knife

Chapter 209 Shake
Chang Jian sat leaning against a boulder, panting heavily. Blood seeped from the corners of his mouth and nostrils. A long spear was pressed against his throat, and several beautiful little blue flames swirled above his head.

Chang Jian, however, seemed unconcerned about guns and fire. His eyes were fixed on Li Dachui, filled with doubt: "Li Dachui, what kind of kung fu do you practice?"

Li Dachui chuckled, squatted down in front of him, and said, "It's a secret! Master Chang, you didn't expect this day to come, did you?"

Chang Jian's lips twitched slightly. He raised one hand and gently pushed away the steel spear pressed against his throat. He then glanced at the fat man beside him and said, "To actually see the successor of Phoenix Fire is truly an honor."

Li Kaixin smiled slightly, and the small blue flames hovering above Chang Jian's head, like birds returning to their nests, disappeared into the fat man's body one by one.

"Master Chang seems very confident, as if nothing will happen? Is today just a little joke?"

"While it's no joke, I'm not in any danger, and I can tell that!" Chang looked up at Li Dachui and said, "If you really wanted to kill me, you wouldn't have needed Steward Li's help; the two of you working together would have been enough. You called Steward Li here, just to capture me alive, didn't you? Speaking of which, Protector Li, how did you develop such martial arts skills?"

Li Dachui laughed and sat down in front of Chang Jian. "As expected of Master Chang, even in this situation, you can see the situation clearly. We really didn't intend to kill you. After we learned that you were at Black Wind Ridge, we could have surrounded the area with our army and killed you in the chaos. That would have been the cleanest solution. Instead, we leaked the information to Li Guohua to lure you out, and then captured you in this desolate place. Going to such lengths, we obviously have another motive."

Xiao Changche, standing behind Li Dachui, snorted coldly, impatiently shoved his gun into the ground, and walked back to the roadside shed on his own. Li Kaixin followed him eagerly.

"Protector, let me brew you another pot of tea so you can drink it slowly!"

Watching the two figures disappear into the distance, Chang Jian said, "Even after becoming the Protector-General, General Xiao still has the same temperament, straightforward and honest. He thinks he can eliminate all injustices in the world with just a steel-tipped spear in his hand. Heh heh, he's a bit naive. But he's really lucky to have met Protector-General Li."

"The world still needs people like these, such as Xiao Changche and Zhang Ruo. You may not like them, but you can't help but respect them! What they uphold is precisely what we lack!" Li Dachui said calmly, "Master Chang, don't you agree?"

Chang Jian was stunned for a long time, then smiled and said, "Governor Li, I know what you want me to do, but it's impossible. My Chang family and the Linghu family are already too entangled. We are deeply bound together. If the Linghu family falls, how can our Chang family still stand outside the Great Wall? Therefore, I cannot betray you. Even if I agree to your request today, it will definitely be a pretense and I will not keep my word. So, whether you want to kill me or not is up to you."

"Master Chang is quite frank!"

“Chang is a man of principle. No matter what he does in his life, he still has some bottom line. And his face is still worth some money!” Chang Jian said.

"Indeed, without perseverance, Master Chang would not have cultivated his martial arts to this level!"

“Li Duhu, this is somewhat humiliating to me.” Chang Jian glared at Li Dachui: “Compared to you, I can only say that I am ashamed.”

“I’m not asking you to betray Linghuye right now,” Li Dachui said. “I just hope the Chang family can take a closer look and think things over more in the area outside the Great Wall. It’s not right for a large family like the Chang family to put all their eggs in one basket. What if Linghuye loses? The Chang family won’t have anything left.”

"At least for now, I don't see any way you can shake Linghuye's fundamental strength!" Chang Jian shook his head and said.

“A year ago, Linghu Ye was at the height of his power!” Li Dachui said, “A year later, the Anxi Protectorate was established, and Linghu Ye has an army of 100,000. We can now muster 30,000 to 50,000 men. Not all of Linghu Ye’s 100,000 men are necessarily loyal to him, but our troops will fight to the death for us. If a conflict were to break out, neither side would benefit. If it weren’t for this, Linghu Ye would have already attacked us, wouldn’t he?”

Chang Jian fell silent.

“Lord Chang, Linghu Ye still wants to enter the pass!” Li Dachui said, “The situation inside the pass is far more treacherous than outside it. It’s hard to say how far Linghu Ye can go. In comparison, we in Anxi want to establish ourselves outside the pass and fight against the Northern Yuan. The Chang family’s foundation is outside the pass. When the time comes, do you really want to abandon all your assets outside the pass and take your family to fight inside the pass? You should know that when you leave, we will accept everything the Chang family has outside the pass without hesitation.”

Chang Jian lowered his head, his expression shifting, revealing the turbulent and uneasy emotions he was experiencing.

"Since you have no intention of making me betray Linghuye, why did you go to such lengths to capture me today?" Chang Jian asked, raising his head.

"I'll give you a chance to place your bet on our side!" Li Dachui said with a smile. "The Chang family has deep roots outside the Great Wall, with many experts within the clan, and many of them have joined the army. They are deeply trusted by Linghu Ye, hold military power, and have deep ties with the local area. Although they may not be well-known, they are an indisputable faction within the military."

"so what?"

“It’s very simple. Guanzhong is in chaos now, and Linghu Ye’s desire to enter the pass is growing stronger. People he trusts, like the Chang family, will definitely stay behind to cover his retreat. As for people like Chen Liang, whom he wants to use but doesn’t quite trust, he will definitely be among the first to enter the pass with them,” Li Dachui said.

"You mean Linghu Ye might suffer a major setback during his entry into the pass?" Chang Jian asked. "If that's the case, I hope the Chang family will abandon Linghu Ye without hesitation and not tie themselves to their war chariot and crash down with them!" Li Dachui said.

"Why go to all this trouble to tell me all this?" Chang Jian asked, somewhat puzzled.

“The Chang family is an important force outside the pass. We don’t want to lose you.” Li Dachui said, “Linghu Ye is obsessed with entering the pass to seize the throne. He’s blinded by greed. Unfortunately, no one can persuade him now. He’s gone too far down this path and can’t turn back. Compared to the Northern Yuan, our forces outside the pass are still very weak. We don’t want to miss any opportunity to rely on any available support.”

"If it's just because of this, you could have just come to me directly. Why go through all this trouble? Aren't you afraid I'll get angry and embarrassed?"

“How else can we show our sincerity?” Li Dachui said. “Master Chang, wouldn’t it be easy for us to kill you today?”

"Yes!"

"Is it possible to do it without anyone noticing? That no one can cause us any trouble?"

"indeed!"

"If we kill you, Lord Chang, it's no exaggeration to say that the Chang family's power will be halved!" Li Dachui laughed. "The reason why the Chang family is so arrogant outside the pass, and even City Lord Zhou gives them some face, is because of your existence as a peak ninth-grade Xuan Yuan. If you were to leave, although the Chang family still has an eighth-grade Xuan Yuan and several seventh-grade Xuan Yuan, without the support of peak martial power, their confidence would be insufficient!"

Chang Jian remained silent.

“Today we are showing you that we could kill you to weaken the Chang family’s power, and also weaken Linghu Ye’s power, but we are unwilling to do so. We would much rather join forces with Bei Yuan one day, for that is our true enemy.” Li Dachui said, “That is what we mean, and we hope you will seriously consider our suggestion.”

“The Linghu family and our Chang family have intermarried for three generations in the past twenty years.” Chang Jian sighed. “It can be said that our Chang family has developed to this point because we are attached to the Linghu family. If the skin is gone, where will the hair attach?”

"The Chang family is no longer a vine, but a deeply rooted tree," Li Dachui said. "As for the marriage alliance with the Linghu family, what does that matter? Don't forget, when the Qin Dynasty replaced the Yong family, what was the relationship between the Li family and the Duanmu family? The Empress at that time was the direct daughter of the Li family head, and countless royal princesses married into the Li family. It was commonplace for Li family women to enter the palace. Did the Li family hesitate even slightly when it replaced the Duanmu family?"

Chang Jian couldn't help but laugh: "Protector Li, you really are a good persuader!"

"I'm not exactly a good persuader, I'm just telling you this fact! Parents love their children and grandchildren deeply, so they plan far ahead for them. The Chang family has grown into a great tree under Chang Gong's leadership, but if this great tree wants to grow thicker and its roots to develop more and more, then Chang Gong will have to plan far ahead for it."

Chang Jian muttered, "Don't put all your eggs in one cage!"

"Yes, Master Chang, you might as well keep in touch with us and keep in touch. There is no ready-made road ahead of us, and we need to explore it ourselves. We don't know where the main road is. Maybe we need to carve out this road ourselves. In short, we have to walk and see as we go, but we can't go down one road to the end. We must be prepared to take a second road or a third road at any time. Don't you think so?"

Chang Jian pondered for a long time before finally nodding.

Li Kaixin walked over with a tray and said to the two men, "Young Master, Master Chang, please have some tea!"

Chang Jian took the teacup and looked at Li Kaixin, saying, "Steward Li, why do you possess the Phoenix Flame? What is your relationship with the Demonic Sect?"

Li Kaixin laughed and said, "I have absolutely no connection with the Demonic Sect. As for why I know this, hehe, Chang Gong isn't with us yet. Once you're on our side, you'll naturally understand why I know the Phoenix Flame!"

After drinking this cup of tea, Chang Jian left.

Watching Chang Jian's departing figure, Xiao Changche gritted his teeth and said, "I still think killing him is the best option!"

“Killing him will only reduce Linghu Ye's strength by one, and the Chang family will be more closely tied to the Linghu family. But if the Chang family eventually sides with us, we will gain a huge force.” Li Dachui reached out and pinched Xiao Changche's cheek. “Don’t think of solving everything by killing.”

Li Kaixin, who was behind him, immediately turned around and slipped into the shed, pretending not to have seen anything.

(End of this chapter)