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the Xun is indeed a prominent family in Yingchuan, and the houses by the tea mountains are exquisitely built and comfortable. Returning to Yingchuan, Guo Jia seems to have relaxed a bit, lazily leaning on Jia Xu, unwilling to get off the carriage even when it stopped at the entrance of the Xun, requiring the elder to personally come and invite him in. At the tea plantation, there is no need to entertain any aristocrats. Xun Yu simply confiscated Guo Jia's opium pipe to avoid the constant smoke. Initially, Guo Jia resisted, but he was overpowered by Xun Yu's force. In the tranquility of the tea plantation, he also became much quieter.
The tea house had almost no rules. They slept until they naturally woke up each day, then either went for a walk in the tea mountains or read in the courtyard after meals. Occasionally, farmers would come to the door and bring Xun Yu some homegrown fruits and vegetables. Other than the sound of servants sweeping the courtyard, there were only occasional clear bird calls and the lingering cicada chirps that had not been scared away. Guo Jia also rarely had a good night's sleep for a few days. Jia Xu sat by the window flipping through ancient books, with Guo Jia 's steady breathing behind him. The summer scenery outside the window was just right, with leaves shimmering in the sunlight, and occasionally a breeze would blow through, making the wolf hair on the brush stand clink crisply.
Xun Yu came from a distance against the backlight, his moon-white robe coated with a layer of hazy light, causing Jia Xu to squint.
Xun Yu, who had originally intended to enter, paused when he saw Guo Jia napping on the couch. After chatting with Jia Xu by the window about an evening banquet and inquiring about his comfort here, he left after receiving the answers and offering a few reminders.
Guo Jia then had another long dream, but the scenery in the dream had changed. The misty road of the dead had turned into a clear and transparent river.
And the noisy crow turned into a wagging fish.
The fish said, "If you can't breathe underwater, you will evolve gills."
Guo Jia squatted on the river bank, fiddling with a piece of pebble and replied, "If you can't see, your hearing will become acute."
The fish seems satisfied. Guo Jia did not throw things at it like last time, so it continued: "The world is a huge fish tank, and the humans being raised are fish with four limbs."
There is no water in the fish tank, so humans have lost their gills. Some humans find it difficult to breathe, clearly on the ground, but it feels like they are underwater.
The fish's lips puff up and down, and the bubbles are its heartbeat, thumping like water flowing.
Guo Jia said: "Fish will rot into a stagnant pool of water and flow back into the sea."
The fish replied contentedly, with a hint of laughter in its voice: "But people cannot return to their mother's womb."
The connecting line is the umbilical cord, linking the heartbeats of two people.
And people are parasites on the earth.
Continuously, incessantly, they absorb the nutrients of the land, but in return, they feed it with blood, war, and corpses.
Guo Jia tilted his head, watching the fish talking in the water, then suddenly pounced and pierced the fish's belly with a sharp stone. The rich blood mixed with clear water splashed on his face, staining Guo Jia's clothes red. He looked at the dead fish in his hand and smiled, saying, "There is nothing that can become the master of the world."
A fish melts in the river, and its fresh blood flows away with the trickling water. Guo Jia reaches into the riverbed and retrieves a smooth pebble, letting the clear water run through his fingers while the river's gift remains. In the human heart, there often lies an unseen river.
As Guo Jia opens his eyes, he sees Jia Xu sitting by the window. The twilight is descending in the west, and the sky is ablaze with fiery clouds, casting a divine light upon Jia Xu, who usually wears dark colors.
Jia Xu As if feeling something, he turned back and looked, his face against the light blurred by the darkness, but his bright eyes, like agate, seemed even brighter. He looked at Guo Jia half-leaning on the couch and said, "Let's go to the banquet." Guo Jia suddenly smiled and with narrowed eyes, said, "Okay."
Those drooping affectionate eyes, filled with misty water vapor.
It was indeed just an ordinary family banquet, amidst the interplay of lights and shadows, Guo Jia disappeared in the blink of an eye.
Jia Xu glanced around and, using the excuse of being slightly drunk, left the courtyard. After walking around and not finding any trace of Guo Jia, he thought of something and walked out of the courtyard towards the fields. On the eve of the autumn harvest, the crops in the fields were almost waist-high, with their yellow heads swaying in the summer breeze. The crisp sound of frogs croaking mixed with the splashing of fish tails, and then Jia Xu heard Guo Jia's voice, sounding muffled as if he had just taken a drag of a cigarette, complaining about the noisy frog croaking.
Jia Xu reached out and brushed through the corn stalks, spotting Guo Jia crouching on the field ridge, smoking. Guo Jia seemed to be staring blankly at Jia Xu, the flickering flame in his hand casting a glow on his features.
Jia Xu spoke slowly, one word at a time: "Guo Fengxiao, you're smoking again."
But Guo Jia just smiled and, with a self-made cigarette holder, burned the tobacco to ash with the flame, then spat it out and crushed it underfoot. He waved to Jia Xu and said, "Since you've found me, come and sit with me, Wenhe."
Jia Xu walked silently to Guo Jia's side and sat down on the ground, looking at a small handful of ashes and asking, "Why are you smoking again? There's nothing to worry about, senior."
Guo Jia chuckled and leaned on Jia Xu's shoulder, pointing to the stars in the sky, saying, "The baleful star appears, disaster is imminent."
Following Guo Jia's finger, Jia Xu looked at the twinkling stars, among which a star with a green light was shining. He stared at the eerie green light for a long time, feeling a chill creeping over him.
Guo Jia casually picked up some grass from the field and asked, "Wenhe, what do you think the common people are?"
Jia Xu turned to look at Guo Jia with confusion, but answered truthfully, "The common people are the foundation of a country's existence."
Before Jia Xu could finish speaking, Guo Jia immediately followed up with another question, "And what about the country?"
Jia Xu continued, "The country exists to protect the people." Without much time to catch his breath, Guo Jia continued to ask, "Then what is the purpose of war?" "To achieve the expected goals through armed force, with the ultimate goal of a peaceful world and the people living and working in peace. As you said before, stability comes with sacrifices. Guo Jia, although I often stay in the academy, I am not oblivious to the events outside. I have heard about the wars and casualties from uprisings in various places." Jia Xu looked into Guo Jia's eyes and answered his questions with great seriousness, even though he didn't know the reason behind Guo Jia's questions. If he wanted an answer, he could have it.
Then Jia Xu seemed to suddenly realize something and asked, "What do you want to do?"
Guo Jia just chuckled and jumped off the embankment, standing in the field of stacked wheat stalks, saying, "The power struggle among the ruling class has torn open one huge wound after another on the common people. Their blood has stained the land, turning the clear rice fields into a sea of blood. Where war has passed, there are no longer common people, but instead one decaying body after another and land trampled by iron cavalry. I want a hero who can end all of this, a hero who can save everyone."
The jingling of the ornaments on Guo Jia's body accompanied his movements, and the brilliant stars were reflected in Guo Jia's eyes. Jia Xu asked as if meeting Guo Jia for the first time, "What do you want to do?"
Guo Jia stepped onto the field and approached Jia Xu, saying, "The path of a hero is a path of death. Along the way to the throne, it is paved with countless white bones, including those of your relatives, lovers, friends, teachers, and classmates. Ultimately, it will be your own. This is a lonely road with no one to accompany you."
Jia Xu furrowed his brow, seeming somewhat unaccustomed to Guo Jia's words, but still repeated for the third time, "What do you want to do?"
Guo Jia abruptly stepped back onto the field, arms outstretched, feeling the breath of the earth, and then said, "If I cannot prevent disaster, I will use war to select heroes."
Guo Jia turned back and glanced at Jia Xu, but this glance gave Jia Xu a bad premonition, like the feeling of being stared at by a fierce beast in the jungle while hunting. So he angrily shouted, "Guo Jia! Do you know how many people will be sacrificed like this!"
Guo Jia smiled lightly again, a broken smile overflowing from his throat. He covered his face and asked softly, "Are the sacrifices now still few?"
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