Zhu Tian: A journey of spiritual practice starting from Joy of Life

Chapter 257 The Inescapable Jing Ke's Assassination Attempt on the King of Qin and the Dragon-Slaying Sword
Upon seeing the appearance of the six-fingered black-clad warrior, the three of them felt a chill run down their spines.

Upon seeing this, Prince Dan of Yan, who was in charge, quickly stepped forward and asked, "Your Highness, what's wrong?"

Six-Fingered Black Knight waved his hand, "It's alright. We ran into Wei Zhuang of the Flowing Sands on the way. If it weren't for Fei Bai passing by and releasing a burst of energy with his fist to force Wei Zhuang back, I would have lost my life today."

As soon as he finished speaking, Prince Dan of Yan quickly bowed to Leng Feibai and said, "Feibai, thank you very much, brother."

Leng Feibai stepped aside, refusing to accept Prince Dan's courtesy, and said weakly, "Your Highness is too kind. I was just doing my duty."

At this moment, Leng Feibai had no intention of paying attention to anyone, especially since he used the Dual-Handed Technique and the Formless Ring to remove the Six Souls Curse from the Six-Fingered Black Knight and erase his memories of being cursed.

It certainly took a lot of his energy out of him.

After saying that, Leng Feibai turned to Ji Yan and said, "Brother, are you going back now? If not, I'll go back and rest first."

"Don't worry."

Prince Dan of Yan remembered what Ji Yan had just told him and quickly asked, "Feibai, if you are tired, I will arrange a room for you to rest immediately. But can you help me find a way to repel Qin?"

Upon hearing this, Leng Feibai yawned, feeling speechless.

How could he possibly repel Qin?

This is akin to framing Zhuge Liang in front of Liu Shan;
Use your brains to clear the Sima family's name;

It would be absolutely impossible for them to confront Li Shimin, the strongest carbon-based being of the 7th century, at Xuanwu Gate.

Leng Feibai shook his head and sighed helplessly, "Your Highness, you should know better than I do. Since Duke Xiao of Qin began to heavily rely on Shang Yang's reforms, the Qin state has accumulated its strength through six generations of Qin kings. Its foundation is far beyond what any one of the six eastern states could withstand alone!"

At this point, Leng Feibai felt quite helpless.

When he was studying this period of history, he kept thinking to himself, "What a bunch of idiots the six eastern states are."

For over a century, they allowed a powerful enemy to rise without taking any action.

Even after the fall of the states of Han, Zhao, and Yan, the states of Chu, Wei, and Qi continued to govern themselves until they were annexed by the state of Qin.

To paraphrase a certain matcha enthusiast, are the people in charge of the six kingdoms all corpses?

Upon hearing this, Crown Prince Dan of Yan's eyes showed helplessness, and he gritted his teeth and said, "So, the only way out for the Yan Kingdom is destruction?"

Leng Feibai didn't say much, but turned to Ji Yan, who waved his hand to signal him not to say anything more.

Seeing this, Leng Feibai said nothing more and turned to leave.

Upon seeing this, Prince Dan of Yan exclaimed, "Is there really no other way?"

"You only have two choices!"

With his back to Prince Dan of Yan, Leng Feibai said, “First, take your wife and daughters and go into seclusion in the martial world to continue the bloodline of the Yan royal family; second, carry out your fallacious theory, and then when the Qin army comes, lead the army to die on the battlefield for the country. This way, you will not be unworthy of your status as the crown prince.”

Seeing Leng Feibai's expression, Prince Dan of Yan's Adam's apple bobbed, his face full of resentment.

"One more question for Your Highness!"

Leng Feibai turned to look at Prince Dan of Yan and asked, "If Your Highness defeats and destroys the Qin state, what does Your Highness intend to do next?"

Upon hearing this, everyone present was stunned. Prince Dan of Yan remained silent for a moment, then replied, "annex the Qin territory, return the lands of Han and Zhao, and live in harmony with the other five states!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Leng Feibai turned and walked out of the room without stopping.

At this moment, Leng Feibai understood the true meaning of the words, "This boy is not worth discussing things with."

If Yan Dan were to utter a single word, he would unify the world and transform the Yan state into a prosperous and powerful nation.

He wouldn't mind helping Yan Dan defy fate one more time. After all, he had lived in Yan for sixteen years, and it wouldn't be right to just watch Yan perish.

But if he were to be saddled with a ruler like Yan Dan, even if Leng Feibai helped him unify the world, he probably wouldn't be much better off than that guy Hu Hai.

“Fei Bai!”

The sudden sound stopped Leng Feibai in his tracks. When Leng Feibai looked up, he saw Yan Fei looking at him calmly.

"Greetings, Your Highness the Crown Princess!"

Leng Feibai cupped his hands in greeting, while simultaneously channeling the power of the Formless Dharma Ring within his body to prevent Yan Fei from casting the Six Soul Terror Curse on him.

Yan Fei appeared in front of Leng Feibai in a flash, and said calmly, "I didn't expect you to be able to rescue Six-Fingered Black Knight, but..."

"Your Highness!"

Leng Feibai looked around and said in a low voice, "The Six-Fingered Black Knight has forgotten that he was cursed with the Six Souls Curse. I advise you not to push your husband to his death under the guise of doing what's best for him."

This statement undoubtedly crossed Yan Fei's bottom line, and Yan Fei immediately rebuked her, "What nonsense are you talking about?"

"Am I talking nonsense?"

Leng Feibai laughed, "The assassination attempt on the King of Qin failed, and the Qin army is attacking. Do you think that old man on the throne will hand over the Crown Prince's head to appease Qin's anger? After all, the Crown Prince is not his only son."

Yan Fei was no fool; Leng Feibai's words, like a bucket of cold water, immediately sobered her up.

By the time she came to her senses and wanted to ask something, Leng Feibai had already left the Crown Prince's residence.

The next morning, Leng Feibai opened his eyes and saw Ji Yan sitting at the table in his room, his eyes bloodshot.

Before Leng Feibai could speak, Ji Yan sighed and said, "Ji Dan has decided to continue with the assassination attempt on Qin!"

Upon hearing this, Leng Feibai raised an eyebrow and asked incredulously, "The Six-Fingered Black Knight would agree to such an assassination that would start a war. This is quite different from the Mohist school's philosophy of non-aggression, isn't it?"

"Shortly after you left yesterday, Jing Ke also came to our door!"

Ji Yan sighed and said, "After listening to your calculations, he remained silent for a moment, then directly announced his withdrawal from the Mohist school and his departure from the Yan state. He intends to infiltrate Xianyang alone to assassinate Ying Zheng!"

Upon hearing this, Leng Feibai was not surprised at all.

According to the plot of Qin's Moon, Jing Ke's wife, Li Ji, was kidnapped and taken to Xianyang Palace.

Jing Ke, who deeply loved Li Ji, agreed to Yan Dan's request to go to Xianyang to assassinate Ying Zheng for this reason.

After listening to Jing Ke's words, Ji Dan stood up and said, "If we don't assassinate Qin, Ying Zheng will destroy Yan. If we do assassinate Qin, Ying Zheng will also destroy Yan. We might as well fight to the death! At worst, I will die on the battlefield with the soldiers of Yan."

As Ji Yan spoke, he rubbed his forehead and said, "Seeing this, the Six-Fingered Black Knight didn't try to persuade them anymore. He simply asked Madam Xu of the Mo family, who was skilled in metallurgy, to forge a Dragon-Slaying Sword for them. The Mo family would not interfere further."

Is it the butterfly effect again?

Leng Feibai pondered this in his mind, then deliberately asked, "Did Yan Dan assign Jing Ke a deputy?"

"Madam Xu's sword will have to wait a while, so Ji Dan wants to slowly choose a deputy!"

Ji Yan frowned and said, "Moreover, in order to increase the success rate of assassinating Ying Zheng, Jing Ke proposed ceding the Dukang region to Qin and handing over the head of the Qin traitor Fan Yuqi in exchange for the opportunity to meet Ying Zheng!"

"He agreed?"

Although Leng Feibai knew the ending, he couldn't help but ask, wanting to see if there would be any differences.

"He only agreed to hand over the Dukang region, but he refused to discuss Fan Yuqi's matter."

"hehe"

Leng Feibai sneered, "Then Jing Ke will definitely try to persuade Fan Yuqi to commit suicide. After all, Fan Yuqi is a traitorous general, yet Ying Zheng has issued a warrant for his arrest and bestowed the title of Marquis of Ten Thousand Households. With his head, getting close to Ying Zheng will be a piece of cake." Marquis of Ten Thousand Households—currently, there are fewer than twenty people in Qin with fiefs of ten thousand households, from the time of Duke Xiao of Qin until now.

The fact that Fan Yuqi, a traitorous general, forced Ying Zheng to relinquish the title of Marquis of Ten Thousand Households shows just how much Ying Zheng hated Fan Yuqi.

Upon hearing this, Ji Yan's expression tightened, and he turned and left the room.

One month later, at the Mo Family's Mechanized City. This is the headquarters of the Mo Family, a defensive fortress with unparalleled defensive capabilities.

No one knows how the founder of the Mohist school built this mechanical city here.

Moreover, ordinary people cannot easily break through the defenses of the mechanical city.

If it weren't for Wei Zhuang's scheme to poison the city in the original story, the black jade unicorn stealing the blueprints of the mechanical city, and Gongshu Chou's help, it would have been different.

Otherwise, the mechanical city might not have been so easily breached.

At this moment, at the sword-forging pool where the Mo family forges weapons, two figures stood beside the sword-forging furnace.

The two figures were a man and a woman. Judging from her appearance, the woman was already close to sixty years old and was none other than Madam Xu, the first swordsmith of the Mo family.

The man was only in his early thirties; he was his son, Master Xu.

The Xu family was a renowned sword-making family in the State of Zhao. Madam Xu and her husband were both master sword makers, no less skilled than Ou Yezi, Gan Jiang, and Mo Xie.

And then there's Master Xu, who's only in his early thirties, and he's earned the title of Sword Master. His most prized work is the Water Cold Sword, which is now ranked seventh on the Sword Manual and is famous throughout the world.

Now that Madam Xu's husband has been gone for many years, she and her son are gathered at the Sword Forging Pool to fulfill the Grand Prince's mission and forge the peerless sword capable of slaying dragons.

The lava beneath the sword-forging pool churned wildly, and within the pool, a blood-red longsword, faintly radiating a bloody aura, hummed, as if concealing a fierce tiger that had just awakened.

On the blade, a deep red light flowed continuously, causing one's heart to be disturbed at first sight and one's heart to be chilled upon further inspection.

Around this crimson longsword, as if to complement it, hung dozens of sharp swords.

The presence of the broken sword, barely visible in the sword-forging pool, adds to the strange atmosphere.

"Mother……"

Looking at the longsword glowing red-hot in the furnace, Master Xu couldn't help but ask, "This sword is due for its final tempering. Why hasn't it undergone the final quenching yet?"

"Ordinary swords should naturally be quenched, but the sword that slays dragons must never be quenched using ordinary methods!"

As she spoke, Madam Xu slowly walked forward.

Upon seeing this, Master Xu stepped forward, wanting to stop his mother's actions.

"No need to stop them!"

Madam Xu smiled and said, "If we swordsmiths can forge a legendary divine weapon, we are truly blessed. What's more, your father has already made his choice for his demonic sword, and it's time for me to go see your bastard father."

As soon as she finished speaking, Madam Xu flew into the air and landed in the sword-refining pool.

"Mother!"

Master Xu knelt down and bowed three times towards the sword-forging pool.

At that very moment, the blood sword located in the center of the sword-forging pool faintly emitted a new sword cry.

The crimson light on the sword also receded into the sword at that moment, causing the crimson color on the entire sword to fade and transform into a silver-white sword.

Several days later, the Dragon-Slaying Sword, named Remnant Rainbow, was delivered to Prince Dan of Yan, escorted by disciples of the Mohist school.

Prince Dan of Yan was overjoyed and immediately ordered his men to fetch a deadly poison that would kill on contact with blood, which was then tempered onto the sword. He also brought in a death row inmate from prison to test the sword.

With a flash of sword light, the skin on the condemned prisoner's chest split open, leaving behind dark purple blood.

He lost his life in an instant.

Seeing this, everyone breathed a sigh of relief and then set a date for their mission to the Qin state.

Several days later, the sky was clear and the sun shone through the clouds, as if the dark clouds that had been hanging over the Yan Kingdom had dissipated considerably.

On the banks of the Yi River, the high-ranking officials of the Yan state, led by Prince Dan of Yan, and several of Jing Ke's friends from the Mohist school, all dressed in white robes and white hats, arrived at this place.

Seeing their expressions, Jing Ke also dropped his playful look, raised his hand to cup his hands in a gesture of respect to the crowd, and shouted loudly, "I am so fortunate to have you all sacrificed yourselves to me. Thank you!"

After saying that, Jing Ke scanned the crowd to make sure he wasn't there, then complained to Ji Yan, "Why didn't Fei Bai come? I thought we were friends!"

Ji Yan smiled and said, "Fei Bai said he couldn't bear the thought of being separated from you by death, so he won't be coming to see you off. He asked me to bring you a gift!"

After saying that, Ji Yan pulled out a heavy wine flask from his sleeve. "This is wine that he specially found for you. I was fortunate enough to taste a cup, and it is indeed a rare and exquisite wine!"

Upon hearing this, Jing Ke was overjoyed and took the wine sachet, saying, "Then I'll accept it. Ji Yan, give this to him for me!"

After saying that, Jing Ke took out a bamboo scroll from his bosom and said, "My eighteen amazing swords are all on this scroll. Consider it my coming-of-age gift to him."

Ji Yan didn't say anything after hearing this, but still accepted the bamboo slip.

The next moment, Prince Dan of Yan and others stepped forward to offer Jing Ke a toast.

Jing Ke thanked them one by one, and at that moment a melodious zither tune began to play.

It was Gao Jianli, Jing Ke's good friend, who came specially to play the zither to see Jing Ke off.

"The wind is shaky and the water is cold, and once the strong man goes, he will never return."

The stirring song resounded throughout the banks of the Yi River. Under the watchful eyes of Prince Dan of Yan and others, Jing Ke turned and mounted his horse, leading the entourage of envoys to Qin towards the Qin territory.

The setting sun was like blood, with the afterglow of the sunset.

The procession of carriages and horses leaving Qin moved steadily forward, with Jing Ke leading the way on a tall horse.

But just then, a figure blocked the way.

Upon seeing the newcomer, Jing Ke immediately stopped his horse.

Qin Wuyang, who was serving as the deputy envoy, also ordered the convoy behind them to stop immediately.

"How did you come!"

Looking at Leng Feibai blocking his path, Jing Ke couldn't help but say, "Feibai, I..."

"Stop talking nonsense, come with me!"

Leng Feibai pulled Jing Ke to an open space nearby. After confirming that the delegation in the distance could not hear him, he asked, "It's decided. This time, you might not come back!"

"Of course I know!"

Jing Ke calmly said, "Whether for public or private reasons, I never intended to come back alive!"

Leng Feibai sighed and said in a low voice, "That Qin Wuyang is just a pretty face, all show and no substance. You can't count on him for anything; in the end, you'll have to rely on yourself. Here, take this!"

After saying that, Leng Feibai took out a Wind and Fire Escape Talisman from his bosom and handed it to Jing Ke.

(End of this chapter)