Wandering Sword Seller's Life in the Qin Dynasty

Chapter 166 A man weary of the storms of the martial world, yet unwilling to be alone.

After learning of Xu Qing's purpose, Wu Kuang began to carefully record everything related to the Luo Wang.

This was not only because Xu Qing and Xia Kui had a close relationship, and Xia Kui asked him to work under Xu Qing, but also because of the terrifying nature of the Luo Wang organization that Xu Qing mentioned.

The fact that the net had set its sights on farmers was a terrifying prospect for Wu Kuang.

Although he was betrayed by his fellow farmers and is now far away from the land that nurtured him, whenever he thinks of the time he spent running on the farmland ridges in his childhood and the lively scene of his fellow disciples practicing the Twenty-Four Earthly Branches, an unforgettable feeling wells up in his heart.

Even after he saw through the filth and strife within the farmhouse, he was still unwilling to see it headed for destruction.

Moreover, the chivalrous leader Tian Guang was always a righteous man, and he had to repay this kindness.

In addition, Xu Qing's mention that "the Net might recruit Chen Sheng" was like a thorn in his heart.

On the surface, he had long since let go of his obsession and stopped searching for Chen Sheng's whereabouts. But only he knew that whenever he heard the name Chen Sheng, he felt a complex mix of emotions in his chest, including resentment, confusion, and an unspeakable sense of attachment.

After giving Wu Kuang some things to do, Xu Qing ignored him completely.

Instead of wasting time, we might as well open a furnace and forge swords.

Xu Qing had not forgotten the Seven Swords series of swords he had previously forged, but they were not yet finished.

Only a few swords were forged for each of the two sets of the Seven Swords series. Now that Wu Kuang has arrived, he thought of making a sword tailor-made for this future "big shot".

Although Wu Kuang's fame in the anime is not as widespread as that of Gai Nie and Wei Zhuang, in real history, the names of "Chen Sheng and Wu Guang" have resonated throughout the ages, and the phrase "Are kings and nobles born with a special destiny?" still sounds powerful after thousands of years.

"What kind of sword should we forge for him?" Xu Qing walked to the window and murmured to himself, gazing at the withered leaves falling outside the courtyard.

He recalled the "Cicada" sword used by Wu Kuang in the anime. That sword came from the Luo Wang (Net of Heaven), and the name "Cicada" subtly reflected Wu Kuang's trembling and fearful state when he infiltrated the Luo Wang.

Knowing many secrets, yet daring not to confide in anyone, he lived in constant fear, wary of everyone around him.

However, that sword was ultimately only of the "Kill" level, and in the Luo Wang's sword manual, it was far less sharp and domineering than the swords used by "Heaven" level assassins.

The network of assassins is strictly hierarchical, and the grade of a sword is the most direct symbol of an assassin's identity.

The sword he was going to forge for Wu Kuang would certainly be far superior to "Cicada".

After thinking for a long time, Xu Qing had an answer.

"Take this sword!"

That day, Xu Qing tossed a sword to Wu Kuang.

Wu Kuang caught the sword that Xu Qing threw to him. He was also a swordsman, so he could naturally tell that the sword Xu Qing gave him was extraordinary.

"This sword is called Azure Light!"

Xu Qing said to Wu Kuang, "It is a fast sword, as swift as lightning. If used in thunderstorms, there will be an extra surprise."

"From now on, this will be your sword."

After saying a few words, Xu Qing turned and walked out: "You've read a lot of information about Luo Wang during this time, so you must have a certain understanding of it. Come on, I'll take you to complete the procedures for joining Luo Wang."

Wu Kuang was still holding the Qingguang Sword, his fingertips gently stroking the patterns on the blade, wanting to savor the unique features of the sword, but he could only helplessly follow Xu Qing's footsteps.

He thought he would leave the mansion directly, but Xu Qing led him around to a side courtyard on the west side of the mansion.

The door to the side courtyard was ajar, and the soft sound of papers being turned could be heard from inside.

"Hou San, it's your turn to lend a hand." Xu Qing pushed open the door and said to the man in the gray cloth clothes inside.

Hou San raised his head. He had a dark complexion and indifferent eyes, and looked unremarkable. He was one of the retainers of Hou Sheng's mansion.

But no one could have imagined that his true identity was actually a top-tier assassin from the Luo Wang organization.

Within the Luo Wang organization, Earth-level assassins are considered mid-level and are qualified to recruit subordinates to serve them.

After all, for the higher-ups of the Luo Wang organization, as long as the top assassins remain under their control, it doesn't matter whether the lower-level assassins form cliques or not.

Upon hearing Xu Qing's words, Hou San did not hesitate at all. He stood up, gestured to Xu Qing and Wu Kuang to invite them, and walked out first.

Wu Kuang followed behind Xu Qing, his heart filled with shock.

Of course he knew Hou San. In recent days, he had taken advantage of his time with his retainers to thoroughly investigate the backgrounds of everyone in the mansion.

Hou San was usually taciturn and rarely spoke more than necessary. But who would have thought that he was actually a Luo Wang assassin lurking in Hou Sheng Mansion?

He couldn't help but look at Xu Qing, his voice trembling slightly: "Mr. Qing, he..."

“He was sent by the Luo Wang organization to infiltrate Hou Sheng’s residence,” Xu Qing explained calmly without turning his head.

Wu Kuang felt a chill run down his spine, a cold sensation rising from the soles of his feet.

The people of Luo Wang were actually lurking right next to him, and Mr. Qing not only knew Hou San's identity but could also give him orders. Could it be that... Mr. Qing was also a member of Luo Wang?

The moment this thought crossed his mind, a hint of horror appeared in his eyes as he looked at Xu Qing.

"Don't look at me like that." Xu Qing seemed to sense his thoughts, stopped, turned around, and looked at him calmly. "The Net has already placed people by my side, so I can't just sit here and wait to die. Before you arrived, I used some methods to take control of the Net from him. Now, he only listens to my orders."

He paused, then added, "Although his rank in the Luo Wang organization isn't high, he's more than enough to guide you into joining and be your mentor."

Hearing these words, Wu Kuang gained a deeper understanding of Xu Qing. For a Luo Wang assassin to be so obedient to him, there must be some unknown methods behind it. Even if he couldn't imagine what those methods were, he knew that Xu Qing was definitely not as simple as he appeared.

As for joining the Luo Wang (Net of Heaven), he had already made up his mind. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been so diligently studying the Luo Wang's intelligence these days. At this moment, he felt no resistance, only a little apprehensive about his future life as an undercover agent.

Hou San led Wu Kuang out of Housheng Mansion and headed towards a residence in the northwest corner of Linzi City.

Xu Qing did not follow them, but watched them leave from the gate of the mansion.

That residence appeared ordinary, but it was actually a secret stronghold of the Luo Wang organization in Linzi.

After Wu Kuang followed Hou San inside, when he returned to Hou Sheng's residence, he had already become a member of the Luo Wang (a criminal organization).

In fact, joining Luo Wang at this time was not the best opportunity. As Ying Zheng completely took control of the Qin state, the internal control of Luo Wang became increasingly strict. Once you joined, it would be extremely difficult to leave.

This is completely different from when Xu Qing joined Luo Wang. At that time, the world was in chaos, and Luo Wang later underwent a major purge. As long as you were not a core member, you would not be targeted by Luo Wang after your files were destroyed.

But danger and opportunity always go hand in hand.

After the previous purge, the Luo Wang organization is short of personnel. Joining now and making contributions will easily lead to promotion opportunities.

In the original novel, when Wu Kuang infiltrated the Luo Wang organization, the timing was already too late. By then, the Luo Wang organization had already set its sights on the farmers. Tian Guang's decision to have him infiltrate was merely a passive move born out of desperation.

In order for him to successfully infiltrate the Luo Wang organization, Tian Guang even had to have him deliberately commit a serious crime, be thrown into a death row cell, and have the "Ten Evils" script tattooed on his forehead, before he could barely attract the attention of the Luo Wang organization.

After joining the Luo Wang organization, he started from the lowest level as an assassin and struggled for many years before barely advancing to the "killer" level.

Unlike Tian Guang, who had no foundation in the Luo Wang and could only passively wait for opportunities, Xu Qing, with his understanding of the Luo Wang and his ability to turn Hou San against him, saved Wu Kuang from those complicated steps, giving him a good starting point as soon as he joined the Luo Wang.

“Now that we’ve infiltrated the Net, the next priority is to get promoted as soon as possible.” After Wu Kuang returned to Hou Sheng Mansion, Xu Qing called him to the study and pointed to a stack of files on the desk.

Since Hou San was working for Xu Qing, naturally, Xu Qing also learned about the intelligence he possessed.

Linzi is located in the heart of the State of Qi, far from the State of Qin. The headquarters of Luo Wang (a secret police organization) has difficulty attending to matters here and does not know much about the specific situation of the local assassins, but there are many missions here.

Within the Luo Wang organization, in addition to missions assigned by superiors, there are many bounty missions posted on the mission board at the strongholds. Assassins can accept these missions on their own, and upon completion, they can receive monetary rewards as well as exchange them for martial arts manuals.

As for divine weapons and powerful artifacts, there is no need to obtain them through missions; as long as you advance to the corresponding level, the Net will automatically distribute them.

Under Xu Qing's arrangement, Wu Kuang began to frequently receive missions.

Sometimes it was to assassinate corrupt officials in the State of Qi, sometimes to seize confidential documents from opposing forces, and sometimes to escort important figures out of the city.

For each mission, Xu Qing secretly helped Wu Kuang plan it out. With the help of outsiders, as well as his own excellent skills and cautious personality, Wu Kuang completed more than twenty missions in just half a month. His merit points kept rising after his name on the Luo Wang mission list.

But Xu Qing's demands on him went far beyond simply completing the task.

After each mission, Xu Qing would call him over to review the gains and losses of the mission in the training ground of the mansion.

“The process of carrying out missions for the Luo Wang (Net of Heaven) is actually a good opportunity to hone your martial arts skills.” Xu Qing said to Wu Kuang while demonstrating the moves with a sword in hand. “You may not agree with the Luo Wang’s way of doing things, but you can’t deny the rationality of its mission arrangements. Assassins of different levels carry out missions of varying difficulty and encounter opponents of different strengths. This is exactly what helps you improve your strength step by step.”

He stopped what he was doing and looked at Wu Kuang: "Your strength is indeed quite good, otherwise you wouldn't have been able to serve as the head of the Kuiwei Hall back then. But compared to the top-tier Heaven-level assassins of the Luo Wang, you are still far behind. With your current strength, you are at most between the Killer and Earth-level in the Luo Wang. Such strength might allow you to stand out in the Luo Wang and attract the attention of the higher-ups, but it is far from enough to advance to the Heaven-level."

He paused, then continued, "Besides, the peasant martial arts you've mastered are too rigid."

Wu Kuang had previously witnessed Xu Qing's strength and knew that Xu Qing was quite powerful. Therefore, he did not resist Xu Qing's guidance but instead humbly sought his advice.

This is also related to Xu Qing's disguise as a middle-aged man.

If he were still the same person he was before, a vibrant young man, Wu Kuang would certainly have some doubts. But Xu Qing now appears to be a middle-aged man about the same age as Tian Guang, and to Wu Kuang, he is an elder.

In his view, older people have been around for many years and are certainly more experienced than him. Even if what the other person says is not entirely correct, there is no harm in listening.

Upon hearing the words "too rigid," Wu Kuang frowned and looked at Xu Qing with a puzzled expression: "Please enlighten me, Mr. Qing."

"The Twenty-Four Earthly Branches is a martial art created by your Farmer's Ancestor after observing the natural world. Later, through the refinement of generations of Farmer's disciples, it evolved into formations and various unique moves, making it an inexhaustible treasure trove of martial arts." Xu Qing held a longsword and slowly demonstrated the basic moves of the Twenty-Four Earthly Branches. The longsword cut through the air, creating a slight whistling sound. "But in your hands, this martial art has become a fixed template, only used according to predetermined moves."

He stopped the drill and asked, "While the changes of the four seasons follow a certain pattern, there are occasional abnormal weather events, such as snowfall in spring or temperature drops in summer. Can't the Twenty-Four Earthly Branches adapt to these changes? The rotation of the four seasons may seem like an unchanging natural law, but from another perspective, it is itself a kind of 'change.' Therefore, the key to the Twenty-Four Earthly Branches lies in 'change.'"

"Why does the power of the Earthly Twenty-Four Formation increase with the number of participants?" Xu Qing continued, "Besides being able to combine the power of everyone to evolve the natural world, the more important thing is that the more people there are, the more changes the formation can produce. Although the Farmer's Earthly Twenty-Four Formation has the changes of the four seasons and the twenty-four solar terms, and can be subdivided to correspond to 365 days, this is by no means its limit."

He held up his fingers and listed them one by one: "Every day is divided into day and night, and day and night can be further divided into twelve two-hour periods; each solar term can produce new effects when combined with other solar terms. For example, the combination of ice and fire can unleash powerful energy."

As soon as he finished speaking, Xu Qing sheathed his longsword and channeled his inner energy. A blazing red light appeared on his left palm, instantly raising the temperature in the air, and one could even smell a scorching heat. Meanwhile, a thin layer of frost condensed on his right palm, radiating a bone-chilling cold.

Immediately afterwards, he slammed his hands together. The moment the ice and fire collided, a loud "boom" was heard, like a thunderclap, and an invisible wave of energy spread outwards.

After the shockwave dissipated, Wu Kuang looked at the ground in front of Xu Qing and saw that it had been blasted into a gap about half a foot deep and one foot wide.

"Two opposing forces, if used properly, can transform the power generated by their collision into their own advantage." Xu Qing withdrew his true energy and explained calmly, "In addition, the gentleness of spring breeze and rain and the fierceness of scorching sun can also complement each other to produce unexpected effects. Furthermore, once you have truly mastered the Twenty-Four Earthly Branches, you can try reversing the moves, turning yin and yang upside down, which may bring you even greater surprises."

In the days that followed, Xu Qing not only gave verbal instructions but also frequently demonstrated the variations of the Twenty-Four Earthly Branches.

At first, Wu Kuang outwardly accepted the explanation humbly, but inwardly he still had some doubts. The Twenty-Four Earthly Strokes was the core martial art of the Farmer's School. How could someone who was not a disciple of the Farmer's School easily understand it? However, as Xu Qing's explanation became more in-depth and the moves he demonstrated became more and more exquisite, his doubts gradually dissipated, and he was replaced by a deep sense of awe.

Xu Qing's understanding of the twenty-fourth level of the Dize was even more profound than that of his former teacher.

Those moves and variations that he had never thought of before seemed perfectly natural in Xu Qing's hands, as if the Twenty-Four Earthly Branches were meant to be used in this way.

Most importantly, Xu Qing actually knew the Twenty-Four Earthly Branches.

And what about his relationship with the Xia Kui?

Could it be that this Mr. Qing is a highly skilled martial artist from their farming family who lives away from home?

Otherwise, Xia Kui wouldn't have introduced himself here.

That day, after the drill ended, Wu Kuang looked at Xu Qing's retreating figure and finally couldn't help but ask, "Mr. Qing, who exactly are you?"

The more time he spent with Xu Qing, the more unfathomable he felt the other man was, as if he were hiding countless secrets.

"I'm just someone who's tired of the turmoil of the martial world, unwilling to get involved, yet also restless," Xu Qing said calmly.

While avoiding the storms and hardships outside, he also actively got involved in many things.

Xu Qing is an extremely contradictory person.