Scheming

After a moment, Gu Yuanqing's voice came from the courtyard.

"You may go. I understand."

Yuan Yingsong seemed dissatisfied with this answer. He kowtowed again and shouted, "The Crimson Dragon Cult has brought calamity upon the world and slaughtered innocents wantonly. I beg Young Master Gu to agree to leave the mountain and save the people of Great Gan from fire and water."

Gu Yuanqing sat in the courtyard, looking coldly at Yuan Yingsong outside the gate.

Yuan Yingsong knelt and cried out once more, his voice ringing across all of North Spring Mountain.

"Who told you to do this?" Gu Yuanqing asked evenly.

Yuan Yingsong's expression changed slightly outside the courtyard gate. He did his utmost to suppress the changes in his heartbeat and spoke in a deep voice, "No one told me to do this. The Crimson Dragon Cult's crimes have outraged both man and god. They slaughtered tens of thousands of Great Gan Soldiers, and even Grandmaster Zhou Yin, the God Catcher, died at their hands. In all the world, no one but Young Master Gu can stand against them. Therefore, Yuan here pleads on behalf of all living beings and dares to ask you to descend the mountain and slay the demons."

Gu Yuanqing said calmly, "Do you take me for someone who truly dares not kill you?"

"Young Master's cultivation is peerless. If you believe I have offended you, then kill or carve me as you please—I will submit to whatever you choose. I only hope you will pity the suffering of the world and strike down the Crimson Dragon Cult disciples, lest the people be plunged into scorched earth and the Great Gan Dynasty fall into the Demon Realm."

Gu Yuanqing remained unmoved and said in an even tone, "It seems His Majesty was not the one who sent you. If it were an imperial order, such methods would not have been used. You need not conceal it either. The one who came to invite me would not have been you, but Eunuch Xu or Prince Qing. You spread these words throughout the area around North Spring Mountain not to ask me to leave the mountain, but to force me into action. The person who could make the dignified Deputy Commander of Divine Eagle Guard risk his own family and life for their use could not be an ordinary person."

"I have already said it. Everything I have done was for the people of the world. If Young Master cherishes his own life and is unwilling to act, there is no need to use such excuses to slander me." Yuan Yingsong shouted, his tone filled with grief and indignation.

Gu Yuanqing continued to watch Yuan Yingsong impassively through Mountain Observation. In this state, he could sense Yuan Yingsong's true emotions.

There was fear, anger, panic, and unease. The only thing absent was the righteous composure of pleading for the common people that he had spoken of!

Gu Yuanqing gave a soft laugh. "What a fine calculation. Either I leave the mountain and fight someone to the death, or I earn the reputation of being selfish and self-serving, heedless of the people. No matter what, someone gets to reap the fisherman's profit. But General Yuan, have you considered this? Even if I do not kill you, as the deputy commander of the Divine Eagle Guard's Imperial Guards, you are supposed to obey only imperial orders. Yet now you seek to force me into action for an outsider. What sort of end will await you in the future?"

"Do not spout nonsense! Yuan is loyal to His Majesty; heaven, earth, sun, and moon can bear witness!" Yuan Yingsong shouted in anger and humiliation.

"You need not argue. You know right from wrong yourself. As for what the Emperor will think in the future, that has nothing to do with me. The only thing I am curious about is who bears such a deep grudge against me that they insist on scheming against me at a time like this?"

Over the past year, Gu Yuanqing had truly come to understand what it meant to be in the martial world and unable to act as one wished. Though he had confined himself in the deep mountains and had little contact with the outside world, one matter after another still came knocking.

Yuan Yingsong forced himself to remain calm. "Since Young Master is unwilling to act, then each man has his own aspirations and cannot be compelled. Yuan has been presumptuous. I shall take my leave!"

As he spoke, Yuan Yingsong rose and prepared to leave.

With a creak, the courtyard gate swung wide open, and Gu Yuanqing stepped outside.

Boundless pressure suddenly surged toward Yuan Yingsong. The air around him, though he had only just risen, froze solid. The immense pressure forced him back to his knees, and no matter what he did, he could not stand again.

"Since General Yuan enjoys kneeling so much, why not kneel a while longer? Since you dared come here to play tricks, why hurry to leave? Wouldn't you agree?"

Gu Yuanqing glanced behind him. A chair flew out of thin air and landed behind him, and he sat down naturally.

Yuan Yingsong could no longer maintain his composure. His eyes widened in fury as he shouted, "Gu Yuanqing, a warrior may be killed but not humiliated! If you are unwilling to act, you still cannot insult me like this!"

Gu Yuanqing could sense the panic beneath his apparent rage. He looked at him coldly and said mildly, "You rely on your status as a commander of the Imperial Guards, believing I dare not kill you. Perhaps in your eyes, killing you means opposing the Imperial Court. But to me, killing you is simply killing you. I am still young; doing something impulsive is perfectly normal. Would the Imperial Court truly make trouble with me over a mere True Martial Eighth Layer?"

Yuan Yingsong's expression changed slightly.

"Young Master Gu, do not misunderstand. I... I was only somewhat impulsive because tens of thousands of soldiers died at the hands of the Crimson Dragon Cult. There truly is nothing like what Young Master imagines."

Gu Yuanqing remained unmoved.

"Let me make a guess. The Crimson Dragon Cult has attacked two Demon Realm Seal sites in succession. It seems their objective is the Demon Realm Seal. Now the Crimson Dragon Cult is heading toward the royal capital, and General Yuan bears responsibility for guarding the Seal, so you will be the first to face them. With death hanging over your head, someone happened to give General Yuan this idea."

Yuan Yingsong stubbornly insisted, "I do not understand what Young Master Gu is talking about."

Gu Yuanqing continued, "That person promised that, as long as you succeeded, they would surely find a way to transfer you out of here soon. I have been wondering who it was that could make General Yuan believe he had the power to accomplish such a thing!"

Yuan Yingsong's face changed completely. He could not understand how Gu Yuanqing knew so much. Then, suddenly thinking of something, he pointed at Gu Yuanqing. "That night... it was you outside!"

Gu Yuanqing smiled faintly. "I had merely happened to cultivate a new concealment technique. The Imperial Guards' important grounds at the foot of the mountain seemed like a good place to test it. I did not expect to see something related to myself."

Yuan Yingsong's face turned ashen. For a moment, he did not know how to defend himself.

Gu Yuanqing continued, "General Yuan, since that is the case, let us speak plainly. Tell me who plotted against me, and perhaps I can let you leave."

Yuan Yingsong did not speak for a long time. At last, he took a deep breath. "Kill or carve me as you please. Yuan was inferior in skill and admits defeat!"

Gu Yuanqing frowned slightly. At this moment, he could sense Yuan Yingsong's resolve. It was as though he had already prepared himself for death, completely unlike his earlier appearance of calm while inwardly panicking.

Yuan Yingsong closed his eyes and said nothing more, as though he had accepted his fate.

"Then keep kneeling. When you have thought it through, we can talk again!"

Gu Yuanqing rose, carried the chair back into the courtyard, selected a book from the study, and began reading it carefully.

At dusk, Feng Tao brought dinner. When she saw Yuan Yingsong kneeling before the courtyard gate, she panicked and nearly dropped the food box.

After repeatedly bowing to Yuan Yingsong, she entered the courtyard uneasily.

Facing Gu Yuanqing, she pointed outside the courtyard.

Gu Yuanqing smiled faintly, his voice sounding directly in Feng Tao's heart.

"Auntie, do not mind him. He is a dignified general—let him do whatever he likes."

A new month had begun. Well, happy holidays, and please send some votes while you are at it~