Qin Shi: I went astray in the Heavenly Sect

Chapter 111 Eight Exquisite Treasures, The King of Qin's Invitation

"What are you talking about?"

After a while, Ying Zheng and Han Fei came over. Ying Zheng looked at the ninth prince of Han, whom he was meeting for the first time, with admiration in his eyes.

Upon seeing Gai Nie and Wei Zhuang chatting, Han Fei asked a question.

"A boy."

Gai Nie looked at Han Fei, his tone carrying a hint of inquiry.

Han Fei shook his head, then looked at Wei Zhuang with a helpless expression.

"Cultivating affinity??"

Wei Zhuang guessed Han Fei's meaning, but this was not something he brought up intentionally. Changes had occurred in Xinzheng City; the Luo Wang assassins, Ba Linglong, were attacking, and they needed to prepare early.

Wei Zhuang nodded.

"Oh~~"

The person who was mentioned by the disciples of Guigu Valley had obviously attracted the attention of the King of Qin.

He had already experienced firsthand the extraordinary skills of the disciples of Guigu. Take Gai Nie, for example; whether it was strategy, divination, insight, or skill, he was exceptionally outstanding.

Although Gai Nie was nominally his swordsmanship teacher, he learned much more from him.

"Cultivating affinity."

Han Fei nodded, thought for a moment, and then explained, "A very interesting young man."

Upon hearing these three words, Ying Zheng's eyes lit up with interest.

"interesting."

On the other side, Gai Nie and Wei Zhuang seemed to have noticed something and looked towards the street, where they saw rows of imperial guards moving out and blocking the street.

The two looked at each other, then nodded and jumped off the roof.

"The people of Night have made their move."

As the sun gradually sets in the west, night begins to fall in Xinzheng.

Han Fei did not expend too much effort in dealing with Ji Wuye. With two carriages, two soldiers, and a clever trick, Ying Zheng and Wei Zhuang successfully returned to Zilan Pavilion.

However, even though he managed to evade Ji Wuye's citywide curfew, he still couldn't escape the pursuit of another person.

On the second floor of Zilan Pavilion, a young man stood by the window, gazing towards the southeast. In that direction, a man carrying two swords was also looking in the same direction.

"Miss Zi Nu, do you still remember our deal from back then?"

Zi Nu stood to the side and smiled when she heard the boy's words.

"remember."

The boy sighed softly, his tone somewhat complicated.

"Counting the days, I've been in South Korea for several months now."

Zi Nu frowned slightly. She turned around and looked over. Although the boy's voice didn't have much of an inflection, she still felt a little uneasy.

"What does Xiu Yuan want to say?"

After a moment of silence, Xiu Yuan spoke softly.

"All good things must come to an end, and it's about time for me to leave as well."

A waning moon hung high in the sky, bringing with it a touch of melancholy. Zi Nu stood there, speechless for a long time. She had developed a habit of sitting in this room in the corner of the second floor.

"Is it because of that person?"

Wei Zhuang brought back someone, and although he didn't explicitly say who it was, she, being as clever as she was, quickly guessed the truth.

Xiu Yuan gently shook his head.

"No."

"It's just time to go."

"Nongyu will leave with me."

Zi Nu's eyes sparkled, creating ripples in their light.

"Does that girl Nongyu know about this?"

Xiu Yuan nodded.

"The Purple Orchid Pavilion might be unstable tonight. Those people are targeting him, as well as the Quicksand gang. Wei Zhuang and Gai Nie are too busy to fight him alone."

Zi Nu's eyes flickered when she heard "him". She knew that the first "him" referred to King Ying Zheng of Qin, but who did the second "him" refer to?

"he??"

Xiu Yuan nodded.

"The Eight Intricate Elements of the Net".

Zi Nu was somewhat surprised; shouldn't there be eight people?

"Aren't there eight of them?"

Knowing the truth, Xiu Yuan gently shook his head, a sense of pity rising in his heart for this tragic figure whose fate was fraught with hardship.

If he had met him in the Wei Kingdom, he might have considered subduing him. But now that the other party has been completely turned into a weapon of destruction, with only killing and revenge in his heart and no light left, he does not want such a weapon that would even devour him.

"Different minds, one body; one body, eight faces. It sounds like eight people, but in reality, it's just one person."

"He has another name, which you may have heard of."

Upon hearing this information, Zi Nu instinctively looked over.

"who is it?"

Xiu Yuan looked up and gazed into the distance again, but this time, there was no one left in the place he had just been.

"The Eight Swords of the King of Yue - Black and White Xuanjian".

Zi Nu's pupils contracted. Liu Sha had information about this person, but she remembered that he had died before, and it was Gai Nie and Wei Zhuang, who came from Gui Gu, who dealt with him.

"Isn't he already dead?"

Xiu Yuan shook his head.

“If he were truly dead, he would not have reappeared here. The Luo Wang organization never easily relinquishes a murder weapon. A sword that has been consumed by slaughter and revenge is an extremely handy weapon for the Luo Wang organization.”

Zi Nu sighed softly in her heart. Chaos is the true root of tragedy. No one can stay out of it. Back then it was Xuan Jian, and in the future it may be her.

Just then, a voice came from behind. The person who came was none other than Zhang Liang.

"Young Master Xiuyuan, someone wants to see you."

Zi Nu frowned and looked at Zhang Liang, her eyes seemingly questioning him.

Zhang Liang didn't say much, he just nodded slightly.

"He's quite bold." Zi Nu sighed softly. Meeting a stranger, especially a powerful one, without permission—wasn't the other party afraid of something unexpected happening?

"Indeed, he has always been very bold, and perhaps no one would have expected that he would come to South Korea at this time."

Zi Nu and Zhang Liang were somewhat surprised to hear this. Qin had already deployed its net, so they had obviously anticipated this.

"The Net doesn't represent the imperial court; it's a sword hidden in the shadows, operating in the business of assassination. Judging from the Net's reaction, this operation was probably very rushed. Against someone like this, if they were well-prepared, it would be a situation where they would die without a chance of survival."

Upon hearing this explanation, the two men's expressions darkened. It seemed that this was indeed the case. Even without Xiu Yuan's intervention, they might be able to put up a fight against Xuan Jian alone.

"Lead the way!"

Xiu Yuan turned around and looked at Zhang Liang. He had a good impression of this scholar from the Zhang family. Everyone has a different mission, and he would not expect everyone to have the same ideas as him.

Zhang Liang extended his hand and said, "Young Master Xiuyuan, please!"

The young man already possessed the gentle and refined temperament he would later develop. Xiu Yuan glanced at him again, realizing that different environments shape different people, especially for a young master from a prominent family like Zhang Liang, who had been nurtured since childhood. Whether it was handling affairs or dealing with people, he was far superior to ordinary people.

"Does Young Master Xiuyuan believe that Quicksand can safely weather tonight's crisis?"

On the way, Zhang Liang couldn't help but ask.

Upon hearing this, Xiu Yuan sighed softly in his heart.

Although Zhang Liang ostensibly asked about the crisis, he was actually asking if he would intervene. The crisis facing Quicksand was not as simple as it seemed. The power of Nightfall and the Net was still too heavy a burden for Quicksand.

In another timeline, the quicksand eventually weathered the crisis, but at a great cost.

Wei Zhuang was seriously injured, the Seven Absolutes Hall was destroyed, and the Purple Orchid Pavilion was destroyed in a battle between several people. Such results can be described as heavy losses for Quicksand.

"Young Master Zhang has keen insight; it seems he has guessed something."

Zhang Liang sighed softly.

"The combined attack of Nightfall and Net is a huge test for any force in Xinzheng. Quicksand is a newly established organization with a shallow foundation, and it may not be able to cope with these two behemoths at the same time."

Xiu Yuan nodded in agreement with this statement, and it was likely that both Han Fei and Wei Zhuang had already thought of this.

"Young Master Zhang, have you ever thought about why a power can stand firm? In fact, among the seven kingdoms, many powers have scattered after their establishment, and only a small number have survived the test of time."

Zhang Liang frowned slightly. The other party's question was very interesting, but he had never thought of it before. After a moment of silence, he asked, "What does the young master mean?"

Xiu Yuan's gaze became somewhat profound. He didn't mind Zhang Liang's Tai Chi; these were just some of his own thoughts.

"From a small organization to a large sect, and even a dynasty, the reason why it can stand firm is, in my personal opinion, because it has strong enough cohesion and can adapt to the ever-changing society."

A thoughtful look flashed across Zhang Liang's eyes; the two points the other party had made did indeed make a lot of sense.

"Cohesion requires a qualified leader, which sounds simple, but it's actually not that easy. Just like the seven kingdoms, who can guarantee that every king is wise?"

Zhang Liang sighed inwardly. No one could guarantee such a thing. If every ruler of a country were wise, there would be no current struggle for power among the feudal lords.

But then his eyes flickered, because the matter they were discussing now involved the stability of the country.

Just then, the boy's voice came over again.

"This is the drawback of hereditary monarchy. There are many principles in the book, and I have read many of them. Just in terms of reading books, Young Master Zhang has definitely not read as many books as I have, and even your grandfather did. But there are also many principles that are not in the book, or perhaps that are not even dared to be mentioned, such as to whom this world truly belongs?"

Zhang Liang paused, then turned around and looked over.

"Young Master Xiuyuan knows??"

Xiu Yuan smiled, raised his head to look at Zhang Liang, and a golden light flashed deep within his calm gaze.

"Doesn't Young Master Zhang already know the answer?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Liang seemed somewhat puzzled. He looked at the other person and couldn't help but ask, "I know??"

Xiu Yuan nodded.

"Isn't this exactly what you're doing now? If this world had nothing to do with you, young master, would you still have joined Quicksand and fought for your dream?"

Hearing this, Zhang Liang seemed to be deep in thought. He looked at the young man again, a glint of light flashing in his eyes.

"This world has never belonged to one person, but to all people. That's why there were five hegemons in the Spring and Autumn Period. Some people call this kind of thinking ambition. 'Are kings and nobles born with special privileges?' Don't these people all think that anyone can sit in that position?"

The voice was like a sharp sword, tearing through the disguise. The truth seemed to be this: everyone was doing it, but they had never admitted it. Zhang Liang murmured, "Are kings and nobles born with a special destiny?"

Zhang Liang sighed inwardly. This was the slogan of the peasants, and the peasants were made up of the most ordinary people. If even the most ordinary people had such ambitions, what about the scholar-officials and generals? The answer was not hard to guess, or even needed to be guessed. Everyone had such ambitions, but most people had never admitted it.

Seeing Zhang Liang remain silent, Xiu Yuan spoke again: "When a person sits in that position, people unconsciously want that position to be their own, to be the exclusive domain of their descendants. The public domain becomes a family domain. As time goes by, those people come up with different ways to talk about the divine right of kings, to solidify this idea, and to claim that they are the legitimate rulers. But such a statement inevitably makes people laugh."

Zhang Liang remained silent for a moment before speaking again, this time pointing out a crucial issue.

"If, according to what you say, everyone can become a king, wouldn't the world descend into chaos?"

Xiu Yuan shook his head.

"Not everyone can become a king. A king shoulders the fate of the nation and the lives of countless people. An ordinary person cannot bear such a heavy burden. Only those with ability can shoulder the future of the people and elect the capable to become the new leader. This is the foundation for an unchanging future. Do you think so, Young Master Zhang?"

Zhang Liang's gaze flickered uncertainly, because the other person's views were somewhat beyond the scope of his education, but deep down he felt that the other person was right.

"No wonder Ninth Young Master warned me to avoid dealing with Xiu Yuan, saying that I would be easily swayed by Xiu Yuan's fallacies. Now it seems that Ninth Young Master's concerns were not unfounded. Xiu Yuan's few words have already won me over."

Xiu Yuan smiled and shook his head.

"The more we debate, the clearer things become. If my reasoning is wrong, how could Young Master Zhang be affected?"

Zhang Liang smiled wryly. He wasn't stupid. If there was no reason, why would he take it seriously?

"Young Master, please call me Zifang!"

Xiu Yuan nodded.

"Zifang, there is a place that might be more suitable for you."

As they talked, the two started walking again.

Zhang Liang's eyes flickered slightly. He no longer dared to underestimate this young man. Perhaps he had never underestimated him from the very beginning.

"Where is Xiuyuan referring to?"

With light, unhurried steps, Xiu Yuan replied softly, "The place where the Ninth Young Master studied, the Confucian Little Sage Village!"

Upon hearing this name, a hint of longing flashed in Zhang Liang's eyes. He had heard Han Fei say that it was a sacred place for scholars.

"Little Sage Village?"

Xiu Yuan nodded.

"As a person's wisdom grows, they need to see different scenery, experience different things, distinguish right from wrong, and understand the principles. If an answer is given by someone else, one will be bound by shackles and unable to break free. Only the answer that one comprehends oneself can free one from these constraints."

"Is Xiu Yuan also searching for that answer?"

Xiu Yuan nodded slightly.

Zhang Liang bowed and thanked him.

"Zifang has learned a lot!"

"Please, Xiu Yuan, he is waiting for you."

(End of this chapter)