Are you trying to make things difficult for me, Doctor Mo?
Vaguely, the sound of wind whistling reached his ears, and the dizzy man barely opened his eyes, but as soon as he opened his mouth, the wind filled it, causing him to choke and cough violently.
His forehead was still bleeding, and his face was turning blue from holding his breath.
At that moment, the person carrying him suddenly stopped, the abrupt change in speed making his vision go black. He then struggled to the ground, rolling and crawling, and vomited violently.
“…Meng, youโre too harsh…”
“…Bad luck… He happened to be standing there when the tent collapsed.”
The voices gradually brought the vomiting man back to consciousness. He suddenly remembered that in the chaos, someone had forcibly taken him from the military camp. The other person’s martial arts were incredibly high; not only had they dismantled the tent he was in, but they also escaped unscathed from the encirclement of thousands.
This unfortunate man had never imagined that someone could treat that deadly formation as nothing, coming and going freely as if in an empty place.
“Who are you?”
Mo Li intended to stop the bleeding, but the man suddenly backed away, watching them warily.
The sky had not yet lightened; it was the darkest time just before dawn.
Meng Qi stood leisurely under a locust tree, ten steps away.
The dense canopy blocked the distant light from the city walls, making Meng Qi’s figure blurred, like a ghostly shadow formed by the intertwining branches. Because he did not reveal a single trace of his aura, he seemed to merge into the deep darkness.
And for some reason, whether it was the distant Meng Qi or the nearby Mo Li, the abducted man felt he couldn’t see clearly.
The more he squinted to discern, the more his head hurt.
He didn’t even realize there were three people, only feeling as if enemies surrounded him, so he blustered, “I am an official of the court! You bandits, are you planning a rebellion?”
Mo Li focused on the wound on the man’s forehead. The bleeding wasn’t much, but his face looked terrible, and he seemed about to collapse.
“He can’t go any further; his head was hit, and there’s internal bleeding,” Mo Li quickly took his pulse while the man was still disoriented.
“Hit dumb?”
“…No, it’s just that carrying him while using lightness skills at high speed worsened the injury.”
Meng Qi, well-versed in such matters, understood as soon as Mo Li reminded him.
This condition was common, usually caused by being hit by something or taking a severe fall.
Swelling on the head, blurred vision, vomiting… there’s no quick cure; it takes three to five days of rest to gradually recover.
“As long as he doesn’t die,” Meng Qi was utterly indifferent to the man’s survival.
The man, hearing this, was even more frightened, his face hardening, “There are three thousand soldiers here, you traitors…”
Mo Li took out a silver needle and inserted it into the acupoints on the back of his head.
The man immediately felt the double vision ease slightly. Coincidentally, when he focused, he found himself staring directly at the swordsman’s scarred face.
“Su Li’er?!”
Mo Li was startled.
At first, it sounded like a name, but on closer thought, it was likely a nickname.
Su Li’er meant someone who wore a bamboo hat all day and night, which wasn’t unusual. But adding the third character made it slightly derogatory.
It meant something like “kid” or “child.”
If the swordsman were young and handsome, merely covering his face with a bamboo hat like a chivalrous hero from a storybook, being called Su Li’er might be a playful, even endearing, nickname. However, using it on a disfigured assassin who didn’t want to be seen was anything but complimentary.
“You know me.”
The swordsman spoke each word slowly, and even a fool could hear the killing intent in his voice.
The man shivered, and the swordsman took a step closer, speaking coldly, “I heard others call you Mr. Li, and you claim to be an official of the court. May I ask what rank you hold and whose salary you draw?”
They were still within the Qi Empire’s borders, and naturally, Qi officials were paid by the Lu family of Qi. The swordsman’s question carried an intent to condemn.
Mr. Li wanted to retort, but the dizziness hadn’t fully subsided, and his mind buzzed, unable to come up with a clever response.
A court official naturally had no reason to know a killer from the Piaoping Pavilion.
Feeling the swordsman’s gaze full of malicious intent, Mr. Li instinctively shuddered.
“He doesn’t know any martial arts,” Mo Li suddenly said.
The meridians were empty, his body weak and frailโjust a scholarly man.
Meng Qi looked at the sky, estimating that dawn was approaching, and once the daylight fully emerged, it would be difficult to hide with such a burden. After some careful thought, he suddenly smiled and said, “I didn’t expect that there would still be descendants of the Wangli clan. In the old days, at the Pingkou Alliance, the eight tribes joined forces to execute the governor of Xiazhou, establishing the Xiliang Kingdom. The Wangli clan was full of talented strategists, highly respected in the nation. I see that you bear much of your ancestor’s likeness!”
Mr. Li’s eyes widened in shock, almost believing that Meng Qi was also a Xiliang Qiang person.
However, Meng Qi showed no characteristics of a northerner, so Mr. Li quickly began to calculate in his mind.
Too many things had happened that night, and too suddenly.
Though they held strong power in Run County, this was also their weakness. The group under Mr. Li’s control was fundamentally different from that of the Sun family’s business. Because Mr. Li didn’t know martial arts, the nominal leader of Run County was Shopkeeper Sun, which Mr. Li resented but could do nothing about.
Mr. Li, or rather Li Zhubo, was only an eighth-rank official, relying on the trust of the stationed military officers and the county constable in Run County.
That night, the Sun family suddenly made a move, sending word that there was a change in the plan; the people from Fengxing Pavilion had arrived early, and they needed Li Zhubo to assist in the military camp.
After a chaotic night of setting fires and capturing people, they gained nothing.
Just as Li Zhubo was about to send someone to question Shopkeeper Sun, he learned that the man had used a secret passage to escape into the camp, claiming that he had encountered a formidable opponent, that Su Li’er from Piaoping Pavilion had been captured, and that someone had already searched the merchant warehouse. With the grand plan on the brink of success, they couldn’t let anyone disrupt the setup, so they decided to use the military camp as a trap to kill all those who attempted to uncover the secret.
Li Zhubo was both angry and puzzled by the turn of events.
They had been hiding in Run County for years, with deep roots and many tricks up their sleeves, even managing to fool the meddling Fengxing Pavilion. How could someone suddenly appear out of nowhere to ruin their plans? Who was this unexpected obstacle, and how could they save the Fengxing Pavilion master from a hopeless situation?
The houses on the streets of Run County were protected by the Six Ding Six Jia Four Symbols Formation.
This was an ancient formation passed down through generations, and moving freely within it, even for a prodigy in sorcery, would require thirty years of immersion in Qimen Dunjia.
โEscaping without a sound was a hundred times harder than breaking the formation.
Yet, in this world, there still existed such a master of formations?
Qimen Dunjia was on the verge of being lost, especially after the chaos at the end of the Chen Dynasty, the extermination of old ministers by Emperor Yuan and Emperor Ling of Chu, and the bloodshed during the Qi Dynasty’s establishment. These three events nearly wiped out the study of formations, and even the field of arithmetic suffered, losing many texts.
Li Zhubo had thought it unlikely to encounter a worthy opponent, but now that one had appeared, he had no time to question Shopkeeper Sun about what had happened. He believed that once he captured this person, everything would become clear.
As for his own defeat? Li Zhubo had never considered it possible!
He had learned the complete Qimen Dunjia technique, unlike those who followed broken and incomplete paths.
He had the advantage of timing, geography, and human resources.
Li Zhubo, sitting in his tent, could command a thousand soldiers. Aside from the unpredictable timing, the other factors of geography and human resources were not in the enemy’s favor. How could he lose?
And yet, he lost…
The defeat was so inexplicable that Li Zhubo even suspected he was dreaming.
Just as Meng Qi had guessed, proud people never believe they can fail. If they do, they are sure there was a traitor who betrayed them.
Suddenly, anger surged within Li Zhubo, causing his vision to darken again. He staggered to his feet, trembling, and pointed at Meng Qi, “Who told you these things?”
“The Wangli clan was cowardly and feared battle. When the Xiliang Kingdom fell, the entire clan surrendered to Chu. I didn’t expect anyone to still believe in your Wangli clan today,” Meng Qi said mockingly. “When I said you had the demeanor of your ancestor, wasn’t it precisely because you are powerless, driving others to fight on your behalf, and once captured, you cower and submit, showing no responsibility!”
“Shut up!”
Li Zhubo roared, blood rushing to his head, and he blacked out again.
Mo Li quickly took out silver needles and inserted them into several key acupoints.
“The smell of mugwort is strong. If we use it again, someone will come looking,” Mo Li said, holding a firestone in one hand and a silver needle in the other, casting a sidelong glance at Meng Qi.
Meng Qi quickly explained, “The situation was urgent, and drastic measures were needed. Doctor, please forgive me.”
The swordsman listened, completely bewilderedโwhat was all this about Xiliang and the Wangli clan? Had these things really happened?
How he regretted not studying more history, especially when he had never read any books. The more he listened, the more anxious he became.
As Li Zhubo remained unconscious, the swordsman couldn’t help but ask, “How did you know he was… from the Wangli clan?”
“The eight great tribes of Xiliang were almost entirely wiped out when the kingdom fell, with only the Wangli clan surviving in greater numbers. And the Wangli clan is the only one among the eight surnames that phonetically resembles this Mr. Li’s surname,” Meng Qi suddenly laughed, looking at Mo Li, and said, “Doctor, I once told you that many people in this world have obsessions, some of which are quite laughable. For instance, when they change their names, they must somehow connect it to their original surname, either by splitting it or finding a similar sound, claiming it’s to ‘remember their roots.'”
Mo Li rubbed his temples and sighed helplessly, “You mock their foolishness, but doesn’t this habit make things easier for you? Like right now?”
Guessing right saves so much trouble.
Meng Qi simply smiled without saying a word.
The swordsman: “…”
These two started staring at each other again, and the atmosphere turned strange.
The swordsman couldn’t see his blade, so he kicked Li Zhubo instead.
Mo Li was startled; the silver needles were still in Li Zhubo’s head. If he were to fall again, the man might not survive.
The swordsman felt a cold chill at his neck and looked up to see Meng Qi staring at him coldly.
“I was afraid he was pretending to be unconscious,” the swordsman said dryly.
Li Zhubo struggled to regain consciousness. Before he even opened his eyes, he began to mutter curses intermittently, “Is it Shopkeeper Sun? I should have reported it to the lord earlier. Those of servant origins are all opportunistic traitors.”
Mo Li frowned and removed the silver needles, speaking in a low voice, “The power of the Southern Border’s sacred medicineโyou know it better than I do. With it, wealth flows endlessly, and power is within reach. Why risk your life, letting others control you?”
Li Zhubo originally couldn’t figure out why Shopkeeper Sun would betray him, but the reason Mo Li provided made perfect sense.
Of course, he wouldn’t trust the enemy’s words outright, but he already harbored resentment toward Shopkeeper Sun.
If it weren’t for Shopkeeper Sun, how could the formation in the camp have been broken? How could the enemy have found the formation’s core so quickly and captured him?
“Ruining my Black Tortoise Killing Formationโthe lord won’t spare you,” Li Zhubo gritted his teeth in hatred.
Mo Li wondered, what is the Black Tortoise Killing Formation?
He quickly realized it must be the formation in the camp.
Mo Li silently looked at Meng Qi: Did you name the formation that?
Meng Qi firmly shook his head: Does that sound like a name I’d come up with?
Black Tortoise Killing Formationโjust because it has a defensive capability like a turtle shell, you don’t have to be that literal!
The swordsman: “…”
That feeling of wanting to find his blade came back.
“That wasn’t the Black Tortoise Killing Formation; the Chu army called it the Long Snake Defensive Formation.”
Meng Qi was determined to clear his name for his naming abilities.
“Defend like a rock, strike like a serpentโisn’t that the essence of the Black Tortoise among the Four Symbols?” Li Zhubo said bitterly, “This formation did indeed originate from the Chu army, but I added several enhancements, which gave it such power. If it weren’t for that traitor… wait, Shopkeeper Sun only knew my location and barely understood Qimen Dunjia!”
“Have you heard of camp panic?” Meng Qi interrupted him calmly.
Li Zhubo froze.
Meng Qi continued slowly, “In the middle of the night, someone in a tent suddenly wakes up from a nightmare and screams, causing others to panic, running around in confusion, mistakenly thinking the camp is under attack. Some, unwilling to be soldiers or face death, become consumed by anxiety day and night, eventually losing control and screaming, slashing wildly, leading to a full-blown melee. Camp panic can cause an army of over a hundred thousand to collapse without a fight. Your formation may be clever, but you had no contingency for the tents collapsingโstrategies on paper, nothing more.”
“Youโ”
“Indeed, even if the tents hadn’t collapsed, all I would need to do is let out a single sharp scream, and your so-called Black Tortoise Killing Formation would crumble like clay chickens and pottery dogs. How dare you boast?”
Li Zhubo trembled all over, spat out a mouthful of blood, and fainted again.
Mo Li: “…”
Doctor Mo looked up and asked softly, “Brother Meng, are you perhaps trying to test my medical skills, especially my ability to bring someone back from the dead?”
Author’s Note:
Mo Li: I’m telling you, you’re making things difficult for me, Fat Tiger.jpg
โโโ
One of the eight aristocratic surnames of the Tangut people in real history was Wangli, but since we’re in a fictional setting, I changed a character and must declare that this has nothing to do with real history.
โโโ
Swordsman: Ah, they’re at it againโthat power that destroys everything! ใThis line is a referenceใ
Author: The power of feeding dog food!
Translatorโs Note:
I am so sorry. I didnโt notice that chapter 232 and 233 was merged somehow.
And here I was wondering why my chapters arenโt lining up. Turns out I missed a chapter.
