"My lord, this is hardly fair," the old man said with a touch of helplessness.
He'd guessed the blind man held so official status. Though he didn't understand how a blind man could obtain a governntal position in the Yan State, this was, after all, the Three Jin region, and it was generally accepted that Yan people were considered superior here.
With a sigh, the blind man sat up from his bed. He was genuinely tired and wanted a good rest after satisfying his hunger. But it seed that wouldn't happen now.
This was because, while a standoff was occurring below, the n standing on the second-floor railing had drawn crossbows and aid them at the crowd.
The chaotic situation had suddenly returned to a tense calm.
These n, wielding military crossbows, held the advantage of high ground. Their intimidating presence made it impossible for these individuals from the street below to ignore them.
From a private room on the second floor, a middle-aged man in a long robe with a long beard erged. Stroking his beard, he respectfully cupped his hands towards the crowd below and said, "My apologies for disturbing your al, everyone. I've taken a liking to that young boy and wish to adopt him as my godson. I hope you will all grant this favor."
The implication was clear: either they accepted or prepared for the netherworld.
In their room, the old man smacked his lips, whispering, "Which deity is this now? Getting your hands on these military crossbows isn't easy."
The blind man covered his face with his hand, trying to rub the sleepiness from his eyes. "It used to be hard," he said. "But not anymore. After the Wenren and Helian Families were exterminated, many weapons from their armories flowed into the hands of the common people."
"Oh, I see," said the old man, nodding. Then he asked the blind man, "My lord, are you planning to continue your journey?"
The blind man nodded. "I'm tired from traveling, and I wanted to rest here."
"Are you sure you didn't co here for sothing else?"
"Whose child is that boy?" the blind man suddenly asked.
Initially, the blind man hadn't intended to ddle with these ruffians and gangs from the street buying and selling people here. To put it frankly, Shengle City was now the largest human trafficking market in the Three Jin region, where countless captured wild people were sold like livestock.
But now, it appeared that wave after wave of people were targeting the boy, which was intriguing.
The old man shook his head. "Better not to know."
The young girl also mimicked her grandfather's air of profound mystery and said, "It cannot be spoken."
WHOOSH!
Suddenly, the roof of the post station was smashed open. A group of n in black dropped from above, drawing their blades and imdiately starting to cut people down.
The middle-aged man who had just declared he wanted to adopt the boy only had ti to retreat two steps before a blade pierced him from behind.
Simultaneously, another group of n in black stord through the entrance of the post station. They still didn't utter a word, charging straight in to kill.
The various factions within the post station, which had been in a relative stalemate, were thrown into complete disarray.
Ding Heng, holding the child in his left arm and a saber in his right hand, first parried the attacks of two n in black consecutively. But just as he was about to launch a counter-offensive, more n in black rushed over to attack, forcefully interrupting his counterattack's montum.
Not people from the street! Ding Heng beca alert. These n in black were clearly skilled in combined assault formations, a military tactic.
On the second floor, the group that had been holding crossbows earlier was mostly slaughtered. And two n in black rushed into the room where the blind man was. While the earlier people from the street had relied on three parts skill and seven parts bluff, these suddenly invading n in black struck with a ruthlessness aid at complete eradication.
The old man shook the wine gourd in his hand, leaned back slightly, and then his figure shot out. In an instant, he was behind the two n in black. Then, with his left hand balled into a fist and his right hand holding the gourd, he struck downwards simultaneously.
BANG! BANG!
The necks of the two n in black snapped directly, and they collapsed to the floor with a THUD.
"Chaier, stay here."
"Okay, Grandpa," she agreed.
The old man glanced at the blind man again, then his entire person shot out of the room.
The girl, however, puffed out her still-undeveloped chest and lifted her chin at the blind man, saying, "Well? My grandpa is amazing, isn't he?"
The blind man remained unmoved. Instead, he asked very calmly, "That child, whose is he really?"
"I won't tell you, oh, unless you…"
"I beg you, please tell !"
"Er, hehe. Since Grandpa isn't here, I'll tell you. The Second Prince of the Chu State once had a consort who was a woman from the Wenren family. She was originally returning to Jin for a ho visit. Who knew that war would break out, thus separating them. Later, the Wenren family was exterminated, but that woman was fortunate enough to survive. And because she discovered she was already pregnant shortly after returning to Jin… and the Second Prince of the Chu State now has the montum and is the most likely person to ascend to that position, well, this child is incredibly important. Whoever can capture this child and send him to the Chu State, tsk tsk tsk, Grandpa will have wine to drink for a lifeti, and I'll have snacks to eat for a lifeti."
So convoluted?
The consort was sent back to the Jin State to visit her family. After returning ho, she discovered she was pregnant. Then war broke out—the Yan, Jin, and Qian states began fighting, and the Chu State also started experiencing internal conflict. This caused the delay. Now the child has been born, attracting nurous people from the street to co here and fight over him, thinking of sending him to the Chu State to receive a reward from the future Chu Emperor.
It's logical and reasonable. Ti, place, and characters all match up. But the problem is, it's too much of a coincidence. Firstly, this story has to hold water. Secondly, after the Yan people entered Jin, they implented a policy of extermination against the Wenren and Helian Families. The reason Helian Baozhu was able to reach the Skybreak Mountain Range was simply because the Spy Bureau was casting a long line to catch a big fish, intentionally letting her slip through. So what, are they going to let another one slip through here? Why doesn't your Yan State Spy Bureau change its na to the Fisheries Managent Bureau?
"When did this information leak out?" the blind man asked.
"It started spreading a few months ago. People on the street have long since made their moves because of it."
Several months ago?
The blind man instinctively sensed that things were not as simple as they seed.
Suddenly, an extrely bold conjecture arose in the blind man's mind!
The chaotic fight below was still going on. The forceful intervention of the n in black instantly ignited a sentint of "shared hatred for the enemy" among the people from the street here.
After all, the street still observes the rules of the street. Everyone plays the ga by these rules. How could they tolerate you suddenly barging in and going on a killing spree like this?
Although many, like Ding Heng, realized these n in black might be from the military, at this mont, they couldn't afford to care about anything else. They had to fight first and ask questions later.
Furthermore, this small post station unexpectedly housed quite a few skilled individuals, which seed to greatly exceed the expectations of these n in black. They had indeed seized the initiative at first, but soon they were locked in a stalemate. Conversely, the group of experts from the street began to fight with increasing valor.
CRASH...
Two n in black were thrown down from the second floor. Simultaneously, an iron chain flew towards the ground below, embedding itself deeply within it. Imdiately after, the old man's body slid down along the iron chain. Along the way, he sent several more people flying, landing directly in front of Ding Heng.
Several of Ding Heng's subordinates had been killed or injured in the siege by the n in black. But Ding Heng himself, even wielding his saber single-handedly, still maintained a solid defense. And when the old man appeared behind him, Ding Heng, as if he had eyes in the back of his head, swept his great saber backwards. The powerful saber aura carried an air of unmatched dominance.
However, the old man rely waved his sleeve. The iron chain beneath him, as if sentient, shot upwards. In an instant, it not only locked Ding Heng's saber but also forcibly pressed the blade downwards, embedding it into the floor tiles.
"Iron Chain Man?" Ding Heng exclaid in astonishnt.
But the old man's assault didn't lessen. Another iron chain shot out from the collar of his robe at his back, heading straight for Ding Heng's face, while his hands grabbed for the child in Ding Heng's arms.
Ding Heng gritted his teeth and made an instant decision to abandon the child to save his own life. He had the confidence to fight against other people from the street, even against these n in black. But when facing this figure, who was very likely the "Iron Chain Man," he didn't have the slightest bit of confidence. This old man had been famous on the street for a long ti and was infinitely close to the level of a titan.
I never expected him to show up this ti. Right, the Iron Chain Man is said to be one of the Chu people. It's only natural for him to co and seize the future imperial heir for the Chu State.
The seemingly fierce confrontation had, in that instant, reached a tacit understanding. One only wanted the child; the other, more realistically, knew when to retreat from a difficult situation.
However,
Just at this mont,
SWOOSH!
A crisp sound was heard, and a figure appeared between Ding Heng and the Iron Chain Man. It was, surprisingly, the swordsman who had earlier entered the post station carrying a child.
It was unknown why, when Ding Heng had taken the child earlier, the swordsman had acted as if nothing was wrong and continued eating his noodles there. Yet now, as the Iron Chain Man was about to snatch the child from Ding Heng's hands, the swordsman made his move.
The Iron Chain Man didn't hesitate in the slightest. His left hand shot forward. In an instant, the iron chain that had previously entangled the great saber, like a nimble snake scaling a cliff, directly gripped the hilt of the sword at the swordsman's waist and pulled it out.
But the mont it was drawn, the Iron Chain Man's gaze suddenly froze. That sword—it actually only had a hilt and no blade!
It was an empty sword!
The swordsman spread his left hand open. Three chopsticks from a nearby table flew over in the blink of an eye. The swordsman's fingertips brushed past them. The three chopsticks, with lightning speed, pierced into the three iron chains.
One chain was nailed to a pillar; another iron chain was nailed to the ground. In this exchange, the Iron Chain Man provided the chains, and this swordsman supplied the nails, locking them down!
The third chopstick, however, shot directly towards the Iron Chain Man's neck. The Iron Chain Man instantly broke the connection with his iron chains, and his entire body flew backwards.
After landing, he felt a sweet taste in his throat. Lowering his head slightly, he saw that half a chopstick was already embedded in his throat. For a mont, cold sweat drenched the Iron Chain Man's back. If he had retreated a step later just now, his neck would likely have been pierced through.
In the initial exchange, superiority was instantly determined!
The Iron Chain Man stared at the swordsman before him, his eyes filled with horror. His voice, made incredibly hoarse by the chopstick embedded in his neck, was filled with disbelief as he asked, "You… you… Your Excellency's sword?"
The swordsman let out a sigh, and said, "Alas, it was snatched away by that bastard's father."
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