The next morning.
Meng Chaoge, Luo Piaoling, Shi Zhonghuo, and Jiang Yichen appeared in the chrysanthemum garden without anyone noticing.
The old man, together with Yi Zhongren and Murong Jing, talked with the four people in Taoran Pavilion for two hours.
After a brief meal in the afternoon, Luo Piaoling, Meng Chaoge, brother and sister accompanied the old man and Yi Zhongren to Huanxin Pavilion to make tea and talk.
Murong Jing and Shi Zhonghuo, who were almost the same as the chief steward of Juyuan and the chief steward of Tingyu Pavilion, walked among the corridors of Juyuan and chatted wordlessly.
Jiang Yichen "left aside" everyone and walked around aimlessly. After a long time, he groped his way towards Zhang San's residence.
Four years have passed since Hongye brought Zhang San back to Juyuan from Xijiang County.
Jiang Yichen only made a special trip to visit Zhang San once in the same year before returning to Xishan Island to visit his relatives.
Although he didn't make any promises to Zhang San at that time, he made up his mind to avenge Zhang San's dethronement, Situ Zhong's tragic death, and the destruction of the Wuxiang Sect!
It’s just that time has passed, and he once fell into sorrow because of the destruction of Xishan Island. He also vowed to take revenge and narrowly escaped death several times. He gradually fell into the treacherous quagmire of the rivers and lakes, constantly hesitating between right and wrong. It is getting further and further away from the happy grudges that I once thought.
As brothers who have gone through life and death together, Jiang Yichen has so far been unable to kill Ji Qianlin, who tortured Zhang San to disability and Situ Zhong to death, and is unable to remove the smiling Maitreya who condoned Ji Qianlin's evil deeds.
As a "non-staff member" of the Wuxiang Sect who benefited from the "Wuxian Sitting and Forgetting Mind Technique", Jiang Yichen not only failed to cause much trauma to the Nether Sect behind Danxia Villa, but even became associated with it for his own selfish reasons.
Even though they parted ways later, Lu Hao still agreed to the deal to settle the old grudges on Xishan Island, regardless of Wu Xiangmen's kindness in gifting the sect's skills.
No matter how many reasons or excuses the Tushita Gang and the Nether Sect have, the massacre of the Wuxiang Sect is an evil act that harms the world.
It is precisely for this reason that whenever he thinks about these two great feuds, Jiang Yichen is always scratching his head, not knowing how to face Zhang San who is still alive in the world, and the Wuxiang Sect who has basically been eliminated from the world.
Just now I learned from the garden steward that Zhang San's injury recovered three years ago and he decided to stay in the Ju Garden. Jiang Yichen lingered for a long time and finally chose to face it.
After years of recuperation, Zhang San is not only in good mental condition, but can also manage to eat independently with a bowl and spoon.
Jiang Yichen arrived at the right time. Not long after Zhang San had finished eating, he was digesting his food out of boredom and waiting for his lunch break.
Seeing that Jiang Yichen came a little "sneaky", Zhang San's eyes widened and he grinned for a long time. Then he suppressed his excitement and slowly opened his mouth and said, "It's done! It's done!"
Jiang Yichen obviously didn't expect Zhang San to be able to speak. Although his speech was unclear, it did not hinder his understanding.
Jiang Yichen, who has always been delicate and even sentimental, almost had red eyes. He blinked a few times to hide the sadness in his heart and said with a smile, "Yes, it's me. Long time no see, Brother Zhangsan."
…
…
For more than half an hour, Jiang Yichen, who had previously listened a lot and talked little in Taoran Pavilion, became the keynote speaker without hesitation.
After all, it was very difficult for Zhangsan, who had cut off his tongue, to speak clearly. Most of the time, Jiang Yichen said whatever Zhangsan wanted to hear.
No matter how stupid Jiang Yichen is, it is not difficult to see that Zhang San chose to stay in Juyuan mostly because he wanted to see him.
In order to talk to Jiang Yichen more and relieve the guilt in Jiang Yichen's heart, Zhang San went to great lengths and talked a lot.
Zhang San has been very concerned about Jiang Yichen's movements in the world over the past few years. He can find out many things from the mouth of the manager of Juyuan, but it's hard to find anyone to find out the details. Wouldn't it be great to come and tell the story in person?
Jiang Yichen told Zhang San about his battle of wits with the Disha Sect under the guidance of Master Tinglan, about his righteous deeds in Hanyang Village in the Shu region, and about how he accidentally helped Yuntian Guan retreat from the Nether Sect, and how he fell Strange encounters behind the Yin-Yang Bridge.
Zhang San listened with great interest, and finally used his eyes to urge Jiang Yichen not to miss such a good girl like Leng Mei.
In addition to asking Jiang Yichen to tell more about his personal experiences, the focus of Zhangsan's words was to enlighten Jiang Yichen, hoping that Jiang Yichen would get rid of unnecessary ideological baggage and live a good life.
Xu spent all the energy he had accumulated for three or four years at once, and Zhangsan showed obvious fatigue after half an hour.
Jiang Yichen didn't stay long anymore, and left after Zhang San went to bed.
But before Jiang Yichen could decide where to go for a walk or go to Huanxin Pavilion to chat with his old man and Uncle Ren, he was called out by someone.
The man was dressed in brocade clothes as always, but his bun was only tied with a band. His face was like a crown jewel and his demeanor was graceful.
He neither lacks the dandy style of a young master from an aristocratic family like Lu Feng, nor loses the chic and calm manner of Jianghu Junyi.
Jiang Yichen didn't expect that this person would actually find him here.
Earlier, when this person saw him, he would have given him a warm hug three steps at a time.
Now, he is hesitant to move forward.
If Jiang Yichen came to Juyuan, the person he was most afraid of meeting was Zhang San, and the second person he was afraid of running into was this person.
He felt guilty for the former.
As for the latter, they are afraid that after meeting the other person, they will think of the relevant person and feel pain.
This person was the first brother he met when he first entered the world.
The good brother who once saved his life, carried him on his back twice, and talked to him about everything.
When he heard that he was kidnapped, he did not hesitate to break into Murong Jing of Longtan alone.
Although the two of them have met rarely, it can be said that they have long been brothers who share a love and a life-or-death relationship.
However, because of the shameless behavior of Murong Jing's brother Murong Kang, Jiang Yichen had a deep thorn in his heart. Even if he pulled it out, he still felt heartache every time he touched it.
"Brother Murong."
Murong Jing also felt infinite guilt for this brother who, although not a blood relative, knew everything about him. Seeing Jiang Yichen's forced smile, Murong Jing, who was always eloquent, felt a bitter taste on his lips and didn't know what to say.
Should Jiang Yichen be enlightened about how regretful he is in this world? Since he is destined to have no destiny, he should just let it go naturally?
Murong Jing felt that he was not worthy to say these words, and he felt that it was too difficult to speak out the draft he had written in advance.
After being embarrassed for a while, it was Jiang Yichen who unexpectedly broke the deadlock: "Brother Murong, how have you been doing these past few years?"
"Okay." Murong Jing blurted out without thinking, with the same perfunctory attitude he usually used to deal with all kinds of people. But as soon as he opened his mouth and teeth, his mind immediately became more active, and he said cheerfully, "Okay, it's really good. "
"Not only has my body become stronger and stronger over the years, but my skills have also become much stronger than before. I'm sure I won't be too far behind you."
While he was talking, Murong Jing had already approached Jiang Yichen, stretched out his arm to wrap around Jiang Yichen's other shoulder as if he was passing by, and talked as he walked.
"Besides, I have gradually handed over the affairs of the chrysanthemum garden to me. Do you think it's okay?"
"Hey, if you need anything in the future, be sure to tell me and I promise to help you get it done!"
…
…
Just like the deep friendship that grew up in childhood, after a long separation, there will always be invisible barriers that are difficult to break, and we can no longer get along with each other as warmly as we did when we were children.
There was no petty affection between Jiang Yichen and Murong Jing, but it was no longer possible to speak freely as before.
But this does not prevent the two from maintaining full trust in each other.
No matter who encounters difficulties, the other party will do their best to help solve them.
No matter who is in danger again, the other person will do their best to save them, regardless of their own safety.
…
…
When Jiang Yichen and Murong Jing slowly arrived at Huanxin Pavilion, it seemed that Luo Piaoling and the old man had just finished a game of chess.
Yi Zhongren touched his palms there and admired.
Meng Chaoge and Shi Zhonghuo only smiled implicitly.
It seemed that Luo Piaoling won the game.
The old man stroked his beard and said with a smile: "You still have to obey the old, young people are more ruthless."
Luo Piaoling said respectfully: "From Piaoling's point of view, old man, you have done the best that I could imagine."
The old man shook his head and smiled: "Haha, you don't seem to be a flatterer."
Luo Piaoling said: "This flattery is gained by putting oneself in someone's shoes."
The old man asked for advice: "How to say it?"
Luo Piaoling explained: "People will always die in war. If you want to reduce the number of deaths, you must create opportunities for victory, seize them firmly, and end the war as soon as possible."
The old man agreed: "Not bad."
Luo Piaoling said: "Then there must be sacrifices."
The old man followed his wishes and said, "This is what is called dying well."
Luo Piaoling said: "It is even more important to be ruthless in making decisions. I have friends all over the world, and friends all over the world regard me as a friend. They are willing to do their best for me, but I will never let my friends die."
The old man seemed to have realized something, and said: "This is what is called no regrets. However, how can the famous Qingjian Master in Zhongzhou be a ruthless person?"
Luo Piaoling said: "I have played very few chess games, so now I can still be ruthless in my moves."
The old man slowly exhaled and said, "I have played a lot of chess."
Luo Piaoling said: "So, I put myself at your age, old man, and found that I can't do better than you."
The old man silently accepted Luo Piaoling's statement, then changed the subject and said, "You rarely play Go."
Luo Piaoling said: "Not much."
The old man said: "You are not bad at playing."
Luo Piaoling said: "Looking at it from another angle, there is not much difference between the two."
The old man said: "Only divided into Zhongzhou and Waiyi?"
Luo Piaoling said: "Well, another point is that there are more and more pieces on a chessboard, and there are fewer and fewer pieces on a chessboard."
The old man thought about the meaning of this sentence and agreed: "It is true. The chessboard inside and outside Zhongzhou is of this size. At most, there will be three or two variables. There will not be a steady stream of chess pieces entering the game, and each chess piece will be different." The value function is different at different moments, but the chess pieces in Go are generally the same."
Hearing this, except for the old man and Luo Piaoling, the other five people present smiled bitterly, thinking that the two of them would have to deduce and discuss the details of the detailed discussion in the morning.
Sure enough, I heard the old man deepen the topic of what he just said, and said: "It seems that it is inappropriate to use Go positions to correspond to the world situation. After all, not every chess piece is black or white."
Luo Piaoling sighed with a smile: "I can't help but feel bad about others. Chess pieces are not black and white. I just want to see the situation more simply. There are too many variables in Go pieces, and they can easily be affected by local gains and losses. For the overall situation, chess makes it easier to coordinate the overall situation. If you really can't fight for Zhongzhou, just get rid of it in advance."
"So, how many chess pieces can be left?"
"It should be no less than 60%."
"So Zhongzhou is not too corrupt yet, but 60% to 90% is really not optimistic."
"You don't need to destroy all the opponent's combat power to win."
"I'm just confused. For Zhongzhou, a draw is already a victory."
"The best we can do is to bring peace to this world for another hundred years."
"This has allowed at least three generations to live their lives in peace, so how can we win this battle?"
"Is this old man wandering around during the exam?"
"I can't say that I'm asking for advice from the future of Zhongzhou."
"I don't dare to take it seriously. In fact, Piao Ling's consideration was already in the chess game just now."
"So, the focus is still on Jianghu?"
"It must be Jianghu."
Speaking of this, the old man sighed again. He usually didn't sigh as much as he did today, and said a little feebly: "But the world of Zhongzhou is no longer what it used to be."
Luo Piaoling understood the old man's helplessness and had no choice but to explain his views clearly.
"Well, this doesn't count as worshiping the past and denouncing the present. It's just that the world of the previous generation was too glorious."
"There is the Huo family who can guard the country, there is the Wudang Shaolin who is as good as the imperial army, there is the moral alliance that runs around to build a front line of defense for the people, and there is Xiao who is good at fighting and leading the martial arts heroes to destroy the enemy's lair in one fell swoop. , Yan, the two incredible heroes, and countless heroes who were unknown to the end but were willing to shed their last drop of blood for Zhongzhou..."
"The arena of the previous generation was a wall that foreigners could never tear down, or even be insurmountable."
"Left to Zhongzhou was an extremely tall figure, which also pierced a thorn in the heart of the imperial court that had to be removed."
"The Battle of Ningtai has exposed the tip of the iceberg of the foreign barbarians' strategy against Zhongzhou. What's more, it is not an exaggeration to say that the current Zhongzhou world is falling apart."
"Using rivers and lakes to control rivers and lakes, overthrowing Zhongzhou's rivers and lakes, the history of twenty years ago can be completely reversed. The foreign rivers and lakes are now the insurmountable trenches of Zhongzhou. Countless soldiers will be buried, and Zhongzhou will sink."
After hearing the words, the old man thought for a moment and said: "That's why, before fighting against the outside world, we must first settle down the inside, otherwise the Jianghu in Zhongzhou will not last long."
Luo Piaoling then said: "So sacrifice is inevitable."
The old man asked: "As you said, the world of Zhongzhou can no longer be what it was before, so how can it function?"
Luo Piaoling launched his own discussion.
"It's roughly divided into three categories."
"The first type is the Jianghu elite. They are the scouts and vanguard battalions of Zhongzhou. They must take the initiative to search for the deployment of the enemy's Jianghu forces. If necessary, they must confront each other head-on and strike first!"
"The second category is mixed into the army. Most Jianghu people are used to being unorganized, and it is difficult to follow orders and prohibitions. Therefore, the more dispersed the number of people, the better. It is not suitable to form a group, and the strength cannot be too outstanding. There should be at least one or two generals. With the ability to intimidate the opponent and restrain the opponent's behavior, this group of people has an unexpected effect in wartime, and at the same time can strengthen the team's defense to a certain extent."
"The third category requires the elite of the elite to go deep behind enemy lines to perform beheading missions alone. This mission has the highest benefits and the highest risks. Regardless of whether they succeed or not, they may never return."
After the old man listened, he added: "In my opinion, there needs to be a kind of person added to this third category, the bodyguards who guard the generals like you. Well, Wuyue will be your shadow from now on, you just have to Make your arrangements, and he will be solely responsible for your safety."
Everyone was surprised when they heard this. Before Luo Piaoling could speak, they heard the old man say: "Liandie is waiting for a new life. The weakest link in Tingyu Pavilion at present is the intelligence and information link. The ANBU that Wuyue manages by himself never lags behind others. Only by going to Tingyu Pavilion can it be most effective. You Ming will also follow, and the Daoyi Alliance will not collapse with the support of Jing'er and Long'er."
The old man finally said: "I have indeed squandered all my ruthlessness. I don't want to see some bloodshed and sacrifice. The future of Zhongzhou will ultimately depend on you."
There was a moment of silence in the Huanxin Pavilion. Yi Zhongren seemed to have known that the old man had this idea for a long time, so there was not much surprise.
The others didn't know what to think.
For a long time, Luo Piaoling stood up and bowed solemnly, saying:
"My name is Piao Ling. Master named me in the hope that I would no longer be lonely and wandering without a fixed place to live."
"I didn't expect that after the master left, I would have to go against his original intention and always run around here and there, basically unable to live in peace."
"But no matter how wandering, he has not left Zhongzhou."
"It was General Shi who allowed Piao Ling to live happily and peacefully for the first half of his life. On the day he left Shi Mansion, Master conveyed General Shi's words, asking us not to be blinded by hatred and to care about the safety of the world."
"Piao Ling asks himself that he is not such a selfless person, but since he has accepted Master's dying request, he will put all hatred behind Zhongzhou and keep even a trace of fire for Zhongzhou."
"Not to mention that Piao Ling is already a useless person with no strength to restrain himself. Even if he only has one breath left, Piao Ling is willing to find a glimmer of hope for Zhongzhou!"
