Welcome to the Bizarre Games

Chapter 385 Parties
Upon hearing this, Meng Hao sheathed his sword, but remained vigilant. He simply walked over slowly and gently opened the door.

A short figure was standing outside.

The man, dressed in the attire of the Imperial Household Department, appeared to be a eunuch, as evidenced by his pale face and beard. However, his eyes were vacant, as if devoid of any emotion, as he simply stared straight into the room.

Meng Hao felt a little uneasy under the stare. He turned to ask Horn for help, but Horn simply put down his pen and said calmly.

"Don't be too scared. This is a eunuch from the palace, and one of the few remaining messengers the Empress Dowager has. Strange, since each use is one less opportunity, the Empress Dowager usually doesn't use them easily. Has something happened? Never mind, let him in first."

Upon hearing this, Meng Hao stepped aside—but as the thing passed by him, he still frowned deeply.

There's no breathing, no heartbeat, and not even any body temperature. Are you sure this guy is really okay?

However, as a man with a military background, he forced himself to put aside all his doubts and obeyed Horn's orders, letting the eunuch into the room.

After entering the room, he didn't waste any words, nor did he engage in the bribery tactics common in the Imperial Household Department. He simply spoke slowly in a hoarse voice.

"By the Empress Dowager's decree, Chahar, heed the order!"

Normally, Horn should have knelt down to receive the decree at this point—but to be honest, after working for several days and nights, he was too lazy to bother with all that pretense with this puppet, so he just waved his hand and said.

"Then go ahead and announce it. I'm listening."

The eunuch did not speak, but looked at Horn with empty eyes, as if trying to see something from his extremely tired face, but in the end he just lowered his head and said in a low voice.

"By imperial decree of the Empress Dowager, all restrictions on Chahar are lifted, and Chahar is permitted to use the Empress Dowager's name and the name of the court to mobilize all available forces."

Meng Hao, who was standing nearby, was stunned for a moment, and then suddenly his face lit up with joy.

Even though he didn't understand politics very well, he knew that this decree meant that from today onwards, their group was equivalent to imperial envoys appointed by the Empress Dowager—even though the dynasty was already in turmoil, such a title was still an unparalleled favor!

Otherwise.

Upon hearing this, unlike Meng Hao, Horn did not show any excitement; instead, his brows furrowed even deeper.

Meng Hao was somewhat puzzled by this, until he saw a hint of anger appear in Horn's expression—

He slowly stood up from the chair and then spoke.

"Does the Empress Dowager really know what this means? If I do as she says, then—"

However, his angry words were suddenly interrupted.

The eunuch, with lifeless eyes, slowly spoke to Horn.

"The Empress Dowager said that she would pay any price to capture that chosen one."

"But the price that will likely be paid by the Qing Dynasty."

"Remember, it's everything."

All of Horn's voices fell silent.

He stared intently at the eunuch, as if trying to get him to say something to change his mind—but the eunuch only responded with indifference and remained silent.

In the end, Horn was defeated.

He slumped weakly on the stool and spoke in a voice that seemed to be squeezed out between his teeth.

"I understand. Please convey to the Empress Dowager that Huo En will not fail the Emperor's grace."

Only after the eunuch left did Horn grab the cup beside him and, with all his might, smash it to the ground!
"Those damn bastards, one by one, they're all—"

The sound was like the final howl of a dying wolf, eventually fading quietly into the night.
-
Under the same night sky, in a secluded mansion.

A man swirled the wine in his glass, gazing up at the cold, desolate moon in the sky.

There was no charcoal fire burning around, so the cold seemed to seep into the very bones, and even the wine that had just been taken out was covered with a layer of frost.

However, the man didn't mind, and instead raised his glass to toast the person opposite him.

The man ignored it and instead carefully examined the document in his hand by the moonlight.

The man didn't show any embarrassment; he simply used the ice to drink the entire glass of wine in one gulp.

Then he spoke.

"I received news this morning that Brother Shangjun encountered some trouble and almost lost his life."

Only then did the man put down the document and speak slowly.

"What went wrong?"

"According to the report, it was because the officials who had been in contact with us suddenly backed out, which caused a slight mishap."

".Why?"

"It seems like he was after those shares in his hands, right? I'm good at military campaigns, but I don't know anything about business. Anyway, I almost got Brother Shang killed for that little bit of profit."

The man said indifferently.

"A 25% stake in Tonggang is no longer a small profit. So what are you planning to do next?"

The man shook his head and smiled bitterly.

"You know, I'm currently under strict surveillance by the court and have been out of office for a long time. I have no ability to retaliate. However, if Brother Shangjun's side succeeds or fails, I will probably make all the participants in Tonggang's case have their families wiped out."

"You might as well stick to your old ways. In this situation, there's no one else to cooperate with."

The man raised his glass and offered a toast in return.

But the man knew that the respect was not for himself.

"Now we can only hope that he can successfully complete his plan. Not to mention you, our Shangqing Sect has placed all our hopes on him, Lord Jing Shang."

The man then raised his glass as well.

"Jing Shangjun."
-
a few days later.

Access to the port.

Zhou You was naturally unaware that so many people were now watching his group—otherwise he would have gone crazy—all he felt right now was that many people were targeting him.

That means you've been tricked, no doubt about it.

After spending the last few days with Feng Qianlin, he finally understood what kind of person Feng Qianlin was.

He appears generous, lavish, charitable, and fond of helping others.

But in reality...
This guy is a cunning and treacherous old fox!
"I feel like I've been targeted by him for a long time, and that old devil might even be a plant." Zhou You sat in his magnificent bedroom, unpacking the package in front of him with a conflicted expression.

The contents inside are very simple.

Several oddly shaped materials, and a longsword that gleamed with a cold light but had an ancient design.

The materials were promised long ago and were intended for repairing the Broken Sword; the problem is this sword...
Zhou You lightly flicked the sword.

The echoing sound was like a dragon's roar, even prompting Duan Xie, who was standing nearby, to join in.

Zhou You pursed his lips.

"You're about to die, why are you still trying to be a hot commodity?"

He casually tossed a stone to Duan Xie, watching him slowly digest it with his evil energy, and then turned the sword over.

Two simple, ancient characters are engraved on it.

"Ten Thousand Ren"

Others might not know what this thing is, but Zhou You's family is a family of folk customs, and he himself has studied history, so he knows the origin of this sword.

As the saying goes: "In the Western Jin Dynasty, there was a man named Xu Xun, the magistrate of Jingyang. He attained enlightenment at Mount Yuzhang. A dragon was causing trouble in the river, so Jingyang submerged himself in the water and threw his sword to slay it. Afterwards, his whereabouts became unknown. A fisherman from Xiang found a stone box in his net, and the sound of striking it could be heard for dozens of miles. During the Tang Dynasty, Prince Dao, then the prefect of Hongzhou, broke it open and found a pair of swords. Upon examining their inscriptions, one had the name Xu Jingyang, and the other had the name Wanren."

Even setting aside other aspects, this is an antique of immeasurable value!

Not to mention that after thousands of years, the sword still looks brand new—

This is beyond the measure of money. In modern terms, this thing is a national treasure, and it needs to be kept in the Palace Museum under strict guard. Let alone actually stealing it, even planning it could get you arrested and sentenced to more than ten years in prison!
Zhou You stroked the sword, feeling the Heavenly Dragon Blood within him resonate with it—truly a sword that had slain a dragon—and the evil energy circulated freely on it, except for the inability to release it, it was no different from the Duanxie sword.

Feng Qianlin gave him this one thing very casually.

He only said one sentence in a nonchalant tone.

“My teacher once mentioned that if you who practice weapons lose your handy weapon, your strength will drop by at least 30%. This is a magic sword passed down in my family. If you don’t mind, please use it first.”

That's really impressive.

Also, since you have so much spare money, why don't you hire a few more bodyguards?!
Zhou You was completely baffled as to what this guy was up to—but just then, the door was suddenly pushed open.

—The one who came to greet him was Chen Xun, a lay disciple of the Kuchan Temple, whose martial arts skills were so advanced that he was almost invulnerable to swords and spears.

This person is still very unfriendly to Zhou You, but at least he no longer has the hostility he had when they first met. After coming up, he just coldly said something.

"Shangjun asked me to tell you that we're about to hit the road. The car is already waiting downstairs. Please pack your things quickly."

Zhou You was a very professional person. Hearing this, he could only put aside his doubts for the time being, repack the Duanxie and the materials, hang the Wanren Sword on his waist, and then rush downstairs.

Feng Qianlin had been waiting for a long time.

Seeing Zhou You get off, he smiled and waved, gesturing for someone to get in the car—Chen Xun tried to stop him, but after seeing a glance from Shang Jun, he could only sigh heavily and sit in the front, pretending to be the driver.

With the crack of a whip, the carriage began to move. Inside the carriage, Zhou You and Feng Qianlin stared at each other for a long time before Feng Qianlin finally couldn't help but chuckle.

"Mr. Zhou, how have you been these past few days?"

"It was the best I'd been doing lately. I stayed in a hotel that hosted foreign ambassadors, ate the finest delicacies, and every now and then girls would offer themselves to me—though I didn't accept any of them."

"That's good then, but judging from Mr. Zhou's expression, he still seems a little unhappy?"

Zhou You remained silent for a while, then suddenly spoke seriously.

"To be honest, I don't want to ask what you're planning, Brother Feng. After all, I doubt you'd tell me anyway, and I personally hate trouble—but I just want to say one thing to you."

"Mr. Zhou, please speak."

"—Why only hire Chen Xun and me? Putting aside everything else, I do admit that Chen Xun is indeed a top-notch expert in this world—but he is not the kind of person who can protect people. With your family background, Brother Feng, you could hire people from all walks of life, not to mention those from famous sects and clans. Why did you end up only having the two of us protect your safety?"

Feng Qianlin sighed softly, his expression suggesting something unspeakable, and spoke after a long while.

"It's simple, because I only trust the two of you."

Zhou You was speechless for a moment.

"Putting Chen Xun aside, I think I've only met you, Brother Feng, a handful of times, right? Where do you get the confidence to trust me so much?"

However, Feng Qianlin simply said calmly.

"Some things are obvious at first glance. I think you resemble someone and I believe you are trustworthy, so I choose to trust you, that's all."

Zhou You was very puzzled.

"May I ask, who do I resemble?"

However, at this point, Feng Qianlin refused to speak. He simply poured himself a cup of tea, handed it to Zhou You, and then smiled without saying a word.

The person stared at him for a long time, and finally just sighed.

"Alright, if you don't want to talk about it, then let's move on to the next topic—I've been looking into it these past few days and found that Jingping County, where the Ghost Market is located, is quite far from here. How do you plan to get there? If we just take this carriage, not to mention how long it will take, I doubt Chen Xun and I can take turns."

Feng Qianlin answered the question very concisely and clearly.

"The Jingping Line is right on the route from Tonggang to Beijing for delivering goods, so this time we'll just take the train."

"A train? That's fine, it's better than this horse."

Zhou You paused mid-sentence, suddenly taken aback.

"Wait a minute, there are trains in this weird era???"
-
According to history books, there were indeed railways in the late Qing Dynasty, but looking at the closed-door policy, Zhou You originally thought that this thing had long since disappeared into the annals of history, just like the Self-Strengthening Movement.

Who would have thought that such a thing actually exists in this day and age?
So what was the point of all those unnecessary detours I've been taking? Just to check my WeChat step count when I'm bored?
Feng Qianlin's explanation for this was quite simple.

"Although the Empress Dowager disliked all imported goods, the high-ranking officials and nobles in the capital still needed them. Moreover, due to the severe famine caused by the Dingxu famine, the vast majority of opium now had to be imported. Such a large quantity of goods could not be transported by livestock alone, and there was no waterway connecting this port to Beijing. Therefore, no matter how unwilling the Empress Dowager was, she had no choice but to grit her teeth and build this railway to Beijing."

Just as he finished explaining, the carriage happened to stop.

Zhou You lifted the curtain—and in an instant, a steam whistle sounded.

When I looked again, it was a bustling crowd.

Numerous sounds entered my ears, making my mind somewhat muddled.

Zhou You was stunned for a moment, then his face turned extremely ugly.

Now the second question arises.

—How can he protect Feng Qianlin amidst this massive, overwhelming crowd?
(End of this chapter)