Zongwu: Aspiring to be the mastermind behind the scenes

Chapter 225 The Mechanist Old Man Lü, Schemes and Counter-Schemes

"Oh? A master from the Mohist school?"

"Yes, this person's cultivation level is only at the Grandmaster of the First Flower stage, and he is also quite old. In terms of martial arts, he is only about the same as the Perfected Innate stage, but his hand-locking technique is incredibly advanced."

His current residence is already covered with various traps and mechanisms; even a grandmaster-level expert would likely die if he entered!

"I see, that is indeed quite troublesome. So, young man, how do you plan to deal with it?"

Marco said, "I have made all the preparations for this matter and informed the Qin Kingdom of the relevant information. The Qin Kingdom also covets the legendary God of War and has been sending people to investigate. Therefore, after receiving the news, they sent many experts to capture that old man Lü."

I was planning to take advantage of this situation to fish in troubled waters and find a way to get the treasure from Old Man Lü.

Master Mu frowned: "Has the Qin state been sending people to investigate this matter all along? Why?"

Marco said, "This... I don't know the reason either, but Qin has been doing this for more than ten years."

I think they probably obtained some ancient books during the plundering of the Zhou emperor.

The wooden Taoist nodded.

When the Zhou royal family unified the world, how prosperous it was!

Even though it has declined over the years, the sheer number of books it has collected is beyond the wildest imagination of ordinary people.

These classic texts represent the foundation of the Zhou royal family.

However, in the last hundred years or so, the Zhou royal family has suffered several raids.

The most recent instance was when the Qin state swept away the six other states, expanding its territory to an unprecedented size. Thus, riding the momentum of its conquest of the six states, it marched straight towards the Central Plains.

Despite their fierce military might, they were ultimately defeated by countless martial arts masters from the Central Plains, but they still managed to storm into the Zhou royal palace and steal all the precious books stored there.

It is said that after the Qin army left, not a single book or painting could be found in the Zhou royal palace. Even many floor tiles and wall plaster with engraved patterns were taken away.

All the boundless resources were transformed into the possessions of the Qin state.

It is possible that the Qin state could find some records about ancient times in the historical books and records passed down from the Zhou royal family for nearly a thousand years, thus confirming the legend of the ancient Loulan Kingdom circulating in this desolate border region as true, and then try to find it.

Thinking of this, Master Mu smiled and said, "Brother Marco's plan is meticulous, so we won't add anything unnecessary. We will proceed according to your plan."

Upon hearing this, Marco was overjoyed: "Thank you, sir!"

They then arranged accommodation for the four of them, and their expenses were absolutely top-notch in this border desert.

"Master, this young man doesn't seem to be very welcoming of our arrival."

Shi He said.

Mu Daoren said, "Of course, he took care of this task all by himself. Just when we were about to reap the rewards, the organization sent us here. In his eyes, we are just people who came to pick the fruits, so naturally he won't have a good attitude towards us."

"Huh? Didn't we come here to pick peaches?" Shi He asked, puzzled.

The wooden Taoist shook his head.

Both Marco and Shihe were limited by their own status and rank, so the information they had was not complete.

Shi He only knew that he had to come here with his master to do a mission, so naturally he would think that way.

Marco is actually pretty much the same.

He actually participated in a more core part of the task during the process of organizing the intelligence investigation here.

He believed he had discovered the mission himself, but in reality, he was just one of the people the organization had sent to gather intelligence.

However, he himself was unaware of this.

"Then let's..."

"You don't have to do anything!"

The Wood Taoist said, "Marco's plan will not be so easy to succeed."

Old Man Lü was a well-known expert in this small town. He made a lot of money by selling the various mechanisms he created, and bought a house in the town.

And they modified it themselves.

Over the years, it has become an extremely dangerous trap formation.

Marco had already made a deal with the other party several months ago, and during this time, they had already established a good relationship.

The day after Mu Daoren and the others arrived, Marco brought two watermelons to visit Old Man Lü.

"Brother Ma, you're all here, why bring a gift?!"

Old Man Lü looked to be over sixty years old, but he was in good spirits, and a hint of scholarly air could be seen between his brows.

At that moment, he was fiddling with a bronze mechanism in the room. When he saw Marco arrive, he quickly greeted him with a smile.

"I want what I want!"

Marco said, "I came to see Mr. Lü not just for a visit, but to ask him for a magic lamp."

"Haha, it's just a simple switch light, Brother Ma, just ask."

"But that's only one reason. Another reason is... Mr. Lü, are you aware that not long ago, the Qin state suddenly dispatched three thousand elite troops, heading straight for the border..."

"Ok?"

Old Man Lü was startled, then laughed and said, "Could it be that bandits are rampant again in this border area, and the Qin state has sent troops to suppress them?"

Marco said, "It's not about suppressing bandits. According to my informants, their target is a person... Mr. Lü, I wonder where you have offended the powerful Qin state?"

Old Man Lü smiled and said, "As expected, no one visits the Three Treasures Hall without a reason."

Marco said, "The Qin state's current target is you, sir. They have clearly determined your location and appearance. But I can help you escape from here."

Old Man Lu asked, "What do you want?"

Marco said, "To be honest, sir, ever since I saw the mechanical arts you use, I have been fascinated by them. In recent days, I have repeatedly purchased various mechanisms from you, not to use them, but to secretly solve them myself."

Unfortunately, the mechanism in the master's work is so ingenious that I am completely unable to decipher its secrets.

Please, sir... give me a chance!

Showing courtesy for nothing is either cheating or stealing.

Marco understood this principle very well.

He and Old Man Lü had only known each other for a few months, and that short friendship was not enough for him to give up everything for Old Man Lü.

Not to mention that they also have to confront the most powerful country in the world right now.

If he really did that, Old Man Lü would definitely suspect his motives.

So Marco used the excuse of mechanical arts to make a deal with Old Man Lü.

If Old Man Lü agrees, then Marco will truly do everything in his power to help him leave the city.

As for his real target... although Marco didn't know exactly what that so-called thing related to 'Loulan' was, he figured it must be something extremely precious.

If Old Man Lü wanted to leave this city, how could he possibly leave without taking that thing with him?
And subdue him after he leaves.

Then, whatever treasures Old Man Lü carries will naturally fall into Marco's hands. Upon hearing this, Old Man Lü fell into deep thought.

After a long silence, he finally said, "To tell you the truth, the reason I was hunted down by the Qin state is simply because I took a treasure belonging to Qin back then. I never expected that after hiding it for so many years, it would still be discovered in the end."

That treasure did not actually belong to the Qin state, but to the six states that Qin had destroyed. It was only by working together with other heroes from those six states that I was able to retrieve the treasure from Qin.

Unfortunately, during the escape, I became separated from the others and ended up in this small border town. A moment of greed took hold, and I decided not to rejoin the others, but instead to examine this treasure here…

Unfortunately, after all these years, I still haven't figured out how to use this treasure.

"Oh?" Marco's eyes lit up. "What kind of treasure is it?"

"You'll know."

Old Man Lü said, "I am old, and the Qin state has already set its sights on me. Even if I escape from here, where can I escape to?"

Therefore, I have no intention of fleeing. Brother Ma, you may want my mechanical skills, of course you can, as long as you deliver that treasure to the Western Regions and place it in the hands of the heroes of the other six kingdoms, my mechanical skills will naturally be yours!

Upon hearing this, Marco hurriedly replied, "Mr. Lü, rest assured, I, Marco, swear that I will definitely deliver the treasure and will not be greedy for it!"

Old Man Lu smiled: "Brother Ma, in this time of crisis, did not hesitate to become an enemy of Qin to send me intelligence, so I am naturally willing to believe him."

"Wait a moment, let me create a mechanism to store the treasure and all my knowledge of mechanisms over the years within it, then I'll give it to Brother Ma!"

Not long after, Marco left Old Man Li's house with a mechanical cylinder in his hand.

"Lord Gin, please look. I not only successfully obtained Old Man Lu's treasure, but I also managed to acquire the essentials of his mechanical arts."

Ma Ke placed the cylinder in front of the wooden Taoist and laughed, "It seems that my planning over the past few months has been quite effective."

"Really? Then let's open this mechanism and take a look."

"it is good."

Following the mechanical techniques taught by the old man Lu, Marco opened the cylinder and found a book inside, which was wrapped with a straight golden crystal.

"Is this the treasure that Old Man Lü has?"

"Not bad!"

"Ha ha……"

Master Mu gave a cold laugh, then suddenly shouted, "Fool! You've been fooled!"

"what?!"

"You think the organization sent me here just to steal your thunder? Foolish! The organization's intelligence capabilities far exceed your imagination. The treasure about Loulan that old man Lü possesses has already been discovered by the organization. It is a seemingly insignificant but actually indestructible stone sphere, not some golden crystal!"

Marco's expression changed drastically.

"So, old man Lü has been playing me all along? No, he's been using me!"

Marco naturally had no doubt about the authenticity of the organization's intelligence network, especially since it was something a grandmaster had told him.

He immediately realized that Old Man Lü's actions were not just a simple deception, but also involved exploitation.

If the Wood Taoist hadn't pointed this out, he probably would have truly regarded the golden crystal as a treasure and taken it out of the city.

But at this juncture, his actions would make him a target of suspicion for the Qin army, thus diverting their attention.

There's no need to worry that the Qin army is unaware of his actions; Old Man Lü will definitely report him anonymously.

In this way, he would help Old Man Lü draw the Qin army's attention away.

Thinking about it this way, Old Man Lü probably already knew that the Qin army was heading towards this border town.

Otherwise, it would have been impossible to come up with such a plan.

But he pretended to be deaf and dumb, feigning ignorance, which is how he tricked Marco.

"However, this cannot be blamed on you, since you do not know any information about that treasure."

The Wood Taoist picked up the golden crystal, examined it closely, and said, "Moreover, this item is extraordinary. Although it is not what we are looking for, it can indeed be called a treasure. It is normal that it could deceive you."

He could sense that the golden crystal was not only beautiful on the outside, but also contained a power of heaven and earth.

If someone could absorb this power of heaven and earth into their body, their power would likely increase by several years out of thin air.

It can indeed be called a treasure!
Marco rallied his spirits and said, "Lord Gin, that old man Lu is treacherous and cunning, but I have also made more preparations for this matter!"

"Oh? I'd like to hear the details!"

“From the very beginning, I had considered the possibility that Old Man Lü might not hand over the treasure to me, so I have been closely monitoring his interpersonal relationships.”

Marco said, "Based on my observation, Old Man Lü usually stays at home studying mechanical arts and rarely goes out. He doesn't know many people in this city. Even if he did, none of them would fight against the Qin army for him."

But not long ago, a child suddenly appeared in the city. When he was homeless, this old man Lü took pity on him, providing him with food and clothing, and even specially crafted a secret device for him as a means of survival in the city!

"A child? This old man Lu has such a kind heart?"

"It's not out of love; Old Man Lü only treats this child this way. So, I did some special investigation and never expected that this child would have such a great connection with Gai Nie, the most wanted criminal in Qin and the former bodyguard of the First Emperor!"

"Sword Saint Gai Nie?"

The Wood Taoist naturally did not recognize the martial arts masters of the Qin Kingdom, thousands of miles away.

"Tell me more about it."

"Yes."

Marco nodded and said, "Before the First Emperor ascended the throne, Gai Nie was his swordsmanship instructor and was deeply trusted by him. He has been protecting the First Emperor all these years."

Unexpectedly, he suddenly betrayed the First Emperor. It is said that this was related to this child.

The First Emperor dispatched Qin cavalry to encircle and kill Gai Nie, eventually cornering him at Crescent Moon Valley, not far from the border. However, the result of this battle was the complete annihilation of all three hundred cavalrymen!

"Such strength? The title of Sword Saint is well-deserved."

The wooden Taoist nodded.

He had glimpsed the ferocity of the Qin army when he entered the city, and he had some understanding of it.

Clad in armor and armed with weapons, several hundred men were enough to surround and kill a Grandmaster of the Flower Sect.

Moreover, they were cavalry.

Furthermore, according to Marco, Gai Nie was accompanied by a child.

This adds even more difficulty.

Marco said, "After that battle, Gai Nie and that child disappeared without a trace. Now, the child has run from Crescent Moon Valley to this city. It must be because of that great battle that he got separated from Gai Nie."

Master Mu stroked his beard and said, "So, what do you plan to do with this child?"

Marco said, "I plan to lure the Qin army into the city to besiege and kill Old Man Lü, but secretly help him by creating an opportunity for him to meet this child. In a life-or-death situation, he will surely hand over the treasure to this child."

"Then, all I need to do is take the treasure from this child, and that will be enough!"

(End of this chapter)