A Kneeling Plea

In front of Kang De, Hong San no longer displayed the ferocity he had just shown.

His back was even more bent than usual in front of Kang De.

I felt very guilty.

Upon hearing this, he subconsciously whispered in defense, "Because this is all your credit! Even if I had three times the courage, I wouldn't dare to swallow your credit..."

Kang De coldly replied, "You're so good at reading people and so eloquent, how come you can't see the situation now? What's the point of arguing with me now?"

Hong San fell silent.

"Speechless? Fine, I'll speak for you."

Kang De looked at Hong San, who was bowing his head and remaining silent, and said, "When I first arrived, your first thought was for me to run away, for me to lead you away. Later, when news of the elven army arrived that the city lord had closed the four gates and you couldn't leave, you said that I should go to the mayor to identify myself and leave on my own."

"I can see that you are sincere in all these suggestions, including the paper money you burned for me before. It was all out of your heart, and I am very grateful."

"You've always wanted me to leave quickly and avoid getting involved in the troublesome place of Valentan, haven't you?"

He approached Hong San.

"But just now, in front of these people, you put me in the spotlight, praised my achievements, made them know me, and made them cheer for me... Is this just because you don't dare to claim all the credit for yourself and want people to be grateful to and remember me? Is that all?"

Kang De calmly said, "Then here's the problem: you want me to leave. If I really leave, abandoning this place and leaving Valentan to face the Elven army and be engulfed in war, letting those commoners take up arms and climb the city walls, a rabble facing the onslaught of a hegemonic power..."

"Many of them will die. They will be helpless, desperate, broken, and insane. They will think of you, they will think of me, they will cry out, 'Lord Hong San, save us!' They will cry out, 'Dong Zhuo Hong San, where are you?' -- I don't know if you are here or not. You may be here, protecting them, even sacrificing yourself. Or you may have secretly slipped away when things got bad. Anything is possible."

"But I certainly won't be there. The strategist isn't there. He disappeared after bringing a large amount of supplies, without protecting these people or fighting for them. These desperate people will curse me, wail, and even swear, but all of that is meaningless. So why should they know my name?"

"And ah..."

Kang De slowly said, "I am also a human being, and people are made of flesh and blood. If you make these people cheer for me, do you also expect them to surround me, revere me, praise me, and be grateful to me?"

"If I remember all the good things these people did, all the respect and affection they showed me, and then I just leave them here in Valentan, facing the elves' meat grinder, and one day I return to find almost everyone dead, will I feel pain and guilt for it?"

"So, if I'm going to leave, why should I let these people know me? There's no benefit, only harm. They'll curse me before they die, and the thought of them will make me uneasy."

"Even a shut-in college student like me, who's not very good at social niceties, can figure this out."

"You, Hong San, are such a shrewd and cunning person, so adept at reading people and saying one thing to one person and another to another... how could you not have thought of this?"

"If you truly wanted me to leave Valentan City as soon as possible, there wouldn't have been that whole drama. With your meticulous nature, you would have thought of that and wouldn't have left me with Heaven and Earth Society."

"Unless you change your mind."

Hong San's body trembled.

Kang De's voice was cold and sharp. "Is it because Nick's orders were too cruel and ruthless, making you pity the fate of those people, or rather, is it because you finally made a decision after these days of wavering and confusion... Hong San, it seems you've decided to live and die with the Heaven and Earth Society. Not bad, you're a man of honor."

"But you probably feel that you are alone, lacking in talent and knowledge, and that your previous victories were just lucky. You are really incapable of protecting those people because you have never believed in yourself and have always placed yourself in a very humble position. You doubt yourself, you lack confidence, and you are used to relying on others."

"So you set your sights on me."

"That's the only thing you did wrong."

"Hong San, you shouldn't have used such petty tricks on me."

"This is terrible, a foolish choice. You could have sincerely begged me, you could have opened your heart and told me about your determination and resolve. Instead of taking the right path, you chose to use these underhanded tricks. You're incredibly stupid. Not only did you fail to achieve your goal, you've also aroused my suspicion and vigilance."

Kang De's whispers echoed in Hong San's ears.

"Because I'll think, if you're going to use such petty tricks on me this time, what will you do next time for some other pointless reason?"

He reached out and patted Hong San on the shoulder.

"And also, Hong San, you really underestimate me."

At that moment, the Cathayan finally couldn't hold back any longer.

He fell to his knees with a thud, kowtowing frantically. "Master, Master Kang, I was blinded by greed, I shouldn't have had such thoughts, I..."

Kang De squatted down and held his shoulders. "Don't kneel or kowtow. You are the leader of the Heaven and Earth Society and Earth Society. You need to be self-aware. You need to treat yourself like a human being. You are a human being, understand?"

"You must act with integrity and not resort to underhanded tricks. I personally think this is very important. It's better to be straightforward than to take shortcuts. You should be more direct."

"And, Hong San, I'm quite disappointed."

"All along, I've been waiting, waiting for someone like you to roar, waiting for a self-degrading, lowly wretch like you to stand up like a hero and fight for others."

"I'm waiting too, waiting for you to kneel down."

"I await your kneeling, as if you were to push down a mountain of gold or topple a jade pillar, standing tall before me, kneeling and loudly proclaiming that you will protect those who follow you and begging for my help. I await your dignified kneeling, your willingness to fight and yield for others. I hope to see that version of you."

"And now, although your original intention is the same, I always feel that something is missing."

Kang De sighed, "What can I say about you?"

The more amiable and calm he appeared, the more alarmed Hong San became. When a person's emotions reach their limit, they will inevitably collapse, and collapse manifests in two forms: one externally and the other internally.

Outwardly, they are recklessly insane, madly ruthless.

Internally, she is weak and prone to hysterical crying.

Hong San, who had previously displayed ferocity and madness, now had tears streaming down his face.

A thousand emotions surged within him, countless words welled up on his lips, and his mind was filled with the faces of those common people and everything he had seen along the way.

But he couldn't say a word.

Because those surging emotions were things he had never experienced before.

Compassion, kindness, protection, resilience, responsibility...

These things, these emotions, these thoughts, these ideas—he had never had them before.

They had absolutely no idea how to explain or express it.

He was just crying; the eloquent man who used to be so quick-witted was now repeating the same few words over and over again.

"Sir, please give me a beating. I was wrong. I shouldn't have had those ulterior motives..."

"But those people are truly pitiful. If the elves come and they go to defend the city, they'll surely die..."

"I know I was wrong, sir, please don't go, I really can't do it..."

But as Kang De said, he always felt that something was missing.

"Alright, stop crying, and stop begging."

Hong San raised his head, his eyes filled with both fear and pleading.

Kang De said calmly, "It's no use, because I haven't made a decision yet... You had a chance, but you lost it. Now, I still need to think it over carefully."

Hong San couldn't understand, but he didn't dare to speak.

"I won't leave for now, but whether I stay or not, and to what extent, depends on the situation. But Hong San, even if I stay, dealing with the elves will be based on my own judgment and decision. You need to understand this. Don't try to use me, don't try to scheme against me. Today is the last time."

Hopefully, he won't try to be clever like he did today again.

Go arrange a room for me.

Watching the other person's disheveled figure, Kang De slowly shook his head and sighed silently.

He pinched the bridge of his nose and cursed, "Damn it."

I don't even know who they're cursing.

Hong San's actions were actually a minor matter. He wouldn't feel resentful about it and decide to leave, letting the elves ravage Valentan... Just as he said, whether he stayed or not was based on his own judgment and decision, and he wouldn't take his anger out on others because of bad feelings.

The reason he was angry was that Hong San had actually resorted to such underhanded tactics to scheme against him.

He clearly trusted this guy a lot, even considering him almost one of his own.

Hong San's behavior was far from being betrayal, but these petty tricks and behind-the-scenes scheming still made him feel extremely uncomfortable—he could have just said it directly.

I don't know if this feeling is more anger at their lack of ambition or simply pure rage.

"So..."

Kang De rubbed his face and sighed, "I hope I don't have PTSD from betrayal..."

After what happened with Glittering Sand, he became West Africa.

He shook his head, banishing the thought from his mind, and then took out the Crimson Scroll.

The scroll touched his palm and burst into brilliant golden flames.

Before deciding whether to stay, he had to finish what he could do, weigh the strengths and weaknesses, and then make a choice... One of those things was to unravel the secrets of the Crimson Scroll.

"Alright, let's begin."

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PS1: Second update... These two chapters are very important foreshadowing, I hope everyone understands them, including the emotional changes of the two characters and their underlying reasons. Ah, it's so troublesome not having a comment section, I can't see any feedback...