Qin Shi: I went astray in the Heavenly Sect

Chapter 246 Reunion with Situ Wanli, A Guess

"what happened?"

Situ Wanli, holding two unusual weapons in his hands, stood back-to-back with a young man in red robes in front of a carriage. Both of them were injured, but in the blink of an eye, all the men in black were dead.

Looking at the corpses lying scattered around him, Situ Wanli felt a little nervous.

The farmers had traveled this road countless times without incident, but this time they were ambushed.

From the moment the other party appeared until the moment they made their move, they didn't utter a single word, but instead attacked directly. Their ruthlessness was so extreme that it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call them heartless and insane.

As for their origins, he already had some guesses based on their attire.

The net—also known as the all-encompassing net that seeps into every nook and cranny.

It is an assassin organization belonging to the empire. Because it is backed by the imperial court, the organization is extremely powerful. No force in the martial arts world can rival it. Of course, strength and power are different, which is another matter.

"Master Situ, what's going on?"

"Boss Zhu didn't tell me about the assassination attempt when I came here!!"

Upon hearing the other party's words, Situ Wanli narrowed his eyes, his gaze sweeping back and forth across the surroundings. Although the people from Luo Wang were dead, the person who made the move had not yet shown up, meaning that their safety could not be completely guaranteed at the moment.

“Brother Liu Ji, to be honest, this is the first time I’ve encountered something like this. Before, outsiders didn’t dare to mess with the farmers’ caravans, and they always traveled freely.”

The man beside him is Liu Ji, who currently works for the Zhu family. This time, the Sanhepu business is still the Zhu family's idea. After all, the business in Sanhepu is a lucrative opportunity, and not only the Zhu family is envious, but other farmers' families are also green with envy.

"Don't move, be on guard."

Seeing that Liu Ji seemed to intend to examine the corpse, Situ Wanli quickly spoke up to stop him.

"If I'm not mistaken, these people are assassins from the Luo Wang organization. They usually have Black Widow tattoos on their bodies as their mark. Luo Wang assassins are ruthless and merciless. Because they are backed by the imperial court, their power is extremely great. In the martial arts world, no one is willing to provoke them."

"What does it mean that such a group of people died in an instant?"

Liu Ji and Situ Wanli stood back to back, their eyes scanning the surroundings.

"This shows that the person who made the move is a master!"

Upon hearing this, Situ Wanli's lips curled into a cold smile. He wasn't sure if the guy behind him was genuinely unaware or pretending not to know, but if the person who made the move was truly a master, then in his opinion, he would never want to provoke such a troublesome opponent.

"Brother Liu Ji, if you were a Grandmaster-level expert, would you be willing to provoke these people?"

Liu Ji narrowed his eyes.

Although he usually appears carefree and irresponsible, he is not stupid at all. On the contrary, he understands many things much better than most people.

At this moment, Situ Wanli stopped short of making a point, but he had guessed the implication behind her words.

"Does Master Situ mean that the visitors are not afraid of the Net?"

Situ Wanli nodded.

"Of course!"

"But would someone who isn't even afraid of a net be afraid of us farmers?"

Liu Ji's face darkened. He had to admit that Situ Wanli's consideration was correct.

"Where there is a generous reward, there will be men of principle." This is a principle of the martial arts world, meaning that as long as the reward is high enough, someone will dare to do anything.

During their visit to Sanhepu, they brought some things with them and naturally took some things with them as well. Otherwise, they wouldn't have been targeted. Although the assassins from Luo Wang were dealt with, who could guarantee that the newcomers weren't after what they had?
The Sanhepu arose seven years ago. In those seven years, no one could accurately calculate how much wealth flowed into the area from the seven kingdoms and how much flowed into the Jianghu (江湖, the martial arts world), because the amount was too enormous to be verified.

The farmers were one of their partners, and their rapid development over the years was largely due to the existence of this trade route.

"People from farming families?"

As they were talking, a girl came out from the depths of the woods. When Liu Ji saw her, he looked at her with some suspicion. He had no recollection of who she was. There were many people in the countryside, but not many beauties. If he had seen or heard of such a stunningly beautiful woman, he would definitely remember her.

"Brother Situ, who is this girl? Which branch does she belong to?"

When Situ Wanli saw the person who came, his heart skipped a beat. As a seasoned veteran of the martial arts world, he knew all too well about the big and small matters in the martial arts world.

In addition, he was in charge of the Four Mountains Hall, which was responsible for intelligence work among farmers, so he had a thorough understanding of the information about the martial arts world.

It's not surprising that Liu Ji didn't recognize her, because the girl in front of them wasn't from their farming family, but from another organization called Quicksand.

"Life and death are unpredictable, like quicksand gathering and scattering. I never expected it to be you, young lady. The one who attacked just now must be the master of quicksand, right?"

Liu Ji was taken aback upon hearing Situ Wanli's words.

quicksand?

The farmhouse is divided into six halls, but there is no organization called Quicksand. However, judging from Situ Wanli's tone, the other party does not seem to be joking.

"quicksand??"

Suddenly, Liu Ji seemed to remember something, his eyes widened, and he turned to look at Situ Wanli.

"Brother Situ, you're not talking about that quicksand, are you?"

Situ Wanli chuckled, but there was a hint of bitterness in his laughter.

"Hehe, Brother Liu Ji, I have something I hope you'll remember: there's only one Quicksand in this world, and there's no second one."

"And this girl is named Honglian. She is one of the Four Heavenly Kings of Liusha. According to the intelligence we have obtained, her strength is probably no less than that of Bai Feng, the second strongest person in Liusha."

Liu Ji paused, gasping for breath. He had long heard of how terrifying Quicksand was, especially since its current owner seemed to be a ruthless character named Wei Zhuang.

Over the years, he has repeatedly stirred up conflicts in the martial arts world, but in the end, he has always managed to escape unscathed. No one knows the strength or level of his opponents anymore, but it is said in the martial arts world that no one can stop his sword.

"I've seen it."

Seeing that Honglian had no intention of continuing her attack, Situ Wanli was about to speak when he heard Liu Ji speaking in a nonchalant manner. This scene gave Situ Wanli, who was still in charge of the Four Mountains Hall, a headache.

How come he never realized that Liu Ji was such a reckless and audacious person? Wasn't he afraid that this girl in front of him would easily take care of him?

"Liu Ji".

Taking advantage of an opportunity, Situ Wanli interrupted the other party and pulled Liu Ji behind him.

"Greetings, Princess Honglian!"

"Princess?"

Liu Ji was stunned again. The beautiful woman before him was a girl, which meant she was from the Empire, the exact opposite of the peasant family. "It's Manager Situ!"

Honglian seemed to have just recognized who the other person was. Han Fei had attended the treasure appraisal conference organized by Situ Wanli several times back then, and later he would sometimes bring her along. Over time, she knew who the host of this treasure appraisal conference was.

"Princess Honglian, how have you been?"

Upon hearing the words "How have you been?", Honglian's brows furrowed subconsciously. It seemed that she only liked the way the young man said "How have you been?", while she didn't seem to like it when others said it.

"Long time no see. There must be a parting before anything else can happen. In a way, this is the same as saying that a girl is old."

"As for whether he is unwell or not, the Four Mountains Hall should be able to find out. How has Liu Sha been doing lately?"

Honglian casually broke off a branch and held it in her hand, speaking leisurely.

Situ Wanli gave an awkward smile.

"Princess should know that's not what I meant."

Honglian lowered her head and sniffed. The fragrance of the small flowers on the branch was very faint, far from the strong fragrance of those flowers that grow indoors. But it had one advantage: its vitality seemed to be exceptionally tenacious!

"If you did, you wouldn't be alive and well here!!"

Honglian flicked her finger, and a leaf flew out. Seeing that the leaf was embedded in the tree trunk, Situ Wanli and Liu Ji's expressions darkened. It seemed that the information the farmer had received earlier was indeed correct; this girl was not as simple as she appeared on the surface.

Honglian stood to the side, her gaze becoming somewhat profound. From a branch, she seemed to see the changes in the entire society. In reality, this situation is even more common. Reality is changing, history is being renewed. In the animal kingdom, there is a law called survival of the fittest, and the unfit are eliminated.

Those fragrant flowers may have been moved away in the first place, and they might be thriving in another location.

Those who weren't moved can only keep persisting in this place.

Just like the branch in her hand, if it weren't so resilient, it would probably be no different from the withered branches and leaves on the tree, and would have long since succumbed to the elements.

But even if it persevered, it was defeated by fate, and that fate was determined by her.

"I wonder if Mr. Wei Zhuang has arrived yet?"

Situ Wanli waited for a while, but Wei Zhuang still did not appear. He couldn't help but wonder if the person who made the move just now was really the master of Quicksand.
"Wei Zhuang?"

Seeing the other person's expression, Honglian seemed to have guessed something, and she chuckled twice with a hint of amusement.

"What if I told him he didn't come!"

Situ Wanli reacted quickly; although Honglian was being sarcastic, he recognized it instantly. This meant that Wei Zhuang hadn't come over.

"What happened just now?"

Just then, a voice came from inside the carriage.

"Master Situ, it's been a long time."

When Situ Wanli and Liu Ji heard the voice behind them, their expressions changed drastically. When did the other party sneak into the carriage? And who was that person? Did they have any hostility towards their farm?
Everything happened so suddenly that even the seasoned veteran Situ Wanli felt a sense of panic.

"Please, sir, show mercy."

This was Situ Wanli's first sentence. As someone traveling with him, he naturally knew who was in the carriage.
If the other party were to make a mistake at this time, he would be unable to explain himself to certain people, especially Lieshan Hall and Chiyou Hall, who seemed to care a lot about that person.

"Uncle Situ, I'm fine."

The sound echoed out, gentle and soothing, carrying a sense of tranquility.

"Miss."

The Farmer's Clan remains fragmented. Chen Sheng and Wu Guang have embarked on the same path, leaving the Farmer's Clan to train with the assassin organization. The six elders of Shennong Tomb are unable to leave the Tomb for various reasons. Therefore, the Farmer's Clan has no strength to compete with the major forces in the martial arts world.

Upon hearing this person speak, Situ Wanli slowly breathed a sigh of relief.

Before long, Situ Wanli felt a gust of wind brush past his ear. When he came to his senses, he was surprised to find another young man beside Honglian.

Upon seeing the newcomer, the leader of the Four Mountains Hall narrowed his eyes. The newcomer was indeed not Wei Zhuang, but someone even more terrifying than Wei Zhuang.

"Farmer Situ Wanli greets Master Qingxu!"

The martial arts world is a place where martial arts are revered. Although Qingxu was young, his strength was something most people could never reach in their entire lives, so Situ Wanli maintained the respect he deserved.

Upon seeing Situ Wanli take the initiative to greet him, Liu Ji quickly stepped forward and bowed respectfully.

"Liu Ji pays his respects to Master Qingxu."

"Something went wrong at Sanhepu. What did you take from the shop that made Luo Wang go to such great lengths to hunt you down!"

Upon hearing this, Situ Wanli was taken aback.

This time, it was the farmer's land steward who was dumbfounded. Was there a problem with Sanhepu? What was the secret behind their persistence these past few days?
"What does the master mean?"

After a long while, Situ Wanli spoke again.

"The net is all-encompassing and inescapable. Now that you are being tracked, the situation is quite clear: Sanhepu is being monitored, and there is a high possibility that even the employees inside Sanhepu have been infiltrated."

Upon reaching this point, Qingxu sneered inwardly.

If this is true, then he really needs to visit the Lord of the Net. If he's not afraid of death, he can personally help him reunite with his parents in the underworld.

“Your being intercepted and killed by the Net was definitely not a coincidence.”

Hearing Qingxu's words, Situ Wanli was somewhat skeptical, after all, he had personally witnessed the defenses of Sanhepu.

And the shop assistant is probably quite skilled; under these circumstances, it's unlikely he'd be being watched.

"Is Sanhepu being monitored?"

Seeing that Situ Wanli was still stubbornly refusing to admit his mistake, Qingxu shook his head.

“There are many ways to monitor someone. Standing next to them and watching their every move is indeed the most effective method, but it is extremely difficult to do. It requires not only cultivating talent but also time to infiltrate and make one’s own people trusted.”

“Apart from this point, everything else is much more convenient. They only need to look at the people who come to the store, when they arrive and when they leave, and they will know the rest naturally.”

At this point, a chill crept into Qingxu's eyes. The surveillance wasn't internal, but external. This meant that even if they wanted to purge the traitors, they would only fail, since the people involved weren't truly on their own.
Upon hearing this, Situ Wanli tightened his grip.

This situation could indeed exist. Farmers often use this method to monitor highly skilled individuals with keen senses. They can find out when the person left, where they went, who they met, and what they did. These details can become useful clues that help them solve one mystery after another.

"Manager Qingze only gave us a few techniques."

(End of this chapter)