Wandering Sword Seller's Life in the Qin Dynasty

Chapter 167 An Era of Famous Swords

The State of Qin, Xianyang.

King Jian of Qi's visit was like a spring breeze, instantly warming the relationship between the two countries.

Inside the Xianyang Palace, candlelight blazed brightly. King Ying Zheng of Qin even temporarily set aside the mountain of bamboo slips and personally accompanied King Jian of Qi on a tour of Xianyang. They walked past the majestic palace walls and through the bustling marketplace. Ying Zheng frequently pointed out the sights and features of Qin, displaying the demeanor of a hegemon while also showing exceptional courtesy to this guest who had traveled from afar.

A few days later, although Ying Zheng had to return to Zhangtai Palace to handle state affairs, he still appointed his trusted ministers and ordered them to accompany him to ensure that the King of Qi would have a smooth journey within Qin territory.

With such high-level protocol, the conclusion of the Qin-Qi alliance was a natural outcome. When King Jian of Qi's carriage finally disappeared at the end of the official road heading east, the entire Qin state, especially those insightful ministers, clearly felt that Qi's importance in Qin's future strategy had quietly increased.

However, beneath this facade of peace and prosperity, undercurrents were always surging.

Deep within Xianyang City, the underground tunnels are intricate and complex. This is the headquarters of the Luo Wang organization, where the sun never shines. Only the flickering light from the torches on the walls illuminates the silent and swift figures of the men in black who come and go.

The Luo Wang organization was initially established to eliminate treacherous officials and uphold the authority of Qin law. However, with the expansion of Qin's territory and the growth of its ambitions, this originally secretive organization quickly transformed into a dark behemoth with tentacles reaching across the six states, living off assassination and espionage.

Its members are mostly outlaws from various countries, hiding in the shadows, weaving an invisible and deadly net. Countless pieces of information, whether true or false, will eventually converge into this central hub beneath Xianyang.

At this moment, Zhao Gao, the current head of the Luo Wang (Net of Heaven) and the Chief of the Imperial Carriage Office, was sitting alone in a stone chamber filled with documents.

On the long table in front of him lay a secret report concerning the State of Qi.

Zhao Gao had a fair complexion and long, slender fingers. His movements as he flipped through the bamboo slips were gentle and precise. Only when he occasionally raised his eyes did a barely perceptible sharpness flash across them.

The supreme authority over the net should rightfully be held solely by the King of Qin.

However, the succession of kings was frequent. King Xiaowen died after only three days on the throne, and King Zhuangxiang also reigned for only three years. The young Ying Zheng hastily ascended the throne, and power fell into the hands of the Empress Dowager and Chancellor Lü Buwei. The net also became a tool for the two sides to compete for power.

It wasn't until Ying Zheng took power and ruthlessly purged the regime that he finally regained control of this dark blade.

Zhao Gao was the person chosen by Ying Zheng to wield this sharp blade on his behalf.

Today, Zhao Gao is cautious and efficient, adept at understanding his superiors' intentions, and manages the net of treachery in an orderly manner.

The alliance between Qi and Qin pleased the King of Qin, a fact well understood by Zhao Gao. His task was to ensure the alliance's stability, and to silently eliminate any who attempted to undermine it. For days, he meticulously reviewed every intelligence report from Qi, issuing chilling orders.

But besides official duties, Zhao Gao also had personal quirks.

He had a great love for famous swords and valued the swords far more than the people who wielded them.

After taking control of the Luo Wang organization, he spared no effort in ordering people to collect famous swords from all over the world. This was both a hobby and, to some extent, a manifestation of his power.

“Sword Maniac Xu Qing…” Zhao Gao’s slender fingertip lightly touched a name, his voice echoing in the empty stone chamber, “Having killed one of my Luo Wang’s men, how can I let you go unpunished?”

The file records the old story of how Luo Wang failed to recruit Xu Qing and was instead killed by him.

Zhao Gao didn't care about ordinary recruitment, but daring to kill the Luo Wang envoy was a provocation against the organization, which he could not tolerate.

At the end of the case file, he wrote the instruction: "Continue to investigate the whereabouts of Xu Qing and his companions, and make sure they pay the price."

Then, his gaze fell on another file, and a subtle, enigmatic smile curved his lips.

"The Qi Kingdom's network isn't entirely useless," he muttered to himself. The dossier recorded the performance of a new member in Qi. This person had completed several tasks that would normally require a higher-level assassin with astonishing efficiency, accumulating merits at a remarkable speed.

However, the Qi state outpost has no authority to promote him; the final decision rests with headquarters.

"Is he a true talent, or a flash in the pan?" Zhao Gao pondered for a moment. The State of Qi was far away, and it was difficult to discern the truth from the falsehood.

He decided to send a top-tier assassin to the State of Qi, firstly to verify the assassin's qualifications, and secondly to oversee the overall situation in Qi and deal with any potential unforeseen events. After all, following the previous turmoil, the Luo Wang (Net of Heaven) had lost many of its top experts, making each top-tier assassin crucial.

"I'll let you make this trip," Zhao Gao said, already having someone in mind.

After dealing with these matters, his thoughts returned to his beloved sword.

He picked up another secret scroll, his eyes gleaming with eager anticipation. "In recent years, many famous swords have emerged throughout the land, which is quite a pleasant surprise."

In the past, the most famous swords mostly came from the Wu, Yue, and Chu regions during the Spring and Autumn Period. However, in recent years, various countries have successively produced divine weapons, which aroused Zhao Gao's great interest.

In Xinzheng, South Korea, the "Heavenly Wrath Sword," which caused a great stir, was said to be the sword of Bai Qi, the Lord of Wu'an. However, Luo Wang (a military organization) is certain that Bai Qi did not possess such a sword, indicating that someone was falsely attributing it to him. Nevertheless, the fact that this sword could cause such a stir in Xinzheng suggests that it must be extraordinary.

"Since it bears the name of Lord Wu'an, this sword should rightfully belong to my Qin state," Zhao Gao thought to himself.

He also noticed that several other strange swords seemed to be flashing amidst the changing political landscape in South Korea, and had ordered people to investigate them secretly.

His thoughts then wandered to other countries.

I won't go into detail about the states of Zhao and Wei.

The State of Chu, a country that had interacted with many famous swords, had also experienced many upheavals because of swords before this.

King Chu and Huang Xie both died because of a sword called "Xuanpu". According to legend, that sword was a sword of immortality, which could prolong a person's life. If there was only one sword, it would be fine, but Song Yu wrote a sword poem for that sword, which recorded five swords in total.

According to the secret investigation by Luo Wang, the Sword Ode seems to have a second part, and there are not just five swords, but nine. All nine swords are made by the swordsmith Xu Zi, and all of them are from Qu Yuan's "Heavenly Questions". Therefore, they can be called the Nine Swords of Heavenly Questions.

Unfortunately, only five swords have ever circulated in the world so far, so the information about the second part of the sword poem has not been accurately confirmed, and it may be a rumor.

Of the five swords, apart from the Xuanpu Sword, two others are suspected to have fallen into Li Yuan's hands. If the Xuanpu Sword, which became ownerless after Huang Xie's death, is also included, then a total of three swords have fallen into Li Yuan's hands.

The Luo Wang organization cannot collect these three swords for the time being, but the remaining two swords are different. In fact, they can try to find the other four swords, which may not even exist, provided that the rumors of the Nine Swords are true.

Zhao Gao was still willing to believe some of the rumors circulating in the State of Chu.

After all, King Chu, Huang Xie, and others died because of the Xuanpu Sword. Although this was more likely an excuse Li Yuan was looking for, there must be a reason for such a rumor. Those swords were definitely not ordinary.

Outside of the State of Chu.

The most famous sword in Yan recently is naturally the "Thunderbolt Sword" of the Great Swordsman. Because of the death of the Great Swordsman, Lord Yanchun, the spy planted by Luowang in Yan also died. Although Luowang suffered heavy losses, its layout in Yan was indeed partially disrupted.

Finding another person like Lord Yanchun and having the Luowang (Net of Heaven) infiltrate his residence is no easy task.

After Zhao Gao took over the Luowang organization, he considered sending someone to infiltrate the residence of Crown Prince Yan Dan of Yan after this incident.

However, it is impossible to do so.

After the death of Lord Yanchun, Yan Dan personally pursued him but suffered heavy losses.

Although he survived by sheer luck, his personality changed drastically, and he became reclusive.

The people from Luo Wang had no chance to get close to him or infiltrate his residence.

As his thoughts raced, the order was issued from the headquarters of the Luo Wang organization and then quickly flew into the ears of a first-class Heavenly Rank official.

He immediately set off for the State of Qi, where he would take the lead in important matters.

The Luo Wang intelligence network can transmit information extremely quickly.

King Jian of Qi left Qin first, before he arrived in Qi.

Although the Luo Wang (Net of Heaven) made some arrangements relatively late, their people arrived in Qi State first.

"Has the Luo Net started paying attention to the State of Qi?"

In Hou Sheng's residence, Hou San reported the latest developments of the Luo Wang organization to Xu Qing.

Xu Qing's eyes flickered.

Within the city of Linzi, there exists a secret stronghold of the Luo Wang organization, where Wu Kuang's onboarding was handled.

Xu Qing naturally knew about that place. After all, before Wu Kuang came to him, he had already placed Hou San under house arrest and then used unique methods to drain him dry. Now, Hou San had been turned into a puppet by him using Yin-Yang techniques.

It can be said that everything Hou San knew was not a secret to him.

However, Xu Qing did not target that Luo Wang stronghold.

Simply because the more you do, the more mistakes you make.

He didn't need to get too involved in the affairs of the Luo Wang organization.

At this stage, Hou San, a mere Earth-level assassin, is more than capable of solving most problems.

Assassins of this caliber already possess very high authority within the Luo Wang organization.

The fact that he was given the mission of infiltrating the residence of Gokatsu shows his importance.

Hou Sheng is no ordinary person.

"Do you know who is the person from the Net that has come to Qi this time?"

Xu Qing then asked Hou San.

Hou San had come here earlier to inform him that a great figure from the Luo Wang organization would soon arrive in Qi to take charge of the situation.

Under normal circumstances, Hou San would certainly not have leaked such a secret.

But now, Hou San's mind has been forcibly changed by Xu Qing, and he has become his dog, so naturally he will not hide it.

Before the arrival of the bigwigs from Luo Wang, Hou San's position was enough to control the overall situation in Linzi.

However, if that person arrives, it will inevitably bring changes, which may affect Master Qing.

"All we know is that he is a first-class Heavenly Rank official."

Hou San spoke hesitantly to Xu Qing.

"First-class Heavenly Rank?" Xu Qing raised an eyebrow. "He really is a big shot."

He curled his lips into a smile. Within the Luo Wang organization, there were very few people of the highest rank.

More should be prepared beforehand.

But after that incident, another portion was lost.

Every top-tier talent in the current Luo Wang (Net of Heaven) is a precious gem, the most outstanding individual.

Putting aside everything else, just consider the original novel's future Luo Wang at its peak; there were only a handful of top-tier members.

The Six Sword Slaves, plus a few others like Yan Ri and Jing Ni, will only be fewer at this stage.

"Let's wait and see!"

Xu Qing instructed Hou San, "If this rank one of the Heavenly Class discovers anything amiss, I don't mind meeting him personally."

……

The top-ranking members of the Luowang (Net of Heaven) have not yet arrived in Linzi.

Wu Kuang's new task was quickly assigned.

It's possible that Wu Kuang's outstanding performance during this period has attracted the attention of the upper echelons of the Luo Net.

Hou San was only a first-class official. Although he could provide some cover for Wu Kuang, he could not prevent information about Wu Kuang from being sent to higher levels. After all, the merits Wu Kuang made in completing his mission could not be buried.

Xu Qing was still hoping that Wu Kuang would quickly rise through the ranks within the Luo Wang organization.

This is different from the tasks that Wu Kuang had taken on voluntarily before.