Wandering Sword Seller's Life in the Qin Dynasty

He thought that this sword was the reward Xu Qing had given him.

"very good!"

Xu Qing nodded and flipped his palm over again, "Then, sign it!"

"You know the rules."

Although they look the same as the Heart Sword from before, they are actually two different swords.

Naturally, Xu Qing prepared a new sword contract specifically for Wei Zhuang.

Chapter 135: What was said back then has been proven true today!

Xu Qing never intended to personally carry out the murder.

The true nature of the man in the straw raincoat is shrouded in mystery. He has been in charge of the Nightfall intelligence network for many years and has managed to gain a foothold under Ji Wuye's nose. His caution is ingrained in his very bones.

Even with Madam Mingzhu acting as matchmaker and finding a seemingly foolproof pretext, who can guarantee that the Straw-Clad Man hasn't become suspicious of Madam Mingzhu? Perhaps he has already set up a trap at the agreed location.

If he were to actually go to the meeting in person, and were to fall into an ambush, wouldn't he be putting himself in danger?

Therefore, sending Wei Zhuang to investigate the situation is the safest option.

In any case, as long as Wei Zhuang uses the sword he forged to kill the man in the straw raincoat, he can still gain reputation, so it doesn't make much difference whether he intervenes or not.

"However, I must remind you again." Seeing that Wei Zhuang had already agreed, Xu Qing stepped forward, his tone becoming more serious. "The man in the straw raincoat is completely different from Bai Yifei. Bai Yifei is arrogant to the point of madness, and he has absolute confidence in his own strength. In addition, the place you chose to make your move was the royal palace, which is a safe zone in his eyes. That's why he went to the meeting alone, giving you an opportunity to take advantage of him."

He paused, his gaze darkening. "But the Straw-Clothed Man is different. He has always been meticulous in his actions, never revealing a trace even when meeting with people inside the Nightfall organization. Apart from the deceased Ji Wuye, even Bai Yifei and the others have never seen the Straw-Clothed Man's true face."

"You only have one chance to kill someone like that, and that chance carries a nine-out-of-ten chance of death." Xu Qing stared into Wei Zhuang's eyes and asked, word by word, "Are you really still going?"

In any case, Wei Zhuang was an old acquaintance.

Even if he wanted the other party to scout ahead, Xu Qing couldn't just stand by and watch him die. He had to make sure the risks were explained clearly.

Wei Zhuang raised his eyes and asked in return, his tone carrying his usual arrogance: "Why not go?"

“You made it very clear before that as long as the man in the straw raincoat dies, the night will completely collapse.” A sharp glint flashed in his eyes. “With such an opportunity presented to me, I will not miss it even if it means facing mountains of knives and seas of fire.”

……

The moonlight was cool as water, and the night was as dark as ink.

Outside Xinzheng City, a river meanders and eventually flows into a wide lake. Aquatic plants grow wildly along the lake shore, and reeds rustle in the night wind. Moonlight shines on the shimmering lake surface, making this land, rich in fish and shrimp, seem eerily quiet.

A lone boat was moored on the shore, and on it stood a figure wearing a straw raincoat and a bamboo hat, fishing with a rod.

No one knows whether he actually caught any fish or not; after all, sometimes what you catch here isn't fish at all.

For example, tonight.

The man in the straw raincoat caught a woman.

A figure shrouded in a black cloak slowly approached the lakeside under the moonlight. The cloak completely concealed her graceful figure, revealing only a section of her fair chin. Yet, even the way she walked exuded an indescribable allure.

"The man in the straw raincoat." The woman stopped in her tracks, her voice calm yet carrying an undeniable penetrating power.

The man in the straw raincoat remained in his fishing posture, head bowed, the shadow of his straw hat obscuring most of his face. His voice came from beneath the hat, as cold as the water at the bottom of a lake: "Tide Demoness, what exactly do you want by inviting me here with a secret letter?"

"Naturally, it's about discussing the matter of Nightfall." Lady Mingzhu raised her hand to adjust her cloak, her tone calm. "Didn't I already mention it in the letter?"

"Oh?" The man in the straw raincoat's voice held a hint of sarcasm. "You're trying to take this opportunity to become the Lord of the Night?"

Madam Mingzhu understood the warning in his words, her expression darkening slightly. She didn't bother with further beating around the bush: "Straw-Cloaked Guest, we're both intelligent people; there's no need for nonsense. Now that Ji Wuye is dead, and my cousin Bai Yifei is dead, only the two of us remain in the Nightfall hierarchy. How about we split Nightfall in half?"

She didn't mention asking the straw-clothed man to submit; she knew very well that, given his temperament, such a statement would only immediately ignite a conflict.

By first showing weakness to the enemy, you can dispel their suspicions.

"Splitting it in half? That sounds like a good idea." A cold voice came from under the straw hat, but the next second, the tone suddenly turned cold, "But I refuse."

"There can't be two suns in the sky, and there can't be two rulers in the night." The man in the straw raincoat finally raised his head. In the shadow of the edge of his straw hat, his eyes shone with a cold light. When they fell on Lady Mingzhu, they showed an undisguised greed. "Tide Demoness, you do have some skills. How about this, as long as you submit to me and depend on me, I can let you continue to be the fierce general of the night."

Everyone has greed, and the man in the straw raincoat is no exception.

Previously, with Ji Wuye suppressing him and Bai Yifei's strength intimidating him, he could only hide his ambition in his heart.

But now that Ji Wuye and Bai Yifei have died one after another, his greed has grown wildly like weeds, and he wants to be the sole master of the night.

When Madam Mingzhu first stepped forward to fight for power, he thought she was overestimating herself.

A woman who rose to power through her beauty, who only got to the position of fierce general because of her relationship with Bai Yifei, dares to compete with him?

But after seeing Madam Mingzhu in person tonight, he changed his mind. Keeping this woman around might have other uses.

After all, she was beautiful enough.

Now that King Han An is dead, she has no reason to stay in the palace. If she could be his woman, that wouldn't be bad.

"Submit to you?" Madam Mingzhu's lips curled into a cold smile. "Your ambition is quite large, but I want to know, do you really have the ability to achieve it?"

Before he could finish speaking, a sudden change occurred.

A sharp sword light suddenly pierced through the reeds by the lake. Moonlight shone on the blade, reflecting a dazzling cold light that aimed directly at the face of the man in the straw raincoat.

……

"The man in the straw raincoat is dead. Will the night truly crumble?"

On a hillside in the suburbs, an old tree with lush foliage casts dappled shadows on the ground as moonlight filters through the leaves.

Zi Nu stood by the tree, turned to look at Xu Qing beside her, her tone filled with doubt.

A night breeze blew by, carrying a slight chill, but both of them possessed internal energy, so even though they were dressed in thin clothes, they did not feel cold.

Xu Qing turned her head to the side: "Why would you ask that?"

"Although I don't know what scheme you've set up, the Tide Banshee is clearly following your orders now, isn't she?"

Zi Nu's gaze was sharp as a knife, as if she wanted to see through Xu Qing's thoughts. "If the Straw Raincoat Guest dies, as the only remaining fierce general of Nightfall, she can naturally take over Nightfall. Even if it is not at its peak, it will not be enough to make Nightfall completely collapse."

She paused, her voice deepening: "Your real purpose is Nightfall? Killing Ji Wuye and helping Wei Zhuang kill Bai Yifei were all for the sake of seizing Nightfall?"

Xu Qing met her gaze and gently shook her head: "You guessed wrong. I have no interest in the night itself."

He pointed to the distant city of Xinzheng, his tone somewhat candid: "But I am very interested in the wealth controlled by the Nightfall."

Zi Nu was slightly taken aback, clearly not expecting this answer.

"Alright, we can talk about this later." Xu Qing turned and walked towards the lake. "Let's go check on Wei Zhuang. Didn't you come along because you were worried he'd fallen into the Straw Raincoat Gang's ambush?"

Zi Nu followed in silence; she was genuinely worried about Wei Zhuang.

Last time, Wei Zhuang was already taking a huge risk by killing Bai Yifei alone, and he was able to succeed thanks to Xu Qing's help.

Now that Ji Wuye and Bai Yifei are both dead, if she were the Straw Raincoat Guest, she would definitely be extra careful about her safety, and there might be dozens or even hundreds of experts hiding around her. As soon as there is any unusual movement, they would swarm her.

Even if Xu Qing uses the Tide Demoness to lure out the Straw-Clothed Man, it will not be easy for Wei Zhuang to kill him.

She didn't care about the safety of the Tide Demoness, but she couldn't ignore Wei Zhuang's life or death.

The two quickened their pace, heading towards the lake. Before they even got close, a strong stench of blood wafted on the night breeze, clearly indicating that a fierce battle had just taken place there.

Zi Nu's expression changed instantly, and she quickened her pace.

When she arrived at the lakeside, she immediately saw two standing figures. One was wrapped in a black cloak, which was Lady Mingzhu. At this moment, her body was slightly tense, obviously not yet recovered from the changes just now. The other was tall and straight, exuding a sharp aura, which was Wei Zhuang.

Wei Zhuang held two swords in his hands.

One of them was his usual Shark Tooth Sword, its jagged serrations gleaming coldly in the moonlight. This sword was known in the martial arts world as the "Demon Sword," a rare and formidable weapon. However, at this moment, the Shark Tooth Sword's aura was somewhat overshadowed by his other sword.

It was a sword that glowed with an eerie red light, with blood mist seemingly flowing around its blade, exuding an sinister aura.

Looking at the ground, dozens of corpses lay scattered about, each one as withered as a rake, as if all the blood in their bodies had been drained, their deaths gruesome.

"You're late." Wei Zhuang heard footsteps, turned around, his gaze swept over Zi Nu, and finally landed on Xu Qing, his tone flat and emotionless.

Xu Qing's gaze swept over the corpses on the ground, then landed on the body in the straw raincoat at Wei Zhuang's feet. The straw hat had fallen to the side, and the mask on the face was shattered, revealing an unfamiliar face—clearly the man in the straw raincoat. He withdrew his gaze and cupped his hands to Wei Zhuang, saying, "Brother Wei Zhuang, what skill you have."

"It's your sword, and it works very well." Wei Zhuang's tone rarely carried a hint of approval.

In the past, the man in the straw raincoat was indeed an extremely difficult enemy to deal with. Not only was he quite strong, but more importantly, he was extremely cautious. This time, he had many of his men lying in ambush around the area before the meeting.

Even with Lady Mingzhu's enticement, it would still be extremely difficult to kill the man in the straw raincoat while surrounded by dozens of people.

But Xu Qing's newly forged "Ling Shuang Sword" gave him a huge surprise.

This sword is more sinister than anyone could imagine; it can absorb blood from a distance. As long as the blade slices through an enemy's body, the sword will absorb the enemy's blood and transform it into "blood essence" to nourish his inner strength, allowing him to continuously recover from his injuries during battle.

He could withstand an attack from dozens of people, or even hundreds.

Moreover, this sword can not only heal by absorbing blood, but its destructive power and killing power are also far superior to Shark Tooth.

If Shark Tooth hadn't been with him for so many years, he would have even considered replacing his sword with Frostbite Sword.

Now, he can only barely adapt to the fighting style of using two swords together.

But his curiosity about Xu Qing only grew stronger. This swordsmith's martial arts were already unfathomable, and his sword-making skills were becoming increasingly eccentric.

When they first met at Xinling, Xu Qing once said that he would be able to forge a sword that rivals or even surpasses Shark Tooth in the future.

At the time, he took it as a joke and didn't take it to heart.

The appearance of the "Heart Sword" proved the saying that it was "comparable to Shark Tooth". Even if he was unwilling to admit it, the current "Frost Sword" had already surpassed Shark Tooth in terms of ability.

Chapter 136 Power has no inherent good or evil; it is the human heart that does!

When only two of the Four Night's Fiends remained.

Nightfall will naturally lead to a power struggle.

But if only one person remains, then the matter is settled.

What did Xu Qing do to Lady Mingzhu that made the infamous Chao Nu Yao so obedient to him? Wei Zhuang and Zi Nu were very curious to know. After all, Bai Yifei was Lady Mingzhu's cousin. Xu Qing killed Bai Yifei, and Lady Mingzhu was a witness, yet she did not harbor any resentment towards Xu Qing and even wholeheartedly helped him with his tasks.

This unusual behavior is truly perplexing.

Wei Zhuang has always been a man of deep thoughts. Even though he was full of doubts, he kept them to himself and never showed them on his face.

But Zi Nu was different. After several encounters, although she couldn't figure out Xu Qing's background, she did understand his personality. Rather than hiding it, she decided to ask him directly.

"Mr. Xu, why is the Tide Demon so submissive to you?" Zi Nu looked at Xu Qing and said bluntly, "Bai Yifei is her cousin. You killed him, yet she doesn't even have the courage to hate you. What is the reason behind this?"

Xu Qing raised her eyes, her expression calm and undisturbed: "Of course, it's because I made her experience enough fear."