Chapter 1109: Broken Tree
If it were said that Wang Zhice could crush Tang Thirty-Six like an ant by merely extending a single finger, that might be somewhat exaggerated. But with two fingers, he could certainly kill Tang Thirty-Six with ease. The gap in cultivation between them was that vast.
Tang Thirty-Six had no chance of threatening Wang Zhice. Even seeking death in front of him would not be easy.
The Wenshui Sword was clamped between Wang Zhice’s two fingers, utterly motionless, unable to advance a single inch. The tragic act of slitting one’s own throat had suddenly turned into this scene, inevitably carrying some awkwardness.
Yet Tang Thirty-Six felt no embarrassment at all. He even raised an eyebrow.
Raising an eyebrow was a provocation.
His meaning was very clear.
If one truly wished to die, there were many methods; slitting one’s own throat with a sword was undoubtedly the least efficient. He was simply waiting for Wang Zhice to stop him, so he could continue negotiating terms.
Wang Zhice looked at him with a faint, knowing smile and said, “This stone is useless to you.”
Tang Thirty-Six understood from his expression.
At his current cultivation level, even holding the Black Stone would not allow him to enter the Zhou Garden or help Chen Changsheng.
Tang Thirty-Six said earnestly, “Then could you please do me a favor?”
Wang Zhice said nothing.
Tang Thirty-Six continued, “I know his situation must be very bad right now.”
Wang Zhice’s gaze fell on the Black Stone. “Indeed. He is facing an extremely difficult choice.”
Tang Thirty-Six was silent for a moment, then said, “He is a good person.”
When he said this, his tone was unprecedentedly serious.
Wang Zhice said, “Yes.”
Tang Thirty-Six looked into his eyes and said, “Good people shouldn’t have to live so painfully.”
Wang Zhice replied, “This has nothing to do with good or bad.”
Tang Thirty-Six felt disappointed and furious.
He sneered, “Right, it has nothing to do with good or bad, only with strength. In the end, it’s just the strong bullying the weak.”
Wang Zhice shook his head. “Everyone must take responsibility for their own choices.”
Tang Thirty-Six laughed coldly. “Then why is it always him who has to choose? Why can’t it be you who chooses?”
Wang Zhice said, “Shang Xingzhou agreed to fight him—that was already a choice forced upon him.”
Tang Thirty-Six said, “That choice was too complicated. You should have kept it simpler.”
Wang Zhice asked, “For example?”
Tang Thirty-Six said, “You could choose to die, or to die.”
Wang Zhice smiled. “Are there any other options?”
Tang Thirty-Six said, “You could also choose to be burned to death, drowned, pierced by ten thousand arrows, or die by dismemberment.”
This was not a statement but an imperative, or a curse. Beneath the calm, flat tone lay an extremely dense hatred.
But all of this stemmed from helplessness.
Staring at the thin ice and last year’s duckweed on the water’s surface, Tang Thirty-Six felt weary.
Was this how it ended?
He was truly unwilling to accept it.
Unwilling on Chen Changsheng’s behalf.
Suddenly, he shouted at the sky.
“You blind bastard!”
……
……
The Hundred Flowers Lane was in some disarray; it was uncertain whether Tang Thirty-Six’s words would be heard there. But the Hundred Herb Garden, separated from the National Academy by only a single wall, heard them very clearly.
Yu Ren didn’t know what had happened and looked to Xu Yourong for an explanation.
“Tang Tang wants to disturb Lord Wang’s state of mind,” Xu Yourong said. “If there’s even the slightest chance, he’ll use the methods of the Wenshui old residence to force Lord Wang to compromise.”
This referred to that conversation between grandfather and grandson beside the card table back then. He was willing to destroy the Tang family, so he naturally wouldn’t care about the common people of the world.
But clearly, this still wasn’t enough to move Wang Zhice or persuade him. He hadn’t even been able to voice the words he truly wanted to say or the threats he wanted to make.
Tang Thirty-Six’s attempt had also failed.
Xu Yourong’s eyes held a hidden trace of worry.
Her left hand tightly gripped five stone beads.
These five stone beads were originally the five Heavenly Book Monuments in the Zhou Garden, part of Zhou Dufu’s great formation. At some earlier moment, a faint fluctuation had come from the five stone beads, letting her know the general situation in the Zhou Garden.
She knew Chen Changsheng was facing a choice.
She also knew what Chen Changsheng would choose.
Even before he made that choice.
For Chen Changsheng, this choice wasn’t nearly as difficult as Wang Zhice had described.
Because she understood Chen Changsheng.
Yu Ren also understood Chen Changsheng very well.
So he, too, knew what Chen Changsheng would choose.
And that meant Chen Changsheng had lost.
……
……
Every street and alley in the capital, every courtyard, heard the subsequent thunderous roar.
A violent wave of air erupted by the lakeside. Remnants of snow, withered yellow grass, and mud were flung into the air, striking walls and tree trunks with a sharp, slapping sound. The lake water churned and shook, rolling up a thousand piles of snow, bursting into the sky, then crashing down with a splash.
The entire National Academy was engulfed in this sudden downpour.
Amid the rainstorm, two figures suddenly appeared.
Chen Changsheng and Shang Xingzhou.
The sky brightened for an instant, as if a bolt of lightning had flashed.
By that light illuminating the dark, violent rain, one could faintly see Shang Xingzhou’s hand land on Chen Changsheng’s chest.
Chen Changsheng was sent flying like a stone, crashing through more than a dozen thick trees before landing deep in the forest.
With a cracking sound, the large trees fell to the ground, trembling violently.
Tang Thirty-Six, Wenshui Sword in hand, was about to rush over, his left hand hidden in his sleeve gripping a magical artifact.
There was a soft snap.
Wang Zhice’s finger landed on his brow.
Tang Thirty-Six could no longer move.
In the Hundred Herb Garden, two streaks of golden-red flame suddenly erupted.
Xu Yourong vanished from where she stood.
Wang Zhice didn’t turn his head. He pointed a finger backward through the air.
Behind him was the courtyard wall.
A gap several dozen feet wide appeared in the wall.
The broken bricks and fragments of the wooden door lay silently on the ground.
A gentle breeze swirled around them, seemingly soft, yet impossible to cross.
A pure white feather drifted down from the void.
Xu Yourong’s figure materialized.
Wang Zhice suddenly sensed something and turned to look.
His gaze didn’t fall on Xu Yourong but on what was behind her.
The Hundred Herb Garden was as quiet as it had been hundreds of years ago.
A walking stick rested silently on the edge of the stone table.
……
……
The broken trees lay with fresh wood splinters spreading out like petals.
Chen Changsheng sat leaning against a broken tree, coughing incessantly.
Shang Xingzhou said, “Do you still insist that the choice has meaning?”
Chen Changsheng replied, “Yes, because how we choose determines who we are.”
Shang Xingzhou was silent.
Chen Changsheng was right.
If it had been Xu Yourong or Tang Thirty-Six in the Zhou Garden, he wouldn’t have given them a choice. He had let Chen Changsheng make the choice because he knew what Chen Changsheng would choose.
Because of that, Chen Changsheng was Chen Changsheng.
So, the choice had meaning.
But now, the battle had lost its meaning.
Chen Changsheng could still stand, but victory was already impossible. By choosing to leave the Zhou Garden, he had given up his last hope of winning.
Shang Xingzhou’s expression was wooden. “Admit defeat.”
Chen Changsheng’s tone was plain. “No.”
Shang Xingzhou was silent for a moment, then his right hand grasped the hilt of his sword.
Not the Stainless Sword, but his own Dao sword.
Chen Changsheng prepared to rise, his right hand resting among the broken trees.
Suddenly, his hand touched something hard.
……
……
(There’s too much going on at home, my emotions are a bit agitated, and the writing was very difficult. Fortunately, the final quality turned out acceptable.)
(Sanqi Chinese)