At this point, the most powerful man in the world raised his head and looked at the Eldest Brother by the table. He said slowly, "May I ask Mr. First, if you were in my situation, what would you do?"
The Eldest Brother did not remain silent, nor did he smile. He only looked at a tree in the Winter Courtyard quietly, as if he was recalling his own story from many years ago. He said, "If it were me, I would probably kill as many people as I could."
Upon hearing his answer, Xia Hou laughed out loud, "Hahahaha, Mr. First is such a person, and you have the Headmaster of the Academy behind you. Who in this world would dare to disrespect you?"
Suddenly, his expression turned serious and he said in a cold voice, "But I'm just a surviving member of the Devil's Doctrine whose sect has been destroyed. I'm just a stray dog … It seems that changing to another house to be a dog is the only choice."
"However, being a dog is also a very difficult thing."
Xia Hou retracted his gaze and slowly tapped the table with his steady and powerful fingers. He said, "Because every dog has a master. And I am a dog that seems strong enough to bite people everywhere, but I still don't know who my master is."
"I am a visiting professor of the West-Hill Divine Palace, and I am also the general of the Tang Empire. I can't betray the interests of the empire to the Divine Hall, nor can I betray the Divine Hall to the empire. Then what benefits can a dog like me bring to the Divine Hall and the empire?"
"I can only continue to kill and conquer more and more territory for the Tang Empire, and destroy more and more enemies. Only then will His Majesty not suspect me. At the same time, I have to secretly listen to the orders of the Divine Hall, and help them deal with things that are inconvenient to deal with within the empire. Only then will they continue to trust me."
"These days are really depressing. His Majesty still refuses to fully trust me, and the Divine Hall is very wary of me. And once a disciple of the Enlightenment Doctrine like Tang comes out, the first thing he does is to kill me."
"I'm a traitor. From the moment I left the mountain gate, I was a traitor. From this side of the river to the other side, to this side, and to the other side. This isn't a change between light and darkness. In fact, it's just a remnant of darkness struggling at death's door under the illumination of light, looking for a chance of survival and hope."
"However, sometimes I also think that death isn't scary. What's scary is the past that you carry on your back, the past that you don't want others to know about. If you carry it for too long, it will grow on your body and your heart. No matter what you do, you can't make it lighter. Don't even think about pulling it out from your body."
"But the world is always moving forward. His Majesty sent the Academy to the frontier fortress to practice. Obviously, he doesn't want to use me anymore. And if a dog is useless, it can be killed at any time. It took me a lot of effort to live in the Central Plains for so many years and sit in this position. I don't want to be killed."
"How not to be killed? Unless you don't want to be a dog. How can you not be a dog, but the owner of a dog? You have to have power. Many people say that I am the most powerful man in the world, but you and I both know very well that this kind of power cannot transcend the mortal world. It still exists in the world, so there will always be a rope around my neck. "
"So I want to get that Tomes of Arcane. Because I want to have power beyond this world. I want to break that rope and from then on, I don't have to repeatedly struggle on the two sides of the river. I can get real freedom."
Xia Hou's speech was very long. During the process, neither Eldest Brother nor Ning Que interrupted. They just listened quietly, listening to the vague history, listening to the hidden hatred and unwillingness in the calm narration of the empire's general, and listening to the secrets that not many people in the world knew.
Eldest Brother looked at him and asked gently, "Why do you say this to us?"
Xia Hou smiled and picked up the teacup to drink the cold tea. He sighed softly and said, "Of course I don't want to use these words to change anything. It's just that these words have been hidden in my heart for too many years and I have never had the chance to tell others. There are too few people in the world who are qualified to hear me say these words, and Mr. First, you are undoubtedly one of them."
Eldest Brother sighed and said, "Since it's useless to say it, why do you say so much?"
Xia Hou looked into his eyes and said in a low voice, "Years ago, I wanted to see the Headmaster of the Academy and ask him to help me with my pain and confusion. I thought that the Academy was a place where people like Mr. Ke could teach me, a remnant of the Devil's Doctrine. But it was a pity that the Headmaster of the Academy refused to see me. He only asked His Majesty to pass on two words to me. Until today, I still don't know the meaning of those two words."
Eldest Brother asked, "What two words?"
Xia Hou replied, "Wuwei."
Eldest Brother was silent for a moment and then looked at him and smiled. His gentle smile contained very complicated emotions. There was some pity, some emotion, and some undisguised regret.
"Judging from what you did today, it seems that you really don't understand the Headmaster of the Academy's meaning."
"Please enlighten me, Mr. First."
"Inaction is inaction. Ever since Great General left the Demon Sect to come to my Great Tang, all your thoughts and actions have been sharp. You have used martial arts, military achievements, and ruthlessness to act ostentatiously in order to stand firm in the surging river and not bring trouble to the person behind you. However, you have never thought that if you had done nothing from the beginning, perhaps it would have been better."
Eldest Brother said slowly and slowly raised his hand to stop Xia Hou from speaking. He continued, "Let's talk about the matter of Murong Linshuang, the former Emperor received the hierarch's letter and was very angry. He was ready to fight with the West-Hill. However, you were worried that the person would be exposed, so you killed Murong first to win the trust of the West-Hill. How can you blame the Tang Empire for not helping you?"
"Everything in the world is impermanent. If you didn't do anything, perhaps all the troubles in the future wouldn't exist. It's a pity that you were too worried about that person. One mistake after another, until it reached a point where it's irreversible now."
Xia Hou clenched his fists and said sternly, "But the Headmaster of the Academy didn't say anything back then!"
Eldest Brother looked at him coldly and said in a low voice, "What right do you have for the teacher to speak for you? How do you know that if the Divine Hall takes action, the teacher won't speak for you? Don't forget, if it wasn't for the teacher, how could your sister become the Empress of the Tang Empire! "
There was dead silence in the Winter Courtyard. All the servants in the General's Mansion had already been sent away. No one could hear what Eldest Brother said. Ning Que, who understood what he meant, lowered his head and stared at the teacup in front of him motionlessly. Only his slightly trembling right hand under the table revealed his true emotions.
The Empress of the Tang Empire was actually Xia Hou's sister! She was also a member of the Devil's Doctrine!
…
…
In the depths of the Winter Garden, a thin branch seemed to be unable to withstand the atmosphere or the frost on the branch. With a crack, it snapped and fell into the snow. Eldest Brother slowly pushed the teacup in front of him further away. He raised his head and looked at Xia Hou calmly. "If you're done speaking, then it's my turn to say something that you probably won't like to hear."
Xia Hou narrowed his eyes slightly. His fingers that were tapping on the table had already stopped.
Eldest Brother asked, "Who gave the order to the Horse Gang that attacked the Coalition Army's provisions on the grassland?"
Xia Hou answered, "Me."
Eldest Brother asked, "Who sent the more than a thousand Tang cavalrymen to the Hulan Sea?"
Xia Hou answered, "Me."
Eldest Brother asked, "Who wanted to kill my Youngest Brother with one punch on the mountain path?"
Xia Hou answered calmly, "It was me."
Eldest Brother was silent for a moment. Then he looked at him and said, "In that case, you should retire."
…
…
Was General Xia Hou old?
Be it the civil and military officials in Chang 'an, His Majesty, the billions of people in the world, or even the Great Divine Priests of the West-Hill Divine Palace, no one would think so. This powerhouse at the Peak state of Martial Arts was still at the strongest stage of his life. His spirit and willpower did not show any signs of withering. Many people thought that when General Xu Shi was destined to leave the stage of history due to his old age, he would be the world's most famous general.
However, in this insufferably arrogant general's own mansion, in this quiet and slightly cold Winter Garden, the seemingly ordinary scholar wearing an old coat and worn shoes said for no reason or reason that he was old, and then told him to retire.
When this sentence came out of Eldest Brother's mouth, countless layers of lead-colored winter clouds gathered and came to the sky above Tuyang City. Layers of clouds covered the Winter Garden. The sky was extremely dim, and the trees in the garden showed their old age.
…
…
Xia Hou squinted at Eldest Brother.
After answering many questions, he only asked one question, "Does Mr. First want to interfere in the court affairs?"
Everyone in the Tang Empire who was qualified to know about the back of the mountain of the Academy knew that the Academy was strictly prohibited from interfering in the court affairs. This was the iron rule set by the Headmaster of the Academy and all the disciples in the back of the mountain. Without this iron rule, neither the teachers in the Academy nor His Majesty in the palace would know who was the master of the Tang Empire.
Although many people in the secular world had never heard of the Headmaster of the Academy's name, no one in the world dared to disobey the Headmaster of the Academy's words. To be more precise, those royal officials, Taoist priests, and monks who knew who the Headmaster of the Academy were, never dared to disobey the Headmaster of the Academy's will. The Peach Mountain where the West-Hill Divine Palace was located had become bald in a day. This was the strongest guarantee of this will. Fortunately, the Headmaster of the Academy often traveled around the world and did not seem to like to talk nonsense.
The Headmaster of the Academy said that the Academy could not interfere in the court affairs of the Tang Empire. Then the Academy that had trained countless courtiers and was the most qualified to interfere in the court affairs had never interfered in the court affairs of the Tang Empire. The people in the back of the mountain were no exception.
Today, Eldest Brother wanted Xia Hou, the great general of the Tang Empire, to retire. Was this considered interfering in the court affairs?
As a general of the Tang Empire, Xia Hou was able to respond calmly in the face of the Academy's pressure. He was indeed a top powerhouse in the world. He had confidence and power that was beyond the reach of the common people. This kind of strength was awe-inspiring.
However, Eldest Brother destroyed all of Xia Hou's strength with just one sentence.
"The Headmaster of the Academy did not allow the Academy to interfere in the court affairs because he always thought that the court affairs were trivial and cultivators should stay away from them as much as possible. The turmoil of the Tang Empire or even its destruction would not make him blink. As a visiting professor of the Divine Hall, you should be very clear about the Headmaster of the Academy's visit to the Peach Mountain. Therefore, you should understand what is important to the Headmaster of the Academy. It is a trivial matter that you organized the Horse Gang in the Wilderness behind the imperial court and the Divine Hall. It is also a trivial matter that you want to steal the Tomes of Arcane. It is also a trivial matter that you are a remnant of the Devil's Doctrine. Everything you have done over the years is a trivial matter in the eyes of the Headmaster of the Academy. However, it is a major matter that you want to kill my Youngest Brother in the Academy. "
For the powerhouses in the world, it was necessary for them to be calm in the face of major events.
However, in the face of the major events in the Headmaster of the Academy, even someone as strong as Xia Hou had to be silent and think about it seriously. He thought for a very short time. The blood-like black brush in the teacup had not completely cooled. He sighed and looked at the Winter Courtyard that had accompanied him for many years.
"Since I am old, then I shall retire."
…
(To be continued. If you like this work, please come to Qidian.Com to vote for me. Your support is my greatest motivation.)
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