Unparalleled Double Harmony

Chapter 607 Secret Alliance (Part 2)

Ah-Hsiao certainly didn't genuinely want to "help each other" with Shuang-Hsieh.

No matter how eloquent his words or how sincere his attitude, he only treats others as pawns to be used.

This disposition, or rather, this perception, is shaped by his past life experiences and is therefore unchangeable.

In Ah-Xiao's memory, from the time he could remember, there were only two people he had ever met who were truly willing to give to him unconditionally... his parents.

If he weren't so clever and perceptive, unable to see the occasional unintentional disdain and annoyance hidden beneath the friendly and concerned expressions of others, he might be more likely to trust them, just like... most of us.

An ordinary person usually only gradually realizes, during the process of growing up and in the ever-changing interpersonal relationships, that more than half of the relationships around them are actually "hypocrisy and exchange of interests"; and often the "interests" are nothing more than some perfunctory agreement and recognition, which in turn give rise to cheap emotional value.

But all of these are meaningful.

Between people, besides the love from their closest relatives and the purest interactions in childhood, don't many genuine feelings later on also begin with initial politeness and pretense?
People hide their darkest and most selfish parts for a lifetime, just to be a "good person," right?

Unfortunately, Murong Xiao's extraordinary intellect and unique upbringing prevented him from experiencing the development of normal interpersonal relationships from the very beginning. His understanding of "human nature" was also greatly skewed, which resulted in his inability to establish genuine friendships and trust with others as an adult. Moreover, once he gained sufficient martial power, or rather, the ability to control the life and death of others, he would uncontrollably veer towards extremes whenever he encountered uncontrollable negative feedback when interacting with people.

That's why he reacted so strongly when he saw that "uncomfortable look" on his father's face.

Now that we've explained all that, let's look back: Murong Xiao's actions just now, facing Sun and Huang... his decision to kill them one moment and then to cooperate the next, are much easier to understand.

When a person views everyone except themselves as a "human-machine" entity, and then calculates how to treat them by analyzing their behavior patterns, feedback mechanisms, and exploitability, this is how they will speak and act.

To use a vivid example, Ah-Xiao's current attitude towards anyone other than his mother is similar to how we feel when we encounter a quest NPC in an open-world RPG—he sees a dialog box pop up with five or six options, and then chooses the one he thinks is the best based on his own needs and interests; but if he thinks all the options are bad, he might just randomly choose one and immediately kill the other person.

At present, Ah-Xiao believes that Shuang-Xie's reaction has returned to his calculations and is within his acceptable range, so he chooses to continue to talk about the "alliance".

Of course, "alliance" is just a nicer way of saying it. In reality, it's about mutual exploitation, or at least making the other party feel that they are being exploited, while in essence, it's just one party using the other.

"Tsk... I don't understand then..." At the table, Huang Donglai took another sip of wine, and then gave the reaction that A Xiao expected, "The demise of the illegitimate master is certainly a good thing for us, but what good is it for you, Second Young Master?" He paused, "Could it be... that you have a grudge against the illegitimate master?"

Sun Yixie also looked intently at Murong Xiao, as if he was using his eyes to support Huang Donglai.

“Hmm…” Murong Xiao pondered for a moment, then replied, “In this matter… if you want to talk about personal grudges, there are some, but not all of them.”

Ah-Xiao's words were half-truths, leaving the other person to ask further questions.

"Oh?" Huang Donglai could understand the other party's intention, but he continued to play along with Ah Xiao. "I don't quite understand what you're saying... It's not just a 'personal feud,' so what could it be? It can't be... a national or family feud, can it?"

"Exactly." This was exactly the question Murong Xiao had been waiting for. Only if the other party accepted this question could he use the "value" approach to delve into a more in-depth topic.

"What are you talking about?" Huang Donglai then relayed the message to the other side.

"This..." Murong Xiao put on a troubled expression, "I can tell you two about this..." He looked at the two of them again, "but there is something I must say beforehand. Once what I am about to say enters your ears, you will have 'no turning back'."

His statement was actually meaningless, because Sun and Huang both knew that when Ah Xiao said "we must overthrow the great mountain of the commoner" not long ago, they had no way out. Even if he didn't say anything afterward, that information alone was enough to constitute a motive for silencing him.

“Second Young Master, you’re underestimating us brothers.” Knowing he had no way out, Sun Yixie became even more assertive, making his words even more outrageous. “We are, after all, ministers personally appointed by the Emperor as ‘meritorious protectors of the country.’ If the young master is really plotting something to shake up our Great Ming Empire, even if we have no grudge against him, we will not stand idly by.”

Here, Brother Sun also took advantage of the information gap with the other party, because Murong Xiao did not know that the two of them had updated some information about the concubine from Feng Manlou. So when he saw Brother Sun's attitude, he really believed that Shuang Xie was "highly enlightened".

However, Sun Huang already knew that "the ultimate goal of the illegitimate son is to usurp the throne," and combined with the fact that the illegitimate son had recently tried to stir up trouble at Fengmanlou, he had a general idea of ​​what Murong Xiao was going to say next, namely, "the illegitimate son may have crossed a line and is preparing to unite with the forces of foreign tribes to achieve his goal."

"Alright! Just for those words, I'll offer you both another bowl!" Murong Xiao was putting on a full act. Even at this crucial moment, he wasn't in a hurry. He was still pretending to be loyal, righteous, and heroic, trying to motivate these two people who were even more despicable than him.

After the three of them finished another bowl, Ah-Xiao finally began to "reveal the secret".

The first part of these "information" was actually known to Shuang Xie before entering the pass. For example, the real name of the illegitimate son was Zhu Jin. Although they were of similar age, he was a generation higher than the current emperor. Strictly speaking, Zhu Yi should call him "Eighth Uncle".

As for how Zhu Jin ended up among the common people and became "Master Bachelor," there's not much to say. It's nothing more than the power struggles in the harem. Besides, those were all things from Master Bachelor's previous generation. Back then, Master Bachelor himself was still a child. Even if you asked him, he could only tell you some information he had acquired from being brainwashed by his elders since childhood, which has no reference value whatsoever.

Furthermore, at the time, the fact that Zhu Jin's lineage had fallen into obscurity and become commoners was not a big deal... Compared to the palace gossip storm that Yu Jianli had stirred up, this was just a fart in the storm.

No one expected that, after two generations of tireless efforts and the story of "he should be the rightful emperor," the illegitimate son had become an unshakeable "mountain" that even Murong Xiao had to admit.

Leaving aside those who were coerced or those who joined him for the incalculable rewards of a successful rebellion, the real reason for the rise of the commoner's lineage was that he had gathered a group of loyal followers around him who genuinely believed he was the "true Son of Heaven."

Don't think these people are weird; their existence is actually quite normal. Even though the Yongtai era was a peaceful year, there will always be injustices in the world. There will always be people who suffer misfortune and lose everything because of the "world".

Even if these people kill their enemies, they still cannot eliminate the emptiness and hatred in their hearts and live in pain.

At this time, what they need is faith.

This belief can be "immortals, Buddhas, Jesus," "acting on behalf of Heaven," or even "the true Son of Heaven"...

If they are willing to believe that all the injustices in the world and all the misfortunes they have suffered are due to Zhu Yi, the "false emperor," usurping the throne, and that once Zhu Jin, the true emperor, returns to power, all the mistakes can be corrected, then they will naturally be willing to dedicate everything to this noble cause.

This is also the biggest difference between the power of the commoner's faction and martial arts forces such as Wujian Villa and Yuxiu Villa. The former's core members and strategic vision are incomparable to those of the latter.

Now that we've covered all that, what Ah-Xiao is about to say is something that even Shuang-Xie doesn't know at this stage...

"Have you two heard of the name 'Wanyuan Sect'?" Ah Xiao asked.

"Oh my god~" Huang Donglai didn't need to answer the question directly. His reaction, plus the second half of his sentence, was the answer. "So, you mean this bastard, Master Shu, is willing to become a traitor in order to rebel, right?"

“Yes…” Ah Xiao said, “I was also very surprised when I found out. I never thought he would do something like this.” He sighed dramatically, “Alas… even if he eventually replaces the emperor, his rule will be illegitimate… Moreover, when he decides to use the power of foreign tribes to carry out a rebellion, the matter will no longer be entirely under his control. If they take advantage of the situation and depose him, wouldn’t it be the same as handing over our Great Ming Empire to someone else?”

"Huh? Wait a minute..." At this moment, Sun Yixie seemed to have just remembered something, "According to you, he's been plotting for so many years, so why didn't he think of using this trick in the past few decades, but chose now?"

Actually, from Brother Sun's perspective, he knew the answer to this question—because with Brother Feng keeping him in check, the young master wouldn't dare.

The reason why Brother Sun asked this question knowingly was to test whether Murong Xiao knew about the relationship between Feng Manlou and the illegitimate son.

Unexpectedly, his question yielded an unexpected result.

"It seems you don't know either..." Murong Xiao then spoke from another angle, revealing other factors that led the young master to choose this time. "Actually, fifty years ago, after the Wanyuan Sect's first failed invasion of the Central Plains, more than ten years later, their next sect leader had the ambition to seize the Central Plains again. This time, it was the 'True Hero Hall' that kept them out and nipped their conspiracy in the bud."

"More than ten years later, Song Wudi emerged in Liaodong. Since then, his Shendao Manor has been a powerful force in the region, forming a barrier between the Central Plains and the Korean martial arts world, which is why the other side dared not make any rash moves."

"Of course, Zhenxia Hall and Master Song have never publicized these matters. Therefore, in the eyes of most martial arts practitioners, Wanyuan Sect was so frightened by Wudang back then that they never dared to invade again..."

Upon hearing this, Sun Huang immediately understood, because they had just "randomly come across" the news of Song Wudi's retirement from the martial arts world on their way here.

"Damn it... So, as soon as Master Song stepped down, Wan Yuan Sect felt they had an opportunity, and then they hooked up with the young master, right?" Sun Yixie continued.

“Heh…” Murong Xiao sneered, “I’m afraid… the contact between the two sides was long before this. In fact, I can say that the Central Plains forces that Wanyuan Sect tried to collude with were not limited to the branch led by the young master.” He shook his head, “After all, the other side just didn’t dare to launch a large-scale invasion, but it wasn’t difficult for them to send a few people over from time to time to do some secret communication.”

“Hey, that’s not right either,” Huang Donglai said at this moment. “No matter how powerful the Wanyuan Sect is, it’s still just a martial arts sect. Will the young master’s strength be enough with their help?”

“You two are unaware of this…” Murong Xiao continued, “The Wanyuan Sect unified the Korean martial arts world fifty years ago. Back then, they coveted the Central Plains because they had exhausted their expansion options on their own territory. Fortunately, their plan ultimately failed…” He paused for a moment, “But… after repeated thwarts in their invasions, they certainly wouldn’t be idle, right? So, guess… what they’ll do next?”

"You mean... their martial arts world and the imperial court are now in cahoots?" Huang Donglai continued, "Or rather, the Wanyuan Sect's actions are actually serving as a scouting party for their imperial court?"

"Hmph..." Ah Xiao sneered, "In such a small state with sparse land and a small population, this kind of evolution is inevitable..."

"Learning from history, these barbarians, after a period of strength, often become arrogant and conceited, and then briefly unite to begin eyeing our great land of the Central Plains..."

"At times like this, usually all we have to do is slap them, make them hurt, and make them kneel down again, and they will obediently go back and start fighting amongst themselves again, so that we can have some peace and quiet for a few more years."

"However, now, precisely when the enemy is at their strongest, the young master is trying to invite a wolf into the house for his own ambition. How can I tolerate this?"

After he said that, Sun Huang really couldn't find any flaws in his argument.

Because there was indeed 90% truth in what Murong Xiao said—to put it mildly, the Murong family did have a personal feud with the Wanyuan Sect; to put it more broadly, A Xiao could ignore the fact that the illegitimate son rebelled, but the illegitimate son was using the power of the Wanyuan Sect, or rather, trying to bring in foreign troops to assist in his rebellion… In A Xiao’s view, this was extremely foolish and disgusting.

Perhaps Murong Xiao is already showing signs of "becoming a demon," but Shuang Xie doesn't know exactly what he did in the past, or that the "bad things" he did haven't yet posed any harm to the martial arts world or the common people. So, from the perspective of "the enemy of my enemy is my friend," even if Shuang Xie doesn't trust A Xiao, at this moment, after calculating the score, it's more important to form an alliance with him and deal with the illegitimate son.

That night, the two sides devised a long-term plan, and Murong Xiao also obtained a secret code name from Shuang Xie for himself in the later "Six Major Sects' Siege of Wawu Mountain" incident - Emei Peak.