Chapter 271 Life. (Thanks to 7023Cocytus for the reward)
After comforting the girl to sleep, when he came out of her boudoir, it was already dawn. Although he hadn't slept all night, thanks to his strong physique, Wang Yao was still full of energy and not tired at all.

After carefully picking up the girl's clothes scattered in the corridor and bringing them to the bathroom, washing them and hanging them on the balcony on the second floor, Wang Yao hesitated for a moment and returned to the living room on the first floor to pick up the eight energy crystals that he had casually thrown on the table as soon as he entered the room last night.

Of these 8 energy crystals, 2 were obtained in the upper lane of Wei State and have been preserved to this day (the two that were used to deceive Zhang Shao), and the other 6 were obtained when Luna and Zhao Yun broke through the middle and upper lanes of Wu State in this battle between Wu and Shu.

Standing alone in the slightly dim living room, Wang Yao silently stared at the red crystal in his hand, with a faint dragon-shaped electric wire flowing inside. Under the reflection of the enchanting red light it emitted, his expression gradually became a little complicated.

According to Zhuge Liang's original statement, it takes the lives of ten thousand soldiers to condense this energy crystal, and these eight energy crystals are actually the essence of 8 lives!
This is a blood-soaked bun.

Shaking his head slightly, Wang Yao turned around to find a piece of cloth, wrapped the eight energy crystals, then opened the door and walked out of the pavilion.

——It was around five in the morning, very quiet, the air was unusually fresh, walking on the deserted streets, I could hear many sounds that I had not noticed during the day, so small that I could not recognize them, clearly at this moment.
Wang Yao was enjoying the subtle silence alone while walking towards the outside of Jingzhou City. Along the way, there were traces of the large celebration last night everywhere. Jingzhou City was very lively last night. Although the battle between Wu and Shu was not a great victory this time, as long as the army was not defeated, Jingzhou would hold a celebration every time it returned triumphantly to celebrate the safe return of its men. This seemed to have become a regular activity.

Soon, after leaving the north gate of Jingzhou, Wang Yao arrived at the familiar legion base camp.

Now is the time when people are most tired, but the soldiers in charge of night watch are still energetic. After seeing Wang Yao, they are even more respectful as if they were injected with chicken blood.

Wang Yao did not have the leisure to respond to the soldiers' enthusiasm one by one. He just nodded symbolically and walked towards the central military tent in the center.

The Central Military Tent was where Zhuge Liang worked.

The reason why he came here was because Zhuge Liang had whispered to him last night to come to the base camp to find him the next day, saying that he had something to discuss with him. But as far as Wang Yao estimated, Zhuge Liang might have come for the matter of the "Highland Alliance", right?
As soon as he entered the big tent, in the dim candlelight, Wang Yao saw Zhuge Liang buried in his desk. The desk, which was nearly two meters wide, was filled with mountains of books and bamboo slips of all kinds, leaving almost no space for more people.

In fact, the candlelight in the big tent had been on all night.
"So early." Zhuge Liang said without raising his head.

"Well, don't tell me you didn't sleep all night." Wang Yao nodded, then walked over and casually took a book from Zhuge Liang's desk and flipped through it. He found that it was not official business, but some historical documents with vague records: "What are you flipping through these for?"

Zhuge Liang looked at Wang Yao's equipment calmly and said softly, "I vaguely remember seeing similar records of these strange equipment on you in some historical documents before. I was really concerned about them, so I specially asked someone from Jixia Academy to help me transport all the documents I read at that time a month ago."

"Really? Thank you for your hard work. If you find any clues, please let me know. I have always wanted to know the origin of this." Wang Yao found a place to sit down and placed the energy crystal on the table beside him.

Under Zhuge Liang's gaze, Wang Yao said, "These are the energy crystals I got in the canyon. They are useless to me, so I just sent them to you."

Zhuge Liang covered his mouth and coughed softly, as if he had adjusted his breathing, then he nodded and said, "Well, I'll see if I can spare some time in the next two days, and then I'll go to Wolonggang to arrange the upgrade for you."

Wang Yao looked at Zhuge Liang's haggard face and said, "I think you should rest more when you have time. Staying up late is bad for your health. As for the upgrade, I actually didn't plan to do that from the beginning."

Zhuge Liang was slightly stunned: "What do you mean?"

Wang Yao played with one of the energy crystals and said, "You also said that these energy crystals are actually all condensed from the lives of soldiers. Each one contains tens of thousands of lives. In fact, since I learned this truth, I rarely kill enemy soldiers even in the canyon battlefield."

As soon as Wang Yao finished speaking, Zhuge Liang frowned slightly.

How could he not understand the meaning behind Wang Yao's words?
Under Zhuge Liang's silent gaze, Wang Yao said, "Don't look at me like that. Even if I don't upgrade, my current equipment is enough to fight against the enemy heroes. I never planned to rely on these blood-stained buns to strengthen myself. After all, each level up consumes an energy crystal. According to this calculation, 15 people must be sacrificed to reach the maximum level. I don't want to bear such a heavy sin on my body."

The originally harmonious atmosphere suddenly turned cold.

"At this point, do you still think you can stay out of trouble?"

Zhuge Liang narrowed his deep cyan eyes and stared at Wang Yao. "These equipments of yours can give you the power to fight against heroes, but they are only external enhancements after all. Over-reliance on these external objects will inevitably lead you into an irretrievable situation in the future! I can understand your compassion for the soldiers, but since ancient times, it has always been the case that one general's success is built on the bones of thousands of soldiers. In the final analysis, you refuse to use energy crystals, perhaps out of morality and principle, but this practice is extremely stupid in my opinion. As the saying goes, the wise man plans with the times, and the foolish man acts against the times. Many times, you should learn to succumb to the flow of the world. Even if it is extremely dirty and filthy, don't resist it, because it has always been like this!"

Listening to Zhuge Liang's scolding, although they were already very familiar with each other, Wang Yao couldn't help but feel a surge of anger in his heart.

He understood the truth of what Zhuge Liang said. But Mr. Lu Xun said it well: it has always been like this, so does that mean it is right?
"Yes, maybe what I did was really stupid. But I always believe that if we want to change this world where the strong prey on the weak, we must first change this established tradition. Why do I have to sacrifice soldiers to strengthen myself like other heroes? If everyone is as selfish as you, only knowing how to achieve their own goals by taking advantage of the sacrifices of others, without caring about morality, then when will there be peace in this world?!"

Zhuge Liang was speechless for a moment.

History is vast and magnificent, but it has been repeating between peace and war. Why? In the final analysis, it is because humans have always believed in the extreme law of the jungle, which has led to constant disasters. Once many things are done, they are equivalent to admitting them. The reason why Wang Yao refused to use the energy crystal is simply because he denied this extreme idea.

Wasn't it because of Wang Yao's rebellious spirit and his courage to refute tradition that he decided to assist Su An in helping Wang Yao?

This bloody and inhumane era really needs someone who can subvert it with a new concept, and Wang Yao has always been clear about his direction.
Seeing Zhuge Liang silent, Wang Yao waved his hand and said, "Alright, I'm not here to argue with you. You specifically asked me to come here, are you here to ask what happened in the Highland Alliance this time?" "I can guess something about the Highland Alliance without asking."

Zhuge Liang's tone slowed down, and he said, "With Zhou Yu's character, if you can't persuade him with emotion, reason, and benefits, he will never put down his pride and cooperate with you to make a truce. I think you may have reached a certain alliance with him, which can satisfy your long-cherished wish of liberating the soldiers while satisfying Zhou Yu's desire to achieve great things. The specific steps should be to use the Wu-Shu alliance as the basic blueprint, and then establish a larger alliance, and let Zhou Yu occupy a high position in this system, because only in this way will Zhou Yu be willing to cooperate with you."

Damn, that’s awesome!
To be honest, Wang Yao admired Zhuge Liang very much in his heart, because this man was always able to predict many unknown facts and had a deep understanding of people! Just from Zhou Yu's temperament and his wishes, he could guess so much. The title of peerless strategy was indeed not for nothing.

But because of this, Wang Yao was even more puzzled: "Then what do you want to do by calling me here?"

Zhuge Liang said: "I hope you can kill someone."

The sudden change made Wang Yao stunned: "Murder?"

"That's right." Zhuge Liang raised his eyes which suddenly became cold. "If I remember correctly, the Seventh Main Force you led were all killed in the Wei Highlands, but there was still a soldier who survived, right?"

Looking at Zhuge Liang's expressionless face, Wang Yao suddenly felt a chill running down his spine: "You mean Fei Yi? Are you kidding me?! Why?!"

"I'm not kidding." Zhuge Liang said in an emotionless tone under Wang Yao's shocked gaze: "Only the dead can keep secrets. As your guard, he knows too many things, especially the assassination of Zhang Shao in the Canyon Battlefield. If he is bribed and leaks this matter, it will be very disadvantageous to your situation. So, just in case, this soldier can't stay!"

Wang Yao was terrified and said quickly, "Fei Yi is loyal to me and he will not betray me."

"Never underestimate the greed and stupidity of those soldiers." Zhuge Liang narrowed his eyes. "Besides, even if wealth doesn't sway their hearts, what if they are caught secretly and tortured? You should have never tortured anyone, right? Anyway, if I were to come, no soldier would last more than half an incense stick of time in my hands."

"What do you mean? Is someone trying to harm Fei Yi?" Wang Yao's brows were getting tighter and tighter.

Zhuge Liang did not give a direct answer, but changed the subject and asked, "What kind of person do you think His Majesty is?"

Wang Yao asked in confusion, "What does this have to do with Brother Liu?"

Zhuge Liang sighed and said, "Wang Yao, you are still a new official, and you don't know how deep the officialdom is. You must remember that there are three taboos for officials: one is to be too powerful to shock the master; the second is to bully the master; the third is to suppress the master with great talent! On the surface, you seem to be the first to contribute to the Highland Alliance, but in fact, you have violated a taboo by bypassing the high-level officials and signing a private alliance with the State of Wu without authorization."

Wang Yao looked at Zhuge Liang in a daze. He had never thought about the issue of being too successful to be a threat to his master!

Afterwards, Zhuge Liang said meaningfully: "The most powerful is the emperor, and the most ruthless and unrighteous is the emperor! The most vicious thing in the world is not the hero who kills people without hesitation, nor is it a cup of poisoned wine, but the hearts of emperors! They will not allow anyone to climb over their heads. If a minister oversteps the boundaries, they will be suspicious and murderous. Believe me, even if you don't have this intention, your behavior may have caused some high-level officials to have a grudge. Now that things have come to this, you can only quickly clear yourself, because I am worried that this hidden danger will become your handle one day."

Wang Yao never expected that Zhuge Liang called him here for this matter!
Back then on the Wei State Highlands, he couldn't protect the entire Seventh Main Force, and now he was asked to kill the last remaining person with his own hands. How could he possibly do it? !

Thinking of this, Wang Yao said more firmly: "These are just your one-sided concerns. I can't kill Fei Yi just because of this, right?"

But Zhuge Liang was surprisingly persistent on this matter: "Don't be afraid of ten thousand, just be prepared for one. You can temporarily not use the energy crystal, but there is only one thing you must listen to me!"

Wang Yao was also very stubborn about this: "We can discuss other things, but I won't change my mind about this matter! If you called me here just for this matter, then there is no need for us to discuss anything else!"

Wang Yao really didn't want to argue with Zhuge Liang, so as soon as he finished speaking, he turned around and prepared to leave.

"Stop." A cold voice came from Zhuge Liang's mouth, like an invisible blade, suddenly approaching Wang Yao's back: "I have spent so much energy to train you, and I will never allow you to fail because of a mere soldier. If you don't want to, then I will do it myself."

boom!
Wang Yao was angry. He turned around and slammed the table. "My subordinates' lives and deaths should be decided by themselves. I don't have the power to deprive others of their lives, and neither do you! Listen, if I find out that Fei Yi has lost a single hair, I will hold you accountable!"

After saying this angrily, Wang Yao did not hesitate and left the military tent directly. The meeting ended unpleasantly.
The candlelight flickered and the tent was silent.

"I hope my worries are wrong."

Accompanied by a low sigh, Zhuge Liang covered his mouth with the back of his hand and coughed softly, while holding a brush in his hand, he slowly wrote a word on the bamboo slips in front of him.

--"Life."

　Thanks to 7023Cocytus for the yuan reward, and thanks to all my friends who voted for me when I didn't update. I also appreciate your consideration. During the Spring Festival, it was really hard to find an environment that would allow me to write quietly. Even though I'm out there now, I'm still not in a very good state. Well, actually, the Spring Festival has more disadvantages for me.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)