Chapter 221
Seeing that Qiao Shui was obviously dying, Li Gongde seemed to be intending to satisfy his curiosity before his death. He sighed secretly in his heart and told the matter without much concealment.
"Are you really Li Gongde?" Qiao Shui frowned deeply.
His body lost a leg due to Li Gongde on the execution ground... Although his tolerance for pain is far beyond ordinary people, the pain is real after all.
"You in Caishikou are fake, and you sitting here are real and fake?" His expression was slightly cold, and he was obviously wary of Li Gongde.
It's just that his body has reached the end of its strength. Although his expression is cold and there is a faint murderous aura, there is actually no threat, and it is unclear whether he can even use the sword.
In Li Gongde's eyes, this threatening appearance was like a dying tiger baring its teeth and claws. It did not frighten him, but only made him feel sad.
"Brother Qiao Shui, don't worry, you are about to die. Why should I lie to a dead man?" Li Gongde sympathized.
Qiao Shui:?
"In fact, this was all King Qin's idea." Li Gongde raised his hands in a gesture of surrender to show that he had no ill intentions:
"He used me as bait to lure the Qiao family into Da Qin Fucheng and catch them all in one catch."
"But I, Li Gongde, am a wealthy man in Zhongzhou after all. Looking at the entire Jiuzhou, I can be considered a prominent figure. Naturally, I cannot kill him casually."
"So he found a person with a similar body shape to me, covered it with the immortal blinding talisman, and turned into my appearance."
"To show sincerity and fairness, while the King of Qin imprisoned me in this mansion, he also left me a talisman of the Water Mirror Technique so that I could have a glimpse of the current situation of the law field."
Qiao Mu slandered: If King Qin really regarded you as a respectable person, he would not even think of using you as bait.
However, he made no move to refute.
At this time, he realized something belatedly: Li Gongde also saw the scene of Qiao Mu cutting off a leg at the execution site through the water mirror technique. And this body as "Qiao Shui" was also dying because of the forced entry into Prince Qin's palace.
Li Gongde may have felt a little bit guilty in his heart, so in front of the dying "Qiao Shui", he seemed to have lowered his usual guard and told some inside stories that he shouldn't have said.
"So the identity of a dying person can be used to make jokes?" Qiao Mu suddenly understood when he thought of this.
Li Gongde conspired with the King of Qin to trick him into using his body... Whether he intended it or not, it was an established fact that Qiao Mu had been training hard in his dream for five years in order to show up.
It is impossible to say that he has no fire in his heart and no guard against Li Gongde.
So with a thought in his mind, he immediately started acting with peace of mind in front of Li Gongde, preparing to say something before he died.
"Ahem..." Qiao Shui's face turned pale, and he vomited several large mouthfuls of blood. There were even some internal organ fragments in the blood, and his body was crooked and almost fell to the ground.
Li Gongde had quick eyesight and quick hands, and quickly helped him sit on another Taishi chair next to him.
"What are you helping me for?" Qiao Shui blew his beard and glared:
"I, Qiao Shui, forced my way into Prince Qin's Mansion, and now I have half my foot in hell."
"My eldest brother Qiao Tuo (zhui, three sounds) lost a leg during the tribunal."
"Now I know that this was just a scam conspired by you and the King of Qin... cough cough." He couldn't help coughing up blood in his mouth, and the blood spurted everywhere as if it was free of charge.
"Li Gongde!" Qiao Shui's eyes widened, and he raised his hand to grab Li Gongde's wrist, leaving a trace of blood on his wrist:
"As you wish, I am about to die. I only have one wish before I die..."
Li Gongde looked serious: "What is your last wish?"
My last wish before I die is to KFCV me 50... Qiao Mu couldn't help but gasp, his breath gradually weakened, but he still kept his eyes wide open and hissed:
"Even if I die, I will die clearly and be a clear ghost!"
"Li Gongde! Tell me, the death of our two brothers was in vain. Did you conspire with King Qin to deceive me?"
"Who is Li Gongde, the stickman in Caishikou?"
Jiao Qian Yan Shen's sincerity is a suicide skill, but Qiao Shui's double BUFF of "dying" and "last wish" is a super sure kill.
"Brother Qiao Shui, don't get excited..." Li Gongde wiped his sweat, he was also a little anxious.
"I'm not lying to you. I don't know who the 'Li Gongde' in Caishikou is. I think he is an innocent person arranged by King Qin..."
He spread his hands, feeling helpless.
"Really?" Qiao Mu frowned:
"But you, Li Gongde, also behave strangely. As a wealthy man in Zhongzhou, you often spread your wealth, give soup to refugees, and do good deeds. The people call you Li Dashan."
"Now you are telling me that all this has nothing to do with you. You are a clean victim, and the insults were all done by the King of Qin? Are you just forced?"
These words seemed to stop Li Gongde, leaving him speechless and silent for a moment.
But not long after, he pointed to the tree in the water mirror, which had lost a leg and was fighting fiercely with King Qin, and his words were profound:
"There is a reason why I, Li Gongde, do good deeds and accumulate merit."
"Because... I don't want to be a good person." Li Gongde said deeply:
"In today's world, the fate of being a good person is like the Qiao family. They will be coerced by morality and justice, and they will not live long."
"Good deeds may not necessarily have good results. Instead, they may expose their good intentions and attract wolves to watch."
"Exposing one's kindness is tantamount to exposing one's own weakness."
Qiao Shui's doubts deepened. If you don't want to be a good person, why do you still do good deeds and actively spread wealth?
Li Gongde seemed to see Qiao Shui's doubts and continued to explain:
"Brother Qiao Shui."
"You just said that I frequently give away money and the people regard me as Li Dashan. But when you first heard the name Li Dashan, did you really think that I am the same person on the outside and a rare good person in the world?"
"Do you feel in your heart... I, Li Gongde, am probably a hypocritical rich man? Maybe I have done too many bad things in my daily life, so I am superstitious about merit and have a good reputation, so I built this memorial arch for myself."
Qiao Shui was speechless for a moment.
"I'm not saying that you are wrong to think this way." Li Gongde said:
"The reason why many people think this way is because there are indeed many hypocritical rich people in the world who are unkind but pretend to be charitable."
"And I, Li Gongde...brother Qiao Shui, don't look at me like that, I'm not really a good person."
"It is said that kindness does not lead to soldiers, and righteousness does not bring wealth. If I, Li Gongde, can become the second richest man in the imperial capital, my hands will naturally be dirty a long time ago."
Li Gongde said calmly:
"People think I am a good person, and more knowledgeable people think I am a hypocritical rich man with a good reputation... And what I need is such an image."
"People in the world have heard that Li Gongde is good at meritorious deeds. This is a weakness of mine that is exposed. With this weakness, no matter the Great Yan court, the Immortal Sect, or the King of Qin, they all think that I, Li Gongde, am nothing more than this and can be easily dealt with. This is a sign of Let the enemy be weak."
The persona on the first level is Li Dashan, and the persona on the second level is a hypocritical rich man with a good reputation.
"Without these two layers of characters, how could I, Li Gongde, survive until now in a world surrounded by wolves, with millions of dollars in wealth?" Li Gongde said with a chuckle.
Li Gongde is an actor with very good acting skills.
On the surface, he is doing good deeds and accumulating virtue, but in fact he is really doing good deeds and accumulating virtue, and has successfully made the world think that he is a common hypocritical rich man.
"Are you slandering your reputation?" Qiao Shui asked with a frown.
Li Gongde did not deny it, nodded and said:
"The world is just a big dye vat. If you don't pollute yourself, how can you escape from the mud and not be polluted?"
"There are indeed people in this world who have emerged from the mire without being stained, just like the three hundred old soldiers who walked out of the hundred-mile desert, and like the Qiao family members who died one after another, but after all, you are a minority among the minority. Looking at the entire Kyushu, there are not many "Li Gongde said seriously:
"I, Li Gongde, also admire such people, but I will not become such a person."
"Those who emerge from the mud and remain untouched will not live long."
"I am self-defiled. I am born out of silt and half-defiled. My hands are stained with filth. But I can also do some practical things for the people who are struggling in this dirty world to make their lives a little easier."
"But I can't do it if I ignore my own life and fight to save the people, like the Qiao family and the three hundred white-headed soldiers."
In front of the dying Qiao Shui, Li Gongde behaved magnanimously.
From his words, it is not difficult to see the admiration for the old soldiers of the isolated city and the Qiao family. This may be one of the reasons why he released Qiao Mu in the first place.
It was just that when they first met in a private house, Li Gongde didn't reveal his true feelings at all. He only spoke openly in front of the dying Qiao Shui.
"I don't want a good reputation. It's enough to do good deeds. Good deeds are in my heart and I have no regrets. That's all."
Speaking of this, Li Gongde once again looked at the trees on the execution ground in the water mirror with emotion.
"Although I, Li Gongde, have the intention of doing good deeds and accumulating virtue, before that, what I was thinking about was preserving my own wealth and life."
"The Qiao family can challenge Li Gongde, a mere stranger, to the King of Qin. The Qiao family is so righteous that I cannot match it."
Li Gongde doesn't want to be regarded as a good person by the world, because being a good person will lead to being pointed at a gun.
In his eyes, the Qiao brothers were brave men who knew they couldn't do anything but did it. They knew clearly that King Qin had set up a trap and would lead to death if they stepped into it, but they still dared to go out and die.
"Stop being sentimental." At this time, Qiao Mu also said decisively:
"We two brothers are not here for you."
He stopped pretending and showed off his cards.
"All I ask for is a simple thought. King Qin and I have had a grudge for a long time. Now I come to kill people, just for myself, nothing more."
"King Qin has tied you up a long time ago. Your life or death depends on his thoughts. Let alone me, even if Wu Shengren is still alive and Wu Shengren comes to save you personally, I'm afraid he won't be able to save you."
"So when I came here, I didn't have the intention to save people, only the intention to kill."
If King Qin had the intention to kill Li Gongde, based on his character and methods, Li Gongde's life and death would have been determined before he was executed at Caishikou, and there would be absolutely no possibility of being rescued.
Just like the unnamed innocent fat man, long before Qiao Mu entered the city, he was chopped into a stick by the King of Qin and used as a tool for the "Bone-corroding Fire Talisman" sneak attack. Even the gods could not save him.
If Master Wu comes to save me... Li Gongde's eyes flickered and he continued:
"In other words, brothers Qiao Shui didn't actually come to save me? Just to kill King Qin?"
"Not bad." Qiao Shui nodded in agreement.
Li Gongde's eyes fell on Qiao Mu who had lost a leg in the water mirror, and said quietly:
"Just say so."
"But before Brother Qiao Shui spoke, did you consider the feelings of your brother Qiao Tuo?"
Qiao Shui wanted to say something else, but was interrupted by Li Gongde waving his hand:
"I don't understand why brother Qiao Shui doesn't want to admit it...but isn't what your Qiao family has been doing the same as what I, Li Gongde, have done?"
"The difference is that your Qiao family has saved more people and done bigger things. My little thing is not comparable to that of the Qiao family..."
When Li Gongde thought of this, a thought arose in his mind: Is he ashamed to admit the righteous thoughts in his heart? Or are you like me, Li Gongde, who feels that this good reputation is of no use, but will only attract a pack of wolves around and become a means for people to take advantage of it?
After thinking about it, he suddenly felt that the dying Qiao Shui's figure in front of him seemed to be a little taller out of thin air.
"Brother Qiao Shui, you might as well persist a little longer and survive. The world is difficult, and it is always good to have more people like Brother Qiao Shui." Li Gongde said:
"Actually, I have a magical elixir in my hand that is very effective in treating internal and external injuries."
Having said this, Li Gongde fumbled for a brocade box from his arms.
It wasn't that he didn't want to take out the elixir earlier, but Qiao Shui was obviously wary of him before. If he said that he wanted to use the elixir to save him, he might be regarded as having malicious intentions.
Secondly, come on, the elixir in his hand is really unbelievable.
When the brocade box was opened, Qiao Shui took a closer look and found that inside the brocade box was a...meat ball that was as big as half a fist?
This meat ball is roughly spherical in shape, and its flesh and blood are like clotted fat. If you look closely, you can see that this meat ball is slowly expanding and contracting, as if a living creature is breathing.
Qiao Shui:? ? ?
You call this a panacea for treating internal and external injuries?
"This thing is called Spiritual Flesh Pill. Although it looks a little weird, it is indeed extremely efficient." Li Gongde said deeply.
In fact, when Qiao Shui was released by him before, Li Gongde used a small amount of Spirit Flesh Pill to promote wound healing while he was in a coma.
Just looking at this Soul Flesh Pill, Qiao Shui suddenly felt familiar, and the memory of when he was in Nanzhou many years ago suddenly came to his mind:
"Wu Jihui?"
He raised his eyes and looked at Li Gongde in front of him.
This so-called Spiritual Flesh Pill is clearly a ball of flesh.
This should be the same kind of thing as the piece of flesh and blood that Wu Qizheng left in his body.
Li Gongde was a little surprised, but he did not deny it in front of the dying Qiao Shui.
If he could save the dying Qiao Shui, then exposing Wu Jihui's identity was a risk he could bear.
Since the Gucheng Desert incident, the reputation of the Qiao family in Zhongzhou has already surpassed that of Qiao Sen and his son in Nanzhou.