Qin Shi: I went astray in the Heavenly Sect

Chapter 114 The war begins
The dark moon kills people on a night, and the wind blows high and sets people on fire.

The night in Xinzheng was pitch black. Ying Zheng sat in his carriage, the sound of wheels rolling over the ground clear in the quiet night.

After a long silence, he asked softly, "Gai Nie, have you figured out that boy's background?"

After spending some time together, Ying Zheng realized that the boy was no ordinary person. He was also very curious about which sect had trained this young genius.

Gai Nie frowned, hesitated, and after a moment of contemplation, he continued, "He has shown too few methods to judge, but his bold ideas and novel perspectives on things all indicate that he comes from an extraordinary background. Ordinary people would never have such a vision to consider the general trend of the world, let alone have such a world-shaking theory of unity after a long period of division."

Upon hearing Gai Nie's words, a strange light flashed in Ying Zheng's eyes.

"You admire him?"

Gai Nie is humble and polite in his dealings with others. He only shows his fangs when facing his enemies. In all the years he has known him, he has never heard him praise anyone else in this way.

"Doesn't the young master also admire him?"

Instead of answering Ying Zheng's question, Gai Nie asked a question in return.

Ying Zheng narrowed his eyes, remained silent for a long time before continuing, "But he will not be used by me!!"

His ideas remind me of a certain school of thought.

Upon hearing this, Gai Nie seemed to have thought of something and then asked, "Young Master, are you referring to the peasant school?"

Ying Zheng sighed.

"Are kings and nobles born with a special destiny?! I have a feeling that perhaps in the very distant future, the world will be as he described."

This time, Gai Nie didn't reply. Silence returned to the carriage. The wheels rolled over the bluestone slabs, making a rhythmic sound. Gai Nie gently lifted a corner of the curtain and glanced outside. The night was as black as ink. It seemed like a good day, a good day for murder and arson.

A moment later, Gai Nie lowered the carriage curtain again, suppressing all the turmoil in his heart. He knew that the city of Xinzheng was probably in complete chaos, but he could not turn back. What he needed to do most now was to get the person in front of him out of the city.

On the other side, Han Fei received an imperial decree from the palace. Although he knew this might be a diversionary tactic, there were still some things he dared not gamble on.

Subsequently, Wei Zhuang had to leave again due to news from the Seven Absolutes Hall. In a short while, only Zhang Liang, Zi Nu, and Xiu Yuan remained in the Purple Orchid Pavilion.

The candlelight flickered, and Zhang Liang looked at the young man sitting opposite him. His tense mood unexpectedly calmed down.

"Xiu Yuan doesn't seem nervous at all?"

Judging from the current situation, the Nightfall faction has begun to exert its strength, and the fact that Han Fei and Wei Zhuang were transferred has already explained everything.

Xiu Yuan put down the cup in his hand, looking somewhat surprised.

"This is... tea?"

Although tea has existed in China for a long time, he never expected to see it at this time.

Zhang Liang nodded and replied softly, "Snow-topped Silver Shuttle, this tea originated from foreign lands and later flowed into the Central Plains through the Hu people. It was mostly a royal tribute and was produced in small quantities, so it is almost never seen outside."

Xiu Yuan nodded. Due to the limitations of time and place, the quantity and variety of tea were extremely rare in this era; at least, he had never seen it on the streets.

“Tension is a completely useless emotion for solving problems. If tension could solve problems, there probably wouldn’t be so many problems in the world.”

Upon hearing this, Zhang Liang gave a wry smile.

He was aware of the downsides of tension, but sometimes it was simply beyond his control.

Just like now, he desperately told himself not to be nervous, but the effect was minimal. Even if it wasn't obvious on his face, a huge storm was brewing in his heart.

"Xiuyuan makes it sound so easy, but Liangyi can't relax at all when he thinks about what's coming next."

Xiu Yuan looked up at Zhang Liang, who sat there motionless. Deep within his slightly uneasy gaze was a rational calmness, which made Xiu Yuan sigh inwardly. No wonder he was one of the three heroes of the early Han Dynasty.

Everyone experiences tension, and even I am sometimes no exception. In modern terms, when a person is nervous, it triggers the secretion of adrenaline and cortisol. These hormones can increase heart rate, enhance concentration, make the brain process information more efficiently, and promote memory retrieval. In other words, moderate tension makes the brain work at high speed and think of coping strategies, which is a positive incentive.

However, after experiencing a series of events, he gained a different understanding of this reaction.

Elders who have achieved success in Taoist cultivation generally do not show much emotional fluctuation when faced with unexpected events, and sometimes they even give people a cold-blooded feeling.

He was initially puzzled by this situation, but after coming into this world and experiencing several great dreams, he finally understood the secret behind it.

The Tao Te Ching states, "Therefore, the sage does nothing and therefore does not fail; he does not cling and therefore does not lose." When a person is attached to something, gains and losses will affect their emotions, such as "being overjoyed when they gain it and going crazy when they lose it." Obsession can easily lead to internal friction. For example, excessively pursuing fame, wealth, or the approval of others may result in losing even more.

When a person is not attached to external things or results, they will not be troubled by loss—without attachment, one transcends gain and loss, and only then can the mind be at peace.

Looking at the current situation, Zhang Liang is worried because Han Fei entrusted him with the affairs here when he left. If problems arise here, the whole situation may get out of control, and this result is unacceptable to either Quicksand or Han. Under such pressure, he naturally loses his composure. When a person has obsessions and gains and losses, his mood will naturally become tense.

But for him, there wasn't so much room for compromise. Putting aside this transaction, he was an outsider to both Liusha and Ying Zheng. If this matter got out of his control, he could simply choose to retreat. Even if it was the latter, he wouldn't suffer any loss.

By comparing the two, we can naturally analyze why this situation occurred. Of course, there is also a huge factor at play: Zhang Liang was not confident in dealing with the next person, but he was confident in dealing with the person himself.

Deep in his memory was a statement that "all fear stems from insufficient firepower." This was a sentence he had seen while studying modern history, which was about his predecessors' reflection on a battle. What followed was a barrage of firepower, to the point that no country dared to believe our broad statements anymore.

While this statement refers more to war, the same principle applies to confrontations.

"Sister Zi Nu, someone is looking for you outside."

Just then, a girl knocked on the door, and Zi Nu responded.

“Miss Zi Nu, leave this to me and Xiu Yuan. You just need to proceed according to the plan.”

Zhang Liang's eyes darkened, and he spoke solemnly.

Zi Nu nodded. There are priorities in things, and she could tell the difference in such matters.

Then she looked at another boy in the room.

"Xiuyuan, be careful. If things become unmanageable, then retreat with Zifang. We can start all over again."

Xiu Yuan nodded.

Seeing this, Zi Nu took another deep look at the boy before finally turning and leaving.

Only Zhang Liang and Xiu Yuan remained in the large room. Neither of them spoke. Zhang Liang's eyes flickered, as if he was considering what to do next and how to deal with any unexpected situations that might arise.

After a short while, Nongyu slowly entered, now wearing a purple dress. Upon seeing Zhang Liang and Xiuyuan inside, she softly said, "Young Master Zhang, it's time to go to the inner room." Seeing Nongyu, Zhang Liang slowly exhaled, as if trying to release all the tension and frustration in his heart. Then he slowly stood up, his gaze becoming resolute.

"Xiuyuan, I'll leave the rest to you."

Before long, the sound of horses' hooves rang out outside Zilan Pavilion. General Ji Wuye led the Imperial Guards to surround Zilan Pavilion.

In the distance, in a dimly lit alley, three figures blocked Wei Zhuang's way of returning to provide reinforcements.

Looking at the three people in front of him, Wei Zhuang narrowed his eyes and tightened his grip on the Shark Tooth sword. Gai Nie had told him before that if possible, he should return to help after finishing his own battle, but judging from the current situation, it seemed impossible.

"Bai Yifei!"

Besides Mo Ya and Bai Feng, Bai Yifei was also among the newcomers. Looking at this Blood-Clad Marquis in a red robe, Wei Zhuang's lips curled into a cold smile.

"Interesting, you want to block my way too?"

Wei Zhuang had silver hair, as did Bai Yifei. In the darkness of the night, their silver hair was quite striking. Upon hearing Wei Zhuang's words, Bai Yifei remained composed and said softly, "I have long wanted to spar with the disciples of Guigu. Today seems to be a good day."

Wei Zhuang glanced at Mo Ya and Bai Feng standing on the rooftops on either side, a hint of seriousness flashing in his eyes.

This wasn't the first time he'd met Mo Ya. He had a general idea of ​​Mo Ya's skills; he wasn't particularly strong, but what was troublesome was Mo Ya's movement. As for the other person, he thought they were about the same, also from the Hundred Birds clan, and their speed was probably the most troublesome aspect.

"If you two don't want to die, get out of here!!"

Shark Tooth raised his hand slightly, and Wei Zhuang pointed to the Black Crow and White Phoenix in mid-air.

Mo Ya's lips twitched upon hearing Wei Zhuang's words. Although he also wanted to leave, it was impossible now, since Blood-Clad Marquis Bai Yifei was still watching from the side! If he wanted to leave now, he would probably be the first target of this marquis's attack.

"Mr. Wei Zhuang, do you think it's possible?"

Upon seeing this, Bai Yifei's lips curled into a cold smile.

Are you scared??

Wei Zhuang chuckled.

"Fear? That's something only you would do. That battle in the Cold Palace back then didn't taste good, did it?!"

Compared to things like poking someone in the lungs, Wei Zhuang has never been afraid of anyone.

Bai Yifei's eyes turned cold. This matter was indeed a very disgraceful thing for him.

"You are looking for death!!"

"I could have given you a chance for a one-on-one fight, but I've changed my mind. You must die today!!!"

Wei Zhuang had also gathered a lot of information about Bai Yifei. Hearing the other party's words, Wei Zhuang retorted nonchalantly, "You think you can kill me?? I'm curious where your confidence comes from? Is it because you're lucky enough to survive on someone else's charity?"

Suddenly, the temperature in the world plummeted. Looking at the white-haired youth in front of him, even with Bai Yifei's temperament, he couldn't help but feel an extreme killing intent.

"Did I hit a nerve and get angry? I doubt anyone in Xinzheng would ever imagine that the dignified Marquis of Blood Robe would have to beg for mercy to survive."

"enough!!"

The next moment, Bai Yifei's figure disappeared from the spot, and his scarlet longsword was suddenly drawn, with a sword aura slashing down vertically.

Bai Feng looked at Mo Ya with a strange expression.

"This is different from what we said before. Wasn't the Marquis supposed to take this opportunity to deliver a fatal blow to the enemy?"

Mo Ya shook his head. In the current situation, he dared not say anything more. Bai Yifei was obviously angry and embarrassed because the incident in the Cold Palace had been exposed.

If possible, he really didn't want to hear about this. It was fine now that Wei Zhuang had won, but if Wei Zhuang had really lost, he suspected that Bai Yifei would kill them to ensure that the secret would not be leaked.

“Master, it’s Bai Yifei.”

Just then, another voice reached everyone's ears, and five figures slowly emerged from the darkness. These five people were none other than Tianze, Yanlingji, Wushuang, Qushimo, and Baiduwang from Baiyue.

"Interesting. Is this today's battlefield? I thought it would be Zilan Pavilion!!"

Tianze smiled coldly as he watched the two fighting fiercely in the arena.

"Bang!!"

After a violent collision, Wei Zhuang and Bai Yifei separated. Upon seeing the newcomers, Wei Zhuang's expression softened slightly. Although Tian Ze and his group were no match for Bai Yifei, they were still a significant asset on the battlefield at that moment.

“Interesting. I’ve said before that no one can take my things away.”

Bai Yifei looked at Yan Lingji, a smile playing on his lips.

He thought that Yan Lingji had escaped and that it would be difficult to catch her again, but unexpectedly, she delivered herself to his doorstep. This was a pleasant surprise for him.

"thing??"

Yan Lingji narrowed her eyes, her anger rising. Although Bai Yifei hadn't tortured her in the dungeon, he had used a drug to make her recall many unpleasant things, so she had no good impression of him at all.

Looking at the flames burning on his palm, Bai Yifei smiled coldly.

Do you think someone will come to rescue you this time?

Yan Lingji frowned. Bai Yifei's words were somewhat strange, and she didn't understand them for a moment.

"The Luo Net has dispatched two top-tier assassins. Do you think that person still has a chance of surviving?"

Upon hearing this answer, Tianze and the others' faces darkened. Two Heaven-level assassins—this was truly terrible news.

Yan Lingji remained silent for a moment, a strange glint flashing in her eyes. Then, a smile played on her lips and a hint of amusement appeared in her eyes.

"Then why don't you go?"

Are you still scared?

(End of this chapter)