#610 - Death Soldier
The carriage sped along the uneven official road, bathed in the morning sun, the sound of its wheels echoing within the carriage.
Breathing quickening in an instant, Wei Changtian, understanding Li Zimu's meaning, almost immediately thought of a term:
Subconscious.
Clearly, the "unnoticed thoughts" that Li Zimu was referring to were the subconscious.
Of course, while the term "subconscious" was a concept from his previous life, it didn't mean that people in this world had no similar concept.
So the name didn't matter, what mattered was what Li Zimu had just said.
“All seemingly random choices are actually determined by these hidden thoughts.”
“Young Master, do you believe that if you could do it again, ten times, a hundred times, you would still choose the South Gate?”
“This is not fate, it is the mind.”
“...”
Looking at the slightly immature face opposite him, Wei Changtian would not have believed that these words came from the mouth of a teenage girl if he hadn't heard them with his own ears.
But Li Zimu had indeed said so.
And she said it with absolute certainty.
At this moment, Wei Changtian could completely confirm that Li Zimu had abilities beyond ordinary people.
To put it modestly, it was called "meticulous thinking"; to put it exaggeratedly, it was called "mind reading."
Unlike Chu Xianping's powerful layout and scheming abilities, Li Zimu might not be able to use lies and conspiracies to do some "impossible" things.
But she could understand people's minds.
How did this ability come about? Why did it appear in such an ordinary farmer's daughter?
Wei Changtian had no idea about the above questions.
However...
“Li girl, are you willing to become a death warrior for the Wei family?”
“...”
Yang Liushi's expression changed to one of surprise after Wei Changtian said this.
Perhaps in her opinion, with Li Zimu's ability, she could at least be on par with Chu Xianping in the future, so the identity of a death warrior was too "unfair" to her.
But Li Zimu's expression did not change at all, as if she had expected this, and she simply nodded slightly.
“Since Young Master has saved me twice, then my life should belong to Young Master.”
“I am willing to serve Young Master.”
“Good.”
Wei Changtian nodded slightly, paused, and asked:
“Where are your parents buried?”
“...”
Li Zimu's eyes froze, and a very complicated emotion flashed in her eyes.
She knew why Wei Changtian asked this question.
Since she was going to be a death warrior for the Wei family from now on, she would naturally have to "say goodbye" to everything in the past.
“J-Just, just in Xiaogang Mountain north of the city...”
Weeds covered the ground, and rocks were scattered everywhere.
Perhaps because it was not yet spring, Xiaogang Mountain was desolate at this time. Besides the bare dwarf trees, the most common thing on the mountain was tombs, some new and some old.
Most of the people killed by bandits were buried here, and Li Zimu's parents were no exception.
“Young Master, how do you plan to use the Li girl?”
Yang Liushi asked Wei Changtian in a low voice, looking at Li Zimu kneeling in front of the two closely adjacent tombs and kowtowing: “It is rare for her to have such abilities, don’t treat her like a beast of burden.”
“When have I ever treated anyone like a beast of burden?”
Wei Changtian crossed his arms and curled his lips: “Besides, whether she really has the ability or not cannot be judged by this one thing alone.”
“I will test her a few more times in the future. If she handles it well, then I will naturally value her.”
“Phew, that’s good.”
Yang Liushi breathed a sigh of relief: “The Li girl is a pitiful person. I hope she can forget those unbearable past events as soon as possible in the future.”
“I guess she won’t be able to forget.”
Wei Changtian shook his head: “Her parents both died at the hands of thieves, and she was also defiled by bandits. Whoever it is would hold a grudge for a lifetime.”
“...”
Yang Liushi lowered her eyes, seemingly unable to bear to look at Li Zimu's thin back, and said in a somewhat helpless voice:
“Since the Li girl can read people’s minds, I don’t know why she would fall into the hands of bandits...”
“Alas, what’s the use of reading people’s minds, it can’t beat the bandits’ knives.”
Wei Changtian sighed: “Besides, it is also possible that she did it on purpose to avenge her parents, who knows?”
“Why don’t you just ask her, Young Master?”
“Forget it, it’s meaningless.”
“Hmm.”
“...”
The mountain wind blew, sending the faint sound of crying into Wei Changtian and Yang Liushi's ears.
And not long after the sobbing stopped, the two saw Li Zimu finally standing up shakily.
She seemed to bow to the two tombs with some reluctance, then quickly wiped the corners of her eyes, lowered her head, and walked back step by step.
“Are you alright?”
Wei Changtian glanced at Li Zimu's red eyes and didn't say much.
“Let’s go.”
“Yes, Master...”
“No need to call me Master, just call me Young Master like Zhang San.”
“Yes, Young Master.”
“Okay.”
“...”
Just like that.
As the sun in the east had completely risen, and golden light shone on the earth, the three carriages finally left the boundary of Zhongling and continued north towards the capital.
From originally wanting to see the "changes" in Zhongling, to acting righteously in a fit of anger, to inexplicably taking in a death warrior with "mind reading" abilities...
Wei Changtian, who was enjoying the protagonist's treatment of "finding treasures even when traveling" for the first time, didn't seem too happy, and kept his eyes closed on the road, wondering what he was thinking.
And by noon, the Tanzhou Prefecture Office had also replied.
“Young Master, Lord Feng, the governor of Tanzhou, said that he would immediately send troops to Zhongling to wipe out all the remaining bandits in the city, and the new county magistrate would also go to take office. The Prefecture Office would also take out money to comfort the people who suffered from the banditry.”
“Lord Feng guarantees that such things will never happen again, and he is also prepared to go to the capital to see you and apologize to you and Ning Wenjun in person.”
The banditry that had not stopped for two years was immediately resolved because of a word from Wei Changtian, and even the governor of a prefecture had to come to apologize in person.
This undoubtedly proved how great the Wei family's influence in Da Ning was now.
“Tell that Lord Feng, there is no need to apologize, I don’t have the time.”
Wei Changtian replied to Zhang San, and then stopped talking, and the carriage returned to silence.
Li Zimu opposite had already changed into a set of Yang Liushi's clothes, which were a bit loose for her, but at least they were better than Wei Changtian's outer robe.
She didn't seem to have heard the conversation between Wei Changtian and Zhang San just now, and had been staring blankly with her head lowered.
Obviously, she should not have recovered from the "separation" from her parents yet.
“Young Master, I want to hear you complete that poem now.”
Suddenly, Yang Liushi's voice broke the silence.
“Hmm?”
Wei Changtian was slightly stunned, his eyes fell on Li Zimu, as if he understood what Yang Liushi meant.
“When will the moon be clear and bright? With a cup of wine, I ask the blue sky. I do not know what year it is tonight in the palaces in heaven...”
He did not hesitate, and then slowly recited "Shui Diao Ge Tou".
Although this was a Mid-Autumn Festival poem, and it was written about the night scene, whether it was the time or the scenery, it was far from the present.
But as soon as the first two sentences came out, Yang Liushi's eyes froze, and Li Zimu also raised her head in a daze.
Wei Changtian's voice in the carriage was neither loud nor soft, and outside the carriage was a flat plain with a vast expanse of sky and earth.
Yellow earth rolled for thousands of miles, bare mountains stretched endlessly, and the desolate earth was silent.
Under the sky, only three carriages were speeding lonely, leaving Zhongling City far behind, heading straight for the stormy Da Ning capital.
“...”
“People have sorrow, joy, separation, and reunion; the moon has its dimness, brightness, fullness, and crescent. This imperfection has been since ancient times.”
“I only wish that people will live long, and though miles apart, we’ll share the beauty of the moon together.”
