Hidden Shadow – CH 151

Chapter One-Hundred-Fifty-One: Generation Gap

What exactly was Chu Dingjiang up to? He’d already given up being a proper young master of a noble family, and even though he successfully sneaked into the Konghe Army without anyone knowing, he had not really thrived.

And then there was Lu Danzhi, who suddenly appeared, claiming to be Cui Yichen’s uncle, and did not even recognize him after meeting Cui Yichen…

Up to this point, everything was shrouded in mystery, and An Jiu was utterly confused.

She went out while lost in thought.

The Earth Instructor, hearing the conversation inside, became even more amused, his voice rising at the end, “Oh my, this mission is thrilling and exciting, and you even got a free official position! Congratulations, Little Xuan Ren!” Since the Earth Instructor decided to curry favor with Mo Sigui, he no longer called An Jiu “Little Shorty” but affectionately called her “Little Xuan Ren,” though unfortunately, An Jiu still wanted to punch him a few times.

Given the possibility of getting points deducted for assaulting a superior, An Jiu had to abandon the idea.

Back at their lodgings, Chu Dingjiang was dozing on the couch.

“Chu Dingjiang,” An Jiu knew he was not asleep, “you know everything, right?”

“About arresting Wei Yuzhi?” Chu Dingjiang’s voice was low and husky, with a slight nasal tone. He sat up and gently pressed his nose with his finger.

“Yes.”

“Go arrest him. Are you planning to disobey orders?” Chu Dingjiang did not seem to care about the matter.

“This is risking your life. What are you after?” An Jiu could understand him somewhat, but she could not understand why, even if he intended to sever ties with the Hua family, there was no need for such self-torture.

Seeing his silence, An Jiu said, “Only Mo Sigui is around. You can pretend he does not exist.”

“For the sake of the path in one’s heart, even death is without regret. This is the spirit of the people of my hometown.” Speaking of this, Chu Dingjiang felt out of place in this world. The nobles of the Song Dynasty—had they ever not valued their lives? They pursued power and profit to satisfy their selfish desires, so they cherished their lives above all else.

However, the Warring States period was a time of constant warfare, with mountains of corpses and rivers of blood. Everywhere, ambitions were rife: the desire to unify the world, the ambition to achieve lasting fame, the ambition to create a peaceful era… These were all selfish desires, but the difference was that they were for achievement. For self-fulfillment, not for the enjoyment of a life of luxury.

In his youthful arrogance, Chu Dingjiang had chased the exhilarating feeling of turning the world upside down with a flick of his wrist. Yet, seeing this peaceful and prosperous age, this dignified man could not help but shed tears.

Now, his ambition was not to create another chaotic world through sheer force, but to prolong this period without war as much as possible. For this, he was prepared to sacrifice himself for his principles.

He had never been attached to appearances. Hua Ji, Hua Rongjian, Chu Dingjiang—regardless of the name, he was uniquely himself in this world.

As for the Hua family, Chu Dingjiang was unwilling to devote his entire life to it again. But after all, there was a deep bond between their souls and bloodlines. He felt that his rebirth into the Hua family was a deliberate arrangement by Heaven. Whether the Hua family was stripped of its power or expelled, he could turn a blind eye, but he could not bear to see it perish.

Therefore, he needed to possess power—power unrelated to the Hua family…

“The Dao? What is that?” An Jiu asked.

Chu Dingjiang snapped out of his reverie. “The truth and direction in one’s heart, to put it another way, are roughly… aspirations and ambitions.”

An Jiu asked, “Does everyone have them?”

Chu Dingjiang nodded, “Yes, but everyone’s path is different.”

An Jiu: “I do not.”

Chu Dingjiang smiled, “If you do not know what to do, why not use your talents to maintain peace in the world?”

An Jiu: “Why maintain peace?”

“A person should have lofty aspirations.”

“Why should I have such lofty aspirations?”

“Is it not good to ensure peace throughout the world?”

An Jiu pondered for a moment, “Alright, but what necessary connection does peace or not have with me?”

“…”

A generation gap, a deep generation gap.

One was ambitious, idealistic, and proactive, willing to die for his dreams; the other was aimless, without ideas, lost and passive, without a purpose in life or death.

“Go choose your weapons.” Chu Dingjiang decided to end the conversation; if they continued, he was starting to doubt why he even had lofty aspirations. An Jiu’s negativity was like ice, cooling the enthusiasm of those around her.

Chu Dingjiang decided to warm her up slowly, not to rush things, lest he get frostbite himself.

…

This time, the highest-level armory was open to them. The weapons here were almost of lifelong quality, but only three could be chosen at a time.

Chu Dingjiang’s original weapon was a heavy sword from the Spring and Autumn Period called Mingju. It looked simple and unadorned, but what was noteworthy was that, despite its age, the blade looked newly forged. He used only this sword on missions, so he allowed An Jiu to choose a weapon.

An Jiu chose two pairs of twin swords, a soft sword, and several other portable hidden weapons. Unfortunately, the few bows in the armory were all longbows, unsuitable for carrying or ambushes, so she had to give them up.

After leaving the armory, the two went together to the archives to retrieve information about the Piaomiao Mountain mansion from Headmaster Sheng.

On the way, Chu Dingjiang decided to patiently talk to her. “Is there anything you want to do?”

In his view, a person without ambition was extremely pathetic. Although women did not necessarily need to have grand ambitions, even the most ordinary woman should have the thought of “finding a loving husband”! Life was only meaningful when there was direction and anticipation.

An Jiu said, “Yes.”

“Hmm?” This answer was somewhat unexpected for Chu Dingjiang.

“Successfully complete the mission.”

“And further afield?”

“To save my mother.” This was An Jiu’s reason for insisting on joining the Konghe Army.

If she were still carrying her own gun, she would never have taken such a roundabout path. Unfortunately, given her current situation, even this was not easy.

Chu Dingjiang said, “And further afield?”

“Is this not far enough? I do not know how many years it will take before I can reach her!” An Jiu never thought about the next decade or more. Every day was uncertain; whether she could even live that long was a question. Why waste time thinking about such things?

Now she only hoped that Mei Yanran would not die before then.

Chu Dingjiang was adept at judging people. Someone as pure and ruthless as An Jiu must have memories nine-tenths filled with killing. A person who was too proficient and pure in one area inevitably had significant deficiencies in others.

An Jiu seemed to have experienced many things, but in reality, aside from killing, she was a blank slate.

Chu Dingjiang was happy to mark this blank slate with his own. “I might be able to help you with this matter. I want to know what your plans are after you save her.”

An Jiu did not refuse his offer and answered seriously, “Herding sheep, growing grapes.”

Chu Dingjiang was a little unsatisfied. “Anything else?”

An Jiu frowned, lost in deep thought.

Chu Dingjiang did not disturb her, letting her think for herself.

The two walked in silence until they entered the darkness of the residential area, when she said, “I will raise a few horses and a dog.”

Chu Dingjiang’s heart immediately darkened. She even thought about such trivial things as raising dogs; why had she not thought about finding a man?

“Ahem.” He cleared his throat, guiding her earnestly. “Why have you not thought about finding someone to spend your life with?”

“I have,” An Jiu replied.

Chu Dingjiang was just starting to feel happy when she added, “My mother.”