Chapter 53: Night Talk

It was already late in the night, and the whole of Minas Tirith fell into a deep sleep. During this time, the nights are getting darker and the days are shorter. In the darkness, Zhao Mian sat on the wooden seat, in the corner of the room, the big sword and armor that shimmered with mysterious brilliance lay there quietly, and by the lonely candle flame in the darkness, Zhao Mian was writing something on the table.

"Tuk tuk. There was a knock on the door to his room.

Zhao Mian gently put down the quill pen in his hand, the ink in the barrel trembled slightly, and a small ink blot printed black flowers on the spread parchment. Zhao Mian closed his eyes, and invisible thoughts radiated from his brain, using another sense to observe the situation nearby.

The first to enter this field of vision was Boromo, who was a little anxious outside the door, and there was no doubt about it—it was also Zhao Mian who asked him to talk at night. Not far from him was a guard, with a slight tiredness hidden under his armor, and it was indeed very tiring to stand a full shift on a night like this. The rooms, which normally inhabited visitors from other countries and cities, were now empty, except for a few servants who had no intention of sleeping late at night, lazily dusting them.

"Tuk tuk tuk!" came a second knock at the door of the room, the sound was more rapid than the last one, far away in the darkness, and Boromo rubbed the joints of his fingers a little anxiously.

"Come in. Zhao Mian opened his eyes, and the thoughts that had drifted out returned to his mind at this moment. He stood up and faced the wooden door that was being pushed open from the outside.

Wearing no armor and just a handguard sword at his waist, Boromo stepped out of the dimly lit corridor into a darker room. Minas Tirith has put in place a light control to prevent any part of the city from becoming so conspicuous in the darkness that it becomes a target. And after the next dawn, the people here will begin to evacuate the city one after another, and the city, which is already immersed in depression, will probably be left with only garrison troops and a small amount of logistics on the night of the third day.

"How many people know you've come to me?" asked Zhao Mian, who was waiting for Polomo to close the wooden door behind him and turn his back to the only light source in the room.

"Everyone. Boromo took two steps forward and sat down in the place where Zhao Mian was still seated. Despite the dim candlelight, Boromo was keenly aware of the parchment in front of him. He picked up the uninked parchment in front of him, but a text that didn't exist in any known script in Gondor's sphere of influence jumped on it, so he frowned and put the parchment back in its place, "I didn't hide my whereabouts, because I don't want my men to find their generals at a critical moment in such a moment, when something unexpected could happen at any moment. ”

"Well, that way, things are easy. To Boromo's surprise, Zhao Mian just nodded, not bothered by his actions, Zhao Mian noticed this, and he explained—in the darkness, Boromo couldn't see the expression on his face, but maybe there was no expression at all, "The best way to let others know something is to hide it in a place that is not hidden, and if you want to keep it a secret, then let everyone know about it—even if they only know a little bit of it." ”

"So, what are you trying to tell me?" Porromo was clearly not an incompetent fool living in such a prominent family, and he understood the truth after only a slight mention of it. He frowned a little dissatisfied, and then expressed his displeasure in a tone, "Listen, accusing the Regent of Gondor is a very serious crime, and if you don't have solid evidence, then anyone in the know is enough to convict you." ”

"When and where did you hear me make accusations against the Prime Minister of Gondor?" But in front of him, Zhao Mian just threw out his own words lightly, which made him feel like a fish in his throat. "Alright, you can save that for after the battle - I'm not here to argue with you, and at a time like this, I want to know how much consciousness you have. ”

"Enlightenment?" Borromo repeated as he chewed on the word, "You mean ......"

"For oneself, for glory, for Gondor, for the people - or anything else. But these beautiful lines are just beautiful prefixes for the core content, and all I want to know is -" Zhao Mian stretched out his right hand and reached into the dim candle flame, he stretched out his index finger, "How much can you pay for your own reasons?"

"For Gondor, I could give my life at all costs. Although he was only wearing a soft and luxurious silk garment, the sound of beating his chest still sounded in the darkness - it sounded like a lot of strength, and Bolomo, who stood up immediately the moment Zhao Mian's words fell, knocked down the wooden chair he was sitting on.

"It's not enough. Zhao Mian shook his head wordlessly, and then repeated in an aggravated tone, "It's far from enough." ”

"I know you've been fighting for this country for years, but what is about to happen here at this moment is probably more complicated than all the things you expected to be combined - and much more dangerous. Zhao Mian walked forward and walked in front of Boromo, and in such a night, Boromo saw Zhao Mian's face for the first time - in the darkness, the knight who was a little taller than him had a little tiredness and fatigue on his face, but the eyes that revealed determination contained a light that could penetrate everything, "It is very likely, it is very likely that things will develop to the point that even if you give your life, it will still be irretrievable - but the way to redeem it is to pay another price." ”

In his life, Boromo has made many decisions, such as winning the championship of martial arts in the barracks, such as defending the frontier, or pursuing a distant prophecy mentioned in a dream, and then joining a team with an important mission. But none of these decisions were made difficult for him on this dark night. In front of him, Zhao Mian, who surpassed him too much in age and experience, gently put the most ruthless question in front of him with the coldest words: "If, in order to defeat the Demon King and let us achieve the final victory, you need to defeat your own father, no, not only to fight, but may even need to be killed in the future, then - what will you do?"

Boromo froze there, his arms still on his chest, and the posture that represented his determination was extremely stiff at this moment. He sank deep into his thoughts, the question came too suddenly—and a normal person would not think about what he would do if he had to kill his father one day.

Zhao Mian took a deep look at him, then walked past him, picked up the wooden chair that had fallen to the ground, put it on the other side of the table, sat down, and then pulled over the unfinished parchment, picked up the quill he had placed on the table, and once again sorted out the information he knew in the dim candlelight.

"I ......" I don't know how long it has been, in this night without stars and moon, Zhao Mian can't easily judge the passage of time, but the candle on the table has also been replaced with a new one after it has burned out, and it must have passed a long time. And Borromo was also freed from his thoughts, he opened his mouth, but only one syllable was highlighted, the bitterness spread rapidly in his mouth, obviously there was not much water consumption, but the feeling of dry mouth still occupied his mouth, he smacked his lips, moistened his throat with his own saliva, but he found that this made the bitterness spread from his mouth to his chest, he spoke, "...... I do not know. ”

"Very well, if you know, then I will have a hard time. Zhao Mian's voice came from behind him, he turned his head, the candlelight was a little brighter than the previous candle illuminated Zhao Mian's cheeks, he was looking up at him, "If a person can come to such an easy conclusion in the face of the life and death of his loved ones, then he is not mad, he is just using lies to lay the groundwork for another lie - and it is clear that at such a moment, we don't need a madman, nor do we need a sinister liar." ”

"You've passed my review - but beware, we're only getting closer to today's point. Zhao Mian put down the quill pen in his hand, and Boromo keenly discovered by the candlelight that at the end of the parchment, Zhao Mian still hadn't finished sketching the pattern was the walls and streets of Minas Tirith, "Originally, I was going to ask if you knew if the 'True Knowing Crystal' was still in Minas Tirith, and if your father had used this kind of thing, but today's meeting was an unexpected surprise. It could have been a small mistake, or a mistake that had just been made out of fatigue, or it could have been the beginning of another scheme, but I got the news I wanted to know. ”

"Your father has a hedron of knowledge and has used it - but it is dangerous, not from the burden of using it, but from Mordor - the Demon King also has a hedron in his hands, and this is a very dangerous thing. Zhao Mian said, "Your father is still your father, but he doesn't know when he will expose his mind to Sauron's gaze because of a small flaw, and I am just an outsider, I need you to keep an eye on your father's situation at all times - remember, don't be exposed, the current situation is very critical, you can only be a wait-and-see person, because at the slightest mistake, the chancellor of Gondor may become a thing of the past." ”