and motives, they are unable to defend against it. However, we can plan the route and the terrain in advance to set up an ambush, leveraging our strengths and avoiding our weaknesses, and creating favorable conditions for our own breakout.
However, Jing Ke, as an envoy of Yan, openly paid homage to the emperor in a specific location: the imperial court, where everyone was watching. His name and nationality were made public: if he failed, not only would he himself perish, but those behind him would also suffer retribution.
Whether the assassination succeeds or fails, the assassin himself will surely die.
To enter the well-protected and heavily guarded imperial court in broad daylight is to lose the advantage of terrain; to venture deep into enemy territory and find oneself surrounded by enemies is to lose the advantage of popular support; to face a thousand enemy soldiers alone is to lose the advantage of opportune timing. To lose all three is to be in a situation where there is no chance of survival.
In this situation, being able to complete the mission and successfully assassinate the target is considered a success.
During the Warring States period, an unnamed knight-errant avenged the death of the King of Wu by killing the son of Gan Jiang and Mo Xie. He then committed suicide, and the heads of the three were boiled together in a pot of boiling water. This was the best possible ending for the martyrs to fulfill their ambitions.
This time, the envoys from the south came to the north, and if it were an assassination attempt, they would be doing the same thing.
At that time, ten thousand people will surround the Deyang Palace, and there will be heavy guards protecting it. Even if they can kill Hulü Jin, the situation will inevitably descend into chaos. If the situation gets out of control, the sixty-three people in this group will have no chance of escaping being hacked to pieces.
Actually, everyone was mentally prepared for this from the beginning.
Even A-Qiu himself was like that.
As an assassin, she had faced countless life-and-death situations and knew all too well the dangers involved. Once she decided to come north, she never harbored any illusions.
But at this moment, when facing Gu Yi, it was unclear whether it was making things difficult for him, or... some other emotion.
She insisted on asking him that question.
Junior Master.
Gu Yi.
Everyone knows that he devoted his life to the world, and A Qiu, who was once his disciple, knew this better than anyone else.
But she finally couldn't resist and, at this last moment, decided to make things difficult for him.
Watching him bewildered, watching him at a loss, watching him... how he would face the situation he had orchestrated, a situation that even included her.
Gu Yi's eyes were originally closed.
Upon hearing her question, he suddenly opened his eyes.
He looked at her and suddenly said, "I never thought you would actually be here."
He meant that although he knew she was mixed in with the delegation, he never imagined that one day he would actually meet her face to face like this at the top of the Zichen Palace.
Was he hoping to reunite with her, or was he secretly praying never to see her again?
A Qiu could hardly understand Gu Yi now.
He is different from before.
Or perhaps he was expressing his apology.
This was a dead end with no way out, and he hadn't originally intended to include her in it.
But he did not stop her from joining the game.
Gu Yi must have been filled with conflicting emotions.
A Qiu had never seen this kind of emotion in Gu Yi before.
For some reason, A-Qiu suddenly softened.
She sighed and finally asked directly, "Are you afraid that my presence will distract you?"
In her opinion, this was the only most likely possibility. Gu Yi was not a despicable person and would never intentionally use her or anyone else to put them to death.
The current situation was an inescapable deadlock. Even if Jing Ke himself were alive today, he would be powerless to reverse it. She did not intend to blame Gu Yi.
Gu Yi's slightly surprised expression upon hearing this immediately made her wonder if she had said something wrong—or rather, overestimated her importance in his heart.
Gu Yi paused slightly, then said, "You are here," as if he was trying to find the right words, and finally said, "For me, this is probably an even bigger problem."
His frankness made her feel that every word he said was true, but not what she thought he meant.
A feeling that was hard to describe, whether it was disappointment or something else, quietly crept into A Qiu's heart.
But at this point, A-Qiu no longer wanted to understand what it meant.
Having obtained all the information needed for tonight's trip, she politely bowed to Gu Yi and said, "If there's nothing else, Junior Master, I'll head back now." Without waiting for his reply, she immediately turned and darted towards the foot of the palace wall.
Tomorrow. The coronation ceremony. That will be the moment that determines the fate of the Han people.
That was also the final fate of their group.
It's pointless to say anything more.
It's not that Xiao Ran doesn't exist.
Perhaps the person she left behind was the closest person to her in this life. But at this moment, it was as if there was an insurmountable chasm between them.
Since he didn't mention the past at all, she wouldn't want to bring it up again either.
The sound of wind blew beside her, and it turned out that Gu Yi was following her like a shadow.
She paused slightly, having learned from her previous experience of competing in lightness skills at Jianzhang Palace, she didn't want to go through the same thing again.
This is the Zichen Palace of the Northern Qiang, not the Jianzhang Palace of the Southern Dynasty. If any guards are alerted, we will be in deep trouble, and most importantly, tomorrow's assassination plan will be ruined.
She stopped abruptly, turned her back to face Gu Yi, and shouted in a tight voice, "What else does the Young Master have to say?"
At the same time, she drew her dagger to prevent him from suddenly doing something "rude" to her like last time.
Gu Yi stopped in his tracks, or rather, took a step back and spread his hands to show that he had no intention of offending anyone.
His hands were empty, but upon a glance, A Qiu noticed that what he was carrying on his back was "Louyue".
In that single glance, a flood of thoughts rushed to my mind.
Louyue was originally Gu Yi's weapon of mass destruction when he pacified the world. Later, when the Dayan Kingdom was established, Gu Yi buried Louyue under Jinling Terrace to symbolize peace and replaced it with Juntian Yuheng as his personal weapon. It was not until Wan Qiqing entered the palace to challenge him to a duel that he took out the sword again.
That also means the resurgence of violence and bloodshed.
When A Qiu became Gu Yi's apprentice, Gu Yi bestowed upon her the Louyue sword as an initiation gift, also as a sign that she should never use a dagger in combat again, thus revealing her origins as an assassin who could not be seen in the light of day. Afterwards, A Qiu rose through the ranks from Dian Yue to Da Si Yue, and this sword accompanied her in every action.
However, when she left the palace for the last time, she did not take "Louyue" with her to conceal her identity, so she left it at Jinlingtai, in its original location.
That is, the place on the wall in Gu Yi's bedroom.
At the time, she never imagined that it would be her final farewell to "Louyue." Later, she was expelled from Jianzhang Palace and never had the chance to retrieve Louyue again.
When she learned that it was Gu Yi's idea to let her leave, even if she had the chance, she wouldn't have the face to go and get it.
Later, she explained to Gu Yi face to face that their master-disciple relationship was over.
If that's the case, then there's even less reason to take back Louyue.
The only thing she was grateful for at that moment was that when Wan Qiqing expelled her from Lanling Hall, he did not retract his "assassination of Qin".
She still had weapons at her disposal and finally returned to her old profession as an assassin.
Gu Yi saw A Qiu looking at the "Carved Moon" behind him, paused for a moment, and then explained: "The killing will be fierce when we come to the Northern Qiang, so I left the Jade Balance at Jinling Terrace and put the 'Carved Moon' back into use."
This explanation is actually unnecessary. Since Louyue originally belonged to him, whether he used it himself or gave it away, there was no need to explain it to Aqiu, a disciple with whom he had severed ties.
A-Qiu simply said, "What exactly does the young master want to say? You must have come after me not just to explain Louyue, right?"
Gu Yi hesitated again, but finally made up his mind and said slowly, "What I want to say is that you'd better not make a move tomorrow."
Several possibilities flashed through A Qiu's mind as he asked, "Because you already have a chosen assassin, and you're afraid I'll ruin things?"
Jing Ke's assassination attempt on Qin Shi Huang failed when Qin Wuyang saw Ying Zheng and turned pale. Qin Shi Huang became suspicious and only ordered Jing Ke to present the state gifts. As a result, Jing Ke was the only one who could carry out the entire assassination plan.
Therefore, assassinations of this level cannot tolerate any mistakes or accidents in any环节.
Gu Yi shook his head, seemingly wanting to say something but stopping himself. Seeing his hesitant appearance, A Qiu felt inexplicably angry and turned to leave.
Gu Yi used to be so calm and decisive. Now she's not going to marry him, and she's clearly asking about official business. Why is he being so vague?
Seeing that she wanted to leave, Gu Yi immediately stepped aside to stop her. He could no longer worry about anything else and earnestly said, "Using you as an assassin is a waste of your talents. If someone else could do this job, why would you need to go?"
A-Qiu was taken aback, never expecting him to think this way.
Overkill?
But she came from the Lanling Hall, making her an assassin through and through. Both Wan Qiqing's training and her talent—enough to make the assassin of Qin recognize her as his master—accurately defined her attributes: the queen of assassins, the top contender for command among a million soldiers. What else could she do besides be an assassin?
Moreover, given the current situation, if she doesn't assassinate, what other use can she have?
Gu Yi looked at her with a very complicated expression, but A Qiu knew clearly that he must have his reasons for saying that.
If she travels all this way to the Northern Qiang, but doesn't make a move tomorrow, what is the point of her trip?
But if she were still Gu Yi's apprentice, she would have agreed without hesitation if Gu Yi had said that.
Because trust in him has become an instinct ingrained in my bones.
But now that she had to take charge, she considered the situation briefly and finally said, "How about this? I'll try my best not to interfere, depending on the circumstances. If your plan goes smoothly, I'll pretend I was never here and won't interfere at all, okay?"
Her meaning was that Gu Yifang should take the lead, and she would only provide support and cover from the sidelines, and would never take the initiative to act unless absolutely necessary.
That would be considered cooperating with him.
Upon hearing her words, Gu Yi's expression immediately softened, and he nodded, saying, "That's excellent. With your support, everything is even more secure."
He suddenly said, "Whether you understand or not, I actually hope you stay away from all this. Dynasties rise and fall, glory fades and decays, I... have seen it many times. To me, your life is far more important than a dynasty."
Upon hearing this unexpectedly, A Qiu was overwhelmed with mixed feelings and was momentarily stunned.
Gu Yi continued, "But I'm also afraid that one day you'll blame me for not letting you contribute to the country and its people. So... if this is your own choice, I won't stop you."
A Qiu was completely bewildered and could only stare at Gu Yi, unable to reply.
Gu Yi suddenly said urgently, "Even if you chose this yourself, I don't want you to appear in history as a tool for assassination. You may not understand my feelings, but I did teach you for a while."
A Qiu might still be confused by the first half of the sentence, but by the second half, A Qiu felt bitter and astringent.
You taught me for more than just a short time.
You saved my life as an infant, and raised me under such difficult circumstances until I was six years old.
But what you're willing to admit now is that you taught me "for a while".
She smiled bitterly and said, "The disciples of Master Gu Yi are not as kind and skillful as their master, and are not good at applying their knowledge to the world. Instead, they take risks to assassinate others and try to gain fame by chance. I'm sure that even a thousand years from now, they will still embarrass and disgrace their master."
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