Chapter 132: Pitiful!

"That is your plan, not mine," Tang Fei said. "I won't toy with other people's feelings."

"Feelings? Have you toyed with them? Is your fondness for her fake? Is the way you treat her fake? Is the food and drink you give her fake? Is the time you risked your life to protect her fake?"

"Besides, so what if you did? Forget about feelings, you can fake anything... Political machinations are fundamentally the art of deception."

"Did they not lie to you? They sent you to charge into battle and slaughter enemies, to sweep away everything and everyone they found displeasing. They called you the pillar of the state and the god of the army, promising you glory, wealth, and a shared destiny with the nation... It was all a lie."

"When you were fighting through bloodshed, cutting off enemy heads one by one for him, he was drinking fine wine and plotting against you. When you were battered and clinging to life, they were smoking cigars and digging your grave... They cast a net from the heavens and earth, threatening you with the lives of your wife and child. When men were the knives and cutting boards, and we were the fish and meat, how can you say I won't deceive?"

"What about the teacher? Why let the teacher and the others walk to their deaths in vain?"

"What use is living?" The old man looked at Tang Fei and retorted, "What use is it for them to live?"

"You..."

"If my death could be of any use to the grand cause of vengeance, I hope you won't show the slightest mercy. For the sake of our years of affection, a ritualistic hesitation of a single second will be quite enough."

"I can't do it."

"You must do it." The old man looked at Tang Fei with a stern expression. "This is a world of deceit and treacherous scheming, a matter of life and death. The slightest misstep ruins everything, and a single mistake costs you your head. A family dies, a clan is annihilated, everyone close to you must perish, and even a street vendor who merely chatted with you a couple of times will meet a bad end... just like what happened to your Tang family in the past..."

"They won't decide whether to kill you based on whether you're a good person or a bad one... They will kill you first, and only then consider what charge to pin on you..."

"This is a war. Once it begins, there must be victory or defeat, life or death... There is no retreat, only moving forward. What you must do is use every means at your disposal... and then achieve ultimate victory. Only the victor is qualified to stay alive."

"Must it be like this?"

"I said you can choose to give up."

Tang Fei picked up the teapot and poured the contents straight into his mouth, gulping it down. After listening to the old man's lengthy story, his throat felt parched.

His mind felt dizzy, as if he were running a high fever; his cheeks and body burned with heat. There was too much information to digest, too many things to consider.

And the future... Did he even have a future?

The thought that his adversary was so terrifying sent a shiver through his entire body. This was like an egg striking a stone, and he was the egg...

Having emptied the teapot, Tang Fei wiped his mouth and looked at the old man. "What are the odds of winning?"

The old man did not answer.

"Eighty percent?"

"Not quite."

"Sixty percent?"

"No."

"Forty percent?"

"Too high."

"Ten percent?"

"Not entirely sure..."

Tang Fei sat there in a daze for a long time, then looked at the old man and asked, "Can I take your surname, Lu?"

The old man looked bewildered. "What do you mean?"

"I want to sever ties with Tang Li. This vendetta... I can't pull it off..."

The old man remained silent for a moment, then looked at Tang Fei and said, "I originally held no hope, but suddenly I feel like you might actually pull it off..."

While Tang Fei and the old man were playing mind games in the secret chamber, Lu Zhiyong was roasting a mountain goat out in the courtyard.

A whole goat was mounted on a barbecue grill, slowly rotating up, down, left, and right via a mechanical device to ensure every part of the goat was evenly cooked.

The freshly roasting goat showed a pale white tinged with a faint red. Once thoroughly roasted throughout, the internal fats would secrete, turning the goat a crispy golden-yellow.

Crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, a single bite would fill the mouth with savory juices.

Seeing Tang Fei and the old man emerge, Lu Zhiyong cheerfully greeted them. "You two done talking? Perfect timing, I had someone bring over a wild mountain goat... Half an hour and it'll be ready."

"No need. Thank you."

Tang Fei replied without raising his head, striding toward the outside of the courtyard.

He deeply regretted coming to this place. If he hadn't chased after them today... he could still be dreaming his sweet life as a kept man just like before.

Now, the dream was shattered.

Someone was forcing him to go to work, forcing him to labor, forcing him to change the world. He didn't want to move; he just wanted to lie down.

He had even picked out his name—Tang Fei, to lie flat. Why should he bear such a heavy responsibility?

"Hey, hey, why are you leaving?" Lu Zhiyong looked toward his eldest brother. "Didn't you want him to try the Luban Mountain roasted whole lamb? I specifically had someone bring it over, newly slaughtered, fresh as can be. The meat will be done soon, and you two haven't seen each other in so long... Drinking some wine and eating some meat, wouldn't that be nice? I've already prepared the wine."

"No eating. He has no appetite." The old man could understand Tang Fei's mood and said, "Send a car to take him out."

Tang Fei had driven an unmanned vehicle barging into Luban Mountain, and the car had long since been smashed into scrap metal by the mechanical beasts. Without an escort, he couldn't walk out of these mountains on his own...

"Really not eating?"

"Really not eating."

"Alright then." Lu Zhiyong handed the basting brush to the old man and went to arrange a vehicle for Tang Fei.

The old man took the brush, dipped it in sesame oil, and brushed it layer by layer over the surface of the lamb.

Lu Zhiyong returned shortly, taking back the brush from his eldest brother's hand. Basting the oil, he asked, "What did you two talk about? Why is he so silent? He didn't even want to answer when I spoke to him... He looked miserable."

"I told him a few stories," the old man said.

"They definitely weren't good stories," Lu Zhiyong said with a smile.

"Indeed, not good stories," the old man said, looking up at the sky.

The sky was dim and heavy with clouds.

Today was certainly not good weather either.

Just then, someone knocked on the courtyard door.

The old man's expression froze right there, and Lu Zhiyong's oil-basting hand stopped as well.

"Should we see?" Lu Zhiyong asked aloud.

"Let's avoid it a little longer," the old man said, turning and walking into the inner room.

Once his eldest brother was hidden, Lu Zhiyong walked over to open the courtyard gate. Seeing Lu Siyu standing at the threshold, he smiled and said, "Siyu came at just the right time, Second Uncle is roasting a lamb. It'll be done soon, you're in for a treat today..."

Lu Siyu walked in, eyeing the massive roasted whole lamb in the courtyard, and asked, "Second Uncle is eating a whole sheep by himself?"

Lu Zhiyong was stunned for a second, then smiled. "How could I possibly eat the whole thing by myself? I was planning to send some to all of you once it's roasted..."

"Then why didn't you invite everyone to come over? Second Uncle's courtyard is so big, roasting a lamb while drinking wine—isn't that a wonderful thing?"

"Hahaha, I'm using an ancient method of roasting, and you young people don't like the smoke and fire... I was just thinking of having people deliver the meat to you once it's done so you can eat it while it's hot." Lu Zhiyong exerted all his wits to defend himself.

He thought to himself that fortunately he had quick reflexes and superior intelligence.

If an ordinary person encountered such a sudden ambush, they probably would have lost their composure long ago.

"Then, who activated the Luban Grand Array? And who shut it down?"

Lu Zhiyong looked at Lu Siyu in astonishment and asked, "You knew?"

"I was the one who brought people in, and now you're asking me if I knew?" A mocking smile appeared at the corner of Lu Siyu's mouth.

Lu Zhiyong felt terrible.

He felt he should strip the character for "wisdom" right out of his name. How on earth did today's young people grow their brains?

"Tang Fei left. Left again. Did you send him off?"

"Yes."

"You two know each other?"

"So-so..."

"Let him come out." Lu Siyu's gaze pierced past Lu Zhiyong's body, looking toward the inner room. "If he doesn't come out today, he needn't ever appear before me again."

"This..." Lu Zhiyong looked troubled. "I told you last time, he didn't come back..."

His eldest brother had given strict instructions that without his permission, he must never tell Lu Siyu that he had returned.

Lu Zhiyong was an honest man; a promise made was a promise kept.

Therefore, even at this point, he still had to brazenly lie and say he hadn't seen him...

"Siyu..."

Behind him came a man's raspy voice.

Lu Zhiyong glanced back and then quietly stepped aside. At this moment, nobody cared what he said anymore.

Lu Siyu looked at the man before her. He wore a thick robe, as if he were extremely sensitive to the cold. Humpbacked, aged, his face covered in wrinkles, his dark hair streaked with heavy patches of white.

This was not the father she had imagined... nor was he the father of legend.

In various rumors, her father was one of the empire's twin stars of that era, the most talented mechanical designer of the Gongshu family.

The sovereign of the time had once praised him: having this one man is worth an army.

He was arrogant in his talent, dashing and free-spirited, having three times refused promotions from the sovereign, willing only to remain a design officer in the Ministry of Mechanics...

He had rejected the aristocratic maiden arranged by his family, resolutely marrying the female doctor who had once saved his life on the battlefield...

For this, he didn't hesitate to break with his family and be banished from Luban Mountain.

He had been so glorious and dazzling, so exceptional and extraordinary. He should have been a hero of towering ambition, a true man...

Was this shriveled little old man standing before her really her father?

Lu Siyu's heart had originally harbored boundless grievances and endless hatred, but seeing him suddenly appear before her in this state...

Lu Siyu suddenly felt the hatred and grievances in her heart vanish, replaced entirely by an emotion called pity.

Yes, he was pitiful.