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He didn’t barge in directly but stood obediently outside, waiting despite the filthy noises coming from within, despite knowing it was his own sister being humiliated, he still stood outside.
Not until four rebel generals clad in armor walked out did Hong Xiufu loosen his fists and his expression returned to normal, as if nothing had happened. He walked past those four rebel generals and into the room.
The strength of those four rebel generals clearly surpassed his. They looked at him with contemptuous smiles on their faces and mockery in their eyes. Had Hong Xiufu not moved quickly, they might have stopped him to further humiliate him.
...
On the floor of the room lay a stark-naked young girl.
The girl had a dull expression and an empty gaze fixated on the ceiling. Her hands, covered in blood, were tightly clutching at the ground. Her body was mottled with red and blue bruises, and there were many knife wounds. The imprint of a slap was clearly visible on her face, and blood seeped from the corners of her mouth.
Just by looking at this scene, it wasn’t hard to imagine the horrendous humiliation the young girl must have suffered, torment so terrible that perhaps no ordinary person could even imagine...
Hong Xiufu’s arrival made a very soft sound, but the girl still heard it.
On hearing the noise, she just slightly moved her eyes. Even when she saw it was her brother, Hong Xiufu, in white robes, her gaze remained empty and without any emotion. She simply withdrew her gaze indifferently and continued staring at the ceiling.
It was as if she saw nothing at all...
Upon entering the room, Hong Xiufu’s expression had already regained composure. Despite the surge of endless guilt when he saw his sister’s pitiful state, his complexion did not change. He quickly took a white robe from the side, helped his sister up, and personally dressed her.
Throughout the entire process of putting on the clothes, there was silence. Even though the girl was completely unclothed, there was not the slightest hint of modesty on her face. She was like a doll, letting Hong Xiufu dress her, whether it was because the injuries on her body were too severe to feel anything, or because her psychological defenses had already been shattered. Even when she was fully clothed, her expression remained hollow, continuing to stare up at the sky.
Hong Xiufu helped the girl onto the bed to lie down and gently wiped her wounds with a towel. Perhaps unable to bear the silence or the girl’s hollow gaze any longer, he was the first to speak.
"Ling Er, bear with it a little longer. In seven days, the Divine Dynasty’s reinforcements will arrive, and you’ll be safe. I promise you I’ll capture them all and put them to death, to avenge you!"
After he finished speaking, he received no response. Seeing the girl’s gaze still vacant and lightless, his expression darkened. His features wavered between composure and guilt for a moment before settling back into composure.
"I know you blame me, blame me for sending you to the rebels, for letting you endure this inhuman torture, but you know my aim, don’t you?"
"Father has been killed; there are over one hundred thousand civilians in the city. If I don’t do something, the rebels will kill these people. Only you and I still hold some value in the entire city. How could I hand you over to them if it wasn’t out of desperation?"
"Ling Er, your sacrifice today will not be forgotten by the over one hundred thousand civilians in the city!"
Even though the girl’s expression remained unchanged, Hong Xiufu’s demeanor became even more calm as he continued to express his inner thoughts.
"You have been humiliated, and the fault lies with me, but I did it for the over one hundred thousand civilians in the city, to carry on Father’s will, and to be loyal to the Divine Dynasty."
"I have steadied the rebels, and they have lowered their guard. Just wait seven days. Once the Divine Dynasty’s reinforcements arrive, all these treacherous subjects will die, and then you’ll have your revenge, and the over one hundred thousand civilians will be saved."
"I know you blame me, Ling Er, but given the circumstances, your brother had no choice!"
"To the Great Yu Dynasty, to the Master, to the people of Zhaoyang, to our deceased father, to the predecessors of Confucianism, in heaven and earth, I am without guilt!"
This last sentence, supposedly addressed to Hong Linger, was more like Hong Xiufu speaking to himself. His actions were indeed for the over one hundred thousand civilians in the city, and he could candidly answer even if the Master himself were to ask.
Thus, he truly was able to be without guilt!
He placed the quilt over Hong Linger’s body, stood up slowly, and put away his look of reluctance, gradually replaced by determination. He turned and walked towards the door.
He knew what his sister would continue to face next.
But in his view, for the sake of all the civilians in the city, everything was worth it...
Just as he was about to step out the door.
Suddenly, the sister who had lain on the bed without speaking spoke up.
"Brother, do you... feel guilt towards me?" 𝑛𝘰𝑣𝘱𝑢𝑏.𝘤𝑜𝘮
Hong Xiufu’s body shook, his mind filled with the torment his sister had suffered, as well as the hollow expression and silent indifference she had just shown lying on the bed.
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He had a clear conscience toward everyone.
But what about Hong Linger...
Did he feel guilty?
Hong Xiufu did not answer, nor did he turn his head; he merely quickened his pace and left the room as if he were fleeing.
His speed was too fast, causing his silhouette to stagger...
......
The sky over Tongling Prefectural City
Hong Xiufu awoke from his reverie and, looking at Hong Linger’s face, the guilt and self-reproach in his eyes were this time utterly unmasked...
His visage had begun to decay, and the aura of decline incessantly seeped from every part of his body. He looked entirely like a picture of misery, his light dwindling, his oil spent.
Even so, there was not the slightest fear of death on his face, only self-blame and sorrow, along with deep guilt towards Hong Linger.
Over a thousand years ago, Hong Linger’s last question was the reason he dared not turn back. He could not answer it because he knew he was fair to everyone, except he had wronged his own sister, and so he evaded.
This evasion was, in fact, also a form of doubt towards Confucianism. He did not dare to answer—if he did, what the Master had said about sacrificing the lesser for the greater, sacrificing life for righteousness, abandoning the small family for the larger one... all those would become wrong...
He was even afraid to turn back because he knew that as soon as he saw Hong Linger’s face, the answer in his heart would surface on its own; thus, he fled.
But he never imagined that, at the moment when the sages acknowledged him, Hong Linger would once again throw this question at him, and he thought he could answer it. Turning back was not only to face this question head-on, but also to make amends for his flight over thirteen hundred years ago...
But he lost. Despite so many years, he still could not confirm his beliefs. He always felt that he had wronged his sister!
His dream of becoming a Sub-saint was shattered...
Yet, it broke willingly!
When the Confucian sages abandoned Ji Yanzhi, declaring his dream of becoming a Sub-saint crushed, Hong Linger had already discarded her disguise. Her white garment once again turned blood-red, and her face resumed its previous madness and sinister expression. Seeing Ji Yanzhi’s vitality continue to decline, she revealed an immensely relieved smile.
"Ling Er, unimaginable that after more than a thousand years, you still remember this question. My defeat is not unjustified!"
Perhaps feeling relieved at the brink of death, Ji Yanzhi admitted his defeat.
"Hahahaha..."
Maiden Hong laughed madly for a while, her eyes filled with hatred that did not diminish even a fraction despite Ji Yanzhi’s concession. Only after she finished laughing did she coldly say, "As early as four years ago, from the moment you returned to Zhaoyang and started revising the county records, and took in Tian Fazheng, you had already lost. If your conscience was clear, how could you return to Zhaoyang, modify the county annals, and recruit Tian Fazheng?
You thought reviving me was to help yourself break through to Sub-saint, but in reality, it was just to atone for your own mistakes...
You did not lose to me, but to yourself, to your own thousand-year adherence to Confucianism!"
Ji Yanzhi’s body quivered, the beliefs he had long held started to collapse in an instant, and an unprecedented fear suddenly enveloped his heart.
"Impossible, the Master’s words cannot be wrong. The only mistake is mine; I failed to carry out the Master’s way. I did it to save those more than a hundred thousand souls. Even if I owe it to you, it’s merely my own sentiment, not a fault of Confucianism!"
"Then I ask you, did those more than a hundred thousand souls get saved?"
Ji Yanzhi’s expression froze, then a surge of blood welled up. He stopped breathing, and with a spluttering sound, blood sprayed a zhang [about ten feet] away, his breath instantly weakened...
"The Confucianism you cultivated has caused me suffering and failed to save those souls. It’s laughable that you persisted for over a thousand years and still refuse to repent now!"
"You failed to break through, but your mistake will not just be simply covered up. I have regained my Third Rank Indestructible Karmic Position, and countless souls will pay with their lives for your errors, kekekekeke..."
Maiden Hong’s voice suddenly turned profoundly sinister, chilling everyone present to the bone and sending shivers through their hearts.
