Wandering Sword Seller's Life in the Qin Dynasty

“Since unifying the world, Qin has sought only the unity of the people and the harmony of the nation. Any force must either submit to Qin and serve Qin, or be regarded as a rebellious force and eliminated.” Xu Qing’s gaze sharpened, and each word was clearly heard by Fu Nian. “For Qin, there has never been a middle ground, nor is there any such thing as standing aside. The Confucianism’s current retreat from the world is not self-preservation, but rather sowing the seeds of its own destruction.”

Fu Nian immediately understood. He was a smart man, and with Xu Qing's guidance, he instantly realized the crux of the problem.

The Qin state's rule had no tolerance for any force that existed outside the realm of submission and resistance.

Confucianism may seem stable, but in reality, it is already standing on the edge of a precipice. Once the Qin state perceives Confucianism as a threat or is dissatisfied with its neutral stance, Confucianism will be powerless to resist given Qin's methods.

"Mr. Qing, what exactly is your identity?"

After pondering for a long time, Fu Nian earnestly asked Xu Qing.

When Xu Qing first came to the Confucian school, he was a retainer of Hou Sheng.

When he came a second time, he said that he had already left Hou Sheng's school.

Now, he has come to the Confucian school for the third time, specifically to wait for his return, and said these words in front of him, which immediately aroused deep thought in Fu Nian.

Mr. Qing is certainly no ordinary person.

It goes without saying whether ordinary people could produce those precious swords and give them away so easily.

The fact that he was able to rise to a high position under Hou Sheng's command back then is something that ordinary people could not do.

Such a person could never have remained unknown after leaving Hou Sheng's school.

"I currently hold no official position or post, but because I reside in Xianyang, I am able to see many things clearly," Xu Qing said without explaining further to Fu Nian.

Fu Nian looked at Xu Qing intently, his mind filled with many questions, but given Xu Qing's words, he was ultimately too embarrassed to press for answers.

All he could say to Xu Qing in a solemn tone was, "Thank you for informing me, Mr. Xie Qing!"

"You're welcome!" Xu Qing said calmly. "My warning wasn't without conditions."

Fu Nian looked at Xu Qing with some surprise, then asked, "What does Mr. Qing want?"

As long as it is within his power, Fu Nian is willing to fulfill Xu Qing's requests.

"Now that you are the leader of the Confucian school, I presume that the Tai'a sword is in your hands right now!" Xu Qing said, stating his conditions. "I am very interested in that famous sword of power and would like to take a look at it."

Worried that Fu Nian might refuse, Xu Qing added, "Of course, if you're afraid I might do something to the Tai'a Sword, you can stand guard by my side."

"This will put your mind at ease."

Chapter 395 Return to Forge the Sword

The Tai'a Sword truly lives up to its reputation as a sword of might and power.

Although it is not the emperor's sword, it is still a genuine sword of a feudal lord.

In earlier years, the Zhou royal family had already collapsed, and there was no longer a so-called Son of Heaven. The feudal lords were the people with the highest status in name only. Therefore, the power of the Tai'a sword was pushed to an extremely high level, and there are many legendary stories associated with this sword.

In the original work, this sword is ranked third in the sword manual, which makes sense upon closer examination.

The Tianwen Sword, ranked first in the sword manual, was Qin Shi Huang's personal sword. It is the Emperor's sword and its number one ranking is well-deserved.

The second sword, Yuanhong Sword, although created later, once did something of immense significance.

That was to assassinate Ying Zheng!

Although it ultimately failed, it left behind a legendary legacy.

Yuanhong can be considered a sword of the common people; when the common people are angry, the world is draped in mourning.

Normally speaking, in Zhuangzi's discussion of swords, the commoner's sword ranks lower than the feudal lord's sword.

But in the time period depicted in the original story, there were no feudal lords at all!

With the unification of the world by the Qin state, all the so-called feudal lords died.

On the contrary, the power of ordinary people cannot be ignored.

Therefore, in the ranking of swords, the commoner's sword is ranked above the feudal lord's sword.

Of course, that's the original work.

In today's world, due to the numerous swords forged by Xu Qing, the ranking of the sword manuals has long been a mess, with no credibility whatsoever.

It's hard to say whether Feng Huzi, who was obsessed with swords, should be grateful to Xu Qing or hate him.

Back to topic.

Fu Nian finally agreed to lend the Tai'a sword to Xu Qing temporarily, and Xu Qing learned more about it by observing the Tai'a sword.

After observing the Tai'a sword, he did not linger at the Confucian school and bid farewell to Fu Nian directly.

Xu Qing didn't think much about whether Fu Nian and Xunzi would go to Xianyang afterward.

After all, they are all adults and have their own judgments and thoughts.

After bidding farewell to Fu Nian, Xu Qing put aside his distracting thoughts and embarked on his journey alone.

He had no specific destination, but simply followed the contours of the land of Qilu, traveling eastward, observing the local customs and the changing landscape along the way. After several days of trekking, he finally arrived at Langya.

This place is located near the Bohai Sea, where the sea breeze blows year-round, carrying a salty and damp scent that sweeps across the barren coastline, stirring up clouds of fine sand.

In the distance, Langya Terrace was faintly visible, its broken walls and ruins standing atop the mountain, overgrown with vegetation, a scene of utter desolation, long since devoid of its former grandeur. Xu Qing stood on the shore, gazing at the barren foundation, and understood. According to the timeline, the day when Ying Zheng would tour the east and order the repair of Langya Terrace had not yet arrived; its current state of ruin was the true reflection of its present state.

A few fishing boats were scattered along the coast, and the fishermen were busy repairing their nets and drying their catch. They noticed Xu Qing's elegant attire, which seemed out of place with the rough atmosphere of the seaside, but they only glanced at her briefly before continuing with their work.

Xu Qing's gaze swept across the sea, where the vast expanse of blue waves met the sky. Suddenly, the thought of going out to sea arose in his mind. He found a fishing boat, paid a large sum of money, and asked the fishermen to take him to the deep sea.

The fishing boat carrying Xu Qing sailed on the vast sea. The sea breeze gradually picked up, raising the sails and cutting through the waves.

After sailing for an unknown period of time, a vaguely outlined island gradually emerged on the distant horizon. As it drew closer, the island became clearer and clearer. Ancient trees towered over the island, lush and green, and houses could be vaguely seen scattered about. Wisps of smoke rose from the island, suggesting that people were active there.

This was the secret base that Xu Qing had secretly sent people to find and build when he was in the Prime Minister's residence in Qi State.

He originally intended to turn this place into a sacred place for sword forging, to create peerless swords, but due to various unforeseen events, he eventually abandoned this idea.

But the construction of the island did not stop. Over the years, trusted confidants have been stationed there to manage it, and it has gradually become a secret stronghold for him to hide his power and settle his confidants.

As the fishing boat docked, Xu Qing stepped onto the island's land. Beneath his feet lay warm, moist sand, and the air was filled with the fragrance of grass and trees, along with the faint scent of cooking fires.

Before he could take a step, several familiar figures quickly came to greet him. The three leading figures were none other than A-Gang, A-Jin, and A-Ming, whom he had met in the Yan Kingdom years ago. The three were still tall and upright, with respectful expressions. Upon seeing the outsider, they immediately became wary. However, when they saw Xu Qing's appearance clearly, they were first stunned, and then overjoyed. "Mr. Xu!"

Xu Qing nodded slightly, her tone calm: "Long time no see!"

After exchanging a few pleasantries, the group led Xu Qing toward the island.

There are many people on this island, including remnants of the old Night Curtain. When the Korean kingdom was destroyed, some of Night Curtain's forces were taken over by Xu Qing. Afterwards, they followed Lady Mingzhu to the Qi Kingdom. Later, as Xu Qing established this stronghold, they also participated in it. However, at that time, only a portion of them came here.

But after the fall of the State of Qi, everyone moved here.

Naturally, it was still Lady Mingzhu who controlled these people.

Although Lady Mingzhu's strength is not very high, it is still difficult for these people to overthrow the Heavenly Gang and devour their master.

Not to mention that An Qisheng and others came here after the fall of Qi, even without Wei Zhuang, there were still experts loyal to Lady Mingzhu in the past.

Thinking of this, Xu Qing glanced at the shadows.

In the shadows, several figures flickered.

They were very well hidden, but Xu Qing spotted them with ease.

It was Mo Ya, Bai Feng, and a woman.

The woman is called Parrot Song, and she is also one of the members of the Hundred Birds.

When Xu Qing first arrived in Qi, he wanted to take action against Luo Wang, so he sent some members of Nightfall to infiltrate Luo Wang, including Mo Ya and Bai Feng. They thrived in Luo Wang and were later transferred to the Qin headquarters. Perhaps it was good luck, but they found the missing Ying Ge there.

Later, as Xu Qing stopped valuing the Luo Wang (Net of Heaven), or rather, after he gained control of many top-tier sword slaves, Mo Ya and Bai Feng lost their value and were recalled by Xu Qing to become Madam Mingzhu's assistants. Along with Ying Ge, they also returned to the Nightfall.

However, Xu Qing did not greet the three of them.

He glanced at them briefly and then continued on his way.

Before long, another graceful and beautiful figure slowly walked towards them.

Upon seeing Xu Qing, she immediately lowered her noble head.

The woman was none other than Madam Mingzhu.

"grown ups!"

Madam Mingzhu spoke softly to Xu Qing.

"I've been having some free time, so I came here to take a look around. Can you show me around?"

Xu Qing spoke to Madam Mingzhu.

As for A-Gang, A-Jin, and A-Ming, they were told to leave temporarily and go play somewhere else.

This island covers a considerable area.

It was first discovered by alchemists who went to sea in search of immortals. The alchemists only regarded it as a freshwater supply point along the way. Their real goal was the depths of the ocean, where they believed that there were legendary fairy mountains and islands.

However, Xu Qing had no intention of going to sea to seek immortality.

For him, this island was quite nice.

When you get tired of life on the mainland someday, you can always come here to retire.

If you feel that this island is relatively close to the mainland, you can use it as a starting point to continue heading deeper into the sea.

Of course, compared to these, Xu Qing was even more looking forward to the giant sea-crossing ship jointly built by the Mohists and the Gongshu School.

In the original story, the Gongshu family single-handedly created the mirage, a giant ship that resembled a city. Although there were some minor problems, such as the power system, which they were not able to fully resolve, with the help of the Mo family, these problems should be easily solved.

Madam Mingzhu led Xu Qing on a tour of the island.

Besides the people from the Nightfall of yesteryear, this island also harbors many people whom Xu Qing later secretly recruited in the Qi Kingdom.

During his time in the State of Qi, he usually stayed in the Prime Minister's residence most of the time, but he also did a lot of things in secret.

If some swords were scattered throughout the world, allowing swordsmen to pursue them, the one who ultimately possesses the sword would be a true powerhouse, and Xu Qing would naturally not hesitate to recruit such a powerhouse for his own use.

Since Xu Qing had come here, he met with all these people and greeted them.

After all, this area is part of the forces he controls, and he cannot show favoritism or ignore these people.

In addition, there are many sorcerers living on the island.

These people were mainly An Qisheng.

Xu Qing also went to greet An Qisheng.