Martial Arts Master: The Lin Family Sword God, who swept through the Five Mountains and Four Sects

Lin Tian's throat moved slightly, and his fingertips slowly brushed across her cheek, then gently traced along her lips, as if drawing a painting he dared not put pen to paper.

Her breathing gradually became deep and heavy; Zi Nu's body was taut like a fully drawn bowstring, her ten fingers tightly clenched in her sleeves.

She could hear her heart pounding like a drum, each beat faster than the last. When she looked up again, she saw Lin Tian's nose almost touching her forehead.

"Smack!" She suddenly pushed him away with all her might, turned around and ran away, her skirt fluttering as she headed straight for the backyard, her back view as panicked as a startled sparrow.

Lin Tian stumbled and fell to the ground, throwing his head back and laughing heartily, his laughter tinged with three parts smugness and seven parts relish: "Tsk, almost... we kissed..."

In front of the Empress Dowager's bedroom in the Xianyang Palace.

The white jade steps are cold, and the chill seeps into the air.

Ying Zheng had been kneeling on the highest stone step since dawn. The blue bricks beneath his knees had long been warmed by his body heat, but he remained motionless.

Zhao Ji had already returned to the inner palace to rest. The curtains were lowered, and the incense burner emitted wisps of smoke.

Gai Nie stood nearby, dressed in black, holding his long sword to his chest, as still as an ancient pine.

At this moment, Miao Du strolled out of the palace gate, bowing low with a honeyed smile on her face. She approached Ying Zheng and said in a sticky voice, "Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager has decreed that you return to the palace to govern and not fail the late King's trust."

"Get out of my way. If the Empress Dowager refuses to see me, I will kneel until the sun begins to set."

"Yes... I'll take my leave." Miao Du said with a forced smile, backing away and shrinking back into the hall.

After a slight hesitation, Gai Nie finally spoke: "Your Majesty, the affairs of the state are of paramount importance, but your health is even more fundamental."

"State affairs?" Ying Zheng sneered, his double-edged gaze sweeping across the palace gates. "It's nothing but a family matter! He can't even protect his own family, and he can't even handle the tasks assigned by his teacher properly—how can I face him!"

His face was ashen, but two dark flames burned in his eyes, a chilling aura concealing malevolence, a stillness harboring thunder.

"Wow—you're kneeling pretty firmly!"

Lin Tian's voice drifted lazily up from below the stone steps.

Gai Nie bowed slightly to the side: "Greetings, Imperial Preceptor."

Lin Tian was munching on a bag of wild berries, the juice staining his fingertips red, as he strolled from the main palace into the harem, oblivious to everyone around him.

Guards blocked his path, eunuchs shouted at him, and young palace maids tried to avoid him by lifting their skirts—he merely raised his chin and uttered four words: "I am the Imperial Advisor."

Everyone knelt down in unison, bowing to Lin Tian as they saw him off, not daring to even breathe loudly.

Some titles are more effective than the name itself, especially when they carry immense power and overwhelming authority.

Ying Zheng watched as Lin Tian, ​​holding a handful of wild berries, strolled around, munching on them with juice on his lips and a leisurely air about him, stood straight in front of him. In an instant, his ears burned, his face tightened, and he was so ashamed that he could hardly lift his head.

What made his heart ache even more was the man's cold, stern gaze, which fell heavily on him, as if silently questioning him, or perhaps filled with disappointment.

"I have failed in my duty, sir, please punish me!" Ying Zheng lowered his head and lowered his eyes, his voice hoarse, his fingertips taut and white, so embarrassed that he had nowhere to hide.

Lin Tian didn't even glance at him, turning straight to Gai Nie and handing him the bag of berries: "Want to try some?"

Gai Nie was taken aback—the king was still prostrate on the ground, and the formalities hadn't been completed yet! But he still honestly replied, "Thank you, Grand Preceptor, but Gai Nie dares not eat."

"If you don't want to eat, then forget it!" Lin Tian pulled his wrist back, turned around, and strode towards the tightly closed vermilion door of the Empress Dowager's palace. He spoke loudly: "These wild berries have always been the most common sweetness on the stoves of the people of Qin. Poor families often mix them with coarse bread and eat them with dry rations, just for a sweet and sour taste to relieve fatigue. Why? Because meat and oil are too far away, and salt, soy sauce, and vinegar are all precious. How can ordinary people dare to dream of delicacies? The root of the people's hunger and cold lies in the governance of officials; the corruption of officials lies in the extravagance and hedonism of those in power—if the upper beam is not straight, the lower beam will inevitably be crooked, which is why so many wounds have been created."

Before he finished speaking, he had already strolled back to Ying Zheng's side, bit into a berry, letting the purplish-red juice seep into his lips and teeth, and raised his voice again: "Since Your Majesty is ill, it shows that the foundation of our Great Qin still has cracks, and the long-standing problems have not yet been eradicated. It's a pity that Shang Yang was torn apart by chariots and died, his blood spilled for Qin in Xianyang, and he is no longer here. If he were still alive, how could such absurdity be tolerated? Even if the king has made mistakes, he should be punished according to the law! Your Majesty, may I ask—according to the ironclad law established by Shang Yang, 'Punishment has no rank, and the law does not favor the noble,' can the emperor be punished the same as the common people when he breaks the law?!"

Ying Zheng remained silent for a moment, his expression solemn, and nodded earnestly: "What you say is absolutely right! Since the reforms of Lord Shang, there has been no distinction between noble and lowly under the laws."

"Bullshit! All bullshit!" Lin Tian suddenly shouted, his gaze like lightning striking the bewildered Ying Zheng. "How can the emperor be punished the same as commoners? Even the close advisors of the royal family and nobles can escape the law, treating it like scraps of paper—is the net of heaven truly impenetrable, or has it been riddled with holes? I think the words on those bamboo slips are less valuable than these berries! At least they can warm the stomach, quench thirst, and suppress hunger!"

Ying Zheng's lips twitched almost imperceptibly. He understood—this wasn't a discussion of the law at all; it was clearly a pretext used to criticize the Empress Dowager.

Gai Nie was startled by what he saw, his gaze fixed intently on Lin Tian, ​​feeling that the man's courage far surpassed the reach of his sword.

Under heaven, only Lin Tian dared to openly display his sarcasm on his face and in his words, deep within the Xianyang Palace, in front of the Empress Dowager's bedroom, and right under the Qin King's nose.

Lin Tian looked up at the sky and sighed deeply, his tone suddenly turning desolate as he recited: "Alas... the rise and fall of a nation rests on the shoulders of every commoner; though there is a path to serve the country, the will of Heaven is unpredictable! Loyalty and treachery are blurred, even the clear sky cannot distinguish them; but a sincere heart can be witnessed by the sun and moon..."

His brows were solemn, his sleeves fluttered slightly, and his words rang out with a resounding clang. In an instant, he seemed to rise from the ground, standing majestically between the imperial court and the martial world.

A loyal and upright minister, full of enthusiasm, was besieged by treacherous officials, and his worries were framed by villains—his extremely aggrieved and indignant appearance is vividly portrayed.

Even Ying Zheng and Gai Nie were shaken by his "righteous spirit".

If they hadn't seen him just moments before, relishing the berries with juice dripping onto the hem of his robe, the two would have truly believed him—believed that every word he uttered was heartfelt and dripped with blood.

There are indeed people in the world who, while chewing on fruit and gazing at the clouds, are simultaneously enacting a grand drama of loyal souls going to their deaths in their hearts.

Ying Zheng was convinced, completely convinced. He quietly gave his mentor Lin Tian a thumbs-up, the movement as light as if afraid of disturbing a dream that had just begun.

Just then, a suppressed angry shout came from inside the palace: "How dare the Imperial Advisor trespass into the forbidden area of ​​the inner palace and disturb my peace?"

"Oh dear! I'm so sorry! Please forgive me, Your Majesty!" Lin Tian immediately put on a flustered and terrified expression, bowed deeply towards the palace gate, his forehead almost touching the blue bricks, his face full of shame.

Taking advantage of the situation, he moved closer to Ying Zheng, lowered his voice, and smiled slyly: "Good student, be smart—when you see your mother, don't take the wrong side."

Ying Zheng nodded slightly.

The palace gates opened with a knock, and his heart skipped a beat. A surge of joy welled up within him—he never expected that his teacher would actually be able to open the door, and he never expected that the Empress Dowager would actually respond!