Nine-layer armor-breaking

Chapter 311 Hidden Weapon
Seeing that he remained silent, Jiang Xian figured he hadn't made up his mind, so he simply pushed him with the question to help him make a decision as soon as possible.

She asked him, "Between the two of you, whose martial arts skills are stronger?"

Now was not the time for tact; Jiang Xian asked the question very directly.

Upon hearing Jiang Xian's words, he was first taken aback, and then he realized what was going on.

Although what he was about to say was rather embarrassing, and perhaps even a little shameless, he was prepared to speak the truth in order to answer Jiang Xian's question accurately.

He answered Jiang Xian truthfully, "In terms of martial arts alone, I am slightly better."

After saying that, he was a little embarrassed, and his cheeks turned slightly red.

Jiang Xian observed his reactions but didn't think it was a big deal. This was something that needed to be told the truth; there was no need to belittle himself or cover up for others.

Having high personal strength is a good thing in itself, but his close relationship with the Jiang family guard sitting in the carriage made him somewhat hesitant.

Before setting off, Jiang Xian learned from her father, Jiang Yuan, about the relative strengths of the two Jiang family guards who were by her side.

Both of them were high-level Heaven-rank martial artists, with similar strength. However, the Jiang family guard on horseback was not only more meticulous, but also had a deeper and more solid martial arts foundation.

His meticulous mind is reflected in his cautious approach to things, and this style of doing things has led him to pay great attention to self-cultivation and never dare to delay.

Therefore, with the two guards advancing at roughly the same speed, his subtle observational habits and more thoughtful personality will benefit him more in terms of martial arts advancement, allowing him to advance faster than the other Jiang family guard who is currently sitting in the carriage and is also practicing diligently.

Even though Jiang Xian already knew the differences between the two, she still wanted to verify it again to avoid any avoidable oversights.

Since he gave a direct answer, Jiang Xian believed that he was better than the guard sitting in the carriage in every aspect and should have no weaknesses.

Therefore, Jiang Xian has now made a decision: to let him stay and guard this forest.

Jiang Xian needed someone who could react quickly and act more cautiously to stay and keep an eye on the group of thugs in front of him.

Jiang Xian would also leave some help to one of the people he left behind, so that he could act according to the circumstances and use those life-saving methods in the face of possible dangers.

Jiang Xian has been meticulous and thoughtful in his work. What she needs most now is someone who can help her. In that case, she doesn't need to lift a finger. Any situation requiring force can be directly delegated to the guards accompanying her, allowing the Jiang family's guards to handle any potential dangers. In this way, her identity as a martial artist will not be exposed.

If the guard on horseback could accompany her, that would be the best choice. The two could work together effectively, their teamwork would be more seamless, and they would be able to understand each other's intentions more easily.

However, the current situation does not allow her to make such a choice.

Since there is no perfect choice, we should choose the one with the fewest drawbacks.

Therefore, even if she couldn't bring the Jiang family guard on horseback with her, it wouldn't have such a big impact.

On the contrary, if the guard sitting in the carriage were to continue guarding this part of the woods, the risk would be increased, as he is less cautious in his actions.

In fact, if the Jiang family guards on horseback and those in the carriage were to switch positions, Jiang Xian would still make the same choice due to their similar strengths and personality traits.

However, if one of them has a significant disadvantage in being left alone in the forest, or a fatal weakness, or if there is a large difference in their strength, such as the guard on horseback being much weaker than the guard in the carriage, then Jiang Xian would have to reconsider his choice of companions.

Having made her choice, in order to save time and reduce the chance for the criminals to catch their breath, she directly told the Jiang family guard on horseback about her decision.

"Guard Liu, please stay." Jiang Xian spoke softly, in a way that only the two of them could hear, especially when he mentioned the words "Guard Liu".

The Jiang family guard on horseback naturally understood Jiang Xian's meaning.

Jiang Xian spoke so softly and gently in order to better conceal their identities. Therefore, this was the first time she had mentioned his specific surname since they were robbed by the group of thugs.

But he was still taken aback by what Jiang Xian said. He hadn't expected Jiang Xian to ask him to stay. He asked Jiang Xian in confusion, "Miss, if you're going, shall I go?"

He had previously said that his strength was slightly superior to that of the guard sitting in the carriage. In fact, firstly, it was the truth, in order to answer Jiang Xian's question accurately; secondly, it was also for the safety of the Jiang family guard sitting in the carriage.

Since joining the Jiang family, the two have helped each other and discussed and resolved some issues together, but most of the time, he was the one who took care of the guard sitting in the carriage.

Therefore, he naturally took on a responsibility similar to that of an elder brother, wanting to protect the guard sitting in the carriage. So he didn't regret telling Jiang Xian the truth earlier.

He thought that Jiang Xianding would choose someone more meticulous and capable to follow the leader, so that things would be handled more smoothly.

But Jiang Xian is now asking him to stay here, which he naturally doesn't understand.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Xian immediately responded, whispering in his ear, "I'll go with Guard Li, you stay here."

Jiang Xian spoke very directly; her actions today were somewhat unlike her usual style.

She speaks clearly and explicitly, without requiring others to guess her meaning, thus increasing efficiency.

Jiang Xian spoke a lot today.

She was afraid that the guards would misunderstand her meaning if she spoke too deeply or too simply, if she said one more or one less word.

After all, the three of them hadn't spent much time together, so to avoid misunderstandings or mistakes, she made her point directly.

These words made Guard Liu's heart tremble. He was sitting on his horse, and even the horse's hooves couldn't help but tremble. He paced back and forth, but the movement was not significant.

He never expected Jiang Xian to have this idea, nor did he understand why Jiang Xian wanted to go in person. Guard Liu couldn't understand it. He believed that staying here was actually the safest option for Jiang Xian. Blindly heading to an unknown area would only increase the risks and uncertainties.

He didn't understand Jiang Xian's intention in making this decision, so he said directly to Jiang Xian, "Miss, this trip is still unknown. We don't know if it's a trap or a diversionary tactic. We must not go and take the risk."

Jiang Xian replied, "With Guard Li accompanying you, you can rest assured. On the contrary, you, left alone here, need to be even more careful."

After saying that, Jiang Xian pointed to the packet of medicine powder she had given him earlier and said to Guard Liu, "It has the same effect."

After speaking, she glanced at the four people lying on the ground, and then added to Guard Liu, "You can use it without worry. Don't worry about being accidentally injured. You'll be fine."

Liu, the guard, was completely bewildered by Jiang Xian's words.

Of course, Guard Liu wouldn't know the underlying principle; he was unaware that Jiang Xian had given them the antidote beforehand.

Jiang Xian noticed his expression, but before he could react, he took out a small, sharp, needle-like object from his sleeve, which was covered by a pure white handkerchief, and handed it to him.

The white handkerchief wasn't wrapped very tightly; as the hands moved, her head peeked out.

When Guard Liu took a look, he saw that the small thing in his hand was only about the size of a little finger. It was very well made, with multiple sharp points, as if it were cut by a knife. It was neat and crisp, but it could not hide its dazzling cold light.

Seeing the bewildered look on Guard Liu's face, Jiang Xian said to him, "I found this at a trading company. It's hollow inside and contains a small amount of poison..."

Before Jiang Xian could finish speaking, he saw a look of surprise on Guard Liu's face, followed by worry.

Jiang Xian immediately deciphered the expression on his face and then said to him, "The deadly poison inside requires a strong impact to break through; it won't cause any problems if you hold it normally."

Upon hearing this, Guard Liu felt much more at ease.

But he realized that he still knew too little about the young woman in front of him, this Miss Jiang.

He never expected that his young lady would so casually wrap such a highly poisonous substance in a simple handkerchief.

Even setting aside the possibility of a mistake that reveals the poison inside, the fact that such a sharp object could pierce the handkerchief and accidentally prick this delicate young lady would cause her considerable pain.

And this young lady in front of him actually took this thing out of their Jiang family's trading house, all the way from Yingzhou to Qizhou, and now she's on her way back to Yingzhou from Qizhou.

He had no idea, nor did he expect, that Jiang Xian could carry such a dangerous item on his person for so long without having his two Jiang family guards do it for him.

"If the reason you didn't let us keep it for you before was for our sake, then now that you're giving it to me, Miss, it's not just for my safety, but also because you trust me enough," Guard Liu thought to himself, feeling a sense of kindness and naivety towards the girl before him.

Jiang Xian, of course, would not easily trust others. She was not following the principle of "do not do to others what you would not have them do to you," nor was she keeping the items herself for their safety. Rather, she was used to carrying these items when she went out and naturally did not need others to do it for her. Instead, she would only increase the possibility of various dangers caused by others' improper handling of the items.

The reason she was willing to give this item to Guard Liu was not out of trust, but simply because it was a poison she had made herself. She really had nothing to fear, so there was no question of trust. And since she couldn't use it herself, she could make the most of it and give it to Guard Liu for self-defense.

Although her starting point and ultimate goal were indeed for the safety of Guard Liu, and to provide him with self-defense tools, her considerations were not what Guard Liu had in mind.

Jiang Xian deliberately emphasized that this item belonged to the Jiang family's trading company to avoid arousing Liu's suspicion.

This was indeed something from the Jiang family's trading house, but Jiang Xian had made some minor modifications to it, turning it into something completely new, while its appearance remained unchanged.

Originally, this needle-like object was just a small concealed weapon, meant to be precisely inserted into acupoints. It's a bit of a pity that it's now being used.

For those who lack medical knowledge, are physically weak, or whose enemies are heavily armored, it is difficult to penetrate the armor, which greatly increases the difficulty for users and creates a significant barrier to entry for them.

So when she first saw these things, she kept quite a few. She only modified some of them into a form containing poison, and these were the ones she left for her two bodyguards.

She had thought of this before leaving home, so she brought it with her.

Jiang Xian himself was familiar with pharmacology and was also a high-level Heaven-rank martial artist who used a bow and arrow, so he didn't need these things.

Although Liu was surprised by Jiang Xian's actions, upon closer examination, he found them to be quite reasonable.

Their trip was somewhat dangerous, as it was Jiang Xian's first time traveling far from home to do things for his family. He was aware of the difficulties of this trip, having experienced them firsthand, and knew about the major events that had occurred in Qizhou.

Therefore, whether Jiang Xian bought it himself from the Jiang family's trading house, or it was given to him by someone else, or even if the family head Jiang Yuan gave Jiang Xian some self-defense items, it was perfectly normal.

He had no doubt about that.

He trusted the character of the family head, Jiang Yuan, and he understood that Jiang Yuan had given it to Jiang Xian for self-defense.

As a young lady of the Jiang family, Jiang Xian was far more important than the Jiang family guards who were employed by them. Naturally, she could not let her guard down when she was out and about.

Not to mention that Jiang Xian handed the package directly to him, and Jiang Xian himself lost his life-saving item, which, for Guard Liu, was the most proof of his trust in Guard Liu.

Therefore, even the possibility that the family head Jiang Yuan gave it to Jiang Xian for self-defense is, in his view, very difficult to establish, and almost non-existent.

If it was meant for Jiang Xian to use for self-defense, then Jiang Yuan must have instructed Jiang Xian not to show it to others casually, let alone that Jiang Xian would willingly give it to him.

Therefore, in Liu Huwei's view, it is unlikely that Jiang Xian's self-defense item was the intention of the family head Jiang Yuan, and the most likely explanation is that this matter is just a coincidence.

(End of this chapter)