Qin Shi Ambitious

Page 37

Should we go to the branch tomorrow to gather more disciples, prepare to set up the Earthly Marsh Twenty-Four Formation at any time, and probe the enemy's strength?

"If Steward Lu wishes to go up the mountain to investigate, I, Lü, can serve as his guide."

Lu Qing gazed intently at Lu Wei, who was deep in thought, and took the initiative to make a suggestion.

"Boss Lü is a man of principle." Lu Wei smiled. Although the Lü father and son displayed great generosity in the tavern and seemed genuine, one should still be cautious in judging character, especially since the bandits of Zhuangshan were inherently dangerous.

"This matter requires careful consideration. If needed, Wei will definitely ask Boss Lü for help!"

"You're too kind, Steward. I will do my utmost to help you when the time comes." Lü Qing cupped his hands in greeting: "I have been running this tavern for many years and have made many friends among the wandering heroes. If you want to kill the bandits of Zhuang Mountain, I will offer all my wealth as a reward to recruit heroes from all over the world!"

"This is my duty as a resident of Zhuangshan Town!"

------

After resting at the inn for the night, the next morning, without saying goodbye, Lu Wei used his lightness skill to go out through the window, retrieved the horses from the tavern's stable, and went to the farmhouse settlement, climbing over the wall to enter.

There were almost no people in the stronghold, except for two guard disciples, who were knocked unconscious by Lu Wei and taken to the woodshed, where they were tied up.

Lu Wei wasn't wearing a farmer's uniform, and he had also put away the only thing that proved his identity, the pearl grass.

They interrogated the two terrified disciples separately and learned that the local manager had gone back to a nearby big city for the New Year and would not return for at least two weeks.

When asked about the bandits of Zhuangshan, their accounts were almost identical to those of Lü Qing, and their evaluation of Lü Qing, a local strongman, tended to be positive, suggesting that his character was basically credible.

This brings both good news and bad news.

The good news certainly means that he is very likely to win over the Lü family father and son. The two of them clearly showed goodwill towards the farmers during their conversation last night. The reason why they have not yet sought refuge with the farmers in the town is probably because they want to meet a benefactor rather than start from scratch.

The bad news is more direct: judging from the situation of the farmhouses in Zhuangshan Town, not to mention whether they can gather enough disciples with sufficient strength to form the Twenty-Four Earthly Branches, it will probably be difficult to win by sheer numbers.

Lu Qing said he could gather local heroes and passing knights-errant. These scattered and unaffiliated men were not entirely useless; they could wear down the lower-level bandits. However, to deal with Zhuang Jia, they would still have to rely on him.

Without revealing his identity, Lu Wei left the stronghold after some thought: the Zhuang bandits had accurately tracked down the whereabouts of the farmers' transport teams three times, and he didn't believe there wasn't an inside accomplice among them.

I had initially thought that even with an inside man, the local manager would be of some use, but now...

No wonder Lü Qing insisted on recommending his wandering knight team even after learning that he came from the Farmer's Headquarters.

Leading his horse, he prepared to return to the Lü Family Inn, wanting to have another chat with Lü Qing.

As Lu Wei passed by the entrance of the Lü Family Tavern, the door suddenly opened, and a burly man carrying a giant sword walked out. Lu Wei glanced at him casually and was instantly stunned.

The burly man had sharp eyes and a deathly pale face. His bare shoulders and arms were muscular and strong. He noticed a young boy leading a horse staring at him, but he didn't care. He trudged heavily to the ground and walked out of town.

Chen Sheng!

The burly man's name came to mind; he certainly recognized him!

The former head of the Kuiwei Hall, and the protagonist of the 'Kuiwei Hall Scandal'.

Lu Wei was very familiar with this name, but in reality, he had only met this future pioneer of the peasant uprising three times:

The first time was during the wheat harvesting ceremony, where the six hall masters appeared to be getting along harmoniously.

The second time was on the night of the sacrificial ceremony, when the scandal involving Kuiwei Hall broke out.

The third trial was held the following day, and Chen Sheng was sentenced to be drowned in a pond.

This is the fourth time.

In the first three instances, Chen Sheng was the absolute protagonist, while Lu Wei was just an ordinary spectator in the crowd, so it was not surprising that the other party did not recognize him.

Lu Wei didn't care about this at all. What he cared about was that there was a glimmer of hope after all the difficulties. He was in trouble, but Chen Sheng's strength could be put to his own use!

This is none other than Sheng Qi, the infamous Black Swordsman of the future!

Dealing with a mere bandit from Zhuang Mountain or a mere merchant from Zhuang Village will definitely be no problem.

That mighty and powerful Juque is no wooden toy!

Lu Wei leisurely tied the horses to the tavern's stables and secretly chased after Chen Sheng in the direction he had left.

Normally, Chen Sheng should have died after being sentenced to drowning, but the Zhu family secretly intervened and saved him.

In addition, Lu Wei suspected that Tian Guang might also be involved in this behind the scenes.

It's hard to say what Chen Sheng's personality was like in history, but in this world, this Chen leader was indeed wholeheartedly devoted to the peasants. Even when he was framed and lost everything, when he sought revenge, he only targeted Tian Mi and Tian Meng as his enemies. He didn't even care about Tian Hu, who was involved in the same scheme.

From this perspective, Master Chen can be considered to have a clear sense of right and wrong.

But it is very likely that time has changed Chen Sheng's mindset. Only two months have passed since Chen Sheng was framed. Who knows if he was harboring resentment at this moment?

If you go up there yourself, you might get caught up in that resentment and feel terrible.

The pressure from the sharp edge of the Juque sword is something no one can escape.

Lu Wei activated the full power of the Stillness Technique, hanging far behind his opponent. The further they went, the more surprised Lu Wei became: This guy kept heading towards the back mountain. According to Lü Qing's description, this place should be the Zhuangshan area.

Was Chen Sheng's target the bandits of Zhuangshan?

His vigilance immediately rose to another level: now, he not only had to prevent being discovered by Chen Sheng, but also had to be constantly aware of whether there were other eyes watching him around.

Chen Sheng's pace hadn't changed since he left the town. At first glance, he didn't seem to be walking fast, but this guy was tall and strong, and one of his steps was equivalent to two steps for an average person. He also never stopped, so he was very efficient at traveling long distances.

The clanging of the massive chains behind him exuded an aura of power.

As they delve deeper into Zhuangshan, it may be difficult to find the bandits' hideout directly, but Chen Sheng's behavior of making no attempt to conceal his whereabouts will likely attract the attention of the bandit patrol soon.

At this point, Lu Wei was certain that the former leader of the Kuiwei Hall was targeting the Zhuang Mountain bandits!

As for the reason, it's probably because he overheard some of the tavern patrons saying something.

This saved Lu Wei a lot of talking; with two tigers fighting, he could secretly act as the hunter.

"I did not interfere with Chen Sheng's fate in any way. He certainly will not die here. It is that Zhuang Jia who will die!"

"These bandits of this mountain village are going to be wiped out today..."

"However, Lü Qing said that Zhuang Jia told his subordinates that robbing farmers' goods would bring them 'great wealth'..."

"We must be wary of this. What could be so rich and powerful that such an evil person could call it?"

Chapter 52 Hao Cao

Zhuang Jia knew his reputation in the small town at the foot of the mountain, and he knew that many people wanted to kill him.

But if I hadn't decisively killed that family twenty years ago and seized this evil technique, how could I have been living freely until now?

He raised his hand to touch the eight crisscrossing scars on his face, his eyes revealing a hatred that had never faded in the past twenty years: "It's all those four thugs' fault. If it weren't for them, I should be a powerful figure among thousands, instead of hiding in this mountain village!"

With a snap, everything on the table in front of him was swept away, leaving Zhuang Jia's house in a complete mess.

Hate, hate so much!

The two thieves guarding the door listened to the furious roars and loud noises inside, but they kept their necks hunched over, pretending they hadn't heard or heard anything.

The eldest brother's mental illness has flared up again...

"I should have been Fan Li or Lü Buwei!"

Slumped to the ground, Zhuang Jia roared at the ceiling, his veins bulging red. He dug his fingers into the floorboards, causing the wood to crack under his grip.

Is this a side effect of that technique?

A man in black, wearing a pale mask, leaned silently against a corner of the room, a long black sword at his waist, coldly watching Zhuang Jia fall ill.

After about half an incense stick's time, the redness in Zhuang Jia's eyes gradually faded, and the blood vessels in his body calmed down and returned to normal.

Only his deathly pale face and the cold sweat dripping down his forehead, soaking his collar, proved that the madness he had just experienced was not an illusion.

"Lord Hao Cao, is it someone from the peasant family who has come here?"

Trembling as he stood up, Zhuang Jia turned to look in the direction of the man in black, grinned, and the eight scars on his face looked even uglier after being squeezed like that.

"The visitor is the newly appointed head steward of Gonggong Hall, named Lu Wei, who is fourteen years old."

Hao Cao approached him and said in a slightly disdainful tone.

Upon hearing this, Zhuang Jia laughed even more 'joyfully': "A fourteen-year-old steward, what a bright and talented child!"

“Originally, it should have been our people, who were planted in Kuiwei Hall, who came to pick you up and take you to the farmhouse. That way, we could have killed two birds with one stone.”

"However, it's not necessarily a bad thing that Gonggongtang has gotten involved for no reason. We haven't infiltrated the upper echelons of Gonggongtang yet, so this is your chance to make a contribution."

Hao Cao said with a slight warning: "When fighting this person, you must be careful. Young people are most prone to impulsiveness."

“If you beat Lu Wei too badly, I’m afraid he won’t try to recruit you for the sake of his reputation.”

“I understand that principle, of course.” Zhuang Jia twisted his arm, attaching iron claws to each finger, and slightly circulated his internal energy to dispel the numbness in his body: “Are there any other orders from above?”

"If you can successfully infiltrate the Gonggong Hall, you can be promoted to the Killer rank," Hao Cao added, arms crossed.

"Kill-level, hehehe, not bad at all~"

Zhuang Jia clutched his stomach, laughing as he bent over.

"Hey!" The laughter gave Hao Cao a headache. He lowered his arm: "You're not... How dare you!"

Clang! With a metallic clang, Zhuang Jia, who had just been laughing wildly, suddenly stretched out his right hand, his iron claw slicing up from below along Hao Cao's stomach!

If Hao Cao hadn't reacted in pain and drawn his long sword to slash at the other man's neck, forcing him to stop and block, he would probably have been disemboweled!

However, the situation wasn't much better now; the previous attack had still torn open his stomach, and blood was gushing out incessantly.

"How dare you betray the Net!"

He leaped back a step, his right hand holding the sword to protect his body, his left hand clutching his stomach wound. Hao Cao's eyes, visible beneath his pale mask, were filled with anger and disbelief.

"No, no, no, you were the one who was betrayed!"

After successfully landing a blow, Zhuang Jia raised his hand, watching the blood flow from the claw tip down the iron claw to his wrist, becoming increasingly excited: "Since the higher-ups want to promote me to the 'Kill' level assassin, and have sent you, the master of the Hao Cao Sword, here, isn't it to make me take over the title of the new Hao Cao Sword Master?"

"you..."

"Shh, you need to save your energy for howling, don't waste it~"

After Zhuang Jia finished speaking, he stretched out his iron claws and lunged at Hao Cao again...

"Ah!" A stranger's agonizing scream suddenly rang out from inside the house. The horrific scream made the gatekeeper thief's legs tremble. He almost wanted to run away, but he was afraid of his boss's bloody wrath and could only lean against the wooden house, trying his best to stand up straight.

After a long while, the shouts finally subsided. Zhuang Jia, half-covered in blood, holding a sticky longsword and a pale mask, walked out of the house with a relaxed expression.

"Clean it up inside."

"Yes Yes!"