Chapter Eleven: Different Paths, No Common Ground. Section Five: Incomprehensible.

Section Five: Incomprehension

Bai Yue wept as she spoke, but quickly wiped her eyes, her composure slightly restored. "It is true, I went against your wishes, my husband. I chose to act first and report later. The followers of the Undying Soul are all destitute people, madmen lost in daydreams, oblivious to reality. You have already achieved so much, my husband—why must you cling to the will of the Undying Soul? They speak constantly of freedom, but what freedom is there for the poor? What freedom exists for those without power? Yet you possess these things. You are the true master of the Zhou State, the Northern Lord, commanding hundreds of thousands of troops. Soon, you will dismantle the Black Wolf tribe and claim their strength for your own; then, with over a million soldiers under your banner, your name will shake the world, and the great cause of unification will be within reach! What importance does the state of the Soul's Will hold? Bai Xing and I have tried to change your perspective on the Undying Soul, but we failed. We cannot bring ourselves to treat a daydream as a noble ideal. Can you not abandon these delusions for our sake? They are but illusions believed by broken, insane people who have nothing. You do not need such an ideal!"

Bu Jingxian had no words. Only now did he truly understand how the Undying Soul appeared in Bai Yue’s eyes. He could not bring himself to blame her; he could only think of the saying, "Those with different paths cannot make plans together." He could imagine the bitterness she had suppressed all this time, pretending to trust him as she listened to his talk of the Soul’s Will, and he could empathize with her current outburst, born of an unbearable burden.

He could not make her believe in the Soul’s Will, and further argument now was meaningless. The decree of the Zhou Emperor had already been issued, and the Wanxia clan had begun to adapt to a monarchical system, just as the rest of the world naturally assumed the Zhou capital would adopt the same structure as the Seven Powers.

He was powerless to turn the tide.

"Enough. What is done is done. Dry your tears and call Bai Xing in. After so long apart, you must have been worried about my situation these days."

"Yes." Bai Yue wiped away her tears, secretly hoping that Bu Jingxian would accept reality and slowly forget about the Soul’s Will. She knew this would earn his resentment, but she believed he was not a madman like the others of the Undying Soul and that, in time, he would set aside his daydreams. No matter what she said now, it would be useless; only time could make him let go. All she and Bai Xing could do was show him they were by his side, ready to trust him in everything—except for those dreamlike ideals.

Bu Jingxian collapsed onto his couch, tasting the bitterness of failure for the first time in his life.

Even when the Soul Sect was destroyed, he had not felt such despairing helplessness. Even when he was forced to flee North Spirit Mountain and fell off a cliff after being ambushed by Zheng Linran, believing his death was certain, he had not lost his fighting spirit to this extent.

The Wanxia Sect needed external support to defeat the Black Wolf army, and a nation built on the ideals of the Undying Soul could have attracted countless followers, vastly increasing their population. Only by unifying the world under the banner of the Undying Soul could that philosophy be realized. Everything had hinged on exploiting the Zhou Emperor’s decree.

Now that the Wanxia clan had adopted a monarchy, everyone understood that the system could not be changed. It was a fundamental institutional difference—one that carried even greater pressure than the toppling of a dynasty. He had come to Beiyin City precisely because only among the Black Wolf tribe, with their more primitive system, was there a realistic chance to establish a nation based on the Soul’s Will.

Now, his ideals were effectively shattered, and his countless efforts had been in vain.

Circumstances make the hero. Without the initial chaos and the unique situation of the Black Wolf tribe, no one could have expanded so rapidly in such a short time. There was only one Black Wolf tribe in the world, and one could not expect such circumstances to repeat themselves; there was only one Zhou Emperor.

He had failed. And he had failed unforgivably. He had not even understood his own wife’s true attitude toward the Soul’s Will; he had been unable to make her believe in his philosophy. If he could not change his own wife’s views, how could he hope to change the world’s?

When Bai Yue and Bai Xing entered, he forced a smile. He avoided the argument, speaking only of what had happened at the Divine Martial Tournament and comforting them by saying he had faced no real danger while escaping the Zheng State.

Bai Yue thought he would eventually forget the Soul’s Will. But as the days passed, she noticed he took no interest in state affairs, spending every day practicing his martial arts by the Long River. Any major matters were pushed to her to handle.

Half a month passed, and Bu Jingxian remained indifferent to the administration.

Bai Yue finally could not help but seek him out.

"It is not out of spite that I act this way," he said. "I have told you, wealth and power are not what drive me; realizing the philosophy of the Soul’s Will is. I cannot abandon it in this life. Now that it has become an illusion, I cannot summon the will to fight. Do not ask me about these matters again; you may decide them yourself. I only wish to find a way to salvage the situation and think of a new path for a nation of the Soul’s Will."

"My husband!" Bai Yue grabbed his arm to stop him from entering the water, weeping. "If you blame me, I am willing to bear your anger or even your blows, but you cannot treat these great matters as a game."

"Bai Yue, I am not acting out of spite. You cannot understand, and I cannot make you understand. I truly do not blame you, and I will never hate you for this. But... I was born to realize the Soul’s Will, and I live for it. If I am to abandon my ideal, life is no better than death."

"My husband, if you insist, I am willing to..." Bu Jingxian pushed her hand away. "You know this is impossible. The moment has passed. To force it now would only lead the Wanxia Sect to ruin." He leapt back into the Long River.

Bai Yue wept in sorrow for a time before mounting her horse to return to Beiyin City.

After days of decadence, Bu Jingxian remained restless. He constantly hoped to pull himself together and plan a new beginning. Yet the facts were clear before him; he had no opportunity, no possibility of creating another miracle for the Wanxia Sect. Even if he forced the issue, the cost of changing the system would only leave the Zhou State crippled, leading to its ultimate destruction.

Soaking in the water, Bu Jingxian recalled the destruction of the Soul Sect in the silence.

So many had given their lives to block the pursuers, shouting "The Soul shall not die" even as the blades struck them down. He was the only son of the Sect Master, the heir to the Soul Sect. Everyone on Soul Mountain had been willing to sacrifice themselves for his survival. After he was captured, a group of children from the mountain had taken turns helping him chew through his ropes so he could jump from the transport wagon and escape.

He thought of the long years of loneliness on North Spirit Mountain, and the burning expectations behind his master, the Old Man of the North Spirit, and his cold demeanor.

Everything told him that as long as he, Bu Jingxian, lived, he must never abandon the philosophy of the Soul’s Will.

"The Soul’s Will shall not fail again."

As the Old Man of the North Spirit had said, it truly could not fail again.

The number of those who followed the Soul in the world today was far smaller than it had been ten years ago. If this continued, soon no one would believe in the Soul’s Will. No one would know the true face of the Soul tribe’s past. If he could not realize it in this life, perhaps the Undying Soul would simply wait for its total extinction.

Yet, where was his path now?

The Zheng State was actively preparing for war, waiting to strike at the Wei State.

The transformation of the Wanxia Sect into the Zhou State had made Zheng view them as a great threat. Consequently, Zheng had sent envoys several times to signal friendship and had actively rebuilt the old, burned-out Zhou capital. Only when they received a definitive reply from the Zhou Emperor did the Zheng court dare to rest easy, no longer fearing an attack while they campaigned against Wei.

In truth, the Zhou State had its own hardships and was powerless to wage war against Zheng.

Although the influx of people following the Zhou Emperor into Zheng had greatly increased their military strength, the change of the Wanxia clan into the Zhou State had also triggered the vigilance and caution of Da Luobi of the Black Wolf tribe.

Ling Luo kept a close watch on the affairs of the states from the Zheng capital. The Left Chancellor intended to put him in charge of the campaign against Wei. Although there were voices in the court arguing that Ling Luo was too young for such a heavy responsibility, the King of Zheng had not yet made a decision. Ling Luo dared not be anything but diligent.

That day, he received a military report. After reading it, he asked, "Princess Bai Yue is handling the affairs of the Zhou State, and the Northern Lord has not attended to business for two months?"

"In reply to the Marquis of Trust, that is indeed the case."

"Is it due to a struggle for power?"

"No. The Northern Lord and Princess Bai share a harmonious relationship; there is no strife. It is simply that the Northern Lord, for reasons unknown, is unwilling to participate in government, spending every day practicing martial arts by the Long River."

Ling Luo felt a sense of suspicion.

"How is the establishment of the Black Wolf tribe's nation progressing?"

"It is currently impossible. Princess Bai Yue is sowing discord. The Luobis of the Black Wolf tribe already fear losing their power once a nation is established, and the conditions offered by the Great Luobi have yet to satisfy them. I fear the establishment of the Black Wolf nation will continue to drag on. Princess Bai Yue of the Zhou State is watching from the sidelines, waiting for the Black Wolf tribe to descend into chaos. I believe neither side has the strength to launch an attack on our country."

Ling Luo nodded. "The Black Wolf tribe lost over 400,000 troops in the last great battle, leaving them with only 800,000. The Wanxia clan took over 200,000 with them, so now the Wanxia clan has 410,000 troops, while the Black Wolf tribe is left with only 580,000. The Zhou State does not have the strength to swallow the Black Wolf tribe, and the Black Wolf tribe is not of one mind, making it difficult for them to attack Zhou. They are wary of each other and indeed have no spare capacity to attack our Zheng State. You may go. Keep a close watch on the situation in Zhou and report back at any time."

After the man left, Ling Luo remained puzzled by the Northern Lord’s neglect of government.

Two months. Bu Jingxian had spent two months at the Long River.

Winter had passed, but the northern lands were still filled with drifting snow, the earth covered in ice.

Bu Jingxian did not fear the cold. Every day he rose early, went to the river, smashed the ice with a punch, and jumped in. When it was time to eat, Bai Xing would ride over to call him. No matter how heavy the snow, and even when her face was red and swollen from the frost, she would always come in person.

"My husband, why do you still come to the Long River in this freezing weather?"

"It is quiet to practice in the water." Bai Xing helped wipe the water from his body and quickly draped the fur robe she had brought over his shoulders. "It isn't cold."

"I feel cold just looking at you in so few clothes." Bai Xing was insistent, refusing to leave until he put it on and rode back to Beiyin City.

"Are you still blaming my sister? She has not had a single day of peace in these two months. Please, do not blame her. The death of our Sect Father had a direct connection to the Undying Soul."