Killing Monks

The news of Guangyuan's assassination was like a pebble thrown into a seemingly calm lake. But beneath the surface, things were never calm.

Those old nobles, those landlords and gentry, those who were stripped of their privileges, had their land divided, and had their family power dismantled in Guangyuan's "Year Plan," were like fish lurking in the mud, motionless most of the time, but their mouths moved, their gills moved, and their unseen eyes moved as well.

They are waiting, waiting for an opportunity.

The assassination of Guangyuan was the opportunity they had been waiting for.

Although the killer wasn't killed, the knife was handed over. Once the knife was handed over, the hand holding it could no longer be hidden. And once the hand couldn't be hidden, the person couldn't be hidden either.

Guangyuan didn't wait. He never waits.

Waiting is something others do. What he does is make those who wait never get to see their customers.

He created a new department called "Chika".

The name is strange, so strange that people who hear it for the first time are often taken aback. But the name isn't important; what matters is what this department does.

What they did was different from what the "old man" did. The "old man" saved people; they eliminated harm.

Saving lives requires patience, stability, and a gradual, persistent approach; eliminating harm requires speed and ruthlessness, like an autumn wind sweeping away fallen leaves. If you're too slow, the harm will escape; if it escapes, it will return; and if it returns, it will bite you harder than before.

Therefore, we cannot be slow. If we cannot be slow, we must be fast. We must cut through the mess quickly, eradicate the weeds at the root. Once we've cut it, we have nothing to fear.

Now that they're no longer afraid, they can finally get a good night's sleep. Those old nobles, landowners, and gentry haven't had a good night's sleep in a long time. Now they don't need to sleep anymore. Never again.

"Chika's" knife is very fast.

They were quick because "old men" were there to guide them. These "old men" had taken deep root among the people, so deep that even the most secretive dealings, shameful affairs, and unspeakable secrets that the old nobles, landlords, and gentry considered most private were transparent to them.

It is as transparent as water, as clear as glass, as air.

You can see it, you can touch it, but you can't grasp it.

If you can't grasp it, it will always be there. Its very presence is evidence.

With enough evidence, it becomes irrefutable. Irresistible evidence is like a mountain; when it falls, no one can withstand it.

The cleaning process took two years.

Two years, more than seven hundred days and nights, every day people disappeared. They didn't disappear suddenly; they were taken away by "Chika".

They took it away and never came back. Since they didn't come back, no one knows where they went.

If you don't know, you don't dare to ask; if you don't dare to ask, you pretend you don't know; if you pretend you don't know, you'll feel at ease. Once you feel at ease, you can live your own life.

Your life is your own, not someone else's. Whether other people's lives are good or bad has nothing to do with you; whether your life is good or bad has nothing to do with others.

The most important thing is whether or not you have been approached by "Chika".

If they don't come knocking, just live your life peacefully; if they do, just wait to die. Waiting to die is worse than dying. But even if you don't want to die, you have to.

It's not God who wants you dead, it's those you've bullied who want you dead.

When you bullied them, you never thought this day would come; now that it's here, it's no use thinking about it now.

Thinking about it is useless, so I'll stop thinking about it. If I stop thinking about it, I'll accept it. If I accept it, I'll close my eyes. Once I close them, I'll never open them again.

Two years have passed, and Guangyuan's first "Year Plan" is halfway complete.

Even half is a completion. Completing half is better than doing nothing. It's better because you did something; doing something brings results; and with results, you see change.

Change doesn't happen suddenly; it happens gradually. Like a tree, you plant it, water it, fertilize it, wait for it to sprout, wait for it to grow, wait for it to blossom, and wait for it to bear fruit.

You waited a year, and it didn't bear fruit; you waited two years, and it bore fruit. Once it bore fruit, it's yours. It's not something given to you by others; it's something you cultivated yourself.

Homegrown produce tastes the best. The aroma fills your heart, and your heart is content. When you're content, you stop being greedy. And when you're not greedy, you won't steal from others.

If we stop robbing, the world will be at peace. With peace, people can live well. Living well is more important than anything else.

After observing these changes, Old Xu stood atop the city wall of Shangjing, gazing at the myriad lights in the distance for a long time. The lights were more numerous, brighter, and more stable than before.

In the past, a gust of wind would extinguish the lamp; now, no matter how strong the wind, the lamp remains lit. It's not that the lamp has changed, but that the person lighting it has changed. The person lighting the lamp is no longer afraid, and so the lamp stays lit.

He said to Ma Wu beside him, "We are not as good as him."

Ma Wu remained silent.

He looked at the lights, at the figures moving under them, at the land he once thought he had conquered, but now felt it had nothing to do with him.

He suddenly remembered that many years ago, Guangyuan was a teacher, telling the story of the Classic of Mountains and Seas to a group of peasant children in a dilapidated school.

After he finished speaking, he asked for feedback and then sat on the doorstep to bask in the sun. At that time, he thought Guangyuan was ridiculous.

What great things can a teacher accomplish?

Now he feels that the ridiculous one is not Guangyuan, but himself.

He thought he was doing something big, but he was actually doing something small; he thought Guangyuan was doing something small, but Guangyuan was actually doing something big.

The distinction between big and small matters is not based on appearances, but on results.

The distinction between big and small matters is not based on appearances, but on results.

The result is here, in those lights, among those standing people, among those who finally dare to laugh, dare to curse, and dare to look up at the sky.

These people weren't brought by him, but by Guangyuan. He was merely a knife in Guangyuan's hand. The knife's speed isn't its skill, but the skill of the person wielding it.

When they invited Guangyuan back, they thought he would sit in that chair, take control, and turn the Heaven and Earth Society into his own personal Heaven and Earth Society.

But Guangyuan didn't. What he did was beyond their imagination. Not just beyond their imagination, but something they had never even imagined.

They thought power was everything, but Guangyuan used power to do things far greater than simply holding power. He distributed power, distributing it to everyone. Everyone had power; everyone was power itself.

Power is in people's hands, so there's no need to fear it being taken away. If it can't be taken away, there's no need to try. If there's no need to try, then one can focus on doing their job with peace of mind.

Focus on your work, and you'll get it done. When it's done, everyone benefits. When the benefits are shared, there's no more competition. And when there's no competition, there's harmony.

If you make peace, you become stronger. If you become stronger, no one will dare to bully you. If no one dares to bully you, you will stand up. Once you stand up, you will never want to sit down again.

They even suspected that Guangyuan's deliberate handing over of power to them was part of a plan.

It's not doubt, it's knowledge.

I know because the results speak for themselves. Results don't lie.

The result was that Guangyuan was right; the result was that they were wrong; the result was that the wrong person should listen to the right person; the result was that if you listen to the right person, you will take the right path; if you take the right path, you will reach the place you want to go.

The place I want to go is far away. But I'm not afraid. I'm not afraid because I've come this far. Looking back on the road I've traveled, it's not so bad after all.