Chapter 861: Them?

Zuo Qing stood quietly at the door of the low house, a straight knife hanging at his waist. After a long silence, he finally reached out and knocked on the door.

Knock, knock, knock!

Moments later, an elderly figure with a head full of silver hair opened the door.

“Eh?” The old man was somewhat surprised to see Zuo Qing. “Little Zuo… oh no, Commander Zuo, weren’t you supposed to be in an online meeting? We waited for you on video for half a day. Why did you suddenly come here?”

Zuo Qing remained silent, simply lowering his head to gaze at the old man.

In the desolate and empty countryside, only the distant sound of roosters crowing remained.

The old man and Zuo Qing exchanged glances for a moment, then the old man smiled helplessly and turned to walk into the house, saying leisurely, “Come in and sit.”

Zuo Qing placed his right hand on the hilt of his knife and followed the old man into the low house.

The interior of the low house was better furnished than it appeared from the outside. Simple and practical furniture was neatly arranged throughout, and the gray cement floor was spotless. In the room, the only modern electronic devices were a digital television and a special computer equipped with a key.

That computer was for internal use by the Night Watchers, an outdated version from over a decade ago.

Zuo Qing sat down on a stool by the square table, while the old man leisurely walked into the kitchen, brewed a cup of tea with a large red kettle, and then sat down opposite Zuo Qing, handing him the teacup.

“I don’t have any good tea here, as you know. Just have a little,” the old man said, looking at the silent Zuo Qing, then added with a smile, “Of course, if you don’t want to drink, you don’t have to.”

Zuo Qing glanced at the steaming glass cup but chose not to touch it. Instead, he slowly spoke up:

“Old Chen, what have you been busy with lately?”

Old Chen took a sip from his teacup and smiled, “You already know what I’ve been busy with, don’t you? Otherwise, you wouldn’t have used video conferencing to monitor all the high-level officials…

What you really want to monitor is just me, right?

Are you worried that I might run away before you arrived?”

“Is that your admission?”

“There’s nothing wrong with admitting it. When I started planning all of this, I already anticipated today would come.” Old Chen paused, “But in my expectations, the one sitting in front of me should be Ye Fan…”

“Did I disappoint you?”

“No, quite the opposite. I’m very pleased.” Old Chen said with a smile, “I believe you are more capable than Ye Fan.

Although Ye Fan is deep-minded and very clever, his heart is too soft… He clearly realized the corruption and rigidity among the high-ranking Night Watchers, yet due to the merits and face of those old predecessors, he hesitated to take action, resulting in his lack of absolute control over the high ranks.

But you are different.

As soon as you took office, you used Zhou Ping’s deterrence and your own means to eliminate all those rigid and decayed old high-ranking officials, replacing them with newcomers you personally promoted. Even I, your teacher, was reassigned to the second-tier management, losing my voice in high-level meetings.

You are ruthless, bold, and your cunning and foresight are not inferior to Ye Fan’s. Although both of you were trained by me, I have always believed you are more suited to lead the Night Watchers than Ye Fan.”

“All thanks to your good teaching, teacher.” Zuo Qing replied coldly.

Old Chen smiled as he held his teacup, seemingly recalling something, and asked, “By the way, what about Mo Yu? Did he die?”

“He died, ran into my knife and died.”

Old Chen sighed regretfully, “Although my grandson isn’t as smart as you and Ye Fan, he has quite good potential. If properly cultivated, he could have been a decent successor…”

“But you still pushed him into the abyss yourself.” Zuo Qing’s eyes turned cold. “When I kept Chen Mo Yu by my side, it wasn’t just because he was your grandson, but because I truly saw his shining qualities. I had high hopes for him…

But why did you have to destroy him yourself?

I understood the traps you set, but you… I still don’t understand.

You were once a heroic figure in the Night Watchers, having won the ‘Star Sea’ medal twice and the ‘Star’ medal six times. In that era, you were a hero in everyone’s hearts. I, Ye Fan, Shao Ping Ge… we all were trained by you.

If it weren’t for that monstrous Wang Qing back then, you would have been the fourth Commander of the Night Watchers.

I don’t understand why someone like you would do such things. Do you want to see the Great Xia destroyed with your own eyes? Is that what you want?!”

Zuo Qing grew angrier as he spoke, his eyes fixed on the calm old man in front of him, his voice trembling.

Old Chen calmly took a sip of tea and smiled slightly.

“You are mistaken, Zuo Qing. I am not doing this to destroy the Great Xia… but to save it.”

“Save?” Zuo Qing narrowed his eyes. “Old Chen, if you’re about to tell me that this society is too unfair and dirty, that order should be rewritten, or that humanity doesn’t deserve to live in this world, I really might not be able to help but draw my knife and kill you.”

“No, it’s not that kind of spiritual salvation; it’s real salvation…” Old Chen extended his hand, pointing to the void behind Zuo Qing, “To save the countless people behind us.”

Zuo Qing furrowed his brows tightly. “Collaborating with evil gods to eliminate the new forces of the Night Watchers, weakening the Night Watchers’ strength, delaying the formation of the war pass, forcing the Great Xia’s gods to act early, and plotting the assassination of the [Masked] team… You call this salvation?!

Do you know that if the Great Xia loses in this all-out divine war, the entire Great Xia and the countless people living within it will perish as a result?”

“You don’t understand, Zuo Qing.” Old Chen spoke slowly, “Only when the Great Xia’s gods are completely dead and the Night Watchers are destroyed will they spare the Great Xia, and those people behind us can live…”

“You’re talking nonsense!”

Zuo Qing suddenly stood up from his seat. “Our Great Xia has gods, has Zhou Ping, has the pinnacle of humanity, has the Night Watchers… What makes you think we would lose to those outer gods?! After being a hero for so many years, how can you bow your head and admit defeat at this moment?”

“That’s not it…”

“What do you mean ‘that’s not it?!'”

“When I said ‘they,’ I wasn’t referring to the outer gods.”

Zuo Qing was taken aback. “What are you talking about?”

Old Chen set down his teacup and slowly closed his eyes. “Many things you cannot see, the Night Watchers cannot see, but I have already seen… In short, I have already done those things.

I don’t care if you want to kill me, interrogate me, or torture me; feel free to do so…

If you think those methods will be effective against me.”