The Demon Lords

As soon as Lord Zheng’s words fell,

Sun Liang directly collapsed with a thud onto the ground; that brush with death and sudden sense of survival made his nerves loosen all at once, and he almost fainted.

As for Sun Ying,

his teeth were clamped so hard on his lips that blood had already seeped out. Though crippled, he had still retained some vigor in his gaze, but now his eyes were completely clouded over.

Lord Zheng did not linger in the Sun Mansion. After ordering his men to release all the servants of the Sun Family, he left a detachment of troops waiting outside the mansion, then himself mounted the Pixiu and, under the tight protection of his personal guards, returned to the Governor’s Mansion.

After all, the Governor’s Mansion was now the true center of Ying Capital City; the Royal Mansion of Prince Cheng was more like a symbolic landmark.

On the way back, the Wild People King did not ride a horse, but took the initiative to walk at the Sword Saint’s side.

The Sword Saint did not ask anything,

but the Wild People King took the initiative to start explaining.

His very identity was an original sin to begin with, after all.

Besides, the Wild People King knew perfectly well that even though he had rendered great service today, in Lord Zheng’s eyes he still could not compare to the Sword Saint.

What’s more, as for the other Demon Kings, the Wild People King had more or less seen them clearly: they didn’t seem to have much attachment to this thing called "good and evil." Their way of acting, like that of their lord, was centered on their own preferences.

He even felt they didn’t really care all that much about their original identity as Yan people either.

But the Sword Saint was different. Though the Sword Saint of today had already changed a great deal, the Wild People King didn’t dare relax in the slightest, because the Sword Saint of the past would never have walked over and simply struck, cutting that masked man down with a single sword.

Even if he clearly knew it would be easy to kill him, he would still tell him, I’m about to strike—be ready to receive it.

"Our lord’s move this time can truly be called turning the clouds with one hand and summoning the rain with the other;

First, he preserved the Sun Family. From what that old man Sun Youdao meant, he’s preparing to come out of retirement; otherwise, with that second son of his, Sun Liang, this deal could never be worked out.

Now that Ying Capital City is in chaos, whether it’s the local power-holders of Ying Capital City, the commoners, or the Yan imperial court, they’re all thinking of the same thing: to quickly stabilize the situation in Ying Capital City.

Sun Youdao is already a man of great moral prestige, with the oldest seniority and ability obvious to all. Riding this momentum, even if he himself sits still and does nothing, the officials of Ying Capital City will come to petition him, begging him to come out and take charge of the big picture. The court will even issue gracious decrees, hinting for him to step forward to calm the situation.

And once Sun Youdao comes out this time, his status won’t fall because of the period he spent retired. On the contrary, he’ll ride this east wind and take even deeper control of Ying Capital City, the former core of Cheng State.

This also provides much better conditions for him to fulfill the promises he made to our lord.

Second, Sun Ying’s betrayal of his allies this time will cause not only him—but the entire Sun Family along with him—to be hated by all the rebel factions across Jin land. In other words, the Sun Family’s reputation is already rotten. They’ve been completely lashed to our lord’s ship, with no room to turn back."

After hearing this, the Sword Saint said:

"You said earlier that everyone will petition Sun Youdao to come out of retirement and take charge of the situation, and now you say the Sun Family’s reputation is rotten? Isn’t that contradictory?"

The Wild People King shook his head and said:

"Not contradictory, not in the least. Just as your sword has two sides, people are the same.

Once this affair is spread abroad,

the power-holders and commoners of Ying Capital City will be even more eager for Sun Youdao to come out.

The elites are worried that after this rebellion, the Yan imperial court will seize the opportunity to penetrate more deeply into this stagnant pond of Ying Capital City, whittle away their power, and suppress their status;

The common folk of Ying Capital City are worried that if a few more rebellions break out, or if it sparks a war, their livelihoods will be affected, and they’ll once again be driven from their homes.

And the Sun Family, which has just helped the Yan people wipe out the rebels and earned great merit, will, in the eyes of these elites and commoners, be seen as true men of the Yan court. If he steps forward to take charge of the situation, he should be able to withstand the pressure from the Yan imperial court, and everyone else can shelter under this great tree.

But how to put it...

What I said just now is one side; the other side is this: once people no longer fear for their lives, they start thinking all sorts of idle thoughts. They themselves are muddle-headed, drifting along like water plants without even a spine, yet they shamelessly enjoy watching others’ misfortunes.

It’s still these same elites, still these same officials. In private, they will inevitably criticize the Sun Family, criticize Sun Youdao—talk of selling out one’s lord for glory, betraying the state for honor, and so on.

By day, on the streets or in the government office, when they see members of the Sun Family, they’ll kneel and fawn. At night, when three friends gather and three cups of horse piss go down the hatch, they’ll be able to tear Sun Youdao to shreds from head to toe.

Even the commoners of Ying Capital City will make up all sorts of stories about Sun Youdao. Once they close their doors, they’ll spit on the ground first, curse "Old Dog Sun," then damn that Jin traitor—or Cheng traitor, that old dog—to hurry up and die already!

Being the man everyone looks to and being infamous have never been contradictory.

In the end, it’s still because there are too few people in this world who can completely disregard everything and stand up. Do you really think anyone can be like you, voluntarily standing before a swarm of charging blades?

Besides, even you have been cursed by people, haven’t you?"

The Sword Saint pondered for a long time,

and finally said:

"Troublesome."

"But you seem to be taking it better than I expected."

"Because I think, thinking too much only makes people vexed, so I simply don’t think."

"That’s a realm—true clarity."