Yefutidaolu

Chapter 139 Their respective situations

On the ancient battlefield, on the mountain that belongs to the Zuo family.

Bai Xingzhi and Zuo An sat opposite each other and brewed tea.

Bai Xingzhi remained silent in response to what Zuo An said.

He did not refute, and there was no way to refute.

As a middle-class family, he was better off than people like Zou Shu who were recruited from the bottom of the gang.

Speaking of Bai Xingzhi's life experience...

It cannot be said that everything went smoothly for him, but it can be said that he did not experience any major setbacks, even though he was over a hundred years old.

Bai Xingzhi grew up in the county town. His parents had some property in the county town. When he was young, his father was a magistrate and had an income of more than ten gold coins a year.

This is already very good, as it allows him to find a teacher to get started from a young age.

After that, he will successfully pass the selection, enter the Demon Suppression Division, and become the captain of a realm.

He has been much stronger than the people around him since he was a child.

He is a top talent in the county.

His promotion along the way was extremely smooth, from his affluent life as a child, to being selected from the county and entering Cangzhou, and step by step to the position of deputy general of the Demon Suppression Division.

Bai Xingzhi was definitely superior to 99% of the people. He was a warrior at the fourth level close to the fifth level, with a high level of cultivation. In the capital of Cangzhou, he was one of those people who could live in the inner city.

But it was precisely because of this... that he realized that there is no fairness in this world.

It is only natural that he is better than many peasants.

Same reason...

It is only natural that the children of noble families and other geniuses are stronger than him.

He has become accustomed to not comparing himself with those people. He cannot compare himself with them because comparing himself with them will make him angry to death.

So, he actually often says that sentence.

"Others' gains are not my losses, so what is there to be jealous of?"

This sentence is actually his motto. He keeps saying it so that he can relax a little and not always look up at the sky.

The sky... is too dazzling.

But what Zuo An said now was actually forcing him to look up at the sky.

This made Bai Xingzhi particularly unhappy, so much so that he was about to get up and leave.

However, Zuo An is from a noble family after all, and Bai Xingzhi actually still has some... inexplicable feelings towards him.

This kind of emotion... I wouldn't call it contempt, but it's probably not. I would say it's respect, a little bit, or fear... I don't know if I should describe it that way.

All in all, it's a subtle feeling that's hard to describe. Although I'm very unhappy with the other person, I don't want to offend him or her. If there's a chance to get close to him or her, I'd feel like I'd be at a loss if I don't get close to him or her, but if I do get close to him or her... I'd feel ashamed and have this contradictory feeling.

Supported by this emotion, Bai Xingzhi still sat there and did not leave.

Looking at the other person's subtle and awkward expression, Zuo An smiled.

Then he held out the teapot and filled the cup on the left bank: "General Bai, have you ever seen a play?"

Bai Xingzhi said in an unhappy tone: "I sometimes watch it, what's wrong?"

Zuo An said nonchalantly, "In dramas, there are always rogues. When they appear on stage, you can always see them showing off, as if they are more powerful and more eye-catching than the protagonist."

"But why do people look down on them? Because everyone knows that although scoundrels always act powerful, they may disappear at any time. It's just that the drama doesn't have an ending, and they don't deserve an ending."

"Cangzhou is like a stage. There are always some clowns and rogues jumping out to attract attention, jumping up and down, as if they are very powerful. But no matter what, suddenly one day, they will disappear."

“Those standing on the stage are always the old generals and the big stars, because only they can carry a play.” Zuo An’s voice was soft, but it seemed to carry a lot of weight.

At this time, Bai Xingzhi said: "Yes, the Shui family is the real star."

These words were obviously directed at the Zuo family.

Zuo An claims that he is the real star and others are scoundrels and clowns. Then how do your Zuo family compare to the Shui family?
Hearing this, Zuo An shook his head slightly, maintaining his composure and smiling calmly, and then said: "General Bai, you just don't see clearly. Looking at Cangzhou over the past thousand years, the aristocratic families have always shown overwhelming advantages in various places. The aristocratic families have joined forces to control various places and jointly resist the wars of other forces. However, everyone with a discerning eye knows that the aristocratic families are not united. Over the past thousand years, the ultimate beneficiary has been only the Shui family, and other aristocratic families can only beg for food from the Shui family."

"But... is this so bad? This is much better than those other forces that are being oppressed."

"You look down on second place, but how many people can only look up to second place? For example, General Bai, where do you rank from childhood to adulthood? Look up, let alone the Zuo family, even the Wang family, can you reach it? Count down to those sects."

"Those sects you are familiar with, Youyun Temple, Mei Workshop, Baijuchang, Louchuan Guild, and even the Yan Pavilion branch... What are they? Can they touch a leg of the Baishanjiang Water Clan? These forces can't even deal with the Dragon King of the Baishanjiang Water Clan."

"Look up there. The Baishanjiang tribe, Shushan, and even the Zhenjing Dao Palace all have their own branches, and even the imperial court's officials are powerful. But when it comes to the ground, what are they? They are all just passers-by. Cangzhou has been ruled by aristocratic families for thousands of years."

The voice of the left bank is quite confident.

Bai Xingzhi said nothing because he knew that what the other party said was true.

I guess the only place in Cangzhou that can truly fight against the power of the aristocratic families is the Zhenjing Taoist Palace.

But Zhenjing Taoist Palace is not a force in Cangzhou. They just happened to build their mountain gate in Cangzhou. They don’t care about other things in Cangzhou.

As a hidden immortal sect, if they must be divided, they only belong to the Divine Dynasty itself. They usually move around, and it really doesn’t matter where the mountain gate is, and they don’t care about the local forces themselves at all.

Moreover, although the Zhenjing Taoist Palace is powerful, it is difficult to fight against the entire Cangzhou family.

Therefore, in the final analysis, the rule of the aristocratic families in Cangzhou is difficult to shake in a short period of time, and this trend extends to the entire Divine Dynasty itself.

The facts cannot be refuted and there is no way to refute them.

Facing Zuo An's endless chatter, Bai Xingzhi finally slammed the table and raised his voice: "So? Your Excellency invited me here early in the morning just to tell me all this? Just to show off to me? Or do you think that as long as you tell me this, I will help you deal with my comrades?"

"Eh~!" Zuo An immediately waved his hands: "Why would General Bai think so? The Zuo family cannot interfere in the Demon Suppression Division, and the Zuo family cannot contribute to the general's promotion. This is also something that everyone knows. To be honest, the Zuo family doesn't even have any way to help you. We know it's unrealistic to expect you to switch sides with just a few words."

"I only asked you to come here because you took action last night. Look, you killed the two assassins without hesitation for the sake of your superiors last night. So today I invited you to come over and sit down and chat."

"Then Zou Shu was there last night, why didn't you go look for him?!" Bai Xingzhi couldn't control his emotions anymore, and his tone was a little aggressive.

"Of course we invited him, but he didn't come." Zuo An replied

"What a nonsense!" Bai Xingzhi was annoyed, pushed the teacup away, stood up and left. No one stopped him, Zuo An just watched Bai Xingzhi leave from outside.

After a long while, a young man came over and said, "Uncle, Bai Xingzhi has gone far away."

"Yeah." Zuo An stood up and began to clean the tea table.

"Uncle, what do we want to ask him to do? With all these words, we shouldn't be able to ask him to help us do anything, right?" The young man from the Zuo family asked curiously.

Zuo An looked calm and said, "We don't need him to help us. People sometimes do things on their own, especially for those practitioners who are in the fourth and fifth realms but haven't broken through yet."

"Why?" The young man was a little confused.

"You grew up in a honey pot, you have everything you need, so you don't understand the feelings of the peasants who have climbed up." Zuo An said leisurely, "But I am different from you. I am from the side branch, and I am the son of a concubine. My mistress is very jealous, so my mother is worried about me and never let me stay in the Zuo family. I grew up in the county town since I was a child, and only returned to the Zuo family after I made a name for myself."

The young man immediately bowed his head in reverence: "The story of my uncle is indeed legendary. To be able to grow up to be the helmsman of the Zuo family, it shows the perseverance of my uncle. We often tell our children about it."

Zuo An is a legend within the Zuo family.

If a concubine gives birth to a child, the mistress will be jealous of her. Such a child usually does not grow up in the Zuo family.

But not only did he grow up, he also returned to the Zuo family in a powerful way, subdued the mistress, made his biological mother his legal wife, and even climbed to a position higher than his father. Finally, with the nod of the ancestor, he took the helm of the Zuo family, responsible for the operation of many affairs of the Zuo family, and his own cultivation also reached the sixth realm.

Even though he was removed from the helm by the ancestor and came to guard the ancient battlefield because of the recent events of Baishanjiang and the blood sacrifice, his position within the Zuo family is still quite stable.

Hearing the young man say this, Zuo An smiled and said, "My growth trajectory is similar to that of people like Bai Xingzhi, so I understand what they are thinking."

He pointed to his head and said, "For someone like Bai Xingzhi, climbing up from the bottom of the building to the rooftop is very tiring. You have to go up carefully step by step."

“But it’s easy to get from the rooftop to the bottom of the building, as long as you take one wrong step.”

“They are very scared.”

"So, just give them some pointers. Even if their actual actions won't change, they will still remember these things in their hearts."

Zuo An stood up and washed the tea set and put it away: "Bai Xingzhi is not a big-hearted person. Suddenly there is a third-level general. Do you really think he has no resentment in his heart?"

The young man said, "But since Bai Xingzhi has cultivated to this level, he can't be a fool. There are many resentful things in this world. He must be able to bear it and won't turn against us to help us, right?"

Zuo An seemed a little unhappy. He emphasized: "Didn't I just say that we don't need him to help us. The Zuo family doesn't need his help either."

"Then? What do we want to do with him?" The young man was confused.

Zuo An sighed: "Alas."

The current generation of young people in the Zuo family is really worse than the previous one.

This conversation made Zuo An lose the desire to talk things over with the young man, so he ended the conversation, just waved his hand and said, "Forget it, you don't have to think so much, go and do your work and repair the house that Sima smashed."

The young man knew that he seemed to have angered the elder, so he didn't dare to say anything more and went out to do chores.

Only the left bank is left here.

He looked outside...

Good idea...

He was only in the third realm, but he had caused so many problems that his ancestors had to withdraw him to guard this desolate place, and he also had to deal with Sima, that reckless man...

It’s all because of this brilliant idea.

Well, it’s just perfect then, let’s bury Gao Jian right here on the ancient battlefield.

----------

In the howling autumn wind, Gao Jian and Zou Shu were chatting while heading in the direction Zou Shu mentioned.

To be honest, Gao Jian was sweating now.

Because during this process, Zou Shu told Gao Jian about his previous life.

"Haha...Brother Zou, you really work hard." Gao Jian wiped the sweat off his forehead.

How should I put it... Zou Shu's life can't be said to be smooth sailing, it can only be said that he was beaten by life to a tender and elastic body.

It's so tragic and so inspiring.

Growing up in an ordinary farm family, he had seen his relatives being sacrificed in blood, but he was used to it. He just thought it was good as long as it wasn't him.

Relying on his strong physique, he was selected as a local militia. He worked hard to climb to the county town, where he was picked out by the police chief. As a result, due to his youthful vigor, his entire family was sacrificed.

He broke through in anger, killed all his enemies, was at a loss, and fled to the ends of the earth.

Having been a savage in the mountains for several years, the bitterness is beyond words. Not only was I almost eaten by monsters, but when I was the hungriest, I even had to wait by the side of the road, picking up garbage to eat after passers-by left.

Because he was afraid of being discovered and arrested by the government, after all, he had killed a constable.

But during this process, perhaps it was his talent... his cultivation became higher and higher, so that in the end he could finally hunt by himself and fill his stomach.

After a while, after he killed a monster, he was discovered by the local Demon Suppression Officers who came to the forest to eliminate monsters. They thought it was a monster in disguise and almost killed him.

It was only at the end that I discovered it was a person.

Finally, he was imprisoned in a prison, his origins were investigated, and he went through many hardships. Many years later, he became the current captain of the Demon Extermination Division and reached the fourth realm of cultivation.

Although Zou Shu was laughing when he spoke of it, and it was a joke, Gao Jian felt his scalp tingling just thinking about what had happened.

He actually managed to survive and became a lieutenant of the Demon Suppression Division...

How awesome.

"Haha, it's all in the past." Zou Shu smiled, then stood still and suddenly ended the topic.

Gao Jian realized something and ended the small talk.

A cave appeared in front of me.

"We're here." said Zou Shu.

Gao Jian felt a poisonous gas coming towards him!

(End of this chapter)