RPAGF Chapter 284 One day I will take his life with my own hands.
Chapter 284 One day I will take his life with my own hands.
"General Gu." Duan Qingye stood in front of the desk and nodded slightly to Gu Junze.
He was over fifty years old, with some gray in his temples, but his demeanor remained extraordinary. Standing there, he was like a majestic mountain, giving people a deep and steady sense of pressure.
Gu Junze returned the greeting, his gaze meeting Duan Qingye's with a frank expression.
"General Duan."
After exchanging a few pleasantries, the two quickly got down to business, discussing the details of the prisoner exchange. During the negotiations, Duan Qingye would occasionally glance at Gu Junze, his gaze filled with a mixture of inquiry and nostalgia.
After the matter was discussed and agreed upon, Duan Qingye suddenly changed the subject.
"I've heard that your country has sent an envoy to the Liang Kingdom?"
Gu Junze remained calm and replied without changing his expression, "Trade is a common occurrence."
Duan Qingye chuckled lightly, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes.
"Is that so? I'm just curious, why now of all times?"
Gu Junze remained noncommittal, picked up the teacup on the table, and took a small sip.
Duan Qingye suddenly got up from behind the desk, walked to the small table in the corner of the tent, gently stroked the inkstone, and spoke with a hint of nostalgia.
"This is a gift from her."
Gu Junze felt a slight stirring in his heart, but he still maintained a calm expression.
“Back then, she rode a spirited horse,” Duan Qingye said in a low voice, as if telling a distant story.
"When the two countries were at war, on that battlefield, I led my troops to press the border, and I caught a glimpse of her heroic figure on the front line."
His gaze deepened, as if he were traveling through time back to that distant past.
"Although she was a princess who was pampered in the palace, she was different from those noble ladies."
"She was like a wild grass growing against the wind; the spear in her hand she wielded with fierce power, able to carve a bloody path through a vast army..."
Gu Junze listened silently without interrupting.
"We met on the battlefield. Although she was a woman, her moves were always aimed at my vital points. At that moment, I felt an unprecedented excitement."
"She couldn't beat me and had no choice but to retreat. But the unwilling look in her eyes when she left is deeply imprinted in my heart."
“From then on, every time I close my eyes, her image on the battlefield appears before me and I can’t get it out of my mind.”
"I know I'm completely captivated by this special princess."
Duan Qingye gently stroked the edge of the inkstone, his tone full of nostalgia, "Back then, the light in her eyes was more dazzling than the stars."
He turned around and looked directly at Gu Junze. "You look a lot like her."
Gu Junze felt a pang of fear; he knew who Duan Qingye was referring to as "her."
"Especially the determination between their brows, and the way they look at people, they are exactly the same."
A brief silence fell inside the tent.
Gu Junze lowered his eyelids, concealing the complex emotions in his eyes.
The father and son had never spent a single day together, yet now they were forcibly pulled together by the invisible thread of blood ties.
Duan Qingye continued, "I never imagined that she would give birth to such a big son for me. When I was young, I thought she had fallen for someone else, that pretty boy Gu Mowen..."
Duan Qingye took a deep breath, seemingly unwilling to continue.
"That tyrannical emperor, it was he who drove your mother to her death!"
His voice suddenly rose, filled with suppressed hatred, like a surging undercurrent beneath the ice.
"He deserves to die!"
Duan Qingye strode up to Gu Junze and said, “Before, I was always worried that the tyrant would use your life to blackmail me, making me hesitant to act.”
"But things are different now."
He stared intently at Gu Junze, his eyes gleaming with a kind of fanatical light.
"You command a large army. If you betray us, my son and I will join forces to bring that dog emperor down from the throne and avenge your mother!"
He reached out, seemingly wanting to grab Gu Junze's shoulder.
Gu Junze took a half step back, avoiding his touch.
The air inside the tent seemed to freeze instantly.
"I will avenge my mother myself."
Gu Junze's voice was very calm, yet cold and devoid of any warmth.
"Now is not the time."
His gaze was sharp as a knife, piercing straight at Duan Qingye.
"Isn't your true purpose, General, to use revenge as a pretext to annex the Eastern Jin Dynasty?"
Duan Qingye's excitement froze instantly, the fervor in his eyes faded, and replaced by a deep scrutiny.
"you……"
"General, do you know why my mother refused to leave with you back then?"
Gu Junze interrupted him, his tone carrying an icy chill that seemed to know everything.
"Because she saw through your wolfish ambitions long ago."
"She loved this country and the land that gave her birth and nurtured her. She did not want to see people suffer and war break out everywhere."
"So she chose to stay, choosing the most difficult path."
Gu Junze's words were like sharp knives, precisely piercing Duan Qingye's most secret thoughts.
Duan Qingye's expression turned somewhat ugly. He remained silent for a moment, then suddenly let out a cold laugh.
"Womanly compassion! War is bound to involve bloodshed and sacrifice!"
He turned around and walked back behind the desk.
"Only through unification can there be lasting peace."
Gu Junze stared coldly at Duan Qingye, his heart churning with turmoil, yet he maintained a calm facade.
"Unification?" Gu Junze uttered these three words calmly. "If it comes at the cost of countless lives, what is the point of such peace?"
Duan Qingye turned around, his gaze sharp: "Sacrifice is inevitable. Without bloodshed, how can there be new life? In every dynasty that has risen and fallen, it has always been overturned by corpses."
Silence fell over the tent. The two men stared at each other across the table, an invisible tension hanging in the air.
Duan Qingye narrowed his eyes: "Are you really willing to work for the person who killed your mother?"
"One day I will take his life with my own hands."
After speaking, Gu Junze composed himself and prepared to leave.
However, just as he turned around, Duan Qingye's voice rang out again, "Since you're here, stay."
Gu Junze paused, then slowly turned around.
The guards at the tent entrance seemed to sense the tense atmosphere inside, and their hands unconsciously rested on the hilts of their swords.
Duan Qingye sat behind the desk, his fingers interlaced, looking at him with a deep gaze, the kind of controlling posture a superior would adopt over their prey.
"What does General Duan mean by this?"
Gu Junze's face remained calm, but his eyes had turned cold.
"Means nothing."
Duan Qingye spoke in a flat tone.
"I just feel that since it's rare for my son and I to see each other, we should catch up more often."
This isn't a reunion; it's clearly an attempt to forcibly detain him here.
Once he is captured, the tyrannical emperor will definitely use that thing made by the Grand Council in order to preserve his empire.
None of them will survive...
Gu Junze's mind raced, but his face remained impassive.
He suddenly chuckled softly, a faint smile that carried an inexplicable chill.
"General, are you sure you want to keep me here?"
His voice wasn't loud, but it carried clearly to every corner of the camp...