Ark, they don't revolve around you

Spanning thousands of years, she depicted everything in this short moment. I believe that there will never be a work in the past or future that will satisfy her more than this.

Therefore, even the second brother couldn't help but applaud softly: "Well done."

He looked around, with nothing but amazement in his eyes.

After all, he witnessed the pinnacle of Xi's painting art. Those were the paintings she burned at the cost of her life, and they were embellished with the essence of thousands of years.

Unfortunately.

"The person you most want to show yourself to is not here." The second brother did not hide the mockery in his expression.

Xi was quiet for a moment, then she pulled up her sleeves and smiled brightly. This girl was always shrewd and mean, and she would occasionally make sarcastic remarks even when facing the doctor, but her smile was still so moving, especially when the sun and the moon shone on her face.

"That's why I said you don't understand, second brother. You don't know how to love others, and you will never accept the love of others. You are a demon who imprisons yourself in heaven and earth."

She took a step forward, and as if it was an illusion, her figure became a little more transparent. "You are not qualified to judge me like this, are you?"

The second brother smiled and said, "Maybe."

He saw the girl walking along, her body becoming more transparent with every step, emitting streams of light like fireflies.

There is no doubt that this painting came at the cost of her life. How could she not die after she finished it?

The second brother's eyes showed a hint of boredom, and he even lost interest in the conversation: "Little sister, you are going to die."

"Ah."

"I thought you would want to chop off my head yourself. Didn't we dislike each other before?"

"I am a painter. The task of killing you can only be left to my creation."

The sunset is indifferent. When a dragon appears from a river, it will surely stir up huge waves.

Yes, this should be the end, right? But in the end, Xi still saw him looking back, not at his second brother, but looking into the distance through the scroll, as if he could see a human figure.

She had never had this novel experience before, so she waved her hands and murmured:

"Goodbye."

"I really hope that one day I can show you my best paintings."

【Mission accomplished, 9/12】

Zhuang Ning stood on the deck for a long time. The strong wind blew up huge waves and the whole ship was shaking.

He finally heard the voice that told him his fate, but he was not surprised at all because he had already calmed down.

The night was dark, and the whole world was filled with rippling waves. He thought that there was something really wrong with that woman, as she actually did that in the end.

but.

But what can we do?

When Nian died, he felt no emotion at all, but now he just felt... angry.

Angry at that woman's stupidity.

There were footsteps beside him, Ning Ci Qiu came to him in a low voice, and Zhuang Ning said coldly: "Xi has disappeared too."

Ning Ci Qiu kept silent. It was her dereliction of duty and she had no choice but to take responsibility.

She thought that this man would yell at her, but no, the man was just bored and looked at the river reflecting the starry sky: "How are the Shanhai Clan's people being captured?"

This time, the second brother did not come alone, he had accomplices with him. I'm afraid they had been lying in ambush inside the ship early, waiting for an opportunity to strike.

"We have almost completed the disarmament and arrest, but when we caught them, they all chose to commit suicide." Ning Ci Qiu hesitated for a moment, "I'm sorry, sir, I failed to meet your expectations."

She was indeed nervous and called out to "Doctor" for a moment. After all, the usually kind man was like a tombstone standing on the deck, which gave people a sense of pressure.

"First, I'm not a lord. I don't hold an official position. I'm not like the Ning family, who have been prominent in Jiangnan for generations." Zhuang Ning's words were inevitably mocking. "Second, I'm very disappointed in you. I thought your defenses were as solid as a rock, but your people betrayed me easily."

Ning Ci Qiu said nothing. It was useless to say anything at this time.

Zhuang Ning was silent for a long time, then suddenly sighed softly, and suddenly seemed to cheer up from his helplessness: "Forget it, if that's the case, there's no need to wait."

He did not explain what this meant, turned around and left the deck. Ning Ci Qiu did not dare to follow him, like a child who had made a mistake.

Zhuang Ning didn't expect her to do so either. Only he knew the meaning of what she had just said - since Xi was dead, it was time to kill his second brother and the Shanhai people according to the original plan.

……

……

Yumen advanced slowly, and Pingshouhou was in a trance, forgetting how long it had been since his territory had penetrated deep into the heart of Yan.

Yumen is connected with the capital. It has been a long time since Pingsuihou last visited the capital to pay homage. He still remembers the magnanimity of the young men from Wuling who spent huge sums of money lavishly, and the extravagance of the wealthy families in entertaining their guests. It is a city that has nothing to do with war, but it is undoubtedly the center of Dayan. The battlefield there is not of swords and knives, but of all kinds of conspiracies and intrigues in the temple.

In about a month, Yumen will be reached, and the entire capital will welcome them with the most grand ceremony. They are the warriors of Yan, who have protected generations of people from invasion.

Even so, the Grand Master remained silent, standing in the watchtower and seldom spoke.

"Grandmaster, what happened?"

"My youngest sister is gone too." He lowered his head and said calmly, "Now there are only me, him and Lingling left."

Is that so? Even though he didn't socialize much on weekdays, Pingshou Hou felt a wave of sadness. The departure of his family was the greatest sorrow, right?

"Your brothers and sisters have left one after another. Are you sad?"

Zhongyue nodded, then shook his head: "I don't know how to express it."

"What's there to not know?"

"I was thinking that maybe I was sad, but I was very calm." Zhongyue still wanted to explain, but suddenly he saw a vehicle raising dust. It was a jeep painted in green. Zhongyue had excellent eyesight and recognized the person at a glance.

"PhD?"

Zhuang Ning hurriedly entered the Jade Gate, climbed up to the watchtower, and waved his hand to brush off the dust. Zhongyue was very patient and did not urge him at all.

On the contrary, Pingshunhou's eyes froze slightly: "Doctor?"

"Xi disappeared." Zhuang Ning said briefly. He obviously did not tell anyone about his coming this time and left in a hurry.

Pingsui Hou Zuo Xuanliao and Chongyue were not surprised, but Zuo Xuanliao could not help but sighed: "So, the Sui Beast is really close to reviving."

What he was thinking about was that the capital had been peaceful for too long, and it was prosperous and wealthy. Could it still withstand the tragedy of war?

In the end, will Yumen be reduced to a pile of bones? The people of this city thought they were returning home to enjoy glory, but in fact they were jumping into a fire pit.

The old man was feeling sentimental. After all, Pingshun Hou was a good general who took good care of his subordinates.

At this time, Zhongyue also opened his mouth: "Doctor, are you here just to inform me of this?"

Zhuang Ning had already reached into the basin brought by the servant and used a piece of cloth to wipe the dust off his face.

"No," he said quietly, "I'm here to deliver information."

He paused, his eyes like torches: "Xi imprisoned the second brother with a painting in the end, and the second brother could not escape the cage for a while."

"During this period, the Shanhai people were leaderless, but I have some things in my hands." Zhuang Ning handed over the hard drive, "This is the information I got from the people of Gouwu Shanhai. I think you will be interested."

Pingshun Hou ordered someone to open it, and then his eyes widened: "This is..."

"This is the distribution of Shanhai's forces. In the final analysis, most of these people are bandits. If one of them unites, they are certainly worthy of fear, but if they are scattered, they are just scattered soldiers." Zhuang Ning whispered, "The key lies in the spies that Shanhai has planted in the court. I don't trust the court, but I believe in the soldiers at the border. What to do is up to you, Marquis Pingsong, but if Rhodes Island is needed, we will not shirk it."

Pingshun Hou was so moved that he even found it difficult to express his feelings for a moment. This was real achievement, but this man handed it over without any hesitation. He really didn't value some things at all, did he?

As for the spies from the Shanhai people in the court, Zuo Xuanliao sighed, inevitably feeling resentful. He knew that the power of the behemoth was too tempting for mortals, so this man did not trust the people in the court and only passed this information to himself.

As for the truth of the information, he had fought with the Shanhai people before and could tell it at a glance. Pingshun Hou put away the hard drive and bowed deeply.

But for Zhongyue, something else was obviously more important.

"You said my brother was sealed?"

"It's not a seal, but he's imprisoned in a painting." Zhuang Ning pointed south, to the land of Gou Wu. "In the end, Xi used the world as a canvas and himself as a paintbrush to lock him in. Even if my second brother absorbed Xi's power, it would take him several days to break out of this cage."

"He can't go anywhere in these few days?"

"Yes."

Zhongyue nodded. This was exactly the information he wanted. "Thank you, Doctor. Without you, I would have returned empty-handed."

Zhuang Ning opened his mouth to speak again, but pretended to be conflicted and glanced at Pingsui Hou. Zuo Xuanliao understood what he meant and sent others away.

Zhuang Ning cleared his throat and said, "Sui's birth is inevitable. Even if we get rid of the second brother, we can only delay Sui's return. I dare to ask, is Dayan ready to attack Sui?"

Pingshun Hou thought that it was no wonder that he wanted to dismiss everyone, this was indeed a sensitive issue.

Logically, Zuo Xuanliao shouldn’t tell an outsider, but Rhodes Island has made contributions. He looked at Zhongyue and said hoarsely in a low voice: “The Grand Tutor has discussed it with the Simaitai.”

"Sui's return is inevitable, but if we can kill the culprit and no one else messes up, the seal of Simuitai can probably last for a few more years. During this time, Sui will be weakened to the greatest extent, just like a newborn baby. If you don't give him nutrients, he won't die, but he will become skinny."

"Is Simui Tai planning to weaken Him to the extreme before raising an army to attack Him?"

"This will cause the least damage to Dayan, and this time, the Dayan court will completely wipe out the existence of Sui, both physically and mentally." Although Pingsui Hou's tone was light, his confidence was unmistakable. Pingsui - perhaps this is his mission?

Zhuang Ning smiled and nodded quietly: "Then I feel relieved."

He fell to the ground, exhausted after traveling for days. "Let me rest for a while, Grandmaster."

"I'll take you to the scroll tomorrow." The man closed his eyes, "You and your brother will settle the feud there."

……

……

At night, beacon fires were lit and drums were beaten continuously.

This was a simulation of Yumen's visit to the capital today. Seeing the smoke rising from the beacon fire, which was clearly visible a hundred miles away, Zhuang Ning put down the sword in his hand.

He sat alone on the city wall, without a scout by his side, enjoying the darkness and the silence.

He thought he was calm, but the image of Xi kept flashing through his mind. What a troublesome guy. He had been like this before, and he would not let him go even if he died.

Zhuang Ning should be happy. Although the news of Xi's death did have an impact on him, in his original thinking, Xi deserved to die. In fact, her death was worthy of her death. She imprisoned her second brother, which was perfect from this point of view.

But she didn't listen.

You're so afraid of death, but in the end you still want to save me?

It's ridiculous.

"PhD."

A voice called to him.

He turned around and saw Zhongyue sitting quietly. He didn't seem nervous the night before the final battle with his brothers.

Zhuang Ning and Zhong Yue were not close friends, but there was no reason for him to refuse. They looked up at the moon, the wind blew gently, and the master asked quietly, "What was Xi's last...like?"

Zhuang Ning looked at him secretly. Although he didn't say it, Zhongyue must be worried about the departure of his family.

“She was heroic.”

After thinking for a long time, Zhuang Ning finally gave her this evaluation. Especially since Xi Ben was a timid girl, how could she not be worthy of the word brave for her to have such an action?

That was enough. Zhong Yue smiled slightly and did not ask about the details. Instead, he advised: "Doctor, the temperature difference is large at night. You might want to wear more clothes."

Zhuang Ning could somewhat understand Xi's embarrassment of being rushed.

But, it’s also good… He simply stood up, clapped his hands and asked a question: “Grandmaster, are you sure you can defeat your brother?”

"He should be very strong now, right?"

"He accommodates the authority of all the other brothers and sisters except you and Ling."

Zhongyue was silent for a long time: "That might be more difficult."

He clenched his fists, his eyes calm, "So what if I can't win? I'm going to beat him eventually."

"If you lose, Dayan will have no barrier." Zhuang Ning said jokingly.

The Grand Master was very serious, standing on the city wall, watching the smoke signals and the beating drums.

"No." He said in a low voice, "I am insignificant."

"The true soul of Da Yan lies in those soldiers."

……

The painting was in a mess.

The mountains and rivers cracked and the oceans boiled, as if all the people were dead. There had been a great war here, but now it was so quiet.

According to the legend of the Yan people, there is a Guixu at the end of the sea. Guixu is the end of everything. There are no living people, only deathly silence.

Until a low laugh was heard from somewhere, hiding repression and madness, and weird laughter kept coming out of the hoarse and broken throat.