Qin Shi Ambitious

Page 57

"What you two gentlemen say is quite right; I was indeed overthinking things." Lu Wei quietly refilled their teacups. "I have indeed been considering a collaboration with outsiders, but I still have some reservations about the specifics of how we should cooperate..."

“Brother, don’t hesitate. How could we, as elder brothers, let our younger brother suffer a loss?” Zhu Jia stroked his long beard on both sides of his smiling face and said naturally, “I know that you have been trading with the Xiang family of Chu in Luqiu Pavilion in Yan.”

"The Chu Kingdom is within the territory of my Shennong Hall. With the help of Shennong Hall, your trade will naturally be much more convenient."

"Although Siyue Hall mainly operates casinos and brothels in Han and Wei, it has also accumulated a considerable amount of grain. Brother Lu's main base is in Yan, where it is bitterly cold. I imagine that the grain yield there is much lower than that of the Central Plains."

Situ Wanli also took the opportunity to offer his own chips.

"You two brothers have really done me a great favor... I wonder what Gonggong Hall can do for Shennong and the Four Mountains?" Lu Wei's eyes lit up as he accepted the promises made by the two hall masters. At the same time, he was grateful and offered his own promise.

"Well~" Zhu Jia shook his head: "First of all, the three halls should unite against the Tian family in the Daze Mountain. I'm sure you all agree on that."

After waiting a while and seeing that no one objected, the Zhu family made a second request: "I heard that Brother Lu has a workshop that can produce all kinds of efficient farming tools?"

Hearing this, Lu Wei nodded: "That's right. If Shennong Hall and Siyue Hall are interested, I can have my disciple send some over for you two to see next year during the planting season."

"That's excellent!" Zhu Jia's mask turned yellow in 'amazement,' and he then made a third request...

------

The transactions with Shennongtang and Siyuetang went very smoothly, and the connection between the three halls will deepen step by step as cooperation progresses.

This news should reach Tian Meng soon, and Lu Wei doesn't care how the Tian family reacts.

He has already relayed the news concerning Tian Meng's problem back to Jicheng. Luqiu Pavilion will send a message to Tian Guang as soon as possible to pass on this information.

After Lü Qing's investigation, he was surprised to find that Tian Hu had been behaving himself during this period, but his identity had not been switched, which amazed him.

This isn't like Tian Hu's personality, yet he manages to do it anyway; I don't know why...

The New Year was ultimately just one night of joy. Although Lu Wei personally took care of everything for the New Year, he himself was not very happy and felt that his mood was the same as usual.

He was more pleased with the complete delegation of power he received after talking with Zhou He when he first returned.

After the New Year, as promised, Lu Wei distributed a squad of fifty men to each of the Yan brothers and Lü Chen. He also found some systematic general military books for the three of them to study carefully. Lu Wei had high expectations for his three future generals.

After Lu Mu's workshop had completed the initial construction of the main buildings by working overtime, it encountered a major problem: there weren't enough blacksmiths.

Farmers have no shortage of farmers, but they don't have a large reserve of skilled workers.

In the Yan state, Lu Mu was able to contract out many iron-related jobs to blacksmith shops of all sizes in Ji city, but in Daze Mountain, such contracting was clearly not feasible.

Helpless, Lu Qing went to the area around Daze Mountain to hire people, while Lu Wei took the initiative to approach the Zhu family and Situ Wanli to borrow people from them.

With the combined strength of the three halls, the workshop can now operate without any obstacles.

After spending another month in the Daze Mountains, in early February, the head steward solemnly handed over the work of the hall to Lü Qing and Lu Mu, while he himself had to travel around again.

I don't know when the outbreak will occur in the State of Chu, so I need to get there as soon as possible. I can't stay in Dazeshanwo until April like last year.

This time, Lu Wei is traveling alone to Chu. The biggest problem on the road is whether the Yin Yang School's gaze will reappear.

Fortunately, he didn't have to think about this problem for long. Just a hundred miles outside of Daze Mountain, a figure standing out from the crowd at a small inn gave Lu Wei the answer:

The moon goddess, dressed in a plain blue dress, stared directly at him.

In front of the Moon Goddess is a cup of tea, and opposite her is another unclaimed cup of tea, steaming hot...

Chapter 79 Moon God

After handing the horse over to the innkeeper's waiter, the steward unceremoniously sat down in front of the Moon Goddess.

Despite being a protector of the Yin-Yang School, the Moon Goddess's appearance this time was not the image Lu Wei remembered of her as 'wearing a tall silver tree branch and flower carving on her head, and a long sky-blue transparent veil reaching her waist'.

The moon goddess before him had her long purple hair all piled up behind her head, and her lower face was covered by a half-veil. If Lu Wei had a preconceived notion of the original work, he really wouldn't have recognized her.

This woman's iconic look in later generations is probably her formal attire from the Yin-Yang School...

In this world, anyone with unusual hair color is no ordinary person, let alone the Moon Goddess, who is a woman, a solitary woman.

Most seasoned travelers avoided this table.

Some lecherous men, unwilling to stray far, would pretend to be upright gentlemen, never looking directly in their direction. They would only pretend to be busy with other things nearby, while trying to find every excuse to catch a glimpse of the Moon Goddess's figure out of the corner of their eye.

When these people saw that a young boy who had just arrived at the inn dared to sit opposite the woman without being invited, they were inwardly amazed and exclaimed "brave man!" At the same time, their desire to watch the show immediately arose.

"Are the Yin-Yang School people also curious about a peasant like me?"

The other party had been watching him for three years, and had followed him all the way from Jicheng to Dazeshan. Lu Wei didn't believe it wasn't guided by the 'starry sky'.

"I am waiting for the owner of this cup of tea."

"Since you were the first to sit down in front of me, you must be the person I've been waiting for."

The Moon Goddess's voice was cold, but compared to Lu Ni, this coldness was not a lack of emotion; her every word was more like reciting lines with intonation.

"Tea, huh?" He picked up the small round cup in front of him, and ripples immediately appeared on the surface of the water. A small tea leaf floated on it, like a small boat that was about to sink into the boiling water at any moment.

Staring at the seemingly ordinary tea for a long time, Lu Wei put it back on the table: "I've always been timid about tea of ​​unknown origin, and I dare not be its owner."

"Is that so?" The purple pupils behind the Moon Goddess's mask remained calm. "Everyone has their own destiny, and fate has its own predetermined course."

A powerful pressure came from all directions towards Lu Wei, who felt as if he were sitting on the tea leaves that had just been stirred, unable to control his own body.

Then, he actually got into the teacup!

His pupils trembled as he watched everything around him seem to have been erased with an eraser: the roadside inn, the waiter, his own horse, all sorts of wandering knights, the tables, chairs, and teacups in front of him—all vanished into thin air.

Those blank spaces were replaced by the gray cup walls, the calm but steaming water surface, and a single tea leaf.

Lu Wei himself and the Moon Goddess before him were situated atop that tea leaf patch that could sink at any moment...

The boiling water beneath his feet was daunting, and soon beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.

“Some things were destined the moment you stepped into this little inn, sat down in front of me, and raised that teacup.”

Even if you didn't drink that cup of tea.

Although the moon goddess was right in front of him, her voice was filled with emptiness and unreality.

It's an illusion created by the Yin-Yang School!

Lu Wei's Soul-Sweeping Technique was about to be automatically activated, but now was not the time, so he actively suppressed and extinguished this forced impulse.

But even this tiny impulse, though it quickly vanished, was still noticed by the Moon Goddess.

With a flick of her slender finger, countless stars lit up the sky, illuminating everything around them, even their teacup.

"Your secrets seem to be more numerous than I imagined."

"Knowing too many secrets, especially men's secrets..." Lu Wei sensed the illusion's strength increasing further as the stars in the sky slowly rotated: "It might kill me~"

His gaze calmed, he circulated his qi to clear the sweat from his forehead, and the Jade Soul Sword at his waist emitted a crisp sword sound.

Staring at the jade sword that was completely impervious to illusions, a hint of apprehension flashed across the Moon Goddess's flawless mind, causing Lu Wei to raise an eyebrow:

"It seems you can't fully control this illusion."

Illusion itself can be seen as a martial art that attacks the mind, emphasizing that "if you break through the mind's defenses, nothing is insurmountable."

Unlike a real sword fight, if both people are masters of illusion, the one with stronger mind in the illusion will surely win.

Although Lu Wei knew the Soul-Sweeping Technique, he did not understand illusion techniques, and this purple-level technique did not involve a very high level.

But with the Jade Soul Sword present, this became a stroke of genius.

"What if I can control it, and what if I can't?" The Moon Goddess's composure returned, and she looked up to meet Lu Wei's gaze.

"The Yin-Yang School does not intend to be your enemy; I presume you already know this."

“The line between friend and foe is sometimes not very clear.” Lu Wei drew his Jade Soul Sword and gently flicked the blade.

Jade possesses five virtues: benevolence, righteousness, wisdom, courage, and purity. Jade Soul is the finest among jades, naturally immune to illusions.

"But your ambitions require more friends, don't they?"

The Moon Goddess took a step closer: "The Yin-Yang School will always be our most devoted allies who respect the Mandate of Heaven."

"What did you see in astrology?" Lu Wei paused, his mind filled with uncertainty. The Moon Goddess's words made him hesitate.

"Astrology cannot produce images; it can only allow mortals to glimpse a trace of the principles governing the movement of the stars."

The Moon Goddess slowly closed her eyes and shook her head: "You are the only person in the world whose fate is uncertain."

"Yin and Yang are those that have names but no forms. They obey the mandate of Heaven and are adept at change."

“Your fate is uncertain, but from the perspective of Yin-Yang arts, it is up to your choice.”

The moon goddess stretched out her slender, jade-like hand, and in the center of her palm, which was devoid of any visible color, a scroll appeared out of thin air.

This is called: Five Virtues.

"I am confident that I can clear up some of your doubts."

Leaving behind a bamboo scroll, the Moon Goddess took a step, and the 'tea leaves' beneath her and Lu Wei's feet transformed into a crescent moon, the boiling tea into a boundless starry sky, the starry sky revolving confidently, forming a otherworldly beauty...

The fourth level of Yin-Yang Arts, Astrological Law, suddenly activated!

Outside the illusion, the assembled heroes, waiting to see what would happen, watched as the young boy sat down and then found himself locked in a strange gaze with the purple-haired woman. The two remained motionless for about half an incense stick's time. Suddenly, the woman produced a bamboo scroll, placed it in the center of the table, and then stepped away, as if in a dream, as if she had never been there at all...

Lu Weiping calmly regained consciousness, looking at the teacup he had never touched before, then staring at the scroll of "The Five Virtues"...

He raised his cup and drank the tea in one gulp. Clutching the bamboo slip, he led his horse back on the road amidst the bewildered stares of the wandering knights.

Today, I have been defeated.

The illusion, which never revealed its murderous intent, made it impossible for me to even grasp the exact moment I entered the illusion.

Once the danger becomes apparent, it remains to be seen whether Feixue can act in time and escape the crisis.

The unknown means danger.

How many of her own secrets does the enigmatic Moon Goddess truly know?

This is yet another unknown.

Thinking about it carefully, perhaps the only good news is that the Yin-Yang School is not confident that they can easily defeat them. Otherwise, they wouldn't have put so much effort into creating a long string of riddles for themselves if they could easily solve the problem.

Even the authenticity of the riddle posed by the Moon Goddess is highly questionable.

And this volume of "The Five Virtues"...

Chapter 80 Farmhouse Pattern