The Axes of Those Before Us Fell the Trees; Those After Us Bask in the Sun [Please Vote]

"Old fossil!"

Those words came from Gongxi Chou.

A mere prisoner, and who had given him the nerve to insult Mama and then snap at her big brother? He deserved his miserable old age! Let him rot in prison!

Wei Lou's reaction was to close his eyes.

He looked like he wanted to see nothing and be done with it.

Closing his eyes shut out the sight, but his ears still worked. Jimò Qiu believed he could hear him. "This junior has just had a bold thought—Senior Wei Lou, did you ever speak with Sovereign Ji Sun?"

Wei Lou wanted to hear what kind of nonsense this High Priest could come up with.

He replied flatly, "We spoke. It ended badly."

He remembered that their few meetings had all been arguments. It was one of the rare times the lord and his subject had lost control since they first met; all reason had gone out the window.

If not for that, Wei Lou would not have been so disappointed.

Destroying something nearly equal to one's own life took more than despair. It took tremendous resolve. He was no young, hotheaded fool who would sever ties unilaterally without confirming the truth or trying to make amends. Even now, thinking about it hurt.

Jimò Qiu pressed him for details.

"Did you lay your hearts bare and speak with complete candor?"

Wei Lou's lips twitched. He let out a long, weary sigh.

"Never."

Their near-fatal arguments had been enough to crack the bond between lord and subject. But laying your hearts bare required a deep trust in one another. Wei Lou had not expected Jimò Qiu's next words to open his eyes and shatter everything he had believed.

"Speaking only as the High Priest, if I were Sovereign Ji Sun, I might have