knife

Chapter 504 The Last Respect
The two guests who came in were indeed old acquaintances of Wei Yi, especially the one who walked in first.

Wu De!

Wu De, formerly the third-in-command of the Black Ice Guard and the commander of the inspection team, later joined Li Dachui in taking over Shu County and then served as the military commander of Shu County, in charge of the military affairs of the entire Shu County.

Walking behind Wu De was Fang Xiaomao, Li Dachui's trusted follower, known in the underworld as the Silent Tiger.

His gaze shifted from Wu De's face to Fang Xiaomao's face, and then landed on Zhou Xuan's face.

Zhou Xuan turned his head away, refusing to meet Wei Yi's gaze.

With a thud, Wei Yi slumped back into his chair, his face turning deathly pale from initial disbelief, shock, and anger.

Wu De walked over, sat down opposite him, picked up the wine pot, filled the cup in front of Wei Yi, and said, "Your father Wei Zhengdao and you Wei Yi are both outstanding talents of your time, and in terms of wisdom and strategy, you are both top-notch. But the choice you made this time was really not very wise!"

“The victor can indeed laugh at the loser to his heart’s content!” Wei Yi raised his hand, trembling slightly, but still managed to lift the wine glass to his lips and drink it all in one gulp. Although he tried his best to appear calm, the spilled wine still revealed his inner panic.

“When you heard that Protector Li was the posthumous son of Crown Prince Li Zemin, your best option was to turn back immediately and surrender to Linghu Ye,” Wu De laughed. “But you still chose to come to Hanzhong. What made you think that after we occupied Shu, we would just watch your Wei family control Hanzhong and cut off our way out of Shu?”

“It’s greed!” Fang Xiaomao laughed and walked over. “If they had gone to Linghuye back then, they would have been at their wits’ end with nowhere to go, and Linghuye taking them in would have been an act of kindness. But if they came to Hanzhong, held onto Hanzhong, and then used Hanzhong to negotiate with Linghuye, that would be cooperation, an alliance!”

“Brother Wei, what the little cat said makes sense, doesn’t it?” Wu De laughed. “I told Prefect Zhou beforehand that with your father and son’s intelligence, you would not come to our trap. But Prefect Zhou said that with his understanding of you, you would definitely come. In fact, Prefect Zhou understands you better!”

"We were greedy, but what we didn't expect was Zhou Xuan's betrayal!" Wei Yi turned his head and glared at Zhou Xuan: "Zhou Xuan, what have we, father and son, done to wrong you? It's one thing for you to join Li Dachui, but you wouldn't even give me a word? If you had left even a single word, I wouldn't have walked into your trap!"

Zhou Xuan lowered his head, speechless. All that could be seen was his face and ears, which were so red they seemed to be bleeding.

“Brother Wei, there’s no need to blame Prefect Zhou!” Wu De said, “Water flows downhill, and people strive for higher positions. The Wei family is gradually heading towards its demise, making the road narrower and more dangerous. Anyone with some ability will naturally seek another path. Do you expect everyone to be buried with the Wei family?”

"It's fine if you don't seek a better position, but betraying your former master is despicable!" Wei Yi sneered. "Zhou Xuan, you are the most eloquent person. Even my father said that your silver tongue is worth a thousand troops. Why don't you say some righteous reasoning to justify your actions?"

Zhou Xuan shook his head and said, "There's nothing to say. I betrayed my former master to gain my own wealth and glory. If I really want to say what the reason is, it's that I don't want my family to fall into the dust and be crushed into the mud. Wei Yi, do you know what the Tang family descendants, who used to be as high and mighty as kings and nobles in Shu, are like now?"

Wei Yi sneered.

"I see the once pampered descendants of the Tang Clan now dressed in rags, starving. These once high-ranking gentlemen are now barefoot, digging in the ground, picking up manure, and scavenging for food in garbage dumps. The once delicate young ladies have fallen into prostitution. Those with talent, those who can sing and dance, can still perform in some of the more upscale brothels, while those who have no skills have become the lowest of the low, soliciting customers. Wei Yi, that's the Tang Clan of Sichuan! If they fail, even they will be reduced to such a state. My Zhou family is just a small, insignificant family. I'm afraid that when that happens, even seeking death will be difficult."

When he got emotional, Zhou Xuan burst into tears.

Wei Yi looked up at the sky, and after a long while, he nodded: "The victor is king, the loser is villain. Indeed, you can't be blamed. If you really want to blame someone, you can only blame my father and me for being less skilled. Now we are abandoned by everyone and will probably die without a burial place."

Looking at the weeping Zhou Xuan, Wu De said to Fang Xiaomao, "Xiaomao, it's about time. You and Prefect Zhou go and get busy. Apart from those trusted officers of the Wei clan, do not mistreat the others. When the Wei clan is completely defeated, these people will still be of great use." "Yes!" Fang Xiaomao stood up, pulled the still weeping Zhou Xuan, and left.

Wu De poured himself a glass of wine as well. "Actually, the people of the Tang Clan aren't as miserable as Zhou Xuan described! After we took over Sichuan, we naturally held public trials for those who committed numerous evils to appease public anger. This is also a way for us to win the hearts of the people. As for the ordinary members of the Tang Clan, they've simply lost their special privileges. They can earn a living based on their own abilities. If they don't have any abilities, they can still earn a living with their strength. If they have nothing at all, then they are indeed in a miserable situation."

Wei Yi laughed bitterly, "People like us, once we fail and fall into the dust, can we really live the lives of ordinary people? Wu De, you're lying. It's impossible. What people in this world most enjoy seeing is people like us fall into the dust, so they can step on us and indirectly prove themselves. Zhou Xuan just said that the young ladies of the Tang Clan have fallen into the dust. I bet their business is booming. Even those who are not very attractive and work as door girls probably have no shortage of customers!"

Wu De raised an eyebrow; Wei Yi was indeed right.

"Whether it's the Tang Clan or your Wei Clan, you've enjoyed all the worldly riches and honors over the years. Life is full of vicissitudes, and the world goes through cycles of reincarnation. Suffering is just a way to make amends for the sins you committed in the past. Perhaps one generation, perhaps two generations, when the world has forgotten you, you can naturally start over again. It's not particularly difficult. I, Wu, was an orphan, but I still climbed up step by step."

"Doesn't Li Dachui intend to exterminate them all?"

“If we really wipe them all out, will there still be those Tang Clan descendants that Zhou Xuan mentioned? The guilty should die, and the innocent should live, but how well they live depends on their own abilities. We won’t deliberately target such people, and of course, we won’t give them any special treatment either,” Wu De said.

“If Li Dachui can really do that, then I truly hope that in the future you can defeat Linghu Ye and become the ruler of Qin. At least, I can still count on my Wei clan descendants to make a comeback in a few decades or a hundred years. Wu De, I’m not boasting, but as long as my Wei clan descendants can survive, they will definitely be able to rise again!” Wei Yi said.

Wu De nodded.

"I'm definitely going to die, aren't I?"

"Yes!"

"Then I would like to ask you, for the sake of our many years of acquaintance, to give me some face, okay?" Wei Yi looked at Wu De earnestly.

Wu De thought for a moment, then stood up, picked up his wine glass, and raised it with both hands: "I'll toast you, may you have a safe journey!"

Wei Yi did not stand up. He reached out, picked up the wine glass in front of him, and drank it all in one gulp.

Wu De put down his wine glass, turned around and went out.

Outside the gate, fully armed guards were already everywhere.

After a short while, the guards pushed open the door and looked inside.

High on the roof beam, a person hangs there silently.

(End of this chapter)