It wasn’t smart enough, so it only now reacted, realizing that the kind old man, who never forgot to bring it an egg whenever he saw it, would never be seen again.
Yang Ge, with tears streaming down his face, leaned over and picked it up, gently stroking its head.
Huang calmed down under his comfort, its shrill howls slowly turning into whimpers of grievance.
The tombstone slowly descended, separating yin and yang, distancing family relationships forever...
...
"The government dispatched four hundred thousand troops to subdue the southwestern rebels..."
Cavalry patrolled the streets, shouting loudly as they passed.
On the second floor of Yuelai Inn, Yang Ge, Yang Tiansheng, and Li Jincheng clung to the railing, craning their necks to watch the street patrols and exclaimed in unison,"Oh wow, look at that!"
Li Jincheng marveled, "Back when we fought against the Tartars, the court never deployed so many troops, did it?"
"Are you silly?"
Yang Tiansheng laughed and said,"He said four hundred thousand, and you believe they actually deployed four hundred thousand? During the Battle of Red Cliffs, Cao Cao claimed to have dispatched eight hundred thousand troops—did you also believe that?"
"Maybe not four hundred thousand..."
Yang Ge interjected,"But there definitely were three hundred thousand. This is the new dynasty’s first battle, and the emperor’s shoulders bear no little pressure. Not only must he win, but win decisively and neatly. Only a grand victory would enable him to seize control of the military power, and once secure in military power, he could then turn to reform the bureaucracy."
"Moreover, deploying troops internally is different from externally. The strain of provisioning and carrying baggage is at least half as taxing, so there’s no need to be so stingy, dispatching mere tens of thousands. If you fight, it should be with the force of thunder, a quick and decisive battle!"
"Only a quick and decisive battle can minimize the impact of war on national power!"
Yang Tiansheng clapped and said teasingly,"Worthy of His Excellency the Duke, such finesse in political analysis, indeed more refined than us mere martial folks!"
Yang Ge scoffed disdainfully,"Can’t recognize a basketful of big characters, wouldn’t know a ’one’ if it fell off a carrying pole—you’re proud of that?"
Yang Tiansheng scoffed and boasted smugly,"As an ignorant bartender, go out and ask around about me, ’The Sword Master,’ on the rivers and lakes. Who wouldn’t give a thumbs up and call ’awesome’?"
Perhaps the essence of friendship lies here.
Outside, Yang Tiansheng and Li Jincheng are dominant figures, esteemed and naturally imposing giants in the martial world.
But in Yuelai Inn, they were still the saucy teenagers and silly young men of yore. Even if no longer young, they remained playful middle-aged men and daft middle-ageds.
They could say anything, talk about everything, without pretension or pre-screening each word for propriety and considerations of gain or loss.
"You, the weakest Sect Hierarch in the history of Ming Sect..."
Yang Ge looked at him with disdain,"Awesome for what? First from the top, first from the bottom, it’s all the same, right?"
Each previous Sect Hierarch of Ming Sect had been a phenomenal Grandmaster, and though Yang Tiansheng possessed the combat power of a Grandmaster, his realm still fluctuated between True Essence Peak and Grandmaster Realm, unable to cross that threshold.
"Looking down on whom?"
Yang Tiansheng retorted angrily,"If it wasn’t for the old man’s death interrupting my retreat, I might have already entered the Grandmaster Realm!"
"Blaming gravity for not being able to poop?"
Yang Ge became even more disdainful,"In the end, isn’t it because your own efforts are lacking? Not studying or reflecting more in daily life and then fumbling during the breakthrough—what’s the use of that?"
"Fine, fine, ganging up on me, isn’t that it?"
Yang Tiansheng laughed sarcastically,"I’ll just shut myself in retreat until I break through to Grandmaster Realm, not coming out until then!"
Hearing this, Yang Ge couldn’t hold back any longer. Like a bolt of lightning, he reached out and grabbed Yang Tiansheng’s neck, shaking him vigorously back and forth,"I’ve been talking here for so long and you haven’t heard a word, have you? I told you the barrier of the Grandmaster Realm isn’t something you can pass by shutting yourself away, not by shutting yourself away, not by shutting yourself away. Why can’t you understand plain words? Instead of shutting yourself in, it would be better to go north, south, or even follow Wang and others out to sea..."
Yang Tiansheng played along, rolling his eyes and sticking out his tongue,"Ahhh..."
Li Jincheng watched their antics, chuckling covertly.
Only when they stopped did he speak up,"Seriously though, you’re not worried about this mess anymore? Why are you still pondering all this?"
"He said he doesn’t care and you believe him?"
Yang Tiansheng straightened his clothes and scoffed, "His hometown is over there in the southwest, can he really just watch as the flames of war reach his hometown?"
"What?"
Li Jincheng asked in shock, "Second Brother, aren’t you from Lu Ting?"
It was the first time he had heard that Yang Ge’s hometown was in the southwest.
In fact, Yang Ge had only ever mentioned to Yang Tiansheng once where his hometown was.
He mentioned it just that once, and Yang Tiansheng remembered it.
Yang Ge silently sighed, shook his head without replying, and went straight to saying, "I’m not worried about the situation in the south, I’m worried about the north..."
Li Jincheng and Yang Tiansheng exchanged a glance, both saw the doubt and contemplation in each other’s eyes.
Yang Tiansheng, "You mean to say... someone is using a diversion tactic here?"
Li Jincheng, "It’s not impossible. I’ve heard that the steppe has a unifying trend again. This year’s snow disaster is like cutting off their retreat. They either start fighting a desperate battle again or band together and flee south to find a way to survive... Damn, the court is bogged down by the southwest with troops and supplies, isn’t this giving the enemy a perfect opportunity?"
The two of them exchanged another shocked look, both feeling they had discovered the truth!
Yang Ge did not make a sound and was silent for a long time before finally saying, "We will see..."
Yang Tiansheng, "See what?"
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Yang Ge, his head bowed and in a stifled voice, answered, "See if the Zhao Family shows some spine. If they do, I’ll help them out one more time."
Yang Tiansheng, "And if they don’t?"
Yang Ge spoke in a tired, low voice, "Then it’s time to change the person in charge. Can I really force the entire world to acknowledge their emperor?"
Li Jincheng, hearing the weariness in his tone, said softly with compassion, "Second Brother, if I may say, you should take this opportunity to take your wife and travel around, clear your heart. There’s nothing here for you to worry about anymore, the elder brother from the Liu Family is not a child; he doesn’t need your constant care."
"This is a good chance since you are always in Lu Ting, where everyone watches your every move. Whatever you do, they always calculate your every step."
"If you go out now, they won’t know where you’ve gone or what you’re up to; it’ll be a deterrent both internally and externally..."
Yang Ge did not say anything, seemingly pondering over this possibility.
Seeing this, Li Jincheng added, "Do you still remember that little cabin by Lake Hongze? It’s still there. I passed by earlier this year and had people refurbish it for you, adding some household items. You and your wife don’t need to bring anything; you can just move in..."
He was about to say more when Yang Tiansheng suddenly interrupted him softly, "Enough, don’t persuade him anymore; he won’t leave."
Li Jincheng gave him a puzzled look.
Without responding, Yang Tiansheng just gently patted the railings.
As expected, Yang Ge, with a smile, finally spoke, "Thanks, if I find the time later, I will go and stay there for a while..."
Li Jincheng sighed silently.
Just then, Zhao Miao ran up to the second floor, her smile blooming like a flower as she waved and called, "Second Brother, Yang, Li! Time to eat!"
Yang Ge instantly turned around, "Coming, coming."
"Tsk!"
From behind, Yang Tiansheng and Li Jincheng shook their heads in unison, "A man’s love nest is truly his tomb!"
"With days like these, I wouldn’t want to move either!"
Yang Ge turned and shouted angrily, "Can any delicacy shut your mouths up?"
"Pfft!"
Yang Tiansheng marched past him with his chest out, "I’m eating what my sister-in-law made, not yours!"
Li Jincheng strode past him from the other side, "Exactly, it’s our sister-in-law who’s been busy preparing our meal, what does it have to do with you?"