Qin Shi Ambitious

Page 187

Leaning against the window, Tian Guang calmly looked down at the sword tip protruding from his abdomen, his five fingers pale as he gripped the windowsill tightly...

"Unless, Luo Wang can be certain that they can kill you... Xia Kui by using Wu Kuang."

Holding the unsheathed Autumn Toad Sword, Zhou Wen's gaze traveled from his palm along the blade. His sword had unmistakably pierced through Tian Guang from behind...

"So that's how it is." The excruciating pain in his abdomen gradually drained away the last bit of strength in his body. There was no surprise in Tian Guang's eyes, and a smile even appeared on the corner of his mouth that Zhou Wen couldn't see.

His already weakened body finally gave way, and he slowly knelt down and collapsed...

Zhou Wen stepped on Tian Guang's back and drew the Autumn Toad Sword, raising it high to cut off his head, but was stopped by a deep voice: "Wait a minute!"

The sound came from the torrential rain outside the window. A figure dressed in ordinary Luo Wang assassin's clothes jumped in through the window and drew a special sword to block Zhou Wen's movements.

The sword's blade gleamed with a blood-red aura, and its tip was fan-shaped.

The two swords clashed, and Zhou Wen was no match for him, forced to retreat several steps.

'Yin prevails, Yang wanes, daytime is dark...the sun is obscured!'

"Why would Lord Yanri come to Daze Mountain? There was no mention of him in the orders of the Luo Wang." Zhou Wen asked in surprise.

"Tian Guang has been outwitting and outmaneuvering Luo Wang for many years. How could Luo Wang really entrust such an important task to a fickle and treacherous person like you who has rebelled many times?"

Yan Ri glanced down at Tian Guang, whose fate was unknown, and spoke rudely to Zhou Wen.

“But I have already successfully taken him down by using Wu Kuang.” Zhou Wen sheathed his sword, not daring to contradict Yan Ri.

"This is your task, but your ability to do it well is indeed somewhat beyond our expectations."

Yan Ri squatted down, hoisted Tian Guang onto his shoulder, turned his back to the latter, and said, "It cannot be denied that you did a very good job. The reward from above will be announced soon."

"But don't forget, becoming the leader of the Xia clan and controlling the farmers is your ultimate mission! Next, you must eliminate your rivals who are competing with you for the Xia clan leadership!"

"Of course, but I need more help."

"Yes, you will gain control of the entire Qi kingdom."

...

Lu Wei appeared outside Zuimeng Tower. His wound had stopped bleeding, and he had changed into a new outer robe, so there was no visible sign of injury.

The rain was too heavy, and it was no longer realistic to return to Daze Mountain tonight. So he simply rushed into Zuimeng Tower and used his Soul-Shaking Technique to hypnotize and knock out the witness in one of the rooms where dragons and phoenixes played with a pearl.

After meditating and waiting for the rain to stop, the headmaster rushed back to Daze Mountain.

He has become a true leader of the knights, with the Six Elders as his backing.

However, Lu Wei and Tian Guang have other plans, so Tian Guang will continue to serve as the nominal leader of the Xia clan.

His initial purpose in returning to Dazeshan from Jinghu was to issue the Shennong Decree. Now that Tian Guang has taken over this task, Master Lu's next step is to wait for the situation to change.

In terms of the overall situation, the Qin army has already begun its attack on Wei, and I need to get there myself to receive the Wei elite troops.

------

Duanmu Rong, with a heavy heart, helped Lu Wei, who had been away for a day and a night and was covered in wounds, to treat his injuries.

Due to her physical condition, these wounds healed quite well after several hours of internal energy nourishment, and the possibility of leaving any sequelae in the future was not high. However, Little Fairy Doctor still used her medical skills to examine the details of the Hall Master with utmost care.

These wounds included not only sword wounds and blunt force injuries, but also traces of palm and finger techniques.

If you count carefully, Duanmu Rong believes that at least five people launched an attack on Lu Wei, and these five people are all top-notch masters in the martial arts world, which is why this result occurred.

However, the fact that these wounds were inflicted with obvious leniency suggests that the person he encountered was not an enemy, or at least not a mortal foe.

"The person who caused these wounds could easily kill you if they wanted to. You've always been so steady, how could you be so careless this time!"

Gently stroking the longest and deepest wound on Master Lu's back, Duanmu Rong felt a wave of fear wash over her. While quickly treating the wound, she couldn't help but mutter incessant complaints:

"You've never been injured, but you can't let your guard down in the martial world. One of them can't beat you, but if you get entangled with a group of people, you'll find that even two fists can't fight four hands!"

"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing in the martial world." Duanmu Rong's nagging wasn't annoying; instead, it made Lu Wei smile.

While the sect leader lay down with his eyes closed, contemplating his next move, he also managed to comfort the little fairy doctor: "My martial arts may not be invincible, but if it's just about saving my life, I still have quite a few tricks up my sleeve."

Upon hearing such remarks, Duanmu Rong fell silent.

Despite her words, she was mindful of her actions. For example, from the moment she saw the numerous wounds, Duanmu Rong never once asked who her opponent was.

These combined sword, knife, palm, and finger attacks are rare among the various schools of thought in ancient China; the only one that is famous is actually the Agricultural School itself.

Based on her careful examination and deduction of the wound, Duanmu Rong, who had been living in a farmhouse for several years, was now fairly certain that the person Lu Wei had fought was the mysterious Elder of the Six Sages' Tomb.

As far as she knew, these elders generally wouldn't leave the tomb; it was only because Hall Master Lu went in and did something that he was beaten up...

From the marks on her body alone, Duanmu Rong guessed many of the facts.

Thinking of this, she treated the wound even more gently. Her expression was conflicted for a moment, but she still gritted her teeth and said:

“Sometimes, you can be a bit more flexible in martial arts battles. Let me prepare a few doses of poison for you. You can use them to fight your enemies in critical moments.”

Doctors certainly know how to use poison, but they would very rarely actively create poison.

Before Lu Wei could answer, there was a knock on the door of the cottage, and Xue Nu hurriedly walked in.

When she saw the wounds on the hall master's body, she covered her mouth in distress, her eyes flashing.

But Xue Nu knew that with Duanmu Rong handling things, there wouldn't be any major problems, and she also remembered why she had come here:

"Brother Lu, something big has happened at Chiyou Hall."

Ah Xue squatted down, took a clean gauze from the basin of water next to her, and helped to treat the bloodstains around the wounds, big and small, while reporting what had happened in the front hall: "Tian Du has been killed, and the hall masters of several halls have rushed over."

"Tian Du?" Lu Wei's eyes suddenly opened.

Why is it Tian Du?

...

The dilapidated hut was heavily guarded by the disciples of the Chiyou Hall, and no unauthorized outsiders were allowed to enter within a 30-meter radius of the hut.

When Lu Wei arrived with Physician Nian Duan, all the hall masters present outside the small house were there, including the Zhu family, who should have been still in Shouchun, Chu State:

Tian Meng and Tian Hu were whispering to each other at the scene. Zhu Jia changed his mask to a blue one and sat down in deep thought. Situ Wanli frowned as he observed the others. Tian Mi was still smoking her pipe.

When they saw Lu Wei arrive with professionals, they voluntarily made way for him, displaying the lying corpse.

The deceased was confirmed to be Tian Du, a close confidant of the chivalrous leader Tian Guang.

The man was slit in the throat with a single sword strike and showed no signs of resistance.

"Senior Nian Duan, I'm begging you."

After personally examining Tian Du's wounds, Lu Wei thoughtfully left the scene to the old doctor.

However, the most noteworthy finding at the scene was not Tian Du's body, but rather the obvious signs that another person had been murdered...

In Lu Wei's mind, this meant that Tian Zang, who had always been with Tian Du, was also dead. However, Tian Zang had already entered the Tomb of the Six Sages on the surface. The other hall masters, unaware of this secret, naturally considered another terrifying possibility: could there be another person who was killed but whose body was never found, and that was the chivalrous leader Tian Guang...?

"Master Lu's Gonggong Hall is very close to the territory of Chiyou Hall, why are you so late?"

The six hall masters secretly discussed the matter in an open space. Tian Meng bluntly questioned Lu Wei about why he was the last to arrive.

Lu Wei glanced at Tian Meng, but he did have to explain: "I went out to Daze Mountain last night and only came back this morning."

"I took the Xiling Town route and even rested for a while in a tavern in town. The disciples there can vouch for me."

"Master Lu has only been back at Daze Mountain for less than three days. Why did he suddenly go out?" Tian Meng pressed on relentlessly.

"This is an internal matter of the Gonggong Hall. Hall Master Tian would be better off not overstepping his bounds."

"Lu Wei! How dare you speak to my elder brother like that!" Tian Hu shouted, naturally siding with his own family regardless of the truth.

"Alright, this matter involves the safety of the Heroic Leader. If we, the Six Halls, were to fight in this situation, wouldn't that be disregarding the importance of the matter!"

Zhu Jia spoke up to ease the tension, but Tian Meng persisted: "You should know Tian Du's strength. Who else in the Farmer's Clan could kill him with a single sword strike!"

Several pairs of eyes instinctively turned to Lu Wei...

"Besides, this isn't the first time something like this has happened in the peasant community!" Tian Meng said coldly, "Weren't Tian Zhong, the former chief steward of the Gonggong Hall, and Zhou He, the former hall master of the Gonggong Hall, both killed with a single sword strike?"

"Now even Tian Du and Xia Kui are..."

"Tian Meng! The leader of the Xia clan is still safe!" When Zhu Jia heard Tian Zhong and Zhou He mentioned, he subconsciously became suspicious of Lu Wei. However, when the Xia clan was involved, he still spoke up to stop Tian Meng's reckless words.

"Alright, let's not talk about the leader of the heroes for now. Let's talk about Tian Zhong, Zhou He, and Tian Du. They were all killed with a single sword strike. Isn't our 'Number One Master of the Farmer's School' the biggest suspect?"

“When Tian Zhong died, I was only fourteen years old. Do you really think that a mere fourteen-year-old boy could kill Tian Zhong with a single sword strike?”

Facing the gazes of the crowd, Lu Wei did not flinch, but calmly defended himself: "As for Hall Master Zhou He, he was killed by Zhou Zhang, a traitor of the peasant clan. I was the designated successor to the hall master at that time, so why would I risk harming Zhou He?"

"As for Tian Du, I have no grudge against him."

"Is Master Tian Meng trying to pin all the blame on me out of internal strife, or because he has something to hide?"

"Alright, stop fighting amongst yourselves. The most important thing now is to confirm the situation of the Heroic Leader. Hall Master Zhu, weren't you in Chu? Why did you come back today?" Situ Wanli directly followed Lu Wei's lead, confirming that Tian Meng was focused on internal strife, and then changed the subject, not giving the other party any chance to argue.

"I returned on orders from the Xia Kui, specifically regarding the distribution of this year's Shennong Decree!"

Zhu Jia's quick and decisive words completely shut Tian Meng down from speaking further, and then he took out a cloth letter from his pocket.

The above is a recall order handwritten by Tian Guang himself. The hall masters are all familiar with Tian Guang's handwriting and know that it is genuine.

"Since the leader of the Xia clan has summoned Hall Master Zhu back to Daze Mountain for a meeting, does this mean that the Xia clan members are indeed in Daze Mountain?"

Situ Wanli continued speaking.

“If that’s really the case, then…” Tian Mi’s sweet voice chimed in, and what she said made everyone present change their expressions.

The person who died beside Tian Du but whose body was never found, could it really be...?

Only Lu Wei and Tian Meng remained relatively calm; they both knew that it was Tian Zang.

However, Lu Wei was puzzled: Why?

Why did Tian Guang take Zhou Wen's Autumn Toad Sword to kill his trusted confidants Tian Du and Tian Zang?

Chapter 210 The Smooth Sailing of the Net

A wound inflicted by a special sword is a special signature, and the differences in the swordsman's technique are what personalize this signature.

There are only two possibilities for Tian to be killed with a single sword strike: either the killer was someone he absolutely trusted, or the difference in strength between the two sides was too great.

As the leader of the chivalrous heroes, Tian Guang perfectly fits both of these possibilities, except for the reason for the murder.

When Lu Wei casually examined the wound on Tian Du's neck, the first thing he realized was that the sword that left the wound was a special sword, and secondly, he had seen this sword before.