Qin Shi Ambitious

Page 92

"Thank you, Snow Woman."

Still holding the Jingni Sword, Xiao Yan'er lay in the Snow Maiden's arms, never forgetting these courtesies.

"Sister Lu Ni, I'll take Xiao Yan'er to take a shower first. We can have the arithmetic class later."

Picking up the little girl, Xue Nu looked at Lu Ni and, after receiving a nod, floated lightly to the bathroom.

Xiao Yan'er, Xue Nu, and Lu Ni usually call each other by their own names, and it's not a big deal since everyone's used to it. But when Lu Wei slightly deviates from these habits, it feels a bit strange...

Chapter 114 The Abandoned Village's Strange Changes

Xiao Yan'er's daily life is left to Lu Ni to keep an eye on, and the Hall Master will only occasionally take a look at her progress when he practices swordsmanship in the backyard.

After the New Year, Tian Guang spoke with Lu Wei several more times. He had already gained Yan Dan's trust as a chivalrous knight. However, the knight leader still frankly lamented that although Yan Dan's power had greatly increased through his marriage to Yan Yi, everything he did was still under the control of Yan Wang Xi.

Although Yan Yi had decided to align himself with the Crown Prince's faction, he would not refuse the orders of the Prince of Yan. He remained wavering while leaning towards the Crown Prince.

This is probably one of the reasons why the Prince of Yan allowed the two families to marry: Yan Yi's bullying of the weak and fear of the strong had long been ingrained in his bones, and he would not pose any threat to the Prince of Yan at all.

This is another consideration that has enabled him to maintain his position as Grand General over the years.

However, if the nominal head of military affairs in the Yan state was such a figure, how much fighting power could its army actually have...?

Tian Guang was no longer optimistic about Changping Jun's initial plan to re-establish the alliance. Moreover, at the beginning of the year, the Nanyang region, which Han had offered to Qin, had become a poised and ready bow to strike.

The Qin army is assembling!

According to the news brought by Changping Jun, launching a war to annihilate the state of Han has become a consensus in the Qin court.

The repeated defeats in the previous years when attacking the State of Zhao against Li Mu required a resounding victory to wash away the past.

The South Korean side is certainly aware of this as well; their current Grand General, Wei Zhuang, is a disciple of Guiguzi. Sometimes, a person's name alone can determine their abilities.

However, South Korea itself was ultimately too weak. Even though the Qin army's deployment was leaked to them so they could prepare in advance, it could not change the fact that South Korea was destined to perish.

Lord Changping is revising the Azure Dragon Plan according to the changing situation, and Yan Dan's identity as a disciple of the Mohist school and his strong hatred for Qin are what the Right Chancellor of Qin appreciates.

"Lord Changping is currently planning a more radical scheme, hoping to leverage forces outside the court to influence the internal affairs of the Qin state."

Before leaving, Tian Guang left behind these words, and this more radical plan was probably the prototype of the assassination plot against the Qin emperor:

If there's no way to completely defeat Qin on the battlefield, then just kill the King of Qin!

As for the key to the future of this plan, just after Tian Guang left, he went to Lu Wei's door.

"Boss, Gao Jianli has brought two friends from the martial arts world, and they want to see you."

"Gao Jianli's friends... take them to the second-floor reception room."

"Yes!"

After watching Ah Shan leave, Lu Wei spent the time it takes for an incense stick to burn to design his chivalrous look before going downstairs.

"Brother Lu!"

When the three people sitting in the reception room saw him enter, Gao Jianli took the lead and clasped his hands in greeting.

"No need to be so polite!" Hall Master Lu nodded slightly, a gentle smile on his lips...

After sitting down again and exchanging a few pleasantries, Gao Jianli began to recount his experiences wandering through the Qin state. During this time, Lu Wei listened while openly observing his two companions behind him.

Kuang Xiu is a typical musician, with long, dark blue hair cascading down his back. His appearance is similar to Gao Jianli's, except that he has a long beard on his chin and his skin is slightly darker. He is a mature version of Gao Jianli.

He exudes an artistic and unrestrained air, and his gaze towards everything around him is like a calm, deep pool.

As for the other one, Jing Ke, he revealed a slightly exaggerated smile and looked at Lu Wei. Their first impression of each other was that they could vaguely sense that the other was quite strong. At the same time, they were both hiding their true thoughts.

This swordsman is already quite famous, and his "Five-Step Kill" technique is widely known in the martial arts world. His fame will only increase in a few years. What were Tian Guang and Yan Dan thinking when they let him assassinate the Qin emperor?

Lu Wei had some doubts about this. Even if Jing Ke could use an alias, the possibility of him being exposed was still very high. And once exposed, the Yan Kingdom sent a swordsman and wandering knight as a diplomatic envoy. Did he even need to guess the purpose of this?

For an assassination attempt concerning matters of national importance, such a hasty plan is far too sloppy. It would have been far better for Lord Changping himself to conceal a sharp hairpin and assassinate the King of Qin from behind...

"The strings of the bell zither were damaged by the Qin army's crossbows, and later they broke completely. I searched for materials for five months and finally repaired it."

"As I am ashamed of my failure to fulfill Brother Lu's request, this zither with the name 'Zhong' is returned to its rightful owner."

As Gao Jianli finished speaking, he lowered his head in shame and pushed the black horn on the table in front of Lu Wei.

The master's eyes flashed strangely, but he maintained a light smile and did not try to dissuade him. Instead, he brought the zither to within easy reach, and with his right index finger, he began to stroke the strings from the top to the bottom, producing a rhythmic melody.

As Gao Jianli listened to the familiar zither music, his decision, which he had made, became slightly reluctant. For a zither player, a good zither is like another life.

A ripple also appeared in Kuang Xiu's deep eyes, but as always, he remained silent.

Jing Ke was somewhat surprised.

He originally thought that even if Gao Jianli wanted to return the guqin, the head of the farmer's family, Master Lu, would definitely not accept it. Instead, he would have to comfort Gao Jianli and then both sides would laugh and everything would return to happiness, which was the normal script.

How did I... end up accepting it?

Watching Lu Wei call in the disciple guarding the door to carry the Hao Zhongqin away, the trio felt a sense of loss...

"Xiao Gao, why don't you introduce these two friends?"

As Master Lu watched the three of them visibly change their emotions the moment the zither was taken away, the corners of his mouth curled up even more, and he pretended not to notice and continued to smile.

"Yes, Brother Lu."

Gao Jianli forced himself to stay alert and introduced Kuang Xiu and Gao Jianli to him one by one. Although they already knew who each other was before, it was only at this moment that the relationship between them was officially established.

“Master Lu, I am Jing Ke of the Mohist school. I have heard Xiao Zhi mention your name before.”

"Young master, you are a remarkable talent! We should keep in touch more often from now on!"

Kuang Xiu simply nodded, while Jing Ke was much more enthusiastic.

"I've long heard of Jing Ke's reputation as a chivalrous knight-errant," Lu Wei replied to the compliment, then seized the opportunity to ask, "How has Brother Dao Zhi been lately? I haven't seen him in the city for many days!"

"I got a few minor injuries in the fight," Jing Ke waved his hand dismissively. "I imagine he'll come to visit Master Lu again in a few days."

"Oh," Lu Wei's eyes showed a hint of surprise, and he asked without any hesitation, "There aren't many people in Jicheng who can injure the King of Thieves."

“Indeed, that’s what I think too.” Jing Ke crossed his arms and nodded with deep agreement. “It’s just that he’s always been concerned about his reputation and won’t say who he fought with. Otherwise, I could have given him a go.”

"I heard from Xiao Gao that Master Lu is incredibly skilled. How about a match with me?"

"What does Brother Jing Ke wish to compete in?"

Lu Wei showed interest, seemingly eager to give it a try.

Jing Ke observed this and raised an eyebrow: "Of course..."

"Let's have a drinking contest!" With a loud "Duang!", he pulled out his wine flask from his waist and slammed it on the table. "Hehe..."

The casual conversation with the three continued for a while, but of course, the drinking contest didn't happen.

During their conversation, Gao Jianli informed Lu Wei that he and Kuang Xiu were going to join the Mo family. The head of the hall promptly offered his congratulations and, when personally seeing them off from Luqiu Pavilion, had someone bring them a gift: a newly cleaned and repaired Hao Zhongqin!

"Brother Lu, this..." Gao Jianli's usually indifferent expression revealed his joy at having something lost and then found, and Kuang Xiu and Jing Ke were almost equally surprised.

Lu Wei smiled and said, "Xiao Gao, you felt guilty about damaging the instrument before, so I accepted your remorse. Now I'm just returning the instrument to you, but I'll keep your remorse."

"I will never forget Brother Lu's kindness!" Gao Jianli solemnly promised as he held the brand-new black zither once more.

A musical instrument that can be given away twice and receive gratitude twice has already exceeded its value.

------

After dealing with the visits from Tian Guang and Gao Jianli's trio, Lu Wei instructed A Shan to remain in Ji City to oversee the final cleanup of Lu Qiu Pavilion's contraction, while Lu Ni, Xue Nu, and Xiao Yan'er headed south to Daliang in Wei Kingdom.

He himself was also heading south, but his destination was the State of Zhao.

Although they could travel with Lu Nixue and the others, the two women also needed to take Xiaoyan to class every day, so they would need to take a carriage on the road, which would only delay the Hall Master's itinerary.

It's more convenient for them to go separately. He can ride alone at a faster pace and doesn't need to stop and rest much along the way. He can go to Zhao first to handle his business, which is more efficient. After finishing his business in Zhao, he can then go to Daliang to meet up with them and take care of things there.

Lu Wei had extensive experience running around alone in the wild. Compared to Qi, Chu, and Wei, the people of Yan and Zhao were more fierce and martial. On the main roads here, you could often see two horses abandoned on one side while their owners went to fight nearby.

Lu Wei usually doesn't concern himself with these kinds of things, but as he travels more, trouble eventually finds him.

As evening fell, Master Lu passed through an abandoned village. It was not far from the capital, Handan, and the security here was much better than on the northern border.

The master tied his horse to a thatched hut in front of the house, intending to rest there for the night and set off directly into the city the next morning.

There were also seven or eight other wandering knights resting in the abandoned village. They all kept to themselves and seemed to be getting along well.

But in the early hours of the morning, when the moon was high in the sky, something unexpected happened.

Lu Wei suddenly opened his eyes from his meditation. Eight malevolent auras were slowly surrounding him in a circular formation.

"Is this an abandoned fishing village?"

As he calmly stepped out of the hut, the sect leader immediately realized that the other wandering knights in this abandoned village were actually a gang of thieves who were stationed here to attack lone outsiders who came to rest, killing them and robbing them.

He had encountered this kind of situation a few times in his six years of wandering the world, but the proportion was actually not high. Most of the abandoned villages were really just temporary residences for ordinary wandering knights or refugees.

Having encountered thieves tonight who also harbored ill intentions towards him, Lu Wei had no intention of showing mercy and planned to kill them as soon as possible so he could go back to rest.

The Devouring Sea Sword has yet to draw blood; its first kills were only against bandits, which is a bit of an injustice to it.

The seven enemies hesitated for a moment when they saw their target walk out on his own. They were experienced and had thought that their target was just a young man, but now it seemed that they had misjudged him.

"Only seven? Then there's one more..." Lu Wei's eyes lit up with interest.

The leader stood directly in front of the thatched hut, realizing that his group had been discovered and that their opponents were not weak.

Therefore, we must not show any fear.

He drew his sword, and the other six thieves, seeing their leader make a decision, followed suit, and a great battle was about to break out.

"So many people bullying one person, that's shameless!"

Suddenly, a playful male voice rang out from the northeast corner.

The seven thieves were startled and looked in the direction of the sound: on another dilapidated roof, they saw a young man dressed in black sitting cross-legged...

The sword at the young man's waist greatly intrigued Lu Wei...

Chapter 115 Illuminating the Heart

The young man in black wielded a sword of an extremely ancient style.

There is a ring with inscriptions engraved on the end of the hilt. The copper-green hilt looks like it is covered with rust, but Lu Wei, who has read a lot of miscellaneous books in his spare time over the years, understands that this is the unique feature of this sword.