"Oh, discovered."

Holding the teacup, Gu Yunzhi shrugged his shoulders. The prison uniform on him, instead of concealing, rather revealed a touch of a scholar’s grace.

He said indifferently, "So, Grand Governor, you’ve killed my entire family and still expect me to help you?"

"Of course."

Yin Gujin took a sip of tea, casually saying, "Back then, you wagered on King Jing, served him loyally, wasn’t it to achieve power second to none? You lost the bet, your family was eradicated, that’s the rule of the game, you bet and lost, we’re all just following the rules, you shouldn’t hate."

"Honestly, we haven’t killed you, nor removed you from office, even let you oversee military affairs at the Northern Border, with merits you can normally advance — that’s a matter of course; you used to treat defeated opponents like this, none sought revenge on you, you can’t hold double standards."

"Hmm..."

Gu Yunzhi listened, and surprisingly pondered seriously, without refuting, he contemplated for a while before saying, "Indeed, compared to you, I actually despise myself more... gambling is harmful, if there’s a next life, I definitely..."

Saying this, he paused, then turned to look at the half-smiling Yin Gujin, and smiled bitterly, "Alright, I just can’t say ’definitely not gamble’. But you see, that’s the harm of gambling, I always feel the next round will get it all back."

"Honestly, just tell us." Yin Gujin patiently said, "I know recently you’ve been assisting the Virtuous King."

"Frankly speaking, the Virtuous King has good intentions, you might even say, Guang Ge is the only one recently chosen correctly by the Imperial Court. He believes the Feather Transformation Dao is the hope for Da Chen’s rejuvenation, he hopes the Little Emperor can grow, govern personally, implement reforms, reshape order... but you know clearly, once Da Chen truly rejuvenates, the Holy Ancestor ought to awaken..."

With a long trailing note, Yin Gujin observed Gu Yunzhi, sensing no surprise from the other before nodding, "So the Little Emperor must be a puppet, at least not in control of real power, these Xuan Family people have harmed North Mysterious Sacrifice Continent for too long, reform is needed."

"Our Little Emperor is not foolish, he’s planning to use the Heavenly Mandate as a tool, creating cause and effect, to break the stalemate, but can he truly counter the Holy Ancestor? I think not."

Slightly shaking his head, Yin Gujin’s gaze turned profound, as if reminiscing, he softly said, "I’ve been chatting with the Holy Ancestor lately, the elder is becoming more active, especially during the Nirvana War; almost revived — that was truly dangerous, luckily the group of Tianyi Demon Sect knew what was urgent, didn’t interfere with me, and even helped Old Hong."

"So, I won’t hide from you, if things reach the worst point, we need to uproot the Undying Tree and replace it with a pillar, [Southern Dipper Life Infusion]... King Jing’s own foundation for the second Imperial Dynasty, that’s our only choice now."

"If it really succeeds, your Gu Family, essentially also one of the Four Great Families of the New Dynasty — your blood will integrate with the new ’Southern Heaven Undying Tree’, Yuan Family, Song Family, these great families combined can only compare with you."

"We would let you be the sole family, how about that?"

"Oh?"

Gu Yunzhi raised an eyebrow, "This is... different from before."

"Before was before, now is now."

Yin Gujin smiled, "At that time, we initially took power, had to compromise with the Four Great Families, or else the Imperial Court would have been chaotic."

"Steady them, then slowly seek fulfillment."

"But now it’s different, I recently eradicated my family’s bad seeds who couldn’t understand human language, they no longer threaten me in the slightest. As long as you agree with us, after a while, I’ll send all those old Yuan Family and Song Family people over to accompany my family, also with yours."

At this point, he even clapped his hands, marveling, "Little Gu, you’ve hit the jackpot!"

Gu Yunzhi was silent for a while, looking at the floating tea leaves in the cup, then shook his head.

"Why is that?"

Yin Gujin felt greatly puzzled, frowned, "Speaking of gambling, I admit you’ve already won the bet, you lasted till the end, we’ve all compromised with you now. The only governing family of the New Da Chen, this is founding merit, haven’t you hit the jackpot already?"

"Because I’m gambling on something even bigger."

Gu Yunzhi raised his head, calmly spoke to Yin Gujin, "Honestly, I really don’t hate you all, Old Yin, you’re a good General, a good Governor, but you’re not a good gambler — since King Jing led me to do great things, I’ve implicitly accepted that my Gu Family must prosper."

"Although we lost later, I still implicitly accepted my Gu Family as destined to prosper, so now you say my Gu Family will prosper in the future, this really doesn’t count as winning, not a bit of gain."

"Grand Governor, I’m gambling on an entirely new possibility."

"Oh?" At this moment, Yin Gujin’s expression grew solemn, his presence inherently majestic. The air in the entire prison seemed to freeze: "What are you gambling on?"

"Heavenly Ancestor, Imperial Dynasty, this repetitive cycle is really too boring, and family, great clans, this rise and fall over the years has truly become tiresome," Gu Yunzhi said lightly, "The things you’re trying to do, ultimately aren’t fresh stuff, I’m really not interested in gambling on a game with a known ending."

"So." Yin Gujin closed his eyes, "You chose... that Heavenly Mandate?"

"To be precise, it’s not me who chose, but my granddaughter who chose, and I relinquished, my luck’s too bad, I want to see if she can change fortune."

"This is treason."

"Yeah, this is treason, arrest me then. Oh, I’m already arrested, so kill me."

Gu Yunzhi calmly looked at the other, his tone even carrying a touch of laughter, "Maybe my granddaughter would even be glad."

Yin Gujin sighed deeply, stood up, his face shrouded under shadow, leaving only darkness: "A single Heavenly Mandate changes nothing, no matter how beautiful the Dao path, ultimately it will sink, if you think Feather Transformation Dao will bring something new, you’re destined to be disappointed, because if people don’t change, all will fall into... boredom and cliche."

He turned around, heading for the door: "It’s all predestined, history will sail in this direction, we merely wish to steer, let it voyage longer, why oppose, this overwhelming tide, simply accept and follow, everything will be much easier."

"Indeed, but so what, I think, An Jing isn’t such a simple Heavenly Mandate."

Gu Yunzhi’s voice drifted from behind him: "Now, Governor... you all just wait."

"He’s coming."

"I’m waiting." Yin Gujin walked out of the Heavenly Prison gate, standing in the sunlight, he shook his head slightly, turned to the side to speak to the messenger soldier beside him: "Transfer General Gu to the Divine Beheading Platform."

"He doesn’t want to live, so grant his wish."