Chapter 361: 361. Dare or not?

Translator: 549690339

When Gu Ling and Su Liang first met, they exchanged their greatest secrets, Gu Ling’s special ability and Su Liang’s time-traveling adventure.

At that time, they discussed why Gu Ling should help strangers when he sees the black fog. He is inherently kind, but his kindness is not proactive. Most of the time, he wishes to have nothing to do with outsiders.

He regarded the special ability given to him by heaven as a mission to be fulfilled, not wanting it to disappear due to his own passivity. Because perhaps, after saving one hundred strangers, he would have the chance to save those he cares about, which would be worth it.

Gu Ling initially asked Su Liang to stay by his side to help him with the “missions.” Indeed, they rescued some people together.

If mistakes were made, Gu Ling had made them in his childhood when his abilities were limited. Since obtaining high-level martial arts, he has successfully intervened in the lives of those with black fog in their brows.

However, the only exception was Situ Jing.

By coincidence, Situ Jing had been poisoned, and at the time, he had disguised himself as one of their people. They didn’t know he was a spy, and he had poison as part of a ruse. He had the antidote in his hand and didn’t need Su Liang and Gu Ling to save him.

What Gu Ling should have done was to stop Situ Jing from killing the servant who had inadvertently overheard the secret.

“But what about General Yuan?” Gu Ling asked Su Liang after a moment of silence.

During that incident, three people died. One was a servant killed by Situ Jing to silence them, another was General Yuan, and the last was Fan Tong, the killer of General Yuan.

In fact, whether Situ Jing was in Jiaye City or not, and even if he hadn’t been there, it would not have affected Situ Xie’s plan. Neither of them needed him to take action.

Su Liang sighed, “Situ Xie is the root of all evils. Situ Jing should pay for what he has done, but the price may be in the form of observing penance.”

It was because Situ Jing intervened in the Jiaye City incident, and his identity was special, not a simple spy. He changed the timing of the attack for Lian Shun’s family, knowing what the consequences would be. This subtle change ultimately led to Situ Xie’s major conspiracy falling through, forcing him to marry off his granddaughter to Emperor Qian and save his grandson.

Indeed, it can be said that Situ Jing should have been honest with Lian Shun and Su Liang from the beginning and chosen the right path. However, one cannot ignore the fact that he had been brainwashed and coerced by Situ Xie since childhood and mentally abused by the Che family’s parents. His so-called master, Nangong Lin, had also been leading him astray.

When Situ Jing defended himself, he said that no one had experienced what he had gone through, and no one could empathize with him.

That was indeed true.

Su Liang believed that Situ Jing had feelings for the Che parents, especially their mother.

He also had feelings for Lian Shun, even though he made the wrong choice, but this cannot be denied.

People are not extreme, not just black and white. Even now, Situ Jing’s human side and his struggle can still be seen.

Qiao Cong has never given up on his grandson Situ Jing, and Su Liang began to review everything she knew about Situ Jing after witnessing the events in the Heavenly Prison today.

Putting aside all emotional matters and looking at it from a practical and long-term perspective, Su Liang also felt that this could not continue.

As it was a mistake, it should be corrected as soon as possible.

Gu Ling sighed softly, “I have a prejudice against him.” As Su Liang’s lover, Gu Ling is sensitive to other men who admire Su Liang. He knows that Situ Jing is jealous of him mainly because of Su Liang.

So Gu Ling did not want to see Situ Jing and did not consider the matter of Nanshan City.

Gu Ling is a very simple and straightforward person, and he likes people like that, not just Su Liang, but also Lian Shun, as well as Xing Yusheng who seemed to have no special abilities.

However, he admitted that he despised Situ Jing, whose forehead seemed to read, “I’m the most miserable, why can’t you understand me?”.

Still, Gu Ling acknowledged that Situ Jing’s past was indeed miserable. It was more miserable than his own, though he had a bad father. But he was not controlled by anyone, and he lived a simple but free life alone most of the time. He didn’t have emotional burdens, while Situ Jing had to carry them as he grew up.

“So, we’ve reached an agreement?” Su Liang smiled, “I’ll talk to him tomorrow and see what he’s really thinking.”

Gu Ling shook his head, “I’ll talk to him.”

Su Liang raised an eyebrow, “Request to listen in.”

Gu Ling nodded, “Not allowed to show yourself.”

“Understood.” Su Liang chuckled, “Did our little god grow up today?”

A little bit.” Gu Ling gestured with her hand.

It rained in the middle of the night and it hadn’t stopped by the early morning.

Chang’an came to the Liang Country Inn and told Situ Jing that his foster parents had died last night and asked how he would like their bodies to be handled.

Situ Jing quietly listened while holding his teacup, and didn’t immediately speak, gazing at the rain outside through the window. Last night, he had dreamt about his teenage years again. His foster father was very strict with him, claiming it was for his own good, while his foster mother felt sorry for him being arranged to be a spy at such a young age, always secretly comforting him behind his foster father’s back, telling him it would be fine, so long as he followed the orders of his master, everything would be alright.

Ever since he was a child, Situ Jing had always been surrounded by these words “As long as you listen, everything will be fine” … Everyone who knew he was Situ Jing said this phrase to him – Situ Xie, Nangong Lin, his foster parents, those responsible for conveying Situ Xie’s intentions…

Chang’an patiently waited, seeing the grief in Situ Jing’s eyes, but it quickly vanished.

“It’s for the best.” Situ Jing finally spoke, trying to appear relaxed, but the tear at the corner of his eye betrayed him. “They’ve finally reunited as a family, which is good.”

That’s how he thought of it, asking Duanmu Chen to give them a quick and painless death to send them on their way. But when the moment truly came to articulate it, it still felt unbearable. He thought he could face this matter with ease, but in fact, he had been avoiding facing his foster parents, fearing their fate.

After all, it was they who had raised him and provided the most companionship. They were the people he had called his mother and father for twenty years. Even though he was very disappointed in them and felt they weren’t kind enough, he still found himself understanding their grief of losing their child after feeling disappointed…

This complex and contradicting struggle accompanied him in the past, and now it seemed as if he could finally break free. However, in that instant, the pain was almost too overwhelming for him to catch his breath.

“Prince Situ, please accept my condolences.” Chang’an said, “The Emperor asked me to inquire about how you would like to have the bodies of those two people handled?”

After another moment of silence, Situ Jing said, “Please bring them to me.”

Chang’an hesitated for a moment, “Bring them to the inn?”

Situ Jing nodded.

“Alright.” Chang’an complied and quickly excused himself to leave.

Not long after, the bodies of his foster parents were brought to the Liang Country Inn.

While waiting for the bodies to be delivered, Situ Jing sent his subordinates to buy two coffins in the city and bring them back.

When Situ Jing received the news, the coffins and the bodies had just entered the gate of the inn one after another.

“Second Prince, what is this for?” Situ Jing smelled a strong stench, which was the smell that came from the Heavenly Prison.

Duanmu Chen had instructed Chang’an to follow Situ Jing’s orders but that didn’t include helping with the cleanup of the bodies.

“These are my foster parents.” Situ Jing said, gesturing for the coffins and bodies to be carried into the inn’s main hall.

Situ Jing forcefully suppressed his anger, “Second Prince, they are criminals sentenced to death by Qian Country.”

If a prince from Liang Country were to publicly hold a funeral for his foster parents, it would be a slap in the face of the Liang royal family! It would let the world know that the Liang royal family sent their prince to Qian Country as a spy!

Although it wasn’t a secret, Situ Jing’s actions in paying tribute to his foster parents would make the Liang royal family a laughing stock to the people of Qian Country, not to mention that Duanmu Chen’s series of actions in collaboration with Situ Jing seemed kind, but in reality, they were all mocking the Liang royal family.

Upon hearing Situ Jing’s words, Situ Jing turned around and walked towards him.

Both were holding umbrellas, which collided and were thrown away by Situ Jing, who also knocked the umbrella out of Situ Jing’s hand, approached, placed his hand on Situ Jing’s shoulder, and looked at him with icy eyes, “What did you say? Say it again?”

Situ Jing’s heart sank! This was Situ Jing’s true face! He never considered himself a member of the Situ Family! He had already messed up their plans earlier, and now he was flaunting his status and disregarding their feelings! Situ Xie had raised a tiger for trouble!

But on the surface, Situ Jing dared not confront Situ Jing. Although they were both Situ Xie’s grandsons, it was a pity that Situ Xie was not the emperor, but Situ Jing’s own father was.

“Second Prince, please calm down. I didn’t mean anything by it, I’m just worried about why Emperor Qian agreed so easily. Maybe he has some kind of plot.” Situ Jing lowered his voice, “If the Emperor finds out that the Second Prince cares so much about his foster parents, he might become unhappy.”

“For my sake?” Situ Jing sneered and whispered in Situ Jing’s ear, “Actually, you really hate me and wish to tear me apart, don’t you? I know. It was my fault that you were caught and that your sister had to marry me. You hate me to death, but you still have to bow down to me. It must be very uncomfortable, right?”

Situ Jing felt the strength of Situ Jing’s hand pressing down on his shoulder, and he was almost unable to stand. He lowered his head and said, “Second Prince, you have misunderstood, I didn’t think like that.”

Situ Jing suddenly released Situ Jing, and the two stood face to face in the rain. Situ Yao rushed over looking worried, “Second Prince, Brother, please come inside quickly. You’ll catch a cold standing in the rain.”

Situ Jing didn’t pay her any heed but just suddenly laughed. His smile made the rainwater flow down his face in a crooked path from the corner of his mouth, like a stream that suddenly changed course when encountering an obstacle.

He looked at Situ Jing and said coldly, “It was our good grandfather who planned everything, and we are both just pawns. Do you think it’s all my fault that I didn’t follow his wishes? Indeed, it was my fault. I caused you to be captured, and I caused your sister to marry me. Do you want to hit me if you don’t accept it?”

Situ Jing calmed down and said, “I understand that Second Prince is upset about the matter of his foster parents, but please don’t say such things. We are family, we should stand together.”

“Family?” Situ Jing scoffed, “I’ll have to ask our good grandfather when I go back. With so many grandchildren, why did he pick me to be a spy? Yet, he said he valued me the most and spent the most effort on raising me. I plan to take the remains of my foster parents back to Liang Country and give our grandfather a chance to pay tribute to their sacrifices for the great cause of Liang Country. They deserve it, don’t you think?”

Situ Jing frowned, “Second Prince, please calm down.”

“You don’t agree?” Situ Jing chuckled coldly and turned around, “That’s a good idea, so let’s do it.”

Looking at the bodies of his foster parents, Situ Jing suddenly felt that he had found the meaning of life again. It was to destroy everything that Situ Xie cared about, making Situ Xie feel as miserable as the people whose lives he had ruined.

Situ Yao wiped the wet hair of Situ Jing, looking uneasy, “Brother, what on earth does Second Prince want to do?”

Situ Jing’s face darkened, “He’s a madman! When we go back, I must tell our grandfather that if we don’t get rid of this madman quickly, he will ruin Liang Country!”

Situ Yao looked at the door and lowered her voice, “Brother, be careful what you say, don’t let him hear you. Speaking of which,” she sighed, “Little brother told our grandfather about this and our grandfather told me that if Second Prince really goes mad, it might not necessarily be a bad thing. His biggest problem right now is that he still harbors feelings for some people in Qian Country, especially those in his cousin’s family. He doesn’t know what he wants. Someone like him could open up a whole new world for Liang Country, as long as he can let go of emotions. Brother, you might not be happy to hear this, but grandfather said that the people of the Situ Family have become too complacent and lack the wisdom and courage necessary. He doesn’t want to give up on Second Prince because he is the one our grandfather raised to break the stalemate for the Situ Family.”

Situ Jing frowned, “So what do we count for?”

Situ Yao looked serious, “Brother, don’t think like that. Just because grandfather wants the Second Prince to break the stalemate doesn’t mean he favors the Second Prince as the ultimate king.”

Situ Jing’s eyes flickered slightly, “But will grandfather’s plan really succeed? I think when Situ Jing goes mad, he will bring ruin to Liang Country first.”

Situ Yao shook her head, “Grandfather will surely find a way. This time, he let him come here to see how happy Gu Ling and Su Liang are living their life. If he wants Su Liang, the only way is to get the world first.”

“Does he really think so highly of Su Liang? Yesterday, I saw him looking at Gu Ling more than Su Liang.” Situ Jing snorted coldly.

Situ Yao sighed softly, “Of course he likes Su Liang, but as a loser, he doesn’t want to show it.”

“What if Su Liang tries to win him over again?” Situ Jing frowned.

Situ Yao shook her head with a smile, “That’s absolutely impossible. Grandfather said that given Su Liang and Gu Ling’s characters, they would never give Situ Jing another chance. And this is our opportunity.”

When Situ Jing changed his clothes and asked his subordinates what Situ Jing was doing, he learned that someone from Su Mansion had just come — Qi Jun, Su Liang’s attendant, had taken Situ Jing away.

Situ Jing’s face changed, “Are you sure it’s Su Liang’s attendant who came?”

The subordinate nodded, “Yes, this servant has seen that man.”

It was not Qiao Cong who came, but instead Su Liang sent someone to find Situ Jing, what in the world were they trying to do…

Su Mansion.

The rain was getting heavier, and Qiao Cong and Zhengzheng’s fishing plans were thwarted. Qiao Cong went out and wandered around the city for a long time before he could buy two fat fish.

When Qiao Cong returned to the entrance of Su Mansion, holding an umbrella in one hand and two struggling fish in the other, he saw Situ Jing and Qi Jun not far away.

Qiao Cong frowned and waited for them to come over, then asked Situ Jing, “Why did you come so early? Did you meet up halfway?”

Qi Jun smiled, “Senior Qiao, our Master has something to discuss with Second Prince Situ.”

Qiao Cong was first stunned, then suddenly overjoyed, “Really? Then go quickly!” Afterward, he frowned again, squinting his eyes and staring at Situ Jing, “You haven’t done anything bad these two days, have you?”

Situ Jing’s expression was indifferent, “Does killing my foster parents count?”

Qiao Cong really wanted to smash the fish in his hand on Situ Jing’s face, thinking that Su Liang was planning to have a good talk with Situ Jing again and give him a chance to reform himself.

However, watching Qi Jun and Situ Jing enter, Qiao Cong realized that would Su Liang care about the lives of the couple from the Che Family? Their ancestors were spies of Liang Country all along and were bound to die. Situ Jing just sent them on their way a little earlier, relieving them.

Thinking of this, Qiao Cong became hopeful again.

When Situ Jing asked Qi Jun what was going on, Qi Jun said he didn’t know.

When they reached the vicinity of Yuanming Pavilion, they did not go in. Instead, Qi Jun led Situ Jing around half the lake to a pavilion and said, “Second Prince Situ, please.”

Situ Jing thought it was Su Liang who wanted to see him, but in the pavilion, only Gu Ling was seated, still carving small flowers…

Situ Jing entered the pavilion, closed his umbrella, put it aside, and sat down opposite Gu Ling, his face expressionless, “What do you want me to do? Speak directly.” It was Gu Ling who initially proposed that he return to the royal family of Liang Country.

Situ Jing believed that Gu Ling must want to order him to do something so he called him here.

Gu Ling ignored him, continued to carve the small flower in his hand, and then raised his head to ask Situ Jing, “Does it look good?”

Situ Jing frowned, looking at the uncolored woodcarving flower in Gu Ling’s hand, “Speak up if you have something to say!”

“Stay in Qian Country instead of going back to Liang Country, serve as a military commander, and atone for your sins through meritorious service. Dare or not?” Gu Ling’s expression was indifferent.