Simultaneous travel: I am a talented person in all the worlds

Chapter 452 Lord Chang'an, Cheng Jiao

The border between Qin and Zhao was shrouded in darkness.

In a fortified stronghold that had just been cleansed by blood and fire, a campfire licked at the broken wooden beams, crackling and popping, illuminating the surrounding hideous corpses in a flickering light.

"The creations of the Commander are becoming more and more amazing, even possessing the ability to transmit sound over a thousand miles."

A lithe young woman dressed in a black, tight-fitting outfit is kneeling on the ground, searching the body of a Luo Wang assassin.

She stroked the black iron ring on her ring finger, her tone filled with barely suppressed surprise and admiration.

"But... can this really still be considered a mechanical art?"

"Yi San, put away your pointless curiosity."

Not far away, another woman with an even more aloof demeanor slowly raised a uniquely shaped mechanical bow in her hand. A barely audible creaking sound came from the bow's arm.

After finishing his own business, he quickly rested and prepared to head to the next battlefield.

Before she finished speaking, her fingertips twitched slightly, and with a soft "whoosh," the arrow pierced the air!

"Uh!"

With a muffled groan, a Luo Wang assassin who had been feigning death under a corpse, attempting to escape unnoticed, was pierced through the back by an arrow. His body twitched twice before falling silent completely.

Mo Yiyi slowly lowered the mechanical bow in his hand.

In this chaotic scene, there were seven other figures dressed similarly to the two women and armed to the teeth.

They moved quickly through the ruins, handling the aftermath of the war efficiently and professionally.

They have no names, only code names.

Mo Yiwei.

As one of the six most trusted personal guards of Qin Shi Mo Yu.

If he had anything good in his hands, he would naturally prioritize those sharpest "blades."

Thus, with resources piled up in ways unimaginable to ordinary people, the nine people's cultivation levels broke through to the Innate Realm, and each of them was equipped with multiple standard magical artifacts.

Even an ordinary Celestial Master would be trapped and killed if the nine of them were in good condition and fully equipped.

Soon, all valuable intelligence within the stronghold was gathered and brought into Mo Yiyi's hands.

She gently pressed the black ring against her forehead, closed her eyes, and with a slight thought, the vast amount of information transformed into an invisible message, crossing mountains and rivers, and instantly reaching distant places.

A moment later, the ring trembled slightly.

The staff headquarters, responsible for intelligence analysis and command transmission in the rear, verified their status and gave them new objectives.

When Mo Yi opened his eyes, there was no trace of fatigue in his calm, still gaze, only absolute obedience.

"Walk."

The nine figures assembled without the slightest hesitation.

Black hang glider unfolds.

With the lightness skill and powerful energy of a master of innate martial arts, they took a few running steps and rose into the air. The nine black figures, like bats, silently merged into the deep night sky and flew towards the next killing field.

……

About an incense stick's time after Mo Yiwei left, a noble and elegant figure gracefully arrived.

She wore a dark blue long dress with a wide skirt, embroidered with an intricate three-legged golden crow motif in fiery gold thread, which, in the firelight, seemed to have flames flowing across it.

"Another stronghold of the Luo Wang organization has been destroyed."

Yan Fei hovered barefoot in mid-air, her bright phoenix eyes calmly sweeping over the mountain stronghold below, which had been engulfed by flames, before slowly raising them to look at the dark night sky where the nine black figures had disappeared.

“Mo Yu…when did he extend his tentacles to the lands of Qin and Zhao?”

She murmured to herself, her voice tinged with doubt, "Is it because the six states formed an alliance against Qin, and he wants to stir up trouble here? Or is it that... they are also looking for something?"

Before he could finish speaking, a soft sound of footsteps came from behind him.

A cool and aloof woman dressed in a light blue, wide-sleeved dress appeared quietly behind Yan Fei, accompanied by a dozen or so Yin Yang School disciples.

The woman's face was covered by a sky-blue veil, which concealed her eyes but could not hide her innate, moonlit aloofness.

"Sister, you seem quite interested in that person." The Moon Goddess's voice was clear and cold, like the moonlight hanging high in the sky, untouched by any worldly concerns.

She took a half step forward, standing shoulder to shoulder with Yan Fei, her gaze also fixed on the mountain stronghold reduced to white by fire, and slowly said:

"Whether it's the Baiyue prince 'Red-browed Dragon Snake' or the traitor 'Jing Ni' from Luo Wang who obtained Lord Xinling's relics, the secrets they possessed about the 'Seven Constellations of the Azure Dragon' have all fallen into that person's hands."

"Whether it is fate or a coincidence he deliberately orchestrated, by repeatedly thwarting the grand plans of my Yin-Yang School, he has already placed himself on the opposite side of us."

The Moon Goddess slightly turned her head, her face, veiled by a light gauze, seemingly "looking" at her elder sister.
"Sister, you mustn't... ruin your own life."

"Self-mistaken?"

Yan Fei's lips curled into a disdainful sneer. She slightly raised her head, like a phoenix looking down upon the mortal world.

"That guy who looks just like an ordinary old farmer from the fields?"

Although she spoke with disdain, the image of a man of similar age to herself involuntarily surfaced in her mind.

Despite being renowned for her mechanical skills and claiming to be unskilled in martial arts, she effortlessly defeated her that night at Zilan Pavilion using a mysterious and unheard-of technique.

That was the first time in her life that Yanfei had tasted defeat.

That sense of defeat, like a brand, was deeply etched into her memory.

Worried that her perceptive younger sister might notice something amiss, Yanfei subtly turned her head away, pretending to observe whether there were any remaining clues.

The Moon Goddess didn't notice anything unusual about her sister. Seeing that she really didn't care about Mo Yu, she stopped talking and instead brought up the real purpose of their trip.

"Cheng Jiao has clues about the Seven Constellations of the Azure Dragon. However..."

Her delicate brows furrowed slightly, and a hint of confusion crept into her cool voice:
"The current situation is somewhat chaotic. It seems that both the assassins from the Luo Wang organization and those from the Mo family have their eyes on him."

"Moreover, based on the intelligence we currently have, it seems that the Luo Wang (Net of Heaven) wants to kill him. On the contrary, Mo Yu, who is on the opposing side, seems to be... sending people to rescue him."

The current situation is complex and complicated.

For the Moon Goddess, who was always immersed in the trajectories of stars and the deduction of fate, and who was detached from worldly affairs, this was truly beyond her comprehension.

Yan Fei, who was often seen wandering in the mortal world, smiled faintly.

Looking at her simple-minded younger sister, she parted her red lips and uttered words that the Moon Goddess seemed to understand but not quite:
"In the arena of power struggles, a knife from behind is often more deadly than a sword thrust from the front."

……

Meanwhile, Qin army camps were set up along the way.

The dim candlelight flickered inside the tent, casting a long and short shadow of a young and tall figure.

The seventeen-year-old Lord Chang'an, Chengjiao, was dressed in general's armor, but his extraordinary and heroic face showed no signs of youthful ambition, only worry and sorrow, his brows furrowed.

Alone, he paced back and forth in the empty camp.

He could clearly feel that he was in the center of a huge, invisible vortex. The vortex was bottomless and turbulent, and if he was not careful, he would be torn to pieces and die without a burial place.

He is not a fool.

He knew that Lü Buwei had sent him from Xianyang to this dangerous battlefield in Zhao with ulterior motives. But he couldn't understand where Lü Buwei would begin. Would he use a proxy to kill him on the battlefield? Or would he frame and plot against him within the army?

The fear of the unknown, like a venomous snake, gnawed at his heart.

The young man, not yet twenty, commanded 150,000 fierce soldiers of the Qin Dynasty, but what he felt was not the glory that power brought, but a deep-seated loneliness and fear.

Because of Lü Buwei's overwhelming power, he couldn't even distinguish who among those around him was loyal and who was treacherous, who he could trust and who he had to be wary of.

Could those seemingly loyal generals and those respectful guards turn into assassins sent by Lü Buwei in the dead of night?

Even Fan Yuqi, the Chu general personally appointed by Empress Dowager Huayang to assist and protect him... is he really trustworthy?

Cheng Jiao thought of his deputy, or rather, the true commander of this army of 150,000, and was undecided.

He's not a military genius like Bai Qi, who enters the game at the peak and commands a large army from the start.

Even in the Qin Dynasty, which was prosperous with years of war, there were only a handful of commanders who could lead an army of more than 100,000 men.

And this absolutely does not include him, the seventeen-year-old Lord Chang'an Chengjiao...

"Report——"

Outside the tent, a messenger's voice came reporting.

"Your Majesty, General Fan Yuqi requests an audience."

Cheng Jiao paused, a complex look flashing in his eyes. He hesitated for a moment, then finally took a deep breath.

"Let him in."

A moment later, Fan Yuqi, dressed in military attire, strode into the tent.

"This humble general pays his respects to Your Majesty."

"General Fan, there's no need for such formalities."

Cheng Jiao raised his hand to help him up, asking, "Having come here so late at night, is there some important matter in the army?"

Fan Yuqi stood up, looked at Cheng Jiao's worried face, and said in a deep voice, "There is nothing wrong in the army. It's just that I saw that Your Majesty's tent was still lit late at night, and I was worried, so I came to visit you. Your Majesty is of noble birth and should take care of your health."

"Thank you for your concern, General. I am fine." Cheng Jiao forced a smile.

Fan Yuqi stared at his face, remained silent for a moment, and then spoke again, his voice extremely low: "Your Majesty... are you worried that a villain might harm you?"

Cheng Jiao's pupils suddenly contracted, a hint of panic flashing deep in his eyes. The bitterness on his face deepened, his lips moved, but in the end, he remained silent.

Seeing this, Fan Yuqi already knew what was going on.

He hesitated for a moment, then lowered his voice again and said:

"Today in the army, I discovered some suspicious spies. After some interrogation, I learned..."

He leaned close to Cheng Jiao's ear, his voice as soft as a mosquito's buzz.

“They…were assassins from the ‘Net of Deception.’ But no matter how much torture we used, we couldn’t get any information out of them about their mission. I…have already disposed of them on the spot.”

"A snare"!
Cheng Jiao's face drained of color, his expression a mixture of shock and anger, making his young face appear somewhat distorted.

Net!

As the Qin Dynasty's assassination and intelligence organization, it now obeys the orders of Chancellor Lü Buwei!

A group of assassins from the Luo Wang organization infiltrated the army without identification. Facing interrogation by Qin generals, they refused to reveal the details of their mission...

Who else could they be targeting?!
"Too deceiving!"

Chengjiao gritted his teeth, making a "clucking" sound, and there was a faint glimmer of aggrieved tears in his eyes.

However, he still bit his lip tightly, forcing all his words back down.

Fan Yuqi glanced at his expression and knew that this young master still did not fully trust him.

He didn't say anything more, but simply clasped his hands in a fist and bowed once more.

"Your Majesty, please rest as soon as possible. With me here, I will do everything in my power to ensure your safety."

After saying that, he slowly withdrew from the tent.

"...Thank you, General Fan."

Cheng Jiao's dry voice came from behind him.

Fan Yuqi walked out of the central command tent, glanced back at the still brightly lit tent, and looked at it with a complicated expression.

Instead of immediately returning to his own tent, he personally ordered that the number of guards around the central command tent be doubled.

After doing all this, he returned to his own tent.

The tent was empty.

Only a solitary lamp burns quietly.

Fan Yuqi remained silent for a long time before carefully taking out a silk book, slightly damp with sweat, from his bosom, close to his heart.

He slowly unfurled the silk scroll and, by the flickering candlelight, gazed at the shocking lines of text.

The proper succession to the throne is paramount; the greatest evil is the usurpation of the throne through intrigue. Marquis Wenxin, Lü Buwei, a merchant from Yangdi, coveted the throne of Xianyang. The current king is not the heir of the former king, but rather Lü Buwei's son. He first seduced the late king with a pregnant concubine; then, with an illegitimate child, he usurped the throne. He relies on the lucrative trade of gold as a brilliant strategy, and considers the rebellion of the state his greatest achievement…

This is a manifesto denouncing the current King of Qin, Ying Zheng!

Every word is piercing, every sentence is heartbreaking!

This silk scroll was personally handed to him by Lord Changping, who belonged to the same Chu lineage and held a high position in the court, before his departure.

Lord Changping said that this was the will of Empress Dowager Huayang.

Let him seize this golden opportunity of the alliance of the six states and the tyranny of Qin's main force, support Chang'an Jun Chengjiao, raise the banner of righteousness, and launch an army to punish Lü Zheng and his mother!
But the problem is...

Was Ying Zheng a descendant of the former King Ying?
This matter had already been confirmed by the elders of the royal family back then, and the conclusion had been reached!
Royal lineage and ancestral recognition are not trivial matters. The clan elders have verified the facts, and there is absolutely no error.

The rhetoric in this proclamation might fool the common people, but it could not shake the foundation of the Qin royal family.

Clearly, this was because the death of Empress Dowager Xia completely disrupted the existing power structure within the Qin King's palace.

Lord Changping was unwilling to see the Chu lineage decline, and even more unwilling to fade into obscurity, forever overshadowed by Lü Buwei, that merchant-turned-man. This was his last struggle.

Fan Yuqi couldn't even be sure if this was truly Empress Dowager Huayang's intention.

Based on his understanding of the Empress Dowager, who had experienced the ups and downs of the palace and seen countless storms throughout her life, he believed she would not resort to such an unwise tactic.

However, since he went to war with the army, every messenger he sent back to Xianyang was turned away without exception, and none of them were able to meet Empress Dowager Huayang in person.

This made Fan Yuqi even more convinced that this silk scroll, which was powerful enough to overthrow the ancestral temple and the state, was very likely... the intention of Lord Changping alone.

What should he do?
Fan Yuqi stared blankly at the flickering candlelight on the table, lost in deep thought.

Is it to obey this possibly forged order, to support the helpless boy beside you, and to embark on a path of no return with a slim chance of survival?
still is……

The flickering candlelight illuminated the uncertain expression on his face.

In this cruel game where the world is the chessboard and all living beings are the pieces, one wrong step leads to an abyss.

(End of this chapter)