He paused, then stressed his point, "So, I can’t go to Bright Summit, nor can I meet your Sect Hierarch. I can’t give the outside world any signal that I’m siding with your Ming Sect... Even if anyone dares to rebel at this time, I will fight them alongside the Wei Imperial Court. It’s not that I’m siding with the court, but with the common people."
His words were convoluted, but Yang Tiansheng understood.
His emotions complex, he sighed softly, "Why do you insist on making things so hard for yourself? Isn’t it better to take this opportunity and retire with honor? You might save the Wei Imperial Court for now, but can you save it forever?"
Yang Ge shook his head, "I’m not trying to save the Wei Imperial Court. If the Zhao Family truly becomes ignoble, truly incites the heavens’ wrath and the people’s suffering, and life becomes unbearable for the people, then you should overthrow their Zhao Dynasty, and that has nothing to do with me, Yang Ge... But if anyone wants to take advantage of me, to make me into that legendary sinner who deceives the world and causes widespread harm, I won’t agree to it!"
He paused again, then spoke seriously, "Big brother, for our brotherhood, I would give you my life if you ask for it, but when it comes to harming the people for power and profit, forgive me, for that’s beyond my ability."
Yang Tiansheng rubbed his arms with a strange smile, "Enough, enough, you’re giving me goosebumps... But to tell you the truth, I have no interest whatsoever in the matter of rebellion, hmm, neither does my father. It’s just that, after all, our Yang Family is holding Ming Sect’s bowl; some things are beyond our control, don’t take it to heart."
Yang Ge glanced at him, teasing, "You’re overthinking it. With your wits, you’ll never manage to pull off any double-dealing in your life!"
Yang Tiansheng flew into a rage, leaped to his feet, "Who are you looking down on, die for me!"
Yang Ge agilely sidestepped his ferocious attack with a swift move, "Hey, you can’t hit me..."
The brothers frolicked as they gathered some lotus leaves, roots, and caught a few fat carps, returning home full-loaded.
Yang Ge pulled out all the stops, digging pits for roasting chickens, ducks, sheep, and cooked braised carps in oil, stir-fried chicken offal, and simmered sheep offals soup, single-handedly taking on the role of a complete kitchen crew.
Guiding the waters with Water True Qi for cleaning ingredients, shaping cutting tools with Metal True Qi, controlling the gentle and fierce heat with Fire True Qi... Indeed, the number one cook in the world was none other than Yang Ge!
When the moon had just risen, more than two hundred martial practitioners sat on the ground, each holding a freshly roasted chicken or duck, eating with oily satisfaction and endless praise.
The air was filled with the smell of fireworks and the aroma of wine and meat.
Laughter and playful noises mingled under the night sky, weaving a lively jianghu spirit...
Even the thorn in Yang Yinghao’s heart melted into the boisterous atmosphere.
"Erlang, where do you plan to go next?"
Using a small knife, he dealt with a roasted lamb leg, his manner of eating was elegant but the speed was not slow at all, "After all, one must have a place to settle down and live, right?"
The image of Huang with his ears drooping, hoping to see him off, as well as that small courtyard bathed in bright sunlight, flashed in Yang Ge’s mind. He couldn’t help but purse his lips and forced a smile, "We’ll see, it’s not appropriate to go anywhere right now..."
Yang Tiansheng glanced at him, wanting to say something, but with the presence of his father, he held back.
Yang Yinghao fell silent for a long time, suddenly sighing softly, "It seems difficult for you to live a peaceful and quiet life ever again."
Yang Ge smiled, "It’s okay, as long as they are not afraid of trouble, I don’t mind the hassle."
Upon hearing this, Yang Yinghao also smiled, "Just be aware in your mind it’s fine... If you feel tired, come home and rest for a while, and if you come secretly, I promise not to make a fuss about it."
In the end, he did agree with Yang Ge’s reasoning.
Yang Ge raised the wine bowl in front of him, "Uncle, I’ve caused you trouble."
Yang Yinghao raised his wine bowl to meet his, and said earnestly, "It is I who was petty-minded. You are a gentleman with great compassion and ambition, unlike us commoners who cannot break away from the pursuit of fame and fortune. We are not in the same realm."
Yang Ge sincerely replied, "You flatter me too much, uncle. I still believe that to live one’s brief life according to one’s own wishes is the greatest success in life. I am naturally lazy and not particularly ambitious. I only wish to live a simple, stable life. However, ending up in my current situation is really not what I intended..."
Looking at his face filled with the sentiment that "life is mostly unsatisfactory," Yang Yinghao couldn’t help but laugh, "The Prince would bounce out of his coffin if he heard you say that!"
Yang Ge laughed as well, "Then I’ll just have to cook him up again. Last time my hand shook, and he was gone before he could even get a breath out..."
"Ahem, ahem."
Yang Yinghao choked on a sip of wine, pointing at Yang Ge, laughing so hard he could hardly catch his breath.
...
Jinling, Zijin Mountain.
Hidden high among the emerald forests was a tranquil monastery, where a purple-clothed person with an iron mask and a head full of graying hair leaned against a railing, gazing at the rolling river waters.
Behind him, in the empty meditation room, seven figures dressed in black and wearing identical black iron masks sat around a circular table, each sitting erect and motionless for a long time, like lifeless wooden dummies.
At the center of the table, a coiling dragon three-legged incense burner was emitting wisps of dense white smoke that hovered in the middle of the table, shrouding the gaze of the seven in black... If a top dignitary were present, a slight flare of the nostrils would be enough to recognize that the incense in the burner was ambergris, valued at ten times that of gold!
"This is against the rules."
One of the figures in black spoke softly, articulating slowly and clearly, "The Heroes’ List has never been altered for one person; to make an exception now would be to destroy our own reputation."
The atmosphere in the meditation room was so oppressively heavy that his voice seemed to drift ghostlike through the air.
After a while, someone spoke in a flat, measured tone, "The fact that the Heroes’ List has never been changed for one person is because there has never been anyone who, as one of the Twelve Braves, beheaded a Grandmaster. Extraordinary circumstances demand extraordinary measures. Not changing the list would fail to convince the masses, and failing to convince the masses is what would destroy our reputation."
Following their statements, there was a long silence once again.
It took a full quarter of an hour before differing tones of voice began to chime in one after another.
"Do not change the list."
"Change the list."
"Do not change the list."
"Change the list."
After the voices of six people fell, all six pairs of eyes turned simultaneously to look at the person in black who had yet to speak.
That person in black spoke unhurriedly and indifferently, "I wonder if you have noticed that the martial arts of Ming Sect’s Yang Tiansheng and Lianhuan Fort’s Li Jincheng have both advanced too rapidly. If Yang Erlang’s martial arts have improved so quickly because he has some kind of special innate physique, what about Yang Tiansheng and Li Jincheng? Based on the information previously collected by the tower, Yang Tiansheng’s martial arts should have only reached the True Essence realm this year, and Li Jincheng would not have had the chance to achieve the state of a True Person within five years."
Upon hearing this, the six figures in black revealed thoughtful expressions in their eyes.
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A moment later, one of the figures in black asked, "What do you mean by your statement, Emissary of Shadows?"
The figure in black replied indifferently, "Nothing more. It just struck me out of nowhere that during the waning years of Qin and the rise of Han, the small area of Pei County produced so many who would rise to aid the Han."
The meditation room seemed to buzz at his words, and immediately a figure in black pressed, "Does the Emissary of Shadows believe that Yang Erlang possesses the potential of a hidden dragon?"
The unyielding figure in black responded quietly, "This dragon is not that dragon. In my opinion, placing our bets on Yang Erlang, there is a chance for great upheaval..."
Another figure in black joined in, "Emissary of Shadows makes a fair point. With the death of Imperial Stables’ Elder Tong Ying, the balance between the Zhao Dynasty and the four veterans of the jianghu is broken. Betting on Yang Erlang might further muddy the waters."
Just then, a figure in rough cloth and an iron mask, barefoot and tiptoeing, came in, knelt on the ground, and said, "Reporting to the Sect Hierarch, and to the seven Emissaries, the latest news from Lake Hongze is that Yang Erlang has recovered from his injuries, re-emerged from seclusion, and displayed the Rainbow Light of the Five Elements, suggesting that the "Five Elements True Qi" is close to fruition."
His brief statement rendered the meditation room silent enough to hear a pin drop.
After a long stick of incense had burned, the purple-robed figure with the iron mask at the railing turned around and spoke calmly, "Change the list, ’Han Hero’ Yang Erlang, qualified Grandmaster, ranked above the Seven Heroes, as the foremost martial artist in the lands of Wei during the Xiping era!"
As these words fell, the seven figures in black stood up in unison, bowing and saying, "We shall heed the Sect Hierarch’s decree!"
The purple-robed figure with the iron mask spoke sparingly, "Orchestrate the battle between ’Qin Warrior’ Li Qing and ’Han Hero’ Yang Erlang."
"As ordered!"