I am a soldier in the border army

Chapter 301 Life is like the sun! The disciple of the sage, the ancestor of the Zhao family!

Patriarch Gongsun spoke with doubt in his tone.

He seemed really puzzled by Shangguan Ding's sudden visit.

Shangguan Ding stared at the old face of Patriarch Gongsun, trying to capture some subtle changes from it.

Unfortunately not.

As the two looked at each other, Shangguan Ding suddenly smiled.

"The old lieutenant has changed a lot."

The years pass by and time flies.

The Grand Commandant of Dayong, who used to walk like a dragon and a tiger and look like a wolf and an eagle in the Weiyang Palace in the sacred capital, now looks old and frail.

The former sharpness and hardness are no longer visible, and the whole person has become much softer.

Well, it’s also smooth.

The area of ​​Youzhou is vast and boundless to ordinary people, but in the eyes of the celestial beings in the eight realms, it is just an object in the palm of the hand.

The fall of a true immortal of the seventh realm, and the deaths and annihilation of a number of high-ranking families, such a big commotion, how could it be possible to hide it from an old immortal like him?
Similarly, how could he not know why he was here?

Ancestor Gongsun, who pretended to be ignorant even though he knew the truth, smiled when he met Shangguan Ding's playful gaze.

"A person's life is like the sun that patrols the sky."

"When the sun rises, the morning light is dim and full of vitality."

"Traveling to the high sky, the blazing sun is like flowing gold and melting stone."

"When it sets in the west, only this tiny bit of sunset remains, barely lingering on, how can it not change?"

This metaphor by Patriarch Gongsun is indeed very vivid.

Although Shangguan Ding had never seen the old general's appearance when he was young, he had seen his appearance when he was young.

It is indeed blazing and brilliant, like flowing gold and iron!
The celestial beings in the eighth realm, with the help of the secret military techniques, can even rival the most powerful beings in the ninth realm.

If it is assisted by military power, killing gods and immortals on the battlefield would be as easy as taking something from a bag.

To this day, Shangguan Ding still remembers the time he accidentally caught a glimpse of the late emperor looking at the old general's back.

There is also a sense of helplessness mixed with fear and indifference.

At that time, the military strategists were too powerful, and the Gongsun clan, one of the most powerful military strategists, was at its peak.

Among them, the youngest son of the old commander achieved enlightenment at the age of nearly forty, which attracted the attention of the world.

Everyone says that as long as this boy is around, the military strategist and the Gongsun clan will prosper forever and revive again!
What a pity!

Sometimes, the more prosperous and popular something is, the shorter its life will be.

That military genius whose talent far surpassed that of Shangguan Ding eventually died in the bloody battle in the capital of gods during the succession of the imperial throne.

Along with it, the once powerful military strategists and Gongsun clan also perished.

And it was during this process that Shangguan Ding stepped on the corpses of military strategists and rose to his current position.

Today, Shangguan Ding is just like the Gongsun clan in the past, traveling to the sky, radiant with glory and flowing gold and stone.

And after that?
Will they end up like the Gongsun clan today, with only the last rays of the setting sun left and barely surviving?
Shangguan Ding was slightly absent-minded as his thoughts flashed through his mind.

So... this old fool told me all this to remind me not to be too arrogant, otherwise the Gongsun clan's today will be my tomorrow?

It has to be said that people who have been in high positions for a long time are mostly sensitive and suspicious.

Sometimes a simple sentence becomes complicated when it reaches the ears of these people.

And seeing the Prime Minister of Dayong, who stood at the pinnacle of the country, narrowed his eyes slightly, with an inexplicable expression.

Patriarch Gongsun gave a wry smile.

"Why does the Prime Minister look at me like this?"

Shangguan Ding had a smile on his face, but the meaning was unclear.

"Old Commander, do you still hate me?"

Although the youngest son of Patriarch Gongsun did not die directly at his hands, everyone knew that he was involved in the incident.

In addition, there were countless military strategists who died because of his plans and plots.

In detail, adding up all these things, it is not an exaggeration to say that the two people standing in the void and talking and laughing have a blood feud.

But to say "hold a grudge" is a bit of a joke.

The court is like a battlefield.

If you are not as skilled as your opponent on the battlefield and die one day, can you still blame the enemy for being too strong?
So in response to Shangguan Ding's words, Patriarch Gongsun just smiled indifferently.

"It's just some old things that happened to each other. How can you say that we are holding grudges?"

Military strategists never bear grudges against their enemies.

I only think about how to turn the tables in the next "war", or even win the battle completely, kill the enemy, and avenge this blood feud!
Looking at the calm face of Patriarch Gongsun, whose expression didn't change at all, Shangguan Ding sighed in his heart.

The old and cunning one is very cunning.

The ancients were honest and never deceived.

But for now, what Grandmaster Gongsun said was enough, because it meant that the old general was already bowing to him, the prime minister of the current dynasty.

With this foundation, my trip from Youzhou to the north will not be in vain.

Next, it is necessary to continue the discussion.

As soon as the thought came to his mind, Shangguan Ding smiled.

"There were some things that happened back then, and I was acting on the emperor's orders. I had no choice."

"It's great that the old commander thinks this way."

Faced with Shangguan Ding's attempt to make up for what he had done in the past.

Grandmaster Gongsun’s smile remained unchanged.

"You are worrying too much, Prime Minister."

"I am getting old now. Now I just want to stay in my hometown of Liaodong and enjoy my old age with my children and grandchildren."

"As for the past grudges, let them be the past!"

Shangguan Ding laughed loudly when he heard the words of Grandmaster Gongsun, which seemed to have seen through the troubles of the world.

"good!"

No one wants to be secretly hated by others.

As a winner, and in a sense a perpetrator, what I like most is to be able to laugh it off with my enemies.

Therefore, Shangguan Ding's word "good" seemed quite pleasant.

But after saying this, the happy smile suddenly stopped.

"In that case, if I want to meet that Champion Marquis, I think... the old lieutenant will not refuse, right?"

As he spoke, Shangguan Ding looked at Grandmaster Gongsun with burning eyes.

Old Master Gongsun was stunned for a moment, looking a little surprised.

"The Prime Minister wants to see that boy?"

In his words, he did not hide his closeness to Han Shao at all.

Shangguan Ding was not surprised either.

After all, if they weren't this close, how could the old man come so hurriedly to stop him.

"I came here just for that kid."

Shangguan Ding smiled but didn't smile.

"I am really curious about how brave that guy is. He dared to touch my people without even saying hello."

Small families like the Zheng family of Yuyang who were trying to climb up the social ladder were never taken seriously by Shangguan Ding.

But on the surface, she is still his.

No matter what high-sounding pretext it is under.

To touch them would be to slap Shangguan Ding in the face.

He is indeed very courageous.

Upon hearing this, Patriarch Gongsun sneered.

"I didn't expect that such a small matter would require the Prime Minister to make a personal trip."

Having said that, he looked up at Shangguan Ding before continuing.

"What a coincidence! That boy is visiting me now. If I had known that the Prime Minister wanted to see him, I would have invited him to come and welcome the Prime Minister."

Shangguan Ding sneered in his heart when he heard this.

Are you a guest here by chance?
I’m afraid that the kid named Han also knows that he has caused trouble and wants to seek shelter from this old immortal!

But it seems that this person is not a brainless reckless man who only knows how to fight and kill.

Shangguan Ding smiled faintly, making some kind of assessment of Han in his heart.

"In that case, it saves me some trouble."

"I wonder if the old commander would be willing to let me meet this... the youngest hero in the world of Great Yong?"

Hearing the word "willingly" that Shangguan Ding deliberately emphasized, Patriarch Gongsun smiled.

"Since the Prime Minister has said so, how dare I refuse?"

As he spoke, he directly unfolded the secret realm of Dharma that belonged exclusively to the celestial beings in the eight realms in the void, and then rushed forward to invite Shangguan Ding with his hand.

"Prime Minister, please follow me."

Such an unexpected performance made Shangguan Ding slightly stunned.

He thought that the old man would definitely try to stop him, but he didn't expect it to be so easy and efficient.

"Isn't he afraid that if the real person really arrests that Han kid, he will be punished?"

Shangguan Ding was suspicious, but did not show it.

He glanced at the natural-looking Patriarch Gongsun, then looked at the entrance to the celestial secret realm in front of him, then bowed and smiled.

"The old commander has really become more open-minded."

"In that case, I will respectfully obey your command."

After saying this, without any hesitation, he stepped directly into the dead silent secret realm of heaven and man.

……

It was similar to the feeling Han Shao had the last time he set foot here.

This secret land of the heaven and man of Grandmaster Gongsun was truly desolate. Looking around, the world was barren, and although the land under his feet was like the world outside, the void around his head was a chaos.

The only special thing is the densely packed forest of tombstones.

Shangguan Ding stood in the void, without releasing any spiritual thoughts, and only relied on his naked eyes to overlook the forest of tombstones below.

It's not really shocking.

Having been in the supreme position second only to that person for so many years, what kind of shocking scenes have you not seen?
He just suddenly felt a little sentimental.

After all, most of the people buried in that dense forest of tombs and steles were people he knew, met, and talked to during their lifetime.

Some even fought against each other.

And now he is still alive.

Living step by step to the top of the blue sky.

And these people are dead.

The soul becomes silent and the body gradually decays until it completely turns into dust and returns to heaven and earth.

For a moment, even Shangguan Ding couldn't tell whether, facing the scene before him, he felt more of the pride of a winner, or the emptiness of seeing his old friend pass away.

Looking up at the old figure of Patriarch Gongsun who was leading the way in front, Shangguan Ding had a puzzled look in his eyes.

Now it seems that the reason given by the old man when he resigned from his official position and retired was not a lie.

After so many years, in addition to releasing Gongsun Du, the Zhenliao City was built to resist the barbarians on the grassland.

The entire Gongsun clan in Liaodong is indeed law-abiding and never causes trouble.

And this old man just as he said, only guards the tomb for the military strategist.

However, Shangguan Ding couldn't quite tell whether this appearance was a sign of true disheartenedness or a sign of retrenchment and plotting something.

As if he had noticed Shangguan Ding's gaze, the old man Gongsun, who was leading the way in front, laughed hoarsely.

"Why is the Prime Minister looking at me again?"

Shangguan Ding collected his thoughts for a moment and answered with a smile.

"I just feel that the old general is still strong and healthy. He really shouldn't be clinging to the past and wasting his time."

Upon hearing this, Patriarch Gongsun continued to pace slowly in the air without stopping.

Just like an ordinary old man in this world, aging and calm.

"What does the Prime Minister mean?"

Shangguan Dingdao.

"The world is in turmoil right now, and we need a senior official like the old general to come forward and eliminate the evil spirits and restore the country! Let the people of the world live in peace and prosperity!"

Are you trying to win me over?

Patriarch Gongsun laughed in his heart.

If he hasn't figured out some issues, he will still be tempted by the so-called "restoring the country and promoting peace."

But now... it's too late!
His military strategists no longer want to be weapons in the hands of others, they want to be the wielders of weapons themselves!
So he pretended to hesitate for a moment, then smiled and shook his head to refuse.

"Thank you, Prime Minister, for your high regard for me. I thank you."

"It's just that I'm old and my death is not far away. I don't want to bother with it anymore."

"With a great hero like the Prime Minister in this world, there will be no chaos."

"Perhaps it won't be long before we will be able to revive the world."

Perhaps it was because he had been sitting under the throne of Emperor Beigong for so many years, and no one had dared to reject him so bluntly for a long time.

Even though Patriarch Gongsun's words were extremely polite, even with a hint of flattery, Shangguan Ding still frowned.

"This old man keeps talking about old age and death. Has he really lost all his fierceness?"

Shangguan Ding was a little skeptical.

The country is easy to change, but the nature is hard to change.

The fierce tiger from Liaodong who dominated the temple of the capital in his early years and the Grand Marshal of the dynasty are still deeply engraved in Shangguan Ding's heart.

Therefore, even because of this forest of tomb steles, the name of this Liaodong tiger has been replaced by the name of "Tomb Tiger" in the eyes of the world.

But Shangguan Ding didn't believe it!

Even if a tiger retreats to this dark forest of graves, it is still a tiger!

Shangguan Ding even felt that the current Grandmaster Gongsun was far more terrifying than before.

Because no matter how strong the Liaodong Tigers were in the past, they were in the open.

But now the tomb tiger is hiding in the dark, watching everything.

And just as Shangguan Ding narrowed his eyes and his mind was turning.

Patriarch Gongsun suddenly paused, then smiled.

"arrive."

……

The wooden house and thatched cottage were extremely simple.

No one in this world would be able to imagine that the residence of an eighth-level celestial being would be so simple and rustic.

Shangguan Ding was not surprised by this.

After all, when this old man Gongsun was in the capital in his early years, he was famous for not liking beautiful women and not pursuing luxury.

So when he resigned from his official position and retired, he said that he wanted to bring the Gongsun clan back to their ancestral land to guard the military strategist's body, and not many people in the entire Divine City doubted it.

But at the moment when Shangguan Ding landed, his footsteps paused.

Even his expression instantly became solemn.

"Old Commandant...are there any distinguished guests?"

The secret realm of heaven and man is the private domain of heaven and man.

It is rude to use divine thoughts to spy at will.

So from the moment he set foot in it, Shangguan Ding intentionally restrained his spiritual thoughts.

It was not until this moment that he realized that the Han boy was not the only one in the wooden house.

Instead, there were two strange auras, one small and one large.

The small ones are just a trickle in the eyes of Shangguan Ding, who is at the top of the ninth realm.

But the big ones are like the abyss of the ocean, vast, boundless and bottomless.

Even Shangguan Ding couldn't tell for a moment who was stronger, himself or that strange being.

He saw Shangguan Ding frowning and looking at him, with a look of vigilance and dissatisfaction.

Patriarch Gongsun smiled.

"Don't be nervous, Prime Minister. I'm just an old friend whom I haven't seen for a long time."

As he said that, he walked forward and pushed open the wooden door.

As far as the eye can see, there is a young and tall figure kneeling and playing chess with an old man in Confucian robes.

Shangguan Ding subconsciously ignored the young figure and only looked at the old man in Confucian robes.

As the most powerful person in the world at the peak of the Ninth Realm, even without relying on his spiritual power as vast as the ocean, his vision has already been extremely sharp.

Looking at the small word "Ji" embroidered on the Confucian robe, Shangguan Ding's pupils shrank slightly.

Jixia Academy!

As expected, the old man in Confucian robes also looked back at this time, then nodded slightly and said with a smile.

"It turns out that the distinguished guest from Dayong is here. No wonder this old man Gongsun rushed to greet him..."

As he spoke, the chess piece in the shape of a car in his hand rushed forward and went straight to the side of the center palace on the opposite side.

"General!"

He addressed you as "Prime Minister" and "Distinguished Guest", but his tone did not show any respect at all.

It seemed that he treated the powerful Prime Minister of Dayong in front of him as just an ordinary guest.

Shangguan Ding remained calm in response.

Because the other party, with his vast and majestic aura and the special Confucian robe on his body, is indeed qualified to look at him straight in the eye without the need for him to be respectful.

But looking someone in the eye does not mean that the other person can look down on you!

They are both at the top of the ninth realm, but when they meet, not only do they not greet each other, they are also so casual. It is extremely rude!

Feeling angry, Shangguan Ding's eyes turned a little colder.

"But he is the ancestor of the Zhao family in Jiangnan, a disciple of the Supreme Being?"

At the pinnacle of the Ninth Realm, he was wearing the Confucian robes of the Jixia Academy.

The only person Shangguan Ding could think of was the Zhao family in Jiangnan, who were married to the Gongsun clan.

Looking back to the past, the marriage between these two families shocked many people.

Even Shangguan Ding was quite surprised at first.

After all, conflicts between civil and military officials have existed in every dynasty.

It may be an exaggeration to say that water and fire are incompatible, but they definitely cannot pee in the same pot.

But it finally happened.

Thinking about it now, it’s really unreasonable.

Just like now, Shangguan Ding also couldn't understand why this old monster suddenly appeared here.

He even sat down to play chess with this kid named Han!
"I never thought my humble reputation would reach the ears of the Prime Minister. How ashamed I am."

He said he was ashamed, but there was no trace of shame on his face.

After saying this, he saw that the opponent, who was facing his 'general' on the chessboard, did not dodge or evade, but brazenly exchanged pieces.

The ancestor of the Zhao family sighed.

"You are good in every way, except that you have a bad temper. It shouldn't be that bad, it shouldn't be that bad..."

"With the ancestor here, no one can touch you."

"Don't you think so, Prime Minister?"

……

(End of this chapter)