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

Cao Ze, Zi Nu, and Jing Ni, who arrived later, left the Prime Minister's residence.

Wei Zhuang glanced at them briefly before disappearing.

Cao Ze felt inexplicably uncomfortable being sandwiched between the two women on his left and right.

He vaguely sensed a subtle, yet unspoken, tension between the two women.

Hmm, would you say I'm surviving in the cracks?

……

The Prime Minister's residence, the study and courtyard.

Xuan Jian stared coldly at the nine men in black surrounding him.

He had heard that the Luo Wang (Net of Heaven) had secretly trained a group of nine assassins to protect Lü Buwei, but he had never seen them.

If these nine people weren't not all part of the same group like the Six Sword Slaves and Eight Linglong, he would have been captured alive.

"Xuan Jian, surrender and I will spare your life."

An anonymous member of the Luowang organization spoke in a hoarse voice.

Xuan Jian sneered, "Spare my life?! What a joke! I've never forgotten the feeling of being controlled by the Net and living a life worse than death!"

A sound came from inside the study, "Xuan Jian, who sent you to assassinate Prime Minister Lü?"

Xuan Jian pointed his sword at the study window and said coldly, "Lü Buwei, you listen to me carefully, I'm here tonight to take your dog's life!"

A cold snort rang out from inside the house, "Kill without mercy!"

Xuan Jian spat out a mouthful of blood, and two figures appeared behind him.

"I've heard that the Luo Net has three Heavenly-level assassins. I wonder where the last one is? Let the old man take a look."

Gongsun Long casually stabbed a black-clad man who had ambushed him to death with a single finger.

The simple and direct elimination of a second-rate expert sent a chill down the spines of all the experts present.

A Grandmaster at the peak is a Grandmaster at the peak. Even a Grandmaster at the peak like Gongsun Long, who is known for his scholarship and not for fighting, is not someone that a non-Grandmaster can easily mess with.

"squeak……"

The study door slowly opened, and Lü Buwei stepped out under the protection of Old Man Zheng.

"Gongsun Long, do you, the School of Names, also want to get involved in the troubles of Xianyang? If you leave now, I can let bygones be bygones, and the School of Names can teach anywhere in Qin."

Lü Buwei stared at Gongsun Long.

If possible, he wanted to keep Wuming tonight and cripple Cao Ze's arm.

Gongsun Long chuckled and said, "The School of Names has no intention of going to Qin."

He had already bet on the State of Zhao. King Jia of Zhao promised that he would make the School of Names the only prominent school of thought in Zhao, and that he would make his "Discourse on Names," which was based on Cao Ze's explanation of "Logic," one of the national schools of thought in Zhao.

With such generous terms, he simply couldn't find a reason to refuse.

Moreover, whether he can go further after breaking through to the Grandmaster level, reach the peak of the Grandmaster level, or even enter the legendary Celestial Realm, depends on whether his "Discourse on Names" can be passed down as a classic as the Confucian "Analects" and the Taoist "Tao Te Ching".

When the time comes, I will definitely go to Xiaoshengxianzhuang and have a showdown with Xun Kuang, who criticizes him and the founder of the School of Names in the book, and maybe even beat him to a pulp.

Lü Buwei's face darkened: "Then there's no point in negotiating."

"Save them! At all costs!"

Dozens of experts in the courtyard responded with a resounding roar.

Xuan Jian said in a deep voice, "Seniors, please be careful!"

"Mind your own business..."

Gongsun Long softly chanted: "A white horse is not a horse, a dark night is not a night, when it gets dark, please close your eyes..."

A dazzling light suddenly shone, making half of Xianyang City clearly visible.

Having received Gongsun Long's hint, Wuming and Xuanjian had already closed their eyes. With their perception abilities, even with their eyes closed, they could still locate sounds by sound.

The screams in the courtyard were incessant. Wuming only crippled these people, while Xuanjian followed behind Wuming to finish them off. The two cooperated very skillfully, as if it were not their first time working together.

Gongsun Long let out a long breath and shattered the skull of a master with a single slap.

Looking at the many soldiers lying on the ground, covering their eyes and groaning in pain, he exclaimed, "Cao Ze was right, he really can dazzle the eyes..."

It's not very effective against experts, but for these soldiers with low or no cultivation, it's a deadly weapon, especially since it doesn't require much internal energy.

Fortunately, he listened carefully when Cao Ze was lecturing on optics, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to figure this out.

From a high vantage point outside the Prime Minister's residence, Cao Ze saw a sudden flash of light illuminate the residence and glanced at the night sky with a somewhat bewildered expression.

Did he wear something wrong? When did flashbangs become a thing?

Jingni glanced at Zi Nu, her heart stirred slightly, and she wanted to test her. So she said slowly, "I snatched a black dragon scroll from two men in black in Lü Buwei's mansion."

Cao Ze's attention was drawn, and he asked in surprise, "The Black Dragon Scroll?"

This thing was a top secret within a top secret in the Qin state.

In the original work, the map of the First Emperor's later eastern tour route was stored here.

Jingni's soul was constantly watching Zi Nu's facial expressions.

She said, "Yes, it's the Black Dragon Scroll."

"Those two men in black are very strong. One of them was the one who stopped us from chasing Old Man Zheng that night. I don't know about the other one, but he is also a half-step Grandmaster."

Cao Ze frowned and asked, "Lu Buwei's men?"

"No, they seem to have also infiltrated the Prime Minister's residence, looking for something."

Jingni's beautiful eyes lingered on Zi Nu for a moment, her tone somewhat aggressive, "Miss Zi Nu is well-versed in intelligence. A Grandmaster and a half-step Grandmaster have arrived in Xianyang, but have you not received any news yet?"

Zi Nu calmly replied, "The Grandmaster's whereabouts are elusive and unpredictable; how could I possibly find them?"

Cao Ze's heart stirred slightly. Could it be that Jing Ni believed that these two people were related to Zi Nu?

He asked calmly, "Zi Nu, can you find out?"

Zi Nu knew that the two people were Consort Ya and Lord Longyang, but on the surface she pretended to know nothing.

We need clues.

Jing Ni said calmly, "I sensed a faint chilling power from that half-step Grandmaster. He must be a master who cultivates the inner power of ice."

Zi Nu's heart leaped into her throat. Cao Ze and Ya Fei were old acquaintances, and Cao Ze couldn't possibly be unaware of Ya Fei's strength and methods.

What if it's connected to Consort Ya...?

How should I clean up Ya Fei's mess?

Cao Ze was slightly taken aback.

Frosty internal energy?

Could it be...

His expression changed slightly. Could it be that the Marquis had been released by Lady Mingzhu?

And she joined Zi Nu's side?

No, this can't be, the Marquis is a Grandmaster...

Cao Ze frowned and said, "Jing Ni, are you sure that person with the icy inner strength is a half-step Grandmaster, and not a Grandmaster?"

Zi Nu looked at Cao Ze with some curiosity, wondering why he asked this.

Seeing that Cao Ze did not suspect Ya Fei, she breathed a slight sigh of relief.

Consort Ya is actually the eldest princess of the Zhao state. Her sudden appearance in Xianyang and her seemingly unrelated connection to Cao Ze make it difficult for them to conceal their schemes, potentially causing their plan to turn Lü Buwei against her to fail.

Jingni thought about it carefully.

"It's uncertain; she didn't go all out."

Cao Ze followed up with, "Is it a man or a woman?"

"The woman's wrists were very slender and fair."

Jing Ni told the truth.

With Zi Nu present, Cao Ze did not pursue the matter further. In his estimation, there was a high probability that this woman was a female marquis.

Damn it!

If even the Marquis, who was trained by Lady Mingzhu, came out... he wouldn't know what to say.

Cao Ze tentatively asked Zi Nu, "How's things in Xinzheng lately?"

Zi Nu smiled gently, "Just ask whatever you want to ask. If I can tell you, I won't hide anything."

Cao Ze coughed lightly, his expression turning serious, and said, "The Marquis has come out?"

Zi Nu was taken aback, "A Marquis?"

Cao Ze almost couldn't help but grit his teeth. If Zi Nu was acting, her performance was too realistic.

Does he really not know, or is he pretending not to know?

Zi Nu realized that Cao Ze had suspected the wrong person, and with a change of heart, she decided to play along.

"Wasn't the Marquis dead? Is she still alive?"

Cao Ze looked at the beautiful Zi Nu, who was pretending to be stupid, and didn't know what to say for a moment.

Could it be that the Marquis didn't die, but instead made her believe she was sold to a brothel, when in reality she was being teased and played with by Lady Mingzhu, almost to the point of being put in a cage?

Cao Ze hesitated for a moment, then did not ask any further questions, but he became wary.

Looking at Zi Nu's stunningly beautiful face, he longed to seduce this gorgeous woman and make her confess her sins. He warned her that if she dared to lie or deceive her husband, he would whip her.

……

Chapter 427 Kidney Deficiency

As dawn approached, a light drizzle fell in Xianyang.

The world seemed to be shrouded in a light, white mist.