The Word of Heaven

Chapter 191 Worldly Affairs

"You seem very curious about that little girl?"

The queen slightly opened her thin lips, and her voice flowed out like water, calm and peaceful.

Gu Zhuo looked at her from behind and said sincerely, "Curiosity is the most beautiful quality of human beings."

The queen did not smile, and the expression in her eyes became increasingly cold, like an ancient well.

It was exactly the same tone as hers.

"It's worth the risk, even the loss of one's life, isn't it?"

"Yes."

Gu Zhuo answered without hesitation, and continued: "Although not all curiosity is worth sacrificing one's life for, but this little girl... No, according to her age, should I call her auntie now? In short, I do have some interest in this auntie."

When the queen heard the word "Auntie", a faint smile appeared on the corner of her lips and she said, "Very good."

"It's time for you to go."

Then, with a smile on her face, she turned around and looked at Gu Zhuo, and said softly, "Next, both you and I will have a lot of things to do. It's really too luxurious to stay here and chat."

Gu Zhuo smiled and said, "It's time to say goodbye."

Under the shade of the chestnut tree, the two men smiled and looked at each other silently, as if they were ordinary seniors and juniors, and their expressions were both appropriate.

I don't know when the wind started to blow again, the branches and leaves moved again, and the sunlight was cut into thousands of strands, which kept flickering in the eyes of the two people, as if the past time was flying here.

Perhaps the Queen recalled the past, and her usual dignified expression faded, and her face became more gentle and beautiful. She said, "One last question for you. You have the time to care about such a little girl, but why haven't you even looked at Wan Yi yet?"

Gu Zhuo answered very frankly: "Because I think what I am doing now is more important."

"is it?"

The queen smiled, whether it was approval or denial, and turned to walk towards the imperial study.

Walking out of the shade of the trees, her smile was still there, but there was only indifference in her eyes.

Why does the Sky Patrol have files on Ganye Temple and the monk who crossed the sea?
Why does the file describe the incident so clearly?

Is there any record of what happened to the little girl afterwards?
The Queen pondered these questions.

There seems to be only one answer.

This was not recorded in the files of the Sky Patrol Bureau. Gu Zhuo was lying to her.

How did Gu Zhuo know this secret past?

Maybe it was Yingxu, maybe it was Sizhu, or maybe it was the monk crossing the sea... But the former and the latter were both dead, leaving only the middleman, and she happened to hear this story today.

Unfortunately, she remembered that Gu Zhuo had visited the Master last night and had a long talk with him in the study.

Even more unfortunately, it was not convenient for her to meet with the Master again to discuss this matter in the short term.

The Queen was very clear about one thing.

Doubt is the root of all misfortune.

However, from this moment on, she would probably have to go along with this misfortune.

……

……

Time flies in the blink of an eye.

I forgot which day it was, but late spring passed away quietly, and along with the gradually increasing summer came the hot wind.

The scenery of the palace outside the capital city became noticeably darker, mainly reflected in the greasy green branches and leaves of the trees, which made people feel bored after looking at them for a long time.

The cicadas' chirping sounds are already noisy in the sunshine, bringing more irritability, without the need for a breeze to bring in the middle of the night.

Gu Zhuo and Yu Sheng sat by the lake, enjoying the cool breeze blowing from the other side of the lake, while sitting not far away and fishing.

It has been more than a month since Jian Zheng's death, and the capital of God has returned to its former tranquility, as if the quarrels and noises in the spring were all illusions, disappearing along with the rain.

"Have you finished everything you need to do?" Yu Sheng asked casually.

Gu Zhuo hummed and said, "These are all very troublesome matters, trivial and complicated. If no one helps, it will probably take several days."

Yu Sheng said: "That's normal. The Sky Patrol is a huge monster, and you are going to take over the part that has not been dismembered."

"So I have to thank you."

Gu Zhuo's voice was very brisk.

Yu Sheng glanced at him and asked, "Shouldn't you thank Pei Jinge?"

Gu Zhuo said: "But the reason why she showed up in Wangjing that day was ultimately your idea."

Yu Sheng nodded and admitted it readily because there was no need to hide it.

Gu Zhuo suddenly asked: "Is this a surprise to you?"

Hearing this, Yu Sheng thought about it seriously and said, "It's hard not to be surprised."

The words are true.

From the beginning to the end of this turmoil, many aspects were beyond her expectations, such as the death of Jian Zheng.

Gu Zhuo said: "It's all quite hasty."

The Sky Patrol decided to take action against him, but unexpectedly Pei Jinge regained his freedom, quietly left the palace and went to Wangjing to kill someone with a borrowed knife, so that all the dirty deeds hidden in the dark corners were exposed to the light of day and could no longer be hidden.

From then on, everything that happened to the gods was essentially an attempt to make up for this failed murder.

Eventually the chief decided to resign and allow the Sky Patrol to be dismembered in order to calm the turmoil.

That's basically what happened.

There are too many details in it. For example, Qing Xiaoyue chose to cooperate with Gu Zhuo in order to preserve the hard work of decades, allowing the latter to intervene in the affairs of the Sky Patrol Department. For example, the head of the department had to nod his head to support this matter because of his elders' attitude. In addition, the Queen seemed to be the biggest winner in this storm, but Gu Zhuo personally planted a thorn of suspicion in her heart...

Looking back now, Gu Zhuo still feels that he was somewhat drifting with the flow in the situation.

After all, he originally just wanted to take some time off in Wangjing, but someone wanted him dead, forcing him to return to the capital.

In the eyes of many people in the court and the country, he gained great benefits this time, second only to the Queen Mother, and they were somewhat envious.

This may be true, but Gu Zhuo is really indifferent.

He did all these things just to fight back.

He will not let anyone who doesn't make him happy be happy.

Such a simple and plain code of conduct.

……

……

"I have something to tell you."

Yu Sheng's voice sounded again.

Gu Zhuo came back to his senses and said, "Otherwise you wouldn't have dragged me fishing."

Yu Sheng was too lazy to refute him and said calmly: "The north is not peaceful, someone needs to go and take a look. I think you are suitable."

Gu Zhuo asked, "Is he a wild man?"

Yu Sheng shook his head slightly and said, "Not only the barbarians, but also a lot of messy things."

Gu Zhuo looked at her and asked curiously, "Why am I suitable?"

"Because your realm is neither high nor low. If your realm is too high, it is easy to alert the enemy. If your realm is too low, there is no difference whether you go or not. So you are the most suitable candidate."

Yu Sheng said seriously: "The most important thing is that you can see the truth of the matter clearly."

Gu Zhuo thought about it, but couldn't find a reason to refuse, so he asked, "When do we leave?"

Yu Sheng said: "It's best to do it as soon as possible, at the latest before autumn."

Gu Zhuo rolled his eyes at her seriously, wondering why bother saying the second half of the sentence?
Yu Sheng was a little embarrassed and said, "I won't go with you this time."

Gu Zhuo thought to himself, “I didn’t ask you to accompany me either,” and said, “It’s good to be alone.”

Yu Sheng didn't want to talk anymore.

The lakeside was quiet.

The two men held the fishing rods in their hands, but there was no sign of any fish taking the bait, which made the silence even more awkward.

At this time, Gu Zhuo took the initiative to speak and said, "Since it is autumn at the latest, I will leave today."

Yu Sheng turned his head and looked at him, with great confusion in his bright eyes.

"There are still some things that need to be done."

Gu Zhuo said: "I plan to go to Tiandu Peak, recast Zhexue, and meet Wanyi."

Yu Sheng thought that Zhexue might not be important, but Wanyi is important to you, right?

Thinking of this, a smile appeared on the corner of her lips and she looked very happy.

Gu Zhuo could probably guess what she was thinking, but he didn't want to say more because that would only make her laugh even more happily.

"Go."

Yu Sheng retracted his gaze, looked at the fishing line intently, and said, "You will know the details when you leave the capital."

Gu Zhuo raised his head and glanced at the setting spring sun. He put away the fishing rod and fishing line as he was told, but he was reluctant to stand up, let alone leave.

This made Yu Shengmo frown slightly, his confusion was obvious, and his smile had long disappeared.

"Is there anything else you want to tell me?"

"No."

"Then what are you doing sitting here instead of leaving?"

"Nothing, just wondering if you can catch a fish before the sun sets."

Gu Zhuo's voice was sincere.

Yu Sheng remained silent.

Without waiting for her to speak, Gu Zhuo continued to ask: "You shouldn't mind, right?"

Yu Sheng hummed in a very stiff, nasal tone.

Gu Zhuo smiled and said, "I'm glad you don't mind."

Yu Sheng thought to himself, how can you tell that I don’t mind?
Suddenly, she had an idea and said, "You have indeed changed a lot." Gu Zhuo raised his eyebrows and asked, "Really?"

"I am very sure."

Yu Sheng looked at him and said, "At least you were not like this when I saw you last year."

After a moment of silence, Gu Zhuo glanced at the lake without leaving a trace, and suddenly said seriously: "I want to say one thing, I actually don't like you."

Yu Sheng was stunned.

Normally, she acted decisively, remained calm when faced with difficulties, and remained calm and composed, even when she was facing the Leader of the Destiny Sect in the depths of Yunmengze. But at this moment, she was still dumbfounded.

What exactly do I mean by I don't like you?
Are you going to say I'm a good person next?

Her previous words did not suggest any thoughts on love, and the tone of her words was not that way either. Why did the topic inexplicably turn to this?

The fishing rod in her hand began to tremble, and she only came to her senses when a fish ate the bait.

She stared into Gu Zhuo's eyes with an extremely serious expression, and said solemnly: "I never meant that..."

The words stopped abruptly.

It wasn't because she felt that her words were too sharp and might be overly hurtful, and she wanted to express her thoughts in a more tactful way, but... she finally understood why Gu Zhuo said this.

"...Don't you think it's ridiculous?"

Yu Sheng looked at Gu Zhuo expressionlessly and said in a cold voice: "Just to make it impossible for me to catch fish, you can even say such words?"

Gu Zhuo shook his head firmly and asked seriously, "Senior Sister, did you misunderstand?"

Yu Sheng chuckled.

Gu Zhuo sighed and said, "In that case, Junior Brother, will you leave first?"

"stay."

Yu Sheng looked at him with a half-smile and said in a cold voice, "Weren't you just curious whether I could catch a fish before the sun sets?"

After these words were spoken, Gu Zhuo naturally followed their advice.

Time began to pass.

This day, until the sun sets behind the mountains and the dusk disappears between heaven and earth...

Yu Sheng still didn't catch any fish.

So she didn't want to leave.

Gu Zhuo accompanied her to drink the wind until dawn.

……

……

When leaving the capital, not many people came to see Gu Zhuo off.

He had very few friends to begin with, and now they were scattered all over the world, making it difficult for him to see them again.

After yesterday, Yu Sheng no longer had a good face towards him, and his resentment was particularly obvious, but he still came to see him off today.

Pei Jinge had a relationship with him that was more complicated than just friendship, so he was naturally present at such times.

These are all the people who saw Gu Zhuo off.

In fact, none of the three were stingy with words, but what was strange was that although they always had a lot to talk about between each other, when the three of them stood together, they could not say a few words.

They were all ordinary farewells, words like take care.

The last thing that came was a letter.

Written by the Queen herself.

Gu Zhuo did not open it because it was a letter from home.

……

……

Chaotian Sword Palace is not far from the Divine Capital, but it is located in the south, which is completely opposite to the north where Gu Zhuo finally went.

This is also the reason why he set off early.

Like last fall, his trip this time was quite low-key, no different from that of an ordinary practitioner.

The reason why Yu Sheng personally asked him to go north this time was, as she said, a lot of messy things, but the most important thing still fell on the wise man.

It’s hard to say that Gu Zhuo is familiar with the barbarians, because he has never had much dealings with them in either his past or present life, but he is certainly not a stranger to them.

The barbarians are different from the Qi and Yan people. The latter are called by the names of their countries, while the former are a species between humans and non-humans.

Thousands of years ago, the reason why the Great Qin was revered as the common ruler of the world and the kings of all countries had to bow down to it was that the founding monarch of the Great Qin drove the barbarians back to the miserable land of wind and snow in the far north.

The reason why the barbarians were met with such hostility was simple, that is, they adhered to a unique path of practice, which had brought countless sufferings to the world.

During the summer festival last year, the candidates encountered all kinds of strange monsters on Cangshan Mountain. The appearance of these monsters was directly related to the barbarians, or it could be said that they were once barbarians.

In the past, some practitioners used to call them monsters, which was used to describe the process of the practice of the savages transforming from humans into monsters. However, this idea was later rejected because those monsters had no intelligence and were not worthy of being called monsters.

The blood of the savages seemed to be affected by this. Although they were human beings, they had signs of alienation brought by those evil beasts and monsters, and this often penetrated into their souls.

In short, after thousands of years, the barbarians can no longer get rid of the blood left by their ancestors.

This is also the fundamental reason why all countries in the world regard the barbarians as aliens.

However, under the persistent suppression of various countries, the barbarians have long been reduced to a situation of lingering on. They have exhausted all their strength just to stay alive, and it is difficult for them to stir up trouble in the world anymore. They are no longer a major threat to mankind.

If it weren't for the fact that the barbarians were so fertile and the environment in the Far North Wasteland was not too horrible, even practitioners at the Return to Oneness Realm would not be able to stay there for a long time, let alone ordinary armies. The barbarians would have been exterminated long ago.

According to the intelligence sent to Gu Zhuo by the Sky Patrol, this time the barbarians were trying to make a deal with a sect in the north, and perhaps they were also involved with other forces, which is why Yu Sheng called it a mess.

……

……

On the morning of the fourth day, Gu Zhuo climbed up Tiandu Peak and the person who greeted him was Chen Chi.

After he stated his purpose, Elder He Sanwang, who had cast the Zhexue, took time out to meet with him for discussions.

The content of the conversation was certainly not about refusing to pay the debt, but about asking Gu Zhuo what requirements he had for recasting Zhexue.

The entire process was meticulous, from the material of the sword to its shape and what formation was engraved on it, to Gu Zhuo's own habits when using the sword, and even to his most subtle needs.

The conversation lasted from sunrise to sunset. He Sanwang spared no effort in this matter because he was optimistic about the contract that Gu Zhuo and Wang Mo had delivered.

Chen Chi, who was watching from the side, was already stunned, thinking that he had begged for a whole year and worked odd jobs until he was covered in dust before he could get a flying sword, and the materials were all provided by himself.

Even though he knew why Gu Zhuo was treated like this, he still couldn't help feeling depressed and sad.

Unfortunately, when he turned around and wanted to leave, He Sanwang called him down and he could only stay aside to pour tea and water.

It seems that in a few days, he will still have to do odd jobs for Gu Zhuo's task of recasting Zhexue, and it will be a luxury for him to stay out of it.

The only thing that made Chen Chi feel relieved was probably that there was someone to drink with him at night.

……

……

"I asked the headmaster for you. Junior Sister Lin will not come out until she breaks through to the Yang Shen realm, so you will definitely not be able to wait for her."

Chen Chi took a sip of wine, feeling the spiciness in his throat, and squinted his eyes comfortably.

He looked at Gu Zhuo with a gloating look on his face and said, "This trip is half in vain."

Gu Zhuo was not angry either, he smiled and said: "At least it wasn't all in vain."

Chen Chi suddenly lost his joy and asked in a low voice, "I heard that you became the Supervisory Commissioner?"

Gu Zhuo said: "Yeah."

Chen Chi's expression became even more complicated, and he said, "I really can't think of it."

Gu Zhuo thought for a moment and said comfortingly, "It's okay, you're not the only one who can't think of it."

"So I am on par with the officials in the Qin court?"

Chen Chi said angrily: "What kind of consolation is this? The real thing is for you to drink a few more glasses for me tonight!"

Gu Zhuo naturally would not refuse and raised his glass to drink.

Chen Chi looked at him, thinking about the past year, and sighed, "I don't know if you have a feeling that many people have died in the past year, and they are all important figures in the cultivation world."

Gu Zhuo shook his head and said, "This is a fact, no need to feel it."

"Well, I mean..."

Chen Chi's voice was filled with sadness: "I recently returned to the sect and found that the teachers and leaders seemed to have become anxious and uneasy, as if many more people were going to die and it would be their turn next."

Gu Zhuo glanced at him and reminded him, "You shouldn't say such things to me."

“I shouldn’t.”

Chen Chi smiled, his smile full of bitterness, and said helplessly: "Who can I tell? I have been working hard in the Sky Patrol Department for the past few years, and my body is full of vulgarity. Although the brothers and sisters on the mountain respect me, they also keep their distance and are even cautious. There is no way they will listen to my complaints."

Gu Zhuo was speechless.

After the Sky Patrol Division was dismembered, for various reasons, disciples of the sect like Chen Chi were dismissed and returned to the mountain.

This is also the reason why the two met on Tiandu Peak.

Chen Chi took another sip of wine, leaned back, looked at the starry sky and said, "Besides, I know who you are. How can I not trust you when an old man who should hate you all his life can sacrifice his life for you?"

The old man in the words is of course referring to the vice-president of Changzhou Academy.

Gu Zhuo said calmly: "Of course you can trust me."

Hearing this, Chen Chi couldn't help but feel a little moved.

The next moment, the emotion in his heart inevitably turned into self-mockery in his words: "But to be honest, if I want to live a good life in the mountains, I can't get too close to you."

It was still the decision of the officials in the Qin court.

There is a rumor circulating in the world today, which means that those talented disciples who returned to their various sects from the Patrol Sky Division have become loyal to the Great Qin, and their sects are no longer number one.

To put it simply, the rumor said that people like Chen Chi had become spies planted by the Qin Dynasty in various sects.

On a certain day of a certain year, they will draw their swords and kill their own teachers.

(End of this chapter)