“??相较于‘称呼’这种小事，你想好怎么构建你的‘秩序’了吗？”
抱阳子大师话锋一转，状似不经意的问道，但郑清明确感觉到，其他三个机构的代表听到这个问题后，表情明显认真了几分。
“还没有明...
“baoyangzimaster‘swordshungintheair,andzhengqingmingcouldn‘thelpbutfeelasenseofunease.thequestionseemedsimpleenough,buttherewasanundercurrenttoitthathecouldn‘tquitegrasp.
thefourrepresentativesfromthedifferentinstitutionshadbeenseatedaroundalargewoodentableforhours,discussingvariousaspectsoftheirrespectiveorganizations.theconversationhadflowedeffortlesslyatfirst,witheachsidepresentingtheiruniqueperspectivesonhowtomaintainorderanddisciplinewithintheirwalls.however,asthediscussionworeon,zhengqingmingbegantonoticeasubtleshiftintheatmosphere.
eachrepresentativeseemedtobecarefullyweighingtheirwords,choosingtheirresponseswithprecision.itwasasiftheywereallwaitingforsomething-orsomeone-tomakeamove.theairwasthickwithanticipation,andzhengqingmingfoundhimselfwonderingwhatexactlybaoyangzimasterwasgettingatwithhisseeminglyinnocuousquestion.
“i...ihaven‘tquitethoughtthatfaraheadyet,“zhengqingmingadmitted,tryingtoplaydowntheimportanceofbaoyangzimaster‘squery.
theoldman‘seyesnarrowedslightly,hisgazepiercingthroughtheveilofcasualconversation.“youshouldhave,“hereplied,hisvoicelowandmeasured.“forifyoudon‘tunderstandthestructureofyourown‘秩序‘,thenhowcanyouhopetomaintainit?“
zhengqingmingfeltashiverrundownhisspineasbaoyangzimaster‘swordsstruckachorddeepwithinhim.heknewthathehadonlyscratchedthesurfaceofwhatitmeanttobuildandmaintainanorder,onethatwasnotjustasimplematterofdisciplineandobedience.
asheponderedtheoldman‘squestion,zhengqingmingcaughttheattentionofhisfellowrepresentatives.theywereallstaringatbaoyangzimasterwithvaryingdegreesofcuriosityandsuspicion.someseemedintriguedbytheoldman‘swords,whileotherslookedliketheyweresizinghimupforpotentialthreats.
zhengqingmingfeltasurgeofuneaseasherealizedthateveryoneinthisroomwaswaitingforsomething-orsomeone.thequestiononbaoyangzimaster‘slipshadsparkedachainreaction,onethatthreatenedtoupsetthedelicatebalanceofpowerwithinthesefourinstitutions.
“whatdoyoumeanby‘秩序‘?“zhengqingmingasked,tryingtosteertheconversationbackontrack.
baoyangzimastersmiledenigmatically,hiseyesglintinginthedimlightoftheroom.“ah,myyoungfriend,“hesaid,hisvoicedrippingwithmystery.“thatisaquestionforanothertime.“
theoldman‘swordshungintheairlikeachallenge,leavingzhengqingmingfeelingunsettledanduncertainaboutwhatlayahead.asthediscussioncontinued,hecouldn‘tshakeoffthefeelingthattheywereallbeingleddownapathfromwhichtherewasnoreturn.
baoyangzimaster‘snextquestioncutthroughtheconversationlikeahotknifethroughbutter,“??相较于‘称呼’这种小事，你想好怎么构建你的‘秩序’了吗？”
zhengqingmingfelthisheartskipabeatasherealizedthatbaoyangzimasterwasnotjustaskingaboutthestructureoftheirrespectiveinstitutions,butalsoabouthisownthoughtsandfeelings.itwasasiftheoldmanhadsomehowmanagedtouncoveradeepwellofemotionswithinhim,onethathehadn‘tevenbeenawareofhimself.
inthatmoment,zhengqingmingfeltlikehewasstandingattheedgeofaprecipice,staringintoanabyssofuncertainty.heknewthathecouldn‘tjustsitbackanddonothing,buthealsodidn‘tknowwhattherightcourseofactionwas.
thequestionseemedsimpleenough,butitwasonethathadthepotentialtoupendeverythingzhengqingmingthoughtheknewabouthimselfandhisplaceintheworld.ashelookedaroundthetable,hesawhisfellowrepresentativesstaringbackathimwithamixtureofcuriosityandsuspicion.theywereallwaitingforsomething-orsomeone-tomakeamove.
theairwasthickwithtensionasbaoyangzimaster‘swordshunginthebalance,leavingzhengqingmingfeelinglikehewastrappedinawebofuncertaintyfromwhichtherewasnoescape.