Estranged

The blazing flames and heat wave smoked the sky, but when he really plunged into it, what Chang Ming felt was piercingly cold.

The red lotus karmic fire burned the eyes so painfully, but the cold wrapped the flesh and even the bones, and even kept penetrating inside.

The contradictory and weird dual extremes appear at the same time.

At the beginning, Chang Ming was able to use his mental skills to resist a little bit with his spiritual power. Later, he found that the stronger the resistance, the stronger the backlash. People kept falling in the endless void, endlessly, but their hands and feet were covered with frost. , unable to move, and his mind gradually became dizzy, even if he subconsciously kept telling himself not to sleep, in the end he couldn't resist the heavy eyelids and fell into a deeper sleep.

I don't know how long I slept this time.

Chang Ming felt that the more he slept, the more tired he became, his limbs were limp and he didn't want to move, and he seemed to sleep forever.

But he was shaken awake.

The other party's actions were rough and violent, and Chang Ming was really shaken out of his chaotic sleep at once.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, something is wrong!"

Chang Ming sat up while holding his forehead, thinking about the origin of this name, and unconsciously popped out a sentence.

"Keep your voice down, you're making my head hurt!"

The **** stepped forward, his face full of panic, and he tried to lower his voice, but he still couldn't help trembling.

"That traitor, that traitor has captured Yuanzhou and is approaching the capital! All the ministers are waiting outside for your words!"

When did he become emperor?

A little funny came to Changming's mind, he looked up and looked down.

Above the head is the dragon tent, under the body is the dragon couch, and beside the bed is a white-faced and beardless servant. Behind the heavy gauze curtains, the empty bedroom is faintly visible. Chang Ming can even see the figures of the two servants guarding the door, and outside the bedroom, kneeling. There are several human heads.

He is the twelfth emperor of this dynasty. The dynasty is located in the south, also known as the Southern Dynasty, and ruled across the river from the Northern Dynasty in the north. The Southern Dynasties have experienced the founding of the country, the prosperity and decline, and the ZTE that turned the tide. To him, it is already a dead end to go downhill.

Reality and fantasy are intertwined, and Chang Ming has a sense of absurdity that he knows he is in a dream, but he still walks along the track involuntarily.

Are you in the middle of the game, or are you split in two and watch the play finish?

"Call them in," he heard himself say.

As if the **** had been granted an amnesty, he stumbled and withdrew, and soon a group of ministers filed in and knelt down on his bed again, as if mourning a concubine, as if the emperor was about to die.

In fact, it is almost the same.

Changming was always up and sleeping all night, diligently working day and night, correcting more memorials every day than the previous emperor combined in a year, but it still couldn't change the chronic disease of the dynasty and its fate of declining.

He tried his best to rectify the administration of officials, but the result was that the court became more corrupt and corrupt officials became more rampant. He reduced and exempted taxes, and in the end the court's tax revenue was reduced, but the common people did not reduce their burden. On the contrary, the landlords and bureaucrats filled their pockets and made a lot of money.

This dynasty is like a huge decaying carriage that is driving towards a dead end. He tried his best, but it made the horse even crazier and ran faster towards the dead end.

In contrast to this is the Northern Dynasty, which is full of vigor and vitality, and the monarchs and ministers are united, like the rising sun. They just won a big victory in a war at the beginning of the year, and their morale was boosted.

Before that, Chang Ming, who heard the news, had not been able to sleep well for three days and three nights.

Chang Ming was very tired, so tired that he fell asleep when he was correcting the memorial, and he didn't feel anything until he was just woken up when he was helped to the bed by his servants.

He thought he was not a fool, but after brainstorming, he still couldn't think of a better way than moving the capital.

Either move the capital, or surrender.

Surrender is out of the question.

Even if the capital is moved, it is at best a tactic to slow down the army. The opponent's army is strong and horses are strong, and our own troops are exhausted. to the enemy general.

These are all messes left by the previous emperor, but Chang Ming, who has only been on the throne for two years, has to bear it.

Chang Ming looked at the lifeless courtiers under the bed, and let them come up with all kinds of futile methods. Some wanted to show their last bit of loyalty to the dynasty, and some wanted to get away with the crowd and write down the last days of the old emperor. Every sentence is good to claim credit for the new emperor.

All kinds of human nature.

After talking freely for a while, everyone finally got tired of talking, and they hoped that the emperor would also speak.

The scene naturally quieted down, and all eyes fell on Chang Ming.

Chang Ming only said: "If you want to go, you can go, I won't go."

Everyone turned pale, knowing what the emperor's words meant.

Chang Ming waved his hand, watched the crowd leave in all directions, and did not say another word.

The day of breaking the city came quickly.

The enemy generals approached the city, and the people and officials in the city fled one after another.

The general of the Northern Dynasty did not encounter any resistance all the way, and went directly to the Palace of Political Affairs.

Chang Ming sat on the throne, looking at the people striding in against the background of the backlight.

The other party came closer, and then came closer.

Looked up.

The four eyes are facing each other.

Sure enough, they had exactly the same eyebrows and eyes as Yun Weisi.

But he is not like Yun Weisi, because the other party has a smile on his mouth and looks frivolous.

This is the sea of ​​clouds.

Chang Ming clearly printed these two names in his heart.

He felt like he shouldn't be here.

But where should I be, what should I be doing at this moment?

The hazy memories flashed away, but the body and emotions were still involuntarily substituted into the situation of the last emperor.

Yes, the dynasty is coming to an end, and the trees are falling and the monkeys are scattered. He is the last emperor who tried hard to save but ended up in vain.

The visitor saluted casually, with the arrogance typical of a victor.

"The last general, Yunhai, is ordered by our country's monarch to invite His Majesty to be a Marquis of Anle. As for this country, you can't manage it well anyway, so it's better to directly merge it into my Northern Dynasty territory and give peace to the people in the north and south." .”

Chang Ming raised his hand, revealing a pocket porcelain bottle in his palm.

"Winning the king and defeating the enemy, there is nothing to say. Congratulations to General Yun for his complete victory and sweeping away thousands of troops, but I don't like to depend on others by nature. I'm afraid that General Yun will be disappointed."

Yun Hai: "Your Majesty, don't die. Our monarch said that if you dare to die, let me massacre the city. Hearing that you are diligent and loving the people, you probably don't want to see them become ghosts under the knife?"

Chang Ming: "Your family's monarch is the one who wants to unify the world. Since he is not afraid of leaving a bad name in the history books for thousands of years, what am I afraid of?"

Yun Hai: "Even if you don't care about the people, those high-ranking children in your harem will still be buried with you."

Chang Ming: "I, Gao Tang, have died a long time ago. I haven't had time to have children in the past two years. Even the concubines have almost forgotten what they look like."

Sea of ​​clouds: ...

He rushed over without saying a word, trying to **** the porcelain bottle from Chang Ming's hand.

But Chang Ming took a step faster than him, and black blood flowed directly from the corner of his mouth.

Yun Hai's expression changed, and he pinched his chin and pressed it down, only to find that the other party's mouth was full of blood, which was still dripping out.

Chang Ming smiled.

Yun Hai's face was a bit ferocious, he never expected that he would swallow the poison before he came in because of his resoluteness.

The ants still have the heart to live in spite of themselves. A king of subjugation chooses to die when he has the chance to live.

Chang Ming grabbed his collar and pulled him closer.

The moment Chang Ming swallowed the poison, many images flashed in front of Chang Ming's eyes like a revolving lantern. He foresaw the second half of his life after he went to the Northern Dynasty, suffered humiliation and depression, and instantly remembered his identity.

He is not the twelfth emperor of the Southern Dynasty, he should have been the Changming of Jiufang.

On the Rainbow Bridge, the sea of ​​clouds forcibly pulled him to jump down, ups and downs in the monstrous sea of ​​flames, but he didn't know if this was an illusion trapping the two of them, or was it his one-man show?

Taking poison should not have been the direction of this dream, but the fleeting intuition of Lingtai prompted him to do so.

He is the eternal light of the nine directions, not this useless king of subjugation. In the decades before he lost his cultivation, he has been living as he pleases, even though he has worked hard to seek the ultimate martial arts, the mysteries of the world, and the world. Buddhism, Moru, that is what he is willing to do, not because of anyone's coercion.

It was so in the past, and it is so now.

At that moment, his sanity was extremely clear, but his vitality was rapidly passing by several times.

Only one sentence.

He could only say the last word to Yunhai.

"Know your mind and see your nature, find your roots and break your obstacles."

Yun Hai's complexion changed slightly.

Chang Ming didn't know if the other party understood, he couldn't say more, blood gushed out from his mouth and nose continuously, the pain was severe and painful, it didn't look like he was in an illusion at all.

The next moment, the eyes were plunged into darkness, and all consciousness was completely cut off.

…

Memory shuttles between the past and the present.

Those fragments that were forgotten in the underworld began to be picked up little by little.

For a long time, Jiufang Changming has been thinking about a problem.

Be it Dao or Demon, they are all artificially distinguished sects.

Since we are born as human beings, since the starting point is the same, the acquired distinction is just to make better use of each person's talent.

Is there a method of cultivation that is inclusive and inclusive, allowing everyone to practice?

When others think, they just think about it. When he thinks about it, he will do it.

For this reason, he betrayed the Tao and became a Buddha, and he betrayed the Buddha and became a demon. The world called him a slave of three surnames and called him immoral, but he laughed it off as a breeze.

He visited famous mountains, entered the sea and went to the river, and used various methods to read the cultivation methods of various schools and schools. Those who hated him had nothing to do with him, and he never cared about those who admired him.

Until one day, he set his sights on Wanshen Mountain, a place with countless ancient legends.

The terrain there is extremely high, not a blade of grass grows, and it is rolling up and down. It is difficult for even a master to search it all in a few days.

He didn't use any flying magic weapon, but just like an ordinary person, he used his feet to walk step by step on this high and steep mountain range.

It is common for monks to eat wind and drink dew.

But the hardships of Wanshen Mountain don't stop there.

It is a world of its own, and the weather is changeable, sometimes changing three or four times a day, heavy snow in an instant, and heat waves in the next moment, even monks, it is difficult for anyone to endure this long-term hardship. Since a long time ago, this place, The aura has long since dissipated, and it is not a blessed place suitable for cultivation in the eyes of monks.

Except for Jiufang Changming, almost no one would come to this barren land and stay there for several years.

It is precisely because of this that he discovered a secret.

A secret that led to the shattering of the enchantment of Wanshen Mountain and the emergence of demons.

…

Chang Ming suddenly woke up!

In bed again.

This time it was not a dragon bed.

Who is he?

"Master, are you awake? I was about to come in and call you, it's time to go up." The maid lifted the curtain and entered, softly reporting.

"What are your plans for today?" Chang Ming asked naturally.

"Today is the fifteenth day. After the small court meeting, it's time for you to teach His Majesty."

Chang Ming nodded. On the way to the palace after dressing and washing, he reviewed his half life and the dynasty that had had several generations of emperors.

This year, he was seventeen years old, the holy taboo of Yunhai, and his reign name was Wende. He had been on the throne for more than seven years, and he supported him all the way for the first seven years.

Now he is still the authoritative official who calls the wind and rain, but the young emperor has grown wings, and he is no longer willing to be that chick who is protected by others.

Thinking wildly all the way, entering the palace, several important officials from the six departments are already there, and today the emperor is also there, sitting on the throne like a half-ass, not very honest, with one leg shaking non-stop.

Chang Ming glanced at that leg, then slowly moved his gaze upwards, just in time to meet the gaze of the little emperor.

The latter smiled at him.

Chang Ming didn't follow suit, he looked away.

The court meeting ended quickly, and the other courtiers retired one after another, leaving only two monarchs and ministers.

"Father Xiang, there are a lot of court affairs today, and my head is dizzy when I hear it, so stop talking about classics and classics, and tell me a few stories."

Chang Ming sat down on his knees. As the only prime minister of the empire, he had the privilege of sitting in front of His Majesty without asking.

What's more, he is not only the prime minister, but also the auxiliary minister of the former emperor Tuogu.

"What story would you like to hear, Your Majesty?"

"How about, let's tell the story of not seeing each other in the underworld."

"This is what Zheng Zhuanggong's mother, Mrs. Jiang, loved her youngest son. She was dissatisfied with her eldest son, Zheng Zhuanggong, who forced her rebellious younger brother to commit suicide. She said it in a fit of anger. See you later. This story, I remember telling you when His Majesty was five years old."

"But now that I've listened to it again, I have some different thoughts."

"Appreciate further details."

"When I was young, I listened to my father's filial piety every day. I also felt that Zheng Zhuanggong was cruel and allowed his brother to make mistakes, just to make my mother regret one day. But now that I am older, I feel more and more that Zheng Zhuanggong is not easy. Jiang's parenting is ineffective. His younger brother always wants to reach out for things that shouldn't belong to him."

Having said that, the little emperor looked at Chang Ming.

"Things that don't belong to you should not be taken. Are you right, Xiangfu?"

Chang Ming also looked at the little emperor.

This child was brought up by him alone. He has been naughty since he was a child, and he was unwilling to sit down and listen to the class for a moment, not to mention that most of the old masters taught boring four books and five classics. It's enough to scold him, this is still an emperor, if he can't be beaten or scolded, then Chang Ming can only teach him himself.

He didn't like to listen to anyone, so Chang Ming told him stories in idioms, stories about emperors, generals, and ordinary people in the market. After coming and going to teach for seven years, rain or shine, the fat kid who was well-clothed and well-fed became a young emperor who was facing the wind.

As the little emperor grew up, he gradually had his own ideas. It was inevitable that the two would have conflicts. Chang Ming was busy with government affairs, so he didn't have much time to tell a child the ins and outs of doing something. The emperor accepted his decision, and over time, the rift became a gap, which could no longer be bridged by a piece of land or an inch of mud.

"Your Majesty's words are wrong."

He said slowly, "Jiang's family is certainly incapable of teaching children, but Zheng Zhuanggong must be filial, brotherly and friendly. Imagine that the king is an example for the world. If he is not willing to set an example, how can he rule the people of the world?"

To put it bluntly, Zheng Zhuanggong’s younger brother was indeed spoiled beyond measure, and deserved what he deserved, but as a king, Zheng Zhuanggong had to reconcile with his mother, otherwise he would not be able to ask his subjects to be filial to their parents in the future, and he would not be able to use filial piety to restrain his personal behavior. It will be messed up.

The little emperor snorted: "Father Xiang always likes to use these plausible truths to convince me."

Chang Ming said: "These are the words from the bottom of my heart, I will grow old one day, you are the master of this country, I can only help His Majesty go further while I still have some strength. "

"yes?"

The little emperor suddenly leaned over, and the distance between the two was infinitely close.

The tip of the nose is shoulder-to-shoulder, so close that Chang Ming loses focus for a while.

"Then Xiangfu, when will you grow old?"

The little emperor left soon.

These words kept echoing in Chang Ming's mind.

When will you be old?

When Chang Ming returned home, in the dead of night, he still lost his mind from time to time.

Father Xiang, you should get old quickly so that I can govern myself.

This is the subtext that the emperor never uttered.

He and Yunhai have taught each other for seven years, and they were once as close as father and son, but have they come to this point after all?

Chang Ming looked down at his hand holding the pen.

From entering the court as an official, being left alone by the first emperor, to assisting the emperor's teacher, these hands have long since grown from tight and powerful young skin to full of loose spots and wrinkles.

It seems that there is still something wrong.

He frowned and searched hard.

The official robe on his body and the room he is sitting in are like cages and shackles, trapping him in place.

He can quickly recall the appearance of the emperor since he was a child, he can recall every homework the emperor gave him, every sentence he called his father, he also remembers the questions of the annual imperial examination, and the questions of several outstanding students. The answer sheet, and even remember the important content of the court's deliberations in recent years.

These have constituted his life in the past few decades, and are also the source of all his pride. The reason why this empire has been able to operate as usual in the past few years is largely inseparable from his dedication to his duties.

But Chang Ming still felt something was wrong.

This subtle and strange feeling came from deep inside his heart, as if a faint voice made him wake up with his eyes open, but the reality was wrapped in layers of silk, making him think he was awake.

Someone from the palace called him into the palace overnight.

The last time I was in such a hurry was when the little emperor was eight years old. He had a high fever at night and cried for his father. Tired of crying, he fell into a deep sleep, and still refused to let go of him.

Thinking of the past, Chang Ming couldn't help but raise the corners of his mouth, and then he calmed down again.

Being so anxious this time, something must have happened. Could it be that the little emperor had another sudden illness?

The sedan chair stopped suddenly.

Chang Ming frowned, lifted the curtain and looked out.

"what happened?"

No one answered.

Outside the sedan chair, there was no sound.

In the empty palace, a few lights in the distance couldn't illuminate half of it.

Chang Ming felt something was wrong, he stepped out of the sedan chair and looked around.

Then he saw a man standing in a corner of the palace wall.

The figure in the night fully drew the bow and arrow, aiming at him from afar.

Chang Ming narrowed his eyes and remained motionless.

Yunhai is hesitating.

He didn't know what he was hesitating about either.

All of this today was planned three years ago.

He hated Chang Ming, especially hated that the other party controlled the government and played with his will in the palm of his hand.

For this power minister, the emperor is not the emperor who must be loyal, but a puppet and mascot who sits in the court.

He knew that the death of the first emperor was strange.

It was rumored inside and outside the palace that the late emperor's condition had already improved, but it was the prescription prescribed by the imperial physician recommended by Chang Ming that finally caused the late emperor's condition to deteriorate.

On the day the first emperor died, only Chang Ming was there, and no one knew what happened between them.

Yunhai couldn't even see the late emperor for the last time.

He lost his mother since childhood, and later lost his father, and now there is no elder in the palace, only Chang Ming can be relied on.

But Chang Ming was totally sorry for his trust.

this man...

As long as Chang Ming dies, the power of the empire will return to the hands of the emperor.

The temptation during the day made Yunhai fully understand that Chang Ming would not give up his authority easily.

He has countless disciples under him, and even the Imperial Forest Army and the Frontier Army are hawks and lackeys who only obey him. The emperor himself is just a **** in their eyes to maintain stability and balance.

Perhaps Chang Ming could have died in a more dignified way, but Yun Hai hoped to use this method to get rid of the demonic barrier in his heart——

Get rid of all the awe, fear and fear of Chang Ming.

Everything has been arranged for tonight.

All Changming's people were transferred away and replaced with the emperor's own cronies.

For this day, he had prepared for a long time without any mistakes.

When Chang Ming told the story during the day, he couldn't help but refute Chang Ming, thinking that the other party would be wary.

Fortunately not.

When the bow in his hand was fully drawn and the arrow was ready to go, Chang Ming just raised his head and looked towards him from a distance.

For some reason, Yun Hai missed half a beat of his heartbeat and hesitated for a moment.

At this moment, he thought of many things.

In the ice and snow, Chang Ming walked here with him on his back. At that time, he was still young and wanted to play in the snow, but Chang Ming couldn't resist, and he was afraid that the servants would not take good care of him, so he had to play with him himself.

Arrow, off the string!

The emperor learned riding and archery well, but on the contrary, as the prime minister of the empire, Chang Ming was a complete scholar.

The opponent couldn't dodge this arrow at all, as expected by the emperor.

The arrow shot directly into the opponent's chest, and it was still a double penetration.

In this case, with Chang Ming's age and body, there is no hope of survival.

The emperor finally felt that he could hold all the power firmly in his hands.

From now on, no one can restrict him, stop him, and be his stumbling block.

But Yunhai didn't feel ecstatic.

He watched Chang Ming indifferently and almost calmly collapsed on the masonry, convulsed in pain, and finally fell silent.

The pain didn't come from the palm I clenched tightly, but from another place.

He put his hands on his chest, feeling the pain from there.

Once, twice, like a hammer has been hammered heavily on the heart.

Without Changming, he is the true master of the empire.

Since everything is going so well, why does he still feel this way?

Where did it go wrong?

Yunhai raised his head and looked at the heavy dark clouds that covered the moonlight in the long night.

Suddenly, a ray of moonlight broke through the dark clouds, shone on the world, and suddenly opened a hole in his heart.

See the nature clearly, seek the root and break the barrier.

These words suddenly appeared in his mind, and shattered all his troubles.

Yun Hai closed his eyes, and all the footsteps around him, as well as the crowd shouting to His Majesty in panic, all moved away like a tide.

He is like a person who has been floating in the chaos for a long time, never finding his own roots.

Until, the sea of ​​fog cleared, the tide came and went, and the person sitting by the fire came into view.

The sea of ​​clouds was not originally called the sea of ​​clouds.

This name was improvised when he met Chang Ming and Xu Jingxian at the beach.

Before that, he didn't even know his name.

He only knows that he was born in the dark, and disappears when the sun rises. He will always be a person who cannot see the light.

Chang Ming gave him a very familiar feeling, so familiar that the name was about to come out, but he couldn't find this person in his poor memory.

On the contrary, there is always a voice in the back of my mind, clamoring for him to kill the other party.

For some unknown reason, this made him interested instead, to get close to this man named Chang Ming and explore his secrets.

The Mirror Lake under the Rainbow Bridge is actually a passage connecting all walks of life in Jiuchongyuan.

Thousands of mirror images, life in ten generations, seven emotions and six desires, fame and fortune, from mortals to monks, all the regrets and desires that cannot be expected can be found and satisfied in the mirror lake.

Yunhai wants to find the answer to his inner doubts, and he also wants to see Changming's obsession with desire, unable to extricate himself, and finally addicted to death in the broken illusion.

Chang Ming is just an ordinary person who meets the world of mortals by chance, no matter how many secrets the other party has, he can't escape a dream in the mirror lake.

There is no need for him to do it himself. In the end, Chang Ming will die here quietly like many monks who fell into the mirror lake.

But Yunhai didn't expect that when he pulled Changming into Jinghu, he also dug a big hole for himself.

The author has something to say:

When Yunhai and Changming met, they were complete strangers, but Huangliang Yimeng in the illusion was not only tempering Changming, but also giving Yunhai a chance to recall and watch from the sidelines. Now Yunhai began to have a different feeling. Next 【Daytime·Yun Weisi】Personality will also make a grand debut~

Yun Hai: I never thought that I would not succeed in defrauding others, but instead defrauded myself.

Jinghu: I never expected that I would help them both.

Yun Weisi: Never thought I would really come out.