Qin Shi Ambitious

Page 188

On the first night Zhou Wen returned to the farmhouse disguised as Tian Meng, he carefully showed the Autumn Toad Sword to Tian Meng.

The identity of the murder weapon has been confirmed, but the murderer is not the original owner of the weapon. Instead, it is Tian Guang, a chivalrous leader who is proficient in the use of more than ten different weapons!

Although Tian Guang did not have a fixed weapon, and even when he fought against the Sixth Elder Di Ze Twenty-Four with Lu Wei last night, he only used his bare hands, he chose the sword due to the trend of the times, and therefore he had his own unique research on swordsmanship.

Back in Jicheng, Master Lu had sparred with Tian Guang and witnessed his self-created sword moves several times.

Based on the information from the wounds, he was certain that Tian Guang himself was the culprit in this incident, but killing Tian Du and Tian Zang was not part of their initial plan, and there were other unexpected changes involved.

Zhou Wen should know the reason, but now it is inconvenient for the Hall Master to talk to him alone, and he can no longer easily visit Lieshan Hall in the future. He needs to proceed cautiously along the initial plan, while also being prepared to be flexible and adaptable to changing circumstances.

The progress of this plan may also be completely different from the Azure Dragon Plan, but Master Lu has been wandering the martial world for ten years and has seen many storms, so he is fully prepared to face unexpected situations.

It was Tian Guang who committed the murder, which is why the other party disposed of Tian Zang's body, which should not have been exposed to the world.

If Tian Zang is exposed, the consequence will be the collapse of the entire farm plan.

Continuing this line of reasoning: if there was time to deal with Tian Zang, then what would be the reason for deliberately leaving Tian Du undiscovered...?

There are many possibilities, but as long as we combine them with the recall letter from the Zhu family, everything becomes clear: Tian Guang was deliberately telling the hall masters that he, the leader of the chivalrous sect, was in trouble.

As long as Tian Guang doesn't show up, the situation in the farmhouse will inevitably become chaotic, and naturally, they won't have the mind to interfere in external affairs.

Furthermore, since Lu Wei has already been introduced to and recognized by the elders of the Six Sages' Tomb, the chaos in the situation will definitely have a bottom line and will never develop into an uncontrollable stage.

As the whole incident gradually becomes clearer, the last question remains: Did Tian Guang really get into trouble, or is he simply continuing to hide...?

This determines the progress of the known plan.

"The most urgent task now is to immediately contact the leader of the bandits and send all the disciples to conduct a thorough search of the entire Daze Mountain for anything unusual."

Zhu Jia's face, masked and unpredictable, prompted him to make the suggestion.

"Launching such a large-scale operation, regardless of whether the leader of the Xia clan is alright or not, will draw attention to the unfavorable consequences for us..." Situ Wanli was somewhat worried, and he was the most anxious among all the hall masters present.

However, this pressure came more from Daliang City in the west than from Dazeshan.

In addition to acquiring Gonggongtang's real estate in Daliang City, Siyuetang has also been actively spreading news of Qin's attack on Wei in the city over the past two years, taking the opportunity to massively acquire houses in the Wei capital.

Situ Wanli was betting that the defense of Daliang would be as protracted and devastating as the battles of Handan and Jicheng. The subsequent reconstruction would be a highly profitable undertaking.

If Siyuetang makes preparations in advance and emulates Liusha's secret alliance with the Qin army during a critical moment of Qin's siege, even if they cannot act as recklessly as that assassin group, the rule of any country always requires the cooperation of local strongmen.

If Siyuetang is willing to cooperate, Qin has no reason not to accept it.

At that time, the cooperation with the new rulers, which would not hinder the overall situation, would bring substantial profits to the Four Peaks Hall.

All of this is very risky. Situ Wanli originally planned to go to Wei to plan the war himself after it broke out, but if he spends too much time in Daze Mountain, things will become very uncertain.

Fortune is found in danger, but it can also be lost in danger. A gamble on an entire city can result in enormous losses if the gamble is lost.

Siyuetang does not want to confine its main energy to Dazeshan at this time.

"The safety of the leader is the most important thing. Right now, only the six of us hall masters know this news. It's not a problem to keep it a secret and just send our disciples to look for the anomaly." Although Lu Wei also has to make a trip to Wei, he needs to get there after Daliang City is flooded and falls, so there's no rush for now.

“A large-scale search is indeed inappropriate. The enemy can easily guess what is making us so nervous. I suggest we only send trusted confidants to search.”

Tian Meng leaned towards Situ Wanli's opinion, which represented Tian Hu's opinion. In addition, Tian Mi followed the crowd, and the final decision was that the death of Tian Du could only be investigated secretly on a small scale.

Zhu Jia believed himself to be the last person to have seen Xia Kui's whereabouts, but he could not directly reveal that he had gone to Qin with Xia Kui to meet Lord Changping.

The only way to provide follow-up assistance from the Chu Kingdom is to send disciples to deliver the agreed-upon supplies. If there is no news from Xia Kui in the short term, he cannot leave Daze Mountain.

This matter should also be reported to Xiang Yan in a letter, so that he can inform Lord Changping.

The discussion on how to handle this case did not present a staged internal power struggle within the farmers' community; it simply vividly presented the essence of the struggle as a fight for one's own advantageous interests...

Dr. Nian Duan quickly obtained the results of his examination of the corpse.

The old doctor confirmed that Tian Du showed no signs of poisoning before his death; he died from a direct sword wound to the throat.

There's not much to say about the details of the wounds, but the time of death is noteworthy: Nian Duan determined that Tian Du died the night before last.

That was the night Lu Wei returned to Dazeshan from Jinghu.

The crowd's thoughts raced once more. Aside from Lu Wei, who had anticipated this, and Zhou Wen, who knew certain secrets, the other hall masters also noticed the glaring problem: Two whole days—the murderer clearly had ample time to dispose of the bodies—so why did they only dispose of one?

------

"My lord, Lord Yanri from Qi Kingdom has sent word that the matter of the farmer Tian Guang has been resolved."

In the Xianyang Palace, after Zhao Gao had helped the five-year-old Prince Huhai, the eighteenth son of the King of Qin, to sleep, he received this brilliant information from his subordinate Luo Wang in the garden.

"Very good." Zhao Gao clapped his hands lightly and smiled slyly: "Now that Tian Guang is gone, the peasant family, this prey, will never be able to escape the net."

"Yes, according to Lord Yanri, Tian Guang's two most serious injuries were: one was being stabbed by a cicada and the other was being stabbed by an autumn toad."

"The peasants have personally delivered two sharp swords to the snare that will destroy them. The various schools of thought are always so foolish." Zhao Gao sat down in the garden pavilion, propping his chin up with his index finger and thumb: "What about the third sword?"

The narrow eyes beneath the high brim of the hat looked somewhat terrifying. Even without looking up, the reporting assassin from the Luo Wang organization trembled, feeling himself being stared at by sharp, vicious eyes.

"Chen Sheng caused trouble in the former Han territory, which displeased the King of Qin, who has already sent his personal guards to arrest him."

“Gai Nie, the title of Sword Saint is well-deserved. It’s excellent to have someone like him capture our target.”

When Gai Nie was mentioned, a hint of apprehension flashed in Zhao Gao's voice, but then he seemed to suddenly remember something, and his smile deepened: "Duan Shui and Wang Liang have been training with the four of them for a month. What's the result now?"

"The Six Sword Slaves' teamwork has improved rapidly. Even Gai Nie would not last five moves against them."

"Then let's find an opportunity to demonstrate the strength of the Six Sword Slaves in front of the King of Qin. After the reconstruction, the fangs of the Net should also be revealed."

"Yes!"

"In addition, how is Wei's plan regarding the Azure Dragon Bronze Box going?" Zhao Gao felt a series of good news coming his way, so he changed the subject to another direction.

"On the Wei side..." Luo Wang's subordinates reported in detail on their operations in Wei, while at the same time, another person was also plotting against the box...

"While I cannot unravel the secrets of the Azure Dragon's Seven Mansions, neither can you."

Xinghun sat alone in the Qin army's front-line tent, looking down at the blue 'Gathering Qi into a Blade' in his hand, the patterns on his face glowing slightly along with it.

As the representative of the Yin-Yang School sent to the army, Xinghun's only mission this time was to obtain the Azure Dragon Bronze Box of Wei.

He knew that the Yin-Yang School, the Qin State, and the Luo Wang were all very interested in that bronze box.

Even in previous years, he himself harbored delusions about the bronze box.

Star Soul has never forgotten revenge, but with his own strength alone, he simply cannot stand up against three colossal enemies.

When one's personal strength is insufficient, turning to seeking immortality and enlightenment is a last resort.

However, after meeting with Lu Wei and later testing the special poison, he lost interest in the Azure Dragon Bronze Box, seeing the prospect of a united front against Qin and revenge.

In fact, Star Soul now prefers to destroy the boxes rather than obtain them.

He knew perfectly well that he was unlikely to unlock the secret of the bronze box, so he couldn't possibly leave the possibility of unlocking the secret to his enemies.

If he can secretly obtain that box this time, Xinghun will not hesitate to throw it into the boundless East Sea.

No one will get the Azure Dragon Seven Mansions!

Wang Ben's army has been besieging Daliang City for some time, and preparations to dig a water channel to the north of Daliang City to flood it are also in full swing.

Because the terrain had been surveyed in advance and a plan had been made in advance, progress was extremely rapid.

The relatively dense population of the Central Plains region allowed the Qin army to easily conscript a sufficient number of laborers from the lands of Jin.

By the time the people of Wei discovered the Qin army's plan, it was already too late...

The Gongshu family's mechanical beasts, combined with explosives, instantly destroyed the upstream dam, and the river's waters surged forth along the narrow waterway, rushing towards the great city that thrived on the river...

Chapter 211 It really is Xiaomeng

When Zhen arrived at the Capital Sword Hall in Daliang City, he looked at the people coming and going inside, a hint of envy flashing in his eyes.

She knew that this was the gathering place of the most formidable swordsmen in the entire city.

Every year, different swordsmen acquire a famous sword from here and become renowned throughout the martial arts world.

Although Zhen is a girl, she also yearns for a carefree life of wandering the world with a sword.

Even though she is only eight years old, since she received a wooden sword from her father two years ago, the gifted 'Shin' has never lost in swordsmanship: whether her opponent is a child of similar age or an older adult.

However, whenever she excitedly boasted to her father about how many games she had won that day, her father would always mutter something like "Many small losses are actually great victories" to teach her to maintain a calm mindset.

This statement seems to have come from Zhuangzi, a Daoist philosopher. My father has always admired Daoism, and even the name he gave her, "Zhen," is taken from the line "Not tired of Heaven, not neglecting people, the people almost follow his truth" in the "Outer Chapters of Zhuangzi: Reaching Life."

If it weren't for his official position in Daliang City, Zhen had no doubt that his father would have gone to Taiyi Mountain, which he had mentioned countless times, to become a disciple.

It is said that Taoists do not consider age when accepting disciples, but only their talent. And to assess talent, they look at a person's understanding of the Tao.

The father believed that both he and his daughter were exceptionally talented, and he jokingly said several times that if they both entered the Taoist school, they might even become fellow disciples.

Lately, the pedestrians in Daliang City have been walking very fast, and they 'truly' know that this is because of the Qin army outside the city.

She had heard the word "war" many times, and it was described in books, but she had never seen "war" with her own eyes and did not understand why the word was described as so terrible in books.

Swordsmanship is a contest between two people, while war is a contest between a group of people. What is there to be afraid of?

Setting aside her chaotic thoughts, Zhen stood guard at the entrance of the sword hall, gazing into the distance at a swordsman descending from the second floor. Her eyes lit up instantly, and without hesitation, she gripped her wooden sword and stepped forward to block his path.

"Hey, do you dare to have a swordsmanship contest with me?"

...

We only won two matches today. The swordsmanship hall is becoming increasingly sparsely populated due to the approaching war, but the swordsmen on the second floor of the hall are clearly no longer 'real' opponents.

However, it is said that the truly powerful swordsmen in the sword hall are all underground, and the deeper the underground level, the more it represents the swordsman's identity.

'Zhen' has never sparred with the underground swordsmen, but she knows that one day she will be able to enter the sword hall, as long as she is old enough!

With the wooden sword slung over her back, the little girl returned home. Before she even entered the house, she heard the deep, bitter sound of a xun (a type of ancient Chinese wind instrument) coming from inside.

It's a line from a song my father often played: "Climbing the Hill".

The Daoist philosopher Zhuangzi divided sound into celestial sounds, terrestrial sounds, and human sounds, and the xun (a type of ancient Chinese wind instrument) was considered by Daoists to be the instrument closest to celestial sounds.

My steps slowed down involuntarily. Music can convey the feelings of the player to the audience. From the sound of the xun, I truly knew that my father was grieving.

Gently pushing open the wooden door, the little girl saw her father sitting on a small chair with his back to her, completely absorbed in his own world.

After a long silence, the father slowly put down the ancient pottery flute, turned to look at his daughter's distinctive gray-white hair with a few blue highlights, and calmly said:

"Zhen'er, did you win again today?"

This was the first time her father had asked her about the outcome of a battle in kendo. 'Shin' was surprised, but only nodded slightly in response.