Chapter 650: 99: Gu Clan’s Scions Traverse Kyushu, Li Heng’s Death

——Chaos arises again. Not to mention others, even Gu Yi had never imagined that this matter would escalate to the current state.

But for him, having already made up his mind completely,

there was no turning back now.

He could only rely on power to minimize the casualties among ordinary people.

Yet even so, this matter would inevitably attract countless criticisms, especially for a family like the Gu Clan, which had maintained its reputation for hundreds of years. This would indeed impact the entire clan.

But as the saying goes,

——The Gu Clan has no retreat, only the courage to move forward.

Fortunately, the Gu Clan had already altered its development path; this approach, deeply rooted among the common people, provided great assistance in times like these.

This indeed alleviated considerable pressure for Gu Xuan.

.....

Cries of wailing resounded throughout Kyushu.

In such troubled times, even with Grand Tutor Gu Xuan leading by example, and officials from the Imperial Censorate dispatched everywhere, it was not guaranteed that military law would be absolutely followed by the soldiers.

The world is not black and white, and the murkiness of human nature is even more crucial.

Under this large-scale Buddhist suppression movement, there inevitably would be those seeking credit and those coveting wealth.

This naturally led to many unjust cases.

This imposed severe psychological pressure on Gu Xuan.

He began to suffer from frequent insomnia.

This was a heart disease.

Even Gu Yi could not interfere in this; the "cure-all" had no effect on such maladies of the heart, something Gu Yi had long learned.

He could only continuously suggest through psychological hints of "control" to comfort Gu Xuan.

Yet Gu Yi ultimately underestimated Gu Xuan.

Gu Xuan remained determined in his campaign against Buddhism; this so-called "heart disease" was merely his own inner hurdle he couldn’t overcome.

Jingzhao Prefecture.

At night, dense clouds shrouded the moon, devouring all light, just like the current mood of the Gu Clan offspring.

"All of you... might as well return to the court first." From the main seat, Gu Xuan’s eyes were exceptionally steadfast as he swept a gaze over the family gathered below, "This matter began with me, and it should also end with me."

"The overwhelming infamy of future generations..."

"Should never be borne by you."

In the hall, the air was heavy as lead.

The gathered offspring were silent, gazing at Gu Xuan on the main seat, their eyes full of desolation.

How could they not understand that Gu Xuan wished to bear all burdens?

How could they not feel desolate?

Even though among them, many lacked the ability to see the far-reaching significance of this matter, it didn’t affect their feelings at this moment.

The words "Gu Clan" brought them so much honor.

This was also one of the reasons why the Gu Clan had never split.

Seeing Gu Xuan’s solemn expression, after exchanging a glance with each other, none of them spoke further, but no one left either.

Clearly, they wanted to demonstrate an attitude.

But Gu Xuan refused to give them such an opportunity, and seeing that no one was willing to leave, he directly got up and walked out of the hall himself.

"Brother—"

Immediately, one of the family members spoke up, but was promptly stopped by the brother beside him. Only after Gu Xuan’s figure disappeared did he say, "Brother won’t agree with us."

"Then what should we do?"

Their expressions grew increasingly complex, showing both urgency and some confusion.

"In the current situation, we should return to our original nature." That family member sighed deeply, surveying everyone present: "Brothers, are you willing to forsake comfort?"

"For our Gu Clan, for our brother....."

"To emulate our ancestors and tread once more across the land of Kyushu?"

——The atmosphere in the hall abruptly shifted; everyone immediately understood the meaning of these words.

It was to emulate the immortals of the Gu Clan from generations past, rising from the grassroots to again step onto this land, to mitigate the impact of this event.

Brief silence.

A moment later, the expressions of the family members turned serious, nodding in agreement without uttering a single word of superfluity.

...

Gu Xuan was unaware of the unusual actions of the Gu Clan members.

After giving instructions on this day, he devoted all his focus to the Buddhist suppression.

——In truth, the "rebels" allied with the monks were not a significant threat.

Even with the support of the foreign race.

But the disparities in combat experience and equipment were insurmountable barriers for them.

If they had arisen at the beginning of the An Shi Rebellion, they might have been considered a killing strike, but in the current situation, this group was ultimately insufficient to stir up any major storm.

The real issue was the common people they had drawn in.

Or rather, they couldn’t even be said to be coerced.

As this movement shifted from "Buddhist suppression" to repression, many common people across the land willingly chose to die for these monks.

One by one, they shouted "To the Pure Land of Bliss."

With their lives, they formed human walls to protect those monks.

Among them were those who had given everything, even sending their children to the temple, and also those hoodwinked by the clergy.

Yet even such circumstances were insufficient to wake these people up.

These people were the greatest challenge.

The "monks" seemed to have realized that direct confrontation was not advisable against the officials, choosing rather to target Gu Xuan’s weaknesses this way.

They were betting—

Betting that Gu Xuan wouldn’t dare tarnish the illustrious Gu Clan reputation for Buddhist suppression, ultimately forcing him to compromise.