Taiheiki

Chapter 91 Crossbow
"Because I don't want my uncle to be implicated and harmed by you!" A voice came from the crowd. As they spoke, a brown-clad follower walked out of the crowd. Zhou looked at the follower's yellow-brown face and sneered, "Where did you come from, you scoundrel? You're not afraid of death and come here to act wildly!"

The attendant wiped his face with his sleeve, wiped off the beard on his chin and cheeks, and sneered, "Auntie, don't you recognize me?"

"It's you?" Zhou's expression changed drastically. Looking at the much more mature face, she asked, "Didn't you follow that Wei Cong to Jingnan?"

"I didn't die over there. I'm sorry to disappoint you, Auntie, aren't I?" Nie Sheng sneered. He bowed to everyone and said, "I'm incredibly grateful to all of you uncles for coming here out of your kindness!"

Zhou had calmed down by then. He glanced at Nie Sheng and sneered, "It's up to you if you want to come back, but why didn't you send someone to let me know? Why did you sneak back here and bring in so many outsiders to embarrass me? Who taught you to do this?"

"No one taught me, I came back on my own!" Nie Sheng said, "Auntie, I originally planned to follow my adoptive father to Jingnan to build my own world, but you acted recklessly at home and didn't take the family business left by my father seriously. The Nie family was in danger of collapse, so I had no choice but to come back to deal with it!"

"You had to come back to deal with me?" Zhou smiled and said, "You've learned to talk after following Wei Cong for the past few months! So tell me, how did I behave so recklessly and treat the family business left by your father so lightly? If what you say makes sense, it's fine, but if it doesn't!" At this point, Zhou snorted coldly, "Don't forget, I'm your stepmother!"

Everyone's hearts skipped a beat when they heard this, thinking to themselves how powerful this woman was. Zhou's words had clearly accused Nie Sheng of being unfilial, which in the Eastern Han Dynasty was essentially synonymous with "communal death." If this were proven, no matter how much they favored Nie Sheng in their hearts, they wouldn't be able to continue to support him verbally.

Nie Sheng smiled and said, "Whether they are reasonable or not, everyone here is a discerning person!" He then pulled out a roll of silk from his sleeve and asked, "Are these people from the Nie family?"

Zhou looked at the names on the silk slips and saw that they were indeed from the Nie Mansion. She nodded and said, "Yes, so what?"

"Auntie, just admit it!" Nie Sheng clapped his hands twice. A moment later, more than ten people came up from the hall and began to tell their stories one by one. They said that Zhou and her people had embezzled the Nie family's land and property, bullied the subordinates, and committed misdeeds outside. The time, place, and relevant personnel were all clear. It was obviously not a false accusation. Zhou's face turned pale and green as she listened, and she secretly complained that Zhou Ping was not strict enough to cause so many troubles. But she was not afraid. After all, she was now Nie Zheng's widow and the biological mother of his legitimate son. At most, these things showed that she was not clear-headed and did not manage things strictly. She was far from being in danger of overthrowing the Nie family. These things alone could not bring her down.

Others noticed this, and Zhang Shuo coughed. "Master Nie, these things can only mean that Madam is not good at managing the family business, but it cannot be said that she did it intentionally. Do you have any other evidence?"

"Yes!" Nie Sheng nodded and asked Zhou, "Auntie, where is the Great Qu bow my father left behind?"

"Da Qu?" Zhou was stunned. "Why are you asking this? This bow belongs only to the head of the Nie family!"

"I know that. I didn't ask you for the bow!" Nie Sheng said, "I just suspect that Da Qu is no longer here! You gave it to someone else!"

"Stop talking nonsense!" Zhou's face changed drastically. "What gives you the right to say that?"

"That's not important!" Nie Sheng said, "Auntie, if you just take out the bow of Daqu, you'll be able to prove that I'm lying, right? After all, this bow is a family heirloom of our Nie family!"

Zhou snorted coldly, waved her hand to call over the maid, whispered a few words in her ear, and the maid turned and left. A moment later, the maid returned in a panic and whispered a few words in Zhou's ear. Zhou's face changed drastically. She looked at Nie Sheng and said nothing for a long time. At this time, others also noticed something was wrong. Zhang Shuo coughed and said, "Madam, where is the bow?"

"The bow is no longer in Madam's hands, so naturally she can't take it out!" Someone in the hall laughed and said, "Madam, am I right?"

"It's you, Wei Cong?" Zhou looked at Wei Cong in surprise as he came into the hall.

"Yes, it's me!" Wei Cong said with a smile, "Madam, I haven't seen you for several months. I didn't expect you to be in such a situation. I really didn't expect it!"

"Did you ask these guys to come here?" Zhou asked angrily.

"It doesn't matter who found me!" Wei Cong said, "Madam, if you truly consider yourself the head of the Nie family, and not a tool used by the Zhou family to embezzle the Nie family's wealth, I wouldn't come to Chaisang again. To be honest, I like Ah Sheng very much. If he follows me, his future may not be too bad. There's no need to come back and wade into this muddy water!"

"You--" Zhou was furious at Wei Cong's words. She knew, of course, that her son Zhang Daqu had probably been taken away by Zhou Ping to who knows where, but since she was the head of the Nie family at the time, she had to take the blame.

"Wei Cong, what exactly do you want?" Zhou asked.

"Justice!" Wei Cong said in a deep voice, "When I first came to Chaisang, I made it very clear: I would help Brother Nie find out the truth about his murder and apprehend the murderer. Unfortunately, I was powerless and could only retrieve the Great Qu Bow and return it to you, Madam. To prevent fratricide, I also took Ah Sheng with me. But what has become of the Nie family now? If you had acted with justice, how could the Nie family have become so divided?"

Zhou was speechless for a moment, slammed by Wei Cong's sarcastic remarks, which were based on moral superiority. She knew that the Nie family's current situation was largely due to her protection and indulgence of Zhou Ping and others, but without Zhou Ping and his support, how could a weak woman like her control the Nie family? She was afraid that even Nie Sheng might not have been able to defeat him back then. Judging from Wei Cong's tone, he kept talking about justice, which was not something that could be bribed. She snorted coldly, "You keep talking about justice. Well, I want to see how fair you can be when it's your turn!" Then she reached behind her right hand and gestured to the maid behind her, who understood and retreated.

"Wei is not the only one in the hall today!" Wei Cong stretched out his hand and made a circle: "Everyone here is a virtuous person. Even if Wei wants to be unfair, they can't justify it here!"

"Go ahead and make trouble. I want to see if you can still make trouble when you are surrounded by soldiers!" Zhou cursed inwardly, but pretended to be fainted from anger on her face. With the help of her maid, she retreated behind the screen.

"Meng De!" Zhang Shuo whispered, "This woman is clearly pretending to faint and retreat. Be careful, she may have other tricks up her sleeve!" "No problem!" Wei Cong smiled and said, "Those who do evil will eventually perish. Let's wait and see!"

Zhang Shuo's eyes lit up when he heard this, knowing Wei Cong was prepared, and he felt a little relieved. At this moment, a whistle sounded from behind the screen, and dozens of men in blue clothes, holding swords, rushed out from the inner room. Everyone in the hall had seen the world, and they hurriedly drew their swords and called on their followers to come up for protection. For a moment, the hall was in chaos, with shouts of intimidation and threats, and swords clashing.

"Madam!" Wei Cong said calmly, "You don't think you can scare me with just these things, do you?"

"Humph!" Zhou Ping walked out from behind his men, his face full of arrogance. "Wei, there are two hundred people in the mansion right now. If you kneel down and beg for mercy right now, you can still be spared! The same goes for all of you, otherwise I will chop you into pieces right away!"

As they were talking, a group of men in blue rushed in from outside the courtyard, attacking Wei Cong and his followers from the front and back. Zhang Shuo and others saw that the situation was unfavorable, and although they did not kneel down to surrender, they showed anxiety on their faces.

"Do you think you can win with just these two hundred people?" Wei Cong laughed: "Also, you don't think I would be completely unprepared for your despicable tricks?" He made a gesture, and a guard next to Wei Cong suddenly pulled out a short crossbow from under his robe and shot an arrow into the sky. There was a sharp sound in the air, and before Zhou Ping could understand what was going on, he heard the rumbling sound of drums coming from outside the mansion, as if responding to the sound of arrows.

"So you arranged for someone to meet you outside the mansion?" Zhou Ping sneered. "But so what? You only have about forty people here, and I have three times as many as you. By the time your men get through, I'll have you all chopped into pulp!"

"Really? Why don't I think so?" Wei Cong suddenly retreated into the guards and shouted, "Shoot!"

Before he could finish his words, Wei Cong's guards pulled out short crossbows from their outer robes and fired, catching the enemy off guard and sending them sprawling to the ground. Zhou Ping, however, displayed a certain unscrupulous arrogance. He shoved aside the men who tried to protect him and shouted, "It's only seven or eight crossbows! Charge forward! Don't give them time to reload! Whoever cuts off Wei Cong's head will receive a reward of 100,000 coins!"

Upon hearing this, everyone rushed forward, but to their surprise, the opposing crossbowmen seemed to have no need to string their short crossbows, continuously unleashing arrows with remarkable accuracy, often hitting vital points like the throat and face. Seeing this, the guards of the other nobles also saw an opportunity. They overturned tables to use as obstacles, blocking the way with their swords while Wei Cong's crossbowmen fired from behind. The seven or eight crossbows seemed to be firing from twenty or thirty triggers, and men continued to fall in the Zhou family hall. While these Zhou family members had seen blood before, it was only in the countryside, like hunting bandits and fighting with weapons. Seeing such bizarre weapons beyond their imagination, their defenses collapsed. They dropped their weapons, shouting "witchcraft" and "ghost crossbows," and fled to the back of the hall. Wei Cong's soldiers from outside took the opportunity to attack, and the Zhou family's men abandoned their troops and surrendered, falling to their knees.

Zhou Ping swung his sword and cut down two or three of his men, but he still couldn't stop the decline. When he tried to run, he was hit by an arrow in the knee, and escape was impossible. Two guards dragged him to Wei Cong, who laughed and said, "So, who will be chopped into pieces?"

Zhou Ping was a stubborn person. He looked at Wei Cong unconvincedly and said, "If you hadn't used magic, how could I have lost to you?"

"Witchcraft?" Wei Cong couldn't help but feel both angry and amused when he heard this. "This is clearly the Zhuge Crossbow! It's ridiculous for someone like you to be so ignorant and accuse others of witchcraft!"

"If it weren't for sorcery, how come your crossbow doesn't even need to be strung, and I haven't seen any of your men load arrows, yet it can still shoot arrows?" Zhou Ping asked confidently, "Wei Cong, you're clearly a demon, using sorcery to harm me! Also, you just mentioned the Zhuge Lian Crossbow. Zhuge Lian must be the demon's name, and you still dare to say it's not sorcery?"

"Who said there's no need to string the arrow and load it? And Zhuge Lian is the name of a monster!" Wei Cong was too lazy to explain, but when he turned around, he found that Zhang Shuo, Bai Qi and others were looking at him with fear and vigilance. It was obvious that they, like Zhou Ping, regarded him as a monster.

"What an ignorant fellow!" Wei Cong snorted coldly. He took a repeating crossbow from the guard's hand, opened the lid of the quiver, and showed it to everyone: "Look, the arrows are all in the quiver. Every time I move the handle, the crossbow is strung, and arrows fall from the quiver into the quiver! Once the quiver is used up, it needs to be reloaded. This is no sorcery at all!"

"So that's how it works!" Zhang Shuo let out a long breath. Although he still hadn't fully understood the crossbow's mechanism, he was at least certain it wasn't some kind of sorcery, but rather an extremely sophisticated weapon. He praised, "This Zhuge Crossbow can actually fire continuously. It's practically worth ten!"

"Yes! I was wondering why Duke Wei was so calm today. It turns out he has this magical crossbow in his hand!"

"Yes, could you lend me one of these divine crossbows for a moment?" Jiujiang Lei Huan, the most shameless of all, had already offered, hoping to learn more about its structure so he could replicate it back home. The others, upon hearing this, all looked askance, wondering what a formidable weapon this repeating crossbow was. Just now, Wei Cong's eight men had used it to utterly route the Zhou family's servants, who outnumbered them several times. Just disassembling the receiver for everyone to inspect was already a gesture of kindness. Why would they lend it to you for a closer inspection?

"That's easy. When this matter is done, Brother Lei can just take one back!" Wei Cong said with a smile.

Wei Cong agreed so readily that Zhang Shuo, who was standing beside him, was actually frightened. He coughed and said, "Meng De, your repeating crossbow must be a family secret. Borrowing it is indeed a matter of great importance. We should consider it carefully."

"No problem!" Wei Cong shook his head nonchalantly. "When I invited you all, you knew the risks but still refused. Now that Brother Lei has spoken, how can I be stingy with a mere crossbow?"

Hearing Wei Cong say this, everyone present showed surprise on their faces. Zhou Ping, who was pinned to the ground, looked at him as if he was an idiot. Lei Huan's lips trembled, and he looked incredulous: "Really?"

"Of course it's real. If you don't believe me, Brother Lei, you can take this!" Wei Cong said with a smile, "But let me be frank. Although this Zhuge Crossbow can fire ten arrows in a row, due to the way it's strung, its force is less than that of an ordinary crossbow. Naturally, the power of the arrows it fires is much smaller. It can only kill unarmored or lightly armored enemies within ten steps. It's a weapon for catching bandits, not a military weapon!"

"So that's how it is!" Lei Huan nodded: "But even so, it is an extremely rare instrument. Thank you, Brother Meng De!" After saying that, he bowed deeply to Wei Cong as a greeting.

"Brother Lei, why do you have to do this?" Wei Cong quickly reached out to support Lei Huan and said to everyone, "If you are interested in this crossbow, I will give you one after this matter is completed. Just for your enjoyment!"

(End of this chapter)