During the Qin Dynasty, he was in charge of the net.

Li Ji moved into Lü Buwei's residence, a secluded courtyard in the south.

He sat quietly all day, walked silently, and was indifferent to people. He almost never left the courtyard.

He only needed to stay put for a few days, and once Lü Buwei found a suitable opportunity, he could enter the palace to see Zhao Ji.

Lu Buwei never revealed any relationship with Li Ji to the servants in his household, nor did he give him any special treatment, only instructing them not to disturb him.

Things are accomplished in secrecy and ruined by leaks. Before Li Ji became the commander of the Shadow Guard, Lü Buwei would not show that he had much connection with him.

In fact, given Lü Buwei's status, his involvement in the matter of commanding the Shadow Guard was bound to attract suspicion.

Therefore, he arranged Li Ji's identity entirely in secret, and even the person who publicly recommended Li Ji was General Meng Ao, not him.

On the morning of the third day that Li Ji stayed at Lü Buwei's mansion, the old servant in charge of the courtyard's odd jobs came with two other servants to deliver water.

Just then, the front courtyard of the mansion was under renovation, and there was a shortage of manpower. Seeing that Li Ji was sitting idly in the courtyard, the old servant took it upon himself to go and do some work:

"Hey strong man, we're short-handed to move the flowers in the front yard. Since you're free anyway, why don't you go over and lend a hand? It'll be done in no time."

It wasn't that the old servants lacked discernment; rather, they mistook Li Ji for a newly arrived retainer.

Lü Buwei's mansion was very large, and he had many followers and talents under his command. As a result, his servants learned to treat people differently based on their status.

Li Ji's secluded courtyard had long been used as a residence for his retainers, so the old servant subconsciously regarded Li Ji as a new retainer as well.

In addition, for several days in a row, no important person had come to Li Ji's courtyard.

Therefore, the servants naturally regarded Li Ji as someone who was incompetent, not valued by the Prime Minister, and casually kept under his wing.

Li Ji ignored the old servant's orders and continued wiping his long sword.

The last time, severing the life force in Wen Lin's eyes brought temporary peace to Duan Shui.

But right now, the Broken Water Sword is starting to stir again.

The restlessness caused by the lack of water is a strange and terrifying phenomenon that is hard for people to imagine. It once drove an old man mad in the sword niche.

After decades, the water has been cut off again, and the restlessness of the water shortage grows deeper every day. It longs to be cut off, to sever everything.

Only Li Ji, the sword master, could sense and soothe Duan Shui's restlessness.

"Hey, Uncle Chen is calling you. You're really rude, new guy."

One of the servants beside the old man looked displeased when he saw that Li Ji was ignoring him.

The old servant named Uncle Chen's face was as black as the bottom of a pot. He called out several times, but the other party ignored him completely.

He had been living in this mansion for quite some years, and every ordinary servant would call him Uncle Chen when they saw him. Some of his acquaintances would even bow to him. But this young man seemed to treat him with no respect at all, which made him very uncomfortable.

"Forget about Xiao Liu. He's quite arrogant. Didn't you see he's wiping his sword? He might even be a swordsman."

The old servant said sarcastically, already cursing under his breath:

What kind of swordsman is this? If he were truly skilled, would he live in this remote and desolate corner?

If he were truly a skilled swordsman, he would have already entered the inner sanctum and mingled with those distinguished gentlemen or honored guests. Why is he pretending to be aloof here?

Upon hearing Uncle Chen's words, the handyman named Xiao Liu's face was full of contempt.

He took a few steps closer, looked down at the Broken Water Sword in Li Ji's hand, and then said with a slanted eyelid:

"He calls himself a swordsman? This sword looks tattered and cracked beyond recognition. I wonder where he picked it up from."

As soon as he finished speaking, several bursts of laughter filled the quiet courtyard.

Old servant Uncle Chen and another servant thought that what Xiao Liu said actually made some sense; the long sword in that man's hand was indeed covered with cracks and looked like it was about to fall apart.

They had seen real swords in this mansion; they were all incredibly smooth and could split wood and cut through stone.

The sword they had now was so weak that it could hardly split wood or cut stone; it would probably shatter into pieces if they made any big movements. It was probably not even as good as the rustiest kitchen knife in their mansion.

Li Ji remained silent throughout the conversation and laughter of the group.

He simply wiped the broken sword blade with an oilcloth again and again.

His eyes were lowered, as if he hadn't heard what the others were saying at all.

It's not that they didn't hear it, but that they didn't care.

When the roc falls to the ground as the wind stops, it pays no heed to the mockery of the cicadas on the ground.

When a python is full and stops to digest, it won't notice the grasshopper resting on its head.

When a person has something deeper and greater in their heart, they will not care about the gains or losses of words at the moment.

But seeing that Li Ji didn't react, the group became even more excited.

"Little Six, you'd better watch out. I've heard that swordsmen like to kill. Don't beg for mercy when a sword is pointed at you."

Another servant standing next to Uncle Chen teased Xiao Liu.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Liu immediately spat.

"Pah, I, Xiao Liu, am not afraid of that. Even if a real sword were pointed at me, I, Xiao Liu, wouldn't even flinch."

Not to mention the broken sword in this man's hand, would he dare point that sword at me?

As Chen Bo listened to the two teasing Li Ji, the wrinkles on his face softened a bit, and his earlier feeling of being ignored gradually subsided.

He's just an incompetent man who wants to freeload off the family, and he thinks he's a swordsman just because he has a broken sword.

He'd seen plenty of people like that in his household; after some time, they'd naturally be driven away.

Uncle Chen was about to call the two away, as there was still work to be done in the front yard.

But at this moment, Xiao Liu walked towards Li Ji with his head held high, as if to prove his previous words. He looked at Li Ji and said:

"Hey, great swordsman, do you dare point your sword at me?"

Li Ji didn't react at all, and didn't even look up at him.

"Hey, I'm asking you a question. Are you deaf or mute?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Xiao Liu reached out and grabbed Li Ji's shoulder, seemingly wanting him to reply.

Li Ji glanced sideways at the arm reaching for him, and his right hand, which was wiping his longsword, paused.

The next moment, Li Ji finally moved.

More precisely, it was the Water-Severing Sword that moved.

A flash of cold light appeared, like a smooth mirror reflecting a beam of light, and it passed by in front of the group.

Then came an extremely crisp sound.

Ding--

That was the sound of the sword cutting through water being sheathed.

Li Ji did not kill these ordinary people who had no martial arts skills. He simply sheathed the Broken Water Sword and then turned to leave.

Tap, tap, tap.

As Li Ji's footsteps faded into the distance, Xiao Liu finally came to her senses.

He looked down at his legs.

Why are my legs trembling uncontrollably?

Why could he hear his own heartbeat so clearly?

Recalling what had just happened, Xiao Liu felt a strange sense of fear welling up inside him.

He saw the sword clearly in its entirety, whereas before they had only seen a portion visible beneath the tarpaulin.

What kind of sword was that? The blade was covered with countless cracks, each one winding at an extremely twisted angle, giving one a strong sense of abruptness and unease.

Beneath those dense cracks, there seemed to be something even more terrifying. Thinking of this, Xiao Liu couldn't help but shudder.

At this moment, Xiao Liu turned around and found that the other two people both had a look of fear on their faces.

Uncle Chen, in particular, was deathly pale.

The three of them did not linger any longer and quickly left the secluded courtyard.

However, the matter did not end there.