Dean Zhou seemed unimpressed by Qiu Yu's last remark that the man could leave because "you let him go." He scoffed, "Speaking of which, he's really capable. Half the top experts in Chang'an were gone, yet he still escaped… You could say I let him go, since everyone in Chang'an who knows about it thinks only I can capture him."
"But… there's only one you in Chang'an. The Buddhist sect has four Heavenly Venerables and one Great Wheel King. And three thousand supposedly invulnerable golden-bodied monks."
Qiu Yu said earnestly.
"Yes… there are four Heavenly Venerables and one Great Wheel King."
Dean Zhou shook his head slightly, saying meaningfully as he walked, "But when the Sui army advances westward, how many monks will be available, how many Heavenly Venerables will be able to move? Who knows? Eleven years ago, one couldn't be moved, so this time there should be at least one, right?"
Qiu Yu didn't understand this. He wasn't a witness to the fierce battle eleven years ago; back then, she hadn't been exposed to such matters.
But Qiu Yu gleaned something from Dean Zhou's words. She hadn't participated in what happened eleven years ago, but that didn't mean she didn't know. So, her immediate thought was: had someone else embarked on the westward journey? Eleven years ago, that exceptionally talented person led a group of Sui Dynasty warriors, willing to die for their cause, resolutely westward, causing the world to change color. Eleven years later, who possessed such courage, determination, and strength to journey westward again?
She wanted to ask, but she knew Dean Zhou wouldn't tell.
For some reason, Dean Zhou's demeanor changed after he finished speaking. Looking at his retreating figure, Qiu Yu suddenly felt a chilling desolation.
Dean Zhou, was he harboring resentment?
She couldn't be sure, nor could she be certain.
Changchun Garden.
The Qionglu (a type of ancient Chinese pavilion).
Luo Weiran, the Commander of the Imperial Guards, stood bowing before the Emperor, his face grave and worried. The news he had just received was so shocking that his heart pounded at least twice as fast as usual the entire journey from hearing it to arriving at the yurt to report to His Majesty.
News that could so unsettle someone like him must be equally significant for the Sui Dynasty and for His Majesty.
After listening to Luo Weiran's words, the emperor dropped the writing brush he was holding onto the low table with a clatter. His hand trembled slightly; he wanted to pick up the brush but seemed afraid to reach out. He lowered his head slightly, his face pale, and something involuntarily welled up in his eyes, making them moist.
"Eleven years ago… I first ascended the throne…"
After a long silence, the emperor took out a handkerchief to wipe his eyes, picked up the writing brush from the low table, and slowly placed it back in its holder. This simple action seemed to have exhausted him greatly. Even his voice trembled slightly.
He looked at the patch of red ink stained on the low table, as if he were seeing a large patch of crimson blood. "Because of the entanglements between me and my brothers, even the court is unstable. Before his death, the late emperor designated me as his successor, wasn't that an attempt to quickly resolve this matter and stabilize the court? But ultimately, someone saw through the flaws, believing that the foundation of the Sui Dynasty had cracked. I have been on the throne for less than half a year, imprisoning my elder brother and demoting my younger brother, and I still have no heir. If I were to die, the Sui Dynasty would inevitably be in turmoil."
"The Mongols have gathered a large number of skilled warriors, preparing to infiltrate the Sui Dynasty from the east. Li Yuanshan discovered this and quickly reported it to Chang'an. The seventh prince traveled alone from Chang'an, heading west without even telling me. His connections in the martial world..." The journey was extremely long, issuing orders to kill the barbarians along the way. By the time he reached the northwestern frontier, he had hundreds of chivalrous heroes by his side. In the northwest, the Seventh Prince led his men, wielding swords and slaughtering all the Mongol masters. I thought he would return to Chang'an, but he only sent back one message…"
"The might of the Great Sui Dynasty, the might of Your Majesty, cannot be violated by barbarians at will! If they dare to come, why shouldn't I go? Let those people in the west know that no one is allowed to disrespect Your Majesty's majesty, not even to entertain the thought. If they do, then kill them and let them know the strength of the Great Sui Dynasty."
As the Emperor finished speaking, tears streamed uncontrollably from his eyes. "He led his friends from the martial world, hundreds in number, but after a battle, most were killed or wounded, leaving only a hundred or so... Yet they resolutely left the Sui Dynasty, crossed the Wolf Milk Mountain, and journeyed westward into the Mongol Yuan Dynasty. I don't know exactly how many were killed that time, how many died, but I do know that I have never seen this younger brother again since. For me, for the Sui Dynasty, he abandoned everything he should have had, fearless of death."
"Eleven years. I haven't seen him for eleven years."
The Emperor watched his tears fall, wetting the low table and spreading the small patch of crimson ink.
"Eleven years later, did he perhaps foresee my impending campaign against the Mongols? So, for my sake, and to ease my obstacles, he once again journeyed west. He knew my ambitions from the beginning, knew I wanted to plant the Sui Dynasty's dragon flag west of Langru Mountain. Before the late Emperor fell seriously ill, he asked me about the ambitions of my seven brothers. My eldest brother said he wanted to stabilize the Sui Dynasty and establish a lasting dynasty. My third brother said he wanted to wipe out the remnants of the southern border and cleanse the remaining bandits of Eastern Chu."
"I only said two words: 'Westward.' My seventh brother said five words: 'Help my fourth brother go west.'"
"I know, and it was precisely because of these words that the late Emperor passed the throne to me before his death. And because of these words, I, the seventh brother, have never stopped."
"He has always understood me best, always..."
"But for the sake of the western expedition, I had to pretend nothing had happened. Not only did I fail to give those heroes the honor they deserved, but I also signed an agreement with the Great Khan Möngke of the Mongol Yuan Dynasty, designating the northwest region where they had once fought and clashed as a trading post... He hasn't returned to see me for eleven years. Is he blaming me? Is he blaming me for turning that land they swore to protect into a marketplace filled with the stench of money? Do those heroes who lie buried in the earth curse me every day as they watch the barbarians of the Western Regions enter the gates of the Sui Dynasty?"
The emperor's tears flowed freely for the first time in eleven years.
"Eleven years later, he went west again, still for me..."
Luo Weiran lowered his head, not daring to look at the emperor, much less at his tears. His heart ached, for the man who had twice gone west in the past eleven years also had a connection with him.
...
...
The capital region is mountainous, especially the area north of Chang'an, which is surrounded by mountains. It looked as if a giant crescent moon partially encircled the majestic city of Chang'an. Ordinary people didn't understand feng shui or geomancy, but they had heard that Chang'an's location was excellent, ensuring the Sui Dynasty's eternal rule. They didn't understand why feng shui could protect the Sui Dynasty; weren't the ones protecting it the valiant soldiers on the frontiers?
But this didn't dampen his spirits. After all, having another layer of security for the Sui Dynasty was never a bad thing for them.
"Embraced by mountains, Chang'an will not fall."
This saying had been passed down for centuries, supposedly uttered by a reclusive sage when Emperor Taizu established his capital here.
Four days had passed since they entered these mountains, and Fang Henshui had lived humbly and cautiously. He and the young monk carried the old monk, trudging through mountains and rivers with great difficulty. He dared not show the slightest reluctance, because he saw no reluctance on the young monk's face. It was as if the young monk carrying the old monk was a matter of course, beyond question.
The old monk sat comfortably on the sedan chair, barely moving.
In the four days since entering the mountains, Fang Henshui, though exhausted, had taken the initiative to find water and food without needing the young monk's orders. He was becoming more and more like a dutiful servant, diligently attending to his two masters.
Sitting on a clean bluestone, the old monk glanced at the Sui man's back as he struggled to climb higher in search of food, and a smirk appeared on his lips. "Can you tell he's different from before?"
"I think he's compromised out of fear."
"Why?"
"Because… even if the Sui man harbors demonic intentions, he's still afraid of death."
"Haha."
The old monk seemed to be in a very good mood, and couldn't help but laugh heartily. "I've long harbored the idea of traveling east to see just how powerful and arrogant this Sui Dynasty, which produced that great demon eleven years ago, truly is. Before coming here, even I thought the Sui people…" "They're easy to bully. Because that person declared this in the most direct way back then, I never doubted it. But this time, I found that the Sui people are far less powerful than I imagined."
"If that's the case, what's so scary about the Sui people? Just cutting off a piece of flesh is enough to turn a Sui person into a slave... If that person who traveled west eleven years ago knew this, I wonder what he would think."
Chen Ya thought for a moment and said, "But I also feel that there's still some unyielding spirit in the Sui people."
"Everyone has unyielding spirit in their hearts; it's just a matter of how to subdue it. When I was in seclusion in the Great Snow Mountain, I thought about what would happen if one day the demons from the east launched a large-scale invasion." "How should we deal with this, or how should Buddhism spread eastward? I thought about it for a long time and concluded that the Sui people's will could not be broken; the only option was to kill them. Therefore, if we wanted Buddhist teachings to spread throughout the East, we would have to kill all the able-bodied and even elderly Sui people, leaving only the children to be slowly taught and converted. Precisely because this was an impossible task, I abandoned the idea of spreading Buddhism eastward."
"Now, I finally understand that I was too obsessed back then. How can there be truly unyielding people in this world? The Sui people were powerful because they had never been defeated, so they believed they would never be defeated. A hundred years later, this kind of thinking has permeated every Sui person..." "They've become arrogant. But in reality... just cut a piece of flesh from their flesh, and they'll submit. Whatever you say, they'll obey."
"The Sui people aren't invincible, nor is the Sui kingdom. After returning, I will explain this to the Ming King."
The old monk smiled brightly, his eyes gleaming with pride: "Without traveling east, one cannot see the truth behind the fog. How hypocritical is the Sui people's pride, how pathetic is their invincibility."
"Master, shouldn't we bring this person back to the Great Snow Mountain so the Ming King can see what the Sui people are really like?"
Chenya asked.
"If there's no need to kill him, it's naturally better to bring him back."
The old monk said calmly, "However, perhaps we must kill him today."
"Why?"
Chenya asked. The old monk sighed, "I investigated along the way, and although this mountain is majestic and vast, it is a dead mountain. Besides trees and wild grass, there is no living thing in it. Chang'an City, built by seizing the secrets of heaven and earth, drained the mountain of its spiritual energy, so there is nothing to eat, absolutely nothing. And the rations that Sui man brought are all gone…"
Chen Ya paused, thought for a moment, and said, "If we conserve them, they can last for a few days."
Just then, Fang Henshui, dressed in tattered clothes, struggled back up the slope. He walked breathlessly to the old monk and said guiltily, "I'm sorry… there's nothing to eat, not even wild fruit."
As he finished speaking, he noticed the strange look in the eyes of the old monk and Chen Ya. In an instant, fear filled Fang Henshui's heart.
Just as he hesitated, Chen Ya took a step forward.
Fang Henshui knelt down almost simultaneously, then sincerely kowtowed and said, "Cut off my flesh to eat; I am willing to offer myself to the Master."
These words stunned Chen Ya and the old monk.
A moment later, the old monk's triumphant laughter echoed through the depths of the mountains.
Chen Ya asked, "Won't you eat it yourself?"
"No!"
"Why?"
"To save it... Once we leave this mountain, you won't have to eat me."
But Fang Henshui didn't dare say this aloud.