Taiheiki

Chapter 68: Trickster
"I'll come over?"

"Yes! Otherwise, how can I read your fortune?" Seeing Wei Cong hesitate, the female Taoist couldn't help but feel angry and amused: "You spent so much money and traveled so far, isn't it just to know the future? How can I read your fortune from such a distance?"

"The main reason is that the leopard next to you looks very ferocious, so I dare not go forward!" Wei Cong said with a wry smile.

"You mean Ahri?" The Taoist woman laughed. "It's very well behaved. It won't hurt you without my order!"

"That being said, my legs go weak after looking at it and I can't even stand steadily. How can you read my fortune?"

Seeing Wei Cong's terrified look, the Taoist woman couldn't help but feel both angry and amused. "You're a tall and strong man, yet how can you be so timid? The prefect actually asked you to lead the troops to conquer the Wuling Barbarians. It really proves the saying, 'A poor and pure man is muddy as mud, while a high-ranking and talented general is as timid as a chicken.' The court is using all the 'talented people' like you as officials. How can the world not be in chaos? Well, if you don't come again, I'll throw your seal down the mountain and leave you to find it slowly!"

"No, no, young lady, you are beautiful and kind-hearted. Please don't get lost. I'll be right here!" Wei Cong shouted hurriedly, moving closer step by step, looking extremely frightened. The female Taoist priest was secretly delighted when Wei Cong praised her beauty. Seeing Wei Cong's eight-foot-tall figure, white with a beard, and extraordinary appearance, she felt pity for him. She waved her hand, signaling the leopard to move to the other side of the pool, and said with a smile, "You coward! The leopard is so far away, and you're not coming over!"

Wei Cong cautiously approached the Taoist woman and said with a wry smile, "It's not that I'm timid, but this leopard is just too big. Just looking at it makes me weak and powerless! Could you please keep it away from me? Otherwise, I'm still a little scared!"

"Never mind, it's not entirely your fault. Ahri is a unique species native to the mountains, and indeed much larger than ordinary leopards!" The Taoist woman was delighted to see Wei Cong praising her leopard. She moved the leopard further away, looked at Wei Cong's face, and nodded: "With a straight nose, square mouth, and a full forehead, it doesn't look like he will die young!"

"So, I will return safely from this expedition!" Wei Cong pretended to be happy.

"How can it be that simple!" the Taoist woman angrily scolded, "If having a good face ensures one can go into battle and survive, then wouldn't all those who die on the battlefield have bad looks? How can the laws of nature be so unfair? Come, stretch out your hand so I can feel your bones!"

Wei Cong stretched out his right hand, and the female Taoist took it and looked at it carefully. Suddenly she exclaimed, "How could this happen? This shouldn't be the case."

"What's wrong?" Wei Cong's other hand had already grasped the dagger hidden in his sleeve. He was about to strike when he was startled by the female Taoist priest and quickly replied, "Is there something wrong?"

"How old are you this year?" The female Taoist looked at Wei Cong's face.

"Twenty-six, no, already twenty-seven!" Wei Cong answered carefully.

"Twenty-seven? You look like you're only in your early twenties!" the Taoist thought to herself, but then she said, "Twenty-seven? But judging by your bones, you shouldn't have been born yet!"

Wei Cong's face changed drastically when he heard this. If he had always regarded this female Taoist as a female assassin who was good at taming wild beasts and a part-time goddess stick, he now began to doubt her self-proclaimed abilities. After all, in this era, no one knew that they were born nearly two thousand years later.

"Forget it, I must have made a mistake!" The Taoist woman shook her head: "Then let's use the birds. Come, stand here and look at the other side of the mountain to see how many birds fly over first?" She pointed to the stone beside the pool without any vigilance and asked Wei Cong to stand on it, but she did not notice that Wei Cong's left hand had slipped out of his sleeve, tightly grasping a dagger.

Wei Cong took a brisk step forward, grabbed the woman's wrist with his right hand, and twisted it back with force. The dagger in his left hand was already pressed against the woman's kidney at the waist. He said in a deep voice: "Tell your leopard to stay away. I don't want to hurt you!"

The Taoist woman didn't know what was happening when she felt a sharp pain in her waist. She was about to resist when Wei Cong increased the strength in his hands. She couldn't help but cry out in pain: "Loosen up! What are you doing! Loosen up!"

At this time, Diwudeng and his men also rushed over and captured the female Taoist priest. Diwudeng took back the seal from her body and returned it to Wei Cong, saying with a smile, "My dear, you are really capable. You have fooled this female Taoist priest around. I had no idea that you have fought in so many battles, how could you be afraid of a leopard!"

"To show one's inability is the art of warfare!" Wei Cong took the seal and said with a smile, "This female Taoist must have many abilities, but she just hasn't had the chance to display them. Otherwise, with just that leopard, she would have caused us great harm in the mountains!"

"You bastard!" The Taoist woman finally realized she had fallen into someone's trap and yelled angrily, "You, a grown man, actually used tricks. If you have the guts, let me go. Let's fight again. Whoever wins will be the real hero!"

"A true man would rather fight with wits than with strength!" Wei Cong laughed. "Also, you'd better keep your leopard away, or don't blame my men for injuring it with their crossbows!"

The female Taoist looked at Wei Cong hatefully, knowing that the situation was stronger than she was, so she had to whistle. The leopard looked at everyone, slowly retreated into the forest, and disappeared!
Diwu Deng had the woman tied up and sent a signal for help to arrive. Wei Cong smiled and said, "Nie Zheng was incredibly brave, but he died at your hands. Naturally, I wouldn't underestimate you. What's your name?"

The woman turned her head away but remained silent. Wei Cong smiled and said, "It doesn't matter if you don't speak. When we get back, we'll leave it to the Nie family. They'll naturally find a way to make you speak!"

"My last name is Lu! You can just call me A'Lu!" The Taoist woman finally spoke. She glanced at Wei Cong and said, "You're right. You were able to catch me off guard and capture me. That's your true ability. It's true, I was the one who killed Nie Zheng. You're a thief from Nanjun, Cao Yuan, and you have no say in Yuzhang's affairs. You must have captured me for the Nie family's bounty. If you release me, I'll double whatever they offer!"

"Double it again?" Wei Cong laughed.

"Money is just material possessions. What does it mean to me?" Lu Ping said with a smile, "How about five hundred rolls of silk? Just let me go and it'll be yours!"

"Five hundred pieces of silk?"

"You think it's too little?" Lu Ping rolled her eyes. "Then one thousand horses is enough. Don't be too greedy!"

Several hundred years later, Yuwen Tai offered a bounty of only 10,000 pieces of silk for the head of Gao Aocao, a great general of the Eastern Wei Dynasty. However, the Western Wei Dynasty was too poor and its treasury was empty to pay the full bounty of 10,000 pieces of silk at once. The soldier who killed Gao Aocao could only receive a portion of the reward annually, and even before the Northern Zhou Dynasty fell, he still hadn't received the full amount. Lu Ping offered himself one-tenth of Gao Aocao's bounty, which was quite a bit.

Seeing Wei Cong remained silent, Diwu Deng, who was standing nearby, sneered, "You witch, do you know that if I take you back, not only will the Nie family's assets belong to my husband, but even the mistress will belong to him. Just wait for death in peace!"

"Mistress? Are you talking about Nie Zheng's widow, Zhou?" Lu Ping smiled. "Well, I've heard she was a rare beauty, but that was in the past. She's a mother of two now, how much more beautiful can she be? Can she compare to me?" At this point, her eyes were hazy and her voice was gentle. Diwu Deng's eyes were confused for a moment, and he subconsciously replied, "As a mother of two children, I'm naturally not as good as you!"

"Since she's not as good as me, why kill me to please her? If you just untie the ropes, I'll be yours now. Isn't that far better than that widow?"

"Yes! Just let go and you're mine!" Diwu Deng subconsciously tried to untie the rope. Wei Cong, who was standing next to him, noticed something was wrong and immediately kicked him: "Idiot, are you crazy? Why are you untying the rope?"

Diwu Deng finally woke up from his dream, his face flushed red, and he cursed, "You stinky bitch, what did you just do to me? Believe it or not, I'll kill you!"

Seeing her spell hadn't worked, Lu Ping snorted coldly and turned away, ignoring her. Wei Cong approached with a grin, "You just used hypnosis, didn't you? I advise you to stop trying these tricks, or I'll have you thrown into a cesspool and soak for three days and three nights!"

"You, how dare you do this!" Hearing Wei Cong's threat, Lu Ping's face suddenly changed. She knew that Wei Cong would not kill her before sending her back to the Nie family. With the various secret techniques she mastered, she had a great chance of escaping on the way back, but being thrown into the cesspool would be worse than death for her, who loved cleanliness by nature.

"Why wouldn't I dare?" Wei Cong sneered, "We can't find a cesspool right here, but we have dozens of grown men here. It's no problem for us to cover you in shit and piss! How about it? Do you want to experience what it's like?"

"Don't!" Lu Ping's face turned pale as she whispered, "Don't do that. I'll do whatever you want to me, just don't touch me with those things!"

"Okay! Arden!" Wei Cong said.

"My subordinate is here!"

"Now gag this woman and cover her eyes to prevent her from using magic to harm others!"

"Yes!" Diwu Deng, who had been rubbing his hands in anticipation, responded and immediately went to find the cloth. Lu Ping hurriedly said, "My dear, I have a shocking secret. If you don't hand me over to Zhou, I will tell you!"

"My dear, don't listen to this witch. She is obviously playing tricks again!" Diwu Deng had just suffered a loss at the hands of this woman and hated her to the extreme. How could he be willing to listen to any of her secrets?

"You are in my hands now, so the secret is naturally mine! If I throw you into the cesspool, can you still survive it?" Wei Cong said with a smile.

"I really can't bear it, but I'm okay with death!" Lu Ping's face was pale, and her eyes flashed with determination: "When a person dies, whether in a cesspool or torn into pieces, he won't speak!"

Wei Cong looked into Lu Ping's eyes quietly, and nodded after a long moment: "Okay, I promise you, if your secret is really that important, I can not hand you over to Zhou, but I will not let you go either. You are still my prisoner, understand?"

"Understood!" Lu Ping was obviously relieved. She glanced at Diwu Deng and said, "Go away!"

"I'm leaving?" Diwu Deng said angrily, "Are you itching to give me orders?"

"My secret can only be known to you!" Lu Ping said to Wei Cong, "If anyone else knew, it would bring about a huge disaster!"

"Okay!" Wei Cong nodded and said to Diwu Deng, "Move aside!"

"My dear, this woman has some evil magic!" Diwudeng said anxiously.

"It's okay. Her magic can only work on those who are unprepared. Also, if I order her to be released, it means I'm under her spell, and you can throw her into the cesspool!"

"Hehe, I understand!" Diwu Deng glanced at Lu Ping with a grim smile on his face, then turned and walked away.

"You can start now!" Wei Cong made a gesture and sat down on the stone behind him.

"Do you know why I wanted to assassinate Nie Zheng?" Lu Ping asked. Without waiting for Wei Cong to answer, she continued, "That's because I was assigned by someone. He told me to kill Nie Zheng! This person's identity is very noble, you will never guess who he is!"

"Noble? Could it be the emperor?" Wei Cong said with a smile.

"What?" Lu Ping's expression changed drastically: "How did you guess that?"

"Impossible?" Wei Cong laughed: "For a small figure like Nie Zheng, would it take so much trouble for the emperor to kill him? If you want to make up a lie, you'd better spend more effort to make a decent one. Otherwise, my men will not agree!" Having said that, he stretched out his hand and pointed at the fifth stage.

"Who lied? How could you be like this?" Lu Ping suddenly became anxious. She stamped her feet and said, "You don't even believe the truth!"

"You should ask yourself that!" Wei Cong said with a smile, "You are a murderer, cunning and cruel by nature, and you also have all kinds of evil magic to harm people. And you say such things. Why should I believe you?"

"What do you mean by harmful evil magic?" Lu Ping said angrily, "These are probably secret techniques passed down from my ancestors. How dare you say such harsh words!" She gritted her teeth and said, "You must have heard of Qinghe King Liu Suan, right?"

"without!"

"You haven't even heard of him?" The Taoist woman widened her eyes, looking incredulous.

"The Emperor's family is vast and his descendants are numerous. How could I possibly know them all? So it was he who ordered you to assassinate Nie Zheng?"

"That's right!" Lu Ping nodded. "That's the man. He's the closest person to the throne in the world. He almost ascended the throne twice, just a little bit short!"

"Oh? Is there such a thing?" Wei Cong's interest was finally piqued. "Tell me more about this. How could this person be so unlucky that he almost ascended to the throne twice?"

"Then could you please loosen the ropes a bit?" Lu Ping said with a smile, "It's too tight, it's hard to talk!"

"Then there's no need to talk about it. It's just a story anyway. I don't know whether it's true or not!" Wei Cong said with a smile: "Aden, shut up this little girl and let's go back!"

"Wait, wait, let me continue!" Lu Ping was furious. She glared at Wei Cong and said, "You'd better not fall into my hands, or I will return all the hospitality you gave me today!"

　Many thanks to book friends such as Galaxy Host Eats Steak, Yi Shit Is Chivalrous, Wanyan Yinghuang Third Prince, and Village Head Little Dog for their rewards. I would also like to ask for votes and subscriptions. This book was very difficult to read!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)