knife

Chapter 97 It's not a good time to show up now.

"Li Dachui, and who are you?"

Behind him came Xiao Changche's question.

The young lord of Tai'an City, the master of Helan Plain, and the most powerful bandit outside the pass are all likely protective facades for this man. He uses these dazzling identities to hide his true identity in a thick fog of mystery.

Zhou Zhi, this master of innate skill, is supposedly Li Dachui's backer, but upon closer reflection, he seems more like a protector.

Even a member of the Dayong royal family, a master of innate talent, like Duanmu Miaomiao, would owe Li Dachui's relatives a favor.

If you were to tell Xiao Changche that Li Dachui is just an ordinary person, you would be insulting Xiao Changche's intelligence.

As a martial arts genius who has made rapid progress in his cultivation,
A battlefield commander who had never been defeated on the battlefield.

By simply connecting these individual lines, you can roughly sketch out a picture.

Li Dachui poked at the fire with a stick, sending sparks flying everywhere.

"I am a man with a blood feud with the Great Qin! Although the old man kept it from me well, if I'm not mistaken, my parents must have died at the hands of the current Emperor of Great Qin! Xiao Changche, you are a third-rank General of Chariots and Cavalry of Great Qin, should you arrest me, this possible wanted criminal?"

Xiao Changche spat.

“I’m even worse off than you!” Li Dachui glanced back at Xiao Changche on the heated kang bed. “At least you spent many happy times with your parents, and those times will always be your most cherished memories. But I have nothing. I don’t have a single memory of my father or mother!”

At this point, Li Dachui suddenly became irritated.

"That old geezer Zhou Zhi, why did he make me take the surname Li? Why didn't he say that I was his biological son? If he had, I wouldn't have so much trouble! And he always swallows back halfway through his sentences, which is even more infuriating."

Seeing Li Dachui so distraught for the first time, Xiao Changche did not mock him, but pondered and said, "Lord Zhou must have his reasons for doing this. He probably hopes that you will not forget the revenge for your parents! But even if Lord Zhou doesn't say, Duanmu Miaomiao must have said something to you, right?"

Li Dachui remained silent for a long time before saying, "She told me that my mother's name was He Qingqiu! She was once the Crown Princess of the Great Qin Dynasty!"

The cave immediately fell silent.

Then came a violent coughing fit.

Li Dachui, leaning on his crutch, got up and walked to the heated kang (a traditional Chinese bed-stove). He reached out and patted Xiao Changche's back, who was coughing and curled up in a ball. He said somewhat angrily, "I also think it's a bit outrageous, but judging from Duanmu Miaomiao's attitude, this matter is probably true."

"I have no doubt that someone like Duanmu Miaomiao wouldn't lie!" Finally catching his breath, Xiao Changche stared at Li Dachui with a strange look in his eyes. "I'm just surprised, I really didn't expect it. Besides, this kind of thing can be thoroughly investigated. No matter how the court tries to hide the facts and erase the traces of the former Crown Prince and Crown Princess of Qin, it's impossible to leave no trace."

“I’ve already sent someone to investigate!” Li Dachui said. “Xiao Changche, we’re even now. I know your secret, and you know mine, and they’re all secrets that can’t be told to anyone. From now on, you won’t talk about my scars, and I won’t talk about your pockmarks. We’ll depend on each other for survival!”

"What do you mean by depending on each other for survival? This is called mutual restraint!" Xiao Changche said angrily.

“Okay, whatever you say!” Li Dachui said.

Xiao Changche suddenly remembered something, and his expression changed drastically: "Duanmu Miaomiao should know all this too, shouldn't she?"

Li Dachui nodded: "Of course. She told me you're a woman. At first, I thought she had mistaken me for someone else! That's why I have to meet with Tiele. If we don't reach an agreement with him, and he goes on a rampage and exposes our affair, we'll be in big trouble!"

"We still need to find a way to kill him. With such a huge handle in his hands, what can we possibly accomplish in the future?" Xiao Changche clenched his fist.

"I'd like to!" Li Dachui shrugged. "But he has Duanmu Miaomiao by his side, and if we go to Yandu to kill him this time, what's the difference between that and sending ourselves to our deaths?"

"We can't go on like this forever!" Xiao Changche was clearly at a loss.

“There’s another way!” Li Dachui patted her gently. “We need to become strong quickly, strong enough to ignore all of this, strong enough that even if everyone knows our true identities, they will still have no choice but to follow us and obey us, right? Xiao Changche, we have no other way to go.”

Xiao Changche nodded slowly. "I wonder how Baoping City is doing now? Have they taken it? What are the casualties? Now, Baoping Prefecture is an indispensable part of our operations!"

"Hurry up and recover from your injuries! You shouldn't appear in front of everyone like this! There are many people and eyes in Bao Ping Prefecture now. If you give yourself away, it will be bad!" Li Dachui said, "At least you should be able to move freely!"

Take a breath, and let your inner energy flow through your body. At first, it flows smoothly, but gradually you will feel stagnation. It seems that something is blocking your meridians, and your inner energy can only be squeezed out bit by bit when it passes through these meridians.

Xiao Changche was a person who became more courageous with each setback. The more things went wrong, the more she would gather her inner strength and charge forward. This was also the essence of the Heaven-Slaying Technique. However, she was seriously injured now, unlike before. With this charge, waves of pain immediately came. She groaned in pain, and her forehead was covered with beads of sweat. Her vision went black and she almost fainted.

Seeing Xiao Changche's face turn deathly pale, Li Dachui was startled. He reached out and grabbed Xiao's hands, continuously channeling his pure and gentle inner energy into him, once again enveloping the Heaven-Slaying Technique and restoring it to its proper place. This time, it took about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn before he was able to suppress the raging inner energy within Xiao Changche's body.

"Xiao Changche, you know the saying 'sharpening your axe won't delay your work, and haste makes waste.' Surely everyone knows this military strategy?" Li Dachui said irritably as he released his hands.

In such a short time, he had already rescued the person in front of him twice.

“I understand the principle, but it’s easy to explain it to others, but difficult to apply it to myself!” Xiao Changche said breathlessly, “Li Dachui, I’m not you! The news of our attack on Baoping Prefecture must have spread far and wide beyond the Great Wall by now. Do you think Linghu Ye will ignore it? If I’m here, that’s one thing, but if I’m not here, do you think Xiao Dongwei and the others can withstand Linghu Ye?”

"Do you really think a heavily injured Xiao Changche can hold out?" Li Dachui scoffed. "Do you think you're the Xiao Changche of the ninth rank of Xuan Yuan, leading three thousand iron cavalry across the world? Your subordinates are strong because of you. When you're not around, Linghu Ye has to be careful and can't guess what you're up to! If you show yourself like this, believe me, Linghu Ye might just kill you outright!"

"What should I do?"

“It’s not a good time for either of us to show ourselves!” Li Dachui pointed to his leg. “I have a broken leg, and you look obviously wrong. We need to at least be able to fool people before we show ourselves, otherwise it’s better not to go out and let them guess! Since Xiao Dongwei is your trusted confidant, he can’t be that useless, right? And don’t forget, my three battalions, Heaven, Earth, and Man, are all in Bao Ping City right now! Unless Linghu Ye comes in person, I’m not afraid of anyone else!”

"What if Linghuye comes in person?"

“That old geezer Zhou Zhi will definitely show up too!” Li Dachui said. “If he goes, even if he doesn’t directly confront Linghu Ye, at least he can buy us time until we reappear. So the important thing now is for you to recover quickly!”

Xiao Changche was persuaded.

"Li Dachui, what kind of cultivation technique are you practicing? I feel like it's greatly helping my recovery from injuries." Xiao Changche was curious as he felt the gentle internal energy slowly circulating within his body, which was enveloped by the Heaven-Slaying Power.

"Qiankun Yiqi!" Li Dachui said, "Do you know it? It's a supreme technique that combines strength and gentleness, and harmonizes yin and yang. Most people who practice this technique die before they even master it because of the imbalance between yin and yang. Only a genius like me could cultivate it to the ninth rank of Xuan Yuan without any obstacles. How about it, Xiao Changche, are you convinced now? What I practice is not like your Fatian technique, which has many flaws!"

Xiao Changche stared at Li Dachui with wide eyes. This time, she did not retaliate with insults, even as Li Dachui began to boast and brag again.

A balance of strength and gentleness, harmony of yin and yang!
These eight words struck Xiao Changche's heart like eight thunderclaps.

To eliminate the greatest hidden danger of the Heaven-Slaying Technique, one needs a master of innate strength and gentleness, and harmony of yin and yang, to heal the hidden injuries within one's body.

Xiao Changche had never thought he could find such a person, but to his surprise, one appeared right in front of him.

Although he is only at the ninth rank of Xuan Yuan, he is only twenty-five years old.

Reaching the level of the Innate Realm is not without hope.

Even if he doesn't reach the Innate Realm, he can still help himself now, at least by greatly delaying the onset of the hidden dangers within his body.

Li Dachui had been listening intently, expecting a torrent of abuse from Xiao Changche, but to his surprise, he received nothing. He looked at Xiao Changche with some astonishment. Had this man changed his ways? Or had he truly given up?

“Li Dachui!” Xiao Changche suddenly exclaimed.

"What's the matter?" Xiao Changche's voice suddenly sounded a little gentle, which made Li Dachui very uncomfortable, and he even subconsciously moved a little further away.

"Please heal my injuries. I believe your internal energy cultivation will be extremely beneficial to my condition!"

"Really? That's great!" Li Dachui exclaimed with delight. "If it works, then we'll have to put in even more effort."

(End of this chapter)