Chapter 17: Chapter 17

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio  Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Wei Shuye was livid, and the phlegm disgustingly stuck to his robe. However, he did not wipe it off but just sucked his teeth as he gazed upon the mess of corpses, and his eyes filled with hatred.

“Major General,” Jiang He sighed and walked forward and said in a deep voice, “our country does not have money to provide for these people. The elders will not sponsor the building of their quarters. You are the grandson of Wei, you need to respect your family’s wishes and protect your interests.”

Wei Shuye felt something hot pounding on his chest. His eyes were bloodshot and he was speechless. Jiang He frowned and signalled to his soldiers with a wave and a slight nod. The soldiers understood his command and instantly raised their knives to resume the killing.

“Bad guys!” a crisp voice rang. At the back of the crowd, a small face appeared from a mother’s embrace. There was no sign of tears but both eyes were red as he shouted, “Liar, you promised that you would bring us to the country to live in protected houses. You said that everyone wouldn’t have to worry about food or clothes, you said…”

An arrow instantly shot out. General Jiang He was very accurate and stopped the child’s speech as the arrow pierced through his mouth and blood spurted out from his head.

“Take action!” Jiang He withdrew his sabre as he commanded with rage.

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“Stop!” The young Major General rushed towards the child and pushed away two soldiers in his path.

Jiang He raged, “Hold onto Major General!” The soldiers immediately rushed forward skilfully and held onto Wei Shuye tightly. The inhumane killing resumed and blood flowed everywhere, mixing in with the soil. The shrill of an eagle could be heard overhead, making this massacre even more frightening with the symbol of death circling above. A big hole was dug, and the few hundred corpses were thrown inside, with soil quickly added to fill it up. The soldiers rode their horses and repeatedly trampled over the ground. With the snow falling rapidly, the blood-stained ground was covered up, along with the heinous and ugly act of murder.

The handsome child of the illustrious family had lost his composure in front of his subordinates over a bunch of lowly peasants.

“Major General,” Jiang He walked forward and said after seeing him staring at the snowy ground, “you shouldn’t be like that. They are from a lowly race, with lowly blood flowing inside them. But you shouldn’t oppose orders because of that. Your uncle has high expectations of you. Without you, your brothers won’t have a leader. They are waiting for your return.”

Seeing no response from Wei Shuye, Jiang He sighed and retreated, galloping back with his team. They disappeared within a short moment.

The young man stood there for a long time as the snowstorm brewed. This lantern festival felt especially cold. The two children hiding behind the slope were shocked when the noble Major General of Wei Fa fell on his knees and kowtowed to the dead before climbing back onto his horse and galloping away.

After a while, the snowfall didn’t seem to be stopping. The child shifted her stiff, frozen feet and swayed forward.

“What are you doing?” Yan Xun was puzzled and stood up, stunned.

The child turned around with a calm expression, but her gaze was flickering. “I’m from a lowly race with lowly blood flowing inside me. You shouldn’t be standing next to me. Since we are treading a different path, let’s part early.”

Yan Xun stood at the back and stared longingly, thinking that she could tear open the degenerate world. The snow was fluffy and their footprints slowly became further apart as they headed into the heart of the Yan Empire.

Behind the vermilion gates of the rich, meat and wine went to waste; but along the road, the bones of the poor froze to death. Just as the Xia Dynasty claimed that there wasn’t money to provide for those of the other race and massacred them instead, the city sang and danced to extol the good times with a vibrant collage of colors. The beauty’s waist was slim like a willow, her skin glistening like jade, with a sweet smile and toned arms. Those “hardworking” statesmen of the Xia dynasty removed their robes and were provided sensual experiences.

Outside, icicles formed and snow accumulated. The silk strips fluttered on the various lit lanterns. The lantern festival was a time for national jubilation, even for those women. At this moment, the hurried steps of horses disrupted the lead master of the Wei family Wei Guang’s sweet dream. The white-bearded but still good-looking elder, squinted his eyes and waved off the dozens of women covered in makeup surrounding him. The women straightened their clothes and half-kneeled on the floor before retreating, without daring to lift their heads.

Wei Guang lifted his teacup, took a deep breath and gradually leaned on his soft bed. The burner released a cloud of incense slowly. The smoke drifted like a graceful dragon gradually floating up. Watching it seemed a little dreamy.

A respectful voice came from outside, “Master, Master Shuye is here.”

He should be here. The elder raised his eyebrow slightly. He was here slightly earlier than expected and wasted the lady Jade’s efforts to please. With a low voice, the elder said, “Let him in.”

The doors slid open and a young man entered the most luxurious room in the prostitute den. His moon-white colored robe was so simple and plain that it almost should not have been seen on such a noble person. Wei Shuye was gloomy and without any pretext, he asked the elder, “Why?”

Wei Guang obviously knew what he was implying. He squinted his eyes and without even looking at him, he slowly said, “When you see an elder, you don’t pay your respects? Are these the manners I taught you?”

Wei Shuye frowned as the candle in the corner of the room crackled. Time slowly passed and the young man finally lowered his head and said, “Uncle.”

“Not all matters in the world can be divided into right and wrong. Jing Er is younger than you but you need to go learn from him at this point.”

Wei Shuye crumpled his face and deeply said, “Then why did you send me there? I promised them…”

“You are Wei’s successor in line for the head of the Xia Dynasty, with royal blood flowing in your veins. You are part of the most well-respected family in the country, you need not makes promises to a bunch of lowly peasants. Their meaning in life is to lose it when the time comes, to sacrifice for their country. You did not make a mistake, and do not need to feel guilty, and shouldn’t even be here to question your uncle,” The elder cut off Shu Ye’s words and said sternly.

Wei Shuye shook his head and frowned. “Uncle, this is not what you taught me in the past.”

“Because I was naïve like you in the past and it resulted in your father’s death in the internal strife of our family.” Wei Guang opened his eyes and his gaze glistened with emotion. He slowly turned around and stared at Wei Shuye and spoke slowly, “The winner is the predator while the weak stay as prey. The world is like that. Ye Er, after all these years, you still don’t understand?”

“Uncle,” Wei Shuye’s expression was stern, “the country needs people to go westwards to open up the lands. The youths of their race believed in me and headed there. Why don’t the elders take care of their families? They travelled thousands of miles to follow me to the capital because you already promised that I would construct residences for them. They left their own houses, gave up their nomadic lifestyle, just because I promised them!” Wei Shuye emotionally lifted the incense on Wei Guang’s table and shouted angrily, “You said the country didn’t have the money to provide for them, then what’s this? This is incense from the Song Empire. Just one bundle of this costs two hundred gold coins. Two hundred gold coins can feed their entire tribe for ten years!”

Wei Guang’s expression remained unchanged as he calmly listened to Wei Shuye’s rant. The atmosphere was all set for a showdown and was filled with the youth’s rage. After a long while, the elder gently smiled and calmly said, “Ye Er, you went with Major General Zhi Lu to settle the civil discord, which ended disappointingly. It is unknown if he’s dead or alive, but you can still argue here with me. Why is that so?”

Wei Shuye was taken aback, the indignation frozen on his face, and he had no words to reply.

“You can still be standing here intact because your surname is Wei. I know you empathize with those peasants and repel the ideology of discrimination. But even though you hate this status, you are still Wei’s descendant, my nephew. What you enjoyed from the time you were born was all provided by the family. All that you ate and used, status and power, were all from the family. It will never change. A person who has enjoyed the privileges this whole time do not have the right to curse it.” Wei Guang took a deep breath and leaned on the bed, his chest rising briefly, his voice deep and with a hint of despair. “Everything in this world happens for a reason. Today, the reason that it was the Weis who massacred the Biantas, not the Biantas massacred the Weis, was because the Weis have been fighting for the growth and prosperity of our family since three hundred years ago. Three hundred years down the road, Wei family protected the frontier and guarded land of our empire, and won many distinctive battles. While the Biantas were roaming around, the children of the our Wei family were already learning skills for war, learning the ways of business, starting to dodge away from schemes secretly planned against them. The Wei family is part of the seven big clans but these nomads are diminishing. Child, the heavens are fair, they are never in favor of anyone. The reason they lost is because they never gave enough. No weakling should blame the strong for bullying them. To not be preyed on, they can only get stronger themselves. Today, you are here pitying them. If all descendants thought like you, those that were killed today would have been your siblings.”

Wei Shuye stood still and his face still tensed. He could not speak what he wanted to say.

Wei Guang gradually stood up as he extended his arm to pat his shoulder. “Ye Er, your uncle is old already and can’t protect all of you for long. When I am not around, who will protect the family? Who will protect my children against others’ attacks? Who can protect my daughters from getting played? Who can protect all of you? Will it be you?”

The doors opened and a wave of music floated in with a mesmerising essence. The elders’ footsteps gradually distanced. Wei Shuye stood up straight and felt his shoulders burning. What was pressing down on him was an invisible burden. It was a huge responsibility which he wanted to shake off but couldn’t.

The sky was pitch black, but it wasn’t as dark as his heart. The demons remained in his thoughts as they swallowed his morals. The struggle was pointless. Ultimately, he sighed and remained speechless.