In the quiet courtyard, the cold wind blew by, blowing the dead leaves from the treetops.
The flowing water gurgled across the cracks in the upper stones and fell into the bamboo tube. When it reaches a certain amount, the bamboo tube instantly fell over and buckled on the stone below, making a crisp sound.
The afternoon sun was warm, and there were three people, one old, two young, sitting on the corridor facing the courtyard. Each of them held a Japanese pottery teacup in their hands, filled with steaming barley tea.
It seems that the three of them, grandfather and grandson, are spending their afternoon leisurely.
"Master Inuyama, your Iai is indeed the ultimate in swordsmanship. I feel like you might be faster, right?"
Mainly because Lu Chen and Mr. Inuyama were chatting away, Yuan Zhisheng just looked at Xingzhu in the courtyard in a daze, and even began to wonder if he didn't need to watch Lu Chen at all.
This guy really just came to the head of the Inuyama family for advice. It seemed that he didn't even have any idea of discussing with each other. Based on his observations of Lu Chen these days, he didn't seem like he could be a lobbyist for Principal Ange.
What's more, the head of the Inuyama family is indeed a faction "close" to the secret party in the Sheqi Hachi family, but he does not think that the other party will fall to the secret party at the critical moment.
"This kind of praise coming from your mouth really makes me feel ashamed. Even if I can be faster, I can't be faster than you."
Inuyama He took a sip of wheat tea and exhaled hot air from his mouth.
"Can I ask the highest level Setsuna, head of the Inuyama family, can reach? The principal told me that you are the strongest person with the highest level Setsuna in the world."
Apart from anything else, Lu Chen still respected people like Inuyama Ga. From the fight that day, he could tell that the opponent had been sharpening his sword for many years, but he just didn't meet anyone he wanted to kill.
If it were that person, perhaps Inuyama Ga's sword would have been faster, right
And some of his words were not compliments. In Setsuna's rank, Inuyama Ga was indeed the strongest in the world.
"Eighth level."
In fact, when he was in the best condition, he occasionally reached the ninth level, but accidental events obviously cannot be counted as strength.
Lu Chen was a little surprised. The legendary dragon slayer Silver Wing Viscount Charlotte in history could only reach the seventh level, but this old man could climb to the eighth level.
Yuan Zhisheng was also a little surprised. He had also sparred with the head of the Inuyama family, and the opponent had only reached the seventh level in front of him. He did not expect that this old man still retained his strength.
"Senior, do you have any tips for improving your moment?"
Lu Chen humbly asked for advice.
Unexpectedly, Inuyama He shook his head and said: "There is no good way. Setsuna is like a knife. The more you sharpen it, the faster it becomes."
Lu Chen was a little surprised. The old man spoke in Chinese and used a pun.
He thought for a moment, "You mean, it's enough to use something like the spirit of speech more often?"
Inuyama He did not respond to this confirmation question. Instead, he turned to look at Lu Chen. His old face had bright eyes with a look of scrutiny: "Aren't you satisfied with your speed?"
Inuyama Ga believes that there is always a reason for people to pursue power, just like he has been sharpening his sword for sixty years in order to achieve the fastest speed in the world and surpass that man. That is his goal and the reason for him to become stronger.
And what about this boy
According to the information he knew, this young man has not had any setbacks since he "came out of the mountain". No matter how powerful the enemy is, he has fallen to his sword. He even thinks that when this young man explodes with all his strength, his speed is not inferior to that one. How many men.
The boy is still very young and has a lot of room for improvement. Sooner or later he will surpass that man.
Then why is he pursuing power
Lu Chen and the old man looked at each other and instantly understood what the other person meant. He looked into the other person's eyes and said, "If you stop pursuing power, what's the point?"
Yuan Zhisheng felt that the atmosphere between Lu Chen and the old man had changed. A moment ago, it was still a harmonious conversation between the old man and the younger generation. But at this moment, the atmosphere seemed to have become sharper. There seemed to be a non-existent emotion at the intersection of the two pairs of eyes. Sparks fly.
Finally a burst of laughter broke the atmosphere.
Inuyama He smiled so boldly and freely, even slapping his hands on his legs, and finally looked at Lu Chen: "Lu Jun, you are really pure. Anger has accepted another good student."
Yes, does pursuing power require obsessions like revenge or wanting to surpass someone
This young man is not obsessed with those things, but he is more pure. He only pursues power for the sake of pursuing power. His obsession is power itself!
But this kind of purity... is the way of magic. He has seen too many young people who pursue power fall into the abyss, such as members of the Fierce Demons, and Akechi Asiya of the Kanto branch.
"The senior's words are wrong. Strictly speaking, my mentor is Schneider. Of course, in a broad sense, we are all students of Principal Angers."
Lu Chen said with a smile, he also picked up the tea cup and took a sip of wheat tea, which was a little cold.
Inuyama He looked at Lu Chen's clear eyes and thought of what this young man had been doing these past few days. He felt that he was a little too preoccupied. This is a person who can separate his pursuits from his daily life. Perhaps such a child is more likely to be happy. Bar.
Suddenly, he felt that it would be good if the recent rumors within the family came true. Lu Chen was indeed a good match for the head of the Uesugi family.
"I heard that you hate thermal weapons. Why?"
At this time, Yuan Zhisheng had been silent and asked an inexplicable question.
They had investigated this boy's information and found that the other party only used cold weapons to perform tasks, and never even used auxiliary thermal weapons. In some cases, it was indeed more convenient to use a gun.
Lu Chen was silent for a moment and said, "I have always wondered why things like guns were invented."
The other two people didn't interrupt, they knew the boy wasn't asking them.
"Is it to pursue more powerful force? Is it to allow the weak to have the power to match the strong? Is it to show that man can go further in the process of fighting nature?"
Lu Chen shook his head and sighed: "Later I found out that it was not the case. At least I didn't think so. My teacher told me that guns were invented to reduce people's guilt."
"Guilt?"
Yuan Zhisheng was confused. In fact, the first few words the other party said were objectively correct. He didn't understand what Lu Chen wanted to express.
"Yes, you insert the knife into the enemy's body. Your hand can feel the touch of the cold weapon piercing the soft body. You may also touch hard bones during the process. The sound of friction is transmitted from your hand. It goes straight into your mind. When you turn the blade, the enemy will wail and cry. Before he dies, he may be ferocious, angry, frightened, or desperate... As if he is counting your sins in detail, this voice seems to be able to follow you into your dreams. "
The boy's voice was plain, but it was like the whisper of a devil, making people shudder.
"It does sound reasonable. It takes more courage to use cold weapons than to kill enemies with guns."
Inuyamaga nodded.
However, Lu Chen shook his head and said: "It's not that I focused on cold weapons to show my courage. The teacher told me that if you kill enemies with a knife, you will feel guilty, but that is your responsibility, that is life. Only when you feel the weight will you know what you are doing, and you will always remind yourself that you are killing.”
He paused and continued: "... If you can no longer feel the weight, then you will become a machine that can only kill people, and you will no longer be a human being. Using firearms will blur the boundaries of this weight. The teacher said that in his opinion, most people who only use guns are cowards.”
After listening to the young man's remarks, the two were silent for a long time.
"You have a good teacher."
After a long time, Inuyama He opened his mouth and praised.
But Yuan Zhisheng felt strange. As far as he knew, Lu Chen had two teachers. One was a master who opened a martial arts school. He heard that his martial arts skills were good, but he had never committed any crimes and killed people or other creatures.
The other is Schneider, the current director of the executive department of Kassel College. He is indeed an old killer, but he feels that according to Schneider's character, destroying the enemy by all means is the most important thing. As for the sense of guilt and so on, These are things you will only think about after going to hell.
These words really don't sound like what Schneider would say, but rather like what a wise old master who has been on the battlefield would say.
However, he noticed that the atmosphere seemed to be a little more solemn, so he still smiled and said, "Then according to what you say, Caesar in your group is also a coward. I heard that he is good at firearms."
Lu Chen shook his head and smiled, "Brother Caesar is different. At critical moments, he is also a good man who can slash with a sword."
…
Looking at the backs of Yuan Zhisheng and Lu Chen leaving, Inuyama He felt for a moment that he was really old, so old that he was defeated by the teacher's new disciples in all aspects.
After Yuan Zhisheng and Lu Chen got into the car, Sakura started the car and drove out of the Inuyama family's private residence.
"By the way, you really don't want to have a spar with me?"
Lu Chen turned to look at Yuan Zhisheng, who was lighting a cigarette. He was very interested in this young man who was a few years older than him. He must have met him after coming to Japan. He was a good and strong man, and he seemed to be very good at Japanese swordsmanship.
Yuan Zhisheng exhaled a puff of smoke, "I can't beat you."
Such a straightforward admission blocked Lu Chen's next words.
"Yesterday, I heard from Caesar that you are the head of the Genji family in the underworld. I heard that you are also going to take over the position of the patriarch who manages all the underworld. But to be honest, I don't think you are a gangster."
As Lu Chen spoke, he took out the iron box from his chest pocket, pulled out a Cohiba that he hadn't touched since seeing Eri Yi, and handed it to Yuan Zhisheng: "In the words of Brother Caesar, this is what men should smoke. ”
Yuan Zhisheng was stunned for a moment and took it. He didn't expect that Lu Chen would take the initiative to talk to him.
"Then what do you imagine the underworld should be like?"
Yuan Zhisheng used his fingers as hard as a knife to remove the front end, and took a sip. It was indeed the best, just like the taste of that slutty Italian slut.
"Fighting on the street, collecting protection money, bullying the lower class people, forcing good people to do prostitution, etc."
Every time Lu Chen said a word, Yuan Zhisheng's face became gloomier, but he couldn't refute it. No matter how glorious the purpose of the Sheqi Eight Family was, what Lu Chen said was completely unavoidable. There would always be rats. Will do it.
"I haven't done what you said, but I have done worse things."
Yuan Zhisheng looked out the window. From Lu Chen's perspective, he couldn't see his eyes, but suddenly, he felt that this man who had always been serious and serious had an aura of sadness around him, and his aura also dropped. Time brings to mind a dog that has been soaked in the rain.
Rather than saying that I have done bad things, it feels like saying that I have something extremely regretful, so regretful that it is carved into my soul like a red-hot iron, and even reincarnation cannot erase it!
But the other party is the aloof young master of the Eight Sheqi Family, the future emperor of the underworld. What could make him feel so regretful
The ringtone of the mobile phone rang at this time, breaking the suddenly heavy atmosphere in the car. Lu Chen looked at it and smiled and said, "Since you want to follow me, why not drink a bar together tonight."
Yuan Zhisheng turned around and was stunned for a moment. He couldn't understand this reckless man's brain. Are we that familiar
After this afternoon, he no longer wanted to monitor Lu Chen. This young man didn't seem like the kind of person who would disregard the safety of the public.
He also read yesterday's report. The boy rushed all the way from the Peninsula Hotel to the Rock Flow Research Institute. He tried his best to choose places with few people. He also deliberately slowed down where there were people to avoid hurting ordinary people. Otherwise, he might Can be faster.
The only thing that made him doubtful was that all the surveillance equipment on the main road leading to the Yanliu Research Institute had inexplicably failed that day. But judging from the time when the boy arrived, it seemed that he did not stop over. .
No matter what, he was ready to send Lu Chen back to the hotel and leave him alone, but he didn't expect that the other party would invite him to have a drink at this time, and it seemed that the other two idiots would also be there.
He should have refused, but he nodded for some reason. Now that the fierce ghosts were weak, geological exploration had been put on the agenda, and the risk of war with the academy had been avoided, he felt a rare sense of relaxation.
Or maybe he had some curiosity about this young man, and he wanted to know why a young man who came out of a remote country sometimes had a warrior-like look in his eyes.
…
In the evening, Yuan Zhisheng sat on the leather sofa with a dull expression.
He was speechless as he looked at those bastards. What kind of brain circuit did he have to think of men drinking and chatting at night in a place like Takamagahara
"Brother Caesar, I think you can let them leave first."
Lu Chen pointed at Mr. Cowherd, who was sitting to his left and looked a little embarrassed. He had golden hair and a purple open-breasted leather jacket. He felt that it was quite awkward for a man to serve and chat next to him.
"Since you're here, of course you have to experience the features here, but it's really different from what I imagined. You can go down first."
Caesar waved his hand. He was not in the habit of allowing men to chat emotionally, and he felt that the somewhat "delicate" cowherd sitting next to him was looking at him in a way that was gradually changing.
"Open four more bottles of champagne."
Caesar snapped his fingers and reminded the cowherds who were leaving.
Judging from the high-spirited look of this Italian nobleman, he didn't think it was embarrassing at all for four grown men to come to Japan's top Cowherd restaurant.
"Brother Caesar, you are not afraid that this news will spread to the academy."
Lu Chen looked at the surrounding environment. He originally thought he was here to eat and drink, but he didn't expect Gao Tianyuan to be such a "enchanting" place. If this was photographed by a paparazzi like Fingel and sent back to the academy.