People in the Qin Dynasty, entertained during the Warring States period

"It's him! It ... definitely him!"

Cao Ze retorted, "So, Ze is a blue-haired monster then?"

Yan Lingji remained silent, then suddenly asked, "You've met my master? Why do you know so much about him?"

She still can't figure out how Cao Ze knew.

Cao Ze smiled mysteriously, "Guess."

"Guess what?!" Yan Lingji rolled her eyes again.

She realized that she had rolled her eyes more times in the last two days than she had in all of them before.

It's all the fault of that little man in front of me!

Cao Ze sat on the tree trunk and smiled. Beautiful women are so great. Even when they're angry, they're still so lovable. No wonder there are so many simps.

"Why save Tianze? He could easily lose his life. Is it worth it?"

Yan Lingji was taken aback. "Why are you asking this?"

"The night is long and boring, so let's just chat."

Yan Lingji removed a fire spirit hairpin from her hair and unconsciously played with it in her hand.

"I don't know if it's worth it or not, I've gotten used to it."

"Habits? Habits about what?"

Yan Lingji pursed her red lips and looked at Cao Ze, "Live on, and... save your master."

"Tianze treated you very well?"

"I do not know."

"do not know?"

"Fifteen years ago, the allied forces of Han and Chu invaded Baiyue. My master, being a proponent of war, was deposed by the cowardly and incompetent Baiyue king who wanted to negotiate peace. Ironically, Han and Chu had no intention of negotiating peace with Baiyue at all, and the Baiyue royal family was easily slaughtered. My master, because he was deposed and not in the capital, escaped the calamity."

At this point, Yan Lingji sighed softly: "After the Baiyue were destroyed, my master led the extraordinary people he had recruited to start a rebellion in Baiyue."

"Play guerrilla warfare." After Cao Ze said this, his opinion of Tian Ze changed a bit; he was indeed a talented person.

"That's it."

Yan Lingji put the fire spirit hairpin back into her hair bun, straightened her back, and sat on the tree trunk like Cao Ze, swinging her legs leisurely.

"I was discovered by the Hundred Poison King and invited to join my master's ranks shortly before he was captured by Bai Yifei, which was about ten years ago."

“At that time, I was only ten years old. I only knew that I would help whoever could give me food and keep me alive. I didn’t care about whether it was worth it or not.”

"It was around that time that I met Wushuang, who was about my age but taller and stronger than an adult."

"Sigh~ For someone like me, where can I go? Just being alive is good enough."

She tilted her head slightly to look at Cao Ze, the dreamy haze in her eyes vanished, replaced by a clear and ethereal beauty, just like the bright moon in the sky.

Cao Ze could imagine how chaotic the Baiyue region was after being ravaged by war.

It would be almost impossible for a little girl in her early teens to survive.

"Since that's the case, and Tianze hasn't done you any favors, and you can live independently now, why risk your life to save him?"

Cao Ze began to mimic Orochimaru's talk-no-jutsu, revealing his true colors.

Yan Lingji braced her hands on the tree trunk, looking at Cao Ze, somewhat speechless.

"There aren't so many whys, it's just a habit."

"Ever since our master was arrested, the Hundred Poison King has been telling us that Tianze is our master and that we must save him."

"Now only the four of us are still holding on."

She told Cao Ze everything that had happened. Since Cao Ze already knew about them, there was no need for her to hide anything anymore.

They wanted to use Cao Ze and his group's help to rescue Tian Ze.

A grandmaster and two top-tier experts—this was an unimaginable force for them.

"Brainwashing pyramid schemes..."

These four words came to Cao Ze's mind.

The next moment, Cao Ze said, "You want me to help you rescue Tianze?"

Yan Lingji did not deny it, but smiled sweetly and said, "That's right, only Master can help you unlock the secret of the runes. This is a win-win situation for us."

Cao Ze remained noncommittal. If the runes were indeed related to the Baiyue treasure or the Azure Dragon Seven Mansions, given Tian Ze's personality, he would probably become an enemy.

"I can help you rescue Tianze, but I have one condition."

Yan Lingji's heart skipped a beat when she saw Cao Ze's aggressive gaze. She hesitated and asked, "What are your requirements?"

"Join us."

Cao Ze paused for a moment, then said calmly, "You've already seen the runes, so you should understand that I won't let you leave so easily."

Yan Lingji suddenly gripped the tree trunk tightly with both hands; her worst fears had come true.

When Cao Ze made her dance with Jing Ni without hiding anything, she knew that she would have a hard time escaping.

The more you know, the more trouble you get.

"This deal is fair, I agree."

"So readily agreed?"

Cao Ze was somewhat surprised, thinking that Yan Lingji would try to pull him along, haggle, and go in and out of his room.

Yan Lingji suddenly let out a long sigh, "This is good, it can be considered as an explanation to my past."

"To be honest, I don't like living a life of hiding all the time, nor do I like making saving my master my life's goal."

"The King of Poisons was always surrounded by poisons, and he wanted to create a poison that could destroy cities and countries. He lived a miserable and crazy life. I don't want to become like him."

"If it weren't for long-standing habits, I might have already retired to Baiyue and stopped caring about worldly affairs."

Cao Ze could understand Yan Lingji's mindset very well.

Just like the path dependence formed after reading books for more than ten years.

Through constant exposure, they came to regard studying as the highest virtue.

The most classic misconception is that high scores and good academic performance will guarantee a better future and more money than others.

They believe that those who get low scores and are bad at studying are simply not hardworking or not smart.

Effort in studying and taking exams is true effort; everything else is decadence.

Whether it's reading novels or watching anime, or even dating, it's all labeled as being unproductive.

But after being toughened up by society, one will realize that the exam system is for the country to select the talent it needs, and what it wants are qualified cogs in the machine.

Instead of a large tree with unlimited potential, growing freely and refusing pruning.

Cao Ze looked at Yan Lingji, who seemed somewhat melancholy and lost: "Alright, once we get to Xinzheng, I'll find a way to get Tianze out."

Yan Lingji thought she would be very excited, but she found that she was not as excited as she had imagined. Instead, she was somewhat listless and bored.

"Then thank you very much for helping to rescue my master."

Cao Ze straightened his face and said, "Since you have chosen to join us, you can no longer call Tianze Master."

Yan Lingji chuckled, her beauty captivating. "Then I'll call you Master."

"Is this okay, Master?"

The Baiyue people are different from those in the Central Plains. In the Central Plains, private subordinates generally address their head of household as "Master," while in the Baiyue people, they generally address him as "Master."

Cao Ze inwardly cried out that he couldn't stand it anymore. She was such a little devil, so easy to make people commit crimes on the spot and transform into the Howling Moon Wolf.

"Call me whatever you want, it's your freedom."

Yan Lingji's tone shifted, almost coquettishly, "Then, Master, could you please stop calling me Fire Fairy? It's embarrassing, shameful, and sounds awful~"

"Um……"

Yan Lingji stared wide-eyed at Cao Ze with great anticipation.

"This won't work."

Yan Lingji took a deep breath and almost couldn't resist pulling out the six fire spirit hairpins from her hair and giving Cao Ze a thorough chill.

"why?"

She raised her pretty face and gazed at the deep blue night sky.

"I'm used to it~"

Yan Lingji: "??"

……

Late at night, outside the Great Wall of Zhao, in the densely packed camp, Hu Ji's face remained as cold and beautiful as ever. She sat on the throne, listening expressionlessly to the reports from the tribal leaders.

As the tribal leaders filed out, Hu Ji, who had been tense all along, sighed softly and looked lost in thought.

Cao Ze is really dead.

Nuomin, who was guarding Hu Ji, couldn't help but ask, "Your Majesty, shall we continue the fight?"

She is now not only Hu Ji's chief bodyguard, but also the newly appointed chief of the Moon Wolf tribe. She is reluctant to continue fighting, as too many people are dying.

The Great Wall, personally guarded by Li Mu, offered her no hope of ever breaching it.

Hu Ji said coldly, "Fight! Fight for another half month and then retreat!"

"Your Majesty, the battle losses are already..."

Hu Ji said coldly, "Let them continue to die!"

Nomin's heart skipped a beat, and she asked cautiously, "Your Majesty, do you intend to..."

Hu Ji sneered and said cruelly, "They have suffered countless deaths and injuries. After they return, it will be good for me to unify the grasslands."

She and her sister, in bed with Cao Ze, were not only concerned with matters of love and pleasure.

The grasslands are a complex mix of tribes and factions, and even if she has the advantage, it will not be easy for her to sweep across the grasslands in a short period of time.