knife

Chapter 20 I want it all

Li Dachui poured some unknown medicine into the hot water, stirred it for a while, then bent down and immersed his face in the basin. After a moment, he raised his head, and his face was covered in colorful stains; some areas were blistered, while others were sunken.

Zhang Qingyun covered her mouth. Although she knew it was all fake, the sight of such a terrifying face appearing before her on such a night still made her feel a little scared.

Li Dachui rubbed his face, and the strange things fell off. He reached into his mouth and rummaged around for a while, then pulled out two things and threw them into the fire. A burst of green flames rose, and the things he threw in burned completely. He then pinched his nose, and his once sharp nose collapsed.

Finally, Li Dachui carefully wiped his face with a wet cloth.

An ordinary-looking face was then presented to Zhang Qingyun.

"Not handsome at all, disappointed, aren't you?" Li Dachui laughed. "This is my true face!"

"This is the real you!" Zhang Qingyun became inexplicably excited. "This is good. It makes me feel that not all the good things in the world will fall on you alone. You, like me, have an ordinary side!"

Hearing Zhang Qingyun say this, Li Dachui's face darkened: "In other words, I am indeed not handsome at all."

"Brother Li doesn't rely on his good looks to make a living, does he?" Zhang Qingyun laughed loudly. "Finally, we can see Brother Li getting angry and frustrated!"

Touching his face, Li Dachui said somewhat dejectedly, "Just like women hope to be stunningly beautiful, men also hope to be exceptionally handsome. But I can forget about it in this lifetime; I can only fantasize about it."

“The way of Heaven is flawed; how can everything go as planned?” Zhang Qingyun covered her mouth and laughed. “Xiao Changche is so handsome; he must be quite troubled.”

“Is he good-looking? He’s beautiful, more beautiful than a woman!” Mentioning Xiao Changche, Li Dachui finally felt more at ease about his own appearance: “A man who looks like that is really boring. One day, I’ll drag him to Tai’an City and make him dance in women’s clothes.”

"Brother Li, which face do you usually show?"

"In Tai'an City, when I'm a bandit, I'll use this face more often, but when I'm using that face, I'll use the previous one more often!"

Looking at the colors in the basin of water in front of her, Zhang Qingyun asked curiously, "Is this the best disguise technique you were talking about?"

“Of course, but the skills involved are by no means simple.” Li Dachui shook his head and said, “A high level of disguise requires practicing the corresponding techniques. When you reach a high level, you can easily adjust a person’s muscles and bones, and you can change your height and tone of voice at will. Combined with some superb makeup skills, even people who see each other every day will not be able to tell the difference between the real and the fake.”

"Such a thing is true?" Zhang Qingyun's eyes widened. "Brother Li, you've mastered all of this?"

Li Dachui shook his head vigorously: "I've only barely scratched the surface, able to adjust the muscles in my face and a few bones. To reach the level I'm talking about, the pain is unbearable for most people. For me, enough is enough."

"Brother Li, do you learn everything so quickly?" Li Dachui made it sound simple, but Zhang Qingyun's intuition told him it couldn't be that easy. Otherwise, wouldn't there be people everywhere who could disguise themselves?

It's really scary to think about.

Li Dachui chuckled: "Well, I have to be proud of this. In literature, I can drive away my literature teacher. In martial arts, well, currently, I'm considered one of the best among my peers outside the Great Wall. However, so far, I still can't beat my martial arts teacher. In medicine, I defeated my medical teacher. In disguise, I can also impress my teacher, who wants to pass on his mantle to me, but I refuse. Haha, Miss Qingyun, you know what, I've discovered that I really am a genius!"

Zhang Qingyun couldn't help but think, "You can't praise this guy; if you do, he'll get cocky."

"So what are you most proud of?" She stretched her two little hands over the fire to warm them, tilting her head as she stared at Li Dachui.

"What I'm most proud of is my ability to make money!"

Li Dachui's answer left Zhang Qingyun speechless for a long time.

"So what is your biggest dream?"

"It's about making more money."

Zhang Qingyun rubbed his face vigorously and said, "Brother Li, how come you have the same idea as the merchant?"

"How can this be the thinking of a merchant?" Li Dachui said seriously, "In this world, nine times out of ten, things can be settled with money. Take your father, for example. If the Qin Dynasty's treasury were overflowing with silver, would he have ended up like this, exiled to the borderlands, living a precarious life? If there were enough money, would those uprisings within the borders have sprung up like sparks? If there were enough money, would there be so many bandits outside the borders? Wouldn't it be better for everyone to happily do business and farm? With plenty of food and clothing, who would want to risk their life for a living?"

A series of questions left Zhang Qingyun speechless and unable to refute. Li Dachui's statement was completely different from what she had been taught.

"So, making money is a very important thing!"

"Brother Li, how do you make money? By robbing?" Zhang Qingyun suddenly remembered that the person in front of him was a bandit.

“I can’t support my men by robbing!” Li Dachui added some firewood to the fire, making it burn brighter. “You’ll gradually understand how I make money and accumulate wealth. It takes great knowledge and wisdom. If I hadn’t had such a heavy burden and such a short time, I definitely wouldn’t be as poor as I am now.” “I can’t tell you’re poor!” Zhang Qingyun pointed to the exquisite utensils on the ground.

"It's just a few coins!" Li Dachui laughed. "I'm not one to mistreat myself. I've come into this world so easily, and while doing honest work, I naturally have to treat myself well. I would never do something like your father, who was willing to sacrifice himself for the world. I just want to realize my ambitions and do something for the people. If I find that something is not in my best interest, I will definitely pack up and run away, finding a secluded place to hide."

Seeing Zhang Qingyun's somewhat disdainful look, Li Dachui quickly added, "Of course, I still admire those who put the public good first, and I'm willing to do something for them."

“Fish, I desire; bear's paw, I also desire. If I cannot have both, I will choose bear's paw over fish. Life, I desire; righteousness, I also desire. If I cannot have both, I will choose righteousness over life,” Zhang Qingyun recited.

Li Dachui waved his hands repeatedly: "I'm an adult, I don't make choices. I want the fish, I want the bear's paw, I want life, I want righteousness."

"Nine times out of ten, things in this world don't go as planned. How can you possibly have it all?"

“Miss Qingyun, if we can’t have both, it means we’re not strong enough. As long as we’re strong enough, we can have both!” Li Dachui picked up a burning piece of firewood from the woodpile and waved it around, sending sparks flying everywhere.

"To become as powerful as you describe is probably an impossible task! Brother Li, can you do it now?"

“Let’s set our goals a little lower!” Li Dachui said. “For example, we can ensure your father survives, and also allow him to do some things he wants to do.”

"Can it really be done?" Zhang Qingyun's eyes lit up.

“How do you know it can’t be done before you’ve even tried?” Li Dachui said. “Xiao Changche is a bit stubborn, but he’s not unreasonable. Once you reason with him, he’s actually quite lovable.”

"You're saying my father will fall into Xiao Changche's hands?" Zhang Qingyun was terrified. She had heard Li Dachui say more than once that the person who most wanted to kill her father was someone like Xiao Changche.

"Yes, Linghu Ye will probably do that. Actually, I also suggested that Xiao Changche get rid of your father."

"Why?"

"Let Xiao Changche interact with your father up close and see if he can change his opinion!"

"What if it can't be changed?"

"It's not necessary to kill him. Even if we don't care about the monk, we should at least consider the Buddha. If Xiao Changche really can't stand your father, he can just hand him over to me. I think the fact that I said your father is my father-in-law has already reached Xiao Changche's ears."

Zhang Qingyun's face flushed red, and she stood up abruptly, disappearing into the tent in a flash.

Outside, Li Dachui burst into laughter.

Li Dachui was indeed not one to mistreat himself. The small tent was fully equipped. Lying in the thick leather rug, Zhang Qingyun pricked up his ears to listen to the sounds outside.

Outside, Li Dachui actually started singing.

Holding a stone in his hand, he banged on a half-burnt, thick tree stump as background music. Li Dachui's voice wasn't pleasant, and he didn't speak the language of Daqin, so the meaning was incomprehensible. However, the melody was very desolate and tragic. Coupled with the distant distant roars of tigers and howls of wolves, as well as the whistling of the north wind, the meaning was even more profound.

Zhang Qingyun let out a soft breath.

What came to mind, however, was a deep conversation I had with my father not long ago.

The father believed that Li Dachui was perhaps the most crucial factor in breaking the deadlock outside the Great Qin.

If given the chance, he would send himself to Li Dachui's side.

“Although the chances are slim, it’s better than nothing!” Zhang Ruo’s somewhat sorrowful voice echoed in Zhang Qingyun’s ears: “Qingyun, you are both talented and beautiful. If you can gain Li Dachui’s trust and stay by his side, teaching him by example, perhaps you can make him a pillar of the Great Qin in the future outside the pass.”

Thinking about all this, Zhang Qingyun's eyes welled up with tears again.

My father went to Zhenwu City with the determination to die.

Hopefully, what Li Dachui said is true, and Linghu Ye and Xiao Changche will be hesitant to harm their father.

As long as we are alive, we will meet again someday.

(End of this chapter)