Chapter 647: People Like Mustard Seeds

Chapter 647: Men Like Weeds

"Brother Pei, the boy Baize is still young. You sent him to do something so dangerous, are you truly not worried that something might happen to him?"

In the government office of Chengdu Prefecture, Pei Xingjian reclined comfortably in a rocking chair, listening to the patter on the roof tiles and watching the rain fall, lightly tapping the armrest.

Liu Jinxun, whose figure appeared slightly illusionary, stood nearby with his hands tucked into his sleeves, his back bent, looking even older than he had when in the frontier lands.

"How can this be considered dangerous?"

Pei Xingjian did not even raise his eyelids, speaking casually: "Back when we were young, we were the kind of people who dared to roll up our sleeves and fight the Martial Sequence and Legal Sequence head-on. We could walk out the door standing up today, and lie in a coffin tomorrow. What kind of scene haven't we witnessed? Didn't we still jump at every chance to mock them right to their faces, never backing down?"

"The situation has changed, the present cannot be compared to the past. Though our faction was not as powerful back then as it is now, everyone from top to bottom was bound together like a single rope, united in purpose to face the outside world. Yang Baize is currently beset by enemies on all sides; I am worried he won't be able to withstand those people's underhanded, filthy methods."

"Stop blindly worrying, Old Liu."

Pei Xingjian turned his head to glance at Liu Jinxun beside him: "Do you think the Old Man would do anything without certainty? Yan Dongqing, that little brat who knows nothing of the heavens and earth—his heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys were seen through long ago. The moment he lifts his tail, the Old Man knows exactly what kind of shit he's going to take. There are plenty of ways to deal with him."

The expression on Liu Jinxun's face stiffened, and he could not help but smile bitterly: "You still speak the same as always... vulgar words, but solid truth. Still, at such an advanced age, and as an elder to boot, couldn't you change your ways just a little?"

"Precisely because I am old and have one foot already in the coffin, there is no longer any need to change."

Pei Xingjian stretched out his arms and teased: "But speaking of which, Old Liu, are you finding it unbearable to stay in Jinling? Otherwise, how would you have the leisure to make a special trip just to chat with me?"

"It is indeed not easy." Liu Jinxun did not conceal it, nodding in candid admission.

Pei Xingjian grew interested: "What happened? Are the powerful clans under your command restless, with someone leading a disturbance?"

"If that were truly the case, it would be wonderful. It would be the perfect chance to kill a chicken to scare the monkeys, and I could finally get some peace."

Liu Jinxun spoke in a helpless tone: "The crucial point is that they are using soft knives. Pupils, old acquaintances, relatives, and friends—they come to my door one by one to weep and complain, saying they have absolutely no intention of defying the Grand Secretary, and that they have worked diligently their entire lives for the Confucian Sequence. It has disturbed me to the point of endless vexation, which is why I specially came to your place to escape and find some quiet."

"Then my luck is better than yours, as I have no such troubles." Pei Xingjian laughed heartily, slapping his own head covered in disheveled hair: "I only need to watch out so that no one takes this head of mine while I am asleep."

Liu Jinxun silently looked at the laughing, unkempt old man beside him, his heart filled with a myriad of emotions.

Today, within the entire Confucian Sequence, the figures of some weight who were openly working for Zhang Fengyue consisted only of himself and Pei Xingjian, along with a former Pacification Commissioner of the Yamato Region, Li Bufeng.

He himself guarded the secondary capital of Jinling, while Pei Xingjian sat in command of the Southwest.

Although Li Bufeng had not been appointed to any specific official post again, he was suppressing the increasingly fierce Honghu rebellion along the coastal provinces in the name of an Imperial Commissioner.

In such a division of labor, although he and Li Bufeng were geographically closer to Longhu Mountain, they stood watch and guarded each other, serving as mutual support.

Pei Xingjian, however, was a solitary blade driven alone into the flank and rear of Longhu Mountain.

His situation was far more dangerous than that of both himself and Li Bufeng.

An even more grim point was that after the battle to intercept Mount Qingcheng, the powerful clans of the entire Southwest region had already fled in droves, leaving almost none behind.

Even with the support of the Legal Sequence, placing them in this vast territory was merely a drop in the ocean, completely insufficient to control the entire Sichuan and Shu region.

To be able to control the single prefecture of Chengdu now was already enough to prove Pei Xingjian's extraordinary capability.

Therefore, under these circumstances, naturally no one would come to Pei Xingjian's door to weep and complain.

Because those who remained by his side were all people who harbored a readiness to die.

Liu Jinxun frowned and said: "In truth, in my view, there is no longer any need to defend Chengdu Prefecture. This is no longer an era where strategic positions need to be valued. This is a war above the common people. The difference between the time it takes to burn a stick of incense and drink a cup of tea cannot affect the overall situation at all."

"You are right, there is no difference. The high sequences are like deities, the low sequences are like ants; everyone travels high and far, their bodies like flashes of electricity, their fists like thunder, spanning hundreds of miles in the blink of an eye. Traditional strategy and tactics have long since vanished into thin air along with the imperial armies."

Pei Xingjian shook his head: "But Old Liu, you are wrong about one thing. This is not a war above the common people at all. From beginning to end, we are fighting for the people!"

"Why can we not abandon Chengdu Prefecture? Because Mount Qingcheng fled, and they left behind a massive number of Daoist believers, all of whom I have trapped within Chengdu Prefecture."

Pei Xingjian said in a deep voice: "The Old Man's purpose is for me to suppress these people and prevent them from flowing into the hands of Longhu Mountain."

"What use is it for you to stop them?"

Liu Jinxun countered: "Zhang Xiji has already restored the strength of a Rank 2 Heavenly Monarch of the New Daoist Sequence. He no longer needs these useless mortal believers at all!"

"Useless?"

Pei Xingjian cold-snorted: "If mortals are useless, why on earth did Zhang Xiji establish some earthly Daoist Kingdom? Could it be that he is truly so bored, having grown tired of being an immortal in the heavens, and wants to experience being a mortal emperor? Or is he too lazy to fathom the unpredictable mind of heaven, and turned around instead to toy with the ignorant hearts of men?"

"If mortals are useless, then why did Yan Dongqing have to lead that pack of brats to pull off some nonsense 'Return of the Spring and Autumn Period,' choosing not to be ministers who enrich the country and strengthen the military, but instead becoming rulers of small states with few people? Could it be that only in this way can the Confucian truths be manifested and the common people of the world be civilized?"

"If mortals are useless, then why did the Honghu rebel faction exhaust their minds to incite and bewitch them, and why does Li Bufeng have to run back and forth from east to west to suppress them? Could it be that they truly want to strive for the interests of the poor and seize power for the suffering?"

Pei Xingjian's successive questions rang out in Liu Jinxun's mind like rolling thunder, causing him to freeze in place abruptly.

"Liu Jinxun, don't you think that if you strip away these people's outer skins, the flesh and bones hidden inside are all the same?"

The frost solidified between Pei Xingjian's brows: "What are they fighting for? Faith, dogma, desire, justice, wealth, power? That is absolute dogshit. What they are fighting for is the hearts of men. The heart of man is the mind of heaven. To become a god, one requires the worship of ten thousand people. To put it plainly, it is all for their own advancement, all to create the conditions to complete their own rituals! Therefore, mortals are not useless; they are of immense use!"

"Below the Sequences, humans are no longer human."

Pei Xingjian's voice grew colder and colder, "They are the incense offered to gods and buddhas, the tools to divine fate, the embryos to pass down lineages, and the skeletons used to pile up thrones."

"Above the Sequences, humans do not act as humans. The Old Man anticipated that such a situation would arise, which is why he resolved to personally end all of this."

As if a ball of furious flame was burning in his chest, Pei Xingjian spoke with increasing anger: "So this time I must help the Old Man; I cannot let him fight this lonely war alone. Lest others mock the Confucian Sequence for being birds of a feather with them, all bloodthirsty beasts clad in human skin!"

The lingering sound echoed beneath the eaves and resounded within the wind and rain, deafening to the ears.

"Old Liu, it shouldn't be that you cannot see through these issues. It is your heart that is in turmoil!"

Pei Xingjian went straight to the point, mercilessly piercing through the chaotic thoughts buried deep in Liu Jinxun's heart.

"Regarding the matter of Liu Tu and Liu Dian, what exactly do you plan to do?"

Liu Jinxun looked up to the sky and sighed deeply: "What can I do? When I was in the frontier lands, I met Li Jun once more. Upon seeing him, I truly wished I could sleep on his skin and eat his flesh. But on second thought, let it go."

"I no longer have the ability to compete with him. I should avoid inviting trouble for the Liu family. After all, the Liu family does not belong to me, Liu Jinxun, alone. I shouldn't drag those innocent descendants to die together with me."

Pei Xingjian's tightly knit brows relaxed slightly, and he counseled: "It is good that you can see through it. In truth, this matter also has a good side; otherwise, the two of us would not have the opportunity to work side by side now. Let past matters pass. While you still have time, go sire a few more children. Cultivate them well, and they can similarly uphold your Liu clan."

"Lacking the dignity of an elder—at what age should I still be siring children?"

Liu Jinxun scolded with a laugh: "And you forgot, how can there be clans in the future? There will only be families."

"Even so, that is better than me. I am just a lonely old man. When I die, I'm afraid no one will carry my coffin or mourn for me. I can only trouble the boy Baize to find a dirt pit and bury me."

"The more we speak, the more disheartening it gets. Fine, I will stop wasting words with an old rogue like you; it is time to attend to proper business."

Liu Jinxun's figure gradually faded, leaving behind a solemn voice before disappearing entirely.

"Xingjian... take utmost care."

"You take care as well, old senior. I hope that in this lifetime, we never cross blades."

Pei Xingjian spoke to himself, gazing at the leaky night sky where water beads formed a curtain beneath the tiled eaves.

"Hearing the sound of weeping, my heart is thrown into turmoil; we are all human, why do they wail so? Could it be the seasons are harsh and heaven sheds no rain? Or is the world wicked and earth grows no grass?"

The unkempt old man tapped the armrest, lightly keeping time, as he hummed disjointedly.

"...You blame me that I should not show pride before others, that I should not speak in such a torrent of words. I scold you for standing idly by to watch from the wall. Let none make noise, let all stand still, first wait for me to go and ask a round."

"To be raised by father and mother is the law of heaven; human warmth or coldness relies on heaven's making. Who dares to alter it by a single fraction?"

The man dared not move at all, his brows tightly knit, staring straight at Li Jun who stood ten Zhang away.

The other man was bare-chested, with the back of a tiger and the waist of a wolf, his smooth muscle lines containing terrifying power. At this moment, he was tilting his head up to gaze at the flickering starlight above, cold rain dripping continuously along his sharply chiseled jawline.

Suddenly, Li Jun seemed to perceive the man's gaze and lowered his head to look at him.

The moment their eyes met, the man instantly felt as though he had seen a mortal enemy, and in his panic, he subconsciously lowered his head.

But at the same time, he suddenly remembered his identity and his mission for this journey. Beneath his shame and resentment lay a trace of anger; defying the warning signs of his genes, he raised his head back up.

A terrifying shadow, like a sudden mountain rising from a flat plain, loomed before him at an unknown moment, crashing into his eyes with a deafening roar.

The man instantly felt as though he had fallen into an icy abyss, his body wracked with excruciating pain. His stiff neck muscles tensed, inch by inch, revealing a pair of eyes that gazed down with cold indifference.

"Are you one of the Hong Gao faction?"

"Reformer Li Jun. Reformer Li Jun."

An overwhelming fear surged within him, while an immeasurable terror raged in his mind.

The man seemed oblivious to Li Jun's question, as if everything around him had been stripped away. In the darkness, only those eyes continued to rise and expand, dominating his entire field of vision.

"What kind of king or marquis are you?"

Li Jun's voice was lazy, as if he were asking a street vendor about the price of pork on a chopping block.

"I..."

The man's limbs trembled uncontrollably, his legs bending involuntarily until his knees nearly touched the ground.

"Never mind, it doesn't matter what it is. I can't even dare to take it back; it's definitely worth less than that soldier's rank."

The indifferent words caused the man's heart to tighten, and the frozen air made it impossible to breathe, as if he were drowning and being instantly consumed by suffocation.

The force was like a knife's edge, scraping away bones and flesh.

[Gain 50 mastery points]

[Remaining mastery points: 390]

[Spend 30 mastery points to enhance martial arts momentum.]

[Spend 30 mastery points to enhance martial arts momentum.]

After careful and cautious experimentation, Li Jun finally began to feel a clear sense of fullness.

After spending nearly 320 mastery points in total, including the initial investment, he had finally brought the martial art of "Momentum" to its ultimate level.

A transformation of force silently unfolded within Li Jun's body.

Threads of energy seeped out of his body, distorting the surrounding light and shadows. As raindrops touched the forbidden zone, they instantly burst into water mist.

To outsiders, Li Jun at this moment resembled a red-hot charcoal thrown into water, boiling the torrential rain around him incessantly.

"Mastering one martial art to its limit, counting the head and tail as 300 points, that's at least three third-order sequences. If you encounter weak sequences like these that are not adept at direct combat, you might not even be able to withstand five. It seems that to complete the transformation as soon as possible, we still need to find valuable people like Lin Jia Po and Yin Ji to kill."

Li Jun sighed with a headache, suddenly feeling that the road ahead was difficult and he couldn't see the end of it.

After sighing, he gathered his thoughts and was about to carefully feel the changes in "Momentum" when a calm voice suddenly sounded behind him.

"I'm Yan Dongqing."

Li Jun turned around and saw a rare, robust figure standing not far away in the Confucian Order.

"Surname Yan? Which family do you belong to?"

"You don't need to know my identity."

Yan Dongqing's face was cold and hard, and he spoke in a deep voice: "I came today to discuss a deal with you."

"Oh?"

Li Jun looked at him with interest: "Tell me about it."

"You let go of Xu Hai Chao, and he will leave the empire's mainland on his own and never return. That way, you can consider completing the task assigned to you by Zhang Feng Yue. In exchange, if people around you fall into my hands in the future, I can also let them go."

"That's it?"

Li Jun shook his head and laughed: "I didn't expect that there are still naive children like you in the Confucian Order now. Didn't your father teach you what attitude to use when asking someone for help?"

Yan Dongqing frowned, his tone showing impatience: "Didn't you understand? Li Jun, I and you are just making a deal."

"Since it's not a request, there's even less need to say anything. If you want to save people, come to Songjiang yourself and face me directly. Then I can respect your bloodiness and not let you die too badly."

Li Jun looked contemptuously at Yan Dongqing and walked towards him.

"If you don't have the courage, then don't play these deceitful tricks. Send two people who just got into the third sequence to die, then jump out and say a few meaningless words, thinking you've done your best for your brothers?"

Li Jun kept walking without stopping, passing directly through Yan Dongqing's projection.

The projection's light trembled, and the silent Yan Dongqing slowly turned around, his cold eyes staring intently at Li Jun's back.

Li Jun didn't bother to pay attention to him, and his steps led him directly to Songbo Avenue, where the Xu clan was located.

The sudden explosion had made the Confucian Order people gathered on this avenue like startled birds, speculating on how the situation upstairs was progressing.

Was it Yang Bai Ze who beheaded and established the new Donglin Party, with deep roots and unable to fall?

Or was it Xu Hai Chao who made a comeback, with the Chunqiu faction rising strongly and usurping the nest?

Whether Zhang Feng Yue's new policy could ignite its third fire depended on who could safely walk out of the Xu clan mansion standing in the torrential rain.

Suddenly, a heavy footstep sound came from afar and grew closer.

Standing at the outermost edge, the person with the lowest status was the first to react.

No one shouted or roared, only the muffled sound of knees hitting the ground came one after another, in succession.

It seemed that only by kneeling and bowing could one relieve the terrifying pressure of the mountains pressing down.

Li Jun stopped his steps and squinted his eyes at the towering top of the clan building.

Yang Bai Ze, who had just looked at him, nodded slightly and turned to smile at the clan master of the Xu family, who was sitting opposite him with a hideous expression.

"Xu Hai Chao, do you still have people?"