knife

Chapter 30 The Old Man Wearing a Red Armband

Before Li Kaixin could even reply, Li Dachui let out a strange cry and jumped up, completely disregarding his nakedness.

Unfortunately, although he reacted quickly, it was still too late.

The water in the hot spring suddenly shot out like a snake, then spread out in the air with a splash, splitting into several thin ropes. These water ropes then intertwined to form a large net. The bathroom wasn't very big to begin with, and this net completely covered the entire room. However, when it fell, it perfectly avoided Li Kaixin.

Clearly, any reaction Li Dachui made in the face of this powerful force was superfluous.

When the water net descended from the sky and landed on Li Dachui, it bound him tightly like a real rope.

Li Kaixin's hand had already reached into his sleeve, but when he saw the water rope, he immediately lowered his hand and head obediently.

Li Dachui was placed flat on the ground, and then another water rope was pulled out of the hot spring, this time transforming into the shape of a whip.

Li Kaixin pursed her lips tightly.

Then the water whip lashed heavily across Li Dachui's upturned buttocks.

"Old man, don't go too far, or I'll make you pay!" Li Dachui shouted, raising his head high.

Before he could finish speaking, the water net was pulled, and he was flipped over, lying on his back on the ground. The water whip was waving around in a sensitive spot on Li Dachui's body, as if it was about to strike.

The situation is better than people.

Li Dachui immediately gave in.

"Old man, I was wrong, you can still spank me! I'll never dare to talk nonsense without thinking again."

As soon as the words of apology were uttered, the water net immediately turned into flowing water, rushing back into the hot spring, and the water whip in mid-air also retracted with a whoosh.

Li Kaixin then ran up, picked up the cloth robe, and wrapped it around Li Dachui's body.

"Old man, all you do is bully people because of your cultivation level! One day, I'll reach the Innate Realm, and then we'll see how I get my revenge!" Li Dachui cursed as he walked out.

On a wooden chair in the corridor outside the bathroom, a ruddy-faced old man sat with his legs crossed. His hair was haphazardly tied into a bun and held in place by a wooden hairpin. He wore a brown homespun jacket tied loosely at the waist with a white belt, and cloth shoes on his feet. He looked just like those old men and women on the street with red armbands tied to their sleeves, ready to fine people at any time.

No, no.

The old man is swinging it around in his hand; isn't that a red armband?
Li Dachui stood at the door, cursing under his breath, but his face was beaming with joy. He walked straight to the old man and plopped down on the floor.

"How much money was fined today?"

"Business was good today. We were fined a total of 1,200 coins, but we were able to take 120 coins!" The old man's face was full of pride.

"This must be your best harvest this year!" Li Dachui clapped his hands and cheered. "In that case, shouldn't we celebrate tonight?"

"Of course we should celebrate!" The old man nodded repeatedly: "Let's each have half of this pot of worldly pleasures."

At this point, he glanced at Li Kaixin beside him and said, "We'll each take four ounces, and leave two ounces for Fatty!"

Li Kaixin bowed with a beaming smile and said, "Thank you, City Lord, thank you, Young Master."

After a busy day, I earned 120 coins.

Then, a pot of "Human World" costs only ten taels of silver, and it's something that's priceless and can't be bought anywhere else.

No matter how you calculate it, this is an absolute loss.

But that's what makes old men happy.

The old man's surname was Zhou, and his given name was Zhi.

The city lord of Tai'an City.

The only known master of innate talent outside the Great Wall.

No one would have guessed that this master of innate talent now finds his greatest pleasure in dressing up as an old man and going out to issue fines.

"Lord, Young Master, I'll go prepare the wine and dishes!" Li Kaixin bowed and quickly left. Zhou Zhi smiled at Li Dachui: "It's all over the place outside the pass that the bandit leader Li Dachui has abducted the daughter of the scholar Zhang Ruo to be his wife. Where is your wife?"

Li Dachui rolled his eyes.

“Zhang Ruo is experienced and capable, and he has a very good reputation in Qin. If you can win him over, it will definitely be a great help to you in the future.” Zhou Zhi gently patted the railing and said, “It seems you are very confident that this guy can gain a foothold outside the pass, so you brought his daughter over in advance. If Zhang Ruo makes a comeback, it wouldn’t be bad for you to be his son-in-law.”

“Old man, I’m doing everything I can to keep Zhang Ruo alive, not for any personal gain, but to create a huge rift between Linghu Ye and Xiao Changche,” Li Dachui said. “Zhang Ruo is in charge of finances in Da Qin. He’s a master at making money. If it weren’t for his constant borrowing and borrowing to keep Da Qin afloat these past few years, it would have gone bankrupt long ago. As for Xiao Changche, he’s top-notch in training soldiers, fighting, and even martial arts. However, he’s not so good at business. If it weren’t for the fact that Xiao Changche is the face of the local power and someone is still supporting him, he would have been completely devoured by Linghu Ye long ago.”

Zhou Zhi laughed: "Once Xiao Changche has Zhang Ruo's help and can fully establish himself financially, then Linghu Ye will have a headache, won't he?"

"What do you think if Xiao Changche had 10,000 elite troops?"

“This man’s acumen in warfare is simply the most remarkable I’ve ever met in my life,” Zhou Zhi nodded. “If he had ten thousand men, he could indeed rival Linghu Ye. However, Zhang Ruo’s proposal is to abandon the lands beyond the Great Wall. In the eyes of Xiao Changche and others, people with such political views should have their heads chopped off. Can he accept Zhang Ruo? Moreover, Linghu Ye will definitely sabotage things. If Xiao Changche really kills Zhang Ruo, he will certainly be unacceptable to those within the Great Wall.”

“That’s why I said he was my father-in-law!” Li Dachui snorted. “In this way, Xiao Changche will have to think about it. He owes me a lot of money, and I guess he won’t be able to pay it back in a short time. So, he still has to give me face.”

"You're buying Zhang Ruo time!"

“Zhang Ruo didn’t understand the area outside the Great Wall before, but once he’s spent more time there, his views will change. This will not only be his view on the situation there, but also his view on Xiao Changche. At that time, who he chooses is obvious, isn’t it? As long as Zhang Ruo is willing to wholeheartedly work for Xiao Changche, it will be a perfect match. Once Xiao Changche becomes powerful, Linghu Ye will definitely not tolerate him. When they start fighting, haha, that will be quite a sight to behold.”

"What about the Northern Yuan? Aren't you worried that they'll fight like the snipe and the clam, while the Northern Yuan will reap the benefits?"

“In the past few years, the Northern Yuan has not been able to move south, but it’s hard to say in another two or three years! At present, it’s just that the unruly Tiele who are trying to establish a presence in this region.” Li Dachui wrapped his robe tighter: “So we need to take advantage of this window of opportunity to resolve the internal problems first.”

"Linghu Ye wouldn't just kneel before Bei Yuan, would he?"

“I’m worried that if problems arise within the Qin Dynasty, Linghu Ye will turn south. The prerequisite for him to go south is that he sells the area outside the Great Wall to the Northern Yuan; otherwise, he won’t be able to escape,” Li Dachui said. “Old man, do you think Linghu Ye might be blinded by greed and lead an army of 100,000 south?”

“The chair in Chang’an is naturally far better than the one outside the Great Wall!” Zhou Zhi said with a wry smile. “I have witnessed how blood was shed for that chair in Chang’an back then. Parents and brothers turned against each other and became sworn enemies, let alone having the opportunity to change dynasties. Even if it wasn’t Linghu Ye, but someone else, they would have done the same.”

“That’s why we can’t let them succeed!” Li Dachui said, “We don’t have enough strength right now, so we can only support Xiao Changche. He has a title, a reputation, and a legitimate territory. The key is that his ability on the battlefield is the best I’ve ever seen.”

“Aren’t you afraid of raising a tiger that will turn on you?” Zhou Zhi said, “If Xiao Changche can really replace Linghu Ye, he will probably be much more difficult to deal with than Linghu Ye. This person is too naive.”

“We’re just having Xiao Changche keep Linghu Ye occupied. That way, even if something goes wrong inside the pass, Linghu Ye won’t have the energy to go south and compete for supremacy. This guy’s life is just about guarding the gates of Qin outside the pass,” Li Dachui laughed. “Besides, in five to ten years, our strength should have grown too.”

"You really have a big heart! You actually managed to scheme against the two most powerful people outside the pass!" Zhou Zhi laughed heartily. "But I like it. As expected of her son, you really dare to think big."

"Man proposes, God disposes!" Li Dachui said.

Zhou Zhi nodded. "Xiao Changche is indeed someone you should put a lot of effort into winning over. His talent is truly rare in the world. Putting aside commanding troops and fighting battles, just in terms of martial arts cultivation, there are probably only a handful throughout history who can surpass him."

Hearing Zhou Zhi praise Xiao Changche so highly, Li Dachui objected: "Old man, I'm not bad either. Don't forget, I'm about the same age as him, but my martial arts cultivation is higher than his."

Zhou Zhi looked Li Dachui up and down, his lips twitching in a disdainful manner.

"Am I wrong?"

"Of course not!" Zhou Zhi said, "You have your current cultivation level because from the moment you were born, someone used unimaginable power to cleanse your marrow and refine your body. Newborn infants can be called innate bodies, but in the process of growing up, they are gradually tainted by the mortal world. This is a shackle given to mankind by heaven to restrict human growth. Only a very few people can slowly regain this innate state in the process of martial arts cultivation. But you, someone used great supernatural powers to stabilize your innate body, which is why you can make rapid progress in martial arts cultivation. Could that Xiao Changche have such an opportunity as you?"

Li Dachui immediately hung his head in dejection.

"Old man, are there any other people in this world who have had the same fate as me?"

“I don’t know. But do you know how difficult it is to do that?” Zhou Zhi sighed. “It requires someone with great supernatural powers like your mother, who is willing to give up their life to help you. I don’t think there is another person in this world who would give up their life for you like your mother did.”

Why did Mother do that? Was it because she was seriously injured at the time?

“Her injuries can heal,” Zhou Zhi said sadly. “But you were still in the womb when your vital energy was damaged. This was the only way to save you. She chose you over the other. When I saw her turn into sparks and leave this filthy world, I was heartbroken, but it was her choice.”

Where is my father?

"By then, that useless guy was already dead!" Zhou Zhi said irritably.

(End of this chapter)