Ze Tian Ji (Way of Choices)

Chapter 839 – Ah, Qiushan…

The Tang Old Master calmly gazed at Qiushan Jun. He looked for a very long time, like he was examining a strange stone that seemed devoid of any pleasant features no matter how hard he looked.

Qiushan Jun smiled and said, “Is this request very strange?”

The Tang Old Master replied, “It truly is very strange, because the one standing outside the gate is Chen Changsheng, not Xu Yourong.”

Qiushan Jun explained, “Ah, I feel that Chen Changsheng’s request is very reasonable.”

The Tang Old Master asked, “Why?”

Qiushan Jun grinned and answered, “Ah, it’s because your second son poisoned his older brother.”

The Tang Old Master said derisively, “What do you know?”

Qiushan Jun replied, “I didn’t see it, Junior Sister didn’t see it. Ah, but he’s Chen Changsheng. Ah, is he not Shang Xingzhou’s student? Ah, if I don’t believe him, who do I believe?”

The Tang Old Master’s eyes were still squinted, their expression like the ancient well in the courtyard: deep, serene, and growing colder and colder due to the snow.

The voice from his lips was also chilling enough to make one’s hair stand on end.

“Even if this is true, so what? Emperor Taizong killed off all his brothers, but he still brought peace and prosperity, becoming a wise sovereign famed throughout the ages.”

The Tang Old Master expressionlessly said, “Even if my second son poisons me to death, it’s all fine as long as the family property remains unharmed.”

This reply caused Qiushan Jun’s smile to fade as he calmly stared into the Old Master’s eyes.

“Ah, but your second son is colluding with the demons.”

From the moment Qiushan Jun entered the old estate and began conversing with the Old Master, his tone had been very natural and casual, his attitude like a cute and obedient junior.

Many of his words started with ‘Ah’.

Ah, unfilial.

Ah, a shame.

Ah, rather nice.

Ah, reasonable.

The young men and women of the south all had very pleasant accents, full of ‘Eh’s, ‘Oh’s, and ‘Ah’s.

This time, though he still used ‘Ah’, the feeling he gave was completely different.

The snowstorms of the north were too great, so if one wanted orders to be heard from a distance, one had to yell out so that one’s fellow soldiers could hear.

‘Runaaaah!’

‘Chargeaaaah!’

‘Killaaaah!’

‘Quickly save meaaaah!’

Qiushan Jun had not spoken these words, but yelled these words.

“Your second son is colluding with demonsaaah.”

His expression was very stern, his will determined. His voice was like steel or iron, resounding and cleaving through the snow so that both his surviving and deceased comrades on the battlefield could hear.

No matter how heavily it snowed today, it was impossible to drown out his voice, so everyone around the old estate heard.

One could presume that in a short time, all of Wenshui City would hear of it, followed soon after by the entire continent.

……

……

The old estate was abnormally quiet. All was deathly still, even the falling snow not making a sound.

The Tang Old Master narrowed his eyes and stared at Qiushan Jun in silence. After a very long time, he suddenly asked, “Was it very satisfying?”

Qiushan Jun had already calmed back down. “The feeling wasn’t bad.”

The Tang Old Master asked, “Did you need to take it to this level?”

Qiushan Jun replied, “Some matters, if not yelled out somehow, might never be heard.”

The Tang Old Master asked, “Do you feel that the entire world must believe your words?”

Qiushan Jun replied, “I spent twenty years protecting my good reputation. Now that I think of it, it might have been just so that the world believes me just once.”

The Tang Old Master did not speak.

In terms of good reputation, no one could compare to Qiushan Jun.

Many years, many matters, and many people had long since proved this point.

In Mount Li, neither Su Li’s nor the Sect Master’s words carried as much weight as his.

In the south, not even Wang Po could engender as much trust as Qiushan Jun. After all, Wang Po was still a person of Tianliang County.

Qiushan Jun said, “At the time, Martial Granduncle had no money, so he left this Yellow Paper Umbrella in Wenshui. Later on, after that matter, you promised Martial Granduncle that as long as you saw this umbrella, you would agree to one request of his. Chen Changsheng does not know of this matter, but I do.”

The Tang Old Master’s gaze fell on the old umbrella in his hand.

“This umbrella is still somewhat different from the one from before.”

Yes, it’s missing something.”

Qiushan Jun unsheathed the sword at his waist.

This sword was as clear as the autumn waters, its extraordinariness immediately obvious.

Seeing this sword, the Tang Old Master’s pupils constricted. Even an important personage like him was somewhat astonished.

“He actually didn’t take this sword with him?”

“Martial Granduncle left the sword for me and the umbrella for Chen Changsheng. Now, the two of us are here, so he is also here.”

Qiushan Jun inserted the sword into the umbrella’s handle.

There was no sound. It was like the sword had always been a part of the umbrella.

Seeing the umbrella was like seeing the person.

……

……

When Chen Changsheng once more entered the old estate, he realized that Luo Bu had already left, but he did leave the umbrella behind.

Seeing the old umbrella, he fell quiet, thinking, he truly is stronger than Senior Su Li; he didn’t take the umbrella with him.

“You want two hours of Wenshui City’s time. I will give it to you.”

The Tang Old Master impassively added, “But you cannot use the Orthodoxy’s people, only my Tang clan’s people.”

For the sake of the promise he had made that year, he agreed to Chen Changsheng’s request, but it was obvious that he could not allow the Orthodoxy’s priests to search the estates of the Tang clan’s various branches, much less permit the Orthodoxy’s cavalry to haphazardly charge about Wenshui City. This was the Tang clan’s bottom line.

The problem was, neither Chen Changsheng nor any other important figure of the Orthodoxy understood the specific circumstances of the various branches of the Tang clan. Even if the Tang clan’s strength complied with the Tang Old Master’s order and obeyed their orders, how could they ensure that the Tang clan’s people were truly willing to exert their strength?

Putting it shortly, using the Tang clan’s people to investigate matters of the Tang clan was absurd, even laughable.

But the Tang Old Master would not yield any further.

Chen Changsheng replied, “These two hours of Wenshui City’s time do not need to be given to me.”

The Tang Old Master asked, “Then who do you want to give it to?”

Chen Changsheng said, “I have a friend.”

The Tang Old Master squinted his eyes.

Chen Changsheng looked at him and asked, “Sir once gave him twenty years, but now Sir is not even willing to give him two hours?”

……

……

The Tang clan’s ancestral hall was very old, the same age as the old estate, even older than the capital’s Imperial Palace.

Whether it was the new coat of white paint every three years or the repairing of the black roof every seven years, no matter how much the ancestral hall was renovated, it was impossible to completely cover up the ancient and timeworn aura exuded from the seams between the bricks and the tiles of the roof.

Many memorial tablets were displayed in the ancestral hall, and there were many incense sticks on the table. In front of the table was a prayer mat.

This prayer mat was also very old.

Perhaps because of the surrounding environment, the face of the young man sitting on the prayer mat also seemed much more worn.

The beard on his face was of uneven length, appearing very messy. His hair was even messier, and his clothes rather filthy. One could describe his appearance as ‘disheveled hair and dirty face’.

His eyes had once been very bright, even threateningly sharp, but now they were lifeless.

His lips were still thin, but his harsh and happy voice had now fallen away into silence.

After being imprisoned half a year ago, he had not spoken once.

In the spacious and quiet ancestral hall, his figure appeared incredibly lonely.