"Indeed, it is a very clever scheme."
Gu Shen silently thought to himself.
The advancement of the bill involved too many characters.
It must be said, Zhao Xilai, the fisherman who fished behind the scenes, was the true far-sighted old fox. Being someone whose half body was buried in the ground, he could calmly wait for the various factions of immortals to finish fighting, then wait for Changye City to reveal its ultimate stance... Once the uncertainties were settled, he would finally reveal his hidden intentions and slowly make his move.
In the ninth layer of Huazhi Underground’s "New World," with the Tomb Ghost presiding, once the matter of the alternate members of parliament was settled, the outcome of the Awakening Bill’s implementation should be as certain as nailed down.
"I have a question..."
Gu Shen sat opposite the Tomb Guardian, gazing at that desiccated, sallow cheek, and asked, "Why... do you advocate for the implementation of the bill?"
Xing Yun smiled silently.
He looked towards Cui Zhongcheng, who still wore his usual smile of a spectator enjoying the turmoil.
Xing Yun could only shrug his shoulders and said nonchalantly, "It seems you’ve heard of the ’Tomb Ghost’s’ reputation. Then you should also know what good things I’ve done. Because of the Qingzhong Bill, I offended so many big shots that I had no choice but to flee. Fortunately, Mr. Zhao was willing to shelter me; in the vast world, only Huazhi Underground in Da Du could provide refuge. I have no way to repay him but..."
At this point, he thoughtfully raised his head, looked towards Cui Zhongcheng, and slightly smiled, "I could only work like an ox and horse in return."
Cui Zhongcheng: "..."
Mr. Xiao Cui rubbed his temples, "The Tomb Ghost has a very bad reputation outside; indeed, very few people have the capability and dare to shelter him."
"Helping Changye City promote the ’Qingzhong’ bill... Why would it end ?"
Gu Shen was somewhat puzzled.
Logically, the promotion of the Qingzhong Bill helped Changye City establish an extremely solid transcendent position.
"Because Gu Changzhi is still sleeping."
The Tomb Guardian began indifferently, reluctant to waste words with the naïve youngster before him. Instead, he spoke cryptically, "And many people don’t want him to sleep, while many don’t want him to wake up... Perhaps you will understand when you’re older, that matters in this world have two sides, and no matter what you do, you’re going to interfere with another group of people."
"Those who don’t want Gu Changzhi ’to sleep’ are actually of two types,"
Cui Zhongcheng explained for the Tomb Guardian, "One kind hopes he will wake up, and another kind..."
"Wants him to be completely dead," Gu Shen spoke up, faintly understanding the massive impact caused by the Tomb Ghost’s Qingzhong Bill.
"I told the people of Changye City who supported the bill then that as long as Qingzhong was established, and the Extraordinary Essence was condensed, it could awaken Gu Changzhi. But I could never have anticipated, with a multitude of obstacles, the Qingzhong Bill was successfully implemented, yet Gu Changzhi still remains in deep slumber..."
The Tomb Ghost sat isolated among mountainous stacks of documents, his expression somewhat desolate.
"These people exhausted significant efforts, hoping for Gu Changzhi’s awakening, only to end up in solitude. In a sense, the Qingzhong Bill was a failure for them; all their efforts were in vain. They think I’m a swindler."
"As for the other group, needless to say, had there been no Qingzhong, perhaps Gu Changzhi might have already died... but as long as he still shows signs of life, signs of spiritual activity, those who wish for Gu Changzhi’s death dare not show their faces, dare not make a sound. They hide underground, they loathe Qingzhong, and they loathe me who proposed the bill even more."
The Tomb Ghost spread his palms, his laugh seeming self-deprecating yet indifferent, "Look... I really am a ghostly genius, aren’t I? A single Qingzhong Bill has successfully made both opposing sides hate me."
Indeed... a ghostly genius.
Gu Shen fell into silence.
"You are an interesting fellow, for no one has ever asked me why I do these things."
"And really... with questions like ’why,’ how many people care?"
"In fact," he said, "the implementation of the Qingzhong Bill was because I really wanted to see Gu Changzhi wake up."
Xing Yun picked up the piece of paper that had fallen to the ground, flicked it lightly, and declared emphatically, "Just as I really want to see the new world arrive."
In the old district of Da Du, to the north, there is a secluded hillock.
Actually, this place is a cemetery that hardly anyone visits. At the base of the mountain, there is just a shoddy iron fence that is more for show than function, as it could not stop anyone who really wanted to climb over; there is no such thing as a tomb guard here... because no one comes to this cemetery, including the descendants of the old folks buried here.
Unless one’s life was extremely bleak, their grave would not end up in this place.
Da Du has specially built cemetery parks with beautiful scenery and fresh air. Within the cemetery, the location of the graves can be graded into different levels, with clear pricing, some expensive, some cheap; but for the sake of "dignity" after death, those who struggled in life would always choose to buy a spot here.
In this era, very few people were buried in wild, desolate areas.
These were the "indignified" people.
Those who came here to pay their respects would probably also be labeled as "indignified."
And today, a sleek black car smoothly drove toward the hill in the north suburbs of the old district, the vehicle coming to a halt, the driver Crow, dressed in a black suit, solemnly opened the car door.
The lady in the white dress slowly got out of the car.
She stopped Song Yingji, who was about to open the parasol for her; the morning sun was not too strong, the wild grass on the hill shook their heads, sticky with clearly defined dewdrops.
The two of them slowly walked up the mountain.
On this old, desolate hill, stood a dilapidated wooden stele, buried together with those nameless after death...
As they ascended, Crow could not help but recall old Lu’s smiling face in life, and suddenly he felt somewhat sad; he never really understood why such a wealthy and powerful man would stipulate in his will that he wanted to be buried in such a remote, desolate place after his death.
They continued up the mountain trail.
Suddenly, the sound of startled crows rang overhead.
Black silhouettes of crows swept through the gaps between the branches above the small barren hill; Lu Nanzhi slightly frowned while Crow felt surprised, a strange premonition forming in his heart...
Both quickened their pace.
After reaching the mountaintop.
Crow and the lady silently watched the scene before them:
The old mountain trail’s steps were broken and scattered, with dry yellow leaves covering them.
The mountaintop itself was buried under a pile of withered leaves, a scene of desolate autumn chill and bleakness. Yet at the center, the space in front of the wooden stele that read "Nameless, Lu Cheng" was meticulously swept clean.
The long knife sheath used for sweeping was placed neatly in front of the stele.
Incense was still burning in front of the stele, its smoke gracefully spreading with the wind.
A woman with red hair, dressed in a trench coat, knelt in front of the stele, her eyes closed.
Lu Nanjin, with palms pressed together, softly mourned for her father.