Unparalleled Evildoer

Chapter 336 Intensifying Conflicts

Wuzhan led Shilifang and others out of the palace, found a few fast horses, and rode out of Xianyang City without stopping. After walking for a few miles, Wuzhan said, "Master, we can reach Longxi in a few days along this road to the west and get out of the Qin territory. Your Majesty needs someone to stabilize the situation to ensure that the master can return to the country without any problems. Let's say goodbye now!"

Sri Fang stopped his horse and said, "I feel a little regretful. If I had been able to get to know you better in Huangshan, I wouldn't have ended up in such a mess today."

Wuzhan smiled and said, "Master, you think highly of me. I am just a follower in Qin State. How can I help with such a big event? We each serve our own masters and have different moral principles. Master should understand this clearly."

Sri Fang said: "I have something to say but I don't know if I should say it or not."

"But it doesn't matter."

Sri Fang said: "I see that you are a man of integrity. You are not a fish in the pond. You are outside the law, but your heart is both evil and righteous. I hope you can let go of your obsession, do more good deeds, and benefit the world."

Wuzhan said: "I will keep in mind what the master said."

Sri Fang knew that it was impossible to convince Wuzhan, and sighed, "I'm afraid that the next time we meet will be on the battlefield. I really don't want that to happen."

Wuzhan said: "I hope that Master can persuade King Ashoka not to march east after returning to China, otherwise the Qin cavalry will wait for your army to arrive without returning."

Sri Fang said: "I will do my best to stop it, but the possibility is not great. From what I know, this is not only the intention of Ashoka, but it is also likely to be the will of heaven."

Wuzhan was even more convinced that this was related to the 'holy war' and asked, "Does the Buddha agree to do this?"

Sri Lanka shook his head and said, "The Buddha never appears in the world easily, and he will never interfere in the politics of the country."

Wuzhan thought for a moment, then bowed and said, "There is no time to lose, Master, please hurry up!"

Sri Fang clasped his hands together and said, "Thank you very much for saving me, sir. I'm taking my leave now and we won't meet again!" He loosened the reins and urged the horse to ride away.

Along the way, Wuzu learned the whole story from Shilifang. Since Xu Shi brought Shilifang back to Xiandaoyuan, he captured him when he was not prepared and trapped him in the secret prison of Xiandaoyuan. He ordered Jiang Yuan and others to force him to write out the exercises of Vajra Palm and Buddha Hand Seal. Shilifang only said a few words every day to save the lives of his followers. He took advantage of the guards' unpreparedness at night, broke open the stone gate, and escaped from Xiandaoyuan along the secret passage with his followers. The exit was at an inn in front of the palace. He happened to capture a eunuch who had not returned from the harem late at night, and learned the specific location of Ying Zheng's bedroom. He sneaked into the harem and took Ying Zheng, who was sleeping soundly, hostage.

Wuzhan returned to the heavily guarded palace. The civil and military officials who had been there before had already left. Wuzhan was taken to the imperial study by Zhao Gao to report to Ying Zheng. Ying Zheng's complexion had improved a lot, but he was still frightened.

Wuzhan stepped forward and knelt down, saying, "Your Majesty, Shilifang and the others have been escorted out of Xianyang City by me. They will not be coming back. Your Majesty should be relieved."

Ying Zheng said, "Stand up. Although this matter can be evaded in this way, some people still know about it and ask me to kill Shilifang and not let him go. I wonder what you think, sir?"

Wuzhan stood up and said, "If Your Majesty wanted to kill Sri Fang, he would not have waited for me to return. I think that although Sri Fang is too arrogant, he has no intention of harming Your Majesty. If the Imperial Master can handle this matter properly, Your Majesty will not be alarmed for nothing."

"The Sri Lankan government was able to find me without any hindrance. The imperial palace guards are useless. How can I sleep peacefully from now on? This time, I must dismiss Meng Yi and investigate him!"

Wuzhan said, "Your Majesty, calm down. The doctor-in-chief was indeed negligent, but if no one helped, Sri Fang would never have been able to evade the heavy guards and find Your Majesty. I asked Sri Fang, and when they escaped from Xiandaoyuan, they captured a eunuch from the harem and led them to find Your Majesty. I don't think there is such a coincidence. Maybe someone did it on purpose."

"Who is that eunuch?" Ying Zheng glared at Zhao Gao.

Zhao Gao knelt nervously and said, "Xiao Gaozi has already investigated and no eunuch left the palace yesterday. Someone must be trying to frame Xiao Gaozi!"

Wuzhan said: "It is probably impossible to find out, maybe he is not a eunuch at all."

"How can you know my exact location if you are not a eunuch?"

"Your Majesty, do you think anyone else besides the eunuchs in the harem knows your Majesty's location?"

Ying Zheng said in a deep voice: "Are you talking about the guards beside me?"

"Forgive me for speaking frankly, but the skills that Sri Fang practices can penetrate rocks and cut through iron. Xian Dao Yuan is not unaware of this. And Sri Fang escaped from Xian Dao Yuan through the secret passage leading to the Imperial Palace. I suspect that Xian Dao Yuan did this on purpose to frame someone else."

Ying Zheng thought: "Sri Fang escaped from Xiandaoyuan. They are indeed guilty, but they will never harm me. This is impossible!"

Wuzhan said: "Your Majesty has already handed over Sri Fang to the Imperial Master for disposal. Their crime of escaping from Xiandaoyuan is at most improper handling. Compared with the guilt of the Imperial Guards, it is not worth mentioning. Moreover, they know that Sri Fang is a Buddhist and will not harm Your Majesty. The purpose of their doing this is nothing more than seeing that some people are hindering them. If Your Majesty no longer trusts the guards around them, who else can replace them?"

Ying Zheng kept silent. Wuzhan's analysis was already very clear, and he was even a little scared. What he hated most was that his subjects had scheming against him. This had touched Ying Zheng's bottom line. If it were someone else, he would have exterminated all nine generations of his clan. However, he still didn't believe that Xu Shi would do this. If a person devotes everything to pursuing something, even if he fails, it is difficult for him to accept it.

Wuzhan said: "I don't want to punish Xiandaoyuan for this matter, but I hope Your Majesty will be on guard. This time the Imperial Master goes out to sea to find medicine for Your Majesty, and I will follow him all the way. If they have any ill intentions, I will report it to Your Majesty truthfully."

Ying Zheng said: "Forget it, I won't punish anyone, all of you leave!"...

Zhao Gao wiped the sweat off his head and followed Wuzhan out of the imperial study. He whispered to Wuzhan, "If it weren't for you, sir, I'm afraid little Gaozi's head would have been moved."

Wuzhan said: "I think they already know the relationship between us. The purpose this time is very clear. You have to be careful in the future."

"Xiao Gaozi will be careful, but my life is worthless. It's as easy for them to kill me as to crush an ant. When they really want me dead, what else can I do? Xiao Gaozi is just worried about you, sir. They already hate you to the core for blatantly colliding with them like this."

Wuzhan said: "I have told you before that people are not divided into noble and humble. Your life is as important as theirs. Even if they want to harm you, I will make them pay three times as much. Do what I tell you to do quickly, so that your foundation in the court will be stable and it will not be so easy for someone to move against you."

Zhao Gao said, "Your Excellency should also be wary of some people in the court. Mayor Xu seems to have given them a lot of benefits. Three people in the Xiandao Academy have transcended the tribulation and become immortals. Many people have already believed in Mayor Xu."

Wuzhan said: "I think their hopes will be dashed soon."

……

As soon as Wuzhan returned to the mansion, Meng Yi rushed over and said angrily: "I didn't expect that Xiandaoyuan would use His Majesty to frame me this time!"

Wuzhan said: "This incident is definitely not as simple as we think on the surface. The reason why I said that in front of His Majesty is to excuse my second brother. Only Xu Shi knows the purpose of this. Does my second brother understand the reason why King Wu attacked King Zhou eight hundred years ago?"

Meng Yi said: "Emperor Xin was aggressive and warlike, addicted to wine and sex, and imposed heavy punishments and heavy taxes, which led to the corruption of the government. There was widespread resentment and anger from both humans and gods."

Wuzhan shook his head and smiled, "The history we know is all untrue. Behind many names of justice is a bad reputation. I dare to say that if someone uses what I just said to smear Your Majesty, I think that what I said is too harsh. In fact, isn't that what the remnants of the six countries are doing now?"

Meng Yi was shocked when he heard this, not because Wuzhan's words were disobedient to His Majesty, but because people's words were scary, and the words of future generations were terrifying. "What does your words have to do with Xu Shi?"

"I suspect that Xu Shi deliberately intensified the conflict between Your Majesty and Ashoka. Sri Fang told me that Ashoka's expedition to the east was a will from heaven, and Xu Shi may have received this information. In other words, it is only a matter of time before our Great Qin and Magadha go to war. The Heaven Court is behind this, and Sri Fang's visit to Qin may be the cause of this war."

Meng Yi said: "What good will it do for Mayor Xu to intensify the conflict?"

"The Xiandao Academy has begun to win over the ministers in the court. Second brother, haven't you noticed that the ministers who wanted to die for their advice have disappeared these days?"

"What a bunch of cowards, all vying for fame and fortune!"

"I remember that the Immortal Dao Academy once threatened to confer the title of God. Now the six kingdoms have been unified by our Great Qin, and he has never fulfilled his promise, using the excuse that the Lishan Immortal Palace has not been completed. Perhaps, this is the war he is waiting for."

Meng Yi asked, "Brother, do you mean that Mayor Xu will participate in this war?"

Wuzhan said: "From what I know, he seems to have secretly participated in every war that Qin State has fought against the six states. Otherwise, how could the undead in the 'divine weapon' of Mount Li come here? And this time, maybe he will do it openly."

"He can also lead troops to fight?"

"Perhaps my second brother underestimated him. His wisdom is not inferior to Wang Ben and others. Moreover, his Taoism is profound and unfathomable. If he volunteered to fight, His Majesty would certainly be extremely happy. But how many ministers in the court would oppose it?"

Meng Yi thought: "If he is willing to work for my Qin State, this is naturally a good thing, but if he has ulterior motives, my Great Qin will be destroyed in his hands. My dear brother, you must find a way to stop him!"

Wuzhan said: "This is just my guess. We don't know what their purpose is yet. As for the war with Magadha, I hope my second brother can persuade His Majesty to prepare for it in advance."

Meng Yi said: "By then, we will still need your help to win this war."

"This is a battle for the survival of the nation. If necessary, I will do my duty. But I am going out to sea with Mayor Xu this time. He will definitely look for a chance to get rid of me. It is unknown when he will return."

Meng Yi said: "Then don't go, my dear brother. There is no such medicine in the world. If he can't bring back the elixir, His Majesty will never trust him again."

Wuzhan said, "There are nearly a hundred ships going out to sea this time, and almost all of our Great Qin's best warships have been sent out. In addition to those children, there are also two thousand sailors. This kind of posture is no more than going out to sea to fight. If he doesn't want to come back, do you still need your majesty to believe it?"

Meng Yi said, "Shall I go to see His Majesty right now and stop him from going out to sea?"

"No matter how reasonable what my second brother says is, His Majesty will not believe it. Besides, this is just our guess. None of us can stop him from going out to sea. The only way to see his true face is to follow him."

(End of this chapter)