Unparalleled Evildoer

Chapter 242 Panyu's Gift
It was noon and the air was filled with heat. As soon as Wuzhan walked out of the secret passage leading out of the valley, he felt the sticky heat outside. Every breath he took seemed to be steaming his heart and lungs.

A green python blocked my way, and then I heard someone behind me giggling, "I knew you would go this way again!"

Wuzhan turned around and said, "If I don't leave here, will the people of Yuechang see me walk out of Yuxiang Valley alive?"

Meng Ya, wearing a brand new green veil, floated down from the rock above the cave entrance to Wuzhan and said with a smile, "You are really thoughtful. But if they can't see you, they will also think that you have escaped!"

"If the princess wants to thank me, she might as well say it directly!"

Meng Ya said: "You wish. If you leave without even saying goodbye, I won't thank you!"

"Then why did the princess chase here?"

Meng Ya smiled evilly and said, "Of course I am taking you back to Yuxiang Valley at the order of my mother!"

"I'm afraid your majesty is sending the princess to follow me to seize the plague box to atone for his sins?"

Meng Ya immediately said angrily: "It's so boring to talk to an ugly freak like you!"

"If the princess wants to hear good words, she can go to Master Yang. His painted fan hasn't been given to the princess yet?"

Meng Ya raised her fist and punched Wuzhan in the chest, "You, if you mention him again I will punch you to death!"

Wuzhan caught Wenrou's fist and said, "If the princess kills me, who will help you take back the Plague Box and let you vent your anger?" He lifted Mengya's hand and jumped onto the green python's back together, "Let's go quickly!"

Meng Ya said: "This is my princess's pet, you are not qualified to sit on it, get off and walk by yourself."

"Princess, have you forgotten who used this pet to pick me up? Now that you picked me up, you should send me back safely."

"If I knew you were that fast, I wouldn't have let you sit on it and dirty the body of this pet." Although he said this, he didn't really chase Wuzhan away, "Where should we go to settle accounts with them?"

"I think there are already quite a few people waiting for me in Panyu, let's go there to find them!"

……

When we returned to the south bank of the Pearl River, it was already dusk and the temperature had turned cooler. In front of the luxury ship was a large ship with more than 300 people on board, all of whom were soldiers wearing rhinoceros skins. Leading the ship was a burly and fierce-looking general, and next to him was a thin-faced civil servant dressed in silk, who was over 40 years old.

Jin Xingzi sat on the mast, legs crossed, and seemed to have been waiting for a long time. When he saw Wuzhan and Mengya returning on the giant python, he was so scared that he almost fell off the mast and cried out, "Master, please don't scare me. Drive that thing away!"

Meng Ya said unhappily, "Be careful with your mouth. What do you mean by a thing? This is my pet. If you anger it, it will swallow you whole!"

Wuzhan said: "Don't be afraid, Princess Mengya's pet is very docile and will not hurt you."

Everyone on the ship was moved when they heard Mengya's name.

Meng Ya sneered, "I never thought that the disciple you accepted would be as timid as a mouse. He is not like a master at all."

Jin Xingzi grinned and said, "Princess, you are right. I am a coward. I am afraid of this thing that has no legs but can crawl!"

Meng Ya said angrily, "How dare you say that? Let me teach you a lesson!" The green python spat out a long letter that was two meters long. Jin Xingzi was so scared that he quickly hid behind Zhu Lang and shouted, "Princess, spare my life. I was wrong. It's not a thing!"

"You are nothing!" Meng Ya got angry when she heard Jin Xingzi's words.

Wuzhan said: "This bad disciple loves to quarrel every day, Princess, please don't bother with him."

At this time, the thin-faced civil servant and the general had already disembarked from the ship. They came to Wuzhan, bowed and saluted, and said, "Excuse me, are you Mr. Li?"

Wuzhan got off the green python and returned the greeting, "It's Li. I wonder why you two are looking for me?"

The thin-faced civil servant said, "What are you doing here? I am the etiquette officer of the Nanyue Kingdom. The person next to me is the Nanyue general Xu Hu. The two of us are here to welcome you on the orders of our great king."

Xu Hu put his right hand on his left shoulder and bowed slightly, saying, "Hello, Mr. Li!" His expression was quite arrogant.

Wuzhan said: "Thanks to the King of the South for his kindness, I'll trouble you two to lead the way!"

He Qian bowed to Meng Ya again and said, "I have heard of your name for a long time, and it is an honor to meet you today!"

Meng Ya said, "What a honor! You invited him to Panyu, but have you invited me to go?"

He Qian said hurriedly, "I couldn't ask for more. I have prepared some light wine and vegetarian dishes. Please move aboard and have a chat."

"What is there to talk to you about? This princess is tired and wants to go back to the ship to rest!" Then she jumped onto the ship, treating it like her own home, and pointed at Jin Xingzi and said, "You, my disciple, hurry up and find me a room."

Wuzhan said: "Thank you very much for your kindness, Lord He. I would rather obey your command than be disrespectful!"

……

Wuzhan brought Jinxingzi and Lingkongzi with him to board the ship. A banquet had been prepared in the attic. They sat down and after some polite conversation, Heqian asked, "How confident are you about this trip?"

Wuzhan said: "That depends on how much confidence the Southern King has in our Great Qin."

"To be honest, my country of Nanyue has been pushed to the forefront by your move. My king is almost driven crazy."

Wuzhan said calmly: "This decision is a matter of time. I am just giving King Nan a chance to choose."

Xu Hu snorted coldly, "I will give you a chance. If you turn back now, you can still survive. If you follow us to Fanwu, you may not even be able to save your body." Jin Xingzi laughed and said, "Is Fanwu a coffin shop?"

Ling Kongzi said: "That's wrong. The coffins in the coffin shop are all empty. Panyu should be a morgue."

Xu Hu slammed the table and stood up, shouting angrily: "Believe it or not, I will chop it with my sword..." Before he could finish his words, with a "bang", the empty wine jar hit Xu Hu's head.

Wuzhan said calmly: "Don't be rude."

He Qian hurriedly stood up to smooth things over, saying, "General Xu has spoken out of turn after drinking. Please help him go back to his room to rest."

Xu Hu's head was bleeding and his eyes were full of stars. He said in a daze: "I am not drunk. How dare you hit me? I want to duel with you... duel..." After saying that, he fainted on the ground, overturned the wine table, and was helped out by two guards.

Seeing General Xu being driven out by two guards, He Qian whispered, "General Xu acted rashly, I hope you can forgive me, but your trip may not be smooth sailing. You may not know that Nanyue has been divided into two factions. One faction advocates an alliance to resist Qin, and the other advocates submission to Qin. The two sides hold their own views and argue endlessly."

"Which side has the greater support?"

He Qian said: "Your country has just been defeated, and the morale of Wenlang and Xizhen has been greatly boosted. Naturally, the forces supporting the alliance are greater. Moreover, we are in the rear of these two countries. If they turn around and attack us, our Nanyue country will have nowhere to retreat."

"So which side does Lord He support?"

He Qian smiled and said, "After hearing your strategy of 'ruling Yue with Yue', I naturally support submission to Qin. I just don't know if your strategy is a fraud and whether it can really be implemented."

Wuzhan said: "Things like this require gambling. Even if South Vietnam forms an alliance with Wenlang and other countries, will they keep their promises?"

He Qian said: "Sir, you are right, but you should at least give Nanyue a reason to believe."

Wuzhan said: "The fact that you dare to go down alone to meet the King of the South is the reason why Lord He believes you. If the King of the South agrees to submit, we can sign a contract right away."

He Qian thought, "That's true. Otherwise, why would I volunteer to come and pick you up, sir? But the current situation is too serious. Wenlang has already reached the border. If South Vietnam does not form an alliance with them, they will be the first to attack South Vietnam. Perhaps South Vietnam will fall before the Qin army arrives. Do you have a way to break through this situation? Or, can you sit back and reap the benefits?"

Wuzhan asked, "Master He, do you know why General Tu was defeated after fighting for so many years?"

"Wenlang and Xizhen adopted guerrilla warfare and did not engage the Qin army head-on, making it difficult for the Qin army to find their tracks. Over time, they will inevitably become lazy and suffer a great defeat sooner or later."

Wuzhan said: "If there is a head-on battle, can the combined forces of the Nanyue countries be a match for the Qin army?"

"Of course not."

"We have been waiting for this opportunity. How can we miss it? Besides, what our Great Qin wants is not only the land, but also the people of Nanyue. How can we sit back and do nothing?"

He Qian hesitated and said, "I may believe your words, but when I go to Panyu and face the ministers, I may not be convinced!"

Wuzhan said: "It is only a matter of time before Southern Xinjiang belongs to our Great Qin, but it won't be too long. Maybe the coalition forces will occasionally win a small victory, but they will not be able to defeat the national strength of our Great Qin. Gambling is risky, and there is often only a glimmer of opportunity. If we wait until we destroy the Baiyue coalition, Lord He, do you think we can talk again?"

He Qian sighed, "That depends on whether you can convince my king. Also, be careful when you get to Panyu. There are many people who want to kill you."

……

The moonlight was shining, the mountains were dancing, two boats were sailing side by side, lights were lighting up the river, and suddenly a woman's voice came from the river, "Is the owner of this boat Mr. Li?"

Ling Kongzi walked out of the cabin and saw a boat approaching. The boat was full of women. Ling Kongzi said, "That's right. I wonder why you are looking for my master?"

A woman in a blue shirt bowed and said, "We are disciples of Emei. Your master helped us last night. Our master was unable to thank us in person. I hope your master can honor us by coming to the boat for a cup of tea."

Ling Kongzi snorted coldly: "My master is resting, so he is not available!"

The Emei disciples were displeased when they heard the revelation. The woman said, "I just saw you return to the boat. How come you are resting so soon? Please ask your master for instructions."

Ling Kongzi said: "I'm busy, I just don't want to see you, can't you hear that?"

Emei was also a well-known and upright sect, and had never been rejected in such a cold way. However, because Mr. Li had saved the life of the sect leader and was indebted to Emei, they could only hold back their anger. One of the women said, "We have no ill intentions, we just want to see your master. You didn't ask your master for permission, so how do you know he doesn't want to see you?"

"No need to ask, I will make the decision. Go away, I need to rest too!"

"You..." The woman's face flushed red, and she was too angry to speak. The woman in blue said, "Since your master is resting, we will invite your master again tomorrow."

"You don't have to wait. My master won't see you."

The blue-shirted woman said, "We in Emei have never offended fellow Taoists. I don't know why you want to drive us away with such cold words?"

Ling Kongzi said: "There is no reason, I just don't want to. If you continue to make trouble, I will be rude!"

The woman, whose face turned red with anger, could no longer bear it and said, "How could there be such an undisciplined disciple like you who dares to speak on behalf of the master..."

"Shut up..." Qin Moyao walked out of the cabin with a haggard face, wearing a pink lace skirt. She looked at Ling Kongzi and said, "Ling Kongzi, do you still recognize me?"

Ling Kongzi said angrily: "You killed my little master, how could I forget you!"

Qin Moyao leaped and landed on the ship, and said coldly: "Since you recognize me, why don't you take action to avenge your master?"

(End of this chapter)