Yefutidaolu

Chapter 297 Two Faces
Dansha looked at Gao Jian with a very difficult expression.

How can I describe this subtle look in my eyes?

It's like a butterfly that has never seen winter before, one day achieving enlightenment and becoming an insect demon, coming outside the cave, and then seeing and witnessing the snow.

That was a scene she had never seen before.

You can't talk about ice with a summer insect, but what if you actually saw it?

She touched the ice and got frostbite, feeling pain, but the pain was so strange.

The way he fought was brutal and despicable, painful yet captivating.

He fought despite his wounds, and the flesh torn apart by his sword energy spurted out hot blood. The intense heat from the blood caused the fine scales around Dan Sha's neck to flutter open. This shouldn't be happening; this wasn't the Gao Jian she knew.

She had never seen such insight, so brutal, so violent, and... so despicable? So ugly?

She was completely different from that kind, gentle, and trustworthy person. In fact, if she had met Gao Jian in the first place, she would definitely have run away.

The insightful person Dan Sha recognized from the beginning was exceptionally brave and resolute, having been tempered by countless trials, cutting through all obstacles in the world, able to frighten villains and inspire righteous men, with flawless strategies, and at the same time, full of vigor and spirit. Even on the run, when facing enemies far superior to himself, he faced them head-on without any cowardly or underhanded tactics.

Gao Jian is a genius, a gentleman, a dashing hero, and a spirited man. Of course, he can risk his life, but Gao Jian's desperate act should also be charming, like a white crane breaking its neck or a red plum falling in the snow. It's as if he bites open the wine seal with his bloodied teeth, tilts his head back and drinks it down, then smashes the wine jar, splattering blood with a knife. The scene is extremely painful, extremely clean, and extremely proud, just like a lion.

He should be the snow that never melts on the peak of the snow mountain, or the bright white moonlight. Even if he fails, his broken blade bathed in blood will be more dazzling than the palace lanterns of the capital, making people exclaim in amazement—so this is how beautiful human battles can be.

But the current insight is not like that.

Fragments of his mask were still visible on his face, revealing his sneaky and despicable tactics. In battle, he lacked any noble spirit and instead resorted to underhanded tricks, like a stray dog ​​struggling with all its might, determined to win even in the most unsightly way.

This is not the posture of a genius, but the posture of a weak person struggling, a weak person fighting desperately, a rat rolling around, a toad spitting out venom. It should not appear in someone like Gao Jian.

Surprisingly, at this moment, Dan Sha did not dislike it.

She didn't dislike the arrogant opinions of the weak, nor did she dislike the shameless way he rolled on the ground, even though it was indeed a bit ugly.

But she still had some doubts.

Which one is the wiser opinion?

Is it this ferocious, writhing venomous insect in front of me, or that spirited young man from the capital?
"A...brilliant insight?" Dansha lowered his head slightly, then looked up again, examining the insightful view before him.

At this moment, Gao Jian was seriously injured, but not long after Dan Sha looked at him, he returned to his usual state. Even with such serious injuries, he remained calm and composed, smiling as he reached out to Dan Sha and Shu Shu.

"Oh, you guys are here. This time you really... overestimated yourselves. I thought I could handle it all by myself, but we almost messed things up, and it seems like we can't even follow the original plan anymore?" Gao Jian scratched his head, looking a bit overwhelmed.

He won, but it was a Pyrrhic victory that didn't align with his plan at all, giving him a real headache.

He originally thought that with his strength as a Grandmaster of two realms and his ample planning, he had a high chance of winning. After winning, he could drive away these giant beasts and take away all the resources inside.

But now, the giant beast has been killed by the aftershocks of him and that eighth-realm warrior, and the remaining supplies are scattered all over the ground. How are they supposed to be moved? If they can't be moved, what should they do with them? If they just leave them where they are, then he's come all this way for nothing, risking his life for nothing, and he's lost a fortune.
Besides, even if we could move them, where would we put them now?

Sigh, when we were calculating the numbers, we didn't anticipate that the battle would be so intense and high-intensity. Now it seems like things are getting out of control.

If it weren't for the timely support from Shushu and Dansha, whether he could have won or not would have been two different things.

Even though two trials have been completed, it is still a bit of a stretch for a sixth-realm cultivator to fight against an eighth-realm cultivator. Fortunately, the result was not too bad. It's just a bit of a hassle to figure out how to deal with these supplies now.

As for Mouse, he put his paws on his chest and casually said, "I guessed all those things. Even you would eventually fall if you went against the powerful families. I anticipated that, so I made preparations. Before coming here to provide support, I dug a huge hole. You and I will move our things over first."

He looked so calm and collected; he truly is a reliable adult hamster!
Clearly, Shushu and Gaojian are thinking in two different directions.

Although Gao Jian calculated extensively and meticulously, he still possessed a kind of "genius-like confidence." His actions were all based on the idea that "although there is some risk, I should be able to succeed, and even if I fail, I should be able to evacuate without any losses."

The mouse, on the other hand, is even simpler and more direct.

The powerful families are formidable! Of course, we must be prepared for the worst. Whether we succeed or not is another matter, but we absolutely cannot fail!
Based on these two lines of thought, and knowing Gao Jian very well, Shushu immediately guessed Gao Jian's purpose after observing the situation in Liangzhou.

Gao Jian definitely wanted to rob people; he must have another way to build up the border, but he was just lacking some raw materials or start-up capital.

So, there's no faster way than to seize it. All you need to do is find a good spot on the path of the brilliant insight, dig a hole first, observe the battle situation, and join in at the right time. That way, you can help the brilliant insight at the crucial moment.

However, during this process, the mouse knew that it would definitely see another side of the expert's insights.

Others may not know, but doesn't he? He knows the true face behind Gao Jianping's usual gentle genius.

Manic, ruthless, ferocious, and extremely bloodthirsty! His murderous intent is extremely strong! His killing desire is extremely profound! It could even be said that Gao Jian derives pleasure from killing!
He finds killing very enjoyable!
All of this was actually the wicked thought hidden deep in Gao Jian's heart. Although he wasn't usually like this, you should know that both Li Zoufang and Shu Jian clearly recognized that Gao Jian was a 'murderer'.

This extremely rare type of killer may usually hide beneath a gentle demeanor, but when faced with a real crisis, the nature they reveal is absolutely drastically different.

How big is this contrast?
Shu Jian felt he had seen it before, so he overestimated his abilities, but... it wasn't high enough, the contrast wasn't strong enough. He had no idea how significant the contrast in Gao Jian's abilities truly was, because... in the Divine Dynasty, killing was nothing unusual for farmers. Farmers often resorted to vigilante justice, such as drowning adulterous couples in pig cages, or using it to defend against bandits and demons. In short, everyone in this place was born with a natural affinity for killing. Only Gao Jian himself knew that he had never received this kind of training, and before that, he had hardly ever seen blood, not even a chicken.

He was a good man who had never killed anyone before, a good person who grew up in a well-ordered and wonderful world. I don't know why, after arriving in the Divine Dynasty, he didn't even try to adapt or make any mental preparations. Then, very easily, he stabbed a temple keeper to death that very night.

For no other reason than that he couldn't stand it, because he couldn't bear to see the young Taoist priest Bai Ping covering his retreat, so Gao Jian, who had already fled, turned back without hesitation, fought desperately, and killed someone.

Moreover, after killing the person, he felt no nausea at all; in fact, he was somewhat excited.

Just one day later, when faced with the constables and martial artists who tried to ambush them, Gao Jian stabbed one of them to death without hesitation. Then, when facing Gui Liu, a thousand headless ghosts, at night, Gao Jian showed no fear. Instead, he brandished his sword and charged forward, neither worried about his own safety nor afraid of the eerie creatures on the other side.

Would a normal person do this?
Of course not. No normal person would do such a thing. A normal person would be terrified if they came out and saw the scene of the mountain god's blood sacrifice. But Gao Jian is not like that.

When facing Guiliu, when facing the thousand headless demons rushing towards him, Takami could clearly feel the blade cutting, could feel himself erasing other people's lives, and was personally sending sentient beings to nothingness, but he felt no discomfort...

As Li Zoufang said, he was a murderer.

Moreover, from his own perspective, he was an indescribable murderer.

But he never thought of making this trait his usual self.

Because his education had successfully regulated him, preventing him from ever thinking about killing. But after arriving in the Divine Dynasty, when killing became a solution to some problems, it was truly... a perfect opportunity for insightful observation.

Even in a place like the Divine Dynasty, Gao Jian's bloodthirstiness and ferocity are traits that can be singled out and mentioned separately.

He didn't become a serial killer, which just goes to show that... environment is really important. Living with good people is like entering a room full of orchids; you'll naturally become fragrant over time. Gao Jian is a good person, but 'kindness' is not his natural nature. His natural nature... is that of a ferocious beast.

This kindness is not an innate quality, but rather the product of millennia of edification from that land. As the wise saying goes, "Hemp growing among reeds will stand straight without support; white sand mixed with mud will turn black; the roots of orchids and locust trees are fragrant, but when soaked in foul water, even gentlemen will not approach them, and commoners will not wear them. It is not that their nature is not beautiful, but that what they are immersed in makes them so." When this kindness is passed down through generations, choosing good and rejecting evil, punishing evil and promoting good, becomes as natural as breathing. Thus, a ruthless person like Gao Jian has become what he is today.

Gao Jian is actually quite clear about the difference.

And the people of the Divine Dynasty are mostly the most heinous villains in Gao Jian's eyes, and so it is... After all, white sand turns black when mixed with mud, rotting flesh breeds worms, and dried fish breeds weevils. The Divine Dynasty is like this, the environment is like the people, and the people it produces are naturally like this. Even if they are born kind, they can easily be corrupted into that kind of state by the Divine Dynasty.

Thinking about all this, Gao Jian gripped the rusty knife in his hand.

After that life-or-death battle, his edge is now a full 1.5 feet.

One foot and five inches.

He had never been so sharp, and all of this was simply because he had fought a desperate battle.

The blood splattered on the corner of my mouth was salty, with a slightly savory taste.

At that moment, he felt really good. He didn't need to calculate anything; he just needed to let the blade drill into the hot spot. It was like having a lump of tender, juicy meat with alternating layers of fat and lean meat in his mouth. All he had to do was chew it. The sensation and the aftertaste while chewing were incredibly satisfying, a kind of pleasure etched into his genetic instincts.

Merely engaging in feigned compliance and utterly tiresome behavior, followed by a genuine battle, could cause a rusty knife to grow to one and a half feet in length…

But Gao Jian gripped the rusty knife tightly, a sense of apprehension rising in his heart.

I can't let this feeling consume me.

Therefore, upon hearing Shushu's suggestion, Gao Jian quickly regained his composure and smiled, "Alright, Elder Shu is indeed very thoughtful. Let's not delay any longer, as the enemy's reinforcements may arrive at any moment. Let's get started quickly."

Then, Gao Jian patted Dan Sha: "Dan Sha, I'll have to trouble you for this. Grow bigger quickly and carry the supplies. Let's try to make as few trips as possible and move all these things back! These are supplies worth a million gold coins. It's best not to leave them anything!"

But at this moment, Dansha crossed her arms and shook her head: "Moving things is fine, but... you have to tell me, why did you run away? If it weren't for me and the rat chasing after you, what were you planning to do?"

Upon hearing this, Shu Jian frowned: "I've already reminded you, Dan Sha, the most urgent thing right now isn't these things. Let's move the things over first, and then ask slowly, how about that?"

Dansha looked somewhat agitated. She clearly knew Shu Jian was right, but if she didn't get an answer and instead worked for Gao Jian, she would feel like a fool. Therefore, she wanted to argue—

But at that moment, Gao Jian reached out and patted her, saying, "Haha, I apologize to you, and I'll explain later. But for now, please help me, okay?"

Upon hearing this, the Dragon Girl, who was originally in a fierce mood and wanted to refute Shu Jian, swallowed her words.

In a split second, she nodded hesitantly: "Okay, but... actually, you don't have to say it."

Gao Jian shook his head: "I can't keep quiet. You've all helped me so much this time, how could I possibly keep everything from you?"

Seeing Dansha's aggressive demeanor turn into a submissive one, Shu Jian slapped his forehead and sighed, "That's enough, hurry up and move the things! If we're discovered, people will die!"

"Okay!" Gao Jian immediately turned around.

Dansha glared at the rat with hatred.

(End of this chapter)