nyslfriends Chapter 61 Where my blade points, your sword will follow. Do you understand?
Chapter 61 Where my blade points, your sword will follow. Do you understand?
"Qin Hu?" Wang Wei's smile faded slightly. He gave Zhang Yuan a deep look, then turned to Xu Zhiyuan with a questioning look in his eyes and a quick wink—a tacit hint.
Xu Zhiyuan understood, put down his teacup, and spoke in a flat, emotionless voice, as if he were quoting the price of an ordinary commodity: "This fiend has been entrenched in the east of the city for many years, with deep roots and sharp claws. He is a skilled fighter in the Acquired Realm, and he also has powerful backers... This is the price."
He extended one finger and placed it steadily in front of Zhang Yuan.
"One thousand taels... of silver?" Zhang Yuan opened his mouth in "astonishment," the "eagerness" in his eyes instantly extinguished, his shoulders slumped slightly, and his face revealed obvious "despair" and "disappointment." He murmured softly, "This... I really... can't afford it now..."
Seeing this, Wang Wei patted Zhang Yuan on the shoulder, his tone returning to that of a gentle elder, offering words of comfort: "It's alright, it's alright, it's good that Young Master Zhang has the intention. Money can be saved slowly. There's plenty of time in the future."
……
Wang Wei and Xu Zhiyuan got up to say goodbye.
After the carriage had traveled some distance from the Zhang family's courtyard, Xu Zhiyuan frowned and muttered in the carriage, "This kid... is he really thinking of hiring someone to kill Qin Hu? If the reward of one thousand taels is really offered, it might actually attract some desperate criminals."
Wang Wei leaned against the car wall, eyes closed, but upon hearing this, he slowly shook his head, a knowing smile playing on his lips: "Old Xu, that kid's as cunning as a devil. He wouldn't really rely on us."
"He said it on purpose, just to use you and me to clearly state the seven words 'Zhang Qingyang intends to kill Qin Hu.' He wanted those who needed to know to know that he had the will and the courage!"
He opened his eyes, his gaze sharp as a knife, his voice growing cold: "Moreover... his mention of 'hiring a killer' proves he intends to do it himself!"
"If we really wanted to use someone else, wouldn't Zheng Chaoyang's fists, Chen Wenyuan's scheming, or even Zhang Zhenshan's old subordinates who haven't shown up yet be far more reliable than our 'newly arrived' escort agency?"
"He was telling us, and himself, that Qin Hu, he was going to take the knife himself!"
Xu Zhiyuan's smile faded, his eyes regaining their usual calm and undisturbed expression. He said in a low voice, "Brother Wang, this lad... is quite shrewd."
"At such a young age, he has a remarkably skillful hand."
Wang Wei leaned against the carriage wall, closing his eyes to rest, but a knowing smile played on his lips: "Brother Xu, you were in charge of Fengming City, didn't you already see that this young man was extraordinary, which is why you recorded his name in the Register of Hidden Abysses?"
"He is using his power, but am I not using his power as well? In Fengming County, the local families are deeply entrenched and difficult to control. The county magistrate, Wang Mingyuan, secretly reported to me the other day that government orders are difficult to implement, especially by the Wang and Chen families. We need external forces to give them a good beating."
He opened his eyes, peering through the crack in the car window at the gradually bustling streets outside, his voice carrying a hint of coldness: "The knife this kid handed me is just what I need."
"By using him, we can bring those veterans into the escort agency and also bring a potentially unstable force scattered among the people under our control."
"As for sheltering those little beggars, it's just a side benefit. With his connections, those kids can stay under the watchful eye of the escort agency without causing any trouble, and it also puts this kid at ease working for us..."
"To contribute a little more to Zhenwu Guard is a worthwhile deal."
Xu Zhiyuan looked out the car window at the approaching dusk and said in a low voice, "Brother Wang, you, as an elite member of the Zhenwu Guard, have come to this small county of Fengming. Surely you haven't come just to put a hand on a few local powerful families?"
Wang Wei's gaze suddenly sharpened, his fingers unconsciously tracing the hidden patterns in his sleeve: "Of course, it's more than that."
"Fengming County is adjacent to the Great Swamp, with crisscrossing waterways. Before Xun Yue, two 'Dragon Elephant Realm' experts fought, causing an imbalance in the earth's water flow."
"Such overwhelming power is almost akin to the might of Heaven!"
"The ferocious and malevolent aura of that great demon, the Sea-Overturning Flood Dragon, has already permeated the entire region. Its lingering evil influence has not yet dissipated, further stirring up trouble among lesser demons from all directions. Chaos has broken out one after another in the Sunken Sand River and the Blackwater Ferry... This is a serious threat!"
The atmosphere inside the carriage was silent.
After a moment, Wang Wei spoke again, his voice resolute.
"His Majesty is diligent in governing and wishes to use military force to subdue the world and bring peace to the land. We are ordered not only to eliminate the local entrenched evils, but also to cleanse this place of evil influences and restore order to the world!"
Upon hearing this, Xu Zhiyuan clenched his fists tightly, his knuckles turning white, and a deep sense of shame flashed across his face: "I have been stationed here for many years, witnessing the calamities caused by this evil spirit, and the suffering of countless lives, yet... yet I have been powerless to do anything about it. I am truly ashamed!"
Wang Wei patted him on the shoulder, his tone resolute as iron: "Brother Xu, there's no need to blame yourself. The demons' power is immense, and it didn't happen overnight."
"Since His Majesty has made up his mind to rebuild the country, the Zhenwu Guard is the sharpest weapon in His Majesty's hand. We only need to work together with one heart and one mind, and proceed step by step."
"Purge the wicked, vanquish the demons, and pacify the land! One day, we will ensure that Fengming County, and indeed the entire Great Yu realm, will be free from the scourge of demons!"
Xu Zhiyuan took a deep breath, and the dejection in his eyes gradually faded, replaced by a resolute light.
He nodded slightly and said nothing more.
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Dusk enveloped the quiet courtyard.
With his right arm severed, Zhang Jian stood bowed before Zhang Yuan, his coarse cloth sleeves fluttering slightly in the evening breeze: "Young Master, Shi Tou and the others have found a way out... I, a cripple, really shouldn't be a burden to you any longer. To receive a name from you, Young Master, I have no regrets in this life. This great kindness... I can only repay it in the next life."
Zhang Jiumei, standing to the side, bit her lower lip tightly, her fingers twisting the hem of her clothes, remaining silent throughout.
Zhang Yuan's gaze fell on Zhang Jian's empty right sleeve, his dark eyes as still as a deep pool.
The next moment—
"laugh!"
Only a faint, yet sharp, sound like tearing silk echoed through the air!
Zhang Yuan's figure seemed to blur for a moment.
When his vision cleared again, he stood there as still as a rock, as if he had never moved.
Only his left hand was slowly and silently sheathing a short sword, its blade gleaming with a restrained, dazzling light.
A strand of hair slowly drifted down from Zhang Jian's temple.
Zhang Jian's pupils suddenly contracted to needle size, and all the muscles in his body tensed up instantly!
In that instant, it felt as if an invisible shadow of death had gripped his throat!
He didn't even see the sword light clearly; he only felt a bone-chilling coldness brush against his neck.
Zhang Jiumei, who was standing to the side, was so shocked that she took a half step back, covered her mouth, and her eyes were filled with disbelief and horror.
For the first time, she felt so clearly the chilling sharpness emanating from this young master.
"A cripple?" Zhang Yuan's calm voice broke the deathly silence. "If this world only tolerates those with both hands intact, wouldn't all the severed heads of the barbarians my father, Zhang Zhenshan, beheaded in the northern frontier become a joke?"
His gaze, sharp and unpredictable, settled on Zhang Jian's face: "I possess a left-handed sword technique. Sharp and unpredictable, it seeks only to kill, not to regard origins. Are you willing to learn it?"
Zhang Jian's breath hitched, and his heart pounded.
Looking into Zhang Yuan's unfathomable eyes, he seemed to see a possibility... a possibility of breaking free from the shackles of despair.
Zhang Yuan's voice continued, carrying a chilling, penetrating force: "If you learn this, from this day forward, you will be the sword in my hand. What I cannot do due to my position, you will do. Wherever my blade points, that is where your sword will strike. Do you understand?"