(This chapter was supposed to be the last chapter where the lights in the room dimmed, unable to shine through my body. Fortunately, I am very satisfied with the title.)
…
…
In the great hall, Grand Secretary Chen and a general had said in a mocking tone that even if Jing Jiu could trap these officials in the palace, it would be useless.
Jing Jiu had never thought of doing this. He had killed them all.
Dozens of officials lay in pools of blood, and he had paid a price.
Those generals had some ability, and Grand Secretary Chen had made preparations beforehand. He had invited a few powerful cultivators to pretend to be officials and enter the hall.
The morning sun shone on his pale face. He looked at the distant sky outside the Royal Palace and thought of some things that had happened a long time ago and a long time later.
History was always repeating itself. The only difference was that his cultivation level here was somewhat low.
The young eunuch led the surviving officials out from the corner of the great hall. Looking at the pools of blood on the ground and thinking of the cruel and bloody scenes from before, the officials' legs turned to jelly. They forced themselves to walk out of the hall. Seeing the Emperor covered in blood and holding a sword, they didn't dare to look him in the eye. With a few thuds, they knelt down.
"If you can still walk, go and take care of this matter."
Jing Jiu's voice was devoid of any emotion.
The officials didn't dare to tarry. Propping themselves up with their hands, they walked out of the palace as fast as they could.
There were still many things they needed to do. Comforting the Imperial Army was the first step, and rescuing the officials from the imperial prison was the second.
There was a slight commotion outside the Royal Palace, but it quickly calmed down. Before long, the palace gates were opened again. Dozens of officials came to the hall and knelt before Jing Jiu.
These people had just left the imperial prison and were still wearing their prison uniforms. They looked extremely wretched.
Great General Pei and Governor Zhou knelt at the very front.
The former was Grand Secretary Zhang's most trusted general and had the highest prestige in the Chu Kingdom. The latter's status was much lower, but he was the future prime minister that Grand Secretary Zhang had prepared for Jing Jiu.
They had heard from their colleagues what had happened in the hall today and could not believe it. Only now, when they saw dozens of eunuchs and palace maids, under the command of a few eunuchs, splashing clean water into the hall and seeing the blood flowing out of the hall like a waterfall and flowing down the stone steps, did they confirm with shock that it was true.
His Majesty had almost killed all the officials in the court.
Jing Jiu looked at General Pei and said, "Go to the barracks outside the city. If there are any problems in the capital, directly extinguish them."
General Pei's expression changed. Governor Zhou was worried that His Majesty did not understand the complexity of the current situation and said, "The capital camp will not listen to General Pei's orders. All the manors in the capital have long been prepared, and those princes and dukes will definitely not be content with their lot. Perhaps they will take advantage of the chaos to stir up trouble. Your Majesty …"
"You are the people chosen by the Grand Scholar. If you can't even handle such a small matter, his judgment is a bit too poor."
Thinking of Grand Secretary Chen, who had died in the hall, and Prime President Jin, who had died the day before, Jing Jiu realized that Grand Secretary Zhang's judgment was indeed not very good, except that he had understood him.
"In short, don't bother me with such trifles, not today, and not in the future. In this aspect, you should learn from him."
Having said this, he turned around and walked toward the Cold Palace.
Zhuo Rusui yawned and followed him out.
…
…
The rusted lock had been removed, and the side door, which was used to deliver miscellaneous goods, had been sealed shut. Other than this, the Cold Palace had not changed much. It was still as cold and cheerless as ever.
Jing Jiu threw the badly damaged sword into the pool, changed his clothes, and leaned back on the bed. The blood on his body had long since been washed clean.
Standing in front of the bed, Zhuo Rusui said, "If I hadn't lost my arm that time, I would have forgotten most of what had happened in the outside world."
Jing Jiu said, "You are going to compete for the Fairy Book. The Green Sky Mirror won't let you forget this, but it doesn't matter if you forget other things."
"What are you going to do, Senior Master?" asked Zhuo Rusui.
"What about you?" asked Jing Jiu.
"I still have the same idea, which is to cultivate and kill people here."
Zhuo Rusui said matter-of-factly, "If I kill all the other participants in the Dao Competition, the Fairy Book will belong to Aoyama. Even if I fail, I won't have wasted the last few decades."
Jing Jiu said, "I'm almost at the same level."
The disciples of Aoyama were always straightforward in their actions, so it was not surprising that they had a similar plan.
Yet, Zhuo Rusui didn't understand why Jing Jiu hid in the Royal Palace every day if he wanted to cultivate and kill other participants in the Dao Competition.
Jing Jiu was fully aware that he wouldn't get an answer even if he asked Jing Jiu. He didn't know how helpless Tong Yan was when she died back then. He raised his hand and bowed to Jing Jiu, ready to leave.
"Where are you going?" Jing Jiu asked.
Zhuo Rusui said, "I'm going to Zhao State to kill that eunuch."
Jing Jiu said, "He Zhan is a bit abnormal. Be careful."
After Zhuo Rusui left, it was even quieter in the palace hall.
The capital would be in chaos that day. It was unclear if General Pei, Governor Zhou and the others could stabilize the situation, and it was also unclear how many people would die in the end.
Sitting on the bed, Jing Jiu looked at the sky outside the window in Silence. He maintained this posture for a long time.
No one knew what he was thinking, but it probably had nothing to do with the chaos in the capital.
As the sky shifted, people would occasionally come to the outside of the palace hall to report on the current situation. Interestingly enough, the messenger was not the young eunuch, but the Eldest Young Master Zhang.
Perhaps in the eyes of General Pei, Governor Zhou, and the others, the Eldest Young Master Zhang was the person whom His Majesty trusted the most.
Jing Jiu didn't reply. He continued to look outside the window in silence.
The sun gradually set. After dusk came night, and the light in the palace hall grew dim.
At some point, a lamp was lit in the palace hall.
Flutter, flutter.
The Blue Bird flapped its wings and flew into the palace hall. It landed on the bed and turned into that cute little girl.
Jing Jiu asked, "Is it settled?"
Qing 'er said, "The rebellion in the barracks and the Imperial Army outside the city has been suppressed by Pei Siming. The residences of the ministers are under control. You don't have to worry."
Jing Jiu said, "I didn't."
Qing 'er said with slight annoyance, "Those people outside like to watch the chaos of war, so I can use those scenes to fool them. But I have to show them some scenes of you."
"I remember you saying that I cultivate and sleep here every day. Those people outside the Huiyin Valley have long since grown tired of seeing me."
"But the scene of you killing people in the palace hall today is what they like to see the most. I didn't show it, and I don't know how many complaints I've caused."
"Scenes that can't be seen directly might be even more exciting."
"That makes sense. No wonder there are so many good reviews."
"No need to thank me."
"You don't have to be so polite."
Qing 'er said somewhat angrily, "Don't always have me be a messenger in the future. What if Bai Zhenren becomes suspicious?"
Jing Jiu said, "I'll be careful."
The dim light fell on his body.
Because he had killed people during the day, his face was a bit pale, and his expression was a bit tired. His black hair draped over his shoulders, displaying a kind of decadent beauty.
Seeing this scene, Qing 'er was in a trance. She came back to her senses after a while, and exclaimed in surprise, "You've lit a lamp?"
Jing Jiu uttered "Hmm".
This palace hall was seldom lit by a lamp. It was not until a few days ago when the Grand Secretary Zhang came here before his death that the lamp was lit.
Thinking of what had happened in the last few days, Qing 'er asked confusedly, "You've been concentrating on Cultivation and don't care about other things. Why are you willing to do it this time?"
Jing Jiu said, "Cultivation requires a quiet place. What I did was no different from a bear getting rid of the threat outside its cave."
Qing 'er asked while looking at him, "Is that true? Is that all? "
"Of course," Jing Jiu said.
Qing 'er curled her lips and said, "Maybe it's true … but I still think that your action has something to do with the Grand Secretary."
"Maybe it's true," Jing Jiu said.
Qing 'er's eyes lit up, as she asked, "What's so different about the Grand Secretary? For him, you are fake, but for you … well, he might be real … No, since you will leave the Illusionary Realm and will probably never come back in this lifetime, and even if you come back, you won't be able to see him again. So, he is also fake to you, right? "
There were too many truths and falsehoods in this statement, and it was hard to tell the truth from the falsehood.
Qing 'er stared into his eyes and said, "According to what you said, those who leave and never come back are all fake; but why did you do it?"
Looking at the dim lamp, Jing Jiu said, "Because there are many things in the world that have nothing to do with what is true and what is false."
…
…
It was quiet outside the Huiyin Valley.
The light screen in the sky was still in that scene.
The dim lamp in the palace hall was fading away, and the lights in the capital city were brightly lit. The hooves of the cavalrymen trod on the green stone road, and the cries grew softer.
Nobody had heard the conversation between the Blue Bird and Jing Jiu, but they had seen the whole story.
No matter how calm the Cultivation practitioners were, they would still feel a bit frustrated when they saw the lights in the scene and thought of the joys and sorrows they had seen in the past thirty days.
Sensei's eyes were wet, but it was unclear if she was crying for Jing Jiu and Grand Secretary Zhang, or for some other reason.
Standing by a cliff in the distance, Tong Yan fell silent for a long time, thinking of what Jing Jiu had said in the end.
Those were all fake.
The Cultivation practitioners had all heard similar words in their pursuit of the Dao. They might come from their masters or their colleagues, but they were not as certain as what Jing Jiu had said.
Many Cultivation practitioners would have the illusion that they could come into contact with reality by recognizing the falsehood, and they would be able to sever their emotions and nature. But as Jing Jiu had said, there were many things in the world that had nothing to do with what was true and what was false; who could really sever their emotions and nature? In other words, why should they sever their emotions and nature?
The footsteps burst out behind the cliff. Tong Yan turned around and found it was the thin and dark disciple of the No-Mercy Sect. "What do you think of what your Young Master said?" she asked suddenly.
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