Chapter Thirty-Four: Whose Memories Are in Disarray, Whose Heart

  Xu Qing had a dream, a very strange dream.

  He rode a tall horse, wearing silver armor, his eyes were indifferent, coldly scanning the dense black soldiers below. The place where he was located was very dangerous, it was a must-contend place for military strategists.

  High, overlooking from a high place, overall situation, can control the trend of things.

  When the two armies clash, they must go through this place. Below is a narrow valley, sandwiched between two large mountains. The main force took the lead and occupied the high ridge, which was undoubtedly a huge advantage. At this moment, if he waved his hand, there would be catapults ready, and the 100,000 troops below would become souls under the stones.

  A tree is big and invites the wind. Such an obvious target, if slightly careless, the enemy's arrow can shoot down the commander under one shot, turning the tide of defeat.

  Wielding the power of life and death, when humans possess divine authority, the beastly blood flowing through their veins will begin to boil, roaring to break free from the shackles of reason.

  The war horse pawed the ground with its hooves, and its white breath was impatiently blown out. It was helpless to struggle against its master's firm grip on the reins, so it calmed down after a while, only shaking its head in dissatisfaction.

  He slowly raised his right hand, now waiting for just one order.

  "Wait." The newcomer wore a long white robe, his calm demeanor completely out of place in this bloody and brutal scene. Yet it was he who stopped the hand that was about to strike down. "It's not time yet, wait a little longer."

  He thought he would be angry, but when he turned his head, he was met with a gaze as cold and clear as an abyssal pool. This person, he had never seen through before.

  "Hmm." He neither confirmed nor denied it, and asked, "How much longer?"

  "It's almost time."

  The newcomer wrapped his sleeves, and his narrow eyes narrowed slightly, making his gaze even more profound. The nearby generals did not react to the newcomer's impolite words and overstepping behavior, as if they had already gotten used to it.

  "Does a dead person also choose an auspicious time?" He rarely had the leisure to tease.

  "Since it's a dead person, they should die in the right place." The man in white robes raised his hand and pointed, with an air of looking down on all things, "To be smashed into meat paste by stones like this is also too unrefined."

  "These words actually came out of your mouth, it's really..." He slowly shook his head, inexplicably feeling a hint of sympathy for the enemy below.

  "If they want to fight so much, let them fight for the rest of their lives." The man supported his cheek with one hand, his long fingers tapping against his face, "As for how long this life will be, I'll decide that myself."

  ……

  The catapults were still loaded, but they had all been replaced with stones that had been treated with additives.

  An expected scream, an unexpected misty veil, and after everything returned to calmness, the man's faint smile held that deep blue jade pendant.

  "A good year, our fate has come to an end. This jade ornament can help you conquer the world. But this thing is ominous, you'd better be careful." He still held the icy cold object tightly in his bloody palm, and finally, even that person left...

  Xun Qing couldn't tell whether he was the young master of the Xun family or this iron-blooded man with great power in his hands. But the jade ornament in his hand, he looked at it clearly, and the pattern on it, even if he lost his memory, he wouldn't forget.

  The Order of the Blue Jade

  Isn't it the memory of its first owner?

  The first emperor of the founding country, Liu Fenyang of the Liu family.

  So it seems that the man in white robes called himself Feng Nian, which also makes sense.

  In front of him was a haze, white and indistinct, unable to tell the direction. Now what tune is being sung? Even death itself would not be at peace, thinking of this made him laugh even more bitterly.

  "Qing'er, aren't you coming yet?" A familiar male voice pierced through the mist, stimulating his eardrum.

  Is this voice... Father?

  He followed the sound and ran over. If he himself was dead, wouldn't his father also be in a terrible situation? He stretched out his hand in confusion, trying to brush away the white mist that blocked his vision, which seemed to know his anxious mood and gradually dispersed.

  Bright, right in front of your eyes, within reach.

  "Someone's coming, the young master is awake, hurry and call the old lady and madam over!!" The servant woman was so excited that she was trembling with her handkerchief. The little servant who was dozing off beside her was immediately awakened by her, he hastily responded and backed out of the room bowing his head.

  "Hmm..."

  Xun Qing struggled to open his eyes, and the bright light was obviously uncomfortable for him. He furrowed his brow, raised his hand to cover his eyes, and his mind was still dull. If it weren't for the old woman's voice being too shrill, he would probably have fallen asleep again.

  The sound of footsteps came, he perked up his ears and finally made out that it was his mother. He didn't think much about it, and hurriedly got himself off the bed, looking like a child who had done something wrong. But his whole body felt as if it had been brutally crushed, weak and tight, even his fingers didn't feel like his own.

  "Qing'er, you're injured and still not being honest. Not lying down properly, are you trying to worry your mother to death?" Cui Niang saw that her precious son had finally woken up, and for a moment she couldn't help but sit by the bed and start sobbing.

  "What's... happened to me?" Xun Qing pressed down on his waist, where a thick bandage was wrapped around. It didn't feel quite right without that icy sensation.

  Cui Niang stroked Xun Qing's slightly thin face, her fingers trembling: "It's all over now, you're fine, that's what matters. What do you want to eat? Mother will make it for you, okay?"

  Xun Qing wasn't a fool, he could see the fatigue and worry in his mother's eyes. He nodded very obediently and said: "I think I'll sleep for a while longer, Mother should also rest early, let the servant prepare some plain congee."

  Cui Niang still looked a bit uneasy, but seeing her son's clear eyes, she felt much more at ease. "I'll just sleep in the adjacent room, if anything happens, have the servant girl call me."

  "Hmm." Xun Qing swallowed all his questions, his mother was already very tired, no need to add more trouble. After all, he's still alive, isn't he? "Mother, I'm really fine, rest early."

  Cui Niang put his exposed hand under the quilt, carefully tucked in the bedding, and only then was willing to leave. The young servant finished reporting to the old lady, and was about to rush in hastily, but was stopped by Cui Niang outside just in time.

  "Go ahead, Qing'er has fallen asleep. Tell Old Madam that I'm leaving, Qing'er needs some rest."

  "Yes." The young servant replied, also glad to end it early.

  The old lady's pace was still quite fast, even with a large group of servants following her, it didn't slow her down. Her timing was very unfortunate, she missed what she should have heard and unfortunately heard half of what she shouldn't have. Fortunately, her own grandson was inside, so the old lady wouldn't pick this time to cause trouble, but that doesn't mean she pretended like she hadn't heard anything.

  "Cui Niang, can't you even come and take a look at your own grandson?"

  Cui Niang blessed her body and said calmly: "Qing Er just woke up, her body is weak, I'm afraid she's fallen asleep again."

  "I'll just take a look outside and won't disturb him."

  "..." Cui Niang had no reason to stop her and could only retreat to the side. Her uneasy eyes darted back and forth, clearly not at ease.

  The old lady was someone who knew what was important and what wasn't, so she didn't bother to argue with her. She just stood at the door, took a glance inside, and was immediately hit by the pungent smell of medicine, which made her wrinkle her brow. But her heart, which had been hanging in suspense, finally settled back down.

  The old lady gently closed the door and walked out in big strides. At this time, Cui Niang was still by her side, unwilling to leave. The old lady let out a long sigh and said: "Cui Niang, you go down too. These are extraordinary times, rest well tonight so that you'll have energy to face tomorrow. And give that little maid some medicine as well?"

  "It's all arranged." Cuiniang furrowed her brow, extremely puzzled: "Qing'er isn't a troublemaker by nature, how could someone come to assassinate him?"

  The old lady handed her hand to the woman beside her and said softly, "Tomorrow, let's examine that girl and we'll know. The sky is changing... Let's all go back..."

  ……

  After a long time of cleaning, it's finally tidy outside.

  Take advantage of the present to tidy up his thoughts, and then go to sleep. He doesn't know when he will wake up again. He was stabbed by someone, but he didn't even see the murder weapon, let alone the person's face. It's really embarrassing to say it out loud.

  He asked himself if he had done anything that would provoke public outrage and private resentment, then it shouldn't be a personal vendetta. Apart from this, what could have triggered the killing intent was the jade pendant his father gave him, fortunately, he had given it to Ling'er early on, what a narrow escape.

  Xun Qing was a bit afraid afterwards, if it were at night, she would really have no face to see her own father.

  So, who exactly is coming to kill me?

  He struggled to sit up again, gazing at his pale and somewhat frightening palms in the moonlight, while his thoughts ran far away.

  From Zhang Zuoyan's words, the most likely person is Regent King Liu Chu. Listening to his tone, it seems that instead of killing him to eliminate future troubles, it's more possible that he wants to win him over. After all, he is the owner of the Qingyu Order, and killing him would undoubtedly destroy a great help. Liu Chu needs the Ghost Army to seize imperial power, but neither himself nor the Xun family has shown a clear attitude, so...

  Man is a great temple gate, Liu Chu's hand stretched out again, if there was no silent permission from the saint, it would not be possible.

  For more than two months, Father has been in a state of uncertainty at the Temple of Great Rites, which means he hasn't taken sides. In that case, the one who should be anxious now is not Liu Chu, but rather the Emperor himself.

  So they can't wait to come and kill us, and take back the Qingyu Order? Xun Qing sneered and smiled, his big hand touched his waist again, the bleeding had stopped long ago, but that numbness was unbearable. —— Father, this is the sacred ruler you want to serve, this is the court you want to serve, take a good look...

  The knife tip was coated with a toxin, he knew it, otherwise he wouldn't be so weak. He slightly tilted his head, as if looking at the shadow on the beam, but also seemed to see nothing, just staring blankly.

  Suddenly, a gust of wild wind rolled in, roughly tearing open the closed doors and windows, interrupting him -

  "Mingting, how are you?!"

  The dew condensed slightly, but it couldn't withstand his changing thoughts. His lips curled up unconsciously, as if in the worst situation, just one sentence "I'm here" could make everything calm and peaceful.