Wandering Sword Seller's Life in the Qin Dynasty

But these sensations did not last long.

Since Li Xin's army had already reached Liaodong and the Yan Kingdom was about to perish, what difference did it make whether the King of Yan died a step earlier or a step later?

At this point, the most important thing is to save your life.

Before the Qin army even arrived, the entire Liaodong region was already in chaos, and after the death of King Xi of Yan, order was instantly out of control.

Xu Qing walked across the Liaodong region, ignoring the turmoil.

He was only looking at the impoverished refugees when he thought of the treasures in Prince Yan's treasury. That day, he did not agree to Prince Yan's pleas for mercy and resolutely killed him.

But after that, he didn't rush to leave the palace in Liaodong. Instead, he went to the palace treasury.

After all, when he assassinated kings in other countries, he never forgot to plunder. So it was just a matter of course here. But the fullness of the treasury still surprised Xu Qing.

It was assumed that the simple palace of the Prince of Yan in Liaodong was due to his poverty. However, the truth was quite different.

In the treasury of the Prince of Yan, countless treasures were piled up like mountains.

Without a doubt, the State of Yan was not poor.

Even though he was forced to abandon Ji City and flee to Liaodong because of the assassination attempt on the King of Qin, King Xi of Yan did not forget to move many treasures with him.

"It is truly a case of the rich feasting on meat and wine while the poor freeze to death on the streets!"

"In that case, I didn't make a mistake in killing Prince Xi of Yan."

Xu Qing found a reason for himself.

In the snow by the roadside, several ragged children huddled under a broken wall, their faces blue with cold, their lips cracked, clutching half a piece of moldy coarse grain tightly in their arms, their eyes filled with fear and hunger.

Not far away, an elderly couple was supporting each other, walking with difficulty. The old man's leg seemed to be injured, and he grimaced in pain with every step. The old woman kept wiping away tears and muttering something.

Some women, holding their infants, knelt in the snow begging, their voices hoarse, but rarely received a response.

In chaotic times, everyone is struggling to survive, so who has the extra energy to help others?

Xu Qing stopped and stood there, her brows slightly furrowed.

He didn't consider himself a good person, but looking at these unarmed civilians, watching them struggle to survive in the wind and snow, he couldn't just turn a blind eye.

A cold glint flashed in his eyes. He did not take out the gold and silver from his pocket. In chaotic times, even if these weak people obtained gold and silver, they might not be able to keep it. On the contrary, they might bring disaster upon themselves because of wealth. Only food could save their lives.

Xu Qing turned around and followed the faint scent of grain wafting through the wind and snow towards a residence in Liaodong City.

He had already heard that there were several wealthy families in Liaodong City who, taking advantage of the chaos in Yan State and the soaring grain prices, hoarded grain in their private granaries, watching the people starve to death without giving a single grain of it to the disaster relief.

The leader was a collateral branch of the former Yan royal family. Relying on their former power, they seized half of the granaries in Liaodong. They oppressed the people on a daily basis, were rich but heartless, and the people dared not speak out against them.

As night deepened, the wind and snow completely stopped, and all was quiet.

The wealthy man's residence was surrounded by high walls and heavily guarded, but in front of Xu Qing, it was as if there was no one there.

He moved like a ghost, skimming over the wall and dodging the patrolling guards. He went straight into the granary in the backyard. The granary was brightly lit, and the mountains of grain emitted the aroma of wheat. Several guards were sitting around drinking and making merry, completely unaware that danger was about to strike.

Without wasting words, Xu Qing flicked his fingertips, and several sharp bursts of energy shot out. Before the guards could even cry out, they collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

He closed the granary door behind him and, with a wave of his hand, collected all the grain sacks into his system space. Before coming here, he had specially cleaned up the small system furnace space so that it could hold the grain. In just a short while, the full granary was emptied by him, leaving only an empty floor inside the granary.

After doing all this, Xu Qing quietly left the mansion and headed towards the place where the refugees had gathered.

He did not show himself, but under the cover of night, he placed the grain bags one by one under the broken walls where the people were huddled together and beside the post stations. At each place, he left a note with only two simple words: "Share the food".

Then, he vanished into the night in a flash, leaving no trace.

The next morning, the fleeing people woke up and were overjoyed to see the grain sacks beside them.

Holding the warm food, tears streamed down their faces, yet they remained unaware of who had brought them their life-saving gift.

Some say they saw a dark figure flash by in the dead of night, others say the figure was tall and slender with a sword at its waist, but no one could see its face or know its origin.

This situation has been playing out for several days in a row.

Xu Qing specifically targeted wealthy gentry who hoarded grain and were heartless, seizing their granaries and distributing the grain to the suffering people under cover of night.

He comes and goes without a trace, remaining hidden and invisible, never appearing before the people, and never accepting any gratitude.

Gradually, rumors of a "hidden hero" began to circulate in Liaodong.

"Have you heard? There's a reclusive knight-errant who robs the rich to help the poor. He delivers food to us every night, but no one has ever seen his true face!"

"Yes, yes! I got up in the middle of the night and only saw a dark shadow flash by. By the time I realized what was happening, the grain sack was already at the door. It was amazing!"

Xu Qing listened quietly to the conversation of the passersby, somewhat surprised.

It can only be said that the people of Yan seem to really enjoy giving people nicknames.

He once earned the title of "Sword Maniac" in the Yan Kingdom. He didn't like the title, but people kept spreading it. Xu Qing didn't like to stand on the stage and argue righteously, so the title still hangs on his head to this day.

Now, he has acquired a new title, "Hidden Hero," but this title doesn't seem much better than "Sword Maniac."

It was only because Xu Qing thought of some puns.

"Hidden heroes, lewd heroes..."

"Don't let me find out who gave you that nickname!"

After secretly grumbling to himself, Xu Qing only made a verbal complaint and didn't actually intend to go find the person involved.

Since there wasn't much important business to attend to back in Xianyang, he didn't mind robbing the rich and helping the poor in Liaodong.

This wasn't the first time he'd done something like this.

Whether it was traveling with the Six-Fingered Black Knight in the Taihang Mountains back then, or when he first encountered the bandit Zhi, he did this kind of thing quite often.

It seems that those Mohists had a particular fondness for robbing the rich to help the poor and assisting the weak.

I wonder if there are still any Mohist disciples active in this Liaodong region.

Normally, there should be, but there are always special cases. Back then, because of Yan Dan, the Mohists were heartbroken by the State of Yan.

The land of Yan and Zhao is known for its many chivalrous heroes.

Even though the Yan Kingdom now only has half of its territory in Liaodong, Xu Qing has heard quite a few stories of chivalrous heroes along the way.

This "hidden hero" is someone who acts chivalrously in secret, while most other heroes act chivalrously in the open.

This seems to indicate that there are still many good people here, and many who are righteous. But in reality, if we look at it from another angle, it shows that the social order of Yan Kingdom has become chaotic. When justice needs to be upheld by those Jianghu people, doesn't that mean that the government has become a mere formality and is of no use?

Among the many chivalrous heroes who roamed Liaodong.

Three more people caught Xu Qing's attention.

"The Three Heroes of Smoke and Dust!"

This is the other party's chivalrous title.

The three men rose to prominence in Liaodong in recent years. They were all men and wielded formidable swords. They had performed countless acts of chivalry and justice in Liaodong.

Because they were always covered in dust and grime from their journeys, the three of them earned that nickname.

Of course, that alone wouldn't be enough to attract Xu Qing's attention.

What truly mattered to him was the other person's name.

"Tsuna, Kin, Akira!"

Having only a given name and no surname is common for many people in this world.

As for Xu Qing, these three names were very familiar to him.

It was because back in the Yan Kingdom, he had mentored three young men who also had the same name.

If it's not a coincidence, these so-called "Three Heroes of Smoke and Dust" should be the same young men from back then.

Chapter 363 The boy of yesteryear, the knight-errant of today!

Xu Qing stood in the shadows of the street corner, listening to passersby talk about the "Three Heroes of Smoke and Dust." When he heard those three names, some subtle thoughts arose in his mind.

When he first arrived in the Yan Kingdom, he was extremely bored and even developed a desire to "cultivate a young hero".

Ultimately, by a stroke of luck, they found Gang, Kin, and Ming.

It's not that the three are exceptionally talented; in fact, their talents are only average. The reason they were chosen is because these three were minor characters who appeared in the original story and had some connection with Big Hammer.

Because the three were weak, in order to enable them to gain great strength in a short period of time, Xu Qing used illusion magic to weave a dream, allowing the three to comprehend the Dao in the dream, and in a short time, they gained considerable strength.

They were also given three swords.

As long as they follow the path planned by Xu Qing, they will eventually become renowned swordsmen.

But things don't always go as planned. Tian Guang found Da Tiechui, and Xu Qing saw that Da Tiechui was strong and capable of accomplishing things, more so than the three still immature boys. So he temporarily put aside the training of A Jin and the other two, and devoted himself to guiding Da Tiechui.

Big Iron Hammer lived up to expectations, wielding the Thunderclap Sword and defeating Yanxiang Sword Han Liu, thus making a name for himself in Jicheng.

Who would have thought that Lord Yanchun, relying on the power of the royal family, would commit all sorts of evil deeds in Jicheng, even extending his reach to Da Tiechui, sending men to besiege Da Tiechui, and then imprisoning him and keeping him like a dog.

Da Tiechui only came to Jicheng, a place of trouble, because of Xu Qing. Xu Qing naturally couldn't bear to see Da Tiechui humiliated, so he decisively took action and killed Yan Chunjun. Because of that incident, he earned the reputation of "Sword Maniac".

After that, he left the Yan Kingdom. Naturally, he did not say goodbye to A Jin, A Gang, and A Ming, and he also gave up his leisurely pursuit of "raising a young hero".

In the years that followed, he traveled to various countries, busy with his own affairs, and gradually forgot about the three boys.

He had assumed that, in the vast sea of ​​people and with the Yan region having endured war, the three of them might have already died in the chaos of war, or had become ordinary people, never to cross paths again in this life.

But to everyone's surprise, at a time when the Yan state was on its last legs and Liaodong was in chaos, their names were heard again in this way.

If you didn't hear the other person's name, that's fine. But since you did hear it, try to meet them.

Xu Qing was also eager to know whether his "Young Hero Training Plan" had been successful, and whether these three had made progress compared to back then.

After some effort, Xu Qing successfully learned from passersby that the Three Heroes of Smoke and Dust had been active in the area outside Liaodong City recently, dedicated to protecting refugees and defending against stray soldiers who took advantage of the chaos to plunder.

With Li Xin leading a large army to attack Yan, and the sudden death of the King of Yan, the entire Yan state was thrown into chaos.

Many soldiers brazenly plundered the people, seemingly preparing to make a fortune before the country perished.

The tragedy in Liaodong today is not a natural disaster, but more a result of human error.

Xu Qing walked very fast, and soon he left Liaodong City and headed towards the outside of the city.

As we approached a small hill, we heard the sharp clang of weapons clashing, mixed with angry shouts and wails.

On the open ground below the slope, three young men dressed in coarse cloth were fighting with dozens of soldiers armed with knives and guns.

The three men were tall and slender, their movements swift and agile, their longswords gleaming coldly, their teamwork impeccable.