1013 Who Fights With His Life, And Who Sells The Liquor? (1/2)
The Drunkard stared at the starry night and pondered for a long while. He was having some subtle sentiments as if he had been drinking too much and found himself amidst an ocean of stars. He was either too drunk or unwilling to look for a way out.
”Perhaps it will indeed be beautiful.”
He stared at the stars and suddenly seemed scared. He was like a kid who had been exposed to a whole new world out of his mountain village, and he was filled with fear and restlessness. His voice trembled, ”Yet also scary.”
The sweetest candy was probably the most poisonous drug. The best hope was sometimes the worst fear. It could be alluring to be free, but dreadful to be independent. It was just a matter of choice.
The Eldest Brother sighed gently, as he knew the Drunkard was already sober and had made up his mind.
The Drunkard turned to him and said solemnly, ”To me, being alive is always more important than anything else. I can give up a lot for it.”
The Eldest Brother said, ”It's not conflicting to be alive and to pursue.”
The Drunkard said, ”But the pursuit of the Academy is conflicting with Haotian's will.”
The Eldest Brother asked, ”Why does Haotian's will matter to you and me in terms of being alive?”
The Drunkard said, ”The reason for me being able to survive throughout these years is because I would never fight for a losing battle. Your Headmaster could not defeat Haotian. How could I?”
The Eldest Brother pondered for a long while then asked suddenly, ”What about the Academy?”
The Drunkard frowned slightly.
The Eldest Brother looked into his eyes calmly and said, ”If you won't stand against Haotian, then you will be against the Academy. You lack the confidence to defeat Haotian, then are you sure you can defeat the Academy?”
The Drunkard frowned further and his eyebrows seemed like two steady strokes in the dark wind.
The Eldest Brother said, ”If I cannot talk you into treachery, then we will have to fight against you.”
The Drunkard asked, ”What will the Academy do?”
The Eldest Brother said, ”The Academy … we will fight with our lives.”
Years ago in Lanke Temple, the Academy fought with their lives in the autumn rain. Later in Chang'an, in the Verdant Canyon and the Wilderness, they fought with their lives too. They fought desperately to kill their enemies. Everyone in the Academy was proud, or even narcissistic. Their lives and the lives of their fellows were the most important to them. Therefore whenever they fight with their lives, it must be a desperate situation and they would definitely bring about an unimaginable power.
It did not matter if it was Liu Bai, the Sage of Sword, the Chief Monk of Scripture, or the Abbey Dean. The Academy had defeated every one of their most powerful enemies by fighting with their lives even it was Heaven.
Would the Drunkard and the Butcher be exceptions?
”Interestingly, in the Academy those who would fight with their lives cannot catch up with me, such as Lin Wu, Jun Mo or even Ning Que. The one who could catch up with me won't fight with his life.”
The Drunkard looked at him and said calmly, ”If the Academy were to fight against me, then you are probably the only match. We are both Distanceless. We walk the same way and see the same sceneries. Being able to catch up is the premise. But are you sure you know how to fight with your life?”
The Eldest Brother said, ”Everything can be learned. And I'm a good learner.”
The Drunkard said, ”When we were at Xuankong Temple, I said that you have made a lot progress. You are much stronger than when you fought against the Abbey Dean… To be enlightened overnight, you are indeed the best student of the Headmaster, and you are indeed good at learning, much better than Jun Mo or Lin Wu. But are you sure you can learn to fight with your life?”
The Eldest Brother sighed, ”It's easy to risk one's own life instead of the ones of others.”
The Drunkard said, ”That's what I proved last night. You've learned to fight, and you took over the cudgel. However… you still cannot kill because it's not in you.”
The Eldest Brother said, ”Perhaps I'll bring someone who can.”
”You could carry a Bodhi tree back to the Academy from thousands of miles away. But you could never carry a man for thousands of miles to a fight. When you carried Jun Mo, how far did you make?” The Drunkard continued, ”That was actually what scares me. If you could really carry Lin Wu for a thousand miles to kill me, then what can I do except for to head back to my little town and stay with the Butcher?”