Wandering Sword Seller's Life in the Qin Dynasty

This struggle did not last long. Because Lü Buwei was involved in the Lao Ai case, he was eventually dismissed from his position as prime minister and sent back to his fiefdom in Luoyang. The Lü clan's power was thus withdrawn from the core of Qin's power.

Subsequently, the Qin state seized the opportunity to launch an attack on Wei, capturing Jiyi and further weakening Wei.

To alleviate the pressure, the State of Wei ceded Ye City to the State of Zhao in an attempt to divert the Qin army's attention. However, the State of Qin did not fall for the trap and continued to attack the State of Wei. Instead of helping the State of Zhao, which had benefited from the attack, the State of Zhao took advantage of the State of Qin's preoccupation and turned to attack the State of Yan.

It can only be said that the Warring States period was indeed a chaotic era, and the shadow of war never dissipated from this land.

Xu Qing did not return to the chaotic Chu Kingdom, but went to the Zhao Kingdom first. However, he deliberately avoided Handan. He had crossed paths with Guo Kai in Handan years ago. Later, in order to escape the fate of becoming Guo Kai's exclusive swordsmith, he killed the follower and escaped. No one could say for sure whether Guo Kai was still after him. Going to Handan now would undoubtedly be asking for trouble.

The territory of Zhao was larger than that of Han. Fortunately, Xu Qing was quite familiar with the land of Jin, and the local customs and culture were not much different from those of Han, so he did not feel unfamiliar with it.

But Zhao was not his destination; what he really wanted to go to was Yan.

Although he had traveled along the border of Yan State with Six-Fingered Black Knight in the past, he had never been to core areas such as Ji City and Wuyang.

In the original work, the State of Yan was a place of trouble because of Yan Dan and the Mohist school, and many stories had happened in Ji City. Xu Qing naturally wanted to go there to see if he could gain any unexpected insights.

Moreover, after understanding the forging method of the fourth-tier sword.

The land of Yan and Zhao, which has nurtured many heroic and tragic songs since ancient times, is undoubtedly the first choice.

The swordsmen there might bring him a great surprise.

As for why he didn't choose Xianyang, the capital of Qin, it's still the same question: Xianyang is too complicated, and Xu Qing doesn't really want to get involved right now.

During his journey, Xu Qing was not in a hurry to get to his destination. If he encountered something interesting, he would stay for a few more days.

After all, besides finding a suitable sword master, his purpose after forging the Frost Sword had another purpose: to collect suitable sword-making materials. Talented people are also valuable materials.

One day, while resting at an inn in a town, the conversation of several young people at the next table caught his attention.

"Do you think that thief will really come tonight?" One of them asked, holding a bottle of cheap liquor. His voice was low but couldn't hide his curiosity.

"Who knows? Maybe they won't dare to come since Master Zhao's house is heavily guarded." Another person curled his lip, his tone somewhat uncertain.

"I doubt it. That thief is too arrogant. He not only steals things, but he also sent a message to Master Zhao in advance, saying that he would steal at midnight. This is not a thief, but a master thief!" The third person slammed his hand on the table, his tone full of amazement.

Xu Qing listened quietly and gradually pieced together the whole story.

Master Zhao, the local tycoon, is said to have some royal blood, belonging to a branch of the royal family. He might be insignificant in Handan, but in this small town, he is an absolute ruler, and even local officials have to smile obsequiously at him.

Naturally, such a person is not a good person.

They've done far too many things like being rich but heartless.

Perhaps for this reason, he was targeted by someone.

Recently, a mysterious thief has been roaming the area. No one has seen his true face, but it is known that he has robbed several wealthy and unscrupulous people in a short period of time.

What's even more remarkable is that this thief is extremely "principled." Before each theft, he would send a letter to the owner, informing them of the time of the theft. Even if the owner sent extra people and was on high alert, he could still succeed. It's like killing someone by destroying their spirit.

Recently, this letter appeared in the home of this Mr. Zhao.

"That's quite interesting." Xu Qing picked up his teacup, tapping the rim of the cup lightly with his fingertips. His first thought was of Chu Liuxiang.

Wasn't that the legendary thief who left a trail of fragrance under the moon just like that, sending a message before stealing something, and then calmly taking the target? However, this is clearly not Gu Long's world.

So he thought of Ji Bu from the original novel. In the novel, Ji Bu stole the luminous pearl in a similar way. That scene in the anime was clearly paying homage to Chu Liuxiang.

"Could it be Ji Bu?" Xu Qing's eyes flickered slightly, a sense of doubt rising in his heart.

According to the timeline, Ji Bu should be serving in the Chu army at this time, and he should be a high-ranking officer. Even if he really had a penchant for stealing, he shouldn't have gone to the border of Zhao, near Yan, to practice his skills.

……

As night deepened, dark clouds obscured the stars and moon, plunging the entire town into darkness—a truly dark and windy night.

Xu Qing stood by the window of the inn, gazing at the brightly lit mansion on the east side of town, which was the location of Master Zhao's residence.

He remained calm and, in the end, chose to leave the inn and disappear into the night.

At this moment, lanterns and torches illuminated every corner of the courtyard as if it were daytime. Servants carrying sticks and weapons patrolled back and forth, their expressions solemn and ready for battle, clearly waiting for the audacious thief to come to their door.

As night deepened, from early 9 PM until nearly midnight, the lights of the Zhao family mansion in the east of the town remained dazzlingly bright, yet the thief was nowhere to be seen.

The servants inside the mansion had long since lost their initial tension. Their patrol steps became increasingly sluggish, the sticks they held in their hands unconsciously drooped, and even their breathing became heavier than before.

Some people leaned against the pillars rubbing their sore shoulders, while others secretly yawned during the shift change. The tension between their brows was replaced by anxiety. After all, no one expected that the thief who dared to send the message ahead of time would be so late. Could it be that, as previously guessed, he had given up in the face of the heavy guard?

Only Master Zhao remained calm.

He glanced at the servants pacing back and forth outside the window, a disdainful smile playing on his lips: "A bunch of country bumpkins, they panic at the slightest show of force."

In his view, his mansion was surrounded by high walls and guarded by guards, with even the corners of the walls manned by guards. It would be difficult for even a small team to sneak in, let alone a thief.

Moreover, he had spent a lot of money to hire several martial arts experts who were hiding in the shadows, waiting for the thief to show himself so he could capture him.

"Even if that thief really has the guts to come, he'll have to think twice before he acts recklessly in the Zhao residence."

He picked up the cup on the table, took a sip of fine wine, and his eyes were full of arrogance. In this small town, no one dared to challenge him, Master Zhao.

But the moment he put down his teacup, something unexpected happened.

First, the torches held by the patrolling servants outside the courtyard went out with a "poof". Then, the lanterns hanging under the main hall corridor and the torches guarding the side courtyard were extinguished one after another in just a few breaths, as if the source of fire had been cut off by an invisible hand.

The entire mansion was instantly plunged into complete darkness, without a single ray of light remaining.

"Who?"

In the darkness, a sharp cry broke the silence; it was from a servant guarding the entrance to the main hall.

Before anyone could react, a very light gust of wind swept past overhead, as fast as a ghost.

"Thief! Protect the master!"

The warrior hidden in the shadows was the first to react, shouting sharply as the sound of his weapon being drawn was particularly jarring in the darkness.

The servants were thrown into chaos instantly. Some frantically grabbed for tinder, while others brandished sticks wildly. Shouts of battle, screams, and the clanging of objects mingled together, turning the entire mansion into a complete mess.

Master Zhao suddenly stood up in the darkness. His previous composure had vanished without a trace, replaced by an undisguised panic. He could clearly hear the commotion around him and sense the ghostly figure moving around the mansion, but he couldn't even see the hem of the other person's clothes.

The guards' shouts and the warriors' pursuit echoed, but they couldn't stop the figure. Instead, the chaos within the mansion worsened.

After an unknown amount of time, someone finally found a tinderbox and lit it with a "snap".

The faint light first illuminated the main hall, and then more tinderboxes were lit, lanterns and torches were lit again, and the mansion was once again bright.

But the scene before them left everyone dumbfounded.

Inside the main hall, all the jade artifacts and treasures that were originally displayed on the antique shelves had disappeared; the storeroom door in the side courtyard was opened, and most of the gold and silver stored inside was gone, and even the heirloom jade disc in Master Zhao's bedroom was nowhere to be found.

Chapter 138 Even Thieves Have Their Code

The thieves' methods were truly beyond human imagination.

No one could believe that the Zhao family had tripled their patrols tonight and even erected caltrops on the walls to deter thieves, yet they were still robbed so thoroughly.

Master Zhao's face was extremely grim, while the steward shouted at the top of his lungs, "Quick! Some of you go report to the authorities, the rest of you follow me to search! With so much wealth, they can't have gone far!"

The guards scattered, brandishing their knives, the blades gleaming coldly in the lamplight. But after searching the woods and meadows surrounding the Zhao residence, they couldn't find a single thief.

Little did they know that two figures were hiding in the old locust tree not far away, quietly watching this farce.

"What exquisite lightness skill." Xu Qing leaned against a thick branch, twirling a newly fallen locust leaf between his fingers, his gaze fixed on the figure bending over and carrying valuables under the tree.

He spoke very softly, but it still made the people below pause abruptly.

The man's shoulder bag still had half a jade pendant hanging from it, which was not yet properly put away and was now suspended in mid-air without even swaying.

The people in the Zhao family thought the thief broke in after the lights were turned off, but Xu Qing had been guarding the place from the very beginning.

He witnessed firsthand how, when the guards were on patrol, the thief would slip past them like a gust of wind, taking advantage of the shadows where the lanterns couldn't reach, and then suddenly appear with a heavy wooden box in his hand. On one occasion, a guard yawned, and in the blink of an eye, the thief had already climbed into the back storeroom, and when he came out again, he had a bulging bundle around his waist.

They didn't make a sound the whole time, not even the copper bell in the corner of the yard.

Only when the Zhao residence was in complete chaos did the thief begin to move the valuables piled behind the tree.

Xu Qing watched as he deftly divided the gold and silver into several small pouches and couldn't help but praise him, but she didn't expect such a strong reaction from him.

The thief slowly straightened up and turned around. With his profound skill, Xu Qing pierced through the darkness and saw the thief's appearance. The thief was now warily scanning his surroundings.

"Who are you? A helper hired by the Zhao family?" He lowered his voice, but it carried a hint of probing that was hard to detect.

Xu Qing leaped down from the tree, landing as lightly as a feather.

“I have no connection with the Zhao family, so I have no reason to help them.” He pointed to the still noisy Zhao family mansion not far away and curled his lips. “I just heard from someone at the tavern during the day that there was a thief around here who specializes in stealing from the rich and heartless, so I came to take a look out of curiosity. I never expected to meet you here, Robber Zhi.”

"You know me?" Dao Zhi narrowed his eyes. As a thief, and a notorious one at that, in addition to possessing the world's top-notch lightness skill "Lightning Speed ​​Technique," he also mastered many abilities that facilitated theft, including the ability to see in the dark. After all, sometimes, when stealing in the dark, you can't exactly turn on a light to steal things.

Upon discovering Xu Qing's presence, he immediately channeled his inner energy into his eyes, clearly seeing the figure in front of him.

When Dao Zhi saw Xu Qing's appearance clearly, he was even more stunned.

The man before me was dressed simply, yet possessed an exceptionally calm demeanor. He didn't resemble a typical martial artist from the martial world; rather, he seemed like a scholar.

But the way the other person jumped down from the tree just now clearly showed that they were also a trained fighter.

Most importantly, he didn't know the other person.

“I have been to the Mo Family’s Mechanical City.” Xu Qing seemed to see through his doubts and slowly said, “At that time you were traveling and we didn’t meet, but Master Xu often mentioned you, saying that the Mo Family had a young leader whose lightness skill was unparalleled in the world, and who always liked to do things like robbing the rich to help the poor.”

Dao Zhi's wariness vanished almost instantly. "You know Master Xu?"

He took two steps forward, a hint of curiosity in his eyes, "Then you are..."

"Xu Qing." Xu Qing said, flipping his hand to take out a black token from his sleeve. The token was engraved with the words "universal love" of the Mohist school, and there were a few fine scratches on the edge.

"I was able to enter the Mechanized City thanks to the introduction of the Six-Fingered Black Knight. This is the token he gave me."

The moment Dao Zhi saw the token, he completely let down his guard.

He reached out and touched the patterns on the token, his tone tinged with emotion: "So you're a friend of the Grand Master. I thought you were some blind fool trying to steal my business."

He is easygoing and doesn't fuss over details.

He was also one of the Mohists who loved to joke.

Of course, such people also have another characteristic: they have clear likes and dislikes.

In the original novel, when Gai Nie first arrived at the Mechanized City, Dao Zhi was the first leader to appear and showed his welcome to Gai Nie's arrival. In other words, he did not hate Gai Nie as much as Gao Jianli did.

But after Duanmu Rong shielded Gai Nie from the bird feather talisman with her own body and fell into a coma.

Dao Zhi's attitude towards Gai Nie also changed, and he held a grudge against him.

It wasn't until the theft of the Thousand Machine Copper Plate that the grudges were resolved.