Quickly conquer the martial arts world, and let your fists dominate the heavens!

Chapter 314 Resisting the Japanese Pirates is Always the Right Thing

Inside a room on the second floor of Yuanlai Inn.

The flickering candlelight cast a soft glow on the tea set on the table.

Ding Baiying and Zhou Miaoyun sat facing each other, the tea on the table had long since gone cold, and it was clear that the two had been silent for a long time.

Earlier, when the Imperial Guards marched past the inn in formation, the two men saw Jin Yichuan through the window but did not make a sound, knowing that the Imperial Guards were on their way to the Eastern Depot.

Ding Baiying was still dressed in her martial attire, with her family's Miao sword hanging at her waist. She looked tired and uncertain about the future.

The strength of the few people she had was simply too weak.

Zhou Miaoyun was dressed in a simple and elegant ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress), her face showing some difficulty, her fingers unconsciously stroking the embroidery on her cuffs.

After a long silence, Ding Baiying finally spoke first, her voice calm yet resolute:

"The matter entrusted to us by the Second Prince is beyond our control; we truly cannot accomplish it. Miss Zhou, please help us report this."

The "matter" she was referring to was naturally the task entrusted to her by the Second Prince to seize the Buddha's relic.

The brutality of the battle at Guangyuan Temple had already spread throughout the capital. The three major Buddhist sects, the masters of the Demonic Sect, and even the eunuch Wang An all perished there.

Although they possessed some martial arts skills, they knew that compared to the Demonic Sect and the Buddhist Sect, there was an insurmountable gap between them. Forcibly intervening would be tantamount to throwing eggs against rocks.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Miaoyun nodded gently, a hint of relief on her face, tinged with apology: "Sister Ding, don't worry. Miaoyun will definitely explain the dangers of this matter to the Second Prince truthfully."

She paused, then, remembering Ding Baiying's greatest concern, added, "And there's the matter of the Qi Family Army. Miaoyun will also plead with the Second Prince to lend a hand. Now, in the court, the Second Prince can speak to His Majesty."

Having followed Ding Baiying around these past few days, Zhou Miaoyun had already witnessed the dangers of the martial world, had been in life-or-death situations several times, and had also personally seen Ding Baiying's tireless efforts for the Qi Family Army.

However, Ding Baiying raised her hand to interrupt her, shook her head, and said firmly, "Never mind."

Ding Baiying picked up the cold tea on the table and drank it all in one gulp: "I cannot accept a reward without merit. We have failed to fulfill the Second Prince's request, so naturally we have no face to ask him for help again. As for the matter of the Qi Family Army's exoneration, I will find a way myself."

As soon as she finished speaking, she slammed the teacup down on the table.

During the Jizhou Mutiny, Wang Bao, then Governor-General of Jiliao, lured Qi Jiguang's soldiers to the drill ground under the pretext of "rewarding" them, without armor. Then, ambushes were launched, killing hundreds of soldiers on the spot. The remaining soldiers were either dismissed or incorporated into other units.

The Qi Family Army has been accused of "mutiny, disobedience, and treason" for thirty years.

Those who survived by chance back then lived in anonymity for thirty years, branching out and all wanting to exonerate Qi Jiguang's army.

Back then, Qi Jiguang's army had absolutely no intention of rebelling!

Looking into her determined eyes, Zhou Miaoyun opened her mouth, but ultimately couldn't say anything more.

She knew Ding Baiying's personality; once she made a decision, she wouldn't easily change it.

Silence descended upon the room once more. Ding Baiying stood up, took two steps to the door, and opened it.
The moment Ding Baiying opened the door, her pupils suddenly contracted, and she subconsciously took two steps back. Her right hand flashed as she drew the Miao sword from her waist, its cold light flashing half a foot from its sheath, and she steadily protected Zhou Miaoyun behind her.

A young man was standing outside the door.

His face wasn't exceptionally handsome, at most his features were well-proportioned, but his brows exuded an indescribable otherworldly air, as if untouched by worldly affairs.

Dressed in a long blue and white robe, standing in the night under the corridor, he showed no hostility whatsoever, yet he made Ding Baiying's heart alarm bells ring.

Yuanlai Inn is no ordinary inn. The waiters are retired secret agents of the Imperial Guard, and the cooks are reclusive swordsmen from the martial arts world. They are all talented individuals recruited by the Second Prince with great effort. It is not only an inn, but also a hub for information from both the underworld and the legitimate world in the capital.

Even a skilled martial artist would be instantly detected, let alone sneak silently to the door of the main room.

The man stood there quietly in front of the door for an unknown amount of time, and none of the experts in the inn noticed him.

Ding Baiying gripped her longsword tightly, the blade pointing directly at the man, her voice icy: "What brings you here?"

However, amidst Ding Baiying's nervousness, a strange sense of familiarity arose in her heart.

The man's figure and the calmness in his eyes vaguely reminded me of someone, but this person had no scars on him.

Chen Zhan didn't care at all, and strode straight into the house, walked to the table and sat down.

"Don't be nervous, it's me."

As soon as Chen Zhan spoke, the two relaxed; his voice was already very familiar.

"Young Master Chen, your injury?" Zhou Miaoyun asked in surprise.

Chen Zhan had been in that terrifying state for a long time before, and then he started wearing a mask. She thought it was because Chen Zhan didn't want to scare others with that appearance, but she never expected that he would be completely healed now.

And this face is actually quite good.

"Once the injury heals, it will naturally return to its original state."

"Speaking of which, we should thank Miss Ding for informing us about the Buddha's relic, which allowed me to recover from my injuries so quickly."

Chen Zhan spoke calmly.

But what he said was astonishing!
Zhou Miaoyun reacted rather slowly, but Ding Baiying reacted instantly, her face turning deathly pale as she staggered back: "You...you obtained the Buddha's Relic???"

Chen Zhan smiled, and with a flick of his hand, a bead of blood appeared on the table. "The real deal."

Ding Baiying was already trying to jump out of the window to escape when Zhou Miaoyun finally realized what was happening.

"Ah! So you...you killed Wang An? And you killed those people from the martial arts world, the demonic sect, and the Buddhist sect. Guangyuan Temple was awash in blood."

But Chen Zhan shook his head.

Seeing Chen Zhan shake his head, Zhou Miaoyun actually believed him and breathed a sigh of relief: "It's good that it wasn't you."

Chen Zhan said, "I killed Wang An, and Fang Sheng too. The others have nothing to do with me."

"."

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Chen Zhan was indeed telling the truth; the others were killed by the demonized Fang Sheng and the Soul-Slaying Dharma King, and it had nothing to do with him. But did that matter?
Chen Zhan killed Wang An.
This one thing alone made it a thorn in the side of the entire Ming Dynasty.

Everyone knows the relationship between Wang An and the current emperor. Wang An watched the emperor grow up. Back then, the downfall of Zhang Juzheng, the framing of Qi Jiguang's army, and the three great campaigns of Wanli were all planned jointly by the emperor and Wang An.

The relationship between the two can be described as extremely close.

Kill Wang An? That's a crime punishable by the extermination of nine generations of one's family, and the person in front of you just casually admitted to it?

These shocking words, spoken by Chen Zhan, came out as calmly as if he were saying, "The weather is fine today," without the slightest boasting or fear.

Ding Baiying took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down.

She knew Chen Zhan had no reason to lie; given his abilities, the two of them were indeed of no use to him.

The blood droplets on the table lay quietly; they were the Buddha's relic.

At this moment, it was completely blood red, shimmering with light, and seemed to be pulsating slightly as if it were alive, which was slightly different from the description Ding Baiying had read in ancient books of "shining white containing blood and nourishing essence".

"What do you mean, senior?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Zhan raised his hand and picked up the blood relic on the table, his fingertips stroking the warm, smooth surface of the relic.

"what do you mean?"

"Wasn't that the question you asked?"

"Besides, wasn't Wang An one of the culprits who framed the Qi Family Army? Shouldn't you be happy that I killed him?"

Chen Zhan was speechless. It was clear that Wang An's influence in the capital was too great, making it difficult for both the imperial court and the martial arts world to breathe.

Ding Baiying calmed down, and since Chen Zhan had indeed saved them, he shouldn't have harmed them.

He stepped forward and asked, "Senior, did you hear everything just now?"

Chen Zhan nodded: "I've heard a little about what happened to the Qi Family Army. You want to exonerate the Qi Family Army, so you've made connections with the Second Prince, helped him with his work, and asked him for help?"

"That's right, it's just a pity that the Second Prince wants the relic, so this matter cannot be accomplished."

Ding Baiying spoke with absolute certainty, but in fact, the relic that the Second Prince had been dreaming of was right on the table, casually placed there by Chen Zhan.

"What does the Second Prince want the relic for?" Chen Zhan asked.

"I don't know," Ding Baiying shook her head.

Chen Zhan looked at Zhou Miaoyun. The relationship between Zhou Miaoyun and the Second Prince was clearly not a simple superior-subordinate one.

Zhou Miaoyun's gaze froze, her hands gripping her clothes nervously. She dared not speak, but she couldn't avoid Chen Zhan's gaze.

"For the throne?"

Chen Zhan's words made Zhou Miaoyun tremble.

Zhou Miaoyun remained silent, and Chen Zhan continued, "The current emperor is in poor health. If he passes away and the crown prince succeeds to the throne, the second prince will have no chance at all. The most widely circulated efficacy of the Buddha's relic is to treat any injury and prolong life."

"If the old emperor can live another ten years or so and recover his health, the second prince's achievement might be attributed to the emperor's favor, his mother's power, and the possibility of deposing the eldest son and establishing the younger one."

At this point, it goes without saying that the purpose is obvious.

Zhou Miaoyun and Ding Baiying didn't understand what Chen Zhan was planning to do, but they didn't dare to ask him directly, for fear that he would say something shocking again.

"Hehe, you can't count on the Second Prince, but I'll help you overturn the case, how about it?" Chen Zhan looked up at Ding Baiying.

The candlelight inside the room flickered, casting flickering light on the faces of the three people. Zhou Miaoyun also looked at Ding Baiying.

Ding Baiying's mind was in turmoil. Looking into Chen Zhan's calm gaze, she quickly made up her mind without needing to weigh the pros and cons.

Anyway, there's no other way!
"Senior, what do I need to give in return?" She didn't simply assume that Chen Zhan would be so kind as to help her for no reason.

Seeing that Ding Baiying asked so directly and without any affectation, Chen Zhan continued to tap the table lightly with his fingertips, his tone calm:
"I need people to do things for me, to gather information about the capital and the surrounding areas, and occasionally to handle trivial matters related to murder. There are some things I'm too lazy to do myself."

Upon hearing this, Ding Baiying was stunned.

She had expected Chen Zhan to propose some extremely harsh conditions, after all, helping Qi Family Army overturn their verdict was a matter of utmost importance.

That was an ironclad case that had been settled for thirty years, involving important officials of the court and former members of the Eastern Depot. Even when Wang An was alive, no one dared to touch it easily. Now that Wang An is dead, his deeply entrenched power remains, and it will be no easy task to overthrow it.

The Second Prince's condition was that she had to seize the Buddha's Relic, a priceless treasure in the martial arts world, a mission with a nine-out-of-ten chance of death.

But Chen Zhan's request was merely for her to run errands and handle some shady tasks. This price was far less than she had expected, and even seemed unreal.

She paused for a moment before regaining her senses, her brows furrowing slightly: "That's all?"

"That's all."

Chen Zhan raised his eyes and glanced at her: "I am all alone and have no connections in the capital. You have some connections in the martial arts world and the imperial court, which is perfect for you."

Ding Baiying knew that Chen Zhan was referring to Lu Wenzhao and Jin Yichuan.

These two men, one a scholar and the other a warrior, were well-connected in the Imperial Guard and had connections within the court.

Ding Baiying's doubts remained. Indeed, compared to the Second Prince's demand for relics, Chen Zhan's conditions were simply insignificant.

But how could Chen Zhan achieve this compared to the Second Prince's status?
Overturning the verdict on Qi Jiguang's army was not something that could be solved by martial arts prowess alone. There were plenty of fearless Grand Secretaries and ministers in the Ming Dynasty court, and even Emperor Wanli couldn't do anything about them.

Otherwise, they wouldn't have made the eldest prince the crown prince.
Chen Zhan seemed to see through Ding Baiying's inner struggle, and then slowly spoke, his tone unusually solemn: "The Qi Family Army, the Qi Family Army... I also have great admiration for General Qi."

He paused, the candlelight reflecting in his eyes, a fleeting look of reminiscence flashing across his face: "Back then, Japanese pirates roamed the southeastern coast. General Qi led the Qi Family Army to guard the coast, fighting hundreds of battles, large and small, to protect the peace of the people in the region."

"Resisting the Japanese pirates is always the right thing to do."

These words struck Ding Baiying's weak spot.

(End of this chapter)