Chapter 459: Grace and Righteousness Are No Laughing Matter

Chapter 459: Gratitude and Kindness Cannot Be Laughed At

“So you’ve come to kill me?”

Feng Chen Yuan Zhai leaned against the closed door behind him, speaking carelessly.

“Originally, that was the plan. One should pick the softer target to squeeze.”

Li Jing stated bluntly, sitting beside Feng Chen Yuan Zhai and folding his umbrella sharply: “But now, it seems unnecessary to take action.”

“Hmph.”

Feng Chen Yuan Zhai sneered, saying nothing more.

“How did things get so chaotic?”

“He was stronger than I imagined. Managing to survive was already unexpected.” Feng Chen Yuan Zhai answered frankly.

Li Jing nodded, straightening his bent legs, the creaking of his bones audible as he spoke with a sigh: “Looks like this madman is indeed a tough nut to crack!”

“Do you also intend to take a stab at him?”

Feng Chen Yuan Zhai’s tone was mocking: “When a fox dies, the dogs feast on the remains. That’s the honest nature of our faction, isn’t it?”

“Did you misunderstand something?”

Li Jing pointed to his nose: “Do I look like someone who’d collude with him?”

“I don’t know how to read people.”

Feng Chen Yuan Zhai’s words carried a heavy undertone of self-mockery: “Isn’t it Huang Shi Lie who sent you?”

“Of course not.”

The messenger who informed Li Jing was actually Li Bu Feng.

This former minister who had returned to the imperial homeland had also been reliable. The earth immortal of Cui Mountain had just entered the Wa region when he passed the news to Li Jing.

According to Li Bu Feng, the news was no longer valuable and couldn’t repay Li Jing’s favor.

So he used Feng Chen Yuan Zhai’s whereabouts to make up the difference.

The time from their battle to Li Jing finding this place did not exceed an hour.

This unassuming scholar’s influence in Wa far exceeded Li Jing’s expectations.

But these matters need not be told to Feng Chen Yuan Zhai.

“I’ll kill him sooner or later. You can believe it or not.”

Li Jing recalled the scene of his meeting with Huang Shi Lie at the Chancellor’s Mansion, smirking, “He probably has the same idea.”

Feng Chen Yuan Zhai fell silent for a moment, perhaps realizing he had nothing left that the other might covet, his hostility slightly diminished.

“Is it due to the rivalry between sects and the sequence of lone wanderers?”

“Killing people isn’t about righteous reasons. I need his bones to sharpen my blade, and he needs my life to vent his anger. At best, it’s a mutual benefit!”

This fit the conduct of the martial hierarchy.

“Can you truly match him? Ming Zhi Xing’s woman, Ming Zhi Xing, solved the lingering dangers of Huang Heaven Gate, though at the cost of exhausting all her potential. But Huang Shi Lie is now a real martial peak of the fourth rank!”

“What’s the fourth rank? I heard a saying in Cheng County: ‘Dare to fight, but don’t dare not fight—style must be enough!’ Does that mean I should fear him just because he’s fourth rank?”

Li Jing’s rough, uncultivated demeanor sneered, “Moreover, in killing, who knows the outcome unless the final strike is delivered? If hierarchy of sequence determines victory, then why fight at all? Just report your sequence beforehand and settle it peacefully!”

Feng Chen Yuan Zhai wanted to say he was overestimating himself but thought of his own status as Huang Shi Lie’s defeated subordinate, hardly worthy of mockery.

Perhaps a different kind of heart would allow him to exit with more dignity?

Feng Chen Yuan Zhai shook his head, dispelling the extra thoughts, and spoke slowly: “You’re not like the guards I’ve met before.”

“Oh, how so?”

“You don’t look like an official, more like a bandit!”

“What’s the difference?”

“No difference?”

Li Jing slightly raised his eyebrows: “If you’re strong, I’m an official. If you’re weak, I’m a bandit.”

“Is that the way of our faction?”

“In a world where life and death hang in the balance, do we need to discuss righteousness?”

The words fell, and both turned their heads to glance at each other, their expressions devoid of the earlier hostility.

“Didn’t expect that, even at my age, I’m still seen through by someone younger. Truly, I’ve lived to such an old age to end up like this.”

Li Jing didn’t respond to that, instead voicing his inner doubt: “Why did you come to Osaka? Was it truly to vent your grievance for Du Guan Hong Zhi?”

“Why do you think this reason isn’t enough?”

Feng Chen Yuan Zhai’s disheveled face showed no expression: “I once played a traitor during the time when the Emperor of our faction first crossed the strait into Wa. But I did so not for myself.”

Li Jing waited quietly for his next words, but Feng Chen Yuan Zhai, after a long pause, sighed and said, “But now, talking about these things is meaningless.”

“Du Guan Hong Zhi told you he could restore Wa’s independence, so you’ve yearned after him all these years. After his death, seeing no hope for restoration, you decided to kill Huang Shi Lie and Ming Zhi Xing to avenge him, right?”

All the twists and turns of Wa had become clear as day.

Feng Chen Yuan Zhai laughed, “Isn’t this a cliché? Even the worst dream in the yellow millet world would be far more exciting than this.”

“The story is indeed cliché.”

Li Jing nodded, but the tone shifted abruptly to sincere: “But you, on the other hand, played a remarkable role.”

“To be manipulated from start to finish and still have a role? Shouldn’t one be treated as a pitiable joke?”

“No, one shouldn’t.”

Li Jing looked up, gazing beyond the rain streaks to the pitch-black sky.

His eyes swept through clear images: the street drenched in torrential rain, the young man in white robes with a paper fan at his neck setting up a hot pot in the middle of the long street, listening to the wind whistling through his swords, watching the rain splash red into the soup.

The glittering Cui Wei Golden Tower, the elderly man with a black head dressed in rigid integrity, staring coldly into the blazing flames, though dead, unyielding.

The reckless youth fond of fisticuffs, the arrogant immortal with a horse-tail hairstyle, the dapper layman in a suit.

There were those who had died, and those still alive.

“I’ve never experienced love or affection, only cunning and betrayal, daggers and swords. Whether it’s passion or blind loyalty, I’ve seen enough.”

Li Jing’s gaze returned, emphasizing each word: “Gratitude and kindness cannot be laughed at.”

“Ha ha ha ha!”

Feng Chen Yuan Zhai let out a long, hollow laugh, devoid of grandeur, unable to hide his loneliness.

“My greatest shame in this lifetime is surrendering to you, the Ming faction. But I didn’t expect to meet someone as understanding as you today.”

Boom!

The black umbrella opened, Li Jing stepped out from the eaves, walking into the rain.

Feng Chen Yuan Zhai looked up at the straight-back silhouette: “So you let me go? After listening to two stories, you spared my life. You’d better not get into the habit.”

“I don’t treat people as fools, so you shouldn’t treat me as an idiot.”

The air thickened with tension, each breath a silent battle.

The weight of unspoken truths pressed against the fragile silence.

Echoes lingered like ghosts, whispering secrets only the heart could hear.

A fragile balance hung in the balance, fragile yet unyielding.

The weight of expectation settled heavy upon the shoulders, a burden shared yet unspoken.

A fragile resolve held, yet the path ahead remained obscured.

A silent pact formed, unspoken yet binding, a thread woven deep within.

The past lingered, a specter clinging to the present, unseen yet present.

A choice weighed heavy, a decision etched in silence.

The past whispered promises, yet the present demanded action.

A fragile resolve crystallized, a resolve both strong and fragile.

The weight of history pressed, a burden shared yet unshared.

A silent pact sealed, a bond unspoken yet unbroken.

The path forward remained unclear, obscured by shadows.

A decision was made, though unspoken, a choice to be made.

The past’s echo lingered, a reminder of what had been.

A choice was made, though unvoiced, a path carved in silence.

The weight of the past weighed, yet the present endured.

A silent agreement was forged, unspoken yet binding.

The path ahead remained uncertain, a shadow cast long.

A decision was made, though unspoken, a choice to act.

The past’s whispers lingered, a reminder of what lay ahead.

The choice was made, though unvoiced, a path to tread.

The weight of history settled, a burden shared yet unseen.

A silent pact held, a bond unspoken but unbroken.

The future remained uncertain, a shadow cast.

A decision was made, though unspoken, a path to walk.

“We can’t kill him; if the virtuous immortal dies too, there’ll be no one left to do business with us.”

Akechi Seishū sank back beside the mutilated corpse, his hands slowly stroking every inch of skin, his expression lost in obsession.

“The people of Yongle Palace are still in the Wa district,” Araseyen reminded.

“They may not be able to match Qingcheng Mountain’s price, and they might not dare risk their own earth‑immortal venturing into the Wa district.”

Akechi Seishū murmured, “Besides, Yongle Palace’s crouching crane is far harder to deal with than this virtuous immortal.”

“So we just leave this menace? His killing intent just now was no act!”

Araseyen, still unwilling, said, “Or we could simply expose him to the Jinyiwei; as long as that earth‑immortal remains, the deal can go on.”

“He’s already heard all your thoughts; we see the virtuous immortal as nothing more than a Yellow Turban strongman. When we reach Qingcheng Mountain we’ll have plenty of time to play with him—let’s not complicate things now.”

At this moment Akechi Seishū had one hand on the faceless visage, the other resting between his brows, as if calculating the best way to position it.

“Toyotomi no Tōkyō may not be dead.”

Araseyen muttered low, “He’s got something odd about him.”

“If he’s not dead, then he’s not dead.”

Akechi Seishū’s motion paused, though he still didn’t lift his head, “No need to bother with him; he’s just a clueless fool. If he dares to keep meddling, someone will naturally kill him for us.”