অধ্যায় একশ বিয়াল্লিশ:墨家 শহরে প্রত্যাবর্তন [সাবস্ক্রিপশনের জন্য অনুরোধ]

“I understand!” Jing Ke held his sword and bowed in salute. Only now did he realize that the true meaning of a hero (Xia) was simply to become a person who could stand tall.

Liu Zhi Heixia (Dark-Armed Hero of the Six Fingers) looked at Jing Ke and nodded. He had chosen to value Jing Ke precisely because he saw the latent potential within him to become a true hero.

“Return to the Mo family (Mohists), learn how to stand tall, and only when you can transcend the path of the hero will you truly be qualified to become one,” Liu Zhi Heixia said.

Jing Ke nodded, his eyes devoid of any impurities, crystal clear. His entire temperament underwent a transformation, radiating an aura of profound peace and tranquility.

Gongsun Liji felt a surge of joy in her heart as she witnessed Jing Ke’s transformation. She knew that he had achieved a breakthrough of enlightenment and found his own path.

“Let the matters of the Qin state rest as they are; go and make the necessary handovers,” Liu Zhi Heixia instructed.

Holding his sword, Jing Ke took Gongsun Liji and departed to manage the affairs concerning the Qin branch of the Mo family.

“The Mo family is leaving?” The onlookers in Xianyang were completely dumbfounded. We specifically rushed here to watch the spectacle, and you show up, just to show your faces and then leave? What is the meaning of this? Are you imitating the Taoists? At least the Taoists make some noise and cause a stir before leaving. Did you Mohists surpass your teachers and outdo them completely?

“The Mo family is withdrawing completely from the Seven States back to the Mechanized City. What on earth has happened?” Inside a small courtyard belonging to the property of the School of Names in Xianyang, Gongsun Linglong was utterly baffled by the actions of the Mo family.

Had she not rushed to Xianyang precisely to arrange a meeting between Gongsun Liji and King Ying Zheng of Qin, thereby planting the fuse for Jing Ke’s future assassination of the Qin king, and ultimately gaining control over Jing Ke? Yet now, the Mo family was withdrawing entirely from the Seven States, and Gongsun Liji was being taken back to the Mo City by Jing Ke. Why on earth did she come to Xianyang then—just to watch a comedy?

“There is no news whatsoever. It is possible that Liu Zhi Heixia was severely injured by the Yin-Yang family, forcing the Mo family to retreat fully to avoid a direct conflict with them,” conjectured Gongsun Feng, a disciple of the School of Names.

“Liu Zhi Heixia severely injured by the Yin-Yang family? When did this happen, and why did no one report it?” Gongsun Linglong demanded sharply, glaring at Gongsun Feng.

Gongsun Feng offered a bitter smile. Did she really think the School of Names fully accepted her? For a woman to represent the school and constantly show her face in public was a disgrace the School of Names could ill afford. Not every school was like the Taoists, who cared nothing for public reputation. Besides, although Xiaomeng was the leader of the Taoist Heavenly Sect, she had never once shown her face before the Hundred Schools of Thought.

Gongsun Linglong’s lips turned purplish with anger, yet she was utterly helpless. Had the men of this generation in the School of Names not been utterly useless, would she have reduced herself to this? She was willing to brave the public eye, enduring the disdainful glances of everyone. Her name was Linglong (Exquisite); if there were any man with a backbone in the School of Names willing to step up, would she willingly be an overweight woman with a seven-orifice exquisite heart who drew universal scorn? Which woman would not wish to be a delicate beauty pursued and adored by all?

In their youth, she and Gongsun Liji were hailed as the twin jewels of the School of Names. Yet now, Gongsun Liji’s beauty was celebrated throughout the world, while she had become a laughingstock among the Hundred Schools, a source of shame even to her own school.

“Dismissed,” Gongsun Linglong closed her eyes, waving a hand to signal Gongsun Feng to withdraw, as tears streamed uncontrollably down her cheeks.

“Jing Ke has left Xianyang, and the Mo family is retreating entirely to the Mechanized City?” Inside the Prince’s Residence, Dan, the Crown Prince of Yan, clenched his fists so tightly that veins bulged beneath his brocade robes, yet he felt entirely helpless.

He had come to Xianyang precisely to deliver a fatal betrayal to Liu Zhi Heixia, take over the Mo family, and leverage their power to help the State of Yan rise, becoming another King Zhao of Yan—a sovereign of mid-dynastic restoration in Yan’s history. Yet, the Taoists had exposed him, turning him into a captive of the Qin state and a hostage of Yan.

All this time, he had tried every possible means to contact Jing Ke because he had reached an agreement with the School of Names. He intended to use Jing Ke to help him escape Xianyang and gain control of the Mo family. But instead, while Liu Zhi Heixia truly had been severely injured by the Yin-Yang family, he himself remained trapped in the Qin state.

One misstep led to utter defeat. Ji Dan now deeply regretted using the Chengying Sword to scheme against Lord Yanchun. Not only had he failed to trap Lord Yanchun, but he had managed to offend both the Taoists and the Confucians, alienating even the Mo family, who now kept their distance from him.

“Are you certain you have successfully planted the Six-Soul Fearful Curse?” Chu Nangong asked, looking at Da Siming (The Great Master of Fate).

“He has clashed with Liu Zhi Heixia. I always feel that Liu Zhi Heixia deliberately allowed himself to be struck, with the sole purpose of tricking you into planting the Six-Soul Fearful Curse. Otherwise, why was Luna present, yet only Da Siming was able to touch him?”

“It was indeed planted, but I sense that it did not truly succeed,” Da Siming replied. Though she had planted the curse, she felt that Liu Zhi Heixia’s internal cultivation was vastly profound, and that he had deliberately reined in his power to afford her the opportunity to plant it.

“I fear we have been played as well. He deliberately let you plant the curse, intending to use his own body as a trial to seek a method of breaking it,” Chu Nangong said with a frown, thinking to himself: Are the youngsters of today all this scheming? If I ran out here and blundered, I might truly ruin my reputation in my twilight years. Perhaps I should just return to the State of Yan and live in seclusion. Let Donghuang Taiyi play his own games with the Yin-Yang family; they can toss and turn all they like—they even dare to practice the Taoist scriptures blindly.

Luna frowned slightly. The Six-Soul Fearful Curse was the sole effective weapon the Yin-Yang family possessed against the Mo family. If Liu Zhi Heixia managed to crack it, the Yin-Yang family would face grave danger in the future.

“It is hard to say. Beneath the heavens, apart from the Gongshu family, no one rivals the mechanical arts of the Mo family. It is entirely possible they will find a way to break the Six-Soul Fearful Curse,” Chu Nangong remarked, resolving to return to the State of Chu for seclusion after this matter and refusing to come out ever again, come hell or high water.

“Find a way to send Ji Dan out of the Qin state,” Chu Nangong instructed. Once Ji Dan left Qin, he would certainly not let this opportunity slip, and at that point, Liu Zhi Heixia’s fake crisis would become a reality. As for how to severely injure Liu Zhi Heixia, he believed Ji Dan would find a way on his own.

“The Mo family is withdrawing completely from the Seven States back to the Mechanized City. Surely this wasn’t your doing, was it?” Han Fei held a glass goblet, sipping the freshly concocted fruit wine from the Taoist Hotpot City, and asked Wuchenzi across the steaming broth.

Wuchenzi shot him a sidelong glance, picked up a large prawn shipped from the State of Qi, swished it through the hotpot broth, and retorted, “Why on earth would I scheme against the Mo family?”

“Because of the Fifth Heavenly Man Dao Decree. Although I do not know what you Taoists and the Qin state are plotting, the disciples of the Mo family are spread across the world. You have only allied with the Qin branch of the Mo family, so you worry that the Mo family, much like the Confucians, will pry into your secrets. Moreover, unlike the Confucians, the Mo family possesses some knowledge concerning the Fifth Heavenly Man Dao Decree. Therefore, you plotted against them. Starting from Xinzheng, you began engineering this: first making Xuenu (Snow Girl) the financial backer of the Mo family, and then leveraging the Yin-Yang family to severely injure Liu Zhi Heixia, forcing the Mo family to contract entirely back to their Mechanized City so as to clear the way for you to execute the Fifth Heavenly Man Dao Decree,” Han Fei stated with utmost seriousness.

Black and White Xuanjian, Yan Lingji, and Xuenu all turned their gazes toward Wuchenzi. Han Fei’s reasoning sounded entirely plausible. Were you truly this terrifying, laying your plots so far in advance, tricking both the Mo family and the Yin-Yang family alike?

Wuchenzi calmly finished peeling his prawn, dipped it lightly in soy sauce, popped it into his mouth, closed his eyes, and blissfully savored the fresh delicacy, completely ignoring their gazes.

“Han Fei, it is truly a waste of talent for you not to join the Mohists—no, it is a great loss to the School of Law. Why don’t you abandon Legalism? I can recommend you; you would undoubtedly secure an elder’s position in the Mohists,” Wuchenzi said after thoroughly enjoying his morsel.

“This is the truth. Denying it is pointless,” Han Fei muttered, draining the bitter fruit wine in one gulp. Having such a person aid Qin was a blessing for Qin, yet a calamity for the six other states.

“You know far too much,” Yan Lingji warned, glancing at Han Fei. Wuchenzi was the kind of wretch who would resort to murder if his deceptions failed; the only reason she had survived thus far was because she was a crucial link in the Fifth Heavenly Man Dao Decree—though she did not discount the possibility that all men were fickle scoundrels.

Han Fei was stunned. Curse it all, was he an idiot when drunk? It was enough for him to know in his heart; why did he have to go showing off by speaking it aloud? Was it too late to play dead now?

“You are truly overthinking things. I merely wanted to fish Jing Ke out,” Wuchenzi said, nonchalantly picking up another slice of Yan sturgeon expertly sliced by Black and White Xuanjian, dabbing it in mustard and soy sauce, and placing it in his mouth.

“I believe you,” Han Fei immediately replied. As for whether he believed it in his heart, he would write his own name upside down if he did.

“Coward!” Black and White Xuanjian glanced at Han Fei and scoffed.

“You truly disgrace the School of Law,” Xuenu added with a sharp jab.

“Do you people actually believe what he said?” Wuchenzi asked curiously, looking around the table. Am I the kind of scheming person with such deep city walls?

“I believe it!” Black and White Xuanjian answered. What can you possibly do to me?

“I don’t!” Xuenu and Yan Lingji replied. Xuenu was genuinely terrified, while Yan Lingji suffered from psychological trauma after being threatened in the past.

“Cowards!” Black and White Xuanjian and Han Fei said, staring at Xuenu and Yan Lingji.

The pretty faces of Xuenu and Yan Lingji froze. Did karma have to strike back so quickly?

Wuchenzi looked at them and knew instantly that these fellows didn’t believe a word. He sighed, “I am inherently pure, yet the hearts of worldly people are too dark, always trying to paint me as pitch black.”

“Your heart is black; we’ve all seen it with our own eyes. It’s a pity we didn’t get to try cooking it as an ingredient,” Black and White Xuanjian said, glancing at Yan Lingji with a look of profound regret.

“???” Han Fei and Xuenu were completely bewildered. You’ve seen it? How did you see it? Is Taoist internal medicine and surgery so terrifying that people are already digging out hearts for research?

“That was merely an external illusion; it’s not as if you haven’t seen it cut open and turn red,” Wuchenzi said speechlessly. Bian Que’s medical arts were truly horrifying, but deliberately dyeing a heart black was just a bit too much for people’s mental fortitude.

Han Fei suddenly felt the jade cup in his hand was far too heavy and valuable; his hands trembled slightly, and the weather felt rather chilly. “I suddenly remember I have some urgent business at the Commandant of Justice’s office. I shall take my leave.”

With that, Han Fei bolted away like lightning. A table full of delicacies was wonderful, but keeping one’s life mattered far more.

“What’s wrong with him?” Wuchenzi asked, looking at Black and White Xuanjian.

“A coward, obviously. Frightened by you. Truly a disgrace to Legalism,” Black and White Xuanjian said with utter disdain, watching Han Fei’s rapidly retreating figure.

“I... I believe I am full as well,” Xuenu timidly attempted to slip away.

“Sit right back down!” Wuchenzi commanded, glaring at her.

Xuenu shuddered all over, made a wry face, and sat back down beside Yan Lingji, keeping as far away as possible. What on earth did you people experience in that forbidden zone? You can discuss heart-excavation with such calm indifference and still have the appetite to eat a meal!

“Will the Yin-Yang family help Ji Dan escape from the Qin state?” Xuenu suddenly asked.

Black and White Xuanjian, Wuchenzi, and Yan Lingji all stared at her in astonishment. You’ve actually awakened some intelligence!

Wuchenzi pondered for a moment. Under normal circumstances, Liu Zhi Heixia would not be in danger even after contracting Da Siming’s Six-Soul Fearful Curse, but if Ji Dan truly managed to escape, things would become genuinely unpredictable. After all, in the original timeline of Qin’s history, Liu Zhi Heixia perished within the Mo City. Thus, there was indeed a distinct possibility that the Yin-Yang family would aid Ji Dan’s escape from Qin.

“Have Gui send a message to Ji Dan: if the State of Qi attacks Yan, and he dares to flee, the State of Yan will certainly perish. I want to see how he chooses to handle that,” Wuchenzi said.

“Such a filthy heart!” Black and White Xuanjian remarked with contempt, yet he turned around to find Gui and instruct him to figure out a way to deliver the message to Ji Dan.