Sworn Brotherhood (Seeking Follow-up Reads)

"What about Might King?"

"I only ever hear you speak of Mourning Heaven King, never Might King. Could it be that Might King... has some grudge against you...?"

Under the table, Xu Xing kicked Chang Ji. Chang Ji understood at once and spoke up.

Once he joined Four Brightness Mountain, with his status as a military officer and a rebel official, he certainly would not thrive as effortlessly as Xu Xing after joining them. That much was foreseeable.

Four Brightness Mountain's three kings did not lack men capable of leading troops.

And his title of fifth-rank General Who Stabilizes the Distant Lands would likewise make it hard for him to bow beneath another...

Xu Xing, however, was different. As a civil official, he would not draw too much wariness from Four Brightness Mountain's local faction and could easily worm his way into its upper ranks.

Thus, after leaving prison, Chang Ji had made his intentions clear and chosen to attach himself to Xu Xing, a fellow rebel official. Though he had not explicitly said he was willing to serve as Xu Xing's subordinate, he already had such inclinations.

It was much as Xu Xing had guessed in prison.

Once out of prison, Chang Ji was bound to huddle together with him for warmth.

At this moment, there were some things Xu Xing could not conveniently ask, so he could only urge Chang Ji to ask them...

Only by grasping the movements of Four Brightness Mountain's upper ranks could the two of them proceed with their next plan.

"Second Brother..."

Earth King gave a few disgruntled snorts. "If he hadn't been with Eldest Brother several years before me, would I be beneath him? That man has precious little feeling in the way he handles things. Last time, I got drunk once, and he ran straight to Eldest Brother to personally tattle on me, saying things like how there could be no lack of military discipline after the uprising..."

"He made me lose face before all the brothers."

"That was exactly why Eldest Brother punished me by sending me down the mountain, to Divine Capital."

He explained why he had come to Divine Capital.

"Might King was considering the greater good."

"You needn't take it to heart, Your Majesty..."

Xu Xing raised a cup to Earth King and smiled.

From these scattered remarks, he had gained a general grasp of Four Brightness Mountain's overall situation. Mourning Heaven King was shrewd and calculating, skilled at winning people's hearts, while Might King played more of a steward-like role within the stronghold.

The discord between Might King and Earth King likely also had much to do with the methods Mourning Heaven King, Yao Dang, had employed behind the scenes.

Once Xu Xing entered Four Brightness Mountain... barring surprises, he would likely come into conflict with Might King as well.

To contend for control over Four Brightness Mountain's internal affairs!

"No matter what..."

"You are still Might King's brother. Don't take such trifling matters to heart."

"If people hear of it, it will only make you a laughingstock."

Ghost Hand also offered timely advice, looking rather helpless.

During Earth King's time in the capital, he had complained to Ghost Hand about Might King more than once. And the reason Earth King had been so determined to find a failed "scholar" was that he deliberately wanted someone who could oversee internal affairs, someone who could counter Might King's restraints upon him and make his second brother, Might King, suffer a setback.

Otherwise, Earth King could simply have recruited any scholar to the mountain and completed his task. Why insist on finding a great talent like Xu Xing, one capable of spanning heaven and earth?

"If you ask me, the logic behind brothers quarreling is the same as husbands and wives quarreling..." Xu Xing drank and laughed heartily, seemingly offhandedly. "When husband and wife fight, outsiders mustn't urge them to separate. Once that little couple fights at the head of the bed and makes up at its foot, the outsider who urged a split or took sides will stand out terribly. No matter how one looks at it, that outsider will be in the wrong. When you brothers quarrel, we need only watch for a bit of amusement..."

"After all, you and Might King are brothers."

His words were earnest and heartfelt.

"Exactly. You're brothers—you have to value loyalty!"

Chang Ji drove the blade in deeper.

"No wonder..."

"The brothers in the stronghold clearly saw me suffer losses, yet none of them helped me. So that was why."

The speaker had no intent, but the listener took it to heart.

After several exchanges, Earth King gradually came to understand the stronghold's affairs and thought to himself.

Only then did he understand why Might King could keep him down. First, Might King was senior to him and was his elder brother in name; second, Might King acted in the name of righteousness. No matter how justified Earth King might be, the scattered soldiers and wanderers in the stronghold would not dare support him, fearing that he and Might King might sing a duet in the future and leave them the ones to suffer; third, he truly had not amounted to much, and Eldest Brother Mourning Heaven King listened to Might King more often...

"Mr. Xu..."

"Once we return to the stronghold, I will definitely have my elder brother acknowledge you as a brother."

Earth King made up his mind to find outside support.

Ghost Hand and the others were merely rough martial men and jianghu folk in the stronghold. Though they usually called each other brother with great warmth, whether it was Earth King, Mourning Heaven King, or Might King, they all regarded them as subordinates. But if Xu Xing entered the stronghold... his status certainly would not be low...

If there were four kings...

Then when he spoke, it would not be as though no one listened. And should he clash with Might King, there would also be someone to step forward and take his side.

"I felt an instant affinity with you long ago, Your Majesty."

"Only..."

After hearing this, Xu Xing looked deeply moved, two streams of hot tears spilling down his face. "The King saved my life. If the King does not disdain me, then this very moment is an auspicious day..."

"Good!"

"Burn the yellow paper, swear brotherhood!"

"Mr. Xu... I acknowledge you as my brother."

Earth King was overjoyed as well. During these past few days in the Divine Capital, he had already come to admire Xu Xing immensely. Now that a man of Xu Xing's great talent was willing to become sworn brothers with him, it showed that Xu Xing thought highly of him.

Moreover, Xu Xing's character was excellent, and he was a man who valued loyalty.

If he had not valued loyalty, how could he have risked his own life to bring out Chang Ji, who was also his friend?

To become sworn brothers with Xu Xing, Earth King felt that he had struck it rich.

Rich beyond measure!

As for this matter of becoming sworn brothers... should he notify Mourning Heaven King?

What?

Did Earth King need to report to his elder brother in advance whenever he made a friend?

No matter how much he admired his elder brother, he did not think something like this needed to be mentioned beforehand.

Besides, if he could bind Xu Xing firmly to Four Brightness Mountain in the name of sworn brotherhood, then even if his elder brother Mourning Heaven King learned of it, he would approve of what Earth King had done.

Not only would he avoid punishment, he might even be rewarded.

The next moment.

The wine and meat in the side room were cleared away and replaced with a table and an incense burner.

As well as a jar of fine burning knife liquor.

"I, Chang Kun, today become sworn brothers with Mr. Xu..."

Ghost Hand poured two bowls of wine, with Earth King and Xu Xing each taking one. The two stood together before the incense table and began stating their ages. Earth King was familiar with the rites of sworn brotherhood and was the first to recite the oath. "This elder brother is thirteen years older than Mr. Xu, so I shall call myself your elder brother. You already have two sworn brothers before me; I shall be the third, and you shall be the fourth brother..."

"I wonder what Mr. Xu thinks?"

Every word Earth King spoke took Xu Xing's dignity into consideration.

Each addressed the other in his own way.

He called Xu Xing "Mr. Xu," showing not the slightest air of superiority.

"Xu Xing lost his mother in childhood and lived half his life in loneliness... Born into a poor family, I carelessly landed in prison. If Third Brother had not risked his life to save me, this younger brother would already have been flayed, stuffed with straw, and left to stink for ten thousand years..."

"For Third Brother to acknowledge Xu Xing as his brother, Xu Xing is grateful from the depths of his heart."

Xu Xing raised his bowl of wine and looked at Earth King, his face full of gratitude.