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

Chapter 325 Training Slaves

At the foot of the mountain, surrounded by green trees, a pool of clear water ripples under the moonlight.

The lotus flowers in the pond are in full bloom, and the bright green lotus leaves cover the water surface. A frog is squatting on a leaf, croaking to itself.

A woman wearing a silver mask stood in the moonlight, dappled shadows of trees, holding a pink longsword, her voice cold.

The Marquis looked at Jingni with a solemn expression, then threw off Lady Mingzhu, who was tucked under her arm.

"Ah..." Madam Mingzhu suddenly fell to the ground, unable to help but let out a groan, and glanced at her aunt with a hint of resentment.

Her aunt remained as suspicious as ever, and even at this moment, she sealed her acupoints, rendering her unable to fight or run away.

"Countless people in the world have wanted to kill me, but none have succeeded. And you think you can kill me with just the Eight Swords of the King of Yue? What a joke! If all six sword slaves of the Luo Net were here, perhaps you could!"

The Marquis spoke with great confidence, but in reality, she was observing her surroundings and considering how to leave.

The woman before them was at least a half-step Grandmaster, and Cao Ze and others were behind them. If they were attacked from both sides by Cao Ze and this woman, they would truly have no chance of survival.

Jingni rarely wastes words. With one step, she stirred up a vortex on the ground, swirling up a circle of weeds.

This speed… A look of horror appeared on the Marquis’s alluring face.

"You're actually a grandmaster of swordsmanship?"

She could hardly believe her eyes. At such a young age, he had already become a grandmaster. Wasn't he just one step away from becoming a great grandmaster?

At this time back then, I had only just entered the half-step Grandmaster realm!

But she had no time to think. In an instant, an ice sword materialized in her hand, blocking Jing Ni's lightning-fast sword strike.

As Madam Mingzhu struggled to her feet, a sudden realization dawned on her beautiful face. Yes, the Grandmaster Sword Intent that soared into the sky in Xinzheng that day must have been this woman before her.

She examined the mysterious woman's attire and recalled what her aunt had mentioned about the Eight Swords of Yue. Upon closer inspection, she realized that the sword in the woman's hand seemed very similar to the legendary Jingni Sword.

Is it Jing Ni, the top-tier assassin of the Luo Wang organization?

Lady Mingzhu looked puzzled, wondering why Luo Wang had sent Jing Ni.

Her narrow, phoenix-shaped eyes flickered, her gaze shifting uncertainly as she pondered how to escape.

Whether her aunt wins or loses to Jing Ni, it's not good news for her.

My aunt is selfish, ruthless, and possesses many secret techniques, some of which are quite horrifying.

The Baiyue Gu and Incense Techniques that she possessed were merely one or two of the countless methods her aunt had. Even so, they allowed her to move freely in the palace and manipulate the King of Han at will.

If my aunt, due to the severity of her injuries, were to harbor evil thoughts, such as using me as a furnace to heal her wounds, I would truly be in trouble.

"Madam, you seem a little scared."

Madam Mingzhu was startled, and stiffly turned her neck. She saw a familiar little thief who often massaged her fair body, looking at her with a smile.

“It’s you…” Madam Mingzhu’s pupils contracted slightly.

If Cao Ze found this place, doesn't that mean Ji Wuye and the others are also nearby?

Is Heaven really going to kill her?

"Shh." Cao Ze pressed his halberd finger against Madam Mingzhu's full, red lips. "Don't make a sound."

He looked at the Marquis and Jing Ni, who were fighting fiercely by the pond, and exclaimed in amazement: "The peak of the Grandmaster level is truly amazing."

The Marquis could not have held them off for so long without paying a price.

Even so, he was still able to fight back against Jing Ni. Although he was suppressed, his defeat was only a matter of time.

Lady Mingzhu calmed herself slightly, then, after a moment's thought, asked with surprise and uncertainty, "Are you a member of the Luo Wang?"

"No."

"Then what about you and Jing Ni..."

“She is my woman.” Cao Ze chuckled. “I didn’t expect Madam to come to Snowclothes Fortress in the middle of the night. How interesting.”

A hint of embarrassment and frustration appeared on Madam Mingzhu's beautiful face.

My aunt, who I thought was almost invincible, was in a sorry state.

To make matters worse, a momentary lapse in judgment led me here, putting myself in danger.

"...Who exactly are you?" Madam Mingzhu couldn't help but ask in a low voice.

To be able to have a grandmaster of swordsmanship submit to him, and still be able to flirt with other women everywhere, is no less than marrying the most favored princess and still recklessly taking concubines and seeking pleasure.

"Me?" Cao Ze looked down at Madam Mingzhu, whose face was as beautiful as jade, and chuckled, "Guess."

Just as Lady Mingzhu was about to say something, Cao Ze seized the opportunity and jumped out, delivering a hard slap to the Marquis's shoulder from behind.

The palm lightning, imbued with the powerful Yin Five Thunders, struck solidly. Even if the Marquis didn't die, she would be half-dead.

"Despicable!" The Marquis's almond-shaped eyes widened in anger as she twisted her body, unleashing her Frost Palm technique to meet Cao Ze's palm strike head-on.

Faced with the Marquis's furious attack, Cao Ze suddenly coughed up blood, suffering serious internal injuries.

If the Marquis hadn't fought several battles and exhausted her inner strength, and instead met his attack head-on with all her might, he would have been crippled if not killed.

Jing Ni seized the opportunity to swing her sword, instantly slashing several wounds across the Marquis's delicate body. Her white robes were stained with large patches of blood, turning red in the blink of an eye.

Jing Ni, seizing the opportunity, pressed forward and pressed her powerful jade fingers against the Marquis twenty-three times, sealing all the meridians in the Marquis's body that could circulate internal energy.

The almost powerless Marquis gritted her bloody teeth, forced herself to breathe, raised her jade arm, and slapped off Jing Ni's mask. Looking at Jing Ni's sharp and cold face, she gave a bitter smile.

"I have no regrets if I can die at the hands of a sword master!"

Jing Ni picked up her mask, gathered her disheveled hair behind her head, making sure it was perfectly neat, and her beautiful face remained expressionless.

She said, "If possible, I would like to have a fair fight with you."

The Marquis scoffed, "Ridiculous. You're just an assassin, yet you still dream of a fair fight."

She didn't resent Jing Ni for taking advantage of her vulnerability because Jing Ni was an assassin, and it was only reasonable for her to use any means necessary.

Hearing Jingni's words like this, how could she not laugh?

"I'm no longer an assassin; you can think of me as... a swordsman."

The Marquis was slightly taken aback, pursed her lips, and did not continue to question her.

Jing Ni sheathed her sword and helped Cao Ze to his feet. "How are your injuries? Are they serious?"

"It's alright. I can still fight." Cao Ze rubbed his hands, which still felt chilled, and looked at the Marquis lying on the ground in an extremely ungraceful posture.

"My lord, you have lost this time."

The Marquis turned her cold, blood-stained face away. "Losing is losing. Do with me as you please."

Cao Ze took a few breaths to calm himself down. "To dismember the Marquis was too cruel. Why don't we ask the Marquis to move elsewhere so we can have a better talk with him?"

The Marquis narrowed her cold eyes: "Who are you? What did the Luo Wang send you here for?"

Cao Ze ignored the Marquis and instead picked up Lady Mingzhu, whose movements were restricted by the Marquis, saying, "I'll borrow your bedroom tonight, Madam."

He didn't want to expose the courtyard, as Xiao Yan'er was too young, lest she attract the attention of those with ulterior motives.

Lady Mingzhu was both amused and exasperated; so many people wanted to visit her palace tonight.

"Jing Ni, take her away."

Jing Ni carried the limp, mud-like Marquis on her back and followed Cao Ze toward the Han Palace in Xinzheng.

Fifteen minutes later, the black crow passed by the pond in the darkness of night. It frowned slightly when it saw the bloodstains on the ground and by the pond, its gaze becoming somewhat solemn.

Bai Feng picked up a piece of blood-stained white cloth and said, "It's the Marquis's clothes. It seems she had a fierce fight with someone here."

Mo Ya said, "Go tell the general that I will continue the investigation."

"it is good."

A white feather floated down from the forest floor, and the white phoenix disappeared by the pond.

The frogs that had jumped into the pond to escape the disaster quietly poked their heads out. Seeing that everything was calm around them, they jumped onto the lotus leaves and continued to croak, sending out mating signals.

The night was as dark as ink. The winding paths between the walls of the Han King's Palace were deep and secluded, with rows of ancient locust trees casting long shadows on both sides. Pale yellow lanterns swayed and cast a hazy glow on the cobblestone path.

With the weak defenses of the Han King's Palace and the secret paths known to Lady Mingzhu, Cao Ze and Jing Ni easily sneaked into Lady Mingzhu's bedroom.

Lady Mingzhu got down from Cao Ze's arms and silently lit a lamp held in the beak of a golden phoenix, instantly illuminating the small bedroom.

Cao Ze glanced at the Marquis, whose body was stained with blood, and said to Madam Mingzhu, "Strip her clothes off and clean her up."

Madam Mingzhu glanced at Cao Ze with a slightly strange look, then at her aunt who had her eyes tightly closed, and hesitated before saying, "Alright..."

Jingni sat cross-legged to one side, her eyes closed and silent, which made Madam Mingzhu dare not make any rash moves.

Cao Ze drank a few sips of tea to calm himself down.

He glanced at the Marquis, who had been stripped naked and was having her body wiped by Lady Mingzhu.

"Jing Ni, is there any poison that can control a Grandmaster?"

Cao Ze's words went unnoticed by the Marquis and Lady Mingzhu, and were overheard by the aunt and niece.

The Marquis closed her eyes and sneered. Lady Mingzhu trembled with fear, and her hand, which was helping her aunt clean up the bloodstains, couldn't help but shake.

“Mingzhu, there are no cowards in the Bai family. If you have any conscience, give your aunt a quick death and don’t let her be humiliated,” the Marquis said in a low voice.

Madam Mingzhu tightened her grip and shook her head slightly. If her aunt lived, she might not die. If her aunt died, it seemed she had no reason to live.

If she gives her aunt a quick death, Cao Ze will give her a quick death in return.

She wasn't foolish enough to put herself in a life-or-death situation for the sake of her selfish and indifferent aunt.

Jingni pondered for a long time: "The poisons that can control a Grandmaster are extremely rare. The Luo Net only has records of them, but no actual samples."

Cao Ze was not disappointed; the poison that kills people and the poison that controls them are worlds apart.

The Marquis lay naked on the ground, the bloodstains on her body having been cleaned by Lady Mingzhu. Her snow-white skin shone brightly under the lamplight. At first glance, she resembled a beautiful serpent, her slender yet curvaceous figure making her incredibly alluring.

Cao Ze casually asked Madam Mingzhu, "Madam, do you have any Gu worms that can control Grandmasters?"

Madam Mingzhu forced a charming smile: "How could I possibly possess such a powerful Gu worm?"

She paused and said, "My Gu techniques were all passed down from my aunt. Perhaps my aunt has such Gu worms."

Cao Ze didn't know if the Marquis had one, but even if she did, he wouldn't use her.

If only Yanfei were here, the Yin Yang School has a glowing Corpse God Curse Gu. One bite can prevent the bitten person from circulating internal energy for twelve hours. This middle-aged man personally tested it and found it effective.