The Word of Heaven

Chapter 197 Wait a minute
"Can you say that again?"

"Ok?"

"Just what you said just now?"

"…Is that what you want to hear?"

"Yes, yes, hurry up!"

"Bai Nanming is my senior sister now."

As soon as he finished speaking, the old man sitting in the wheelchair laughed out loud again, tears oozing from the corners of his eyes. He held his stomach with his left hand and kept patting the armrest of the wheelchair with his right hand.

It's like a fisherman beating the side of the boat, about to break into song.

Gu Zhuo's expression remained unchanged as he looked at him quietly, as if he had heard a very cold joke.

I don’t know how long it was before the laughter in the thick fog finally dissipated.

The tears were wiped away by the sleeves, but the smile on the old face could not be dispersed, full of mischief.

Gu Zhuo said: "I have said everything I need to say, and it is time for me to leave."

"Why are you in such a hurry?"

The old man pretended to cough, cleared his throat, and said seriously: "When I am old and dying, it is rare for me to meet an old friend. I think it is reasonable to say a few more words, right? You should give me this face?"

Gu Zhuo didn't want to pay attention to this sentence, but he didn't turn around and leave. He simply found a stone nearby and sat down.

Nowadays, few people in the world know the old man's name. When people mention him, they often call him the Grand Elder of Yishui.

Only a peerless figure like Bai Nanming who lived through a hundred years ago would abandon this title and simply call him by his given name, Wang Ji.

Why call him by his name without any modification?

Of course it’s because... Wang Ji is really shameless.

Nowadays, people who have ascended to heaven from the earth, even the Sizhu who has been dealing with dark and dirty things for many years, behave with great dignity. To put it simply, they have a sense of dignity.

The king's sacrifice is different.

Perhaps it was because he had suffered a serious illness in his youth, which made him unable to walk for the rest of his life, and his temperament gradually changed. He was no longer depressed like millions of people in the past, but had a temperament that was considered unrestrained if praised in the best way, and cheap if praised in the worst way.

But just like his name, only a very few people know what he really looks like.

This was the real reason why Gu Zhuo turned around and left without even looking at Yishui the last time he passed by it.

Unfortunately, worldly affairs always like to make things difficult for people. Sometimes one cannot just turn a blind eye to something if he wants to.

Thinking about these things, Gu Zhuo's expression became calmer and he said, "So what do you want to talk about?"

Wang Ji thought for a moment, raised his eyebrows and asked, "Why don't you take me as your master?"

During the summer festival last year, he had heard the name Gu Zhuo while in Yishui, and was definitely thinking of taking him as a disciple. For this purpose, he wrote down nearly a hundred words in sword intent and asked someone to convey them to him, but in the end he returned empty-handed.

At that time, he just felt regretful and did not feel any regret.

Now, only the four words "too late to regret" can describe his mood.

Gu Zhuo looked at him and said truthfully: "You are the first idea I rejected."

"It's a bit hurtful."

Wang Ji said unhappily, "Am I that bad?"

Gu Zhuo said frankly: "I know it very well. These four words can be used on you at this time."

Wang Ji looked at him expressionlessly, then sneered three times and suddenly changed the subject.

"Is it fun to bully kids during the summer festival?"

"I remember you said before that I was your old friend, so what you are saying now doesn't make sense."

"…Why is it Bai Nanming in the end?"

"I prefer the four words 'accepting apprentices on behalf of the master'."

"Don't you like her personally?"

Gu Zhuo looked at him expressionlessly.

Wang Ji spread his hands and said innocently, "Okay, it seems that I misunderstood. I thought that she accepted the disciple on behalf of the master for some other reason, so that I could get the upper hand."

The next moment, he changed the subject: "What about that little girl named Lin?"

For some reason, the old man's voice suddenly lowered at this point, as if this was some shameful secret that could not be told.

Gu Zhuo was unmoved and said, "That's just the way it is."

"That's a good sentence."

Wang Ji seemed to sigh with emotion when he heard this, his voice was gentle and rhythmic, like yin and yang: "It really feels familiar, it's the same style as old friends."

How can this be an emotion?
It's clearly sarcasm.

Gu Zhuo stopped talking, stood up and walked out, his intention to leave was very clear.

"Don't!"

Wang Ji immediately became anxious and shouted, "Wait!"

Gu Zhuo did not stop, but slowed down a little, and said without turning his head: "The last three sentences."

Wang Ji said angrily, "No, what's wrong with you talking to an old disabled man like me for a few more words? Do you know what respecting the elderly means? Do you think I don't love children enough? Wasn't I just seriously concerned about the emotional life of a junior like you? If you don't build a good relationship with me now, who will protect you when your senior sister comes to attack you? I'll have to hurry up in a wheelchair to slow down..."

The words stopped abruptly.

Gu Zhuo turned around, looked at him seriously and said, "Now there is not a single word left."

"Ok."

Wang Ji sighed and asked, "If I apologize to you now, will you feel better?"

Gu Zhuo said: "I'll give you a word."

Wang Ji knew that he was not joking. After thinking for a long time in silence, he chuckled and said, "My old friend is dead, so remember to live well."

Gu Zhuo was stunned for a moment, then walked out again, leaving only one sentence.

"of course."

……

……

look back.

The mountains and rivers are desolate, the clouds are in chaos, and there is snow on the north and south of the river.

When Gu Zhuo went north on a small boat and said goodbye to the current head of Yishui, he somehow thought of these words: it was clearly only early autumn.

Just as he didn't like to reason, he also didn't have the habit of feeling sad about the passing of time, so he thought about it very seriously and determined that the real reason was that he was actually not going to live long.

In terms of life expectancy, he may not live longer than the old man in the wheelchair, nor may he leave this world later.

Ever since taking the Tongsheng Pill in late spring last year, Gu Zhuo hasn't worried about his lifespan for a long time. After all, five years is not a short time and it is enough for him to accomplish many things.

That's what he thought at that time.

However, he forgot a very important truth.

——Worldly affairs always become more and more complicated. For example, he is now traveling around the north, but his purpose is not to live longer.

When Yu Sheng asked him for help with this matter, although he couldn't find a suitable reason to refuse, he was able to remain silent after all. Why didn't he make this choice at that time?

It is undeniable that one of the most important reasons is that he needs to rely on the power of Daqin to give himself the opportunity to live longer.

However, isn't the price of doing so to make the cause and effect between each other more entangled and difficult to sort out?
so troublesome.

Gu Zhuo raised his head and looked at the clear autumn sky.

Then he lowered his head again, his eyes falling on the old sword in his right hand.

This old sword has a wonderful name that is known to the world.

——Wait a minute.

……

……

"Master..."

Wei Qingci bowed with great respect and asked bitterly in a low voice, "There is one thing I just can't figure out no matter what."

Unlike Gu Zhuo, even if he raised his head and looked into the depths of the thick fog, he could not clearly see the old face. All he saw was a vague and huge figure, as big as a mountain or a sea.

"Why wait in that person's hands?"

Wang Ji's voice was no longer casual, but indifferent and even far-reaching.

Wei Qingci lowered his head and said, "Yes."

Wang Ji said: "It's right not to understand, because there are many things I don't understand right now."

As he said this, he naturally recalled the conversation not long ago and those important issues that he had deliberately ignored in the past.

Why did you come to me suddenly? What do you think of Yingxu's death?

Why do you put yourself in the Qin State?
Don’t you have any thoughts about the White Emperor?

Does this mean that you have let go of the past?
Too many questions like this lingered in the old man's mind, and words like revenge had never left his mind, but in the end he didn't ask a single question.

But...it's not because he is so considerate that he doesn't care about these things, but because he is really too curious about the relationship between Bai Nanming and Gu Zhuo.

Compared to this, these are all trivial matters.

Wei Qingci didn't know what to say.

There was silence deep in the fog.

Hey.

Hey.

Hey.

That was the sound of Wang Ji's index finger tapping on the armrest of the wheelchair. Wei Qingci knew that this meant that his master was thinking.

"I remember... you told me before that you were going to do something?" Wang Ji suddenly asked.

"Yes."

Wei Qingci was silent for a while, then said, "Because I saw hope of breaking through from this."

Wang Ji said indifferently: "Do you remember the principle I told you when I first taught you to practice sword?"

Wei Qingci said seriously: "I dare not forget it for even a moment."

Wang Ji nodded and said, "That's fine."

The next moment, the sound of a wheelchair rolling over bluestone slabs was heard, followed by a sentence.

"That man came to borrow my sword, so I lent him the sword. That's all you want to know."

Wei Qingci suddenly raised his head and looked at the figure that was gradually disappearing in the depths of the thick fog. His eyes were no longer calm and his expression was so shocked that he couldn't hide it.

If he didn't know that his master was so cold-blooded that he was almost indifferent, and had never told a joke in his life, and he actually saw "Wait a Mind" in the hands of the young man in the bamboo hat, he would have thought it was a cold joke that was made on a whim.

It's not a joke, it's the truth.

After a while, Wei Qingci returned home with a calm mind.

He thought that this was his master's way of telling him the truth again - it doesn't matter who you draw your sword against, be it the Taoist master or the emperor, what matters is whether you can bear the consequences of drawing the sword.

Therefore, Master can lend out Qie Man, because no one dares to borrow and not return it.

Thinking of this, Wei Qingci slowly turned around and looked towards the north, becoming more determined in his thoughts.

……

……

To the north of Yishui is the border, and beyond the border is the wasteland.

In recent years, cold waves in the wilderness have become increasingly severe, so that the only difference between early autumn and the deep winter of previous years is that there has been no snow yet.

The lonely wilderness is covered with yellow wild grass and dotted with a few dead trees from time to time. The eyes follow the ups and downs of the curves of the landform, without any trace of the so-called tenderness sung in the ballad.

For many reasons, Gu Zhuo had never been to the wilderness, and his sea of ​​consciousness was filled with the word "desolate".

So he naturally thought that the last market town before leaving the border after crossing the Yishui River would be deserted, so when he saw the bustling market... he was somewhat surprised.

Different from the magnificent buildings on the banks of Yishui River, the bustle in this town is very down-to-earth, and most of the people coming and going are caravans.

After finding a tavern and sitting down, Gu Zhuo hadn't been there for long when he felt that he was still too far away from the secular world. There were too many things he didn't understand or know, and he retained a stereotyped impression of certain people and things.

Most of the caravans that stayed in the town were going out of the border, and their trading partners were the barbarians. The profits from a single trip were often extremely lucrative, and the border troops made a fortune because of this - this was what Gu Zhuo heard from the occasional complaints from the merchants.

This made Gu Zhuo make a decision.

The next morning, he temporarily boarded a caravan's carriage and headed for the wilderness.

The caravan welcomed his arrival very much. The most important reason was of course his generosity. The second was that the leading merchant had seen too many people like Gu Zhuo and was used to it.

……

……

"You are from the south?"

The merchant leader leaned against the edge of the carriage, letting his body sway with it. His voice was full of the calmness of an experienced person: "Many people from the south would think it's ridiculous that we trade with the barbarians. Whether they scold us or react in some other way, in the end they will be as curious as you are and want to find out why this is happening. Some of them will get on our carriage like you did."

Gu Zhuo was sitting next to the businessman.

He was still wearing the bamboo hat and said softly, "After the accident, I can generally figure out what happened."

The merchant laughed and said, "After all, this matter is not complicated. It would be strange if you can't figure it out. Although the barbarians are not our race, they have been slaughtered several times by our Great Qin over the past thousand years and have long been a nobody. How can they still have the same prestige they had in the past? They are just struggling to survive."

Gu Zhuo didn't say anything.

The businessman continued talking to himself.

"Why should we let the barren people live? Because the wasteland before us is obviously a bad land, but it can produce things that practitioners need, whether it is rare crystals and minerals for forging flying swords, or a variety of precious herbs. What is the biggest problem? It is that it is not easy to get the things back! All of them are jobs that will kill people."

At this point, the merchant's smile became more intense and meaningful: "We can't let our own people die, right? Aren't those barbarians useful? As long as we give them a little hope of survival, they will willingly give birth to a lot of children, and work diligently and risk their lives to produce good things for us. Isn't this a great thing?"

Gu Zhuo still didn't speak.

The businessman didn't care and said with a smile: "I think it's good. Why do I think it's good? Because those high-ranking practitioners think it's good, so of course this business must be good too. No one has the right to think it's bad."

Gu Zhuo turned his head, looked at him quietly, and said, "This is what you want to say to me."

“That’s about right.”

The businessman's tone was unusually frank, and he said without hesitation: "After all, I have taken your money, so I need to tell you the truth in advance, so that you won't have some inexplicable ideas and ruin things."

Gu Zhuo said: "That makes sense."

The businessman put away his smile, looked at him seriously, and said patiently: "To be honest, before you do anything, think carefully about why this business exists. Think clearly before you do anything."

Gu Zhuo smiled and said, "Okay."

The businessman was very satisfied and was about to pat the boy on the shoulder, but in the end he gave up on a whim.

"If you need anything, just tell me directly."

He said in a seemingly generous manner: "I guarantee that you can see all the scenery of the wilderness safely on this trip!"

After saying this, the rough-faced businessman left the carriage and went forward to arrange his men to do various tasks, repeatedly checking whether there were any mistakes or omissions. He looked very busy.

Traveling as a trader is never an easy thing, just like there are not only barbarians in the wilderness.

There are still evil demons in this evil land.

Whether it is for cultivation or something else, the evil practitioners have sufficient reasons to attack the caravan.

Therefore, every caravan that dares to go to the wilderness has a certain realm, the only difference is the depth of the realm.

But this time it was very safe, because the caravan was going to the depths of the wilderness to do a big business with a tribe of barbarians, and they generously invited a strong man in the Guiyi realm to take charge.

The powerful person in the Return to Oneness Realm sat in the most comfortable carriage, silently watching over the entire convoy.

……

……

At the border, in the general's mansion.

General Wang stood in front of the study window, looking at the vast sky to the north, seemingly thinking about something.

He came to his senses when there was a knock on the door and let his subordinates push the door open.

A moment later, he learned a message from the Sky Patrol.

——A young man with an extraordinary identity arrived at Yishui. It is still unknown what he wants or whose will he represents.

At the end of his words, the subordinate said with contempt and disdain: The senior officials in the court have finally done something serious. Why do places like the Sky Patrol, which are full of rubbish, have such a high status?
General Wang smiled and said, "Of course it's because the three masters are all very remarkable."

"All right."

He waved his hand to stop his trusted subordinate from complaining about the Patrol Division, and asked, "What do you think of the new leader of the Tianming Sect?"

"It's weird."

The subordinate frowned, his face became serious, and whispered: "The people from the Tianming Sect had basically no trace in the north in the past, but this time they appeared in the ancient battlefield for no reason, and it just happened to be the time for us to meet. This doesn't make sense at all."

General Wang said, "Continue."

"I think it wasn't fate, but someone informed him of the news, or he used the art of divination to deduce the existence of the meeting, because it contained a chance for him to break through."

After hesitating for a moment, the subordinate shook his head and said, "But I still think this person is not a concern, because he is not the former leader who was killed by His Majesty the Emperor, nor is he a peerless strong man in the Yuhua Realm. Even if he has the Three Lives Tower in his hand, he can't disrupt the situation."

General Wang seemed to be thinking about something and said, "Really?"

"Yes."

The subordinate became more and more confident as he spoke: "Because there are too many people involved this time, if he wants to disrupt the situation, it's no different from an ant trying to shake a tree. He will just be courting death..."

General Wang interrupted and suddenly asked, "What do you think about asking him to tell my fortune?"

(End of this chapter)