Killing Monks

Lu Fei looked in the direction he was pointing.

The eternal lamp on the altar flickered softly, illuminating the ancestral tablets of past generations, arranged from high to low and from far to near.

The top layer is somewhat mottled, with faded ink; it gets newer as you go down, all the way to the front row.

Lu Chengyu.

The wood is still light in color, and the carving marks are still fresh.

Lu Fei looked away, unwilling to look any longer.

He looked up little by little, his gaze sweeping over those unfamiliar names.

Suddenly, he stopped.

"Lu Zhu".

He murmured the name, his brow furrowing.

The last emperor of the Song Dynasty, Emperor Ai of Song.

I read it when I was studying at the Imperial Academy.

Historical records state that Emperor Ai was weak-willed and lacked political talent. After reigning for three years, rebel forces captured the capital, and the emperor burned down the Daming Palace before committing suicide.

Lu Fei's heart skipped a beat, and he continued looking up.

Lu Ye.

Lu Xuan.

Lu Cui.

……

Up to the highest point, the oldest piece, "Lu Que".

Lu Fei suddenly opened his eyes wide.

The founding emperor of the Song Dynasty.

During the chaotic end of the Sui Dynasty, the Yang family lost their power, and the whole world vied for control of the country.

Lu Que led an expedition from the south to the north, defeating the Guanzhong aristocracy, ending a century of war, establishing his rule in the Central Plains, and founding the Song Dynasty's three-hundred-year reign.

Historically known as Emperor Taizu Wu.

"This...this..." Lu Fei's voice trembled uncontrollably.

One or two could be coincidences.

But the memorial tablets covering the entire wall, from the founding of the nation to its fall, from Emperor Taizu to Emperor Ai, are all from the Lu family.

"That's right." Lu Chengming's voice was calm. "Our Lu family is the last bloodline of the Song Dynasty's royal family."

"Three hundred years ago, the imperial city fell, and the rebel army surrounded it from all sides. Our ancestor Lu Zhu set fire to the Daming Palace."

His gaze fell on the memorial tablet for "Lu Zhu":

"He did not flee. He sat alone in the flames, forging the blood of a fallen king and the resentment of three hundred years of foundation being burned into the sword he carried."

"On the day the sword was completed, the whole city heard the roar of a dragon."

"This is the Black Knife."

"Its real name..."

Lu Chengming turned his head and met Lu Fei's gaze:

"The Emperor's Hatred".

Lu Fei stood there, stunned.

There is no hatred more profound than the hatred of national subjugation.

There was no resentment, but it was more intense than the resentment of a fallen ruler.

"This knife," Lu Chengming continued, "can only be wielded by members of the Lu family. Anyone who touches it will suffer a backlash."

"But even my Lu family members," he paused, his voice tinged with helplessness, "have suffered greatly as well."

"For three hundred years, it has never stopped persecuting us."

"It wants to restore its kingdom. It wants revenge."

"It wants to make those who hold it remember that fire forever, to feel resentment forever, to feel anger forever, and to feel no peace forever."

Lu Fei remained silent for a moment, then finally spoke in a hoarse voice: "Restore the kingdom? Seek revenge?"

He looked at the wall covered with memorial tablets, his voice tinged with absurdity:

"Three hundred years have passed. After the Song Dynasty, there were five or six dynasties, including the Jin, Han, and Zhao dynasties, some lasting only a dozen years, and others no more than a hundred years."

"The Great Zhou Dynasty has now been established for 150 years. To whom can we seek revenge? How can we restore our kingdom?"

"Therefore," Lu Chengming lowered his eyes, "we have no choice but to restore our country."

"But...none of us want to."

He said, "We know our own limitations; we have never been geniuses or extraordinary individuals."

"The Lu family has done its best to be a local strongman in Luoqing County, ensuring the well-being and safety of its clansmen."

"If they were to raise the flag to restore the country, they would be reduced to ashes in an instant."

"And so," he said, "this knife tormented its wielder day after day."

"It whispers in your ear. It roars in your dreams. It lets you see the great fire three hundred years ago, and lets you hear the mournful cries of your ancestors before they died."

"If this goes on for too long, people will go crazy."

Lu Fei remained silent.

After a long silence, he asked:

"So... Father killed Grandfather."

Lu Chengming nodded.

"Your grandfather... was already driven insane by the torture. In those years, he would often stand in the courtyard at midnight with a knife, talking to the empty darkness."

"If anyone in the clan displeases him in the slightest, he will fly into a rage, draw his sword, and many people will die by his blade."

He paused. "The day your father killed him, he was about to kill your mother!"

Lu Fei clenched his fist tightly.

"And your father," Lu Chengming looked at him calmly, "endured another twenty or thirty years."

"These past twenty or thirty years, his suffering has only intensified. The black knife in his hand has grown increasingly violent, and he fears that sooner or later he will lose control like your grandfather and harm his people!"

He paused:

"I'm especially afraid of hurting you."

Lu Chengming's voice was very soft, as if he was afraid of waking something.

"When he killed Xiaojun, he was already losing control of himself."

So, he let you go.

Lu Fei raised his head.

"What kind of place is the Lu family mansion?" Lu Chengming looked at him. "A three-hundred-year-old foundation, with no fewer than ten Earth Realm martial artists, and guards patrolling day and night."

"How could a boy of about ten years old have walked out of that door without the patriarch's permission?"

Lu Fei felt as if a red-hot iron plate was pressing on his chest, making it hard for him to breathe.

original.

It turns out that he escaped by climbing over the wall that night, and he thought it was luck, the cover of night, and the carelessness of the pursuers.

It turned out that his father had stood by the study window that night, watching his back as he climbed over the wall.

No pursuit was made.

No one stopped them.

Just watching.

"So," Lu Chengming's voice seemed to come from a great distance, "I brought you back for this battle today."

"When you finally free him, I will do it myself."

"Black Knife will consider your father an unfilial son, and by killing your father, you will silence Black Knife for several years, until you reject Black Knife."

Lu Fei stood there, like a clay sculpture.

After a long while, he finally found his voice, which was so hoarse it didn't sound like his own.

"...Why?"

Why did he never tell me these things?

Lu Chengming did not answer immediately.

He turned his head and looked at the sky outside the ancestral hall, cut off by the high wall.

"What good would it do to tell you?"

His voice was flat, revealing no emotion.

"There are so many things happening in the martial arts world, do you expect others to tell you before you open your eyes to see them?"

"This is another test."

"If you can discover the secret of the Black Knife yourself, you will be able to guess what your father's actions over the years were all for."

"Then today, the outcome will be different."

Lu Fei's lips moved slightly.

"But if you can't figure it out," Lu Chengming continued, "then I'll tell you."

"After you killed him."

Lu Fei was struck dumb.

He stared blankly at Lu Chengming, his eyes revealing everything, yet he did not look away.

such……

Thus, this father-son killing was never a one-sided death by the father.

It was a test question.

This will test whether he can see through the truth.

He thought he was taking revenge.

He thought he was saving someone.

He thought he was rebelling against his cruel and heartless father.

But from beginning to end, he was the one who was arranged to be.

They were protected and helped escape from the cage.

They were led back to the old place.

He was pushed into that position, and then, with his own hands, he killed the person who had protected him his whole life.

"……I."

Lu Fei spoke up: "If I had discovered these secrets sooner, and understood him sooner, wouldn't things be different today?"

Lu Chengming looked at him.

After a long pause, he nodded gently.

"Perhaps things wouldn't have turned out this way today, but your father's death was inevitable!"

"From the moment he became the head of the Lu family!"

"This is the fate of the Lu family!"

Lu Fei closed his eyes.