As the most famous treacherous minister, sycophant, ruthless official, and thug in history, Zhou Tong had no friends.
Su Li had also often said that he had no friends, but these were two different matters.
Whether they were his schoolmates, colleagues, or even fellow Daoists, they all wanted nothing more than for Zhou Tong to quickly die, such as those princes currently in power in the court.
If Zhou Tong really did die, there would naturally be no one to collect his corpse.
In truth, he had once had a friend who was willing to collect his corpse.
Alas, that friend had been personally killed by him, and had almost died without a burial.
So in this autumn, one could already see the distant future. Zhou Tong would assuredly die without a burial.
He had no way of blaming others or this world, because all of this was his own doing.
From this moment onwards, he would be uneasy, frustrated, perplexed, unable to see any hope of living, until he finally died without a burial.
Chen Changsheng's question was not a curse, but a calm analysis, a calm exposure.
This was very terrifying.
The scene became abnormally quiet. Whether it was the officials of the Department for Purging Officials or the students of the Orthodox Academy, no one spoke for a very long time.
At this moment, the only person that could break the silence was Zhou Tong himself.
He looked at Chen Changsheng and said with extreme solemnity and seriousness, "The venerable Daoist will naturally take care of my funeral."
This was the only thing he could think of in this short amount of time, the greatest possibility of breaking Chen Changsheng's conjecture.
He was Shang Xingzhou's dog. When he died, his master would always feel some pity.
Chen Changsheng looked at him and said, "I understand him better than you do. Every corpse has value to him. When a dog he raises dies, he will either eat the meat to nourish himself, or he will share the meat with the people of the town to gain a good reputation. If that dog has ever bitten someone, he will also not mind grinding its bones to ashes so that the people still alive can vent their anger."
Zhou Tong felt a little cold, and then a little hot. Sweat began to appear on his blood-red official's robe.
"Everyone will die," he said to Chen Changsheng.
Chen Changsheng knew that he was speaking of the Pope.
Zhou Tong continued, "Then have you ever thought, when the time comes, who will collect your corpse for you?"
Without waiting for Chen Chang Sheng to speak, he stared into Chen Chang Sheng's eyes and continued, "Don't forget, you are only a plaything for the important figures. You are only a substitute!"
From the very beginning when he said "the Taoist Master will arrange for my funeral" to these three consecutive sentences, there was only one problem.
Chen Chang Sheng's question had touched upon Zhou Tong's weakest spot, he began to feel uneasy, even faintly fearful.
Chen Chang Sheng said, "I don't know who will collect my corpse. I only know that before I die, I will definitely kill you first."
There was only the gentle whistling of the autumn wind both inside and outside the Xue Residence.
Similarly, this was not a threat, because when he said this, his expression was very calm.
Of course, this was not a joke, because there was no smile on his calm face. He was very serious.
It was a declaration.
Chen Changsheng declared to the entire world: No matter what, Zhou Tong would definitely die before him.
Zhou Tong would die a violent death.
There was also the previous question.
That was, he would definitely make Zhou Tong die a tragic death.
…
…
The Xue Residence was deathly silent.
The officials of the Department for Purging Officials all had abnormally nasty expressions, and the students of the Orthodox Academy were also rather nervous.
No matter what, Zhou Tong was still a minister of the court. Not even the Pope or the Emperor would make this sort of declaration.
Chen Changsheng's declaration might have been very satisfying, but what sort of turmoil would it cause?
To him, this was not a problem. He was not using this to vent his emotions. He was very calmly expressing his thoughts. As for what others thought, he did not care.
After saying these words, he walked over to Madam Xue.
As for the young lady and steward of the Xue Estate who had been restrained by those officials, they had naturally been rescued.
Zhou Tong gazed at his back and expressionlessly asked, "Can you kill me?"
Chen Changsheng did not stop, did not turn around. "That night, I already killed you once."
"Do you think that you're so righteous that you're saying all this nonsense with power and conviction? Following one's heart — just how many times are you prepared to repeat those clichés? "
Zhou Tong finally said, "No one has the same thoughts as you, just like no one has come here."
… …
… …
Reality proved that Zhou Tong was wrong.
Not long after Chen Changsheng's arrival, the Xue Estate welcomed another guest.
This guest had a very special status. Not even Zhou Tong could do anything to him. At the same time, it also exceeded everyone's expectations.
The important personage who had come to pay respects to Xue Xingchuan was the Prince of Zhongshan, Chen Sixuan.
This prince who had suffered countless humiliations in the Tianhai government naturally did not have a good expression towards Chen Changsheng, and it was even more so towards Zhou Tong.
He lit an incense stick for Xue Xingchuan, glanced at Chen Changsheng, and then spat on Zhou Tong's face.
Soon after, the Minister of Rites came, as did a few important figures of the Orthodoxy. Tianhai Shengxue finally came as well.
Many people noticed that Tianhai Shengxue had a faint wound on his face, probably caused by the conflict that had occurred when he had been preparing to leave the estate.
The appearance of such an important personage in the Xue Estate was tantamount to slapping Zhou Tong in the face.
No matter how much Zhou Tong could endure, he could not remain here any longer.
Just as he was about to leave, he saw Prince Chen Liu.
"If I were you, I would definitely silently pray that Chen Changsheng can smoothly succeed the position of Pope."
Prince Chen Liu looked at him and seriously said, "Otherwise, he will definitely fulfill those words."
Back then, on the Divine Avenue of the Li Palace, Archbishop Mei Lisha had declared to the entire world that Chen Changsheng would obtain first rank of the first banner in the Grand Examination. In the end, Chen Changsheng had truly succeeded.
Today, in front of the Xue Estate's mourning hall, Chen Changsheng had declared to the entire world that he would definitely have Zhou Tong die a tragic death …
"There are many people who want to kill me, but I've still managed to survive all these years. Why?"
Zhou Tong smiled, his smile somewhat savage. "Because I've never considered myself a person. I'm keenly aware that I'm just a dog."
Dogs all had masters.
When beating a dog, one had to look at its master's face.
And this dog of his would always find the most powerful master.
"Those crazy, hot-blooded youths who have had their reason washed away by youth have always wanted to kill me, but can they kill me?
"As for those people who have the ability to kill me, are they so blind that they can't see who my master is?
"No matter how much Chen Changsheng says, he still won't dare to move against me, right?"
Zhou Tong smiled, the savagery in his smile gradually transforming into ridicule and exhaustion, toward this world and himself.
This was true, because he had always been an upper level Star Condensation cultivator with countless assassins and experts under his command. Those who had the ability to kill him had to be the true experts of the continent. And true experts had never been isolated. They had their own sects, their own descendants, and many people that they needed to take care of, like Zhu Luo of the past. As an expert of the Divine Domain, if he wanted to kill Zhou Tong, it would not be too difficult, but in the past few years, he had never attempted this.
The young and courageous person who had come to kill Zhou Tong did not have the ability to kill him.
The person who could kill him assuredly had experienced the vicissitudes of life, was mature and steady, and understood the principle of considering the overall situation.
There were very few people like Chen Changsheng.
Even if it was him, if he wanted to inherit the position of Pope, he could not touch Zhou Tong.
In Zhou Tong's view, that declaration was just the vicious words of a young person.
Besides Chen Changsheng, who else could it be?
The person who had the ability to kill him would assuredly not be so naive and childish.
Thus, he had always been safe.
At this moment, a large carriage carrying a crabapple tree drove into the capital.
The roots of the crabapple tree were well-preserved, wrapped in fresh earth.
The accompanying redcavalry waved their horsewhips, driving away the pedestrians and cursing the time.
On the side of the official road, a man quietly watched these sights, not saying a word.
His blue clothes had been washed to the point of somewhat whitening, starched to a very straight line.
His two eyebrows drooped down, making him seem rather wretched.
He was like an accountant who was owed a lot of money.
He was also like a broken blade wrapped in coarse cloth.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
