Waiting for a rabbit by the stump, what was there to fear
Qiu Jing said that one person cleaning up the bones was enough.
Qiu Jing possessed martial arts skills, going back to Feng Xing Pavilion was not difficult, but Cheng Jingchuan did not have the ability to climb over the city wall in the middle of the night without alarming anyone.
The three of them returned under the moonlight, and the tall city walls cast heavy shadows.
Turning back to look, they could not see the beacon fires thousands of miles away, nor could they see the lingering smoke in the mountain hollows outside the city.
People lived a lifetime, for fame and profit, running about busily, yet the things they ultimately left behind were very few.
At first, Mo Li could not understand Qiu Si’s kind of madness, but now he suddenly understood a bit.
——It was nothing more than valuing “oneself” too highly, thinking oneself higher than everything in this world, capable of dominating others’ joy, anger, life, and death.
In this world, countless people did not hesitate to sell their consciences, to sell everything and climb up with all their might, just to make “themselves” weigh much more than others, so that their own lives would be worth far more than others. It was just that they were more worldly and easy to understand, and also very common, while Qiu Si’s type chose another confusing path. Yet in essence, they were the same.
Mo Li pinched Meng Qi’s hand, and with the cover of his robe’s sleeve, nothing could be seen.
Meng Qi raised his head and suddenly smiled.
Even the dragon vein gradually died out, and over countless changes, what in this world remained unchanging? It was just that compared to the people of this world, they experienced more, and the hardships and sorrows they had seen were beyond measure. Even so, did the dragon vein not love the living beings of this world?
They were not beings above the common folk; they, too, were living beings of this world.
Mo Li thought this and again set his gaze upon Cheng Jingchuan.
Would this person become like that in the future? For that ambition, would he commit great slaughter……
Cheng Jingchuan involuntarily turned his head; he was extremely sensitive to gazes. Perceiving that Mo Li’s look at him was strange, he immediately said: “Regarding today’s matter, many thanks to the National Master Meng and Doctor Mo. Without the help of you two, I truly wouldn’t have known what to do.”
“General Cheng overpraised.” Meng Qi raised his brow. Killing Qiu Si was indeed a great help to Cheng Jingchuan.
How could someone as clever as Cheng Jingchuan not understand the implication in his words?
He immediately forced a bitter smile and said: “Not to hide it from the National Master, actually these days…… or rather these past years, I had always been wondering what Mister Qiu truly wanted. He did not care about fame and profit, and he did not overvalue power. To say he cared about the common people was even more of a joke. So he could only be wholeheartedly seeking to restore Chu, trying to accomplish something great.”
After all, it could not be that he was idle at home with nothing to do, and suddenly had a whimsical idea to engage in this exhausting and risky business of beheadings and rebellion.
Everyone had weaknesses; once grasped, one could accomplish many things. This was what Cheng Jingchuan learned from Qiu Si.
Cheng Jingchuan once thought Qiu Si’s weakness was Qiu Jing. For this, he even sighed in relief. A person with no weaknesses and who wanted nothing was undoubtedly terrifying.
Now, Cheng Jingchuan knew he was wrong. He had no choice but to think deeply, recalling Qiu Si’s words and actions again and again.
——“The world was not chaotic enough.”
——“The Three Kings occupied small corners in peace, the Qi Dynasty faced internal strife and external threats. Such a stalemate would last for many years.”
——“The prosperous era that the common people and scholars longed for could not be seen in our lifetimes, so we must seize the Ning King’s territory as a stepping stone to raise troops in Jiangnan, at least to divide the Qi Dynasty by the river.”
These three sentences were what Qiu Si said most frequently to Cheng Jingchuan and to those wholeheartedly seeking to restore Chu.
Cheng Jingchuan sighed: “Because when he said these words, I could feel that he was sincere. Though I did not quite believe it, I could not find another reason. After all, those who achieved great things did not stick to trifles. Yu Heng and the other attendants, including me, were all cultivated single-handedly by him. They probably had the same thought as I. Those few sentences were also true words. The world’s situation was indeed like that.”
Meng Qi frowned. After thinking it over, he still did not speak mockingly.
Cheng Jingchuan, immersed in his memories, did not notice and continued on his own: “Hearing the National Master’s words today suddenly enlightened me and made me understand many things. Mister Qiu…… he merely wanted to exchange it for a bigger stage where he could perform more freely.”
A long time ago, Qiu Si suppressed himself, acting as a frustrated scholar to hide the slip-ups he accidentally revealed.
Later, Qiu Si finally found an excuse and, without hesitation, left home and crossed south, because the Qiu family was too small and could not let him display anything.
What Qiu Si truly wanted to do, what could make that madman happy, was to constantly excavate other people’s obsessions and ambitions, give these people excellent conditions, satisfy their appetites and desires, and in the end let them lose everything and die.
Wine and lust could become addictive, and so could the lust for power.
Qiu Si grew bolder and bolder, and neither Ningtai nor Jiangnan could satisfy him. Yet he happened to have the ability to bear such ambition and madness, able to toy with countless people in the palm of his hand.
“……He truly dared to think and dared to do, and he used gorgeous rhetoric and the notion of restoring Chu to disguise his true face. It was a pity that Yu Heng and the others never knew these truths until their deaths.” Cheng Jingchuan’s tone was heavy, yet it also carried a hint of lightness and relief, because he already realized that in Qiu Si’s eyes, he himself was not some successor. Qiu Si also did not intend to hand over the achievements of decades of labor to anyone. In Qiu Si’s eyes, Cheng Jingchuan was merely a somewhat important protagonist who would perform a grand heroic ambition on a bigger stage.
As for whether the finale would be dying in battle on the frontier or failing to achieve one’s aspirations and then wasting away from illness, it depended on Qiu Si’s preferences.
After all, Cheng Jingchuan was still young, while Qiu Si’s age was not small. How could the people in the script live longer than the one who wrote it? There always had to be some natural disasters and man-made calamities, unexpected turns of events, turning the annals of history into storybooks written at will, making mighty heroes and renowned generals all into chess pieces to be placed arbitrarily. One thought decided victory or defeat, one word decided life or death.
In the eyes of outsiders, it just seemed as if these people themselves chose their paths and were then pushed by the grand tide of events to kill each other.
Not to mention those caught in the middle, even careful bystanders would find it hard to say for sure whether these matters were truly Qiu Si’s plotting, for he might have merely spoken a single sentence, or perhaps given someone a push. It was they themselves who walked step by step into a dead end.
Cheng Jingchuan broke out in a cold sweat. He realized that his luck was truly not bad.
At the same time, he wavered slightly in his resolve to stabilize the Ning Tai situation and resist the Heavenly Bestowed King.
“You couldn’t handle Qiu Si when he was alive, and you can’t do it now that he’s dead?” Meng Qi’s expression was cold, and although his tone held not a trace of mockery, Cheng Jingchuan still felt embarrassed.
“I shall……do my best.”
Cheng Jingchuan did not say more. This was not the time for boasting about ambitions.
After the death of King Ning, the upheavals that occurred within a few short days nearly overturned the entire Jiangnan. Who could claim they could control the whole situation?
Mo Li sent the man into the city.
The moonlight was bleak, making the lights that never went out in the dead of night even more piercing.
Who knew how many people this night were either hurrying anxiously or discussing secretly under the lamplight, sober or greedily planning their futures.
“The Heavenly Bestowed King would soon step into Jingzhou……the days you and I remain in Ning Tai were not many anymore.” Mo Li suddenly spoke.
Meng Qi was still immersed in thoughts about this chaotic situation in Jiangnan, and upon hearing these words he raised his head and said: “I’m afraid we cannot leave.”
He dared not underestimate Qiu Si.
Qiu Si was tricked by the Thunderbolt Hall once, dying on a day he did not consider favorable, but this did not mean all of Qiu Si’s previous arrangements were in vain. Who knew how many backup plans this madman, who had long planned for his own death, might have left?
“This was only the first day of Qiu Si’s ‘disappearance.’ Those who stir up trouble have not yet shown their faces.” Even Meng Qi felt troubled, and he sighed, “By common reasoning, the pieces Qiu Si could use were nothing more than his subordinates, officials entangled by interests, and greedy Jianghu people, etc. But who was truly capable of making a big move after Qiu Si’s death?”
Mo Li involuntarily thought of the Heavenly Bestowed King. Although that king had found the Thunderbolt Hall as a helper and advanced east with unexpected speed, he indeed was a powerful force that could influence the chessboard.
“……Enemies, his allies, or ambitious people who knew Qiu Si’s prowess and never revealed themselves.”
Mo Li next thought of King Wu, and without agreement beforehand, both he and Meng Qi shaped their mouths silently to voice the name. The air carried the unuttered sound, and then the two exchanged a look and smiled.
A bitter smile.
Meng Qi rubbed the center of his brow and said: “You and I had long suspected that King Wu had some capable individuals, though none could compare to Qiu Si. Now it seemed that the earlier matter of King Wu paying six hundred taels of gold to the Piaoping Pavilion to buy the Heavenly Bestowed King’s head may have hidden motives.”
King Wu’s territory in Yangzhou was separated from the Heavenly Bestowed King’s domain by an entire Jingzhou, not bordering at all.
Six hundred taels of gold were not a small number. Although King Wu was the richest feudal lord under heaven, he still had to think carefully before throwing so much money into the water.
“Qiu Si secretly colluded with the Heavenly Bestowed King, causing that king’s power to surge. King Wu’s side might have gotten wind of it. Since he recruited many Jianghu people, it wouldn’t be surprising if he thought of using Jianghu methods.” Mo Li thought about it and then said, “Because various forces such as the Xiliang people, Holy Lotus Sect, Feng Xing Pavilion, and others were involved in the struggle, things became even more complicated and confusing, making people ignore the simplest answer.”
Assassinating the Heavenly Bestowed King was real.
If one wanted to shoot a man, one should shoot his horse first. If one wanted to capture the bandits, one should capture their king first. King Wu’s side vaguely sensed something was off in Yizhou, but had no solution, so since they had money, why not hire assassins?
“Find King Wu’s people and make them understand that now was not the time to compete over Jiangnan’s territory. Only by repelling the Heavenly Bestowed King could the chaos be initially resolved.”
“But……”
Mo Li hesitated, for the city of Ning Tai was teeming with all sorts of people, as muddled as muddy water. Anyone who could remain hidden at this time surely had a way to conceal their identity.
Not to mention, King Wu had a habit of recruiting Jianghu people. How could they distinguish their identities and persuade them?
Even the Feng Xing Pavilion might not be able to do that.
Yet Meng Qi smiled mysteriously and beckoned: “It may not be difficult. Just wait by the stump for rabbits to come. A Li, come with me.”
The wind whistled past their ears. A master of lightfoot travel could cover the distance from the city’s north to south in an instant.
“Is this the Patrol Yamen?”
Mo Li looked doubtfully at the plaque before him.
“Exactly. Qiu Si’s corpse could not be found, but his attendants remained. All parties would be unable to resist coming to take a look.” Meng Qi leapt onto the courtyard wall with ease and said, “They search for the corpse to guess whether Qiu Si lived or died, and we guess the identities of those night visitors. With rabbits knocking into the stump one after another, we would eventually get the one we wanted.”
