Wei Yuzhi had been staying in Mo Sigui's courtyard all along. He did not hold any official position in Hexi County, merely serving as Wu Lingyuan's advisor. Due to his poor health, he could only spare at most an hour each day to discuss matters with Wu Lingyuan.
After lunch, he was strolling around the courtyard to aid digestion.
Circling from the peach tree in the northwest corner to the main gate, he spotted Chu Dingjiang standing under the corridor.
Without any pleasantries, Wei Yuzhi's first words were, "Lord Chu has sacrificed much indeed to be with Shi Si. I, Wei, cannot compare."
His mental strength far surpassed even An Jiu's, so Chu Dingjiang's decline in internal energy naturally couldn't escape his notice.
"Sir has been living with the Miracle Doctor, yet your complexion shows no improvement?" Chu Dingjiang descended the steps.
Wei Yuzhi calmly averted his gaze.
How could he improve? Every day he listened to the woman he cherished being intimate with another man, hearing their unrestrained intimate conversations. That he hadn't died of anger yet was testament to his broad-mindedness!
He didn't know if Chu Dingjiang was deliberately provoking him by touching this sore spot!
In an instant, Wei Yuzhi had composed himself and sat down at the stone table. "Please have a seat, Master Chu."
"Master Wei is an astute man, so I won't beat around the bush." Chu Dingjiang sat opposite him and stated his purpose directly. "The Blue Light Crossbow's power is terrifying, utterly unlike anything of this world. Since you were once acquainted with Yelü Quancang, do you know whose handiwork this is?"
"You've been remarkably patient, only asking now." Wei Yuzhi remarked.
Chu Dingjiang smiled faintly, "Had I come two months earlier to ask, would you have told me?"
Wei Yuzhi chuckled and shook his head.
"The Liao dynasty's previous reign had a prodigy - the young State Preceptor Xiao Che." Chu Dingjiang had considered all possible Liao conspirators and suspected this man most.
Wei Yuzhi couldn't help but study Chu Dingjiang carefully. At first glance, his appearance was entirely that of a martial man, yet his every movement, while seemingly rough and unrestrained, actually exuded nobility at every turn. His deep gaze was like an unfathomable dark pool. The entire person radiated the aura of ancient pines and resilient bamboo that had weathered countless years - no wonder An Jiu often teased him about being old. And wasn't he... though actually younger than himself, sitting across from him felt like facing an elder, unconsciously inspiring respect.
"Correct." Wei Yuzhi withdrew his probing gaze.
Chu Dingjiang's expression remained unchanged, though inwardly he was startled. When Wei Yuzhi looked at him, that gaze felt almost tangible, as if seeing through flesh to bone, or touching the soul through the physical shell. Even with his mental strength at the threshold between the ninth rank and the Transformation Realm, he still felt outmatched.
"After Xiao Che's appearance was ruined in a great fire, he became reclusive, imprisoning himself in dark chambers. In recent years he's grown increasingly eccentric." Wei Yuzhi explained. "During my several visits to the Liao capital, I never entered the secret chambers, but probed with mental strength instead. The result was... I couldn't sense him."
Wei Yuzhi slightly raised his eyes to look at the hanging green peaches. Recalling that day's sensation still sent chills down his spine. "I once wondered if there existed mental strength in this world that surpassed mine. I kept searching, but when I truly encountered it, fear arose from the depths of my heart."
When Wei Yuzhi first met An Jiu, apart being stunned by her beauty, her mental strength - nearly equal to his own - had been one of the things that attracted him.“That feeling is like touching the profound depths of the heavens. The vastness of the universe. A mortal’s life is but a fleeting moment.” Wei Yuzhi’s gaze drifted past the peach blossoms, settling on the sky above. “I know that after a Crane Control Army assassin dies, a Soul Bell is hung in their memory—a mark of their existence in this world. But in truth, none of us truly leave anything behind. Even if we accomplish earth-shattering deeds, after the vicissitudes of time, perhaps not even a single word remains.”
“Thinking of this,” Wei Yuzhi withdrew his gaze, a faint smile appearing on his pale, refined face, “I actually feel afraid. I always thought I wasn’t afraid of death.”
“Perhaps the stronger one’s mental strength, the more they fear annihilation.” Chu Dingjiang struck at the heart of the matter. “I’ve heard that Daoist immortals value consciousness and soul above all. For someone like you, the death of the body is insignificant—only the dissipation of consciousness could evoke the same fear as an ordinary person. I’m curious, what kind of person could instill such fear in you?”
Wei Yuzhi was silent for a moment before answering, “The endless march of time, the boundless expanse of heaven and earth.”
Yes, that person was like the night sky—limitless, eternal.
“Such a person exists in this world?” Chu Dingjiang remarked.
Wei Yuzhi paused, then continued, “He was a high-ranking minister of the previous dynasty. Even in his youth, he could sway the tides of the times. With his abilities, had he begun scheming back then, overthrowing the Yelü dynasty would have been effortless. Yet all these years, he never gathered troops or sought power, merely sitting in seclusion, lost in thought. Who knows what he was pondering?”
He believed Xiao Che’s thoughts were beyond the reach of ordinary minds. Had he known this man spent his days immersed in questions like “Who am I? Where do I come from?”—the kind only felines might ponder—he might have been taken aback.
Even more unimaginable to Wei Yuzhi was that someone with such formidable mental strength could spend years trembling over whether to reach for a tiny, easily attainable dream.
“What exactly happened with Misty Villa?” Chu Dingjiang asked.
“Misty Villa… speaking of it feels like a lifetime ago. The villa was founded by Yelü Quancang and me. As the rumors say, I was usually the one managing its operations while he remained inside, recuperating. On days when his spirits were better, he would take on assassination missions, earning the title of the villa’s top assassin.”
He lowered his eyes, concealing his emotions. “From the moment he proposed building the decoy villa, I knew he intended to dismantle the power I held. It was also from then on that he began acquiring those Blue Light Crossbows. Their destructive power is immense—just a hundred could annihilate tens of thousands of troops.”
How could mere flesh and blood withstand such force?
“Everything was personally overseen by Yelü Quancang. I don’t know the specifics, but I suspect the massacre at the ancient temple was merely a test of the crossbows. The weapons hidden in the decoy villa you raided were the remnants of those trials. They were prototypes of the Blue Light Crossbows, and they may still be refining them.”
Wei Yuzhi suddenly laughed, his usual gentleness giving way to a hint of recklessness. “The path I’ve chosen is to fight fate, fight heaven, and fight an enemy so formidable it sends shivers down my spine. Even if I die, I’ll have no regrets.”
His life had been too stifling. To challenge such a terrifying opponent at least allowed him to vent the suffocating frustration in his heart.
Leaving Wei Yuzhi’s presence, Chu Dingjiang felt a pang of unease.The Liao Kingdom actually harbored such a formidable enemy.
Could Lou Xiaowu’s abilities match up against this person?
Chu Dingjiang knew that An Jiu was determined to clear her name, to become someone upright and free of guilt. That was why she wanted to do something for the Great Song and its people. But she couldn’t suddenly gain command of a mighty army and transform into a savior rescuing the masses from suffering. For now, she could only focus on the small world before her. Yet, when the nest is overturned, no egg remains unbroken. If war broke out between the two nations and the Great Song fell, half of her dream would shatter.
He couldn’t bear to see her heartbroken and disappointed.
Chu Dingjiang sighed—he was truly fated to worry!
At this moment, he felt he had been tricked. When he first met An Jiu, she had been ignorant and directionless, without any notion of "being a good person." Just as he had been considering stepping back from the chaos, she had instead found a path to forge ahead against the current.
What could he do?
With a wife like this, the idea of idly watching birds, leisurely strolling with tigers, and indulging in the beauty of nature was nothing more than a pipe dream.
Ah, well…
Could it be that the heavens couldn’t bear to see him buried in obscurity? Chu Dingjiang couldn’t help but laugh at himself. (To be continued…)
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