Chapter 170: Different Paths but Same Destination

  "The Chu State has been holding back its troops, probably waiting for Ba and Shu to clash. The words of Ya Wen's poem first came to mind." Song Chuoyi stroked the cuff of his sleeve, gazing out through the window at the vast, dark rainy night.

  Zhuangzi's face floated up with a hint of unclear smile, but he didn't continue the topic, and instead said, "I don't know why, I seem to have a good impression of you."

  Before he could even react, Zhuangzi continued, "For no reason at all, I just want to pull you over and give you a good beating."

  Zhuangzi's true nature was straightforward, speaking his mind without hesitation. His words were often sharp and left people speechless. But Song Chu, having been tempered a thousand times, was different from ordinary people. He immediately grinned and said with great delight, "Thank you for granting me an audience, I am deeply honored."

  Zhuangzi gazed at her in silence for a moment before sighing and saying to himself, "The Tao is natural and spontaneous, how profound it is!"

  "The way of nature" has different meanings in different contexts, just like Zhuangzi's lamentation of the uniqueness of all things, which can be summed up in one sentence - what a vast and varied world we live in, where all sorts of strange things exist!

  Whether this remark is praise or contempt, it's easy to say while standing upright. If Zhuangzi knew that in his past life he had been infuriated by this freak to the point of nearly vomiting blood hundreds of times, I wonder what he would sigh about now.

  Chat all the way.

  Back at the inn, Song Chuizi had someone prepare a brazier, and the two of them spent the whole night drinking wine under the gentle rain.

  Zhuangzi got drunk and started talking nonsense, but strangely, his thinking was sharper than usual, and he spoke with perfect logic, without any confusion.

  When the wine was getting stronger, Song Yu took off his shoes and socks, let down his hair, held up a wine ladle and beat time with it while singing: "In the Northern Ocean there is a fish whose name is Kun. The Kun's size is unknown, several thousand miles. It transforms into a bird called Peng. The Peng's back is also unknown, several thousand miles; when angry and flying, its wings are like clouds hanging from the sky!"

  "The Wandering Daoist" is the article that Zhuangzi thought could most directly express his feelings. It was so infectiously delightful to Song Qi that he couldn't help but sing loudly, "In the north of the land of the Blazing Light, there is a dark sea, which is the Heavenly Pool! There is a fish in it, several thousand miles wide, and no one knows its length. Its name is Kun. There is a bird, named Peng, with a back like Mount Tai and wings like clouds hanging from the sky, rising up to 90,000 miles high, beyond the clouds and mist, carrying the blue sky on its back...

  The two of them sang with great enthusiasm. Feeling suffocated in the house, they ran to the courtyard and sang loudly towards the dark sky.

  The guards standing like pillars in the courtyard were all staring with their eyes wide open, looking at two madmen stretching their necks to sing some inexplicable things towards the sky in the rainy ground. For a moment, they were all stunned and no one came forward to stop them.

  The people of Shu had never seen the Taoist's unbridled extravagance before, and after reacting, they hurriedly went to report to the introducing envoy.

  Tonight's Wangcheng has three madmen. Doomed to be sleepless.

  On one side, the noise was so loud that people couldn't fall asleep. On the other side, Shu King was urging his generals to prepare for battle while forcing a group of civil officials who were dragged out of their warm beds to make a decision. He demanded that they must come up with a conclusion and only then would he allow them to go back home to sleep.

  The ministers did indeed discuss it seriously and felt that Qin's coming to negotiate trade during the turmoil of Ba-Shu was mostly not with good intentions, but if Qin was truly willing to trade, it would be worth a try. Therefore, this matter cannot be decided hastily. However, the King of Shu was extremely dissatisfied with this result and immediately requested a re-discussion.

  Everyone's heart was clear, King Wang had already decided to trade with Qin State! Now that he has summoned them, he wants to see if anyone can come up with enough reasons to persuade him. If not, the matter of trading is likely settled. It was then that everyone became truly tense.

  The army of Ba has approached Shu, and naturally there are stationed troops on the border to fight against them. However, from top to bottom, no one in Shu dares to be slack.

  The King of Shu was already annoyed because he couldn't get an erection, and the invasion by the State of Ba at this time was just a trigger. In his anger, he immediately wrote a letter to scold the King of Ba, calling him a dog, and had someone rush to deliver it in the rain.

  It seems to be escalating the conflict, but the two countries have been at odds for many years, and neither of their rulers will back down first. The King of Shu is clear-headed, and the old scoundrel King of Ba suddenly launches an attack, which must not be a momentary madness, nor will he easily give up. His cursing only serves to vent his anger and has no substantial impact on this war.

  Spent a chaotic night.

  The next morning, the overcast sky finally cleared up, and the long-awaited sunshine was exceptionally bright and beautiful. Unfortunately, some people didn't have the mood to appreciate it.

  In the inn, Zhuangzi and Song Chuyu were wrapped in a quilt, leaning against the stove, their faces pale, with a faint blue tint under their eyes, occasionally taking out a handkerchief to wipe their noses.

  "Sir." Gu Han put down two bowls of medicinal soup and handed them over to Zhuangzi and Song Chuyi separately.

  Yesterday evening, Gu Han heard that Bashu had started a war and thought of ways to go and gather information. When he came back, he saw Zhuangzi and Song Chuyi in the rain, and forcibly pulled the two from the rainy ground back, throwing them into the hot bath, but it was apparently too late.

  Guchan didn't know where to start blaming Song ChuYi, Zhuangzi was truly drunk and that's fine, but she who wasn't drunk actually led the way in acting wildly. As a Qin state envoy, making such a scene in another country had already lost all face for Great Qin, now Guchan was too lazy to say another word.

  "Sir, I just received news this morning that Bashu started a war last night, and the result is still unknown." Gu Han stared at Song Chu with an expressionless face, his eyes fixed on the steam rising from the medicine bowl.

  Song Chu put down his bowl and wiped his nose with a handkerchief, saying in a loud voice, "Have you found out the reason for the outbreak of war?"

  "I've never." Gu Han said with shame.

  This was within Song Chuyi's expectations, "Someone deliberately did it, and for a while, they naturally couldn't find out."

  "Sir's meaning is that Chu State intentionally provoked?"

  "It's not necessarily Chu State..." Song Chu Yi withdrew his gaze and looked at Zhuang Zi.

  Zhuangzi raised his eyes, with a calm and gentle expression on his face.

  Gu Xuan let out a sigh in her heart, looking at Zhuangzi who didn't seem like someone who would cause trouble. Indeed, being with Song Chuyi made him abnormal.

  Little did they know, this time Song ChuYi was truly wronged. The reason she had such an out-of-tune personality today was mostly thanks to Zhuang Zi.

  After a moment of silence, Zongzi spoke up, "Drinking with Huaijin is indeed refreshing, but since the sky has cleared today, I will leave this place after finishing this bowl of medicine."

  Song Chu smiled faintly, and his master still hated war as much as he did in memory, hating all the struggles for power. No one or anything could stop his footsteps, nor could illness.

  In his early years, Zhuangzi traveled among various countries with the mentality of promoting Daoist ideas. Although he was a Daoist like Laozi, he had more literary talent than Laozi. The romantic sentiments and unbridled freedom that permeated his writings were what people deeply aspired to in their hearts, so he was admired by many scholars.

  But monarchs only admired his literary elegance. Zhuangzi traveled to various countries, also serving as an official in some states, and came into contact with more and more politics, which made him increasingly disillusioned. The gap between dreams and reality was already huge, let alone Zhuangzi's dreams were even higher than ordinary people.

  "Freedom..." Song Chu muttered.

  Zhuangzi's expression changed slightly, "Hua Jin?"

  Song Chu suddenly came back to his senses, and with a sly smile on his face, he said, "Where there are people, there is **; where there are *, there are disputes. No matter what I do, you must believe that my pursuit and yours are different paths leading to the same destination. Freedom, the freedom of all people under heaven."

  Although these words were incoherent, Zhuangzi understood them. The sincerity in her eyes also moved Zhuangzi deeply.

  He never misjudges people, and this young man in front of him, who seems to be true and false, still has a heart of innocence. Hypocrisy and purity, two things that are so diametrically opposed, existing in a schemer, is really terrifying!

  Zhuangzi tilted his head back and drank all of the bitter medicine, put down the bowl, stood up and left.

  At the beginning of the Song Dynasty, a faint smile appeared on her face as she gazed at the slender figure in the distance, but a layer of mist had already shrouded her eyes.

  In his past life, he raised her from a young age and never constrained her personality or thoughts. When they finally found that their goals were at odds with each other, he simply sighed "the way of nature" and remained her master. But in this life, aside from the affection of raising her, their fate may have only gone so far.

  Kuang Yue looked at Song Chuyi in surprise, it was the first time he saw emotions other than playfulness and calmness on her face.

  "Go and investigate the reason for the deployment of troops in Zhābā, and pay attention to any movements in Mòguó." Sòng Chū ordered.

  Thinking of Wen Chou, now looking at him doesn't seem like the kind of person who would flee from the country. Why did the King of Wei release him after detaining him for half a year? The kingdoms of Wei and Zhao are currently engaged in an intense battle, they can't spare any troops to attack Ba-Shu. What other purpose could there be...

  Song Chu closed his eyes, and suddenly flashed back to the scene where he met Min Chi that day.

  At that time, they hadn't even exchanged blows yet, but he suddenly shot a cold arrow over, perhaps... declaring war on her? Or was it a warning or reminder?

  At the beginning of the Song Dynasty, she straightened her back and came to a rather absurd conclusion - the King of Wei had not let her go!

  Song Chu'er was very familiar with Min Chi, who would stop at nothing to achieve his goals, but was proud and arrogant. Having lost to her last time, he must be eager to get back twice as much, and he was definitely unwilling to do such a brainless thing as assassination. It can be guessed that although Min Chi has escaped from the cage, she is not the mastermind of this assassination, otherwise there would be no need to remind her in that way.

  Song Chu pinched the corner of her mouth, wiped her nose with a handkerchief again, and wrapped up the bedding to move it to the couch.

  Dazed and confused, Gu Xian didn't know how long he had been asleep before he finally came back.

  After waking up from her dream, Song Chuyi became much clearer-headed.

  Song reached out and took the teapot from the stove, poured himself a cup of hot water, and asked, "How long did I sleep?"

  "It will be just a moment." Gu Han said.

  Song Chu's hand paused slightly as he brought the cup to his lips and looked up at him, "You found out the results so quickly?"

  "Not yet, I've already made arrangements. Sorry to disturb you, sir, but there's another piece of news." Gu Han said somewhat reluctantly, "The Qin-Wei alliance is set to take place on New Year's Eve."

  It won't be long before it's all over!

  "There's still half a month."

  Song Chu couldn't help but ask, "Why are you making a face? Are you infatuated with Princess Wei or with His Highness?"