Chapter 52: Even After 100 Generations
Chapter 52: Chapter 52: Even After 100 Generations
[Name: Zhu Ge]
[Lifespan: 8 Years]
[Trait: None equipped]
[Inventory: Spider, Kunpeng]
The simulator interface returned to normal. Zhu Ge stood rooted to the spot, processing all the information he had received in the past minute.
The feeling of "Spider" was completely different from "Kunpeng."
If "Kunpeng" was about seeing through everything, then "Spider" was about controlling everything.
The only thing was, the stronger the "prey," the longer "Spider" took to gain control.
Fortunately, Zhu Ge was already a First Realm Anger Realm Martial Artist.
So, in the final few seconds, he had already planned out the future paths available to himself, Yu the Scholar, Ji Fuhui, Duan Lei, Sui Niang, and Xianxian.
’This planning ability is incredibly useful!’
"Zhu Ge, have you thought of a way?" Yu the Scholar, standing beside him, sensed the release of tension in Zhu Ge, and his voice carried a hint of anticipation.
"Yes. Follow my lead, and trust me." Zhu Ge gave a slight nod, meeting Yu the Scholar’s gaze.
"Yes!" Yu the Scholar nodded forcefully before falling silent again.
After the incident with the Fungus God, Yu the Scholar had already begun to see Zhu Ge as their backbone.
Later, Zhu Ge’s views on the Confucian Dao and his understanding of etymology had led Yu the Scholar to truly trust him now.
It wasn’t the kind of trust where you’d guard each other’s backs—Yu the Scholar had that long ago.
This was a new trust, a trust in Zhu Ge’s ability to see things through to completion.
And so, Yu the Scholar fell completely silent, standing behind Zhu Ge like a sheathed sword, waiting only for the moment Zhu Ge would grasp its hilt and draw it.
*WHOOSH—*
Just as Zhu Ge and Yu the Scholar were both immersed in their own states of mind, the fish basket before them suddenly levitated into the air, then fell from mid-air into the house.
A loud laugh rang out from within.
"Hahaha, this rustic scenery has its own unique flavor!" The Raincoat Fisherman’s voice was utterly unrestrained.
’There’s no sound from Sui Niang or Xianxian!’
Zhu Ge frowned.
Yu the Scholar instinctively wanted to rush in, but the Raincoat Fisherman had already walked out of the house, a look of pleasure on his face.
"Haha, no need to rush, you two. One of them is still alive." The Raincoat Fisherman emerged, his cheeks flushed red under the moonlight.
"I’m going to rest on my boat for a while. I’ll record the taxes tomorrow and then be on my way. Make yourselves at home, haha."
With that, the Raincoat Fisherman gave a soft chuckle, turned, and walked away, brazenly exposing his back to Zhu Ge and Yu the Scholar.
"One of them is still alive..." Yu the Scholar’s body was stiff as he walked toward the door.
After seeing something inside, a powerful aura instantly erupted from his body.
The Raincoat Fisherman, however, acted as if he hadn’t noticed. He simply slowed his pace, walking very, very slowly.
It was as if he was waiting for something.
But Zhu Ge didn’t move.
In the end, the invisible aura around Yu the Scholar dissipated, and the "Confucian" character on his literary heart slowly faded from his chest.
But the character was exceedingly dim, and cracks had appeared on his literary heart, like glass on the verge of shattering.
Zhu Ge turned, bowed deeply with clasped hands to the slowly walking Raincoat Fisherman, and said, "Respectfully seeing the Raincoat Fisherman off to his rest."
As his voice fell, the Raincoat Fisherman suddenly stopped, whipped his head around, and shot Zhu Ge a look of surprise.
Then, a cold sneer appeared on his lips. He turned his head back and disappeared from the village entrance in a few long strides.
Zhu Ge straightened up again, his gaze fixed on the empty village entrance.
The next moment, Yu the Scholar’s hoarse, pained, and numb voice called out:
"Zhu Ge... come and see..."
Hearing this, a chill went through Zhu Ge’s heart. But in the instant he reached the doorway, that chill turned into a searing heat.
This heat almost incinerated the "spider silk" he had just prepared.
"Scholar..."
Zhu Ge felt as if a knife had been dragged across his throat, just like his heart, and his voice became extremely hoarse.
"Scholar, bury Xianxian."
"Mm."
"Don’t tell Big Belly Dog or Little Black Egg."
"Mm."
"And remember to dress her properly. And Sui Niang’s clothes, too."
"Mm."
"When Sui Niang wakes up tomorrow, I’ll be the one to tell her."
"Mm."
"I’ll wait for you at your house."
"Zhu Ge."
"What is it?"
"Nothing."
...
Zhu Ge went to Yu the Scholar’s house, drenched in sweat and his face streaked with tears.
But he kept his eyes closed, wiping them again and again, unable to stop the flow of tears.
*CREAK—*
The door opened. Yu the Scholar, his hands covered in mud and blood, pushed his way in and stood before Zhu Ge, remaining perfectly silent.
The two of them stood there for a long time. Only when the sky began to lighten did Zhu Ge slowly open his eyes.
"Is any Divine Sense watching us right now?" Zhu Ge asked.
"My literary heart would sense it if a Divine Sense came near." The Confucian character on Yu the Scholar’s chest pulsed. "This is the power of my teacher and I. It is also the power of my own life."
"After the Raincoat Fisherman left, he didn’t use his Divine Sense to watch us."
"But my literary heart is about to shatter," Yu the Scholar said calmly. "The pain of my literary heart shattering can lessen the pain in my soul. But before it breaks completely, I want to use it for ’Jade Shattering’."
"Mm." Zhu Ge nodded slowly, his crimson eyes devoid of any emotion, his voice as hoarse as deadwood.
"What I want to tell you about is a school of the Confucian Family that I know."
"Zhu Ge, it’s too late," Yu the Scholar slowly shook his head.
"In the Immortal Dao, if the Dao Heart shatters, one’s body and soul are annihilated. In the Confucian Dao, if the literary heart shatters, it’s much the same."
"I have lost all hope for the Human Race. The Human Race..."
"...is rotten to the core."
The light in Yu the Scholar’s eyes gradually dimmed.
"No, you listen to me." Zhu Ge’s eyes were calm, but his voice carried a hint of a reprimand.
He gripped Yu the Scholar’s shoulders tightly, with immense force.
Looking into Zhu Ge’s eyes, Yu the Scholar couldn’t help but feel a tremor in his heart.
Only then did Yu the Scholar remember who stood before him and what this person had accomplished in such a short time. "...Speak."
Zhu Ge took a deep breath. "What I am about to tell you today is a doctrine I have pieced together from fragments I heard from my teacher in the past."
"Your teacher?"
"Yes. Therefore, it must also be a branch of the Confucian Family. I call it—Gongyang Confucian!"
Zhu Ge’s gaze was firm, while Yu the Scholar frowned slightly.
"I’ve never heard my teacher speak of it," Yu the Scholar said, puzzled.
Zhu Ge shook his head. "But I have... Perhaps it was my father, my mother, or someone else. In any case, I have heard of this school. Where it comes from isn’t important."
Yu the Scholar nodded. "What is this doctrine?"
His tone was light.
It seemed that because he didn’t have long to live, he had become more open-minded, his voice filled with interest in this new, unheard-of school of thought.
"The one point I remember most clearly from the Gongyang doctrine is... the principle of Great Vengeance!" Zhu Ge’s voice was decisive and firm.
"Great Vengeance?" Yu the Scholar was taken aback.
Zhu Ge nodded. "Its core can be summed up in a single sentence..."
"Vengeance can be exacted, even if for a feud from ten generations past!"
As his words fell, Yu the Scholar’s expression changed. The faint sound of a heartbeat could be heard in the room.
Zhu Ge’s gaze was resolute.
"The *Book of Rites: Quli* states, ’With the murderer of one’s father, one should not live under the same heaven. For the murderer of a brother, one should not have to return home to fetch a weapon. For the murderer of a friend, one should not live in the same state.’"
"...These are the words of Kong Sheng. Meng Sheng also said: ’Now I know the gravity of killing another’s kin. If you kill a man’s father, someone will kill your father. If you kill a man’s brother, someone will kill your brother!’"
"Therefore... for an ancestor, how many generations back? Nine generations. Can vengeance still be sought for a feud nine generations old? Even after a hundred generations, it is permissible."
"Scholar, do you understand?"
Zhu Ge’s eyes burned with intensity.
And on Yu the Scholar’s chest, the ’Confucian’ character of his heart appeared once more.
It was far sharper and more brilliant than before, its light even more intense, and the cracks upon it had vanished completely.
Yu the Scholar’s lips parted slightly, and he murmured:
"Even after a hundred generations, it is permissible."