Chapter 58 Half the Realm

Gu Yuye entered the White Horse Temple and held a secret conversation with Princess Prana, which lasted from last night until today, a mere six hours.

However, because this negotiation with Princess Prana was meant to turn enemies into friends and required absolute sincerity, he had brought none of his subordinates along.

Besides, today was the Qionglin Banquet, and he was certain that Gu Fangchen was also on high alert, relying entirely on an imperial decree from Emperor Yong'an and unlikely to pull any sudden tricks.

After all, Gu Fangchen had both entered the Ziji Hall and paraded through the streets riding a white crane; by any measure, it looked like he was flaunting his victory.

Consequently, he had lowered his guard within the prince's estate.

—After all, it was his own territory; what could possibly go wrong?

Little did he know that Gu Fangchen had never once counted on Emperor Yong'an to protect him...

Gu Yuye returned to the estate in an instant. Seeing the utter chaos within, he strode towards the Princess's courtyard with an expression as dark as iron.

Dressed entirely in red, Gu Lianqian stood in the courtyard, staring at the empty rooms in sheer disbelief.

Sensing movement behind her, she spun around immediately and said with a tearful, mournful face:

"Father!"

"I saw Mom playing the zither in the courtyard this morning. When I saw how sorrowful her music was, I didn't dare to disturb her."

"Only when the maid went in just now and received no answer did she realize that the zither music was actually an illusion array!"

"When we came to check, the entire courtyard was empty!"

It truly was empty.

The environment of Ning Caiyong's courtyard was arranged with quiet elegance, featuring a pond, rockery, and a flowering tree that complemented each other.

Beneath the tree lay a long zither. In the past, it presented a scene of a fair lady smiling as she played the zither while awaiting her husband's return, but now the zither was covered in fallen petals, and the stool was completely vacant.

It exuded a profound sense of desolation and loneliness.

Everyone brought by Gu Fangchen had left alongside the Princess.

Even Xuexiang, who had just been assigned to wait upon Gu Fangchen, had gone with them!

Gu Yuye cast his gaze around, confirming that the focal point of the array was the zither, and his expression grew even gloomier:

"With the Attendant of Xiyin masking everything with an illusion array, wouldn't it be effortless for a Martial Saint to spirit a few people away right under the noses of everyone in the estate?"

He had thought that by taking advantage of that little beast's entry into the palace and going to the White Horse Temple to subvert Princess Prana, he could catch Gu Fangchen off guard.

Yet he never expected that the little beast would use the chaos at the Qionglin Banquet to draw away all attention, successfully smuggling Ning Caiyong out.

"Ha... Hahahahaha!"

Gu Yuye first let out an involuntary, self-mocking chuckle, which then escalated into a furious, booming laugh.

Combining this with what his subordinates had just told him about Gu Fangchen's actions at the Qionglin Banquet—including the "mirage array" illusion woven from the Yin-Yang Jade Essence—he had completely figured out Gu Fangchen's scheme.

"No wonder he exposed his own identity!"

"The one who caused a scene at the Qionglin Banquet was indeed Gu Fangchen, but the ones accompanying him were merely two hyper-realistic illusions."

"The Martial Saint and the Attendant of Xiyin who left with Caiyong are the real ones. With these three to testify, it can be proven that he left Imperial Capital early last night and never attended the Qionglin Banquet at all."

"That Gu Fangchen at the Qionglin Banquet will truly become a demonic cult impostor; no matter what the Heart-Inquiring arts reveal, it will not count."

"The real is fake, and the fake is real—wonderful, simply wonderful!"

At that moment, a bizarre thought crossed his mind.

If this Gu Fangchen were truly his son, then the title of "Military Sage" would genuinely have a worthy successor!

Unfortunately!

"What a pity... he isn't!"

In the courtyard, Gu Yuye walked silently up to the ancient zither and reached out to brush away the fallen petals.

For a long time, Gu Lianqian thought he was grieving and wanted to offer words of comfort.

Instead, she heard the Prince of Zhenbei say softly:

"Caiyong... do you truly intend to make an enemy of me for the sake of that little beast?"

The bone-chilling coldness in those words made Gu Lianqian involuntarily shiver.

She opened her mouth, only to see Gu Yuye turn around and say calmly:

"Lianqian, take some men and give chase."

"Intercept your mother's carriage; I want to see for myself whether that little beast is inside it or not!"

He placed a hand on Gu Lianqian's shoulder and let out a long sigh:

"Advise your mother well; she will listen to you."

Gu Lianqian nodded repeatedly like a chick pecking at rice: "Okay! I'll go right now!"

Hearing the exhaustion and helplessness in her father's tone, she immediately felt that what she had sensed just a moment ago must have been merely an illusion.

Otherwise...

How could she have possibly heard a trace of—

Killing intent—in her father's words?

...

Gu Fangchen sat heavily on the ground, waiting for the ivory carver to craft a counterfeit of the "Lotus Hidden in the Womb."

The sound of hammering and chipping echoed incessantly.

He raised his head and saw a massive barrier stretching across the sky.

This barrier resembled a scroll of ink-wash painting, densely covered with countless names that were still continuously increasing at this moment.

His current location was the desolate outskirts of Qiu'an Dao, one of the Six Dao of Northern Shuo.

It was also the region within the Six Dao of Northern Shuo closest to the southwest.

Yet Northern Shuo remained Northern Shuo; within the range of these Six Dao, one could behold the "Half Wall of Rivers and Mountains" established by the Confucian Sage Xie Qian back in the day.

That ink-wash scroll filled with names.

Was none other than the so-called "Half Wall of Rivers and Mountains."

And those names were none other than the names of every single Great Wei soldier who had fallen in the war against the Qingman.

Regardless of military rank, regardless of the number of enemies killed, regardless of identity or background.

Though their bodies had perished and their souls scattered, their names would forever remain etched upon this "Half Wall of Rivers and Mountains."

Or rather, those who had sacrificed themselves for Great Wei were the true "Half Wall of Rivers and Mountains"!

Gu Fangchen looked up, gazing steadily at the colossal ink-wash roll of names, speechless for a long time.

Back in the game, when players witnessed this scene, countless numbers of them had been deeply moved.

No matter what the Confucian Sage did later on, establishing the "Half Wall of Rivers and Mountains" was something absolutely beyond reproach.

In this world where the strong ruled and the weak were prey for thousands of years, he allowed countless insignificant people to be looked up to by the mighty.

For this single act alone, he deserved to be called a sage.

Seeing this scene in person now, Gu Fangchen felt an even greater impact in his heart.

One could well imagine how firm the people of this world's faith in the Confucian Sage truly was.

Yet the task he was about to undertake would not waver because of this.

To achieve a true good ending and overthrow the rule of Confucianism was an indispensable part of the journey.

Otherwise, the entire world would spiral into another extreme, and even more people would die...

He was currently living within this world; treating this world a bit better meant treating himself a bit better—there was no contradiction there.

However, he was no longer a player now; he only had one life and could not afford to act recklessly.

By pulling the "rules" by the teeth at the Qionglin Banquet, he had made an enemy of the entire Confucian tradition, which was why he had decisively pinned the blame on the demonic cult; otherwise, even an emperor's backing wouldn't save him.

Gu Fangchen closed his eyes.

The most important tasks ahead were twofold: first, to increase his strength; second, to head towards the direction of the Sword Pavilion and rendezvous with Ning Caiyong and the others.

His current body was incapable of cultivation.

But wasn't fortune smiling on him now?

Since he had already found the ivory carver, he could simply forge another "Lotus Hidden in the Womb."

The only question was: where could he find teeth of sufficiently high value?

Gu Fangchen opened his eyes and looked towards the other side of the Half Wall of Rivers and Mountains.

That was the battlefield between Great Wei and the Qingman.

...

The Four Southwestern Dao.

Ning Caiyong lifted the carriage curtain, looked at Qingjian driving the carriage ahead, and said worriedly:

"Attendant, can Chen'er really make it in time?"

Qingjian replied:

"Young Master said he is heading to Qiu'an Dao within the Six Dao of Northern Shuo. If things go smoothly, he should arrive in three days."

Another small head popped out, chattering away:

"His Highness the Heir will definitely be fine!"

Ning Caiyong reached out to stroke Xuexiang's head and smiled faintly:

"Mhm, he'll definitely be fine."

————

PS: A bit pressed for time, publishing first and revising later; if there are any discrepancies, just refresh the page.