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

The air felt exceptionally fresh, as if it had been washed by spring water.

The lush vegetation covers the entire mountain, layer upon layer, and when a breeze blows, it outlines undulating green waves.

Cao Ze chuckled and said, "Tianze has learned his lesson."

The experience of being blocked last time must have left a shadow in Tianze's mind.

This time, the place where they hid was not only far away, but also deep in the mountains and forests.

Yan Lingji softly hummed the little tune that Li Wu had taught her. The tranquility of the mountains and forests and the occasional rustling of leaves made her want to dance freely, stretch her body, and merge with nature.

As Cao Ze headed to Tian Ze's hiding place, undercurrents began to stir within Xinzheng City.

After two days of this developing, everyone with inside information noticed that something was wrong with the night.

Despite losing tens of thousands of gold coins, Nightfall did not make a move against Zilan Pavilion.

What this represents is open to interpretation, and no amount of speculation is too much.

The Palace of the King of Han.

King Han An felt a headache coming on when he thought about the commotion of the past few days.

With the position of Crown Prince still undecided, the Bai family coveting the throne, and Ji Wuye lurking in the shadows, King Han felt like he was being roasted over a fire every day.

After much thought, King Han An couldn't come up with a good solution, so he decided to stop thinking about it.

"Prime Minister, let's begin the arrangements now. We must not be impolite and give Qin a handle to use against us."

With internal troubles already severe, if external threats arise again, South Korea may be doomed in his hands.

He didn't believe that a secret alliance would lead Wei and Zhao, which had just quelled their internal strife, to provide strong support to Han at this time.

Zhang Kai bowed and said, "This old minister understands."

In recent years, Qin has sent envoys to Han almost every spring.

While ostensibly establishing an alliance between Qin and Han, the real purpose was to intimidate Han and, incidentally, obtain a large sum of money—a practice commonly known as "leeching off others."

When you're under someone's roof, you have to bow your head...

Zhang Kaidi couldn't help but think as he stood outside the palace.

Chapter 319 In a Hurry to Have a Baby

Sunlight filtered through the trees in the early morning, falling on Zhang Liang, but he felt no warmth whatsoever.

He rode a large brown horse beside his grandfather, heading thirty miles outside the city to greet the Qin envoy.

He gazed at the dark and terrifying mountains in the distance, wondering if his brother and Mr. Cao Ze could seize this opportunity to eliminate the darkness, strengthen the quicksand, and lead Korea to prosperity.

He felt the bumps of the journey and the twists and turns of the path, and thinking of the powerful and invincible Qin state, he sighed helplessly. They were destined to embark on a path full of danger.

Zhang Kai, riding his horse with vigorous spirit, heard his grandson's sigh and tilted his head slightly, saying, "Zifang, why do you sigh?"

Zhang Liang respectfully replied, "For the future of Korea, for the future of the Zhang family."

Zhang Kai stroked his white beard and said slowly, "Zifang, do you know why our Zhang family has been able to serve as prime ministers of Han for five generations and be highly valued by successive kings of Han? Do you know what we relied on?"

Zhang Liang understood, of course, that his grandfather had asked him about this matter and taught him countless times.

He said softly, "It is loyalty to every King of Han."

This is the fundamental reason why the Zhang family has been highly valued by successive Kings of Han.

They don't take sides; they'll pledge allegiance to whoever is the King of Han.

Zhang Kai sighed, "Indeed. It is our Zhang family's loyalty to the King of Han that has made our family so closely connected with the rise and fall of Han."

His tone shifted, and Zhang Kai's old face turned serious as he said, "The crown prince is still undecided. Whether the future throne of the Prince of Han will fall into the hands of the Fourth Prince Han Yu or the Ninth Prince Han Fei is still unknown. You must not get too close to Han Fei, lest you plunge the Zhang family into utter ruin in the future."

Although King Han An had told him privately that he preferred Ninth Prince Han Fei.

But having served as prime minister for many years, how could he not know that serving a ruler is like serving a tiger, and that the king's heart is unpredictable?

The Zhang family, wanting to survive in this chaotic world, cannot afford to make any hasty moves.

Zhang Liang was taken aback, and wanted to retort, "Grandfather, the reason I helped Brother Han is because Nightfall has already harmed the state of Han. If Nightfall can cover the sky with its own hand, how can the eggs remain intact when the nest is overturned? Our Zhang family will also find it difficult to stay out of it."

Zhang Kaidi's expression remained unchanged: "Do you really think Nightfall can control everything in South Korea?"

Zhang Liang lowered his head and frowned: "Grandfather, Ji Wuye controls the Xinzheng City Guard, and the Tide Demoness is lurking in the palace. Outside, Marquis Bai Yifei, the Blood-Clad Marquis, commands an army of 100,000. If the State of Han were to..."

Zhang Kai waved his hand and said, "Alright, no need to say anymore. What you want to say, your grandfather already understands. Those rumors circulating, such as the Bloodstained Marquis, the Jade Tiger on the Stone, the Sea Fairy, and the Raincoat-Clad Guest under the Moon, are known as the Four Fierce Generals of Nightfall Ji Wuye. But if that's all there is to it, whether Nightfall is all-powerful or utterly defeated will not lead to the fall of Han."

Zhang Liang's breathing quickened slightly: "What is your grandfather's intention?"

Zhang Kaidi said with a slightly heavy heart, "You should know who Grandfather is talking about."

"...Although the Marquis is powerful, her influence is no better or worse than that of Nightfall." Zhang Liang learned some information about the Marquis from Cao Ze and his brother.

Zhang Kai slowly said, "Before the Han family established the state, the Bai family stood with the Han family through thick and thin, and made great contributions to the establishment of the Han state. Countless of the old nobles of the Han state today followed the Bai family and received their favors. Furthermore, some nobles are already dissatisfied with the current Han family and are secretly waiting for an opportunity."

"Tell me, compared to the Bai family threatening the very foundation of Korea, what is Nightfall? One is about cutting down a tree, the other is merely a parasite on that tree. If you were the tree, what would you choose?"

Zhang Liang fell into endless silence.

No wonder the elder brother and the fourth young master would so easily cooperate with Nightfall, just to eliminate the Marquis.

The king behind the elder brother and the fourth prince is not as foolish as he seems...

More than ten miles away, Cao Ze climbed up the mountain peak, panting.

He really wants to beat Tianze up right now. Is he really that cowardly?

He was only locked up for a few years, and when he got out he got punched a few times, is it really that big of a deal...?

Yan Lingji placed her small hand on her forehead, gazing into the distance with a slightly intoxicated expression.

Before them lay a rocky outcrop, with two equally sized pools of water on either side, slightly narrow and elongated, like Yan Lingji's beautiful eyes, shimmering with azure light under the sunlight, gazing at the sky.

Cao Ze took a breath of the mountain air; it was very refreshing and pleasant.

But he soon noticed something was wrong.

The mountain peak, whether eroded by sunlight and wind or for some other reason, resembled a face, remarkably lifelike. He couldn't tell whether to marvel at the wonders of nature or the ingenuity of human craftsmanship.

Cao Ze continued walking and observing on the mountain peak for a while. The mountaintop was covered with a layer of soil, with only a rock formation resembling the bridge of a nose exposed. The rock was covered with traces of weathering, and it was unclear whether it had been carved out by someone.

When he recalled the time when they went up the mountain and Yan Lingji pointed at the peak and asked him jokingly if it looked like a "person", an absurd thought popped into his mind.

No way, no way...

Although this mountain is not large in size, that is in comparison to the surrounding mountains.

If this mountain was created by humans, Cao Ze couldn't imagine how much manpower and resources it would have taken.

More importantly, what was the purpose of carving out such an amazing thing?

Could this be...?

The Corpse-Driving Demon and the Hundred Poisons King emerged from the mountain rock's "nostrils." They saw Cao Ze lost in thought and Yan Ling Ji embracing nature and appreciating the scenery, but they were not alarmed.

“Mr. Cao Ze, the master has gone down the mountain and will need some time to return.”

Cao Ze snapped out of his daze and tentatively asked, "Where is this?"

Just as the King of Poisons was about to change the subject, the Corpse-Driving Demon casually said, "My master said this is Xuan Nu Peak."

Xuan Nu Peak? Never heard of it... Cao Ze recalled the information Zi Nu had given him: there was no mountain peak within a hundred miles of Xinzheng named Xuan Nu Peak.

Of course, most mountains do not have names.

The King of Poisons frowned as he glanced at the Corpse-Driving Demon. Could his master's suspicions be true? Had the Corpse-Driving Demon really secretly betrayed him and joined Cao Ze's side? Was he a traitor?

He hadn't believed it before. He had spent many years with the Corpse Driver and knew very well that the Corpse Driver was not good at dealing with people and spent most of his time manipulating corpses. He was relatively simple-minded and had no complicated thoughts.

But seeing the Corpse-Driving Demon being as friendly as ever to Cao Ze, casually revealing sensitive information, it's hard not to make him overthink.

The Corpse-Driving Demon was puzzled by the strange look in the Hundred Poisons King's eyes: "What's wrong?"

The King of Poisons shook his head slightly: "Nothing?"

Yan Lingji walked over gracefully, smiling, and said, "Little Hidden Witch, did you miss your sister? And you, Hundred Poison King, aren't you tired of always having a sullen face at your age?"

She was willing to come with Cao Ze because of the Corpse Demon and the King of a Hundred Poisons.

Cao Ze had said he wanted her help in recruiting them.

She still quite hoped that her old friends could become disciples of Cao Ze, just like her.

The King of Poisons twitched the corner of his mouth, but ultimately fell silent. With Yan Lingji leaving to join Cao Ze, they were no longer on the same path.

The Corpse-Driving Demon, however, looked displeased: "A Hidden Witch is a Hidden Witch, why add 'small'?"

Yan Lingji chuckled, feeling quite pleased with herself.

"Who was it that cried out for help, terrified when they saw the corpse?"

The dark-skinned sorcerer's pale, handsome face was contorted with a distorted expression; the past was too painful to recall, and his dirty secrets were being manipulated by others.

Even if he is no longer afraid of corpses, and even eats and sleeps with them, he still cannot erase the past.

Down the mountain.

Dozens of Qin soldiers clad in black armor fell in pools of blood.

Tianze grabbed the Qin envoy by the neck, grinning maliciously as he looked into his eyes.

"You can only blame your bad luck."

The Qin envoy's eyes bulged out as he reached out to grab Tianze, crying, "Help, help me..."

Tianze twisted his hand, snapping the Qin envoy's neck, and then casually threw him to the ground like a chicken being killed.

Ten miles away, Zhang Kai had been waiting for a long time. Counting the time, the Qin envoy still hadn't arrived. Finally, he couldn't hold back any longer and shouted, "Someone, go and scout again and report back!"

"Yes!"

A knight galloped out, and Zhang Liang, watching the dust trail behind him, felt a sense of foreboding.

Zhang Kaidi muttered to himself, "Internal and external troubles, a time of great turmoil..."

After an incense stick had burned, the knight galloped back.

He dismounted, his expression filled with panic and confusion, and said, "Your Excellency, the entire Qin envoy party has been... has been killed."