Wandering Sword Seller's Life in the Qin Dynasty

Xu Qing seemed to have completely vanished from this world.

Having met Xu Qing today, Six-Fingered Black Knight finally understands Xu Qing.

It turns out Xu Qing has changed his appearance and taken on a different identity; no wonder there has been no news of him for so long.

Of course, this disguise technique is indeed incredibly skillful.

Upon closer inspection, Six-Fingered Black Knight discovered that Xu Qing in the present moment actually bore some resemblance to his original appearance. However, upon first glance at Xu Qing, one would instinctively overlook these similarities, thus perceiving them as two completely different people.

It was because Six-Fingered Black Knight received that letter and already knew the identity of the person who came, and also knew Xu Qing, that he noticed these clues.

The more he thought about it, the more alarmed he became.

"You think that I haven't had any achievements to spread during all this time, but that's just your opinion," Xu Qing said, uttering a cryptic statement.

Upon hearing this, Six-Fingered Black Knight was taken aback again and gave Xu Qing a deep look.

Xu Qing met the gaze of the Six-Fingered Black Knight with a calm expression, showing no sign of tension.

Six-Fingered Black Knight remained silent for a while, then stopped dwelling on the question and asked about the most important matter.

"You went to great lengths to send me a letter through Fatty Ding, and now that I'm here, you can tell me what it is!"

The Six-Fingered Black Knight's eyes were incredibly sharp, like two blades, fixed intently on Xu Qing.

He thought he was crazy too.

Because of a letter, even though the letter didn't mention much important information, he chose to leave the Mechanical City immediately and travel here day and night.

Upon arriving in Sanghai City, I thought I would be able to meet the person who wrote the letter as soon as possible, but the other party didn't seem to be in a hurry at all.

Therefore, if the other party cannot give him a clear answer, don't blame him for losing his temper.

"I know you're in a hurry, but don't rush!"

Xu Qing spoke calmly.

"Before that, I need to ask you a question."

"What's the problem?" The six-fingered black-clad man raised an eyebrow slightly, looking puzzled.

"Why did you choose Yan Dan in the first place?"

Xu Qing's words carried a hint of sighing.

"What do you mean by this?" Six-Fingered Black Knight's eyes narrowed.

"Stop pretending. You and I both know perfectly well that Yan Dan is the successor you've chosen!" Xu Qing revealed the truth.

Six-Fingered Black Knight was silent for a moment, then readily admitted, "Not bad!"

"That's why I'm curious. The Mo family all came from the lower classes. Logically speaking, even when choosing a successor, they should have chosen someone who came from the bottom and knew the hardships of ordinary people. Why would they choose someone like Yan Dan?"

Faced with Xu Qing's blunt words, he was somewhat puzzled as to why Xu Qing would ask such a question.

Is it because of the past events in the Yan state that there was some grudge between them and Yan Dan?

Six-Fingered Black Knight pondered to himself, but still answered Xu Qing, "Although Yan Dan is a prince of Yan, he is different from princes of other countries. He is respectful to scholars and compassionate to the people. His actions are in line with the philosophy of my Mohist school."

"In this situation, what difference does it make whether he is a prince or a commoner?"

"So, you're willing to let the Mohist school, which has been passed down for hundreds of years, become a sharp blade in Yan Dan's hands, and let many Mohist disciples become puppets that he can manipulate? Hmm, in the Mohist school, they should be called mechanical beasts!"

Six-Fingered Black Knight fell silent again.

He had certainly considered this matter.

If Yan Dan were to become the next leader of the Mohist school, and since he is also the crown prince of the Yan state, he would eventually ascend the throne as the King of Yan. At that time, the Mohist school would become Yan Dan's personal tool, and he might very well order the Mohist school to do all sorts of things for his own selfish desires.

However, after pondering for a while, Six-Fingered Black Knight gave up on this guess.

He observed Yan Dan for a long time and determined that Yan Dan was not that kind of person.

Besides, his choice of Yan Dan was also partly due to his own selfish motives.

The Mohists also had their own political demands.

The various schools of thought in ancient times, when they discussed the Dao at the Jixia Academy, did not merely expound their own doctrines; in reality, they sought to end the chaotic world.

With war raging across the land and the people suffering immensely, the various schools of thought sought to save the people.

Taoism emphasizes "governing by non-action," Confucianism emphasizes self-cultivation, family harmony, governing the state, and bringing peace to the world, while Mohism emphasizes universal love and non-aggression.

However, because the Mohists spent most of their time among the common people, the various states did not value their ideas.

What they valued was merely the mechanical arts of the Mohists.

If it were based on their mechanical skills, the Mohists could become honored guests of various countries.

However, the mechanical arts used for non-aggression became powerful tools for various countries to conquer cities and seize territory, which clearly contradicted the Mohist philosophy.

However, Yan Dan was different.

Six-Fingered Black Knight saw something different in Yan Dan.

If Yan Dan could become the leader of the Mohist school, his status might allow the Mohist school to truly gain prominence and, starting from the state of Yan, change this war-torn world.

"You are not a member of my Mo family, so I have no reason to tell you the reason." Gathering his thoughts, Six-Fingered Black Knight's attitude turned cold.

"All right!"

Seeing this, Xu Qing did not press the matter further.

Then, he brought up another matter, saying, "I said, if, well, you can just take it as an assumption."

"What if the heir you have your eye on, Yan Dan, suddenly changes and is no longer the same person he used to be?"

"Would you still hand over the Mohist school to him?"

Xu Qing then asked the Six-Fingered Black Knight.

"I don't know when you last saw him, but if you're not blind, you should be able to notice the changes in him!"

"Are you trying to sow discord between me and Yan Dan?" Six-Fingered Black Knight asked Xu Qing. "If so, I advise you not to do it."

“I know that you have a grudge against Yan Dan because of what happened in Yan State. You have a good relationship with many people in my Mo family and can be considered friends of my Mo family. But even so, it is obviously impossible for me to give up Yan Dan without a clear explanation and just based on speculation and conjecture.”

If it were an ordinary person, Six-Fingered Black Knight would obviously not be able to say so many heartfelt words.

It was precisely because Xu Qing was considered a friend of the Mohists.

That's why Six-Fingered Black Knight revealed his true thoughts when Xu Qing slandered Yan Dan.

Unexpectedly, Xu Qing remained extremely calm and did not show any disappointment at Six-Fingered Black Knight's words.

“I am not interested in the relationship between your Mohist school and Yan Dan.”

"As you said, I am a friend of the Mohists, and it is because of this friendship that I am telling you my discovery."

"Whether you believe it or not is up to you!"

Xu Qing said calmly.

He then ignored the emotional fluctuations of the Six-Fingered Black Knight and continued speaking, "Back in the days of King Zhao of Yan, he built the Golden Terrace to seek out talented people, which attracted heroes from all walks of life to Yan and helped him achieve a brief period of hegemony, including the Yin-Yang School."

"The Yin-Yang School and the State of Yan have a long history of conflict."

"Therefore, Yan Dan and the Yin-Yang School have a close connection that you are unaware of. This time, Yan Dan went to Qin as a hostage and colluded with the Yin-Yang School... His purpose is to obtain a treasure that is hidden in the Mohist School but belongs to the Yin-Yang School!"

After finishing his not-too-long speech, Xu Qing's gaze fell on Six-Fingered Black Knight.

"That's pretty much what I wanted to tell you."

After he finished speaking, he did not say anything more.

Of course, he also had some reservations.

For example, the fact that Yan Dan was killed by him and then refined into a corpse demon by Donghuang Taiyi sounds somewhat unbelievable.

The main reason is that Yan Dan became a corpse demon because he killed Yan Dan.

If the whole story were told, no one knows what Six-Fingered Black Knight would think.

Therefore, let's keep some things to ourselves and let Six-Fingered Black Knight discover the truth on his own.

"nonsense!"

Six-Fingered Black Knight scolded Xu Qing again.

"Whether it's nonsense or not, you know it yourself." Xu Qing remained unperturbed.

The Six-Fingered Black Knight remained silent.

This is because Xu Qing's previous words did indeed contain a huge secret.

Indeed, the Yin-Yang School's most precious treasure is hidden within the Mo Family's Mechanical City.

This matter can be traced back to the time of the founder of the Mohist school, involving a hidden past event. It was because of that event that the Yin-Yang School, which originally had no connection with the Mohist school, became the Mohist school's enemy, and the two schools developed a feud. The Yin-Yang School even created many forbidden techniques to target the Mohist school's internal energy.

Even so, the Mohists believed they had hidden that thing extremely well.

Logically speaking, the Yin-Yang School should absolutely not know about this.

Unfortunately, the Yin-Yang School now knows about it.

This led Six-Fingered Black Knight to some speculations.

Is this matter related to Yan Dan?

Did Yan Dan tell these things to the Yin-Yang School?

A hint of doubt began to grow in the mind of the Six-Fingered Black Knight.

But soon, he reaffirmed his belief.

"How do you know these things?"

He asked Xu Qing.

“Of course someone told me,” Xu Qing said softly. “I can’t tell you exactly who it is right now, but I can say that there are more people watching Yan Dan than you think. After he went to Qin, someone started watching him and discovered these secrets…”

"The Yin-Yang School is currently located within the Qin State."

Xu Qing didn't bother with unnecessary words. After this brief conversation, he understood that Yan Dan had bewitched Six-Fingered Black Knight, who now trusted Yan Dan completely.

Although he had worked with Six-Fingered Black Knight for a while back then, their relationship was just so-so.

It's impossible to convince Six-Fingered Black Knight with just words and no evidence.