Qin Shi Ambitious

Page 10

"I am back."

He pushed open a door and smiled at the black-robed man sitting inside, speaking in a very intimate tone.

"Have you subdued that Lu Wei?" The man in black robes said calmly, unconcerned about Xu Sheng's rash behavior.

"It's hard to win over someone like him quickly. We'll take it slow. I'm still young and very patient."

Xu Sheng smiled slightly as he sat facing the man in black robes: "Although Lu Wei can't offer me much help right now, I'm optimistic about his potential!"

"Don't mess things up like I did," the man in black warned. "His strength will soon surpass yours."

"He's nothing more than a refugee from Zhao, with no one to rely on in Yan. No matter how strong he is, he can only be a henchman." Xu Sheng waved his hand, completely unconcerned about the warning.

"He is still young, and I am so sincerely investing in his future. When I become the head of Gonggong Hall, Lu Wei will become the sharpest sword in my hand!"

"I hope so."

Chapter 13 Preparation for Departure

The caravan was formed very quickly, and the first group will soon set off.

On this day, after returning the inn key to the returning Elder Xu, Lu Wei brought Shan Yu Mu Ye to Lu Qiu Ge once again.

Xu Qiu has not returned from Qi State yet, and all affairs of Luqiu Pavilion are being handled by Xu Sheng. It seems that things at the Gonggong Hall headquarters are very busy.

Leaving his four younger brothers in the lobby on the first floor, Lu Wei went upstairs alone and found Xu Sheng, who was explaining trivial matters to several disciples.

"Brother Lu, you've arrived~" Young Master Xu Sheng smiled and waved away the disciples, leading Lu Wei to the reception room.

The second-floor reception room is vastly different from the one on the first floor. It is much more spacious, with silk paving on the floor and various luxurious decorations.

Lu Wei, who had been interrogated by Pavilion Master Xu Qiu on the first floor on his second day in Jicheng, had a deep feeling about this. However, he had very little time to reminisce about the past, because there were already two young men waiting in the reception room before they came in.

"Let me introduce you. These two are Sang Lin and Zhou Wen."

"This is Lu Wei."

Xu Sheng led Lu Wei to sit down, and first explained the names of the two people who had been waiting there, before introducing Lu Wei to them.

"Nice to meet you!"

After exchanging pleasantries with each other using traditional martial arts etiquette, the three martial arts figures turned their attention to the host of the place.

Mr. Xu's smile deepened:

"Brother Sanglin, Brother Lu, and Brother Zhou are all elites of Luqiu Pavilion whose strength I have personally verified. I'm afraid I'll have to trouble you all on this caravan trip."

"Brother Xu, you're too kind!" ×3

Next, Xu Sheng took a roll of cloth from the wall, unfolded it, and a route map was displayed in front of everyone:

"The road from Yan to Qi has been open for more than 50 years, and Gonggongtang has never encountered any major problems since it was opened. It is very reliable."

Xu Sheng gestured on the map with his fingers: "Our farmers have a firm grasp of the mountains and rivers within the Qi Kingdom. However, the route map there is kept by Lieshan Hall. If we want to use it, we will need to borrow it."

"The headquarters of Lieshan Hall is far away, and it takes too long to travel back and forth. We are just a caravan. With the banner of the Farmers, we don't need a detailed map and there won't be any problems. Therefore, we can just travel normally within the territory of Qi."

"The only difficult point is the State of Chu."

On Xu Sheng's map, the lines of caravans disappear at the border of the Chu Kingdom.

"The territory of Chu is too vast, with many unknown routes between the border and the destination, and it is also difficult to ascertain the situation of the surrounding forces."

"Although Shennong Hall has been expanding its influence towards the Chu State in recent years, it is still relatively new and there is not much information about them."

“In previous years, when we went to the State of Chu, we always took the route of Yan-Zhao-Wei-Chu. This is the first time we have gone to the State of Qi.”

"On the way, we need to rely on the three brothers to lead the disciples to explore more. We can't let those highway robbers disgrace our peasant family."

...

After the tasks were assigned, Lu Wei, Sang Lin, and Zhou Wen left the reception room, nodding to each other as they parted ways for the time being.

Going downstairs, they found the fourth brother in the backyard of Luqiu Pavilion. The five of them then went to a secluded spot:

"Have you found out any information?"

Lu Wei dispersed his internal energy to ensure no one was eavesdropping before asking the question.

Before entering Luqiu Pavilion, he instructed Shanyu Muye to wander around and inquire about news while he was away.

The caravan is setting off this afternoon. Luqiu Pavilion is now a gathering place for all sorts of disciples from Ji City. With so many people and so much chatter, something is bound to slip up.

"Hmm," Lu Shan, Lu Yu, and Lu Ye all shook their heads; they hadn't gleaned any information, except for Lu Mu, who had discovered something:

"When I passed by the front desk, a few people were gathered together and mentioned Yan Chunjun's name in conversation. I wonder if this will be helpful to the boss."

The name Yan Chunjun was very profound for the Lu brothers. It was because of this name that Lu Mu deliberately stood in front of the stage and listened for a while longer.

"According to them, the organizer of this caravan is this Lord Yanchun."

The caravan organized by Yan Chunjun? Lu Wei hesitated:

"Any more details?"

Lu Mu shook his head: "Their discussion quickly turned into envy of Yan Chunjun's status and wealth, and there was no further information."

The message was incomplete and its veracity was unknown, but Lu Wei still smiled and patted Lu Mu on the shoulder:

"You did a great job. As we agreed before, my bronze sword is yours!"

After receiving the fine iron sword from Xu Sheng, Xu Lao's previous bronze sword became useless.

So, to encourage his four younger brothers' enthusiasm, he announced that the bronze sword would be given as a prize to the one among the four who worked the hardest.

"Wow, damn it!" Lu Yu exclaimed, extremely jealous. Although Lu Shan and Lu Ye weren't as loud as him, their envy was also evident.

After Lu Wei instructed the four to continue their efforts and left, Lu Ye quickly grabbed Lu Mu's arm:

"Brother Mu, Brother Mu, how about I trade my five-coin longsword for the boss's sword? You're the one who loves me the most~"

"I'll offer the same longsword plus four more coins!"

This is Lu Yu shouting.

Lu Shan hesitated for a moment, but did not speak up to participate in the competition.

"Don't even think about it!" Lu Mu forcefully pulled his arm away from Ye Di's embrace, concealing his joy: "The first sword that Boss has ever used, I will cherish it forever!"

"Stingy..." Lu Ye pouted and walked away. This was the first time the two brothers had a minor disagreement in front of everyone.

"It's just a bronze sword," Lu Yu scratched his head and declared fiercely, "Next time Brother Lu gets a new sword, that fine iron sword will definitely be mine!"

"That only counts as the boss's second-best move," Lu Mu said, turning around with a very high smirk on his face...

-------

The sudden appearance of news involving Yan Chunjun did not cause Lu Wei any disturbance.

His initial reason for joining the caravan was to curry favor with the Xu family. However, after learning that the Xu family might face disaster, he changed his main purpose to "travel through the six kingdoms to understand the current situation of the people" and "make many friends to prepare for unforeseen circumstances."

Therefore, no matter what behind-the-scenes stories the caravan reveals, as long as they do not involve their own safety or hinder them from achieving their goals, they can turn a blind eye.

But even if we don't see it, we can't be unaware of it.

During the journey, he needed to have a certain understanding of the situation of the entire team, and the only one who could act as the eyes to understand this was Shan Yu Mu Ye.

"I'll work hard within the Yan Kingdom, and once I enter the Qi Kingdom, while I'm still young, I need to find a reason to visit the Little Sage Village..."

Lu Wei opened the system and tried to find something useful among the thousands of miscellaneous items in the daily treasure chests.

With a purposeful search, a scroll of pictures soon caught his eye:

"This is it!"

Chapter 14 Zhou Wen

Horse riding was a novel experience for Lu Wei.

Riding your horse across the vast plains, with the road ahead seemingly endless, a sense of freedom naturally arises.

But this freedom lasted only three days before Lu Wei, bored, chased away the affectionate pony and quietly lay down in the carriage in the middle of the caravan...

Even with internal energy protection, several days of continuous up-and-down jolting would hardly be a pleasant living experience.

"If you can't ride a horse, you can't be a qualified chivalrous knight-errant."

Zhou Wen, who was traveling with him, remained in a meditative posture and spoke softly.

The two of them served as the vanguard on this section of the journey through the Yan Kingdom, traveling together and responsible for clearing obstacles for the main force.

Xu Sheng and Sang Lin were at the rear of the group, responsible for bringing up the rear.

"I can ride, but I don't like long rides."

Zhou Wen spoke very little throughout the journey, making it difficult to get along with him properly, but it wasn't too difficult for them to simply interact without interfering with each other.

"Not liking long rides means not knowing how to ride a horse."

After saying this, he resumed meditating with his eyes closed.

Lu Wei didn't continue to defend himself. He glanced at his work partner, then with a quick movement, he stepped out of the carriage and lightly leaped onto the roof.

Xiao Ye gave Lu Ye, who was guarding the front of the cargo wagon, a wink, and nimbly spurred his horse to come over.

He whistled to summon the foal that he had recently chased away, and rode it alongside Lu Ye.

The two men rode their horses to the very front of the procession, about five zhang (approximately 10 meters) away from the others.

"Have you gathered any intelligence?"

Lu Wei stared at the road in front of him and asked.

“Yes, boss,” Lu Ye said in a low voice, “I’ve been subtly questioning the three of them in the group. It’s strange, but the disciples have some impression of you, Young Master Xu, and that Sang Lin.”

"This Zhou Wen is the only one that no one has ever mentioned. It seems that he is not one of our Luqiu Pavilion members."

"In that case, there's no need to inquire about Zhou Wen anymore. You can all just do your own thing in the team from now on."

"Yes!"

After Lu Ye returned to the main force, Lu Wei rode forward alone and personally took on the role of the caravan's scout.

"According to Xu Sheng, Zhou Wen, Sang Lin, and I were all elites whose skills he personally tested. However, this Zhou Wen is clearly suffering from severe internal injuries, and according to my estimation, his injuries have probably been ongoing for some time..."