The more you believe me, the more real it becomes.

Chapter 324 Unspoken
At this moment, the elegantly dressed young man who had been sitting in front of Du Yuan suddenly stood up, his gaze fixed on the direction of the palace. He stared at it for a long time before slowly sitting back down.

After a moment's hesitation, he turned to Du Yuan in astonishment and said, "Senior, Gao Cheng, he... he..."

Countless thoughts surged through my mind, and a thousand words were stuck in my throat. The more urgent I was, the harder it was to utter a complete sentence.

He wanted to say that Gao Cheng didn't need to seek death, but then he realized that Gao Cheng should die anyway—firstly, he was already dead, and secondly, this body was originally the body of a Yin spirit awakened by the mountain people. If he didn't die, he would eventually lose his virtue again as before.

This time, however, after experiencing all that had happened in his life, he was no longer "incompetent in life" as he had in the past. Instead, he chose a path of "dying in a worthy way."

While the entire world was keeping Yaoshi Yuan in the dark, treating him like a fish on a plate or a pawn in the palm of their hand, he deliberately used the most violent and direct method to let the emperor truly see that the world had changed drastically.

He then handed the Benevolent Sword to the Emperor, giving the other side a real hope of breaking the deadlock.

Leaving aside other matters, just considering that the Benevolent Sword and the Cauldron Sword have fallen into the hands of the Emperor, the people on the mountain would have to repeatedly consider whether they still have the right to take any action.

Given his status as the son of the Gao family, and considering all these factors combined, it seemed that his best option was indeed to willingly face death.
Thinking of this, the elegantly dressed young man let out a long sigh:
"I used to look down on him for being stuck in his ways, being stubborn and self-imposed limitations, and constantly worrying about gains and losses, wanting to have it all. Now it seems that he has really slapped me in the face."

In the past, when he commented on Gao Cheng, he always felt that the other party could neither take care of the relationship between father and son, nor gain the favor of the ruler and his subjects, nor was he capable of stabilizing the country. In the end, he could only hide in a remote place and live a life of ignominy.

I even think that people who dare neither rebel against their fathers nor die for their principles, even if they are awakened, will only be trapped in another shackle of "loyalty and filial piety" and become useless decorations.

But now, Gao Cheng has paid the price of his complete dissipation of his Yin spirit to repay the kindness of the people on the mountain who called him back to heaven, and at the same time fulfilled the wishes of his family, country, and ruler.

Du Yuan chuckled upon hearing this and said, "You said before that he was always caught in the dilemma of 'wanting both,' but in my opinion, he only ever asks for one thing."

The elegantly dressed young man looked up, puzzled: "What do you mean, senior?"

No sooner had he spoken than he realized that what Gao Cheng truly sought was a ruler who could "shoulder the responsibility of maintaining peace and prosperity" for the people of the world.

“It seems you’ve come to your senses too,” Du Yuan nodded, her tone gentle. “Gao Cheng has always only asked for this much.”

Having said that, Du Yuan also looked up towards the direction of the palace, followed by a long sigh:
"But during his lifetime, he was caught in a dilemma between loyalty to the country and filial piety, and lacked the time to reflect and refine himself, which made him both overly idealistic and always doubting whether he could really achieve something."

"But after Gao Huan's death, when he was in dire straits both internally and externally, he actually had a complete awakening."

On the day Gao Huan was executed in the capital, Yaoshi Yuan was not the only one who underwent a complete transformation.

The elegantly dressed young man shook his head and said:

"It's a pity that fate played a trick on him. If he hadn't been surnamed Gao, the two might have been able to create a timeless tale of a ruler and his minister complementing each other."

Then, however, he shook his head and said:

"But if he hadn't been in such a complex situation, he probably wouldn't have been able to gain such enlightenment, and would have only been an ordinary, good minister. That's truly..."

At the end, the elegantly dressed young man suddenly stopped.

This reminded him of the great path of his lineage.

Cause and effect are indeed difficult to calculate, and the results are even more unpredictable. No wonder the patriarch wanted to break free from all shackles and seek freedom.

After what seemed like the umpteenth sigh, remembering that elegantly dressed young man in a blue robe and a certain 'troublesome cause and effect', he gazed at the palace and uttered:
"But he really didn't have to force the apothecary to become a lonely figure. With the Benevolent Sword and the Cauldron Sword already in his hands, even if he couldn't become a true sage king, he should have been able to protect the world and maintain peace under the watchful eyes of the mountain people. Why make him lose his trusted advisor and then his beloved empress?"

Moreover, the Empress risked her life to protect the Medicine Master's wish, truly going to great lengths for him. Why ruin such a beautiful relationship?
Unexpectedly, no sooner had she said this than Du Yuan asked in surprise, "You don't know?"

The elegantly dressed young man was taken aback, his brows furrowing: "What do you mean by that, senior? Where did I overlook something?"

Du Yuan raised her hand and pointed to the sky above the palace—the two sharp sword lights from just now had just dispersed.

"Those two swords, having carried the aura of 'supreme benevolence and supreme kingship' for millions of years, have long become anomalies in the world. If the wielder is not someone whose cultivation and temperament have both reached the pinnacle, then he will surely be 'driven by the sword and his heart will change with the aura'."

"In other words, these two swords will turn their wielders into 'benevolent people' and 'overlords'."

"So the person Gao Cheng should apologize to is not Yaoshi Yuan, but his Empress."

"After all, for the sake of peace and stability in the world, he forcibly transformed her husband into the 'lonely and holy king' he had longed for."

Upon hearing this, the elegantly dressed young man felt a sudden and profound shock – he had never heard of such a crucial point before!

So much so that he cried out in a hoarse voice:
"Senior, are you sure?!"

Seeing this, Du Yuan knew that he was truly unaware of the matter. Considering that this young master possessed excellent insight and knowledge, she guessed that most people on the mountain were probably unaware of this.

After all, even he himself had only just discovered the trickery involved.

Just now, when the two swords were handed to Yaoshiyuan, he noticed something unusual at the moment when the two paths touched and intersected.

To verify this, he then checked both the Buddhist and Taoist schools, and the conclusions were exactly the same: whether it was the Ding Sword or the Ren Sword, as long as the holder was slightly lacking in temperament or cultivation, he would be assimilated by the sword's aura.

Even simply having the right mindset might not be enough. To be truly perfect, you either shouldn't touch it at all, or you should go far beyond it!

After all, the Dao embodied by these two swords is simply too magnificent.

It was so powerful that ordinary people simply couldn't handle it.

In this light, Gao Cheng was not actually confined to the traditional etiquette between ruler and subject. What he sought was simply a monarch who could "shoulder the responsibility of maintaining peace and prosperity" for the people.

However, as an "ancient person," he had never had the bizarre and varied understandings found in Du Yuan's hometown, such as the "Three Sages Theory."

He combined the current situation with ancient magical artifacts and explored a solution similar to that of the "Philosopher King".

This left Du Yuan with a question – should she intervene or not?
He knew that Gao Cheng's request was absolutely for the sake of all people and had never intended to actually kill Yao Shiyuan, so he always protected him.

But he never expected that Gao Cheng's solution would be this.
One family's loss is a blessing for many.

Even this loss isn't considered 'very big'.

On matters of principle, it seems impossible to say more.

However, it was understandable that Du Yuan found it difficult to accept.

After a moment of thought, Du Yuan suddenly raised her eyebrows. That's it. It's one thing for others to hesitate, but why should she hesitate?
I clearly have a solution that satisfies both sides!
If this were a novel, I would definitely be the protagonist. Even if I were the protagonist, I would still ask the author if I had set the bar too high and if it would be difficult to write ups and downs to keep the reader engaged.
(End of this chapter)