The prison was dark and damp, with many voices crying in the darkness and the burning torches flickering. In the innermost cell, there was a suppressed silence. The crushed wine glass in the young man's hand turned into stars and dissipated. He sat there motionless, his lips trembling slightly.
Another cup of tea appeared out of thin air on the illusory stone table, and Lu Liangsheng pushed the cup over. "When your master was hit by my sword, he must have died. He turned into a corpse demon because he was too obsessed. He came to Chang'an and slaughtered people, turning tens of thousands of people in the city into corpse demons. As the imperial teacher of the court, I can't sit idly by. It is my duty to kill him. Unfortunately, after fighting, I found that your master is not an ordinary corpse demon, but was possessed by a demon star. His Taoism has greatly increased. I have to let the city god of this place arrest his soul and send him to the underworld for trial."
The aroma of tea lingered from the cup, and the misty hot steam rose and twisted in front of Chen Jing's eyes like a hallucination. He pressed his clenched hands on his knees, moved them, moved his lips, and squeezed out a sound.
"My master has always been obsessed with restoring his homeland... But he shouldn't have ended up like this... He actually has a good heart..."
The young man slowly raised his dazed eyes, took a deep breath, and forced a smile.
"In fact, if the master had accepted me as his disciple, things wouldn't be like this today... If my father hadn't said those words back then... hehe... it really proves the saying 'fate is unpredictable'."
Lu Liangsheng did not respond to this. His face was gentle. He picked up the teacup and took a sip. Looking at Chen Jing who seemed to be lost in his memories, he spoke softly about other things.
"You came to Chang'an this time to snatch the Xuanyuan Sword. Is it to kill Yang Guang?"
There wasn't much ups and downs in the tone of these words, just like chatting casually with others. Chen Jing pursed his lips and didn't answer, but just nodded.
"My master is dead, and my homeland is gone. As a former emperor, I must do something for them."
"Do something? Kill the emperor and bring chaos to the world?"
The gentleness on Lu Liangsheng's face seemed to gradually fade away, and he gently put down the teacup, "… From your perspective, there is nothing wrong in avenging Chen Guo and Chen Fu, but you were once an emperor, so your vision should not be the same as those people in the martial arts world. What's more, there are people in the martial arts world who serve their country and their people. If you kill the emperor for the sake of pleasure, the world will be in chaos, and heroes will rise up, and the dark days of more than 300 years will repeat. Countless people will die for your own revenge. After you have vented your hatred, will you feel guilty when you look back at what is happening now?"
On the other side, Chen Jing opened his mouth to speak, but Lu Liangsheng waved his hand and continued, "You will feel guilty, but at that time, can guilt save the lives of those who will die in the future or are about to die? This country teacher is not trying to persuade you, nor does he want to persuade you. He is just telling me my point of view. The nine provinces of the world cannot be in chaos. It's that simple."
Chen Jing slowly closed his mouth and swallowed back the words he was about to refute. Yes, Mr. Lu was not trying to persuade me to let go of my hatred, but to tell me where he stood.
Hehe... Then I will never be able to take revenge.
The prison was quiet for a while. Lu Liangsheng looked at him and lowered his head. His tone slowed down. He remembered that there was a woman with the young man. He couldn't help but ask softly, "Does your mother know that you came to Chang'an to seek revenge?"
"My mother..." Chen Jing murmured, looking at the teacup with steam rising from it on the table, and shook his head.
"My mother... passed away last year."
Lu Liangsheng understood the meaning of the word "go". With that woman's knowledge, if she were still alive, she would probably dissuade her son from seeking revenge.
I recalled the scene of their encounter in the cave, when the woman was holding the young Chen Jing and was protected by Cao Shouren while hiding from pursuit. So many years have passed, the child has grown up, but now he is a prisoner sitting opposite me. Cao Shouren committed treason and was beheaded and hung on a flagpole. Zhang Lihua, who used the alias He Jingqiu, died of depression. All of them are gone.
Alas~
In the dark prison, Lu Liangsheng leaned back in his chair, feeling somewhat complicated, and sighed faintly. Outside, in the long prison corridor, a figure dressed as a palace guard came in from outside, quickly came over here, and whispered something in Yu Wenzhi's ear. Yu Wentuo, who was standing by, saw his expression change and frowned slightly.
"What happened?"
"Second uncle."
Yu Wenzhi sent the guards away, approached, and lowered his voice: "Your Majesty sent someone to bring news that there is a rebellion outside. This is the closest place to Chang'an..."
After listening to the report, Yuwen Tuo turned around without saying a word and strode into the prison in front of him. When Lu Liangsheng turned his gaze over, he stepped forward and whispered in his ear what had just happened.
At that moment, Chen Jing, who was sitting opposite, saw that Mr. Lu, who was always gentle, became indifferent. Yuwen Tuo naturally felt it and said, "Master."
Lu Liangsheng raised his hand to tell him not to continue. The moment he stood up, the tables and chairs around him disappeared. Without a trace of expression on his face, he walked towards the prison door.
"Mr. Lu!" Chen Jing dragged the chain and took two steps forward, bowing and saying, "Jing knows that he has committed a crime, and dares not expect forgiveness. Mr. Lu, if you meet a white-haired girl named Xiaoxue after you go out, please tell her not to wait for me."
The figure in front paused, and Lu Liangsheng nodded. He quickened his pace and walked through the torch-lit area of the prison corridor with his hands behind his back, his figure sometimes bright and sometimes dark.
"Send someone back to the palace to inform His Majesty that our national teacher will be there soon."
They left the government office and the prison and got into the carriage amid the sound of orders. The driver cracked his whip and shouted twice, and the carriage rolled slowly, driving along the stone brick street towards the imperial city. Yuwen Tuo and Yuwen Huaji, who followed out, also knew the seriousness of the situation, so they jumped on their horses and called out to the waiting imperial city infantrymen to follow the carriage.
When they arrived at the palace gate, Yang Guang's attendants were already waiting there. When they saw Lu Liangsheng's carriage approaching, they hurriedly waved away the nearby guards.
"Everyone, get out of the way, and make way for the Imperial Master!"
When the carriage arrived, the eunuch came forward, trotted along the shaft, and shouted to the figure inside, "Master, please help His Majesty. His Majesty has done nothing wrong, but someone is rebelling. Those black-hearted people are rebelling!"
The eunuchs were crying and shouting behind the carriage, and their voices became vague as the distance between them increased. Soon, the carriage drove out of the long palace wall and heard the sound of Wenzhao's side hall. Lu Liangsheng walked out of the carriage and stood on the carriage. He could see from afar the open Wenzhao Hall in the distance. In the distance, the emperor was sitting in the Golden Palace, discussing the deployment of troops with the civil and military officials.
"Have you found out? Just a few gangs of bandits dared to rebel?"
"Your Majesty, this is absolutely true. These bandits seem to have divine help. They can capture a city in less than half a day. Their speed is unbelievable. They came all the way west. The news was sent by express horses. They are only more than 300 miles away from Luoyang."
"Can you find out who is leading it?"
"As far as we know, there are several well-known people such as Li Mi and Cheng Yaojin..."
Lu Liangsheng listened to the intermittent court meetings in the main hall, walked into the side hall with his hands behind his back and sat down. A palace maid came over and served tea. After a while, it seemed that the court meetings were over. An eunuch came to the door of the side hall and lifted the pearl curtain. Yang Guang walked in quickly, saw Lu Liangsheng sitting there, and hurried forward.
"Master, have you heard all the news? Are they all the gods who came to the world?"
After Yang Guang came in, he changed his anxious look in the court and became much calmer. When he sat aside, Lu Liangsheng nodded and said, "Your Majesty, don't you already have a plan in mind? But your Majesty, don't worry. This time I came here to find a way to borrow soldiers from somewhere."
"where?"
hehe…
As the light of day shone on You Yun walking across the square, Lu Liangsheng raised his hand and pointed at his feet, and with a smile he squeezed out two words: "Hell."
Afterwards, he told the emperor about his idea of going to the underworld and the possible troubles that might arise. By then, the cities on all sides would need to delay for a while, and then, if they could not win the battle, they would surrender to avoid more casualties.
"At least... try to delay it for a few more days."