knife

Chapter 86 Night Party
Wu De sat cross-legged on the felt carpet, carefully wiping the iron sword in his hand.

During the escort of Zhang Ruo, Wu De used a spear in all the battles, but in reality, his real weapon was an iron sword sheathed in the spear shaft.

The sword is very distinctive, with three edges and grooves, and is sharpened on three sides. When inserted into the shaft of the spear, it is completely integrated with the shaft, and no clue can be seen from the outside.

As the fourth-ranking figure in the Black Ice Guard, his martial arts skills were naturally quite impressive.

At the peak of the eighth rank, he is only one step away from the ninth rank.

This trip to the border region unexpectedly loosened the bottleneck that had been holding him back for so long, creating a crack that surprised and delighted him.

Sometimes, danger can also be an opportunity.

In the past, Wu De was actually quite proud of his cultivation level.

After all, at just over forty years old, to have reached the peak of the eighth rank was already quite an extraordinary achievement.

But after seeing Li Dachui and Xiao Changche, these outstanding individuals, he felt a little inferior.

The other person is much younger than me, but their martial arts skills are far superior.

Let's leave Li Dachui aside for now. After all, having a master of innate talent by your side every day for close guidance is something that very few people in this world can achieve.

But someone like Xiao Changche truly horrified Wu De.

I had only heard about it in Chang'an before, but this time I saw it for myself.

At the age of twenty-four or twenty-five, with a cultivation level of the ninth rank of Xuan Yuan, he is the commander and controller of thousands of troops, and now, he will soon become the most powerful figure outside the pass.

If Linghuye could effectively control Xiao Changche in the past...
After seizing Baoping Prefecture and joining forces with Li Dachui, the power structure outside the pass will undergo a dramatic change.

Wu De sighed softly. He couldn't say for sure about other things, but he really needed to seriously consider improving his martial arts skills. A higher level was always better than a lower one, and it would allow him to accomplish more.

With a soft snap, a spark suddenly leaped out of the fire in front of him. Wu De's iron sword flashed with a cold light, but instead of aiming at the spark, he thrust it behind him with a backhand.

Something silently tore through the tent and flew toward him.

Wu De's heart sank to the bottom.

The sword missed.

In an instant, he bent over and curled himself into a ball, rolled to the side, held the iron sword horizontally in front of him, sprang to his feet, and knelt on the ground.

A yellow grasshopper was hanging in front of him.

Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a grasshopper woven from withered yellow grass leaves that can be found everywhere outside.

Wu De's eyes were filled with fear. He involuntarily swallowed and looked past the grasshopper at the hole in the tent.

At that moment, the grasshopper actually flapped its wings, then turned around and flew out through the tear again.

Wu De hesitated for a moment, but finally picked up his longsword, lifted the tent flap, and went out.

The camp was quiet.

There were no stars or moon in the sky, but the surrounding scenery was still clearly visible under the reflection of the white snow.

The little grasshopper flapped its wings and flew swiftly ahead, while Wu De took a breath and followed closely behind like a wisp of smoke.

Wu De could not refuse this invitation from some unknown force.

Sometimes, power is justice.

When the grasshopper flew in front of Wu De, Wu De knew that he had no power to resist.

Beneath the canopy of a lone pine tree ahead, a figure could be vaguely seen, and the grass-yellow grasshopper flew into the shadows.

Wu De gripped the iron sword tightly. No matter how high the opponent's martial arts cultivation was, he had no habit of surrendering. Sometimes, even if he couldn't beat someone, he could still manage to splatter blood on them.

"Wu, don't be so nervous, we are not enemies!" A gentle voice came, and Wu De felt a strange sense of peace. He lowered his sword. The next moment, he suddenly woke up and raised his sword to his chest again. Looking at the other person's figure, his fear intensified.

The man turned around, and Wu De saw his face clearly. He felt that he was very familiar with him and that he had definitely seen him somewhere before. His mind quickly recalled his recent itinerary.

Finally, a scene became etched in my mind.

I remember seeing an old man with a red armband arguing with an old woman who was about the same size as me, while I was drinking at the Zui De Yi Restaurant.

The reason for the argument was that the old woman had just spat a thick phlegm on the ground, and the old man wanted to fine him. The old woman threw a tantrum, and the two started hurling insults at each other.

In the end, the old woman lost the argument and paid a ten-coin fine, while the old man, beaming with pride, glanced up at Wu De upstairs in the Drunken Delight building. Wu De even gave him a thumbs-up.

After all, winning an argument with an old woman like that is no easy task, and Wu De knew he couldn't do it. In such a situation, he would most likely just run away in defeat.

"It's you?" he exclaimed in surprise. "Who exactly are you?"

The old man waved to him and said with a smile, "My surname is Zhou. I don't have much to do on weekdays, so I just wander around Tai'an City!"

So his surname was Zhou!

Wu De's heart sank back into his stomach. He sheathed his iron sword and walked toward the old man: "So it is the City Lord who has arrived. I have been staying in Tai'an City for many days, but I have not had the chance to meet the City Lord this time. May I ask what brings the City Lord here tonight?"

"I really like this style of doing things—getting straight to the point!" Zhou Zhi smiled and said, "I came here specifically today because there's something I need to remind you of!"

Wu De was slightly taken aback: "Lord of the city, please feel free to give your orders. As long as it is within my ability, I will not hesitate to do it."

"Did someone ask you to investigate what major event happened in Chang'an twenty-five years ago?" Zhou Zhi asked.

"Yes, Miss Qingyun asked me to look into it. Twenty-five years ago, I was about fourteen or fifteen years old. At that time, I was still doing odd jobs for my master, so I really don't know much about it. But if it is a major event that can affect the whole world, it must be recorded in the Black Ice Guard's archives. Now I can look it up at will."

Zhou Zhi looked up at the sky and sighed softly, "That incident twenty-five years ago, the Black Ice Guard probably doesn't have many detailed records of it. However, I know that there are still a few old guys in the Black Ice Guard who are alive, and they should know. But I don't recommend that you ask them, or you might bring disaster upon yourself!"

Wu De's body trembled slightly.

"A fatal disaster?"

"No matter what you find out, don't disclose it to outsiders for now!" Zhou Zhi said.

Wu De pondered for a moment, then nodded and said, "It seems that the city lord is very clear about the cause and effect of that incident twenty-five years ago. Asking me to investigate would be redundant, so I naturally won't interfere."

“People in your line of work all have a strong sense of curiosity. If you don’t figure things out, you probably won’t be able to sleep!” Zhou Zhi said, “So I’m here to remind you.”

Wu De laughed: "I understand what you mean."

“After returning to Chang’an, we can visit Old Man Yu and chat with him about what we saw and heard outside the Great Wall this time!” Zhou Zhi said.

"The door of the old master's house is not one that a crude and uncouth man like me can knock on!" Wu De shook his head repeatedly.

“Just say you came back from Tai’an City, and he will naturally let you in!” Zhou Zhi said, “He is a teacher who cares a lot about his students. Even though he only taught this student for three years.”

Zhou Zhiyi waved his hand, and a bundle flew towards Wu De: "This is some health-preserving stuff that Fu Qingzhu and I prepared for him. No matter how good his health is, he's still over eighty years old. Hopefully, he can live a few more years!"

Wu De was quite excited. If he could truly gain access to Master Yu Entai's tutelage, his status would rise several levels. Not to mention anything else, those in Chang'an who hoped for his downfall would have to reconsider their attitude towards him. And who knew, his years as a judicial officer might even lead to a promotion.

Although I don't care.

"Does the city lord have any other instructions?"

"If you can see He Qiku, please say a word for me: ask him if he regrets his choice back then?" Zhou Zhi's tone turned cold: "To live an old age without dying is to be a thief. What is this old thief doing still alive? This dog is wasting food while alive and polluting the land when he dies. It would be best to burn himself to ashes and throw him into the East China Sea to feed the fish."

Wu De's mouth dropped open.

He could tell that Zhou Zhi truly harbored deep hatred for General He Qiku.

Whether it was Master Yu Entai or General He Qiku, these people were all old acquaintances of Zhou Zhi, and all of them were prominent figures in the Qin Dynasty.

Who exactly was Zhou Zhi's past?

Who exactly is Li Dachui?
One question after another popped up, and my curiosity grew stronger and stronger.

As Zhou Zhi said, if he didn't investigate these matters thoroughly, he feared he wouldn't be able to get a good night's sleep from now on. Even though curiosity can sometimes kill, it couldn't stop Wu De's heart from pursuing the truth.

If you hear the truth in the morning, you will die in the evening!

The grasshopper, yellowish-brown in color, flew to Wu De's side once more, but Zhou Zhi was nowhere to be seen. Yet, Zhou Zhi's voice still echoed in his ears: "Your martial arts cultivation has reached a bottleneck, but there is hope for a breakthrough. Here, take this little gadget and play with it slowly. It might be helpful to you!"

Wu De was both surprised and delighted as he carefully plucked the grasshopper from the air, never expecting such a gift.

If a master of innate wisdom says it will be helpful, then it definitely will!
After waiting a while longer in the snowy night to make sure Zhou Zhi was far away, Wu De returned to the camp.

Throughout the camp, snores rose and fell, and even the horses were all silent.

Back in his tent, lying on the blanket, he found himself wide awake.

The original intention of this trip to the area outside the Great Wall was to restart the dead stakes of the Black Ice Platform and, incidentally, to find out the true situation outside the Great Wall and to get a feel for Linghu Ye's capabilities. However, the situation outside the Great Wall turned out to be far more complicated than the court had imagined.

(End of this chapter)