Playing with fantasy beasts in the martial arts world

Chapter 146 A Heroine Among Women
However, judging solely from his appearance, Mr. Du simply resembled a wealthy lady from a prominent family.

Although her youth has faded, she would never use makeup to cover up the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes.

Her delicate and elegant beauty was like a drifting white cloud beyond the distant mountains, yet her eyes held a bright and confident light.

It is this confidence that makes her aging graceful, not a flaw, but rather a strength.

Based on his extensive experience dealing with grandmasters, Cha Nan was absolutely certain that the woman in front of him also possessed grandmaster-level strength.

She... is no ordinary person!
Cha Nan glanced at Jiao Lin again and couldn't help but sigh once more at the capriciousness and wonder of time and the passing years.

“Young Master Cha!” Mr. Du looked at Cha Nan, nodded in agreement, and then said, “You have a lot of ideas. I must say, you almost made me change my mind.”

"Almost? Almost in what way?" Cha Nan asked.

His method was naturally inspired by Zhang Mazi's dealing with Huang Silang in Let the Bullets Fly. Pirates are pirates. No matter how powerful they are, when they oppose the imperial court, they will definitely focus on playing to their strengths and avoiding their weaknesses. In other words, even Tianwang Island, where Shi Tianwang led a lot of pirates, was not the place where all his manpower and power were gathered.

They will not give the imperial court the opportunity to wipe them out all at once.

In other words, as long as there is a time difference, and Shi Tianwang is beheaded in full view of everyone, the news will spread, and Shi Tianwang's pirate forces will immediately fall into chaos. Once they are in chaos, the imperial court can seize the opportunity to defeat them one by one.

As for how to capture a stand-in for Shi Tianwang?
Cha Nan felt that this might be a little difficult... but it certainly wouldn't be difficult for Mr. Du.

“He has six body doubles, and many people know that,” Mr. Du sighed.

Cha Nan did indeed give her a good idea. If Shi Tianwang only had one or two stand-ins, she would definitely change her plan and rearrange her strategy.

“He has six doubles. Even if we kill one, there are still six left who can disperse and stabilize the situation. As long as we leave one alive, they will rise again and become even more troublesome,” Mr. Du continued.

Why did the imperial court bestow a marriage upon Shi Tianwang and Princess Yujian, and then plot for Princess Yujian to kill Shi Tianwang on their wedding night?

Because everyone would believe that the King Shi who died on his wedding night was the real King Shi.

Even if the real King Shi endured what ordinary people could not, and made a stand-in taste his new wife's first soup, as long as the one who came to the bridal chamber died, King Shi's reputation would collapse.

Because everyone decides which one is true.

What the truth is is sometimes not important.

Actually, from another perspective, when all six stand-ins possess the appearance, martial arts skills, and power of King Shi, are they stand-ins or King Shi himself?
Cha Nan even doubted how six stand-ins with such abilities could still remain loyal to Shi Tianwang instead of taking the opportunity to tear apart the faction and start their own separate groups.

"Perhaps it's because of some special martial arts technique!" Cha Nan could only temporarily attribute the answer to this.

"Then... let him come to me!" Cha Nan originally wanted to say that he would escort Princess Yujian to marry King Shi and then go on a killing spree on Tianwang Island. But when he thought that even Chu Liuxiang had failed, what absolute confidence did he have to be so arrogant on someone else's turf?

After all, Tianwang Island is not his stronghold. He cannot output a large number of magical beasts on Tianwang Island. Relying on three grandmasters, he may not be able to stand in an absolutely invincible position.

“You will normally send people to escort Princess Yujian to her wedding, but I will abduct her on the way and claim that I have taken her.”

"I hope... this news can spread throughout the entire martial arts world in a very short time."

"Just like, no one can bear to sleep with another man on their wedding night, and no real man can stand by and do nothing while his wife is abducted and defiled," Cha Nan said confidently.

Whether Shi Tianwang took Princess Yujian seriously or whether he wanted revenge for her are two different things.

From the moment King Shi agreed to the marriage and accepted Princess Yujian's marriage certificate, they were legally bound together.

If a man can remain indifferent when his newlywed wife is insulted, what face does he have to rule the seven seas?
In the world of martial arts, face is life itself.

A person may die, but their reputation must remain; otherwise, life is worse than death!

"You want to be the bait?" Mr. Du asked.

Actually, the position of this 'bait' was originally intended for Chu Liuxiang, and what Cha Nan mentioned was actually one of Mr. Du's original plans.

If Chu Liuxiang agrees to be with Princess Yujian, then he will be the one being hunted down by King Shi and his men.

However, Chu Liuxiang's only flaw as bait is that he is too soft-hearted and never kills anyone.

By the time Mr. Du mobilized his troops to surround and kill the assassins, they would most likely have already escaped.

It can be said that under Jiao Lin's guidance, Mr. Du's plan had two sides. One side was to have Princess Yujian act as the final assassin to kill Shi Tianwang on their wedding night. The other side was to have Chu Liuxiang act as bait to lure Shi Tianwang and his subordinates out step by step and into the trap.

“Yes! But I come from a prestigious family, and I hope that after I kill King Shi, Mr. Du can help me restore my reputation,” Cha Nan said.

Thanks to the various conveniences and benefits that came from Guo Jing's fame, Cha Nan also began to cherish her reputation, instead of being initially indifferent.

In an era when information dissemination was not advanced, a person's reputation was their calling card. A good reputation could undoubtedly provide considerable advantages.

Cha Nan, on the other hand, was at the forefront of the version, and he understood better the principle that even black and red can be red.

First, spread a bad reputation throughout the martial arts world, and then use a powerful public relations team to clean up the mess. In just a very short time, he can turn his life around and become a top figure in the martial arts world who can rival Chu Liuxiang.

Since he had agreed to let Shuimu Yinji come and make trouble for Chu Liuxiang, Cha Nan had no intention of doing it half-heartedly. Although he wouldn't really become enemies with Chu Liuxiang, he was determined to outdo Chu Liuxiang in every way and let Shuimu Yinji vent her anger.

Simply taking away Chu Liuxiang's three-masted sailing ship would be too ordinary and commonplace.

It can only be considered a safety net.

"Alright! But I want to test your strength first!" Mr. Du said, and with a wave of his hand, the petals of the white camellia in the bottle next to him suddenly opened up.

Suddenly, she flicked her finger, and a shower of colorful petals scattered before Cha Nan's eyes, captivating her gaze.

She had already picked up a flower branch between her two fingers, and with a flick of her wrist, she aimed it at Cha Nan's eyes.

No one can fully describe just how skillful her swordsmanship was in that instant.

Indescribably light, indescribably elegant, indescribably ruthless!
A kind of venom that is almost perfect.

Cha Nan's feeling was correct; she was indeed a grandmaster. Although she wasn't as famous as the ancient female grandmasters like Yao Yue, Shui Mu Yin Ji, and Shi Guanyin, her strength was definitely not weak.

Cha Nan's feet moved naturally, moving so fast they became a cloud of mist.

But the petals, guided by the branches, followed Cha Nan relentlessly.

No matter how fast Cha Nan increased his speed, the petals were only half a body length away from him.

Cha Nan's figure twirled in mid-air like a swift, his many unconventional movements demonstrating that his agility and lightness skills had far surpassed his current level.

But he could never escape the 'pursuit' of the petals.

No one's internal energy can conjure up petals that are several feet away from them, causing them to suddenly change direction and trajectory multiple times. Even a grandmaster, or even a great grandmaster, cannot do this, since they use martial arts, not immortal techniques.

Therefore, Cha Nan looked for the cause within himself.

These petals must have been moving in response to the airflow that carried him.

Cha Nan leaped into the air and kicked out. A cold wind blew, and the petals scattered into frost and fell. Only the remaining energy spurs rushed towards Cha Nan, but he kicked them to pieces again.

"What superb legwork!"

"It's a pity... If you had another ten years... no, at most three to five years, you would be the best candidate!" Mr. Du looked at Cha Nan and shook his head regretfully.

Cha Nan's leg techniques are formidable, an extraordinary skill, and his skill is quite profound. However, he has not yet broken through the barrier between life and death and refined the inexhaustible true energy. Sending him to deal with Shi Tianwang is too risky.

“When did I say I was a person?” Cha Nan retorted.

Before the words were even finished, Liang Xiao had already appeared behind Cha Nan, with long hair flowing down his back and dressed in a blue robe, just like Cha Nan's shadow.

The moment Liang Xiao appeared in the garden, Mr. Du became truly nervous, his initial composure and confidence completely gone.

"I see!" Mr. Du let out a long breath, waved his hand, and dismissed the experts who had sensed something was wrong and rushed over to help.

"You have such an accomplice, and you've hidden him so well. I must have been quite ignorant!" Mr. Du didn't seem to care about Liang Xiao's whereabouts.

"So... what do you want?" Mr. Du asked.

At this point, the conversation truly began to get down to business.

After all, before this, Cha Nan had only been trying to convince Mr. Du that she was capable of participating.

"I want Chu Liuxiang to join me and compete fairly. I want to win against him honorably and let everyone know that the Thief King Chu Liuxiang lost to Cha Nan, the disciple of the Water Mother Yin Ji!" Cha Nan finally introduced himself.

"Are you a disciple of the Water Mother Yin Ji?"

"I've never heard of her taking male disciples... Could it be...?"

The one who said the first sentence was Mr. Du, and the one who said the second sentence was Jiao Lin.

It has to be said that Jiao Lin is still too impetuous!

(End of this chapter)