Death… and me

At that very same night, in the Prime Minister's manor which was situated in Great Zhao, Diwu Qing Rou sent out all of his servants. He was dressed in a white robe stood along in the middle of a pavilion with his hands clasped behind his back. He stared into the dark night sky and stood silent without moving for a long time.

Autumn was extremely chilly! The wind gently wisped through the sky, the sadness of separation was constantly aching in his heart.

Diwu Qing Rou continued to stand at the same position.

After a long time, he sighed in the darkness of the quiet night. Diwu Qing Rou quietly asked, "Brother, have you already left?"

The wind continued to wail, but there was no response.

Diwu Qing Rou slowly turned around. Behind him was an intricately carved table of ordinary wood, but all of its corners were worn down as it was made a few decades ago. On the table were six food dishes and a wine jug laid out.

Four wine cups were placed in the four directions: east, west, south, and north.

Diwu Qing Rou slowly walked towards the main seat and sat down. He picked up the jug and poured himself a cup of wine. He stared at it for a long time before putting it back down again without taking even a sip.

"I still don't believe that you have left!" Diwu Qing Rou murmured, "Your identity, your resources… whether to the enemies or to me, you are an enormous asset. As long as you are a dominating force, no one would be able to kill you as easily as that!"

"Because of this, I will continue to believe that you are still imprisoned!" Diwu Qing Rou shook his head as he smiled bitterly. He picked up the cup of wine and drank everything in a single gulp. At the same time he picked up the cup, a tear from the edge of his eye dripped into it.

Diwu Qing Rou had drunk the contents of the cup which were a mixture of wine and sadness. He closed his eyes and began to listen to the sound of his heart. His pale face was flushed from the powerful aroma of the wine, but his eyes remained closed. He dropped his head slightly and whispered to himself, "I did not think that in this fight for the world, the person going against me would be someone capable of being called a hero!"

Diwu Qing Rou's voice emphasized the word 'hero'; it was filled with sarcasm.

"In the battle for world domination, who will be victorious?

Nine Heavens, I will be the one who dominates!

I shall cleanse the world of millions and millions of common people!

Generals will make a sea of blood, and soldiers will make bones!"

Diwu Qing Rou muttered quietly, "Second brother, this is the first poem I wrote. I still remember when I had incited you to respond!"

"Millions of generals and leaders will fall!

Yellow sand will make armors for scholars!

Looking at the entire heavens and unite it!

Life aspirations, I will join with you!"

Diwu Qing Rou sighed,

"World domination is only for those who are daring.

Being daring is the stories of heroes.

Heroes lead millions of troops in conquest.

Fighting until the ground is covered in white bones,

Just to add another volume for the emperor!"

"You believed that a hero could be a general or even a leader. However, he could not be a ruler! Kings are fierce and ambitious but being fierce and ambitious also makes you a hero. Only by planning and strategizing with talents would one be able to reach the nine levels of heaven that would make a ruler capable of controlling the entire world! However, when you said these verses, did you ever think that you would perish in the hands of a 'hero'?"

Diwu Qing Rou laughed but as he did, it also sounded as if he was laughing in fear. He raised his cup and gulped everything down again. He then immediately filled it again with wine and said with a quivering voice, "Second brother, you said that once we were successful, you would sit down and get drunk with me! You said it because it was you who had never truly seen me drunk! Today, I will fulfill your wish for you!"

He once again raised his cup in the direction of the distant sky filled with stars and bowed. He then drank it all down in one gulp.

"You always said that my life is too tiring, that I live with too many lies, and that I could not live a happy life… Today, I will toss everything aside and get drunk with you!"

The wind seemed as though it was wailing quietly and the flowers and trees swayed along with their leaves rustling in the wind. It was as though his younger martial brother of yesteryear was talking to him and raising his arm, pointing towards the vast country!

Still seeing everything as fun and games! Still young and frivolous!

Diwu Qing Rou shook his head and chuckled; a tear fell … At this place, all by himself in the dead of night, this unrivaled hero who remained composed in the face of danger could no longer control his true emotions.

"Prime Minister…" A voice softly called out from behind him.

"Bu Chu is here to get drunk with us two brothers!" Diwu Qing Rou never turned around. He knew that at this time, besides Han Bu Chu, no one else would dare to take half a step in here. If they did, it would only mean death!

Han Bu Chu walked toward him with a jar of wine. He smiled and said, "Prime Minister, I specially came tonight to get you drunk!"

"Good! Good!" Diwu Qing Rou laughed, "Sit!"

"Bu Chu, how long has it been since the four of us sat and drank at this very table?" Diwu Qing Rou pointed and said, "At that time, you were guarded and kept close count of how much you drank. After each cup, you would make a line on this table with your nail, Hahaha… You see, the marks you made are still here!"

"Prime Minister!" Han Bu Chu's heart felt bitter. He looked down at the remnants of the years gone by and hot blood started to rise to his head, "Prime Minister, you still kept… this table…?"

"Life is like a dream! When I wake, I want to have traces of it!" Diwu Qing Rou whispered, "Do you remember? At the time, the person sitting on your left was Number One, and the person facing you was Yun He!"

"Yes."

"At that time, you drank eight cups but had drawn nine lines!" Diwu Qing Rou laughed as he seemed to look back in nostalgia. "Because of that, Number One said you had been cheating by using cheap tricks."

"Haha…" Han Bu Chu also laughed loudly. He seemed to gaze into empty space as memories came flooding back, "Just like that… it's already been more than ten years…!"

The two silently drank a few more cups. There was something in Han Bu Chu's mind. However, he did not dare to bring it up to Diwu Qing Rou. Thus, he continued to accompany him one cup after another…

"Speak!" Diwu Qing Rou slightly tilted his head and looked at Han Bu Chu.

"Yes."

"Prime Minister, this time… did King level leader Kong's actions disrupt your plans?" Han Bu Chu asked with extreme caution.

"Of course Kong Shang Xin was acting recklessly in this matter, but it was my mistake. I should not have sent Kong Shang Xin there!" Diwu Qing Rou sighed, "I thought about his personality, his leadership, and other aspects before sending him; but I forgot a very important thing, human nature!"

"Human nature?"

"Yes, human nature!" Diwu Qing Rou sighed again, "People are not objects! Who is capable of being emotionless? Back then, when Kong Shang Xin was being hunted down in Middle Three Heavens, he did not have any place to go. He ran to Lower Three Heavens and with his life hanging by a thread and his body riddled with injuries. Yin Wu Fa and his brother saved him; this was a debt of life! While he was always composed, as the saying goes, 'A good man will die for his bosom friend'. This is also a pillar of Jiang Hu!"

"Seeing Yin Wu Fa's horrific condition, how could he remain indifferent?"

"Human nature is a very mysterious thing. In certain conditions, a coward can become a dauntless warrior. And the greatest of heroes can turn into a timid mouse. In a dangerous situation, a reckless person could take over while a wise man could become more confused than a child because of a single issue!"

"I have thought about this, but I missed one key consideration." Diwu Qing Rou laughed, "My mindset has fallen into the habit of a powerful official. I have grown accustomed to the ways of the royal court in calculating gain and loss. It is my mistake, not Kong Shang Xin's!"

"My mistake was utilizing people incorrectly!" The Prime Minister lifted his wine cup and said softly, "In the future, I will have to pay more attention to this aspect!"

"Your words have enlightened me! The Prime Minister is truly remarkable!" Han Bu Chu said. These words were not mere flattery. Out of all the people in high positions such as Diwu Qing Rou, how many were able to make such a profound analysis of themselves? In addition, he also admitted his mistake in front of his subordinate.

With that mind, he believed Diwu Qing Rou was truly worthy of his position! The Diwu Qing Rou who was completely sober… was most terrifying!

"Moreover, Kong Shang Xin's action has proven one thing…" Diwu Qing Rou said gravely, "That is that Number One is dead!" When he got to this point, a deep pain appeared in Diwu Qing Rou's eyes. He had to close his eyes as his heart throbbed with emotions.

Han Bu Chu also became solemn.

They were both intelligent people; there was no need for further explanation.

"King level leader Kong and Yun He sent news…" Han Bu Chu said hesitantly.

Diwu Qing Rou waved his arm and interrupted Han Bu Chu. After quietly filling his cup once again, Diwu Qing Rou said, "Let's talk about King of Hell Chu a little!"

Han Bu Chu hissed softly, "This person… is truly difficult to fathom!"

"Hmm, then let me speak!" Diwu Qing Rou smiled, "Bu Chu, this King of Hell Chu… According to his methods, I can recognize that he is a talent that only comes along every thousand years! He has your careful calculating characteristic and Yun He's composure. Moreover, he is even more daring than Gao Sheng. There seems to be one more thing… His strategies are flawless!"

Han Bu Chu quietly sat and listened. What he loved most was being able to quietly listen to Diwu Qing Rou analyze a person. And from there, he was able to point out the person's weaknesses and strengths as well as how to deal with that person. This was Han Bu Chu's joy.

"To start, King of Hell Chu joined with Du Shi Qing's group. Then he went into Iron Cloud Citadel and created Heavenly Armament Pavilion as a foundation for him to jump straight to the position of Bu Tian Pavilion's leader!"

"From this period, we can see that while King of Hell Chu is still young, he is very meticulous. Each step has a clear target. Each move he makes hits directly targets his opponent's weakest spot!"

Of course, Diwu Qing Rou did not believe King of Hell Chu to be the King level master as rumored.

"Let's talk about his first step. Chu Yang took advantage of Du Shi Qing being preoccupied with many thoughts and the fact that he saved a lot of people. This world is filled with situations where people are ungrateful and don't repay their debts; even though Du Shi Qing is a physician, he could not avoid thinking so. That day, someone suddenly came to repay his debt, Du Shi Qing was probably happy beyond words. This is completely understandable! In addition, Du Shi Qing did not want to go to Iron Cloud and thus his state of mind was weakest at that time! Therefore, Chu Yang was completely successful in his talk of repaying a debt."

"In this first step, Chu Yang made use of human nature!" Diwu Qing Rou said profoundly.

Han Bu Chu gently nodded.

"As for the second step, when Du Shi Qing entered Iron Cloud, any clear headed person would know my plans. Therefore, Iron Cloud military sent people to pretend to be bandits to kill Du Shi Qing. However, Chu Yang managed to save them from their precarious situation without exposing the enemies' identities and allowed them to escape. This was key! You people only saw this as an ordinary event and ignored the deeper meaning hidden behind it."

"Without this step, his Heavenly Armament Pavilion could have been easily destroyed!"