Chapter 112: Chapter 97: The Ultimate Void
This was a pair of clear eyes, hidden behind a window.
They reflected the tragic scene currently unfolding on Zhuque Street.
The next second, the eyes gradually closed.
It was unknown how much time had passed.
“I have caught that Qi,” Zhao Rong said with his eyes closed.
The blood-soaked man had, in those three seconds of life-burning, extended his last finger.
Stabbing the sword furnace.
Zhao Rong was incredibly familiar with it, as he had practiced it millions of times.
But that finger had still deeply imprinted itself in his heart.
Was it the Fist Stance which Brother Sanbian advised me to watch carefully before he left this morning?
At this moment, the Qi and blood within Zhao Rong’s body involuntarily trembled, his Qi was extremely chaotic, like a swarm of headless flies crashing around.
“… What, what did you say?”
With her mouth covered and eyes red, Su Xiaoxiao looked up at the young Confucian Scholar, who was standing calmly with his eyes closed beside the window.
Zhao Rong could clearly feel the Innate Primordial Qi that he had been desperately searching for amidst this chaotic Qi, slowly sorting and guiding it.
Zhao Rong opened his eyes and said calmly, “I found that Innate Primordial Qi inside me,”
Su Xiaoxiao sniffled, her nose tip red, “Zhao Rong, Liu Sanbian is dead, he’s dead. He was fine this morning, and now, now he’s dead…”
“I know,” Zhao Rong said softly.
The little Fox Demon, upon hearing this, momentarily forgot to wipe her tears and stared blankly at Zhao Rong.
The young Confucian Scholar turned his head and looked steadily at Su Xiaoxiao for a moment, then suddenly raised his hand and cradled her small palm-sized face.
The little Fox Demon was dumbstruck and did not resist; instead, she even slightly tilted her head.
He carefully wiped away the tears brimming in her narrow, limpid eyes with his right thumb.
Her eyes were red from crying, and her long eyelashes trembled slightly.
Zhao Rong said solemnly, “Don’t cry.”
Accustomed to biting one side of her lip, Su Xiaoxiao looked up and locked eyes with Zhao Rong for a moment, then nodded assent.
“Xiaoxiao won’t cry.”
Mountain Master of Bao Yun.
“Where are you going?”
Zhao Rong was momentarily at a loss for words.
He placed his bookcase on the ground, sat on it, and stared up at Liu Sanbian.
Liu Sanbian turned his head to look at the distant Qingshan mountains.
“I heard it was someone named Qin Ji, a profligate from a prominent family who did it.”
“I also heard that this Qin Ji comes from a very distinguished family, the first-class Langxi Qin family of Great Wei.”
“His father is the powerful Prime Minister of Great Wei and also a Great Cultivator of the Confucian sect.”
Liu Sanbian didn’t “mm” this time; he turned around, staring at Zhao Rong.
“Although I’m not familiar with Great Wei, I also understand what it means to be from the top-ranked family of such a great dynasty,” Zhao Rong said gravely.
This Langxi Qin family, like the Zhao family of Great Chu which he had married into, was perhaps even more influential.
Great Chu’s Jingnan Duke Mansion was served by a cultivator of the Heavenly Will Realm, this he knew; but whether there were any hidden Golden Core cultivators, he was unsure, perhaps only Qing Jun and the old duchess knew.
“Moreover, this Qin Ji’s father is a Golden Core Realm cultivator. Do you have the Fifth Grade?”
Liu Sanbian said nothing.
“Are you confident that after killing that Qin Ji, you can retreat unscathed?”
Liu Sanbian was still looking at him, silent.
Zhao Rong paused, then spoke softly, “Brother Sanbian, as long as the green hills are there, one need not worry about firewood. Endure for a while, and if it truly becomes unbearable, I will stay and drink with you. That Qin Ji will surely die, but let us plan for the long term, proceed gradually, and wait until everything is ready. I will not stop you then…”
“They also told me to endure.”
Liu Sanbian suddenly spoke, interrupting Zhao Rong.
“They were all satisfied, so they told me to endure.”
“My second junior brother was satisfied.”
“The Qin family compensated him with a lot of silver and even promised to pave the way for his career.”
“My third junior brother was satisfied.”
“The Prime Minister personally visited to apologize, and my foster father was posthumously honored by Emperor Wei. It was a grand funeral, and as his foster son, he could put his mind at ease.”
“Those friends of my foster father were satisfied too. The Prime Minister did not blame the past and felt guilty. They no longer had to worry about my foster father implicating them.”
“Brother Gao Yi was satisfied as well. He can use my connections to get in touch with the Qin family from Langxi.”
“Emperor Wei and the people of Great Wei were all satisfied. The Prime Minister gave them an acceptable explanation.”
Liu Sanbian’s voice was somewhat hoarse, as if he had spoken a lot over the past few days.
“They were all satisfied, all telling me to endure.”
Liu Sanbian stared into Zhao Rong’s eyes and said word by word:
“But I am not satisfied, I, Liu Sanbian, am not satisfied at all!”
“I just want to ask one question, why? Why must I endure, why must I wait!”
“I, Liu Sanbian, grew up without father or mother, but on that snowy night, the man who opened the door for me became my father for life.”
“Now, my father is gone.
He was whipped to death.
His hoarse voice roared deeply.
“I and that man, cannot coexist under the same sky!
Every second he lives longer,
is me, Liu Sanbian, failing as a son!
Zhao Rong watched this slightly changed Liu Sanbian in silence.
“I always thought about coming back to see, always about seeing the green hills, feeling the children’s studies kept them busy, better to wait until they grew older, then bring them back to meet their foster father.
The thought of foster father meeting Qingshan, seeing that he too is a scholar, would surely delight him enough to drink a few more glasses after dinner,
made me unable to suppress my smile.
Qingshan was studying, I hadn’t yet told him in a letter,
thinking to surprise him when we met.
To let him see his unfilial son, though not a scholar, had raised one.
Later, as Qingshan grew older, I thought to wait a bit more, just a bit more.
And so, for various reasons.
Waiting and waiting, waiting and waiting.
The letter said, my father is gone…”
Zhao Rong turned his head slightly, squinting, somewhat afraid to look at the man before him.
He pursed his lips and looked at the stretch of continuous buildings in the distance, “but this doesn’t mean we should just go and throw our lives away.”
“Who said I am going to throw my life away?”
The fierce face, like parched earth finally receiving rain, suddenly broke into a brilliant smile.
“You can come with me, but try not to get involved, watch closely the last punch, watch and learn!”
“Who dares to break my son’s golden lock!”
In a tavern on Vermilion Bird Street, while Zhao Rong was wiping away Su Xiaoxiao’s tears,
a stern shout suddenly erupted.
This voice, its origin unknown, was like a great bell or drum, resounding through the sky.
Half of Liangjing City could hear it,
in the distance, the sound of thunder roared.
a figure arrived on Vermilion Bird Street, which had turned into a hell on earth, almost simultaneously with his shout.