#208 - piece
The moment the system notification sounded in his mind, Wei Changtian instantly understood many things as if enlightened.
Ning Yongnian.
He handed over You Jia, but plundered Ning Yongnian's luck.
This undoubtedly indicated that You Jia and Ning Yongnian had a very close relationship.
And in the original book, there was only one such character—Dragon Finch!
You Dragon, Jia Finch...
You Jia was the damn Dragon Finch!
Although this discovery could not completely answer the various doubts in Wei Changtian's mind, it was definitely the most important thread in this mess of tangled threads.
By following this clue, everything might be solved!
“Swish swish swish swish!”
He used the Soaring Steps to the extreme, and in less than a dozen breaths, he had crossed the entire Sun Moon Lake and arrived at the bottom of the high platform.
He kept the system store open in his mind, ready to buy "God Strike" or "Pure Jade Pendant" at any time, and without slowing down, he stepped on the almost vertical wooden frame and leaped onto the high platform in a few flashes.
The cold night wind拂过, and there was no one in sight.
Were they gone?
He raised his eyes and glanced around, then walked to the wooden table in the center and reached out to touch the exquisite purple clay teapot.
The tea was warm, and even wisps of water vapor荡出 from the mouth of the pot.
“Pa!”
At this moment, another figure floated onto the high platform.
Qin Zhengqiu looked at Wei Changtian, who was lost in thought, and then looked at the beautiful teapot and teacups on the table, and asked in a deep voice:
“Changtian, what's wrong?”
“...”
Wei Changtian pondered for a long time, then shook his head and asked softly, “Grandpa, have you ever met the Emperor before?”
Qin Zhengqiu didn't know why Wei Changtian suddenly asked this, but he still answered truthfully, “I have, but it was many years ago.”
“Then...”
Wei Changtian asked quite seriously, “What kind of person is Ning Yongnian?”
The change in title from “Emperor” to “Ning Yongnian” stunned Qin Zhengqiu.
He seemed to vaguely guess something, and after thinking for a long time, he slowly said a sentence—
“Perhaps not a great emperor of the ages, but he has the ambition of the ages.”
“...”
This sentence sounded like it didn't say anything at first glance, but Wei Changtian thought about it for a long time after hearing it.
“Bang bang!”
“Clang clang clang!”
“Ah! Don't kill me!”
The distant sound of fighting came, and the battle on the shore of Sun Moon Lake was coming to an end.
It had to be said that the view from this high platform was excellent. As long as one raised their eyes, they could clearly see all the movements on the entire Sun Moon Lake.
A picture suddenly appeared in Wei Changtian's mind.
A man in casual clothes sat here, strategizing, drinking tea, and overlooking the drama at his feet, his face full of the composure and playfulness of a superior.
Shen Ran, Su Wu, Liu Zongliang, Yan Shuyuan, the wandering monks of the Lotus Temple...
Everyone seemed to be actors on a stage, doing their best to “perform” a pre-determined plot.
Including himself.
So... this is the feeling of being used as a pawn by others?
Wei Changtian narrowed his eyes slightly and clenched his fists with both hands.
He didn't know if he had Ning Yongnian's ability to plan, and he didn't know if he had the strength to support a huge layout.
But one thing was certain, and that was—
He might not be a chess player, but he would never be reduced to anyone's pawn again.
“Grandpa.”
Turning to look at Qin Zhengqiu, Wei Changtian said softly:
“Take a rest for now, we still have something to do later.”
An hour later.
The border between Shu Prefecture and An Prefecture, Little Pearl Mountain.
The abandoned mountain temple was dilapidated, and the arrival of a group of people startled a few birds perched on the branches sleeping.
The Great Ning had established Taoism as the state religion hundreds of years ago. Although there was no explicit prohibition against the people believing in Buddhism, Buddhism naturally declined with the ebb and flow.
Therefore, ancient temples like this that were abandoned due to lack of incense were not uncommon in the entire Great Ning.
“Who is it?”
In the dilapidated main hall of the temple, a few merchants who were staying overnight heard the movement and immediately picked up various weapons around them and walked out of the main hall cautiously.
However, when they saw that the people who came were a group of bald-headed wandering monks, they all breathed a sigh of relief.
Staying overnight in this wilderness, the most feared thing was encountering young and beautiful women, followed by monsters, and then bandits.
As for the strict Buddhist people, it should be the least dangerous situation.
“Don't blame us, esteemed monks.”
One of the men smiled, put away his weapon, and cupped his hands, “We are merchants traveling to this mountain and happened to be resting in the temple. We came out to check when we heard the movement just now.”
“Are you also planning to stay here overnight, esteemed monks? Why don't you come into the hall and warm yourselves by the fire!”
“Thank you, benefactor.”
Jing Yuan nodded with a smile, and then followed the merchants into the main hall.
A bonfire was burning in the hall, and the flickering firelight illuminated several dilapidated Buddha statues.
Since the temple was abandoned, these Buddhas naturally didn't have a good end.
Not to mention missing arms and legs, the surface was also pitted and uneven, and the golden clothes that once covered them were long gone.
Some of the Buddha statues even had no heads.
“Esteemed monk, don't be sad.”
Seeing Jing Yuan staring at the headless Buddhas in a daze, a merchant couldn't help but comfort him, “Those who steal the Buddha's heads will be punished sooner or later.”
“Amitabha.”
Jing Yuan uttered a Buddhist chant and sighed to himself, “Alas, seeing this scene, I can't help but feel悲凉.”
“Several benefactors, I wonder if you can help this poor monk with a favor?”
“Help?”
The merchants exchanged glances and tentatively asked, “Esteemed monk, please tell us about it?”
“It's actually very simple.”
Jing Yuan turned to look at the few people, put his hands together and bowed slightly.
“This poor monk wants to borrow your heads to make up for the shortcomings of these headless Buddha statues.”
“Several benefactors, this is a great merit.”
“...”
“Chirp! Chirp chirp!”
The moon was dark and the wind was high, and the birds that had been startled away earlier flew back to the temple, greedily鸣叫 towards the main hall.
All the Buddha statues had been “completed” intact, and gurgling blood flowed down the Buddha's body. Although there were no “golden clothes”, there were “red clothes”.
“Amitabha.”
Jing Yuan stood in front of the several “human-headed Buddhas”, respectfully performed a Buddhist salute, and then turned to look at the woman slumped on the ground.
The firelight flickered, illuminating You Jia's beautiful face and calm eyes.
Anyone who saw the scene just now would probably be scared half to death, but she didn't seem to care at all, and there wasn't even a trace of fear in her eyes.
Or rather, there were no emotions at all.
No struggle, no despair, no regret, no remorse...
Because You Jia knew it all too well.
From the moment Wei Changtian chose to hand her over, she was already a discarded pawn.
A pawn abandoned by the man she loved most.
And since she was a discarded pawn, what did it matter whether she lived or died?
