knife

Chapter 16 You Have to Become Bad
Xiao Changche and Li Dachui rode side by side, slowly heading to one side.

Looking at their backs now, it's hard to imagine that they were just moments ago at each other's throats, ready to fight at any moment.

Linghu Zhishu, standing behind them, looked at their backs with a thoughtful expression on his face.

"Xiao Changche, Li Dachui, and you, Linghu Zhishu, are all outstanding talents in this region beyond the Great Wall. It's rare to see the three of you gathered together!" Chang Jian was also looking at the two of them. "If the three of you could cooperate sincerely?"

Linghu Zhishu laughed heartily: "I do long for that day, but I'm afraid it will be very difficult to achieve. Xiao Changche is simple-minded and easy to talk to, but Li Dachui is hard to fathom. Even the Commander-in-Chief says he can't see through him or understand him. Elder Chang, what level and style is Li Dachui's martial arts cultivation?"

“The commander-in-chief’s eyesight is no worse than mine. If he can’t see through it, how could I?” Chang Jian shook his head, looking puzzled. “It’s unpredictable, but one thing is certain: this person is definitely at the Xuan Yuan stage. Whether it’s the eighth or ninth rank is hard to say.”

"Ninth rank?" Linghu Zhishu frowned, looking incredulous.

"Maybe not, but at least he's at least an eighth-rank!" Chang Jian wasn't sure: "This person has the Lord of Tai'an City as his backer, and a master of innate cultivation is very likely to have heaven-defying methods that make it impossible for people to detect a person's true martial arts cultivation. If you hadn't met Li Dachui here, but instead found him in another place with a different face, would you have been able to find him?"

Linghu Zhishu shook his head: "I can't find it!"

"This must be an innate skill!" Chang Jian's face was full of envy, and also filled with the frustration of wanting to but not being able to achieve it.

"Master Chang, you're just one step away from enlightenment. You often discuss and debate with the Commander-in-Chief, and perhaps one day you'll suddenly have a profound realization!" Linghu Zhishu comforted him. "At that time, the world will open up again, and you'll see a completely different scene!"

"I hope so, thank you for your kind words!" Chang Jian smiled broadly. "Go and take care of your business."

Linghu Zhishu nodded slightly, then turned and walked towards Zhang Ruo's direction.

Zhang Ruo stood up, straightened his robes, and looked at the young man walking towards him with a stern expression.

Although he was young and held a low official position, he was the one who could truly represent Linghu Ye outside the Great Wall.

The memorials that Linghu Ye sent to the imperial court were basically written by this person.

In the distance, Li Dachui reined in his horse and stopped under a withered tree. He glanced back at the group several hundred paces away and laughed, "Let's stop here. Any further and I'm afraid your commander's paranoia will kick in again. I don't care, but I'm afraid your days will be in trouble again!"

Xiao Changche dismounted and said coldly, "I don't care. Whether things are good or bad, I've gotten by all these years!"

Li Dachui chuckled and said, "Is this what you call swallowing your pride or keeping your dirty laundry in the dark? Xiao Changche, if you put a little more of the same thought you have for your commander into me, our cooperation will be much more pleasant."

“You mere bandit, I will wipe you out one day!” Xiao Changche stomped on a dead branch and said irritably, “Without the covetousness of the Northern Yuan and the scourge of you, this land beyond the Great Wall is a beautiful land.”

“Brother Xiao, to be honest, I, Li Dachui, am a Robin Hood-like thief who robs the rich to help the poor. I have never harmed the common people. In fact, the number of ordinary people from beyond the Great Wall who have survived my clutches is probably no less than yours!” Li Dachui said.

Xiao Changche turned his head and stared intently at Li Dachui, who was somewhat puzzled. He touched his head and face, then looked down at his entire body, but found nothing unusual.

"Xiao Changche, you're a grown man, don't look at me like that, okay? Of course, if you dressed up as a woman and looked at me like that, I'd be willing to accept the appreciation of a peerless beauty, and maybe even go further," Li Dachui said with a smile.

Xiao Changche flew into a rage: "You can't expect anything good to come out of a dog's mouth, Li Dachui! Your mouth is a million times more repulsive than you are! You're sharp-tongued and vicious, and one day you'll suffer a great loss because of it."

"There are very few people in this world who can make me suffer!" Li Dachui laughed. "Speak, General Xiao, what do you want to ask me?"

Xiao Changche took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. At his level and with his martial arts skills, it was honestly difficult for anyone to easily sway his emotions. But surprisingly, every time he encountered Li Dachui, he would lose his composure and get angry at the drop of a hat.

"Where did those tens of thousands of people go three years ago?" Xiao Changche asked. "Those were tens of thousands of able-bodied men, women, and children; there were no elderly, weak, sick, or disabled people."

Li Dachui scratched his head and said, "If I said they scattered and fled during our battle with Wutu, would you believe me?"

Xiao Changche gritted his teeth, his eyebrows raised, looking like he was about to explode at any moment.

"Alright, alright!" Li Dachui waved his hand at him: "I arranged for these people to go. They are doing very well now, much better than they used to be. So, none of them want to go back to their homeland. For them, although their hometown is good, there are powerful people occupying it. Even if the Northern Yuan doesn't come to invade and attack, their lives are still miserable."

"So, you are indeed hiding a secret base that we haven't discovered yet, and those people live and work there, is that right?" Xiao Changchedao asked.

Li Dachui nodded.

“You’ve turned perfectly good people into bandits’ subordinates.” Xiao Changche said coldly. “Don’t tell me it was consensual; I don’t believe it even if you tell me.”

“At first, they were naturally unwilling, but now they are deeply in love with me. If you want them to leave, they cry and wail, refusing to leave!” Li Dachui said, “If you don’t believe me, you can go and see for yourself.”

"Can I go?"

"Of course I can go, but whether I can come out or not, I don't know!" Li Dachui coughed. Xiao Changche stroked the hilt of his sword and stared coldly at Li Dachui: "A place that can hide tens of thousands of people can't possibly be truly hidden from the world. I will definitely find it, and when that time comes, I will bring three thousand brave soldiers with me."

“Three thousand men are not enough!” Li Dachui said, “Everyone knows that I, Li Dachui, have three battalions: Heaven, Earth, and Man. Although they only add up to a thousand men, it would be quite an achievement if your three thousand men could fight them to a draw. Don’t blame me for being impolite then.”

"What can they do to me?"

Li Dachui narrowed his eyes and said with ill intent, "When the time comes, I will dress you up in women's clothing and take you to Tai'an City to dance. I will also announce it widely that you will not be able to see your dance without an entrance fee of one hundred taels of silver."

The blade flashed brightly, but then disappeared in an instant.

Xiao Changche drew his sword, and Li Dachui drew his blade.

With a clang, the blade's gleam faded, returning to its sheath, leaving only half a sword. Li Dachui tossed the broken sword in his hand before sheathing it again.

"The sword that Xiao Changche broke in one stroke should fetch a hundred or so taels of silver in Tai'an City!"

Xiao Changche's phoenix eyes widened, so angry he couldn't speak.

"Brother Xiao, to be honest, your appearance makes it hard for others not to have some strange thoughts. I suggest you have a fierce demon mask made. Wear it when you go to the battlefield or something. This way, you can achieve twice the result with half the effort!" Li Dachui sincerely suggested, "If Brother Xiao is interested, you can entrust me with this task. I have skilled craftsmen under my command who can definitely make a mask that fits your face perfectly."

Xiao Changche took another breath.

"I'm a little curious, if I really fall into your hands, how can you force me to go to Tai'an City to dance?"

He would rather be killed than humiliated. If that day ever came, Xiao Changche did not think he would live on in this world.

Li Dachui said coldly, "Brother Xiao, people like us have no reason to be weak. If you are weak, it is your original sin; if you fail, it is also your original sin. Do you really think that if you fail, death can solve the problem? No, you can't die, because you can't die easily because of what you carry. What's so difficult about asking you to do these things?"

"I can't think of one!" Xiao Changche said coldly.

"That's because you're not wicked enough!" Li Dachui pointed at Xiao Changche's subordinates in the distance: "If those people fall into my hands, let me tell you, if you change into women's clothing and dance a song in Tai'an City, I will spare their lives and let them leave safely. Will you dance or not? Those are loyal soldiers who have followed you through countless battles. Behind each of them is a family, relatives waiting at their door hoping for their safe return. Would you rather watch them die, or go to Tai'an City to dance this song?"

Xiao Changche's face turned deathly pale.

“I’m a bad guy, I really can do it!” Li Dachui said, “Commander Linghu is even worse than me, so if one day you really disobey, he has a hundred times more cruel ways to deal with you than this one.”

"So, I need to become even stronger?"

“Yes,” Li Dachui said, “We are all the same. Once we become weak, not only will we lose, but also those behind us.”

After pondering for a moment, Xiao Changche clasped his hands together and bowed deeply to Li Dachui with solemnity: "I have learned a lot. In the future, I will become stronger, and I will also become bad!"

Li Dachui accepted the bow without hesitation.

"What else do you want to ask me?"

"What entanglement do you have with the Commander-in-Chief? How could you summon someone like Linghu Zhishu with just a messenger?"

“It’s simple. Your commander has something on me, and now I’m going to use that to save Zhang Ruo’s life!” Li Dachui said. “To your Commander Linghu, Zhang Ruo is nothing compared to this incriminating evidence.”

"Once you've regained leverage, what can you do if the commander-in-chief turns on his side and kills again?"

"He won't kill her, but he'll hand Zhang Ruo over to you so you can kill her!"

Xiao Changche laughed, "Then what's the point of your scheming?"

Li Dachui laughed: "You used to kill, but will you still kill now? Not killing this person is the first step for you to become stronger and worse."

Xiao Changche's smile vanished.

A moment later, he turned around, mounted his horse, and galloped back.

"Brother Xiao, let's consider the mask. It's only 1,000 taels of silver, and it comes with lifetime after-sales service," Li Dachui shouted from behind.

(End of this chapter)