The world of film and television begins with Hikaru no Go

Di Renjie walked outside, stood with his back to the door, and remained there for a long time.

The night breeze swept through the corridor, causing the hem of his robe to flutter gently.

Zhang Rui, who had followed them out, huddled in a corner, looking down at his hands.

"Connecting to the secluded place".

"..."

Di Renjie turned around and walked up to him: "Tongyou."

"I……"

"Listen to me, I'm the one who wants to kill Li Qingxia, not you. She chose the dagger, which meant she chose death. Your collision just now was to save me. You saved my life, understand?"

"..."

"She was going to die anyway; you just made it end faster. If it weren't for you, she would have pounced on her again after Hu Jinghui's scabbard knocked the dagger away... the result would have been the same."

Footsteps approached from afar, two paths, hurried yet orderly.

"grown ups!"

"master!"

It was Li Yuanfang and Di Chun.

The two rushed over and, upon confirming that Di An was unharmed, both breathed a sigh of relief.

"grown ups--"

Li Yuanfang noticed the broken window, his gaze swept around the room, and landed on the corpse under the wooden table.

"The remnants of the bandit leader infiltrated the mansion to assassinate Princess Yiyang, who was unfortunately killed." Di Renjie's voice regained its usual composure. "Hu Jinghui, the General of the Thousand Bull Guard, fought bravely against the assassins to protect me and died in the line of duty."

"Yes."

"I'll leave this to you and Di Chun." Di Gong paused, straightened his clothes, and said, "Clean this place up before dawn."

Back in the main hall, Judge Di sat down in a chair.

She was no longer as calm and composed as before, and looked somewhat tired.

Leaning back in the chair, I closed my eyes and didn't open them for a long time.

"Connecting to the secluded place".

"……exist."

"If you're feeling unwell, come and sit down. You don't need to say anything, just sit with me for a while."

Zhang Rui did not sit down beside him, but floated to Di Gong, activated his ability, hugged him, lowered his head, and rested his forehead on Di Gong's shoulder.

The wick popped, and the candle flame flickered.

"You silly child." Di Renjie raised his hand, trying to respond, but it missed again. He didn't retract his hand, leaving it hanging there. "If you want to remember what happened tonight for the rest of your life, then remember it. But just remember that you saved my life."

Zhang Rui looked down at his hands.

He remained silent for a long time, then nodded slightly.

-----------------

Di Chunlai reported the time, and Di Zheng was having porridge in the side hall.

Last night, he originally planned to finish writing the memorial to be presented to the court in one go before resting, but Zhang Rui kept staring at him until he put down his pen, took off his boots, and lay down before he gave up.

Di Renjie urged him to lie down as well, and the two of them, separated by a screen, kept an eye on each other and both fell into a deep sleep.

Two bowls of congee and a few dishes of pickles were brought from the kitchen this morning. A mouthful of hot congee was truly comforting.

"Master, Li Er has woken up."

"How are you feeling?"

"He's much better than when he came out of prison, but he still doesn't talk. When the younger ones bring him food, he doesn't even lift his eyelids."

"His silence isn't because he doesn't want to speak, but because he's afraid to." Di Gong put down his bowl, stood up, and said, "He's afraid."

"What are you afraid of?"

"I'm afraid we're from that side too."

There is a separate wing room in the backyard of the headquarters, which was originally for the staff of the governor's office. It is secluded, far from the main hall and close to the back gate.

Di Renjie placed Li Er here, telling the outside world that he was an important witness, and assigned two trusted guards to watch over him in shifts, and ordinary people were not allowed to approach.

The old locust tree in the courtyard was half withered and half thriving. The morning light spilled over from the east wall, illuminating half of its canopy in bright light and half in shadow.

Di Renjie walked to the courtyard gate, waved his hand, and the guards standing at the gate retreated outside the courtyard.

Pushing open the door, the room was dimly lit.

The window was closed, with only a crack left for ventilation.

There was a faint smell of medicine in the air, along with the fresh scent of clean, newly changed bedding.

Li Er leaned against the headboard, his spirits were indeed much better than when he was in prison.

Di Renjie did not speak immediately. He picked up the teapot from the table, touched the inside of the pot, and found it was still warm. He then poured two bowls of water.

One bowl was placed on the low table by the bedside, and I picked up the other bowl myself, sat down in the chair by the window, and slowly took a sip.

A sliver of morning light peeked through the crack in the window. Li Er didn't touch the bowl of water, but his gaze never left Di Gong.

"If you don't want to talk, I won't force you." Di Renjie put down his teacup. "But there are some things you should know. Last night, the leader of the rebels was brought to justice. The accomplices in Youzhou City were also all captured after the street cleanup order. You are safe now."

Li Er's fingers twitched slightly, curling up and then slowly relaxing.

"If you don't believe me, I can show you something."

Di Gong took out a ring from his sleeve and placed it on the low table.

The bronze ring fell onto the table with a very soft tapping sound.

The ring face features three tiger heads, carved in a rough style with varying depths of knife marks, which only adds to its ferocity.

Atop the three tiger heads lies a soaring eagle with outstretched wings.

The moment Li Er saw the ring, he seemed like a different person. He leaned forward, grabbed the ring, and turned it over to look at the inscription on the inside of the band.

"This ring was found on you. The former governor, Fang Qian, left it behind when he took away the evidence, so it remained. Perhaps it's fate. If this ring truly belongs to you, then you must be the Turkic Khan, Jili. These three tiger heads represent the three most elite Tiger Divisions under the Turkic Khan's command. A soaring eagle atop them symbolizes the supreme status of the Turkic Khan. Am I right?"

"That's right, I am Geely."

Judge Di stood up, straightened his clothes, took a step back, clasped his hands together, bowed deeply, and let his robe sleeves fall below his knees.

"Your Majesty, the Emperor of the Great Zhou, Di Renjie, Grand General of Youzhou and Chancellor of the Fengge and Luantai, pays respects to Your Majesty the Khan. Due to the time difference and the circumstances, I was unable to perform the full ceremony. I hope Your Majesty will forgive my disrespect."

The room had been quiet for a long time, and the morning light gradually crept into the room through the cracks in the window.

"You may rise, my lord." Li Er slowly sat up straight, his fingers tightly gripping the ring. "Jili has fallen on hard times and should have recognized you sooner, but..."

"But Your Majesty doesn't know who your friends are and who your enemies are."

Jili raised his head and looked at the elderly man in front of him, who was nearly sixty years old.

He had seen many people from the Central Plains along the way, but the person in front of him seemed to be different.

Let's finish this task first, then we'll talk.

"Are you Di Renjie?"

"It is indeed your humble servant. Has Your Majesty heard of me?"

"I've long heard of Judge Di's name; Shi Bi mentioned you to me many times." Mentioning his brother's name, Ji Li tightened his grip on the ring. "He said the Great Zhou had a Judge Di Renjie, a brilliant detective. If peace talks between the two countries were successful, he hoped to meet you in person. But now, we'll never see you again..."

"Your Majesty, please accept my condolences regarding your brother's passing, but please do not grieve too much. Only when the peace treaty between the two countries is reached will Khan Bi's last wish not have been in vain."

Di Renjie cupped his hands to Jili, and only sat down again after Jili raised his gaze from the ring.