Qin Shi Ambitious

Page 7

It turned out to be the case.

Old Xu was willing to give his successor at the inn, Lu Wei, a bronze sword, but he naturally wouldn't bother with these waiters.

When they were learning swordsmanship, the wooden swords in the Mountain Rain Leaf Village were all made by borrowing their eldest brother's sword and carving them themselves by practicing on the wood before going to sleep.

Lu Wei agreed with the reason for wanting the sword.

"I'll go with you!"

Chapter 9 Mysterious Woman

Swords come in various prices, and after careful consideration, the four members of the Mountain Rain Leaf Clan decided to commission four longswords worth five sword coins each from the old craftsman's shop in the east of the city.

After working at the inn for more than a week, before returning home, Old Xu gave each of them two dollars, with the extra amount considered a New Year's gift.

However, since it was the Lunar New Year and the inn was not open, they had to raise their own living expenses, so these two expenses could not be used indiscriminately.

Therefore, when hanging lanterns at night, each of them must hang lanterns for at least one hundred households.

Climbing ladders from house to house to hammer in copper nails and then hanging lanterns up was no easy task. Although the four of them were skilled in martial arts, they were not good enough for high-level tasks. Fortunately, they had the Rejuvenation Skill that kept them going, and their endurance far exceeded that of their peers.

When the five arrived at the Yan State workshop, a large crowd had already gathered at the entrance. Despite it being New Year's Eve, there were still some people willing to forgo family reunions and come to earn this money, tempted by the high profits offered by Yan State.

The lanterns they were going to hang this time were not large, about twenty centimeters high. Each person who signed up carried a large bamboo basket, filled with twenty lanterns at a time, and carried a long ladder, walking through the streets and alleys.

The area where each person is to hang lanterns has been pre-defined. At midnight, a dedicated person will inspect the entire city of Ji. Only after confirming that everything is correct will the coins be issued according to the number of lanterns you have hung.

The Lu brothers were responsible for the northern part of the city, and for efficiency, the five of them split up to carry out the task.

Although Lu Wei borrowed fifty gold coins from Doctor Yan's house at night, those were all from the system. Once you put them in, there was no refund. His own money was not much more than his four younger brothers'.

Earning five dollars this time is not bad.

Hanging lanterns was relatively simple for him. He used his light-footed skills to leap high into the air, slammed the copper nail into the high wall with his left hand, and then hung the small lantern with his right hand. The whole sequence of movements took only two or three seconds.

Before the residents of the street he was in charge of could even offer their help, they saw the tall beams tremble slightly. When they went outside, they saw the lanterns on their own roofs swaying gently.

People with martial arts skills like Lu Wei are generally not short of money; it is only because of various reasons that he appears somewhat destitute.

After running back and forth between North Street and the manufacturing plant several times, Lu Wei finally found the last alley where he was going to hang lanterns, a place with a completely different atmosphere from the rest of the area.

All the lights in the houses here are off.

"It seems to be a deserted alley."

"I never thought you'd only see this kind of scene in the countryside of Zhao. It's amazing that it exists in Jicheng. I thought you'd only see this kind of scene in the countryside of Zhao."

Taking advantage of the liveliness elsewhere and the moonlight in the sky, Lu Wei added lanterns to this alley and used the tinderbox he carried with him to light red candles in advance for the cold alley.

One by one, sparks lit up in the darkness; his task for the night was complete.

"Whoosh~", he jumped more than a hundred times, exhaled a few symbolic breaths, and the hot air formed a fine mist that drifted upwards in the cool night.

"Let's go check on their situation!"

Turning around, Lu Wei was preparing to leave the alleyway lit only by red candlelight and return to the normal world.

He had only taken five steps when he suddenly felt a chill all over his body!

There's someone behind me!

The effect of "Clear Mind and Wise Mind" enhanced Lu Wei's perception, and coupled with the other party's almost unbridled gaze, he felt as if he were being watched with a cold glint in his eye.

On this cold street, twenty red lanterns swayed gently, their candlelight casting a faint red glow on the surrounding walls. Lu Wei, bathed in this red light, stood frozen in place...

He was only a few dozen steps away from the bustling crowd, but he could not take another step forward.

"Very strong, the person behind you is far more skilled than me!"

Lu Wei dared not be careless, as he did not know the purpose of the visitor.

"I have always been honest and law-abiding, and have never offended anyone. Could it be that Doctor Yan sent me to catch a thief?"

The idea was immediately dismissed by Lu Wei: although the gaze directed at him was blatant, it contained no murderous intent...

"A passerby? Curious about my martial arts?"

Lu Wei was lost in thought for a while, during which time that gaze remained unmoved.

"I am Lu Wei, a disciple of the Farming Family. May I ask which friend is here?"

Since it hasn't attacked me for so long, I can temporarily label it as 'non-enemy'.

"Lu Wei?"

A clear, cold female voice echoed in the air. Before Lu Wei could even have any other thoughts, his gaze vanished abruptly...

He felt a sense of relief and turned to look in the direction of the sound, only to find that the high rooftop was empty.

The woman, whose words were incomprehensible, left without even showing her face.

"A woman?" Lu Wei was immediately puzzled: he didn't even know many men, so why would a woman come looking for him?

------

From the highest pavilion in the palace complex, one can see the entire city of Ji.

On New Year's Eve, a banquet is naturally being held here.

The royal family and nobles, including King Xi of Yan, Lord Yanchun, and Prince Dan of Yan, were all present.

In addition, there was a special guest, an envoy from the Qin state.

The banquet was filled with toasts and lively conversation, everyone enjoying themselves immensely.

The windows of the pavilion were opened, and looking out, the entire city of Ji was a sea of ​​red. On this winter night, the Yan Kingdom had artificially created a 'city that never sleeps'.

What a magnificent and prosperous scene!

"Qin envoy, how is my state of Yan?"

The King of Yan blushed with joy and raised his cup to ask the Qin envoy a question.

"Your Majesty's Yan state is far more magnificent than the Zhao state of Handan that I saw last year."

The Qin envoy presented the cup with both hands, took a full sip, and then offered his compliments.

"Oh~", King Yan laughed heartily: "Then how does it compare to Xianyang... hiccup, how does it compare to Xianyang?"

"Your Majesty!"

Upon hearing these words from the Prince of Yan, Crown Prince Dan hurriedly stepped forward to support his father's arm and gently patted his back.

Lord Yanchun raised his wine cup, smiling as he faced the Qin envoy:

"Brother Wang has had too much to drink, please don't take offense, Qin envoy."

"Nothing to worry about," the Qin envoy said with a smirk. The fact that the crown prince and feudal lord of a country cared so much about him was because he was an envoy of Qin and backed by the Qin Black Armor Army!

"The grandeur of Xianyang and the prosperity of Jicheng are two completely different cities and cannot be compared."

"Absolutely, absolutely!"

Yan Chunjun nodded, intending to turn the page on this matter.

"However, if Your Majesty really wants to know what Xianyang looks like, there is a way."

However, the Qin envoy was unwilling to let the topic go:

"Your Highness is kind and filial. Why not accompany me back to Qin after the New Year to see the face of the Great Qin for yourself? You can then tell His Majesty about it upon our return."

"this..."

Prince Dan never expected the topic to suddenly turn to him. He turned to look at his father, who was drunk and clearly unable to answer.

Upon hearing the Qin envoy's suggestion, Lord Wang Shuyan not only showed no intention of helping, but instead met his gaze with shrewd eyes:

"The Qin envoy's intentions are good; what does the Crown Prince think?"

The nobles below bowed their heads and kept silent, not daring to look up again.

The entire banquet suddenly fell into an awkward silence...

This stands in stark contrast to the bustling prosperity of the ordinary people in Jicheng outside the building.

Chapter 10 Contest

On the first day of the new year, early in the morning, before Lu Wei had even woken up, the fourth younger brother ran out excitedly, only to return dejectedly.

They each successfully received five coins yesterday, but their excitement caused them to have a brain freeze, and they completely forgot that the old craftsman's shop was closed for the past few days.

As for Lao Luwei himself, he was watched by a mysterious person for a long time last night. Later, he simply went back to the inn. He was like a frightened bird the whole way. After returning home safely, he remained vigilant for a long time, but nothing happened.

After confirming that he was truly safe, Lu Wei began to reflect:

"I may lack experience in fighting enemies, but I have made some progress in internal strength."

"The woman behind me gave me an unshakeable aura; with such strength, she was definitely a master of the martial arts world."

"At this point in time, how many female experts could there be in the Yan Kingdom?"

"Yin Yang School's Yan Fei?"

"No, Prince Dan of Yan has not yet gone to Qin as a hostage, and Consort Yan is still in Qin."

"The Net Shocks the Salamander?"

"That's even more impossible. Wei Wuji died just last year. Jing Ni has probably already given birth to a daughter and is being hunted down by the Luo Wang."

“She might come to Yan, but she certainly wouldn’t have the time or inclination to risk being exposed just to play a fool on a stranger like me.”

"Are there any other female experts I haven't thought of...?"

After closing his eyes and tilting his head back to think for a long time, he finally gave up trying to guess the identity of the woman from last night.

You'd never guess...

"The world of martial arts is so vast, and there are countless masters of all kinds. My knowledge in this life is shallow, and my memories from my previous life only include those famous figures."

"The other party is probably just a reclusive master passing by; it's impossible that he came specifically to find me."

"But no matter what, I need to learn 'Flying Snow' as soon as possible!"

In the following days, Lu Wei stayed in the inn. After his internal energy was completely transformed from the original purple "Rejuvenation Skill" to orange quality, his internal energy refinement level was greatly improved, and he went to Luqiu Pavilion alone.