Chapter 642: Kill and Live

Chapter 642: Life and Death

Tick-tock.

A drop of oil fell into the burning charcoal, and the flames suddenly flared up.

The oil-skinned vendor peered through the billowing smoke and cast a suspicious glance at the table by the roadside.

The guests at this table were truly peculiar.

The first two to sit down initially seemed normal, drinking and eating meat without any apparent abnormalities. But for some reason, as they ate, they suddenly lowered their heads, as if they had fallen asleep.

This left the vendor momentarily confused, unable to comprehend what had transpired. He glanced down at the food on the grill, examining it carefully, and repeatedly reassured himself that he had retired from the business years ago and had not used any drugs.

Before he could recover, two more people suddenly appeared at the small table.

One of them also began to doze off, while the other seemed to have anticipated this situation and was eating calmly, as if it were nothing unusual.

Soon, the two who had fallen asleep woke up, their eyes suddenly opening wide, their gaze fixed, and they were covered in sweat, more than even the vendor who was standing by the stove.

What kind of monsters are these? Eating and dreaming at the same time?

When did this kind of play become popular in Chongqing Prefecture?

"Shopkeeper, another bottle of Jiannan, don't get it wrong."

A call interrupted the vendor's confused thoughts.

"Oh, here it comes."

The vendor snapped back to attention and quickly walked over with a bottle of wine.

"Guest, are your friends okay?"

The vendor asked worriedly, "Should I call some people to help you? This is a place where the Chuan-Yu gambling association provides protection. If there's any trouble, they can solve it."

"No need, they just have some health issues, you're welcome."

What kind of health issues would cause this?

The vendor was about to speak, but his eyes suddenly caught sight of the long knife leaning against the table. The familiar pattern on the sheath made him, who had once roamed the world, feel a sudden chill, and he quickly closed his mouth, cursing himself for being nosy and quickly stepping away.

Li Jun opened the bottle cap and poured wine for the awakened Wang Xie and He Cangjia, filling their cups one by one.

"How about it, weren't you scared?"

"Brother, it's good that you're here, otherwise I would have really fallen asleep here today."

Compared to He Cangjia's hysterical crying, Wang Xie was obviously more composed, and after taking a deep breath, the fear in his eyes disappeared completely.

"Thank you."

"Do I need to be so polite to you? When did you become so courteous, Wang Xie?"

"What if I did the same thing to you, wiping your nose and tears?"

"If you could do that, I wouldn't mind."

The two smiled at each other and drank their glasses in one go.

"Enough, stop pretending."

Li Jun glanced at He Cangjia, who was still sighing, "I remember you used to be brave, even daring to break into the Buddhist temple. How could a dream scare you like this?"

"In the past, I was penniless, with only my life left, so I wasn't afraid of dying. Now my status is different, and I haven't enjoyed the good life for long. I don't want to be killed in a dream like this."

"This time it's my fault, I've let you down."

Li Jun took the wine bowl in front of He Cangjia and handed it to him, smiling, "If you still have resentment in your heart, just say it out, don't keep it inside."

"To say I have no resentment towards you, Brother Jun, is a lie. Wang Xie and I were just going out for a drink, but as we ate, we were suddenly dragged into a dream, threatened and humiliated, and almost lost our lives. Anyone would be upset about this."

He Cangjia didn't hide his dissatisfaction and frankly expressed his grievances.

"But to say I'm resentful, that's not true. It's more about being angry at myself. When faced with such a situation and having no power to fight back, I tried to pretend to be stupid and wanted to get through it, but in the end, I was exposed and made a fool of myself, losing face for nothing."

He Cangjia smiled bitterly at himself, took the wine bowl Li Jun handed him, and drank it down in one go.

Li Jun placed his hands on his knees, his fingers tapping: "Don't worry, this happened because of me, and I'll settle accounts with the Donghuang Palace."

"Of course we need to settle accounts, Brother Jun. You have to help me and Wang Xie regain our lost face, otherwise we won't be done."

He Cangjia laughed heartily at this, seeming quite carefree.

But Wang Xie's expression was gloomy, his eyes slightly lowered, as if he felt a sense of dissatisfaction but was helpless.

Li Jun noticed the unusual atmosphere and wanted to say something, but didn't know where to start.

"Hey, Wang Hundred, Lord Wang, what are you thinking? Don't tell me you're still thinking about me just now saying your acting skills were poor? Being so petty like that isn't any fun."

He Cangjia's heart was transparent, and he leaned over, putting his arm around Wang Xie's shoulder.

"I'm not angry with you. I just..."

"Don't just, I know what you want to say, but after living for so many years, everyone knows the principle that people die and goods are discarded. Don't you understand that?"

He Cangjia said, "Even if you're really arrogant and insist on competing, it should be with outsiders, that's called fighting for face, and Buddhists fight for a pillar of incense. I won't argue with you. But if you're so foolish as to compete with your own people, then I'll have to teach you a lesson today."

"Get lost, you're going to teach me a lesson now?"

Wang Xie's anger dissipated, and he laughed and scolded, "I've already fallen to the rank of a guard in the Ming Dynasty, where is my pride now? I'm just thinking about how to hold onto this incredibly thick thigh in the future."

"That's what we both think."

He Cangjia raised an eyebrow, "Why don't we just wash ourselves clean tonight and go to Brother Jun together?"

"Really? Are you going to be so cruel to yourself?"

"To achieve great things, you have to pay a price, right?"

"That's true, wealth and honor are found in danger. Let's take a risk tonight, brothers!"

The two men looked serious but with a hint of heroism, as if they had made a huge sacrifice, and turned to look at Li Jun together.

"As long as you two can withstand my fists, there's no problem."

Li Jun squinted his eyes, raised his right hand, and his finger joints made a cracking sound.

The three exchanged glances, and after a moment, they all burst into laughter, clinking their glasses together.

The vendor, who had recognized Wang Xie's identity, was frightened by the noise and trembled with fear, worried that these important guests would cause more trouble.

At this moment, Zou Si-jiu, who had fallen asleep nearby, suddenly opened his eyes, turned his head, and spat out a mouthful of blood, his face looking ugly.

The laughing He Cangjia noticed this and quickly composed his expression, glancing at Wang Xie beside him.

Li Jun looked at Zou Si-jiu and asked, "Is there a problem?"

"There isn't really a problem, just a bit of dissatisfaction. I've been careful on my side, but that bastard actually thought he had the strength to compare himself with me, Zou Ge, and was determined to kill me!"

Zou Si-jiu angrily cursed, rinsed his mouth with tea from the table, and continued, "If it weren't for the fact that his dream master rules had no special constraints on me, I might have actually shed some blood today to get the job done."

"Let's endure it for now, and once we find out where the Donghuang Palace is hiding, we'll have plenty of opportunities to take revenge."

Zou Si-jiu nodded, "He probably doesn't know that I've tampered with him. The people in the eastern branch have done some research, and they still have some skills. But, Old Li, I always feel that there's something fishy about this."

"You think there's something fishy about this?"

Li Jun smiled, as if he had anticipated that Zou Si-jiu would say this.

"That's right," he said.

Zou Si-jiu spoke bluntly: "In theory, even the old Taoist Zhang Xi-ji knows that they should send someone to try to win you over, let alone the sinister Eastern Palace people who are full of empty talk. Even if they really don't have this idea, they shouldn't jump out and actively provoke us at this time, right? This is completely a lose-lose situation for them."

"So do you think that the 'Siming' Zhao Yin might be a bait deliberately released by the Eastern Palace?"

"This possibility is also unlikely. After all, he is a dream master of the Yin-Yang order three. No matter how wealthy the Eastern Palace is, they wouldn't just throw him out to fish, would they? Moreover, Zhao Yin's dream master rules tend towards control and he is not good at self-preservation. If he is used as bait, he may not catch any fish, but instead get himself into trouble."

Zou Si-jiu pondered for a moment: "So I don't think they are digging a pit, but rather acting for Zhang Xi-ju's benefit, using our provocation to show their sincerity in cooperating with Longhu Mountain."

"Whatever they are planning, our priority is to get the person out, we can't let them continue to hide in the dark."

Li Jun said coldly: "We still need to let them bleed a little to keep them in line."

Huo Cangjia and Wang Xie exchanged glances when they heard this.

They had originally thought that Zou Si-jiu had suffered a loss at Zhao Yin's hands, but now it seemed that things were not so simple.

"I understand, but they are too dirty, so we still need to be careful and vigilant."

Zou Si-jiu said: "I have already asked the guards to notify Mo Qi Jing and Chen Qisheng to go to the south to pick up Gui Wang Da and others and take them back to the East Court."

Li Jun nodded and turned to look at the other two who were still stunned, and smiled: "You know the situation now, staying here will be very dangerous, I can find you a new place? Don't be sentimental, if you lose this little business now, you can lose it, but once the situation stabilizes, you can make it back tenfold or a hundredfold."

"No problem, I can go anywhere, after all, the Chuan-Yu Gambling Association is a loose organization, if it's gone, it's gone."

Huo Cangjia spoke up first, but Wang Xie hesitated for a long time before finally shaking his head and refusing: "I can't, I can't leave the brothers of the Chongqing Guards behind."

"You, Lao Wang, are really a stubborn person. They are not in danger here, what are you worried about?"

Huo Cangjia advised: "The Eastern Palace's target is us, if you continue to stay here, you may really harm them."

"I know what you're saying, but you don't need to worry at all."

Li Jun took an electronic tablet from Zou Si-jiu's hand, placed it on the table, and pushed it in front of Wang Xie.

The illuminated screen displayed an order with a bright yellow background.

"This is an imperial decree ordering you to immediately take all the personnel of the Chongqing Guards to Chengdu Prefecture and accept the unified command of Chengdu Prefecture Governor Pei Xingjian."

Li Jun smiled: "But this is not something I asked for, it was something that Pei Xingjian, that old man, asked me to do before I left Chengdu Prefecture. He said that among the Ming Dynasty's guards, only you, Wang Xie, could catch his eye, and the others were not useful to him."

Wang Xie's lips moved: "I"

Li Jun raised his hand to interrupt him: "He also asked me to ask you a question: the way of governing the country and the people, and the way of hegemony and dominance, have you thought about which path you want to take?"

Wang Xie remained silent for a moment, then reached out and picked up the electronic tablet on the table.

"I understand, thank you, Jun Ge."

"When Yan Lao was still alive, you used to scold me a lot, now I can hear you call me brother, it's really comfortable."

Li Jun smiled and stood up, "Leave as soon as possible, Zou Si-jiu will stay here to escort you."

"Jun Ge, where are you going?"

Huo Cangjia asked curiously.

"I'm going to meet a stubborn old man who is taller than the sky."

Bandit territory, Zhenbao Village.

An old man dressed in black linen stood at the village entrance, exuding a strong aura of frost.

The cattle and sheep were still sleeping, but the rising smoke had already illuminated the sun.

The villagers, disregarding the still cold weather, were excitedly digging out various farm tools from their homes to prepare for spring sowing.

Everywhere there were smiling faces full of enthusiasm and hope, but strangely they ignored the old man entering the village.

Even when they passed by him, they only felt a cool breeze on their cheeks.

The old man's steps were slow, walking and stopping along the way. Sometimes he would stop in front of a bandit hut, examining the cracks in the courtyard wall with his fingers, measuring the width of the cracks.

After confirming that the house was not in danger of collapsing, his frowning brows slowly relaxed.

Sometimes he would walk into a family's courtyard, watching the hostess bring out steaming butter tea and tsampa from the kitchen, and the naughty child following close behind his mother, drooling with greed.

When he saw the food placed on the table of the elderly in the house, and the elder broke off a piece and handed it to the child, who smiled sweetly and took it.

The old man then took a deep breath of the fragrant air that filled the room, turned around and walked out the door.

Sometimes he would stop beside the working bandit men, admiring their skilled repair of various dusty tools, and quietly listening to the folk songs they sang.

The lyrics were not very beautiful or rhyming, but seemed to be spontaneous and expressive.

There were fewer words about Buddha, and more about the hope for a bountiful harvest. The magnetic singing voice, full of laughter, painted a beautiful picture: the green seedlings broke through the frozen soil, received the rain and dew of heaven and earth, and bloomed with gorgeous petals.

Walking and looking, when the old man reached the private school built from a temple, the sky was already bright.

He did not push open the door, but stood under a window and listened to the clear voice coming from inside.

"Ruxu, Wushu, Dao, Buddha, Fa, Nong, Mo, Bing, Za, Ming, Yin-Yang, and Zongheng, these are the three religions and nine streams summarized by Emperor Yizong. As for the achievements of this emperor, I, the teacher, will not make any evaluation, because whether he is good or bad depends on the person."

"As for the sequence, it has now permeated every aspect of our Great Ming Empire. There is even a saying in the empire: 'Those who do not enter a sequence are all ants.' Although this saying is biased, it does represent the attitude of the majority of the people towards sequences today."

"Stop whispering to each other, everyone, and listen carefully to me, the teacher."

In the pauses of the speech, a faint sound of breaking through the air could be heard, which was probably the sound of a whip being swung.

"Do you know what the three religions and nine streams are for?"

"The martial order, you should all know about it, your most admired brother Dunzhu is the one who follows this sequence. The fists of the martial order are hard enough, and the rules of breaking the order are not too troublesome, just need to be brave and ruthless. But the brains are generally not very good, and they are not suitable for our little zomazhis."

The old man standing under the window heard this casual and vulgar tone, which sounded more like a chat than a lecture, and couldn't help but frown.

"We'll skip the Buddha and Dao families, because they are not good people. Of course, there are exceptions, such as our bandit territory's Yuan Bodhisattva. So except for practicing at her temple, no other gods or Buddhas are allowed to be worshipped. If I find out, I'll break both of your legs."

"The same goes for Zongheng and Yin-Yang, they are just good at daydreaming, useless, and not allowed to learn."

"As for the Fa order, it's a bit old-fashioned and not very interesting, but this sequence is just and upright, so we can consider it as a second-class choice."

"The Mo order, in short, is about fiddling with broken copper and iron, and thinking of ways to turn waste into treasure. This is very suitable for the many smart and capable little zaxi in our private school. They can forge iron, build roads and houses, and save a lot of effort for your fathers and mothers, so it's a first-class choice."

"Speaking of the Mo order, we can't help but mention the Nong order. This is actually a very good sequence, but it has been led astray by some malicious people. In my opinion, the most important thing for the Nong order is to study how to cultivate the five grains and feed the people of the world, so that everyone has food to eat and clothes to wear. Don't be dismissive, this is a huge matter, so it should also be a first-class choice."

Upon hearing this, the old man outside the door smiled faintly and nodded slightly.

"The Bing order is naturally good at work, but it's expensive, so we won't consider it. As for the Za order and the Ming order, their current situation is not very good, but they have no major drawbacks, so we can also consider them as second-class choices."

"In fact, in the end, every sequence has its own place and area of expertise. Now it's really a mess, but that's because no one is willing to follow the rules and take responsibility, and everyone is focused on how to persecute and make profit. But this situation is only temporary, it will end sooner or later, and it won't take too long."

"So now you all give me, the teacher, some thought about what kind of sequence you want to become in the future?"

"What, did I forget about the Ruxu order? Don't worry, you wait a moment."

The sound of footsteps inside the door grew closer, and a face filled with complaint peeked out from the window: "Old man, when did you start eavesdropping?"

Zhang Fengyue raised his hand to brush off the dust on his shoulder, as if he had temporarily shed a heavy burden. Contrary to rumors, he did not conceal his emotions, but instead laughed and scolded at Zhang Sizhen: "I'm afraid you'll mislead the students and tarnish the reputation of our Zhang family!"

"That cannot be. But compared to you, the former dean of Donglin Academy, I must admit I fall short."

Zhang Sizhen smiled and turned his head, as if inviting him: "Come, old man, tell these children what the Confucian order truly is."

The old man did not refuse, and step by step climbed the stairs, entering this modest study.

The little head was raised in anticipation, the red hue of the plateau painting the small face, standing upright and bowing with precise movements.

"Greetings, Master."

In a clear, resonant voice, the old man smoothed the wrinkles on his robe with his hand and bowed in return.

"Now, I will tell you all what the Confucian order truly is."

The old man used his hand as a pen, meeting the gaze of the innocent children, and wrote a large, square character in the air.

Human.